Chapter 42: The Escape of the Water-Spraying Warlock
Chapter 42: Chapter 42: The Escape of the Water-Spraying Warlock
The moment Medusa stepped out of the woods, she spotted Wang Xi and Pinocchio. She whirled around to "look" at them.
SWISH—
Wang Xi immediately looked down.
He fixed his gaze downward, focusing inward.
A little voice in his head started muttering, ’Wang Xi, oh, Wang Xi. You’ve navigated countless minefields before. Don’t lose your cool now.’
But...
’She’s so huge.’
"Whoa! She has an eye on each breast!"
Just then, Pinocchio exclaimed in surprise from beside him.
Hm?
Wang Xi was stunned.
He glanced over at Pinocchio to find the boy’s face filled with wide-eyed wonder. He was staring, completely captivated, at the beautiful Snake Woman.
’Dude, how are you not affected?’
On second thought.
’Pinocchio is made of tin, so it’s perfectly logical that he’s immune to the Petrification Curse from making eye contact.’
’But telling me not to look while you get to hog the view all to yourself... that’s just not cool, man...’
’I want to look too!’
"Gai! Gai!"
Pinocchio, face alight with excitement, nudged Wang Xi with his elbow.
"I’ve never seen such a magnificent woman in the Clockwork Kingdom! No, wait, I’ve never seen one here in the Stag Kingdom either! It’s incredible!"
"You..."
Wang Xi was on the verge of cursing.
’Can you please just fucking stop talking? I’m begging you.’
The little voice in his head was going crazy. He feigned disdain and said:
"Don’t be so impressed. In the far east, there’s a war god who had his head lopped off. His eyes are on his chest, and he even has a mouth for a belly button!"
"Wow!" Pinocchio gasped, whipping his head around to look at Wang Xi. "That’s amazing? Gai, you know so much!"
At that moment, Medusa roared in a hoarse voice brimming with hatred and fury:
"Damned humans!!"
Medusa’s furious roar immediately drew the attention of Arachne, the Textile Witch.
The pale Spider Woman turned her head. Upon seeing the two black-haired men, her expression twisted into a ferocious, loathsome snarl as she shrieked:
"Humans! You’re the ones who killed my children!"
Wang Xi’s eyelid twitched.
’Come on, fight! Why did you stop fighting?’
’How am I supposed to scavenge the spoils if you don’t fight?!’
The two Banshees seemed to harbor a profound hatred for humans. Upon seeing him and Pinocchio, they came to a silent agreement, ceasing their battle to face a common foe.
Wang Xi’s mind raced as he calculated their combat strengths.
’If I go all out, I should be able to stall the Three-Star Elite Spider Woman. Pinocchio is immune to the Petrification Curse, which makes him the perfect counter to the Snake Woman. Plus, his card rating is a notch higher than hers.’
’Once Pinocchio defeats the Snake Woman, he can come back and help me...’
’The advantage is mine!’
"Pinocchio, I’m leaving Medusa to you!"
Wang Xi said in a low voice, his gaze still fixed on the ground.
The handsome youth gave a brilliant smile.
"No problem, Gai!"
With that, he raised his right arm, aiming his open palm at Medusa. He gripped his right wrist with his left hand, treating his arm like a weapon.
"Dawn Roar—"
Pinocchio closed one eye to aim and roared.
BANG!!
There was a loud bang.
The boy’s palm sprayed out a shower of colorful hard candies, clattering down like a Fairy scattering blossoms.
A cloyingly sweet fragrance filled the air, leaving both Wang Xi and Pinocchio stunned.
ZZZT...
Pinocchio’s arm shot out sparks and electric arcs, as if it had malfunctioned. Sticky syrup trickled from the dark opening in his palm.
"S-sorry, Gai. That cunning Sugar Witch seems to have cast a despicable spell on me."
Pinocchio said with a bitter expression, turning his head.
"I’m done for—"
Before he could finish his sentence.
BANG!!
A huge boulder, coalesced from mud and shattered stone, came flying and sent Pinocchio flying.
Immediately, Wang Xi turned and ran without looking back.
He couldn’t blame Pinocchio for failing at such a critical moment; who could have predicted an accident like this? The plan had changed. All he could do now was try his best to escape the two Banshees.
Wang Xi bolted a dozen meters, grabbing the dazed Pinocchio who had crashed awkwardly to the ground and pulling him up.
"Run!" he said simply.
Thankfully, Pinocchio was made of tin—incredibly durable. Despite being hit by such a massive boulder, he was completely unharmed. He just got up and started running.
"Humans—"
A cold shriek came from behind.
Wang Xi didn’t dare look back, only glancing out of the corner of his eye.
A white and a green figure were approaching at astonishing speed. Medusa raised a hand to cast a spell, and the ground rumbled and shook.
Immediately, earth and stone floated up on their own, coalescing into a giant hand taller than a man, which came crashing down on Wang Xi and Pinocchio!
’A knock-off Five Elements Mountain?!’
’And I’m not the Monkey King!’
Wang Xi’s heart tightened.
He took a deep breath and immediately flung a hand back.
—「Water Blade」「Water Arrow」—
With a flick of his hand, four or five Flying Knives made of water screamed through the air, striking the base of the giant stone hand’s middle finger. CRACKLE! SPLAT! Mud flew everywhere.
A spindle-shaped Arrow of water followed right after, the final straw that broke the camel’s back. It pierced clean through the base of the finger.
PFFT!!
The waist-thick stone middle finger broke off in mid-air, detached from the palm, and went spinning backward.
Then with a RUMBLE, the giant palm slammed down.
Wang Xi seized the opportunity, grabbing Pinocchio and diving... They landed perfectly in the gap left by the missing middle finger. As the palm slammed down, the ground trembled with a deafening thud, but they were completely unscathed.
