The bone-chilling cold ocean water swept over his entire body, waves of cold relentlessly assaulting Ewen’s body. No matter how he didn’t want to admit it, he was old. His physical strength and reaction speed were not what they were in his youth.
In his youth, he could swim for hours in a storm, but now, just trying to catch up to Cinderella nearly exhausted all of Ewen’s energy.
Ewen’s agile figure moved beneath the water, passing through a car door to reach the next carriage. Due to the previous torrents, the following carriages were severely flooded, and the door of the last carriage was completely subrged by seawater.
The thick water blocked the light, and all Ewen could see was a murky darkness. He faintly heard the sobbing of a girl.
Ewen surfaced from the water, the sound beca clearer, and then he saw Cinderella bobbing up and down in the rapids. She repeatedly called for help yet couldn’t prevent herself from sinking deeper.
"Hold on!"
Ewen called out, t only with indecipherable sobs. Cinderella clung to the door fra, desperately tilting her head back to avoid fully sinking.
Once more diving into the water, Ewen swam quickly, aided by the current, rapidly approaching Cinderella, then grabbed her.
"Got you!"
Ewen struggled to lift Cinderella, ensuring her body rose above the water surface. Cinderella nodded vigorously, her cheeks pallid from the cold, her body trembling uncontrollably.
Fumbling at his waist, he drew out his dagger, embedding its tip into the iron, climbing upstream bit by bit. This was a good turn; Ewen had rescued Cinderella and they hadn’t strayed far. A few more carriages and they could return to the board ga carriage, continuing the unfinished ga.
Cinderella lay on Ewen’s back, panting heavily, "God, I almost thought I was a goner!"
"Don’t worry, you’re not going to die."
Ewen advanced while comforting the girl, "I promised you all, I’ll get you out of this damn place!"
Ewen remained steadfast about his promise, Cinderella responded, "You surprisingly keep your word!"
"Keeping promises is a good virtue, it’s part of nobility."
Ewen modestly accepted Cinderella’s praise, his expression growing more serious. Now was not the ti for joy.
"Did you hear that?"
Suddenly, Cinderella’s voice softened, she bent down beside Ewen’s ear and spoke cautiously.
"Hear what?"
Ewen’s expression changed abruptly as soon as he finished speaking; he heard it. Ahead, a continuous sound of scraping extended, dense and loud in such a manner that it instantly reminded Ewen of sinister snake groups, numbering in the hundreds.
Palr’s screams ca from the nearby carriage ahead; it seed soone was standing in for Ewen already. For a mont, Ewen didn’t know how to tackle the situation.
Ewen shouted tensely, "Climb up, ride on my shoulders!"
"Oh oh!"
Cinderella deftly hopped onto Ewen’s shoulders, crouching like a monkey, holding onto Ewen’s head to avoid losing her balance.
"Here cos the wave!"
Cinderella noticed a surge of waves rolling from the carriage ahead. Ewen shook his head upon seeing this, "No... That’s not just a wave."
As the wave drew closer, Cinderella saw clearly what the so-called wave was, her cheeks lost color, turning paper-white.
Countless silver pythons swept by the current, their massive jaws opened, lunging at Ewen. Sensing these perilous threats, Ewen had Cinderella perched on him.
At the mont before the snakes attacked, Ewen struggled to stand upright, keeping Cinderella as far from the water’s surface as possible.
A familiar sensation swept over Ewen, reminding him of the ti on the train when he fought against the Demon.
In the face of similar crises, with Cinderella by his side, he still doubted himself.
If not for his stubborn pursuit, perhaps others wouldn’t be caught in this ga. Ewen felt apologetic, hence he couldn’t let anyone get hurt. He had to ensure others could escape.
"Ewen!"
Cinderella cried out. She wanted to help Ewen but didn’t know how. If she jumped down, it’d only increase the danger, yet she couldn’t just watch Ewen being overwheld by the snakes.
"It’s fine."
Ewen waved his hand, comforting the girl, and in the next mont, the snakes clung to Ewen like dense vines. If not for the dagger embedded into the nearby iron, the impact would have almost knocked Ewen off his feet.
Excruciating pain surged like waves, the pythons repeatedly biting Ewen’s body, their fangs piercing flesh, trying to tear away chunks of warm flesh. Cinderella attempted to remove the pythons, but they continued climbing up incessantly.
They coiled around limbs, bit through skin, acting like carrion maggots intent on devouring Ewen’s body. Cinderella didn’t dare imagine the state of Ewen’s body beneath the water; he might be fleshless, leaving only bones.
"No no no!"
Cinderella swung the dagger, python bodies shattered into pieces, coloring the water red. Before the remains sank, other snakes cleaned them up.
Nurous silver-white snake bodies churned endlessly beneath the water, and around Ewen, the water surface boiled entirely. Ewen ignored the pain and wounds, each step difficult but resolutely steady, stepping forward.
"It’s fine," Ewen said, "We’ll be fine."
Tears welled in Cinderella’s eyes. She could discern Ewen’s weak voice, seemingly trying to assure her completely. Ewen continued, "Check the rulebook. Before all of you die, I won’t die."
Cinderella paused montarily, imdiately flipping through the wet rulebook, finding the Minstrel’s character setup.
"Only when all hunters are dead does the Minstrel get injured."
Cinderella excitedly looked at Ewen below, who returned a reluctant yet confident smile.
"Even though it hurts... but I can’t die yet."
While in the grand library, Ewen noticed sothing peculiar about his body; he felt pain but had no visible wounds. Regarding this immortality chanism, he lacked confidence, but now he was personally testing it.
Seeing Ewen not dying for the ti being, the anxiety in Cinderella’s heart finally eased. Nothing could be better, as she swung the dagger harder, trying to cut down these endless snake groups as much as possible for Ewen.
Leaving behind a crimson trail, Ewen advanced against the current. As he led Cinderella back to the board ga carriage, the rising seawater finally ceased, accompanied by Palr’s cheers, the water level rapidly decreased, and most of the snake group escaped from around Ewen with the retreating flow.
Ewen heard Bologue’s cry, lifted Cinderella with one hand, and then threw her upward forcefully.
"Your turn!"
Cinderella easily sailed past the snakes along the way. As the ga board rose from the water, she deftly landed on it, kicking aside the obstructing pythons, crouching down to take the card she should have from Bai Ou’s hand.
Cold words appeared before her, Bai Ou bore a strange smile, and crimson arms took Cinderella’s card, letting it disperse as black smoke.
"Event Card: Full Speed Ahead!"
The Dawn’s speed surged suddenly, along with the massive influx of seawater, the rapids’ speed markedly increased, almost making Ewen lose his balance, nearly tumbling back into the previous carriage.
"Hold tight, everyone!"
Bologue stabbed his long sword into the iron, steadying himself. Palr clutched Hart’s body, colliding again against the wall, Hart’s heavy body crushing Palr’s chest, almost causing him to cough blood.
Cinderella slipped in the violent shaking, again swept by the current, but this ti Ewen grabbed her.
"It’s fine!"
Ewen shouted at Cinderella, pulling her from the torrent, Cinderella grasped Ewen’s arm nimbly like a cat.
Cinderella loudly responded, "I know!"
The turbulent water repeatedly flushed over them, sweeping the shouting snake groups towards the dark car tail.
User Comments
0 comments from readers