Chapter 245 – The Lantern in Hand

After realizing the importance of the four lanterns, Punk stopped entangling with the two wraiths. Feinting sideways, he suddenly burst forth at full speed toward the lantern located in the upper left corner of the room.

When Punk’s sudden acceleration registered in the Soul Shepherd’s perception, the perpetually cold and unhurried entity first paused slightly, then the negative energy flames in its three eyes flickered violently. Clearly, Punk’s actions had significant implications for it.

Under the Soul Shepherd’s urgent command, the two wraiths immediately entered a frenzied state. The negative energy around them burned almost like flames as their enhanced speed turned them into two white streaks shooting through the air toward Punk.

“So it’s true, the lanterns are indeed problematic!”

Seeing the Soul Shepherd’s sudden outburst, Punk showed no panic but instead flashed a hint of delight in his eyes.

The enemy’s behavior had confirmed his conjecture was correct—the lantern in the corner must be an important countermeasure tool, which explained why the Soul Shepherd was desperately ordering both wraiths to pursue Punk at full power.

Now that Punk’s theory was verified, the only remaining problem was how to acquire at least one lantern while being pursued by two fanged wraiths and targeted by the Soul Shepherd’s turret.

“Being pinned down by these three makes any action impossible. I must lure two away!”

Quickly halting his advance to dodge a “Negative Energy Finger” attack while scanning the two wraiths fixated on him, Punk soon reached this conclusion.

“Fortunately, I don’t necessarily need to retrieve the lantern personally. Summoned creatures should be able to carry it over.”

Punk carefully examined the lantern. The aged lantern cast a dim yellow glow in the corner, its rusted handle small but protruding. Most importantly, the lantern was clearly separated from the alchemical flooring—unlike some ancient decorations that were embedded directly into structures—meaning it was likely freely movable.

Retrieving an object didn’t require personal handling; common animals like wolves or tigers could accomplish the task. Even if they weren’t agile enough to evade enemy attacks, they’d at least distract the enemies for one second. That single second of divided attention would provide Punk with a crucial opportunity.

Soon, Punk devised a relatively comprehensive plan. Before executing it, he quickly decided to summon some assistance.

“Formal-Level Summoning Magic—Summon Shadow Wolf” ×2

Punk cast “Summon Shadow Wolf” twice in rapid succession, bringing forth four giant wolves with black fur and ferocious appearances. Although the first wolf had its spell structure shattered by a precise “Negative Energy Finger” the moment it appeared, Punk still gained three giant wolves to execute his plan.

Under Punk’s command, the three summoned wolves immediately scattered. These fearless, tireless beasts erupted with full energy, sprinting at maximum speed toward the other three corners—their targets clearly being the remaining three lanterns.Punk didn’t expect the three demon wolves to fetch the Lantern for him. He only hoped that the Soul Shepherd, immobilized at the center of the Trial Grounds, would have to split its attacks to deal with the three wolves, allowing him to seize the opportunity to grab one Lantern himself!

The three demon wolves showed no fear of the Soul Shepherd’s assaults. Their four blood-red eyes glaring, they tensed every muscle and charged in three different directions without even a howl.

Seeing Punk target all four Lanterns right from the start, the negative energy flames in the Soul Shepherd’s eyes nearly solidified into physical form.

It could only attack three enemies simultaneously—two wrathful spirits and one Negative Energy Finger—leaving the fourth foe temporarily ignored. Punk had clearly discerned this weakness and crafted a scheme that left the Soul Shepherd with no good options, fueling its immense fury.

Yet, the Soul Shepherd hadn’t lost its rationality to rage. It couldn’t ignore the three demon wolves, as the beasts were fully capable of snatching the Lanterns. But it certainly couldn’t disregard Punk either, for if Punk obtained a Lantern, the Soul Shepherd would be in genuine peril.

Thus, the Soul Shepherd quickly weighed its options—prioritize thwarting Punk’s movements before dealing with the wolves. After all, whichever wolf grabbed a Lantern would need three seconds to deliver it to Punk. During that time, the Soul Shepherd was confident it could muster one more attack to eliminate the threat, or at least intercept the wolf before it reached Punk.

With no time to hesitate, the Soul Shepherd immediately commanded one wrathful spirit to remain and block Punk, while the other swiftly engaged a demon wolf. It itself launched a rapid assault to kill another wolf.

The Soul Shepherd’s attack was far beyond the demon wolves’ ability to evade. The targeted wolf had just reached a Lantern but hadn’t even opened its mouth to grab it when a “Negative Energy Finger” obliterated it entirely.

The other wrathful spirit pursuing a wolf was equally effective. That wolf had just clamped its jaws around a Lantern when the spirit’s sharp teeth shredded its neck.

Thus, two wolves fell without moving the Lanterns an inch. Only one wolf remained untouched. It bit the edge of a Lantern, then nimbly pushed off the wall with its agile frame, using the recoil to change direction at top speed and Charge toward Punk.

Simultaneously, the spirit intercepting Punk successfully cut a shortcut, blocking Punk’s path to the upper-left Lantern.

At this point, Punk’s plan seemed to have failed. He couldn’t bypass the spirit guarding the Lantern, and the three demon wolves he summoned had achieved nothing!

But was Punk’s scheme really that straightforward?

In truth, the moment Punk saw one spirit remaining behind, he had already prepared. Though he had cast “Kinetic Ejection” on himself, his dash toward the upper-left Lantern was merely a feint.

When Punk adopted a “do-or-die” Charge posture, the Soul Shepherd immediately ordered the intercepting spirit to stay by the Lantern. Fearing Punk might outmaneuver the less-intelligent spirit and seize the Lantern, it had the fanged spirit envelop the upper-left Lantern with its body, making it impossible for Punk to retrieve this one.

However… Punk never intended to take that Lantern in the first place.Punk saw the Soul Shepherd commanding the wraith to guard the Lantern, so he decisively changed his direction and headed toward the demon wolf that had grabbed the other Lantern and was running toward him.

Although this demon wolf was doomed to be killed along the way, by the time it died, Punk would have already arrived. With just one “Mage Hand,” he could retrieve the Lantern from the demon wolf’s mouth.

The wraith tasked with guarding the Lantern in the upper left corner stared blankly as Punk retreated in the opposite direction. However, being a rigid follower of orders, it was impossible for the wraith to abandon its newly received “guard the Lantern” command and give chase!

Thus, the wraith could only watch helplessly as Punk withdrew. The Soul Shepherd, having just killed the demon wolf that had taken the Lantern, couldn’t immediately use a second “Negative Energy Finger,” and the other wraith was still too far away.

In the end, the Soul Shepherd and the two wraiths could only glare in frustration as Punk used “Mage Hand” to snatch the Lantern thrown by the dying demon wolf.

With that, the Lantern was secured!

(End of Chapter)