Chapter 355 - 317: Enemies on a Narrow Road
Chapter 355: Chapter 317: Enemies on a Narrow Road
The cold wind howled in Gu Ning’s ears. After calling Philinos’s name a few times with no response, she hugged his waist tightly and squeezed her eyes shut. Her tears flew into the air, mingling with droplets of his blood.
Just as they were a little over ten meters from the ground, Philinos abruptly spread his wings.
They stalled in midair for a moment before Philinos fell toward the ground, still holding Gu Ning.
A second before losing consciousness, Philinos twisted so his back would face the ground, shielding Gu Ning from the impact.
However, what awaited them was not a soft blanket of snow, but a hard sheet of ice.
Gu Ning heard a sharp CRACK, and an instant later, she was enveloped by the bone-chilling water of the lake.
The unconscious Philinos still held Gu Ning tightly, pulling her down with him toward the bottom of the lake.
After choking on a mouthful of icy water, Gu Ning’s survival instinct kicked in. She quickly calmed herself, held her breath, and began prying at Philinos’s hands with all her might.
But no matter how hard she tried—even resorting to pinching his face and the spot under his nose—his arms remained locked around her like iron clamps.
Just as Gu Ning was about to despair, Philinos’s arms went slack.
Overjoyed, Gu Ning grabbed Philinos’s arm and tried to swim upward.
She kicked her legs for what felt like an eternity, but she only sank further from the surface.
Between the icy water and her swimming skills—which were only marginally better than a complete non-swimmer’s—Gu Ning had to face a harsh reality: Philinos was too heavy. There was no way she could pull him to the surface.
At this point, she was reaching the limit of how long she could hold her breath, and her body temperature was dropping rapidly. If this continued, she would either drown or freeze to death.
Gu Ning looked at Philinos, his eyes closed, not knowing if he was dead or alive. A thousand thoughts raced through her mind.
His wounds were still bleeding, staining the surrounding water. Gu Ning’s vision blurred, the world before her turning into a shimmering, bloody red.
In a split second, Gu Ning made a decision. She let go, resolving to get to shore first and find help.
’Philinos is a Beastman. He’s strong. He can definitely hold on until I bring back help.’
Gu Ning bit the inside of her lip, forcing herself to stay conscious. She shed her cumbersome, heavy coat and, holding her last breath, swam for the surface—
’Almost there, almost to the surface—’
Gu Ning stared at the point of light above her, growing ever closer. The feeling of suffocation intensified, and her body felt numb, as if it were no longer her own. Just then, something covered her chest, protecting her vital organs like a piece of armor.
But Gu Ning couldn’t feel anything. Only one thought remained: ’I have to live. I have to save Philinos.’
After holding her breath to its absolute limit and choking on another mouthful of water, Gu Ning’s powerful will to survive drove her onward until her fingers touched the edge of the hole Philinos had smashed in the ice.
Just then, an arm reached into the water and hauled the suffocating Gu Ning out.
The person then quickly laid her flat on the ground.
Through a haze of fading consciousness, Gu Ning felt her clothes being lifted. A pair of large, warm hands began pressing rhythmically on her chest. After a few compressions, her mouth was pinched open, and the moment she felt something soft and warm against her lips, air was breathed into her mouth.
"COUGH, COUGH, COUGH!!!"
After turning her head to the side and spitting out a large mouthful of water, she was deftly picked up again. Her rescuer placed her face-down over his lap, her head lower than her back, and patted her firmly on the back, helping her cough up the rest of the water she’d inhaled.
Seeing that she had coughed up most of the water, the Beastman took off his coat, wrapped her in it, and prepared to leave, holding her in his arms.
"Philinos..." Gu Ning’s consciousness was gradually returning. She trembled like a leaf in the Beastman’s arms.
The Beastman paused for a moment but then turned to leave again.
"Save him." Sensing his intention to leave, Gu Ning desperately clutched the Beastman’s wrist. "Philinos, save him!"
Her soaking hair was plastered over her eyelids, and she couldn’t see who this Beastman was. But she didn’t care. She couldn’t abandon Philinos.
"He won’t make it," the Beastman said, his voice cold.
His voice sounded vaguely familiar, but she couldn’t place it right then. She only knew that he probably wasn’t one of the Beastmen from their convoy, because any one of them would have pulled Philinos out of the water, even if he were already dead.
She couldn’t worry about that now. With trembling hands, she tried to open her terminal.
"There’s no signal here," the Beastman said.
Gu Ning froze. Just as the Beastman thought she was giving up, she craned her neck and screamed hoarsely, "Help!!!"
"..."
"Alex!"
"Ba...!"
Before she could get the last syllable out, a hand clamped over her mouth. "Don’t shout. I’ll save him."
He set Gu Ning on the ground, placed his backpack beside her, and shoved a sniper rifle into her arms.
The considerable weight of the gun nearly toppled Gu Ning over.
She pushed aside the hair stuck to her face, trying to get a clear look at the Beastman, but he had already jumped into the water.
In less than a minute, Philinos was pushed to the surface by a large, black head.
Immediately after, a large black... cat? It leaped nimbly from the water.
The big cat shook the water from its fur and turned its head. A pair of vertical, emerald-green pupils stared intently at her.
Gu Ning: "..."
’Enemies are bound to cross paths.’
At that moment, Gu Ning truly didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.
*
*
"HISS—"
A flame ignited in the Beastman’s hand, illuminating the dark, enclosed, and slightly cramped space.
"Take off your wet clothes." Wanai looked at the female huddled beside the Birdman.
Gu Ning ignored him and started taking off Philinos’s clothes instead.
His breathing was so faint it was nearly inaudible, and his face was as pale as a sheet of paper.
Gu Ning couldn’t stop trembling, though she didn’t know if it was from the cold or from fear.
Her fingers were stiff with cold, making delicate movements impossible. Seeing that blood was still oozing from Philinos’s abdomen, she fumbled for the small pouch at his waist and found a few Healing Injections inside.
With trembling hands, she tried to twist the cap off an injection, but after struggling for a long moment, she resorted to using her teeth.
Just as she brought the injection to her mouth, a hand reached out and took it from her.
Wanai snapped the cap off and jabbed it somewhat roughly into Philinos.
"There." Wanai tossed the empty syringe aside. "He won’t die. For now."
Only then did Gu Ning breathe a sigh of relief and continue to strip off Philinos’s wet clothes.
Wanai frowned, grabbed her, and yanked the coat off her.
"Let me go!" Gu Ning struggled violently in his grip and slapped him across the face.
Wanai froze for a second, then let Gu Ning go.
"Either you take them off yourself, or I’ll do it for you."
Gu Ning stumbled backward, watching him warily.
Seeing the cat... the Leopard get up and walk toward her, Gu Ning said, "Stay back!"
Wanai stopped in his tracks.
Gu Ning: "Turn... Turn around."
Wanai stared at her for a moment, then pulled a set of his clothes from his bag and tossed them at Gu Ning’s feet before turning his back to her.
Gu Ning stripped off her wet clothes as quickly as she could.
As she was about to put on the clothes Wanai had given her, she noticed a silver light shimmering on her chest.
’What’s this?’
In bewildered surprise, Gu Ning touched the object covering her chest. It felt cool and smooth. It was the Silver Armor the Black-winged Beastman had put on her.