The two quickly scrambled up and scurried away.
"Gai, thanks—"
Pinocchio, covered in dust and dirt, grinned.
Wang Xi shot him a look. ’This guy is unbelievably carefree,’ he thought, before reminding him in a low voice:
"Don’t talk, just run!"
SWOOSH—
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the pale Spider Woman’s ferocious expression. She raised her arms, fingers splayed, and with a sudden motion, drew them apart.
A viscous black substance writhed between her palms before shooting toward them like a cannonball. In mid-air, the substance unfurled into a dense black web, intent on ensnaring them.
’Poisonous black silk!’
Wang Xi took a deep breath, clenching his five fingers into a fist.
Then he once again flung his hand behind him.
—「Tidal Blade」—
This was the first time he had used this deep green Magic Card.
GURGLE! GURGLE!
In the blink of an eye, a mass of water condensed in his palm, then shot out violently, forming a long, spiraling column of water as thick as an arm.
SPLASH—
Like a massive blade, the churning spiral of water sliced diagonally upward through the black web, which was several meters in diameter, cleaving it in two!
Wang Xi didn’t stop casting 「Tidal Blade」. With his fingers loosely cupped, he raised his arm and swung again.
The spiral of water swept horizontally like a blade of light, spanning over a dozen meters and slashing across the pursuing Spider Woman and Snake Woman.
"?!"
The two Banshees were startled and quickly raised their hands to defend themselves.
The Spider Woman crossed her arms, her skin covered by a layer of black viscous material. The Snake Woman simply raised one hand to cast a spell, and the earth in front of her erupted to form a stone wall.
TSSSSS—
A piercing hiss of water filled the air as the spiraling column struck and sliced past, throwing up a cloud of mist.
The black substance on the Spider Woman’s arms was cut open, and blood flowed from her delicate skin. The stone wall conjured by the Snake Woman was split in two, the cut perfectly clean.
The two Banshees’ movements were hindered, forcing them to pause.
But when they looked up again, peering through the mist, there was no longer any sign of the two young humans.
"That damned Water-Spraying Warlock!!"
Soaking wet, Medusa’s brows shot up. She shrieked, her face an icy mask.
"AHH—"
...
...
Hearing the furious shriek from far behind, Wang Xi’s heart tightened.
’So I’m the Water-Spraying Warlock now...’
He cursed inwardly.
He pulled Pinocchio along, picking up the pace of their frantic escape.
After running for a few minutes and confirming that the two Banshees were no longer pursuing them, Wang Xi finally stopped, panting for breath.
His face was pale, his fingers trembling slightly.
Just those few seconds of releasing 「Tidal Blade」 had left his body feeling completely drained.
"Gai, are you okay?"
Pinocchio, on the other hand, wasn’t even flushed or out of breath. He walked over to support him, asking with concern.
"I’m sorry, it’s all my fault."
"It’s fine..." Wang Xi said hoarsely, shaking his head. "After all, you didn’t know the Sugar Witch had left behind magic to limit your power."
Pinocchio looked ashamed and sighed.
"I said I was going to help you, but you ended up saving me again. But don’t worry, Gai. I’ll be able to purge this Candy Magic on my own soon..."
Wang Xi grunted in acknowledgement, smiling as he patted the boy’s shoulder.
It was his way of telling him not to worry.
This gesture moved Pinocchio deeply, and a brilliant smile bloomed on his face once again.
「A moment later.」
The two left the depths of the Magic Forest.
They stopped beside a towering tree.
"Where’s my horse?!"
Wang Xi circled the tree trunk, only to find the mark he had left. But the fine, reddish-brown horse he had bought from the Spinning Wheel Commerce, along with its rope, had vanished without a trace.
"Your horse is gone?"
Pinocchio walked up and asked curiously.
"I..."
Wang Xi glanced at him, opening his mouth.
’What is wrong with this guy? He always looks so innocent, but he keeps saying these things that could be taken the wrong way. One minute he’s getting you all worked up, the next he’s breaking your heart.’
He looked again at the empty spot by the tree.
’You absolute animal! Animal!!’
’Who the hell stole my horse?!’
He cursed up a storm in his head.
"Forget it." He gave Pinocchio a nonchalant look. "Let’s head back to Daphne first. I need to turn in the commission, and while I’m at it, buy a new horse and a donkey."
The youth naturally agreed.
He didn’t seem to have anything important to do, so he decided to follow Wang Xi.
The two left the spot and headed for the outskirts of the forest, planning to get back to Daphne before evening.
But just as they were about to exit the forest.
CLIP-CLOP, CLIP-CLOP...
A horse slowly approached on the path ahead.
Wang Xi immediately stopped in his tracks.
The reddish-brown coat, the sturdy frame, the fine saddle... wasn’t that his missing horse!
But now, a strange and tall figure was sitting sideways on its back.
It was an elegant, mature woman.
She wore a light pink aristocratic bodice, a puffy satin skirt embroidered with gold, and her wavy golden hair flowed down to her waist, with two perfect ringlets framing her forehead.
Her skin was fair, her features delicate. Especially her high-bridged nose and her emerald-green eyes, which added a noble air to her beautiful face.
At this moment, the woman had a smile playing on her lips.
"Oh no..."
Pinocchio’s body tensed up as he muttered.
Wang Xi had a bad feeling. He focused his gaze and saw—
「Sugar Witch Bev (Yellow/Five Stars)」
The silver filigree symbolizing a Hero unit overlaid the card’s text, shining with a blinding light.
"My dear goblin, Gurui."
The woman’s voice, composed and languid, drifted over.
"So, this is where you were..."