Chapter 598: Bear and Man
"Just you wait, I'll remember this." Cyrus Watson spat the words out, but even as he cursed, it couldn't mask the unease gnawing at him. As Oracis drew closer, a chill settled deep in his heart—a cold certainty that he was doomed.
It's over. Everything is truly over. Without the Crystal of Peace, there's no way he could escape Oracis.
But just then, Leon charged over, urgency etched into every movement.
Immediately, Leon commanded the Sky Rank Golem to protect Cyrus Watson.
In an instant, the Sky Rank Golem unleashed a torrent of spells on the spot, forming a flood of magic that crashed toward the charging Oracis.
At the moment the Sky Rank Golem erupted, black mist swirled around Oracis. Its two heads—one of ice, one of fire—had their flesh torn in strips, causing Oracis to cry out in pain. Then, with a furious roar, a demonic aura surged forth, locking onto the Sky Rank Golem.
Now, Oracis had no time to bother with Cyrus Watson. Its three heads, six eyes, all gleaming with a sickly green light, glared at the Sky Rank Golem and howled in rage.
"You?" Cyrus Watson's eyes widened. He could imagine countless possibilities, but never did he think that his savior would be Leon Merlin!
Then Cyrus Watson froze, even forgetting that now was the best chance to escape Oracis.
Leon shot him an impatient look. "Are you fucking kidding me? Why are you still here? Waiting for Oracis to make you its dinner?"
Cyrus Watson snapped out of his daze, as if doused with cold water. Only then did he realize the gravity of his mistake.
Cyrus Watson cast Leon a look filled with complicated emotions. Then, without hesitation, he sped away from Oracis, following Leon toward the edge of the forest.
Soon, everyone burst out of the forest. For reasons unknown, Oracis didn’t continue the chase. Strangely, just when Leon thought they might finally be safe, he realized the Black Tower members had been scattered…
That meant, for now, only Leon’s group and a few from the Watson Family remained together.
It must have been chaos during the escape; the Black Tower people must’ve gotten separated from them. And Mark Watson from the Watson Family was nowhere to be seen, either. Not that it mattered—Leon couldn’t care less.
Cyrus Watson’s face was a mask of iron. He hadn’t uttered a word the entire way, his mind tormented by one question: Why would Archmage Felton do something so vile…?
Leon walked up to Cyrus Watson, a faint smile on his lips. He could see the confusion in this Level Eight Titled Magus’s eyes—Cyrus still hadn’t wrapped his head around what had just happened. "Ever heard the story about meeting a bear in the woods?" Leon asked.
"Huh?" Cyrus Watson stared, baffled. Why would Leon Merlin suddenly bring that up?
Seeing Cyrus Watson’s confusion, Leon sighed and tried to explain as plainly as possible: "It’s simple. One day, two people go hunting together. On the way, they run into a bear. Of course, they have to run for their lives. The bear’s much faster than they are. One of them, gasping for breath, finally stops and says to the other, ‘Don’t bother running, it’s useless. No matter how fast we go, we can’t outrun the bear.’ Want to guess how the other person replies?"
"How did he reply?"
The other man said, "I don’t need to outrun the bear, just outrun you…"
...
So that’s all there was to it—simple logic. Yet after hearing it, Cyrus Watson truly didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.
...
Leon led the way up front, with the Dragonblood Orc and Frost Dragon Reina beside him. Behind them, three members of the Watson Family hurried to keep up.
All along the way, Oracis’s presence lingered—sometimes palpable, sometimes faint. No one dared stop. It took everything they had to finally shake off Oracis. If it caught up again, all their previous effort would be wasted…
Only when they entered a vast canyon did Oracis’s aura finally vanish completely.
At last, everyone could truly breathe a sigh of relief…
But immediately after, their eyes fell upon the canyon before them.
From a distance, the canyon’s rim looked as if it had been carved by knives and axes. As their gaze moved downward, all they saw was a vast, barren wasteland.
Yes, barren…
This canyon was unimaginably desolate, as if they’d stumbled into some forsaken wilderness—bleak and dry. There was almost no source of water.
Even a deep breath wasn’t pure air—it was mixed with grit and sand.
Of course, there were other factors too—like the Venomscale Lizards lurking in every corner of the canyon. These creatures were far from weak; each one was at least level thirty.
