บท 17: Saline

Chapter 17 – Saline

"Commander!"

The soldiers cried out when they saw Crystal fell from the sky. A few of them halted from their tracks. Three soldiers at the back even rushed back to catch her. However, they just took a couple of steps when an invisible chain bounded their legs, they could no longer move.

"Get Back!"

An angry shout sounded from the frontline of the fleeing army. The three hurriedly turned around and saw a woman wearing a bloodstained armor with a bow on her hand.

"Captain Saline!" The three respectfully said.

"All of you, continue running! I'll be the one saving the commander." She said in a grim manner.

Without waiting for the soldiers' reply, she moved pass them like a bolt of lightning streaking through the sky. Wind coalesced around her figure as she sprints towards Crystal.

Seeing her action, the three realized that they were so impulsive. With their strength, even if they managed to catch Crystal, they wouldn't be able to escape the wrath of the giant golem. They were just Tier 1 combatants. If even their Tier 2 commander was defeated after taking a strengthening potion, how could they save her with their little strength.

"Hopefully, Captain Saline with her Tier 2 strength could save the commander." They silently prayed as they resumed fleeing.

"Sighs~ How could things turn this way." Saline murmured to herself. She didn't expect that their commander would be defeated so easily. Now, someone must save her. Fortunately, due to her agility as a Magic Archer, she was in a slightly better condition compared to the other Tier 2 combatants of the army. If it was her, the probability of saving Crystal would be a bit higher.

While running, Saline nocked an arrow on her bow. A small magic circle appeared at the tip of the arrow.

"Floating Spell! Wind Wings!"

In but an instant, the arrow hit Crystal. It pierced though her armor. However, instead of wounding her, the arrow just barely touched Crystal's skin. As she fell, the air around her started forming a phantom of two translucent green wings. The instant those wings materialized; Crystal's speed of fall slowed considerably.

"ROAR!" The ground shook. The giant golem recovered and started moving towards Crystal. It reached out its gigantic hand, preparing to squeeze the defenseless Crystal into pieces.

"NO!" Saline shouted. She was still a distance away from her commander. Even if she increased her speed, the giant golem would still be the first one to reach Crystal.

"Wind Shackles!" Saline quickly muttered a short incantation and shoot an arrow. It moved at high speed, traveling into the air before hitting the golems chest.

Instantly, transparent chains sprouted from the giant golem's chest. Then those wind chains rustled into the air before binding the golem's two hands.

Saline started muttering another incantation. Before long, a magic circle appeared on the arrow she was holding. Unlike the reinforced spell she casted earlier, this spell was a Tier higher and couldn't be casted instantaneously.

Gusts of wind surrounded Saline. She loaded the arrow on the bow, "Dance of the Wind Goddess!"

The arrow was released from the bowstring. Instantly, violent gusts of the wind enveloped Saline and together with the arrow, she flew towards Crystal at a terrifyingly fast speed. In a blink of an eye, Saline appeared in front of Crystal. She reached out her hand, preparing to catch Crystal. However, to her horror, the giant golem sent out a punch, towards her trajectory. Making it impossible to dodge the attack.

"No!" Saline exclaimed in fear. Saline's expression twisted; she was at lost what to do. She didn't expect the giant golem to react in such a way. The giant golem managed to free itself from the wind shackles much faster than her calculated.

Time seemed to slow down as Saline watched the gigantic fist moving towards her. She knew that once she collided with that fist, she would instantly die. But alas! She could no longer halt her tracks. The moment the arrow was released from the bowstring, it was destined to travel in a linear trajectory.

The fist and her were about to collide when suddenly,

Saline's entire vision darkened. A screen of gaseous ink appeared in front of her. Then she saw a stunning scene.

From that screen of light materialized a huge inky hand, about half the size of the giant golem's hand. The hand was clenched into a fist and in a smooth motion, it punched towards the giant's fist.

With a deafening boom, an enormous shockwave spread from the place. Dozens of trees were uprooted while Saline and Crystal were thrown to the side. Clouds of dust covered the place.

"Splurtts!" Saline vomited a mouthful of blood. She was wounded and was having a hard time breathing.

"Clank!" She removed her helmet and started gasping for air. As she breathes, her long purple hair swayed and some fell into the ground. She was in a very sorry state. She could've fared better but since she needed to protect the wounded Crystal, she wasn't able to properly protect herself from the shockwave.

Recovering, she hurriedly inspected Crystal in her arms. Crystal's armors have numerous cracks on it. Her originally smooth and tender skin was now akin to an old woman's hand. Full of wrinkles and loose.

"Sighs~ Fortunately, she's still alive." Saline said as she wipes the blood on her luscious lips. Then as though recalling something, Saline hurriedly looked up.

"This… What is that?"

Disbelief was written all over her jade-like face. Shock was evident on her pair of phoenix-like eyes.

Standing in front of the giant golem was a towering figure. Its body was composed purely of solid black substance. One of the figure's arms was broken; inky blood was dripping out from it. Miraculously, the broken part had turned into a liquid and was swirling, twisting, and coiling. In a blink of an eye, that broken arm was repaired and returned into its solid state. However, this wasn't the thing that shocked Saline. Instead, it was the giant golem.

The originally mighty and titanic golem, who defeated their commander with just a punch was now in a miserable state. The hand it punched earlier had disappeared, scraps of metals were blown out from its face and chest.

Suddenly, the black figure moved forward and in a straight fluid motion, punched the giant golem's head.

"Boom!"

Dust filled the air as dozens of trees were uprooted from the ground. Saline, stared with mouth agape as the giant golem was beaten into pieces. Its regenerative ability couldn't sustain the damage it took. Eventually, the giant golem was broken into pieces. Leaving behind hundreds of shimmering orange gemstones in the air.

The black figure collected the gemstones. Afterwards, it turned around and bent down.

"You… What do you want?" Saline asked in a trembling tone. She didn't expect that after defeating the giant golem, the monstrous creature would turn towards her. It even bent down.

As she stared at it, Saline realized that the figure has a blurry face. It has nose, ears, mouth, and so on but it was covered by a black fog.

Without replying, the figure picked her up. Then she felt someone hitting the back of her neck, she lost consciousness.