“Young Master, watch out!”
Mei, standing nearby, yanked Mann away as a poisonous arrow embedded itself into the rear wall of the carriage.
The arrow’s position was exactly where it had been in the Divine Revelation.
“Young Master, I’ll hold them off! You…”
Mann looked at Mei, her face tense, and felt a whirlwind of emotions.
So it really was the same the second time around.
Even though she was scared herself, she still threw herself in front of him.
But this time, I won’t let you face it alone! “I’m with you!”
Mann grabbed Mei’s hand, his gaze unwavering.
“I’m… tired of running away!”
Almost simultaneously, more poisoned arrows shattered the windows and flew in.
Once the hail of arrows ceased, a burly man in a black robe wielding a massive axe charged toward the carriage at full speed.
With a loud roar, he brought the axe down with all his might, cleaving the entire carriage in two.
But aside from a dense cluster of poisoned arrows, the carriage was completely empty.
“How is this poss…”
Before he could finish the word, the man felt something strange about his perspective.
An intense pain shot through his neck, and then his vision began to spin.
The spinning stopped quickly, and in front of him stood a maid holding a dagger.
Blood was still dripping from the blade.
What happened?
How is the carriage empty?
Where’s the other person?
Where did she come from?
Something’s wrong… I have to…
The man strained with all his might, but could only manage a faint twitch of his lips.
The scene before him began to blur, and soon, he lost consciousness completely.
The members of the Heretic God Sect facing Mei were all taken aback.
They had only seen the girl suddenly appear beside the man, and in one fluid motion, her dagger had slit his throat.
And most importantly, their target, Mann Matthews, had vanished!
Could it be that a whole group of them had watched him and he still managed to escape?
“Send the signal! Call the nearby ones…”
Before the Heretic God Sect leader could finish, a poisoned arrow pierced straight into his back.
“You were standing on the path the carriage took, weren’t you?”
Dozens of Heretic God Sect members turned around simultaneously to see Mann holding a crossbow.
“Move! Mei! Don’t give them a chance to call for reinforcements!”
As he gave the order, several more arrows flew into the crowd.
With Mei’s sudden attack, the entire Heretic God Sect fell into chaos, blood flying everywhere.
Seeing this, Mann finally let out a sigh of relief.
His legs gave way, and he collapsed to the ground.
Beads of sweat kept forming on his forehead.
Nearly half his mana had been drained in an instant; just staying conscious was a struggle.
“Using a skill to move someone else along with myself is still too draining… I can’t use Time Manipulation again for a while.”
“At least the surprise attack worked. But…”
The Heretic God Sect member who had killed him in the Divine Revelation still hadn’t shown up.
He was the real problem.
The pressure he felt was like facing a monster that could swallow him whole.
“…At the very least, I need to prepare something before he gets here!”
As Mann was thinking, he felt the air around him grow increasingly hot.
The familiar pressure made him feel like he was sitting on pins and needles.
“He’s here already?” Realizing the danger, he immediately shouted to the maid: “Get out of here! Mei!”
The moment he finished speaking, countless sparks appeared in the air.
In an instant, a massive pillar of fire shot up into the sky.
“Young Master Mann!…”
Mei called out in panic, while Mann’s eyes were already stinging and dry from the heat.
Then, a soft hand grabbed him and pulled him out of the searing wave.
Regaining his senses, Mann realized he was now outside the spell’s range.
“He didn’t even hesitate to kill his own comrades…”
Looking at the still-burning sea of fire before him, Mann drew in a sharp breath.
“You… I’m glad you’re safe, Young Master Mann.”
Mei spoke weakly.
Mann turned to look at her pale face.
Her right arm and half her shoulder were burned, hanging limp.
Her once-refined maid uniform was tattered, making her look utterly haggard.
He didn’t need to think twice to know this foolish girl had shielded him with everything she had.
“Hold on, Mei. I’ll heal you!”
Mann took Mei’s hand, and the next instant, the two of them appeared abruptly beside the shattered carriage.
Mei’s injuries were completely healed, but Mann’s condition was dire. In the blink of an eye, several strands of his hair had turned white, and even his skin showed faint wrinkles.
Feeling his own exhaustion, Mann knew this was the side effect of excessive mana release, as described in the original novel. He just hadn’t expected it to be this severe.
“Young Master Mann, are… are you alright?”
“No time for that. He’s already got us in his sights!”
… The master and servant fell silent simultaneously, bracing themselves as if facing a great enemy.
The faint sound of clapping came from a distance, and a barely visible black figure slowly emerged from the sea of fire.
“As expected of a Divine Emissary. Your perception of mana is on a completely different level from ordinary people.”
With the man’s appearance, an overwhelming pressure of mana washed over them like a tsunami.
Mei could barely hold her ground, but Mann, who had already expended too much energy, was starting to feel suffocated.
“First, a pleasure to meet you. I am Wus Criteas. Torso of the Heretic God Sect.”
He slowly pulled back his hood, revealing a face that was both familiar and utterly terrifying.
Several scars ran across his face. Even though he had no eyes, Mann still felt as though he was being stared at intensely.
His empty eye sockets and missing lower jaw were enough to send chills down anyone’s spine.
After speaking, Wus placed his right hand over his chest and bowed deeply to Mann.
“So I formally invite you, Lord Mann Matthews, to lay down your life for our great cause!”
“I’m sure a Divine Emissary and a descendant of heroes like you will make the perfect sacrifice! Hahahaha!”
As he finished, the surrounding mana began to churn violently.
“Mei, be ready to retreat at any moment,” Mann whispered to the maid, fighting off his intense discomfort.
I need to stall for as much time as possible, even though I doubt this madman can be reasoned with…
“You said your name is Wus, right? Wouldn’t it be disrespectful to make a sacrifice without even knowing your god’s name?”
“Heh, an interesting way of putting it. But I have no obligation to reveal my Lord’s name.”
As Wus spoke, the sea of fire behind him abruptly extinguished, and the surrounding mana bizarrely surged.
“Get out of here! Mei!”
In the blink of an eye, countless ice spikes erupted from the ground, indiscriminately destroying everything around them.
Just as an ice spike was about to hit Mann, Mei grabbed his hand and flung him away.
She barely managed to defend herself, but was finally sent flying backward by a massive ice pillar.
Mei stood up again, trembling all over.
“You’re quite something, little girl. But what’s the point of all this? Lord Mann has been marked by my mana. The Heretic God Sect can find him anytime. And his mana…”
“Shut up!”
Mei glared at her enemy, her pupils gradually turning blood-red.
“Oh? The flow of your mana has changed. That’s a rare sight.”
Wus said casually as he slowly walked toward Mei.
“As long as I kill you, everything will be settled!”
“Heh, seems the god you believe in is your master. Let me see, then! Let me see what difference it makes when a believer turns into a beast.”