Each Venomscale Lizard sported a horn sharper than any sword, and green scales covered their hides—proof of their potent venom. They lay hidden in the yellow sand, unmoving. But make no mistake: if anyone trespassed on their territory, they wouldn’t stay so quiet.
There were simply too many Venomscale Lizards. To get through here, they’d inevitably clash with them…
If they had a choice, no one would willingly enter such a place. But there was no other way—the only path forward lay through here.
Before venturing in, Leon had everyone rest briefly outside the canyon. They’d expended too much energy earlier and needed time to recover…
But just then, Cyrus Watson’s expression suddenly twisted in pain.
“Ugh…”
His heart pounded wildly, as if it might burst. Yes, burst—this pain was sudden and intense, so sharp that even Cyrus Watson, a powerful scion of the Watson Family, turned pale in an instant.
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It was only then that Cyrus Watson realized he’d suffered a serious injury.
But when had he been hurt?
Could it have happened during the battle with Oracis?
Right, when Felton sabotaged him, there was a moment the Crystal of Peace lost its effect, and he’d been struck directly by Oracis’s flames. Looking back now, it must have been then…
"Cyrus, are you alright?" Reid Watson had just noticed, and hurried over, worry etched across his face.
"I’m fine." Cyrus Watson took a deep breath, forcing the pain in his body down.
He knew he couldn’t let anyone know he was injured—not now.
He had to endure it, for there weren’t just Reid Watson and the others here—there was also the Dragonblood Orc, the Frost Dragon, and Leon Merlin…
He had to hold on, or he’d lose the ability to lead the Watson Family and face the Merlins.
It was hard to imagine—if he lost the power of a Titled Magus, how would the Merlins treat the Watson Family…
"Well, at least Oracis’s foul aura is gone. The great Lord Hubert lives to see another day." The Dragonblood Orc, Hubert, finally relaxed. Ever since they’d encountered Oracis, the timid Hubert hadn’t let his guard down for a second.
Now, it seemed they were finally safe…
Frost Dragon Reina’s blood guaranteed she had the strongest self-healing abilities. In just a short time, the wounds she’d suffered from Oracis had almost completely healed.
Right now, she stood beside Leon, her long silver-white hair draping down to her waist, her wild beauty accentuated by her curving, powerful form.
"What do we do next?"
"First, we get through here." Only now did Leon let out a relieved smile as he surveyed the canyon. But his brow quickly furrowed again: "It’s obvious—it won’t be easy to pass through."
"Yeah." Reina nodded, but before she could say more, a sharp, buzzing sound filled the air.
It wasn’t the wind—the wind was far gentler. In an instant, Reina seemed to understand…
And then, the Dragonblood Orc’s terrified voice rang out: "Leon, it’s bad—those damn Venomscale Lizards are coming our way."
Truth be told, no warning was needed—Leon had already seen them, and so had the Watson Family.
There were dozens of Venomscale Lizards, bursting from the sand and whipping up a storm of yellow dust, charging madly toward the newly arrived group.
Anthus and Reid Watson’s faces changed at the same time. After fighting Oracis, their magic and stamina were almost spent; now, their reserves were dangerously low.
Normally, this would be the time to rest and recover. But the sudden attack by the Venomscale Lizards shattered those plans.
Now things were about to get messy…
"Why aren’t those damn Venomscale Lizards staying put in the canyon? Why come out and stir up trouble now?" Reid Watson’s face twisted with frustration as he cursed, but he’d already raised his staff—there was no choice, he couldn’t just stand by and watch them charge.
On the other side, Anthus hefted his greatsword. His expression was even grimmer than Reid Watson’s. Venomscale Lizards were not only born poisonous, but also possessed powerful magic. In their prime, fighting them would be simple enough, but now, not one of them—including Anthus—was at full strength…
So, relying on their own strength to face the Venomscale Lizards would be difficult. After all, it wasn’t just one or two—they were up against dozens.
"We’ll go together." Leon frowned, knowing this was no time to hold back. On the Merlin Family’s side, both Hubert and Reina—even the Sky Rank Golem—were severely depleted.
But just then, a voice rang out…
"Wait, I alone am enough to deal with the Venomscale Lizards." Suddenly, Cyrus Watson spoke up, his expression more serious than ever before.