Chapter 48 FORTY-EIGHT

Chapter 48: Chapter FORTY-EIGHT

The situation inside the rift can be said to be chaotic.

The last few hours are like crossing a deserted street only to get hit by a meteorite from out of space.

First, they almost plummeted to their deaths– stepped right off a cliff and almost died. Then they ran into a Nikura and Rong Yizhan can’t be bothered to lift a finger.

Like that isn’t enough, they run into a herd and Xin Linhua decides that it’s the perfect moment for them to ’train’. He left them to the mercy of the Nikuras.

Uphill, he’s trying to teach the Aeromancers a new ’technique’. Despite his demonstrations and explanation, they can only grab one tenth of his words.

"I give up on you two." He throws his hands into the air dramatically.

"It’s not that you’re not teaching us well, but we can’t grasp it properly." The female Aeromancer says dejectedly.

"It’s hard for us to understand without a visual demonstration." The male backs up her words.

"Forget it. Try not to die. When we get back, I’ll make an animation as a demonstration."

"Okay!" Their moods lift up again.

Xin Linhua waves it off. His gaze drifts back to the chaos below.

Okay, maybe asking them to fight a 6v5 was a little bit cruel. Yeah...Definitely not a nice thing to do.

Despite two Pyromancers going up against one Nikura, it still feels like they’re the ones who are outnumbered.

Naka has a gash in his abdomen and Gao Shi is bleeding from his shoulders. Blood stains their pale skin.

"Maybe we should–"

"No." Rong Yizhan flat out rejects him.

"You didn’t even let me finish!"

"I know what you want to say. The answer is no. Don’t even think about it."

"You little deviant!" Xin Linhua grits his teeth "They can’t hold out for much longer. Do you want to see them dead?"

"They can." Rong Yizhan says "They’ve lost a lot of blood, but they’ll survive."

Xin Linhua wants to kick him. Maybe throw a punch. Or two. Or just stab him. But he can’t. Instead, he turns to the bloody scene below.

The Geomancers are still able to hold their ground. The Pyromancers are injured and bloodied and the Hydromancers are in between. Superficial wounds, but the blood trailing down their arm says otherwise.

"Gan and Rong Yufei." Rong Yizhan suddenly says "They’re too stiff."

"Says the one standing on the sidelines." Xin Linhua retorts.

"No. I mean, the Nikuras they’re fighting are about to die."

"What?"

Xin Linhua’s head snaps back to the fight. Right on cue–

The first Nikura falls, blood gushing out of the left side of its neck. A shrapnel made out of earth is lodged in the right side of its neck. Another one is buried deep in between its eyebrows. The large creature lets out a loud cry, its large body collides with the earth beneath it.

The second Nikura follows. The large beast has thoroughly been dissected by Rong Yufei.

The youth heaves slightly, sweat slides down her pale skin. She had made a bold move, taking the hit head on just to close in on her opponent. Her neck, down to her shoulders, has a deep burn mark.

Without taking a moment to breathe, they charge in again, each backs up a Hydromancer. Despite the injuries and fatigue, the determination to survive burns in their veins.

One after another, the Nikuras fall. Their large body causes a slight tremor as they breathe their last, a hazy puff of smoke curls out of their noses.

The four turn in the direction of the remaining Nikura. They swallow down the pain and ache in their limbs, moving towards the direction of the beast.

"Don’t!" Gao Shi suddenly snaps at them.

The four skid to a stop. Their heartbeats echo in their ears.

"Are you crazy!?" A Hydromancer yells "Now is not the time to play ’hero’ unless you’re desperate to die!"

"Don’t intervene." Gao Shi’s tone changes "I won’t be responsible for what I do."

"You fucking bastard!" The other Hydromancer yells.

"Leave him be." Hirano calmly steps back.

"Seriously!?"

"Yes. Let him do as he pleases. If he wins, congratulations. If he dies, we’ll do him the favor of bringing back his body."

The Hydromancers hesitates. Gao Shi may be an asshole, but he’s still a teammate. They can’t just watch him die. But since Hirano won’t intervene and Rong Yufei seems to agree with his words, they both step back as well.

Up above, the frown on Xin Linhua faces vanishes. A smile slowly creeps up his lips. His eyes are glued to Gao Shi’s movements.

"Ah...if he wasn’t a mad man, I’d have taught him a few more techniques." He chuckles softly "I gave him a hint and he expanded it into a killing move. Mad man."

" His actions are dangerous." Rong Yizhan deadpans "But efficient. There’s a high chance of him dying, but he takes risks."

"Yes..."

A sudden screech rips through the bloody canyon.

The Nikura...explodes!

One minute, it’s screeching out fire and painting the whole Canyon, red. The next minute, its large body explodes...from within.

It suddenly swells, the faint red fire that burns underneath its skin suddenly brightens. The shade switches so fast, the body explodes. Its own fire becomes its very downfall.

"Holy shit!" Xin Linhua exclaims "Damn, Gao bastard!"

If he weren’t constantly trying to murder or cause the downfall of his teammates, he’d be a great teammate.

"Woah..." Rong Yufei stares with wide eyes "That’s..."

"I know..." Hirano blinks.

"He’s strong." A Hydromancer mutters "I’m afraid that’s a disadvantage to us..."

The Hydromancer’s words strike something in them.

He’s right. Gao Shi is the last person one should trust. One minute he’s fighting alongside you, the next minute, you’re fighting against him. He switches so fast, they find it hard to keep up.

"No matter how strong he is, if he attacks any one of us, don’t hesitate to take him down." Hirano’s gaze turns dark "One dead teammate is better than seven."

"Seven...?" Rong Yufei frowns.

"You seriously think he’ll be able to win against Phantom?" Hirano raises an eyebrow "He’ll be dead before he even gets to touch Xin Linhua."

"Yeah, makes sense."