Book 8: Chapter 45: Covering the Retreat

Publish Time: 2026-06-15 00:23:18

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«Volume 8 Chapter 44: Silver Shadow in the Mountain Fortress

Volume 2 Chapter 31: Combat Model »

“It spotted us. You go first. I’ll stay and hold it off. Otherwise, none of us will escape!” Kelly stopped abruptly. Her mind suddenly relaxed as she lowered her eyelids and waved a dismissive hand at the group. “When you reach Dwarf Plaza, everyone below first class, except ranged fighters, better stay hidden! I won’t be able to look out for you then!”

“Lady Kelly, let me help you!” Stark gritted his teeth and forced the words out.

“Scram! Against a giant beast that huge, a tank without external manifestation is useless!” Kelly glared back, then kicked out, sending Stark tumbling head over heels.

Only after everyone had fled far away did Kelly slowly turn around and stride out of the tunnel. Clenching her fists, she walked towards the heart of the hall, her cheeks flushing with excitement. She excitedly ran her tongue over her lips.

“Heh heh, little worm. Let me test your strength. Better not disappoint me… or you’ll just become snake soup!” Kelly’s Battle Qi Wings flared behind her as she transformed into a blur, soaring towards the Earth Salamander on the stone beam.

“Hiss!” Before Kelly’s blurring figure could even get close, the colossus keenly perceived the threat. For the first time, it swung its spiked tail down from its perch on the stone beam like a massive whip lashing out at the attacker.

An intense light suddenly burst from Kelly’s body. Her figure midair accelerated again, transforming into a streak of light. It slid past the Salamander’s tail by a hair’s breadth, crashing like a giant arrow into the stone beam.

“BOOM!” At that moment, the entire hall seemed to shudder. Countless piles of gold coins collapsed on the ground. A cloud of dust and smoke exploded from the stone beam, sending showers of shattered rock flying in all directions.

“What happened?” The few Dwarfs left on the hall floor tumbled like gourds, their minds reeling from the impact. Unable to catch a clear glimpse of Kelly, they thought the colossus overhead had gone berserk again.

“Look out!” An older Dwarf suddenly lunged, tackling a young Dwarf with stern features and a sturdy build to the floor. Behind them, a massive chunk of rock breaking free from the stone beam smashed into the ground, flattening all nearby gold and silver vessels into pancake-thin sheets.

“Loier, what’s going on?” the young Dwarf asked, his voice filled with confusion and fear.

“Harlin, look up top! Seems like someone’s come to help us,” the old Dwarf gasped for breath, pointing across the hall.

The young Dwarf called Harlin looked up. Indeed, he saw a small figure hovering in midair, facing off against the Earth Salamander Colossus that had rendered them helpless. The beast itself had left its previous perch. Its barrel-thick body coiled around a stone pillar, its lizard-like head fixed intently on the figure before it.

“Is it help Kohan brought?” Harlin asked hopefully.

“I’d love to think so too, but Kohan only left half a day ago. Even if he reached the foot of the mountain, he couldn’t have gotten help here so fast!” The old Dwarf gave a bitter smile. “This woman up there probably has no connection to us. She might just have wandered into Ironstar Fortress by mistake.”

“A woman?” Harlin widened his eyes. Looking up more carefully, he did recognize the figure confronting the giant lizard as a female human. “No way! Harlin doesn’t take being saved by a woman. Loier, let’s help her! Let’s fight that beast together and avenge our fallen brothers!”

“Harlin! Get back!” The old Dwarf grabbed the youth by the shoulder, practically bristling with outrage. “You’ll just cause trouble! We’re no match for that level of combat. Look at that stone beam over there…”

Harlin followed Loier’s pointing finger and his eyes went wide. The square stone beam, thick enough once to require two men to encircle with their arms, now lay shattered and incomplete. A large section was completely missing in the middle, the broken ends jagged and irregular, occasionally shedding loose pebbles. It looked as if it had been blown apart by Dwarven quarrying Magic Potion!

“Th-This… was done by that woman?” the young Dwarf stammered, mouth dry, barely able to believe it.

“Hmm. That woman is anything but ordinary. Likely a grandmaster-level fighter at least,” Loier stroked his long beard, speaking cautiously. “The best help we can give her in a battle like this? It’s staying out of it.”

“Loier, what do we do then?” Harlin asked, clearly reluctant.

“Exploring ruins as vast as Ironstar Fortress… she surely didn’t come alone! She must have companions nearby!” Ignoring Harlin, Loier narrowed his eyes, scanning their surroundings.

“Look! That tunnel entrance there has footprints… must be it!” Loier’s eyes suddenly brightened as he spotted Qin Lun and the others’ tunnel entrance. “Harlin! Tell the brothers to follow me! Let’s find that female powerhouse’s companions. This terrain is bad for us. Only by luring that Salamander down to level ground can we hope to kill it!”

…

“Damn tough. Good resistance too, it seems,” Kelly frowned, examining her right fist. The knuckles were bloodied, skin split, blood dripping by dripping falling to the floor. The spot she had struck on the Salamander’s neck? Only a few scales were chipped, with just a trickle of green blood seeping out beneath.

“Seems even Lace’s arrows might fail to pierce its scales. Probably only a few Elf Rangers or the two Elf Princes from the group stand a chance of breaking its defense. But whether they can match the Salamander’s speed is a different question.”

Kelly’s eyes narrowed as thoughts flew through her mind. “Must warn Robin. Her, Stark, and that Nicole can only play support roles, ineffective in a head-on fight. Aside from a few plot-important elves, only the fortress Mage Philip can perhaps attempt it.”

