Chapter 216: Chapter 107: Senior, How Long Are You Going to Hold Me?
’Their plan was a series of interlocking schemes... The Scout harassment, the solo provocation, the feint, the taunts to split our forces, and finally, this fatal move to destroy the bridge!’
’That kid... that Necromancer named Lynch...’
’His strategic depth is simply terrifying!’
’He was almost certain that the simple-minded, reckless Scarface Craig and his two hundred-plus men... were finished!’
「Meanwhile.」
Scarface Craig was leading his two hundred-plus men, galloping wildly as they frantically pursued Catherine, who flickered in and out of sight up ahead.
"Faster! Don’t let that broad get away! Capture her alive! She’s a noble—worth a fortune!" Scarface roared excitedly, as if he could already see riches and women waving at him.
Catherine seemed to be fleeing in a panic, not caring where she was going. She spurred her horse out of a birch forest and onto a pebble beach by a lake. Surrounded by water on three sides, there was almost nowhere left to run.
"Hahaha, the heavens are on my side! Let’s see where you run now!" Overjoyed, Craig immediately ordered his men to fan out and encircle her, completely trapping Catherine at the edge of the beach.
Over two hundred men against one person—it was a sure thing no matter how you looked at it.
However, just as Scarface was closing in with a vicious grin, ready to savor the look of terror and despair on his prey’s face, he suddenly noticed someone else standing in the shadows near the water, just behind and to the side of Catherine.
The sky was now almost completely dark; he couldn’t believe he hadn’t noticed before.
It was a figure in a black Mage Robe, their face mostly hidden by a large hood. They were holding an oddly shaped Magic Staff.
"Hm? An accomplice? A Mage?" Scarface paused for a moment, then spat disdainfully. "Pah! What difference does one more or less make? We’ll just grab him too! Let’s go, boys! Be careful not to kill the woman~"
Convinced that victory was in his grasp, Scarface was feeling exceptionally proud and confident.
On the beach, Lynch watched the two hundred-plus enemies surging toward them, his eyes betraying no emotion. He spoke to Catherine in a calm, flat tone, "Alright, hold me tight. Quickly."
"Huh!?"
Although this was part of the plan they had discussed, hearing those words so suddenly still made Catherine’s face flush.
She gritted her teeth and whipped her warhorse hard on its rump, letting the startled animal shriek as it charged into the lake.
At the same time, she twisted at her waist, pushed off with her feet, and timed it perfectly to launch herself toward Lynch. She threw her arms around him and held on tight.
Lynch felt a sudden weight press down on him. His body swayed, and he nearly lost his footing.
Catherine had a tall, powerful build to begin with, and with all her gear on, she was by no means light.
Fortunately, Lynch was already strong and well-built, and his physical attributes had improved somewhat after advancing to Tier Two, so he just barely managed to take the weight.
Still, he said irritably, "I told you to hold me tight, not hang on me... What kind of position is this!?"
Catherine looked down and realized that in her haste, she had thrown her arms around Lynch’s neck while her legs... had instinctively wrapped around his waist. She was clinging to him just like a koala.
Her face grew even redder. She muttered under her breath, "Wh-who’s the one who wasn’t being clear..."
She was just about to unwrap her legs and adjust her position when—
"Forget it, forget it! There’s no time! This will have to do!" Lynch said, his voice laced with annoyance.
He tightened his left arm around Catherine’s waist while his right hand quickly channeled Mana into the *Raven’s Whisper* Magic Staff.
The next moment.
The "Void Obsidian" gems in the eyes of the raven atop the staff suddenly flared with light.
A ripple of spatial energy spread out from the two of them.
"Get them!"
Sensing something was wrong, Scarface Craig roared and charged toward them even faster.
However, just as the foremost thugs were about to pounce on them...
Lynch and Catherine’s figures, along with the spatial ripples, vanished into thin air.
The next instant.
About seventy to eighty meters away from the beach, out on Mirror Lake, space distorted slightly. The two of them abruptly reappeared on Lake Heart Island, a small isle that broke the water’s surface.
The island wasn’t large. The part above water was about twenty to thirty meters long and only five or six meters wide, covered in slippery moss and pebbles.
During the rainy season, when the water level rose, the island would be completely submerged.
But for now, it served as the perfect, temporary foothold.
Seeing this, Scarface Craig and his two hundred-plus men all froze on the beach.
Dumbfounded, they stared at the empty air in front of them, then back at the two people who had suddenly appeared on Lake Heart Island seventy or eighty meters away.
Just now...
What happened?
How did they suddenly get so far away?
After a moment of stunned silence, a jolt went through Scarface. He suddenly snapped back to his senses. "Damn it, we’ve walked into a trap!"
’That Mage was already waiting here, so this must have been premeditated! This is a trap!’
In an instant, he felt an icy chill shoot up the back of his neck, making his scalp prickle with fear.
Meanwhile, on Lake Heart Island, Lynch gently patted Catherine, who was still clinging to him in a daze, and said politely,
"Catherine, pardon me for asking, but how much longer do you plan on holding on to me?"
...
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