Sting.
A slight sting ca from above his chest.
The Forbidden Old Man's staff pierced his skin, but perhaps due to the lack of strength in that skinny arm, the stab could go no further.
What the, isn't this totally harmless?
As this thought erged in Gapar's mind, his arm automatically reacted, slapping the staff away.
His brain was also racing at this mont, generating various ideas for dealing with the Forbidden Old Man, like trying the Highmore Hamr magic since blades couldn't reach him.
All these actions and thoughts were completed in an instant, just as a Magic Wand suddenly appeared in his hand, and the magical outline of the Highmore Hamr erged on the wand—
"!!!"
An unusual feeling abruptly emanated from his chest.
The muscle mory developed over years of combat allowed him to automatically respond to various attacks without conscious control. He wanted to take action in this split second.
However, his body couldn't move, not even a finger.
It was at this mont that Gapar suddenly realized the Forbidden Old Man's staff was still poking at his chest, as if it had never moved, but he clearly felt the sensation of having slapped it away.
That was no longer the point; the point was that he had been controlled by the enemy!
If this were a ga, players would probably shout that the Forbidden Old Man's move was a "throwing technique."
In this world, the throwing techniques in gas no longer had the chanism to forcibly restrict an adventurer's movents, so most of them beca no different from ordinary moves. But the Forbidden Old Man's throwing technique was different; it inherently possessed the ability to restrict movent.
Or rather, the person caught by it didn't have ti to react.
"It's burning!"
A vision of yellow flas appeared before Gapar's eyes; he had seen this before—it was the Mad Fire!
When Luluwo was doing the Mad Fire live stream, he was curious and took a peek. The result was a headache from spiritual contamination, and he was too embarrassed to see a doctor, missing the distribution of moss dicine throughout the city that treated the effects of the Mad Fire, forcing him to endure it alone.
It was that bitter experience that left a lasting impression of the Mad Fire on him!
Mad Fire? Does this monster have sothing to do with Mad Fire?
Various thoughts flashed through Gapar's mind, but gradually these thoughts beca incredibly chaotic.
His vision was burning with Mad Fire, and the world seen through it beca surreal and blurred. Multiple scenes of the Forbidden Old Man appeared in his eyes; so were cut down with a slash, so were slapped away, so were attacking him, and the forest scene beca bizarre and kaleidoscopic.
[Going Mad]!
Gapar's current ntal state was the precursor to madness caused by the Mad Fire!
The Forbidden Old Man's staff possessed the power to transmit Mad Fire, and at this mont, piercing his chest, he was already infected by that ominous fla!
At so point, he realized the scene he saw was no longer the true reality.
And after this brief disorientation, the most common reaction of madness ensued:
"Argh!"
Gapar closed his eyes and scread in pain, yellow flas trickling from the corners of his eyes!
Then, darkness enveloped his vision.
He didn't know how long it had been when he slowly regained consciousness, finding himself back in the place he was before encountering the Forbidden Old Man.
The Mad Fire on his body had inexplicably vanished, and the madness was gone, leaving him only with a throbbing headache.
"What was that guy's deal..."
Recalling the earlier encounter, Gapar took a deep breath, sowhat bewildered.
The Mad Fire, once it clings to you, is a hundred tis more painful than being chewed up by Belle.
That Forbidden Old Man was terrifying; no wonder the surroundings were filled with grasses perfect for hiding.
But just before losing consciousness, he saw beyond the Forbidden Old Man's back in the distant forest, a familiar golden light.
It was the mark of a blessing!
"As long as I can reach that place..."
The appearance of the blessing helped him overco the shadow cast by the Forbidden Old Man, skillfully sneaking into the grass and keeping a close eye on the Forbidden Old Man's figure, seizing the opportunity to move when the opponent wasn't paying attention.
At first, the patches of grass were large, but they beca fewer and smaller as he went on, sotis requiring a sprint to reach the next patch.
And wandering between these patches of grass were countless Forbidden Old n!
Even with his strength, he had to continuously monitor the movents of these monsters, waiting for the perfect mont to dash out of the grass.
"Are these bizarre monsters also mass-produced?" Gapar was riddled with questions, increasingly unable to understand Sain.
The more crucial issue was that while dodging between the grass patches, he frequently encountered warnings that appeared at his feet.
[Don't let them find you][Beware of their eyes][They're everywhere]
At first, these warnings didn't seem significant, but as he saw more, his brain gradually regarded them as important.
Unknowingly, the fairly strong Gapar beca as cautious as soone living through a horror film, fully absorbed by the atmosphere of Valley Bottom Forest.
