Chapter 209: Encountering Zerev in the Cave, Caught Red-Handed During a Jailbreak

Chapter 209: Chapter 209: Encountering Zerev in the Cave, Caught Red-Handed During a Jailbreak

Not a single ray of light pierced the gloom of the karst cave. Ophelia took out the flashlight she had bought earlier from the System Space.

A white beam of light flickered on, illuminating the path ahead. However, she had only walked a short distance when the sound of footsteps echoed from behind her.

Sensing danger, Ophelia quickly hid inside her Farm Space. Since the Farm Space had been upgraded, she could now see the outside world even while safely tucked inside. When she caught sight of a familiar face, a look of pleasant surprise washed over her. It was Zerev.

Without a second thought, she emerged directly from the System Space and hurried toward him.

Hearing the commotion behind him, Zerev spun around and raised a hand, instantly gripping the newcomer by the neck. His grip was incredibly strong, immediately causing Ophelia’s face to flush red from the lack of air.

"Zerev," Ophelia managed to choke out with great difficulty.

Zerev froze slightly, his grip loosening a fraction. Regaining some of her strength, Ophelia quickly turned on the flashlight. The white light illuminated her face for him to see.

"Ophelia?" Zerev hurriedly let go, checking her for injuries with evident concern.

"I’m fine." Seeing his worry, Ophelia shook her head.

"Why are you here?"

"This is nonsense!" Zerev’s expression darkened as he lowered his voice. "It’s so dangerous here. How could you come all by yourself without Tyler and the others?"

Seeing that Zerev was about to scold her further, Ophelia quickly stopped him. "Now isn’t the time for this. I only came because Dan’er sensed that Kohen was injured. Let’s hurry up and find him."

Hearing that Kohen was hurt, Zerev dropped the issue regarding Tyler and Klein. He grabbed Ophelia’s hand and led her deeper into the cave.

The further they went, the narrower the cave became, until it could only accommodate one person at a time. Fortunately, they didn’t run into anyone else along the way. Ophelia and Zerev lightened their footsteps and finally reached the deepest part of the cave.

As soon as they approached, they heard the sharp CRACK of a whip lashing through the air, accompanied by a young female’s shrill voice.

"Damn it, you really are the little beast that Zerev had with some low-grade female from the outside! It’s because of your mother that my brother was killed! Your mother deserves to die, and so do you!" Sophie glared at Kohen on the ground, her eyes bloodshot and her teeth clenched in pure hatred.

The animal skin clothes on Kohen’s body were torn beyond recognition, and several brutal whip marks marred his exposed skin.

"Little beast, if you beg me, I’ll let you off. Otherwise, until the day you die, I will come here every single day to torture you. I just wonder how many days that frail little body of yours can last." Making no attempt to hide her malice, Sophie cracked her whip viciously against the ground.

Kohen’s body trembled instinctively, but even when the whip had fallen on him earlier, he hadn’t begged for mercy once.

"Quite the backbone for a little beast! I want to see just how long you can hold out!" With that, Sophie raised the whip again and slashed it toward Kohen.

At this moment, a male standing beside her spoke up to stop her. "Princess, you can’t hit him anymore. If you keep beating him, I won’t be able to explain this to the Family Head."

"He’s just a little beast. If he dies, he dies. What’s there to explain?" Sophie stared at Kohen’s face, which closely resembled Zerev’s, her heart bubbling with overwhelming jealousy and bitterness.

"But the Family Head hasn’t permitted him to die yet," the Fire Phoenix Male said anxiously.

Hearing the male’s words, Sophie shot a vicious glare at Kohen on the ground before turning on her heel and storming off.

Hearing their approaching footsteps, Ophelia quickly pulled Zerev into the System Space.

"Father!" Wendy cheered as she saw Zerev appear in the System Space. "Father, I finally get to see you! I missed you so much!" She ran over excitedly, hugging his leg and acting affectionately.

Looking at his sweet and obedient daughter, Zerev’s heart warmed. He bent down and scooped her into his arms.