“Huh? Those Dwarfs aren’t stupid… they know to go find Robin and the others!” A trace of a smile flickered across Kelly’s face as she spared a glance downward before instantly snapping her focus back to the colossal beast before her.

“Hiss!” Feeling the lingering ache from its wound, the Salamander’s lizard-like head contorted into an almost human expression of rage. Its forked tongue flicked rapidly at Kelly. Suddenly, it pulled its head back slightly, appearing almost wary of the figure before it.

“Coming!” But Kelly felt her hair stand on end instead. The intuition of this Female Martial Artist was sharply honed. She knew the creature’s movement wasn’t true fear, but the coiling tension before a decisive strike.

Sure enough, after a split-second pause, the Salamander’s enormous form abruptly transformed into a streak of silver light, trailing afterimages as it charged towards Kelly…

“How is Kelly doing?” The female Elf gripping a Beastmaster Hunting Bow turned to Robin beside her. Faint echoes of rumbling and crashing drifted from the far end of the tunnel, stirring waves of anxiousness throughout her body.

Within the Lost Novices team, Kelly had been closest to her. Even the Beastmaster Hunting Bow in her hands and her Bow Dance Technique had been purchased for her by Kelly.

“Lace, don’t panic. Kelly’s battle experience is deep. Without us slowing her down, she can at least escape safely. She won’t lose to that beast,” Robin replied, offering a comforting smile. Her gaze swept across Dwarf Plaza, noting with satisfaction that everyone in the group had scrambled into hiding places.

“Leader Robin, simple traps are placed at every tunnel entrance. Once that Salamander steps into the plaza, it definitely won’t escape back anywhere else,” Stark reported on the temporary Team Channel, breathing a deep sigh of relief.

“Heh, well done Leader Stark!” Robin’s beautiful eyes swept appreciatively over his position, her voice understanding. “Don’t take Kelly’s behavior to heart. Her bluntness comes naturally. Creatures of that colossal scale are natural counters for any tank below Third Tier.”

“I understand.” The knot of humiliation in Stark’s chest eased slightly, although a bitter helplessness remained. He clenched his fist until it whitened. “But still… it’s frustrating. To be a shield yet forced to hide behind ranged fighters as backup… it’s a blow.”

“Well played, well played, aren’t we all just backup this time?” Robin sighed, her gaze shifting towards another corner of Dwarf Plaza. “This fight rests entirely on the strength of those two Elf Princes and those four Elf Rangers. It’s ironic… being protectors who now rely on those they were meant to protect. Word of this spreads? We’ll be the laughingstock of every Apostle.”

…

“No! Won’t! Not listening!” Iristin slapped her hands over her ears, shaking her head wildly. “I want to fight too! If that Kelly’s out there confronting the Salamander head-on, why do you think I’m weaker than her?!”

“You lack Battle Qi Wings. Your speed and agility aren’t sufficient… you won’t match the Salamander’s pace.” Qin Lun forced his tone to stay patient. “Dwarf Plaza is spacey, yes, but we’re inside a mountain peak. Airflow is restricted. The currents won’t support your Eagle form fully.”

“Then I’ll transform into a Gale Panther! A wind-touched beast…” Iristin pouted obstinately. Ever since her tribe safely relocated to Ank Forest, casting off their heavy burdens, this Elven Druid had steadily evolved… down a path of spoiled, impetuous petulance.

“A giant Eagle can still dive and aim for its vulnerabilities. A Gale Panther? What would you do besides scratch that monster’s itch?” Qin Lun looked at Iristin with a mixture of disbelief and weariness.

“Don’t care…”

“Alright, behave!” Qin Lun rubbed his temples, a headache forming. His eyes flickered thoughtfully before a thought struck. “You might not be able to fight that Salamander face to face… but you are irreplaceable for my sake.”

“Really?” Iristin’s pointed ears twitched as she lifted her head cautiously from her hands. A flicker of hope surged behind her doubts. “You aren’t tricking me now?”

“Would I lie?” Qin Lun’s answering smile was smooth, his voice gentle. “That Salamander possesses considerable intelligence. If it charges directly at me, Milleras, or any of the others mid-fight, only your speed might offer a lifeline. Remember last time? You lost yourself fighting then. Left me gravely wounded. This time… won’t you stay to guard me?”

“Well… alright,” Iristin finally sighed as she slumped, her defiance draining away like air from a punctured ball.

Qin Lun suddenly felt a shift. His head snapped towards the tunnel entrance. Small, squat figures stumbled wildly out into the plaza, staggering before finally collapsing by the edge of the central fountain, utterly drained.

“It’s those Dwarfs! They actually survived?” Iristin wiped the playful smile from her face. Rising cautiously from their hiding spot, she scanned Dwarf Plaza with sharpened attention.

“Attention everyone! It’s coming!” Robin’s warning rang out sharply across both teams’ temporary shared Team Channel.

BOOM! Her voice hadn’t even faded when violent explosions erupted from the tunnel’s interior. A thick plume of dust and smoke, mixed with a violent spray of shattered rock, burst violently from the opening.

A slim, petite figure shot through the choking haze with lightning speed. Hot on its heels, trailing silver radiance so intense it seemed physical, tore a colossal streak of blinding light! The sheer force of its emergence split the dust cloud wide open behind it. This was no creature emerging – it was a thundering train erupting from darkness!

«Volume 8 Chapter 44: Silver Shadow in the Mountain Fortress

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Volume 2 Chapter 31: Combat Model »