Chapter 37: Pursuit

“It’s angry, let’s run!”

Zhai Guangyi tried to climb onto the Storm Holy Wolf, but his movements were a bit slow. Xiong Er directly picked him up, leaped onto the back of the Storm Holy Wolf, and immediately dashed into the forest.

“You still think you can run?”

Seeing the two of them completely ignoring him, Shabi’s face turned green—his already green complexion darkened even further. He spread his massive bat-like wings and chased after them.

Zhai Guangyi wasn’t confident he could defeat such a Magical Beast in his current state. His physical abilities were too weak. As for Magic, the distance between him and the Magical Beast was too close. Even if he managed to cast a spell, such a high-speed Magical Beast would likely dodge it.

Its Life Value and strength were both at a high level. If it got close, Zhai Guangyi would undoubtedly die. So, he had no intention of fighting it head-on.

As for Xiong Er, she had the ability to fight, but she felt it was still risky. First, she didn’t know what Skills the opponent possessed. Second, she had a burden with her—someone who would hold her back. Without absolute certainty of victory, it was better to flee.

Moreover, this Magical Beast likely hadn’t appeared out of nowhere. It might have observed her battle with the Earth Dragon from a distance, and her fighting style had probably been analyzed thoroughly. It was even more unwise to confront this Magical Beast head-on. The safest course of action was to hurry back to the Divine Tree.

Shabi, flying in a straight line through the air, watched the Storm Holy Wolf racing on the ground. He gathered Black Flame in his hand and hurled it directly in front of Zhai Guangyi and the others.

The Storm Holy Wolf, in full sprint, came to an abrupt halt. Zhai Guangyi and Xiong Er collided on its back. With a massive Black Flame blocking their path ahead, Xiong Er had no choice but to steer the Storm Holy Wolf in another direction.

But before they could get far, more Black Flame orbs rained down from the sky, obstructing their path forward.

Although the Storm Holy Wolf was much faster than Shabi, Shabi could fly in a straight line through the air, ignoring obstacles. This allowed him to taunt and toy with Zhai Guangyi and the others from above.

“Damn it, this Shabi doesn’t seem to want to let us go. You ride the wolf back first. I’ll stay behind and hold him off.”

Xiong Er leaped into the air, lightning crackling around her as she lunged at Shabi in the sky. Shabi raised his fist to meet her head-on.

Shabi’s strength far surpassed Xiong Er’s, but she had gained momentum from her leap off the ground, while Shabi, airborne, had no way to brace himself. In their clash, Shabi was sent flying back dozens of meters, while Xiong Er was slammed into the ground.

This didn’t cause any real damage to Shabi, but Xiong Er’s objective was achieved. Zhai Guangyi, riding the Storm Holy Wolf, escaped the area surrounded by flames, and Shabi, in the air, was stalled by Xiong Er’s interference.

“Fine, she won’t get far anyway. Let’s deal with you first, you sow.”

Shabi revealed a lecherous grin, his long tongue licking the corner of his mouth. Xiong Er felt goosebumps all over her body, as if Shabi’s gaze was crawling over her, making her extremely uncomfortable.

“Damn it, I never thought I’d catch the eye of a Shabi Goblin.”

Xiong Er suddenly recalled the unsavory scenes involving Goblins from the Goblin Slayer stories and realized she now faced the same risk.

Let’s stall it for a while and find a way to escape myself. Judging by its tone, its target should be Zhai Guangyi, who possesses immense Magic Power. It can’t afford to waste too much time on me.

“I told you, I’m a Demon Goblin.”

Shabi seemed very particular about his full racial name. He immediately dove toward Xiong Er, black flames sprouting from his hands and spreading directly toward her.

“Wind and Thunder Summoning.”

A blue-white bolt of lightning appeared before Shabi, blasting him away with a thunderous roar. The black flames and lightning collided, triggering a massive explosion.

Both were sent flying by the shockwave. Shabi unfurled his bat wings mid-air, while Xiong Er could only curl into a ball, tucking her knees and rolling across the ground to minimize the damage.

Before Xiong Er could recover, Shabi was already charging at her. His body had swollen to nearly twice its size, the clothes on his upper torso torn apart by his bulging muscles. Like a streak of black lightning, he punched Xiong Er in the abdomen.

Although the crackling lightning around her persisted, it couldn’t stop Shabi’s powerful blow. The impact made Xiong Er’s face contort, and her body was sent flying once again.

“Huff, I hope I didn’t kill her. Beastkin may be filthy, but the Bloodline they produce is quite excellent. It would be a shame if she died just like that.”

Shabi slowly descended to the ground, his swollen muscles beginning to shrink. He straightened his clothes with movements that resembled a gentleman’s, but his face was far too hideous to convey any sense of elegance.

Xiong Er leaned against a tree and struggled to her feet, spitting a mouthful of blood onto the ground.

“It seems I underestimated it. I shouldn’t have tried to show off like that.”

Xiong Er hadn’t expected it to possess such terrifying strength along with a strengthening-type Skill. It felt like facing Xiong Batian in a Berserk state. With that level of physical power, Xiong Er was no match.

“Don’t struggle pointlessly. I’ll capture both you and that fleeing Elf.”

Just as Shabi was about to approach Xiong Er, a wall of flames suddenly erupted between them, blocking his line of sight.

Shabi looked back to see two Elemental Spirits floating in the air—a Fire Spirit and an Ice Spirit created by Zhai Guangyi.

After running a sufficient distance, Zhai Guangyi had the Storm Holy Wolf set him down and ordered it to go back and retrieve Xiong Er. He himself found a seemingly Stealthy patch of grass to hide in, simultaneously summoning the two Spirits to assist Xiong Er.

With his current Magic Power, maintaining two Elemental Spirits remotely was no problem—in fact, it was even easier. His Soul atop the Divine Tree had already notified Xiong Batian that Xiong Er and the others were in danger and to send help immediately. Everything was arranged. As long as they stalled this Demon Goblin Shabi until Xiong Batian and the others arrived, they could eliminate it.

“Hmph, get out of my way!”

Shabi roared, unleashing a swirling vortex of black fire that engulfed the two Elemental Spirits.

The Ice Spirit continuously created massive ice pillars to attack Shabi’s flame vortex, while the Fire Spirit kept hurling fireballs or spreading sheets of flame at Shabi.

Thick smoke billowed through the entire forest as ice and fire violently clashed.

Shabi’s vision was obscured by the dense fog, and with flames spreading all around, he had no choice but to take flight and charge toward the Ice Spirit.

Seizing this opportunity, the Storm Holy Wolf had already rushed to Xiong Er’s side and lifted her up.

“Did the Divine Tree send them to rescue me? Staying in the beginner village was indeed the right choice.”

Having seen Lord Divine Tree summon these two spirits before, Xiong Er instinctively assumed that the Honored One had intervened. As she relaxed, she fell unconscious.