Dan’er watched Wendy with a look of envy. Catching Ophelia’s meaningful glance, Zerev reached out with his large hand and scooped Dan’er into his embrace as well.

"I heard it was you who helped Ophelia find this place." Zerev looked at the son in his arms, his face full of pride.

Dan’er nodded, his cheeks flushing red.

"Good job," Zerev praised, gently bumping his forehead against Dan’er’s.

While father and son interacted, Ophelia kept a close watch on the movements outside the space. She saw a slightly plump female and a male walk past their hiding spot. The female had long, fiery red hair and an exceptionally stocky build, with facial features bearing a slight resemblance to Brada. If it weren’t for the distinct characteristics of her chest, Ophelia really wouldn’t have been able to tell that she was female.

Only after the two figures had left did Ophelia bring Zerev out of the space.

Deep inside the cave stood a small wooden door. It was tightly bound with thick vines, making it impossible to open from the inside. Peering through the cracks, Ophelia saw Kohen lying on the ground, covered in blood. Her eyes instantly welled up with tears.

"Kohen! Kohen!" Ophelia called out loudly.

Inside, Kohen thought he was hallucinating. The agonizing pain wracking his entire body made it impossible for him to even open his eyes. He could only twitch his fingers slightly in response.

Ophelia frantically tried to saw through the vines with the dagger in her hand, but the more panicked she became, the slower her progress.

"Let me." Zerev stepped up and directly kicked the wooden door open.

Ophelia rushed in and pulled Kohen into her arms. Disregarding everything else, she quickly took out some golden sore medicine and a White Cloud Life-saving Pill, pressing them into Kohen’s mouth.

But Kohen was already unable to swallow on his own, leaving Ophelia so anxious that tears began to stream down her face. The robust Zerev swiftly dislocated Kohen’s jaw, pushed the pill directly down his throat, and helped him swallow it. Seeing the Life-saving Pill successfully ingested, Ophelia finally managed to steady her racing heart. With trembling hands, she began bandaging Kohen’s wounds.

"Ophelia, we need to leave immediately. We can finish bandaging him once we’re out of here," Zerev urged.

"Okay."

Ophelia carefully placed Kohen into the System Space, then followed Zerev as they made their way out of the cave. However, the moment they stepped outside, they were tightly surrounded by a group of Fire Phoenix Males.

The Fire Phoenix Family Master emerged from the crowd. "Zerev, after waiting for so many days, I’ve finally caught you." Shifting her gaze to the woman standing beside him, she continued, "And you must be Ophelia. You’re the one who killed my son." She had to admit that this female was indeed beautiful, but that didn’t give her the right to seduce Zerev and cause the death of her son.

"Zerev, Ophelia, if the two of you slit your own throats right here in front of me, I might consider sparing Ten Thousand Beasts City and the Fuzu Tribe," she threatened.

The Fire Phoenix Family Master already knew that Ophelia had rallied the Golden Dragon Clan and the White Tiger Clan, and that even Moye, the City Lord of Ten Thousand Beasts City, was backing her. With such a massive threat looming, there was no way she would ever actually spare Ten Thousand Beasts City. Moreover, she fully intended to use Zerev’s transgression as an excuse to demand Ten Thousand Beasts City from the Winged Dragon Clan. Since her son had died in Ten Thousand Beasts City, she would make everyone in that city pay for his death with their lives.

"Impossible!" Ophelia declared. "Even if you die, I won’t!"

With that, she pulled the trigger on her wrist, and three Crossbow Arrows flew in unison straight at the Fire Phoenix Family Master.

The Fire Phoenix Family Master’s face changed drastically. Fortunately, the young male beside her reacted first, swiftly pulling her behind him. One Crossbow Arrow grazed the male’s arm, while another embedded itself deeply into his shoulder.

"Let’s go!" Seeing that the attention of all the Fire Phoenix Clan members had shifted to their Family Master, Zerev shifted into his beast form, grabbed Ophelia, and soared into the sky.

Watching the two silhouettes disappearing into the distance, the Fire Phoenix Family Master gnashed her teeth. "After them!"