Chapter 45 – The Only Way Out

Mainaixi lay at the center of a massive crater, a far cry from his former “dashing elegance.” Now, he was utterly disheveled from head to toe. His magnificent Mage Robe was in tatters, its remaining edges still smoldering from the erosion of fiery Battle Aura. His body was covered in charred burns, with traces of violent fighting energy faintly emanating from the wounds. Most horrifyingly, Mainaixi’s entire lower body was gone—a jagged tear split open at his chest, and everything below it had turned to dust. Through his shattered ribs, one could even see his still-beating heart. With such severe injuries, even a Formal-Level professional should have been dead, yet Mainaixi, using some unknown secret method, was barely holding on.

Punk noticed that clusters of tender green sprouts were continuously growing from the torn opening in Mainaixi’s chest. The sprouts twisted together into a tangled mass, and Punk could sense them constantly suppressing the violent fighting energy residue in Mainaixi’s body while converting energy from the surrounding air into life force, infusing it into Mainaixi. Thus, at least in Punk’s perception, Mainaixi’s vitality wasn’t weakening—it was actually strengthening.

Witnessing this, even Punk was astonished. A man who had lost half his body wasn’t just alive but recovering rapidly—it was truly staggering!

The surrounding flames had spread to the Southern District, and faint, piercing screams of refugees being slaughtered by enemy soldiers echoed in the distance. Time was running out. If the enemy discovered Mainaixi was still alive… the consequences would be unimaginable!

“Cough… cough!”

Just as Punk considered whether to hide with the half-bodied Mainaixi first, a few hoarse coughs came from the bottom of the crater. Mainaixi had awakened!

Slowly opening his eyes, Mainaixi no longer had the ability to use mental scanning, so he could only prop up his upper body with his hands and look around.

Soon, he spotted Punk standing at the crater’s edge, his gaze profound. Only when Mainaixi turned his head did Punk see clearly: one of his eyes had transformed into a blazing fireball radiating intense heat, with red patterns almost covering the entire eye socket, a terrifying and gruesome sight.

“You over there… Punk Cyan, right?” Mainaixi asked in a voice as raspy as a broken bellows. With a Formal-Level professional’s exceptional memory, it was no surprise he remembered his “subordinate’s” name.

Punk subtly retreated half a step, his pupils quickly illuminated by the glow of magic. As the saying goes, “a starved camel is still bigger than a horse.” No matter how gravely injured or near death Mainaixi was, Punk wouldn’t forget that he was a powerful Formal-Level Mage.

Mainaixi seemed completely oblivious to Punk’s slight movement. He simply stared intently at the tangled masses of green sprouts twisting on his torn wound and said concisely, without looking up, “Lunka definitely won’t let any living soul leave the city.” However… there is a Secret Passage. It’s the only chance for everyone to retreat, and…”Mainaixi slightly tilted his head, his crimson eye that had transformed into a fiery orb fixed on Punk: “…………Only I can open it”!

Punk let out a soft sigh. Though he wished to pry out the location of the secret passage and abandon Mainaixi here to make his escape, it was clear that Mainaixi had lost a leg, not his wits. He had practically “hinted” outright to Punk—leave me behind, and you won’t get anywhere!

“Lord Mainaixi, I would be delighted to accompany you in saving our Kamos Kingdom and the beautiful Her Highness the Princess.”

Punk uttered a few perfunctory platitudes, treating them as a gesture of cooperation, then softly chanted an incantation, scattering strands of blue-glowing velvet. In less than two seconds, two half-human-height wargs slowly materialized within the summoning circle before him.

One of the wargs trotted over to Mainaixi, tilting its head to signal for him to mount.

“My apologies, Lord Mainaixi. We require mounts to swiftly traverse the ruined city. I beg your tolerance for this humble steed.”

Punk bowed slightly, adopting a standard, almost generic mage’s courtesy, though his tone held no trace of reverence. He gestured in a “please” motion, indicating for Mainaixi to mount the warg.

Of course, Punk’s intention wasn’t merely to cross the city quickly—he simply dared not approach Mainaixi recklessly. Who knew what methods this seasoned formal mage, clearly versed in life element cultivation, might possess to drain another’s vitality? To err on the side of caution, Punk resolved to keep his distance from Mainaixi no matter what.

Mainaixi evidently saw through Punk’s thoughts. Though a flicker of displeasure crossed his eyes, he eventually waved a hand and said, “No matter. Finding Her Highness the Princess swiftly is paramount.” With that, he lightly pushed off the ground with his hands, his half-body flipping effortlessly as he gracefully landed on the warg’s back. It seemed as though losing most of his body not only posed no hindrance but had lightened his burden.

However, Punk keenly detected the sluggish and… eerie flow of energy within Mainaixi’s body. Though his life force appeared exuberantly vibrant, it felt… discordant with his physical form?

Punk breathed an inward sigh of relief. Barring unforeseen circumstances, Mainaixi was likely sustaining himself through some arcane art, merely clinging to life. He seemed “unscathed” on the surface, but in reality, he was at the end of his rope.

“The secret stronghold is in the Lolorock Inn. You should recall it if you’ve studied the military maps.”

As he spoke, Mainaixi summoned a slender vine to bind himself to the warg. After this not-too-strenuous “exertion,” the green sprouts on his wounds seemed to writhe more actively.

“Of course, I remember it clearly.”

Punk mounted his own warg while replying to Mainaixi in a “respectful” tone. As an Apprentice-Level professional, a powerful memory was a fundamental skill. Though Punk had initially paid no attention to the inconspicuous little inn on the map, a moment’s recollection easily brought its location to mind. As for Konola City’s now-unrecognizable terrain… such trivialities were no obstacle in the face of Divination Spells.Two massive silver-white direwolves leaped through the ruins of the remote Southern District. The rugged ground, littered with protruding rocks, posed no obstacle to the direwolves. Despite their enormous size, they displayed agility that defied their bulk—along with a “disabled rollercoaster” level of violent jolting. The constant “side-to-side hopping,” which occasionally flipped his vision upside down, made Punk—who had never ridden a mount before—want to blast the foolish wolf with a fireball. His command had been for the direwolf to run fast, not madly. He couldn’t comprehend why it deliberately leaped onto uneven rocks of varying heights. Punk had no choice but to use Mage Hand to clutch the wolf’s fur to avoid being thrown off. In his spare moments, he could clearly see the undisguised amusement in Mainaixi’s eyes. In contrast, the direwolf Mainaixi rode was exceptionally well-behaved, utterly unlike the one under Punk, which seemed possessed by a Husky’s spirit!

But antics aside, the direwolves’ combat prowess was decent. At the very least, they were more than capable of clearing out some scout grunts when combined with Punk’s Catapult Spell. Thus, the two giant wolves wove through collapsed buildings like white clouds, quickly approaching their destination—Lolorock Inn.

(End of Chapter)