Chapter 4: Fierce Battle

  The wind snake bit into thin air.

  It had almost succeeded if Rode hadn't suddenly appeared from behind.

  "Mr. Luo De?"

  Lilith, who had narrowly escaped death, slowly lifted her head and was shocked to find Rode standing behind her, with her leaning against his chest. Unbeknownst to her, she found herself feeling weak all over, unable to muster up any strength. She subconsciously tried to stand up, but her legs gave out and she ended up sitting back down instead.

  "Lily!"

  Seeing Lijie escape from death, Carter also let out a sigh of relief, but soon his heart became tense again. Because at this moment the wind snake that had just missed its attack turned around, spread its wings, raised its head high and was about to launch another attack. Damn it! He grasped his twin swords and ran towards the two, hoping he could make it in time - but no matter how he looked at it, it seemed like he wouldn't be able to make it.

  As she gazed at the wind snake again, the girl involuntarily held her breath. She wanted to do something, but didn't know what would be good. As a spiritual master, she didn't need to use weapons, and there were no weapons by her side either. So, what should she do now?

  "Give it to me."

  Just as Lijie was in a state of panic, she heard Rode's voice by her ear, and then the girl saw Rode take a step forward, blocking himself in front of her.

  Was he going to fight this wind snake with his bare fists?

  Just as Liche was filled with doubts, Rod stretched out his right hand. And it was only then that Liche noticed that on the back of Rod's right hand, a complex and gorgeous magic array was shining brightly with clear magical light, lines extending from it to each finger, and a semi-transparent card-like thing gradually emerged from the center of Rod's palm.

  Then Rod grasped it with his backhand.

  A brilliant white light suddenly appeared.

  The invisible magic was unsealed and transformed into a tangible wave of air that spread out in all directions. The wind snake, which was the first to be affected, let out a shrill cry as it flapped its wings in an attempt to maintain its balance under the impact of the violent airflow. However, before it could make any further movements, a dazzling flash of light suddenly appeared from within the wave and struck the wind snake's body with great force, sending it flying away completely.

  "Ah..."

  Luo De let out a gentle breath, and at this moment, the dazzling light had already dissipated. In its place was an exquisite, crystal-clear long sword that appeared in his right hand. He swung the Stardust Sword in his hand, and tiny specks of light slowly fell from the sword, creating a breathtaking scene for a time.

  He didn't notice at all that the others were already completely stunned. Lizzie sat on the ground, staring blankly at the man in front of her, unable to believe it, while Carter slowed down his pace, looking at Rod with a gaze full of astonishment and surprise, although he had long been aware that the other party was not an ordinary person, but he had never thought that he would be so "unordinary".

  Although still sitting on the ground, Lijie couldn't help but admire the long sword with a pure white body and no impurities. The slender sword had ancient patterns carved on it, emitting a faint glow, and even around it, tiny dust particles were visible to the naked eye, shining like a fantasy. The wings that closed on the hilt were exceptionally delicate, and even the feathers could be seen clearly. Although women have never been interested in weapons, this long sword had far surpassed the category of weapons and could even be called a work of art.

  Lijie was just admiring, but Carter's eyes were somewhat different at this moment.

  As a seasoned adventurer, Carter could swear to the heavens that he had never seen anything so bizarre. In fact, when Rod summoned out his weapon, Carter was stunned. Although he had also seen some mages summoning before, they mostly used crystals and other similar objects, and even then, they would have to chant some ancient incantations before summoning a few ugly monsters, which wasn't uncommon. But as for summoning weapons? He really hadn't seen anything like that before.

  Although it's not clear what Rod has in his hand, Carter is very clear that this magical weapon is absolutely impossible for ordinary people to use. Only a person with a noble and special identity can qualify to use such a weapon. And now, seeing the lifelike wings on the hilt of the sword, Carter couldn't help but frown. He was very aware that in this continent, angels were a highly noble tribe, mostly with prominent identities or being core members of important groups. Just like three years ago when Litiya Pafirudo Mirara Furankarika, the ruler of Mu'en Country, rose to power, her identity was an angel. Although it's not clear what this young man's true identity is at present, based on this sword alone, it can be determined that he must have some connection with that noble tribe.

  These thoughts had barely flashed through Carter's mind when he reached the two men.

  "It's all right."

  "I'm fine."

  Lijie's small face was still somewhat pale, which couldn't be blamed on her being timid. After all, the situation just now, if Rode hadn't pulled her from behind, this young girl would have been dead for sure. The kind of fear that comes from barely escaping Death's scythe is absolutely not something an ordinary person can experience.

