Chapter 26: Entrapped

“Rararararararara!”

Multitude of hideous, shrilling screams vented from the pit. The wraiths noticed the invaders to their ridge and chamber.

SWISH!

SWISH!

SWISH!

SWISH!

They flew up as the harbinger of death, with their bony fingers stretched toward the frightened experts.

“You shameless thief!” The Silver Skin Gorilla bellowed, no longer holding back, his aura burst as his shot after Zax.

“Dammit! Dammit! Dammit! Dammit!”

“Everyone, spread!”

“Run!”

“No, there are too many!”

“Wicked human!”

All kinds of yells resonated as Zax’s pursuers began to flee. Some continued to charge after him, other flew up and out of the pit, and several retracted their steps. Of course, around half of the experts present died instantly after being targeted by the nearest and quickest wraiths.

“No, curse you!”

BOOM!

A human Peak Core Master agitated his mist energy and self destructed, wanting to take others with him.

BOOM!

BOOM!

BOOM!

He was not the only on to let loose. Those who could not escape, self destructed, while those who still had a chance to live, like the Silver Skin Gorilla, cleared their route of escape with beams of mist energy that flattened the ridge for kilometers.

‘Don’t these idiots get that it’s more difficult for wraiths to chase through solid ground?!’ Zax cursed the experts who blasted the ridge.

The earth around him crumbled faster than he could drill.

“Scoundrel human, pray that I won’t be the one to catch you!” The Silver Skin Gorilla roared in so much rage, Zax could actually hear him through all the explosions. Alongside him were two more Martial Mortals and five Peak Core Masters with a flying technique.

“Rarararara!”

Out of the tens of thousands wraiths in the pit, some, hundreds, due to the Silver Skin Gorilla’s clamor, were bound to chase in Zax’s direction. They were on the tail of his pursuers, closer to them than him, thought it still did not make him feel good.

‘They are too fast’, he meant the wraiths. ‘That Silver Skin purposely bombarding the surrounding with mist attacks! Does he want them to catch up?!’

No matter how deep he dug, the Silver Skin Gorilla and the other experts shot beams of mist energy to blow up any opportunity he might have to conceal himself from the range of their Soul Senses and Sublime Soul Senses. Zax knew that if it kept going, he will sooner reach New Earth’s crust than manage to lose them. Moreover, he was aware that the eight were not really crazy, but probably had the confidence, if not the means, to lose the wraiths, for now, at least.

“Fucking pests!” Zax turned around, facing the eight, who were less than two kilometers from him, he controlled his anger and fiendishly smiled. Despite his body consuming vitality in the midst of growing his right arm, his overall condition was at his best, which aroused his fighting spirit. Besides, mayhem was what he asked for.

WHOOSH!

He kicked the air again and again, Kinetic Force propelling him faster and faster. Zax launched himself head on toward the eight.

“Dare to meet me with frontal attack!” The Silver Skin Gorilla was at the forefront; his green mist energy released strong gusts of howling wind that cleanly sliced through earth and stone.

“Murreta, careful!” One of the Core Masters behind, the bald man, Hereb Lish, yelled. “Your Eperong clan and my father’s Mount Rom mercenary band don’t have enmity between them!” As a Peak Core Master, he could not withstand the Silver Skin Gorilla’s, Murreta, sharp currents of blustery mist energy. Only by the use of his status did he have the capital to partake in the chase with a measure of hope of obtaining the dark attribute’s essence.

“Mount Rom mercenary band”, Murreta granted. “Should have not sent a child!” His green aura erupted, shrouding him with detrimental turbulences. After being played with by a human brat, he did not care about giving face to the absent captain of any mercenary band.

“Murreta...” Hereb Lish muttered through clenched teeth and distanced himself from the crazed ape, attracting a portion of the wraiths after him.

The other four Core Master, three of which were Kirik, Lurvar and Gong Vreil, also stayed away from Murreta’s unbridled force. They all behaved as if prepared to depart should the situation escalate beyond their area of control.

BANG!

After evading six current of green wind, the seventh struck Zax, pierced his shielding Kinetic Force, cutting his left shoulder. Blood gushed from the wound, but in mere seconds it stopped and started healing.

WHOOSH!

Ignoring the risk of encountering more currents of green wind, Zax dove forward.

WHOOSH!

WHOOSH!

WHOOSH!

The gap between him and Murreta shortened to less than twenty meters in a blink. Not far behind, the other two Martial Mortals were also about to make a move, as they could not allow the dark attribute’s essence to get into the hands of Murreta. Dealing with a Martial Mortal was many times more problematic than dealing with a bodily cultivator with the strength of Peak Core Master.

“DIE!” Murreta unleashed a supersonic punch that sucked nearly all the air in a radius of two kilometers and compressed a greenish, semitransparent wind pillar.

The hair on Zax’s back stood on end. As far as breathing goes, the suction of air was negligible to him, for a certain period of time, that is. It was the force and speed of the wind pillar that scared him. He sensed that even if he would let it strike him or try to retaliate with his strongest Soar With The Storm, the final result would be the same. Fortunately he never intended to actually fight with Murreta.

“Eh?” As he tried to maneuver himself out of the trajectory of the wind pillar, he found out that there was barely any air to kick with Kinetic Force. Consequently, eighty percent of the kick dispersed and the remaining twenty hardly thrust his large physique away.

“Grr!” He bit in pain as the wind pillar ripped the left side of his waist and continued on, unobstructed.

“Haaaaaa!” Two panicked screams resounded from the mouths of the Six Legged Stallion, Kirik, and another Peak Core Master, human cultivator.

Apparently, the flying techniques they utilized also relied on the density of air. The moment it became scarce, they could not maintain their speed and were caught up by the wraiths at their back.

“No! Not my spirit! Help! Help!” The human cultivator shouted in despair, already out of his mind just by the prospect of having his soul and then spirit being ripped apart.

After the initial scream, Kirik stopped struggling and his body simply fell from the sky, both soulless and spiritless.