Chapter 223: The Continuous Attacks

"Block it, Neva! Then use Spear of Light to impale them all!!"

Bang!!

A huge torrent of water stopped just a metre away from Raiden’s face as a screen of light appeared in its path.

In the next second, a few metres-long spears completely made out of blinding light materialised in the air before falling down at a speed faster than I could track.

Boom!!

Boom!!

Boom!!!

In the next second, Neva pinned three assailants who attacked her to the ground as they fell unconscious.

"No!! How dare you?!! You will pay for this, I swear!!" A young boy, full of hatred, ran out from the distance as a boy with brown hair glared at him while cradling his companion, who seemed half dead.

Raiden ignored his words as he calmly kept moving forward.

This place was so big, yet somehow all the opponents seemed to have a kind of radar that took them straight to their group as Raiden fought off one wave after another.

So these kinds of threats he had heard about a hundred times by now.

"Sha!!~" Neva waved her limbs in a carefree manner as she was perched on top of Raiden’s head.

She too had gotten practised in dispatching enemies with just one attack that managed to incapacitate them while still preserving their life.

That move was really not easy to pull, as she had to practise a little bit on Woolie, who kept judging the powers of her attacks.

Both Aria and Theodore walked behind Raiden like a number of people as they followed him.

They had gotten a little surprised after facing one wave of enemy after another, but as the time went on, their emotions turned into numbness.

They had been sitting ready to fight back but hadn’t gotten a chance to show off at all throughout the day.

"Hey Theo, how far are we from the finishing ground? We had been walking for all day long." Raiden asked.

"What?? Finishing grounds??" Theodore felt confused.

"You know what I mean, right? The endpoint, the goal, whatever. How close are we to it? I feel tired already." Raiden stifled a yawn as he spoke.

"We are actually one-third of the way in by now. Still have two thirds to go, but that’s fine. The competition lasts for seven days. We have a lot of time." Theodore pulled out his compass thing again before he spoke.

"I don’t think we need to waste seven days here. As soon as the sun goes down, let’s rest for a while. Then we’ll finish this competition by tomorrow. With the rate we are progressing and moving forward, it is completely doable. Thank you!! You guys are the best!!"

Aria spoke in a cheerful tone as she raised her hands in celebration.

A smile appeared on both guys’ faces as they looked at her childlike demeanour. Despite suffering so much, she still had so much positivity. Raiden couldn’t help but feel infected by it.

"All right, let’s push on for one final stretch before we stop for some rest. Follow me!!" Raiden spoke in a passionate tone as he walked forward, encountering another guy whose Terra Beast appeared behind him with two daggers in his hands.

"Sha!!" Without waiting for instructions from Raiden, Neva moved as a sword of light directly appeared in the path of this Terra Beast.

Bang!!

The two daggers clashed with the light sword as sparks started flying off before another one appeared on the side and impaled a third Terra Beast through its stomach.

The Terra Beast let out a pained screech as it collapsed onto the forest floor, its dagger clattering uselessly beside it. Its owner, a lanky young man with sharp eyes, immediately dropped to his knees beside it, checking for any fatal wounds with trembling hands.

"Relax, it’s just unconscious. My girl knows how to hold back." Raiden called out casually, not even bothering to slow his pace as he walked past the fallen duo.

"How... How are you people even human?? We trained our entire lives for this trial!! Why is there such a big difference..." The young man muttered, disbelief written all over his face as he watched Raiden’s group continue forward without a single scratch on them.

Neva perched proudly on Raiden’s head, her tiny limbs waving triumphantly as she surveyed the fallen enemy behind them.

"Sha Sha!!" That’s 98th for me today!! Am I doing a good job, Rai Rai~??

"You’re doing great, Neva. Keep it up." Raiden replied absentmindedly, reaching up to pat her gently, causing the little spider to practically vibrate with happiness on top of his head.

"We are going way too fast. We’ll end up breaking a record or something."

"Well, we’ve got places to be. Can’t spend a whole week camping in some spooky forest when there’s wool sales to worry about back home. The sooner we get this over with, the better." Raiden replied with a shrug, completely unbothered by the historical significance of what they were accomplishing.

The sun had begun dipping lower on the horizon, painting the sky in deep shades of orange and red, and Raiden finally decided it was time to call it a day.

"Alright, this looks like a good spot. Let’s set up camp here for the night." He announced, gesturing toward a small clearing surrounded by thick trees that offered decent cover from the wind.

Theodore nodded in agreement, already pulling a compact tent kit from his storage ring, while Raiden began gathering loose stones to form a small fire pit in the centre of the clearing.

Woolie, finally free from Raiden’s arms after being benched for most of the day, immediately began prancing around the campsite, sniffing at every tree and rock like an overexcited puppy exploring new territory.

"Woolie Woo!!" This spot smells weird. Very weird indeed.ℯℯ𝑙.

"Weird how?" Raiden asked, glancing over as he helped Theodore stake down the tent’s corners.

"Woolie Woo Woolie!!" I don’t know...but someone strong was here!!

Raiden paused for a moment, his instincts prickling slightly at Woolie’s words, but he brushed it off, figuring the jungle was probably full of all kinds of wild Terra Beasts roaming freely without any human interference to keep them in check.

Once the tents were set up and a small fire crackled cheerfully in the centre of the clearing, the group settled down for a well-deserved rest, exhaustion finally catching up to even Theodore’s usually composed demeanour.

"We made incredible progress today. If we keep this pace, we should reach the final guardian sometime tomorrow evening." Theodore said, poking at the fire with a stick, his voice carrying quiet satisfaction despite the day’s chaos.

Aria nodded, though her eyes lingered on the fire a little longer than necessary, clearly still processing everything that had happened since setting foot in this realm.

Raiden leaned back against a fallen log, Rose curling comfortably in his lap while Neva dozed lightly on his shoulder, both of them worn out from their earlier battles.

Just as the last light of the setting sun disappeared beyond the horizon, a low, guttural growl rumbled somewhere deep within the surrounding treeline, distant but unmistakably present.

Every head in the camp snapped toward the darkness at once.

Woolie’s ears flattened instantly, his earlier playful demeanour vanishing entirely as a low, warning growl rumbled from his own throat in response.

"Everyone, stay alert," Theodore said quietly as he looked at his surroundings warily.

Something was out there, watching them from beyond the flickering firelight, and whatever it was, it didn’t sound anywhere close to friendly.