  Once he had determined Lizzie was unharmed, Carter immediately turned his attention to Rod beside her.

  "Mr. Luo, how are you?"

  Rod shook his head, indicating that he was fine, although the left side of his body still ached somewhat during movement, but it didn't affect combat much. On the contrary, compared to his own body, he was more concerned about another matter.

  "What do you plan to do?"

  The surrounding wind snakes are getting more and more, although the floating airship has been advancing at full speed, it still can't shake off the attack of most wind snakes. Now their situation is not only not improving, but also getting worse and worse.

  "We plan to break out of their territorial range, and before that, we can only hold on."

  If he were on land, Carter might have had other options, but now that he was in the air, aside from this idea, he didn't have a better way to solve his current problem.

  But Carter had barely spoken when he saw the young man in front of him frowning.

  "Too late, Mr. Carter."

  "Oh?"

  "The Wind Snake has an absolute advantage in the plains area. Even if you speed up, we won't be able to leave before the airship disintegrates."

  "Really?"

  Carter wasn't stupid; he made this decision because he was unfamiliar with the place. As soon as Roder mentioned it, he immediately understood the severity of the situation.

  "What should we do then?"

  "Drop immediately."

  Rod almost hesitated for a moment before giving an answer, then he stretched out his hand and pointed to one side.

  "Then we rushed into it."

  Carter followed Rod's pointing direction and then widened his eyes in surprise.

  "Are you saying we should rush into the Sunset Forest?"

  "To get rid of the harassment of the wind snake, this is our only way, and..."

  Saying this, Luo De glanced around him.

  "Our time is running out."

  The situation is indeed deteriorating.

  The threat of the wind snakes is not just their venomous fangs, but also the corrosive venom they carry, which is equally deadly. They are slender and agile, and if a direct attack fails to yield victory, they will immediately change their target. At present, many wind snakes have smashed through the glass and crawled into the cabin from below, but in this situation, people are powerless to resist. Although the narrow space inside the cabin restricts the wind snakes' mobility, their threat has not diminished as a result. It is precisely for this reason that the cabin is now in disarray, and the thick smoke billowing out of several gaps makes it clear that the current situation is extremely dire!

  Carter didn't hesitate again and immediately turned around to leave. Luo De grasped the Star Scar and blocked the gap in front of him.

  "Ah!!!!"

  A gust snake flew in from the right, opening its mouth to attack Rod, but just as it was about to hit him, Rod had already shifted to the left, his white long sword suddenly rising to meet the snake's chin, striking it with precision and sending it flying while also blocking the venom that shot out of its mouth. Next, Rod quickly turned around, his silver-white sword flashing in the air, accurately inserting itself into the wing of another gust snake attempting a sneak attack from behind, causing it to lose balance, and then finishing off the poor creature's life with an additional strike.

  But the assault of the wind snakes did not stop, the bloody smell clearly stimulated them. Just as Rod was pulling his long sword out of the body of a wind snake that had already turned into a corpse, dozens of wind snakes suddenly pounced on him. They were layered and stacked, from a distance they looked like a green cloud or an open mouth of some unknown monster, which could swallow its prey whole in an instant.

  "Mr. Luo De!"

  Another mercenary dispersed the toxin, and Lijie turned around, seeing this scene, she involuntarily cried out in surprise.

  A stream of acid sprayed out, rushing towards Rode like a violent rainstorm. If he were to be hit by this acidic downpour, Rode would likely suffer severe injuries, if not death.

  But just then, Rode suddenly withdrew and retreated.

  With a putrid stench, the acidic liquid brushed past him and dripped onto the deck, emitting tiny wisps of cyan smoke as it corroded small holes, but almost at the same time, the wind snakes had already charged to Rod's face, and in the next moment, they would thoroughly tear apart this dangerous and abominable existence before their eyes.

  If it were an ordinary person, they would have been frightened to the point of having jelly legs by now, but Rode was extremely calm. Facing this group of monsters that pounced on him, intending to tear him apart and dismember him, the only thing he did was raise his right hand with his sword and then thrust forward.

  Fragments of Blade, activate.

  A white light blade burst forth in the midst of the wind snakes, splitting into two, then four, and numerous sharp blades shot forward with incredible speed, piercing one wind snake after another. The powerful gusts of air that arose seemed like invisible giant hands, tearing apart those who had narrowly escaped being struck, ripping their bodies to shreds with ruthless indifference. In what was almost an instant, the green mist was thoroughly shredded by the dazzling radiance, leaving behind only fragments of flesh and blood.

  Everyone held their breath at this moment.