Just as he was caught up in the atmosphere but hadn't yet felt afraid, he darted into a patch of grass.
"Jingle jingle!"
The sound of bells echoed throughout the Valley Bottom!
He suddenly realized this patch of grass was entwined with a string of bells.
His heart stopped.
This was the most fitting phrase to describe Gapar's current state of mind.
Suddenly confronted with the bells amidst the oppressive atmosphere of Valley Bottom Forest, his old heart ca to an abrupt halt!
Finally, he truly felt fear!
Most importantly, the Forbidden Old n beside him all heard the bell's sound.
One, two, three, four... the number of monsters attracted can't even be counted!
"Which bastard hung the bell here!"
Seeing the blessing not far away, Gapar took a desperate leap out of the bushes, with the Forbidden Old n flashing behind him simultaneously to grab him.
This is a life and death race!
The loser has to eat dirt!
————————————
Imperial Capital.
The long night finally passed.
People looked up at the sky, and the first ray of dawn broke through the night, shining onto the ruins.
Until this mont, people finally felt alive, realizing that both the Demon Dragon's assault and their respected Magic Master Younka's sudden turmoil were in the past.
Now all that's left for the locals is this big ss waiting to be cleaned up.
Perhaps because the first half of the night was spent in fear and the latter half in disaster relief, everyone felt exhausted, and realizing the Sun was about to rise, a wave of fatigue swept over them, causing groups of people to collapse onto the ground, resting for the first ti since the chaos began.
Only the Dragon Clan, soldiers, and so resilient non-human races continued to work, but frankly, everyone's spirit was drained.
"General Uffie, the evacuees have been moved out, and the damaged buildings on this street can be demolished."
"General Uffie, there was a conflict among the affected people, but we have persuaded them to stop."
"General Uffie..."
As a general of the Warrior Country, though only in title, Uffie was still too busy to leave, with a myriad of post-disaster problems waiting for her to handle.
She looked up at the still brilliantly golden Golden Tree.
Thankfully, thankfully the Sain Dungeon planted a Golden Tree here, the healing it provided made the Imperial Capital host only the dead or healthy normal people, with no injured present.
The continuous healing allowed those trapped under houses, barely surviving combat, or drained of spiritual power to persist until rescue arrived.
Uffie organized her n to rescue people, and each ti a living person was found, it bolstered their morale.
However one looked at it, the resolution of this incident was all thanks to Sain Dungeon.
"Isn't this exactly what happened in Red..."
She recalled her experience in Red, and when looking at the Golden Tree her eyes softened.
"Sain Dungeon, you might as well change your na to Savior Dungeon, so gentle."
She hadn't been sighing for long when her subordinate suddenly reported:
"General, there's news about the Sword Saint!"
"Where?"
While dealing with disaster relief, Uffie had been searching for Gapar's whereabouts, but in vain.
"Soone witnessed the Sword Saint being taken into the Sain Dungeon by the Demon Dragon!"
"What!?"
Upon hearing this news, Uffie's face contorted as she shouted:
"Taken into the terrifying Sain Dungeon, that's bad, very ominous!"
Watching Uffie anxiously pacing in circles, the soldier who ca to report had a twitch at the corner of his mouth and thought:
I think I just heard you say Sain was gentle, now it's terrifying...
After a short while, Uffie hurried to the vicinity of the Teleportation Gate, knowing well that even if she ca here she might not find Gapar, but her heart wouldn't be at peace without a look.
What surprised her was Abel and the others lingering here too, seemingly finished with their disaster relief duties, quickly coming to wait at the Teleportation Gate.
A man and a dragon exchanged a look.
They confird with their eyes that both had family swept into the Sain Dungeon.
"Make sure to co back safely..." Standing before the Teleportation Gate, Uffie closed her eyes and prayed silently.
At this mont, the Teleportation Gate rippled, and suddenly a hand erged from it, grabbing her calf with a jolt!
Along with it ca a low, nearly inaudible voice akin to a demon's whisper from beyond the gate.
"Ah, is Sain still rampaging, the monsters are coming out!" Uffie was startled, fiercely kicking out.
"Wait, Uffie, it's !"
The familiar voice stopped her mid-kick, and then a familiar head popped out.
It was Gapar.
Uffie was dumbfounded.
Not only because of his sudden appearance and not quite as imagined look, but also because Gapar seed a bit off.
"Dad, are you a bit bald now?"
She dumbly pointed at Gapar's slightly reduced hair and asked.
"This..."
Gapar rubbed his hair, maintaining his prone posture, weakly saying:
"This is the cost of crawling back from Hell..."
"Why am I always the unlucky one..."
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