Mithra was still lost in thought.
No, she was contemplating.
But the other person had already seen her.
He was sitting there alone, leaning against a tree in the open area at the tunnel entrance. He wasn't hiding at all. He was very visible.
"There's still a guard? That place behind is the tunnel! It seems this town really has secrets. Alright!" Nie Hong grinned happily, accelerating his pace. He didn't seem worried that there was a horde of people chasing him.
Mithra thought for a moment and slowly stood up, lifting her stone sledgehammer.
Unexpectedly, her standing-up action immediately caused a reaction from the other party.
Nie Hong leaped into the air while running, spreading his arms like a great bird unfurling its wings.
A strange red energy suddenly appeared out of nowhere and enveloped Mithra.
What was that?
Mithra felt her senses being stimulated. This familiar feeling...
Ki!
Her body was immobilized by the red energy.
Nie Hong quickly threw three small, slender throwing knives. Red energy clung to the knives, and they flew towards Mithra's chest with unusual speed.
With a loud thud, his large figure landed on the ground. Nie Hong passed Mithra smoothly, casually saying, "Done."
["Immobilize": One of the basic Ki miracles. It guides the internal circulation of Ki to activate the dormant Ki outside the body, thereby restraining living beings.]
["Control Object": One of the basic Ki miracles. It uses internal Ki to control external objects, and it's even easier to use on inanimate objects.]
[—Control objects with Ki, making them your own.]
Nie Hong turned around and reached out to retrieve his throwing knives, but then he heard several tearing sounds as the three knives flew back towards him with sharp force.
He hadn't retrieved them. They had been thrown back!
"Damn it!"
Despite the distance, he managed to use Control Object, and the red energy stopped the knives a few inches from his face.
But it wasn't over. Mithra had somehow gotten up from the ground. With swift movements, she closed the distance between them, and her sweeping sledgehammer roared towards him.
Bang!
Nie Hong was sent flying backward and crashed to the ground, wincing in pain.
Seeing the red energy dissipate from Nie Hong, and noting that despite a direct hit, he wasn't severely injured, Mithra didn't pay much attention. She calmly picked up the throwing knives he couldn't retrieve.
["Protection": A Ki miracle. It uses Ki to block external objects, neutralizing or severing external connections.]
Nie Hong's expression finally turned serious. He stood up and looked at Mithra. "Elite anomaly guard? I clearly hit her, but she wasn't injured..."
Then, he saw Mithra neatly placing the three throwing knives on her shoulders before continuing to approach him.
Nie Hong felt something was wrong. This person wasn't just an ordinary lunatic. After some consideration, he turned and ran into the tunnel.
Mithra watched his back, not pursuing him but turning to look behind her.
Several figures approached, mostly the ragged townspeople. There were also a few people wearing coats similar to the believer she had encountered earlier. The purple eye patterns were striking, seemingly their mark.
They arrived and looked at Mithra with uncertainty.
"Who is she?" one believer asked, confused.
Another believer thought for a moment, then said, "Didn't we hear that something strange happened in the mines, that a dangerous cursed creature appeared?"
"She doesn't look like a cursed creature, but..." The two believers looked at Mithra casually manipulating the throwing knives stuck in her shoulders, hesitating to speak.
But she certainly wasn't an ordinary person.
"One of our people went to investigate earlier and died here. It was probably this thing that attacked him. We didn't send anyone else to investigate. That person who snuck in from the Enchanting Land probably went into the tunnel, using this thing to stop us," a believer said grimly.
Mithra stared at them for a moment, then approached. She activated Ignite with her left hand, attaching it to the hammer.
The hammer ignited, the wind blew through her hair, and the flames flickered.
The townspeople were startled and retreated. Only the two believers remained in position.
Mithra faced them for a moment.
In an instant, all three simultaneously activated Reinforce Body and charged at each other.
...
Nie Hong was lost in the tunnels.
He had been fiddling with the flashlight at the tunnel entrance for a long time and was starting to feel dizzy. The Gross tunnels were inherently complex, and the entrance was incredibly confusing.
"The guard didn't follow me. She must have gotten into a fight with the townspeople and believers. Good, good," Nie Hong scratched his head.
Even though he was fearless, that thing should have died after being pierced by his throwing knives. Yet, it suddenly got back up and attacked violently.
If he hadn't reacted quickly, no matter where the hammer had hit him, he would have been injured. A hit to the head would have been fatal.
