"Count me in," Jon, lying on a chair with a mouthful of blood, said as he tended to his injury — he had finally woken from his dazed state, realizing that his life had been pulled back from hell by Malin himself, and the young man very much wanted to express his gratitude to Malin.
As for the mouthful of glass shards — Jon, being the second heir to the family, truly felt after the day’s events that life was more precious than anything. With life, a mouthful of glass shards could be cleaned up; without it, even a mouthful of gold teeth would be useless.
"Our family will also provide a reward. Without you, we would have run headfirst into that trap set by the different kind, and everyone would have died," Leonidas added.
"Now is not the time for that talk. We must leave quickly. The road ahead turns left, stick to the right side, and watch for the creatures’ movements on the left," Malin said as he extended his hand and shot out another orb of light, composed of Spiritual Energy, that flew to the top of the intersection, illuminating the night sky.
"Good idea. If only people could see this light," Richard had just finished speaking when he pointed to the left, and Malin’s shotgun roared — loaded with a Hollow Point Bullet, the shotgun had the capability to hit mid-range targets. A different kind, leaping onto the road, was struck in the forelimbs, and the Hollow Point Bullet shattered its muscles and bones together. The creature screeched as it fell and was ultimately crushed under the wheels of the carriage.
Malin grabbed the protrusions on the roof to avoid being thrown out by fate, while Jon, who was still dealing with his mouth, managed to bite his own finger: "My God, what did we run over?!"
"It’s the different kind! Hold on! We’re about to turn right!" Leonif shouted, giving a warning: "Damn it! There are more different kind ahead!"
Malin looked up and saw several different kind emerging from the forest ahead.
"Control the horses! Leonidas! Where are these horses from? Are they afraid of fire?"
"They’re battle-hardened! They’ve come from the front lines! Fearless!"
With a reminder, Malin raised his left hand, gathering ignited Spiritual Energy into a Fireball, which he then hurled forward. As Leonidas fiercely steered the carriage along the inner curve of the turn, the different kind that rushed forward were engulfed by Malin’s thrown Fireball. The explosion and resulting flames not only illuminated the road behind them but also revealed a large number of different kind in pursuit.
"Damn! There’s a lot behind us!" Leon exclaimed, opening the carriage door. He unhooked an ammo pouch from his waist and threw it on the roof: "These are the grenades I prepared! Do what you must!"
Then, Leon attached the safety rope from his waist: "Do you remember the large hole we passed on the way here?!"
"I remember! It’s just ahead!" Leonidas said, somewhat despondently: "It’s too dark! I can’t see the hole!"
"No problem, I have this!" Leon took out the launcher from his belt: "I modified a hand crossbow, which can shoot flares very far away."
"I’ll do it!" Richard, sitting in front, took out a flare from his waist, pulled the pin, and then placed it into the modified slot.
Leon raised the hand crossbow, launching the flare into the sky.
"I see the hole now! Damn, we can’t stop in time! We’re going too fast!" Leonidas screamed in despair.
The next second, Leon, holding onto the carriage door, looked back at the carriage: "Move to the other side!" After saying that, he unfastened the water canteen from his waist, opened the cap, then leaned down to pour the water onto the ground.
The water, as if alive, quickly flowed to the front of the carriage, carrying mud with it, and eventually solidified in front of the hole. Leonidas maneuvered the carriage over the large hole, unable to help but euphorically yell, "We survived!"
"The danger isn’t over yet," Leon, looking a bit pale, struggled to pull himself back inside the carriage: "I’ve used too much Spiritual Energy, feeling a bit unwell."
"No worries, the road ahead is straight! Malin! Do those things run fast?" Leonif, listening to the gunshots behind him, asked nervously.
"They won’t get close before I run out of bullets," Malin said, glancing at his ammo pouch, only to find that the shotgun shells were spent: "I’m out."
"God of Wisdom above! Use my bullets for now!" Richard said as he took off his bullet pouch from his waist and tossed it to Malin.
Malin caught the bullet pouch and hung it on his waist, then began to reload. "Can the horse take such a sprint? I remember you just mentioned they’re old horses."
"Definitely not! Then we’re dead for sure!" Leonif screamed back. "Damn it! The road up ahead!"
Malin turned around and saw the gigantic different kind slowly moving toward the center of the road. "It’s moving very slowly!"
"But we’ll crash into it! We’re too far from it! It can block the whole road! I’ve raced with carriages! I won’t make a mistake!" Leonif urged the horse on with another lash while painfully looking at the dead end ahead.
"Then let’s kill it!" Malin stood up, once again raising his left hand, as a Lightning Bolt formed in his grasp.
"God of Wisdom above! Level Three Energy Shaping!" Attracted by the light behind him, Richard turned his head and his jaw dropped as if dislocated. "No! Why is your Lightning Bolt pure white!"
In the next second, Malin hurled the Lightning Bolt in his hand. It streaked like a beam of light, instantly hitting the giant humanoid different kind’s head. The next second, flames burst from its body, and the whole ignited creature fell silent and crashed onto the road.
"Well done, Malin..." Leonif said and fell silent for a moment, then cried out again, "And there’s Leon! The road is too narrow!"
"If I die from depletion of Spiritual Energy, you’ll have to take care of my parents! And my loveliest sister! None of you are allowed to marry her!" Opening the carriage door, holding Jon’s water bottle, Leon noticed the huge bonfire ahead. "My God, what is that."
"Who knows! But if you dawdle any longer, we’re going to crash!" Leonif struggled to steer the carriage as close to the edge of the road as he could.
"Don’t panic!" Once again using a Spell Formation, Leon built blocks of ice with Spiritual Energy, extending the road base while allowing the carriage to pass safely. Struggling to stand, Leon’s hand slipped, and he tumbled out of the carriage.
Just as he screamed, preparing to land on his face, a hand grabbed his collar. "For the sake of whichever High God! I’ve got you!" Rager pulled Leon back into the carriage, and the latter collided with Jon, causing secondary damage as Jon screamed and rolled his eyes—glass freshly plucked from his gums pierced his tongue in a blink.
"Purple flare!" Malin shouted. He felt the cold presence again, turned on the purple flashlight on his shoulder, and while loading his Shotgun with silver-infused buckshot, turned to look at Richard.
The latter turned around, without hesitation, and pulled the pin of the flare in his hand.
At the same time, a Spectral Phantom emerged from the void, colliding head-on with the purple flashlight on Malin’s shoulder. As the working purple flare tried to drive it back with wailing, Malin’s Shotgun stopped its escape—silver-infused buckshot spread wide, posing no trouble at all for the Spectral Phantom, as it shattered and disintegrated like glass upon hitting a wall.
"God of Wisdom above, how did you detect it?" Richard glanced at the flare in his hand, then looked at Malin with added respect.
Malin found it hard to answer. Should he tell him, sorry, but I get goosebumps whenever danger is near?
Who would believe that.
So Malin cleared his throat and said, "I’m kind of good at exorcism."
Richard and Leonidas turned their heads, giving him a look of disbelief.
Pfft, the bluff didn’t work.