"That thing must have been a human-like monster. I was too careless," Nie Hong reflected on his actions. He suddenly spotted a light in the distance, and his eyes lit up.
He quickly dashed towards the light. "Looks like I've found my way in!"
But very quickly, he froze.
He had arrived at the pile of corpses.
A large number of corpses were piled up. The stench of decay and burning mingled together. The few scattered flames offered no warmth, making Nie Hong feel like he had fallen into an ice cave.
Suddenly, slow footsteps came from behind him.
He turned around.
Mithra, her hair disheveled, walked calmly towards him. Her handsome face was covered in dust, but her pitch-black, unlit eyes still stood out. Something seemed to be swirling within them.
Something was thrown from Mithra's hand, rolling towards Nie Hong.
Nie Hong looked down.
A human head...
Two human heads were like smashed fruits, charred and mangled. The fact that they still vaguely retained their shape was fortunate.
Nie Hong reacted quickly. They were the two believers from the town who had been chasing him earlier.
They had caught up! While he was lost, the guard had dealt with the pursuers and then tracked him down!
He took a deep breath, focused his senses, and braced himself. He forced himself to remain calm and not panic.
This was something he would inevitably encounter sooner or later in Dreamland. He couldn't be intimidated by such a trivial matter!
Mithra activated Reinforce Body with her left hand, then positioned herself with her legs spread, her left hand gently brushing against her legs to apply Reinforce Body to the correct points.
Bang!
Leaving a footprint on the ground, Mithra launched her attack.
A red light immediately enveloped Nie Hong, and several throwing knives were manipulated from within his clothing to fly towards Mithra.
Mithra quickly sidestepped halfway through her charge, the first volley of knives missing their mark. Nie Hong adjusted the nearby knives to pursue Mithra while simultaneously throwing new knives.
But Mithra sidestepped again. Her figure was almost ghostly, dodging several times before disappearing from Nie Hong's sight.
He quickly turned, only to find himself enveloped by the shadow of the sledgehammer.
He had kept Protection activated, and now it blocked the blow.
He wanted to use the opponent's momentum to increase the distance!
Nie Hong expected this, but he found that the opponent's hammer had deviated slightly, lacking the force he had expected. It brushed lightly against his Protection.
Nie Hong broke into a sweat and had to expend more sense power to maintain Protection.
Mithra moved with surprising lightness, striking rapidly with the hammer. She hit Nie Hong from head to toe, with varying degrees of force. But none of the blows gave Nie Hong the chance to increase his distance as he had hoped.
However, he didn't dare to relax. The feedback from Protection told him that even though the blows weren't as powerful as the previous sweeping strike, they were still beyond his capabilities.
While defending, he quickly extended a finger.
The throwing knives behind Mithra swiftly flew back.
Unexpectedly, Mithra lightly spun, dodging the knives, which returned to Nie Hong's hand. Mithra then swung her hammer, striking the hand that had just caught the knives.
Protection and Control Object were conflicting, and Nie Hong was completely off guard!
"Aaah!"
Nie Hong cried out in pain.
He felt the bones in his hand shatter!
It wasn't over. Mithra swiftly moved in for a low sweep. Nie Hong, incapacitated by the pain, lost his balance and fell to the ground.
Mithra quickly brought the sledgehammer down on Nie Hong, without mercy.
Nie Hong reacted instantly, rolling on the ground, his hat falling off, but managing to dodge several blows.
"There's still a chance! Still a chance! I just need to use that move!" Nie Hong screamed frantically in his mind, raising both hands to his chest, a red energy swirling within.
Mithra's pursuit suddenly slowed.
Seizing this opportunity, Nie Hong, who had been rolling on the ground, suddenly spun, extending a hand towards Mithra. A pattern of "a central flame spreading outwards in waves" flashed in his hand.
A Ki pattern!
Swish!
However...
The instant he extended his hand, he was pierced by a throwing knife, pinned to the ground. The swirling Faith Totem vanished instantly.
"Aaah!" Nie Hong screamed again.
One of the three throwing knives Mithra had stuck in her shoulder was missing.
Nie Hong tried to pull out the knife, but Mithra stepped on his chest.
"Enchanting Land?"
Only then did Mithra calmly speak.
Nie Hong looked at her in horror, his body trembling. He didn't say anything.
"How many lives do you have left?" Mithra continued to ask.
Nie Hong, his consciousness blurring with pain, blurted out, "Two!"
"That's good."
With that, Mithra mercilessly brought the hammer down on Nie Hong's head.
Bang!