Facing an Ancient God for a Year

Chapter 287: Chapter 287: Bottled Prisoner (Part 11)_1

“Could my luck be any worse? In such a vast place, to actually encounter two monsters one after the other!”

Facing Patrick’s bloodthirsty gaze, Ailina was clearly in a bad mood.

Strictly speaking, the Sinflame on Patrick’s body was just a bit weaker than Swordsman Yun’s.

But only by a little.

Judging by the extensive burn marks on his body, Patrick had reaped a rich harvest recently and his strength had surged dramatically.

At that moment, Fu Qian glanced at the corpses on the ground and felt a sense of familiarity.

...If he remembered correctly, these people were part of the last group in the hall, members of that temporary alliance.

As expected, they eventually couldn’t escape Patrick’s deadly grasp!

It wasn’t really a surprise; Ailina was right, a hasty alliance without the backing of strength was just a flock of sheep huddling for warmth.

The only purpose of an alliance was to not lose members too quickly, to keep the delicious flesh and blood for the Butcher.

“It seems today is my lucky day.”

At that moment, Patrick threw the mutilated corpses to the ground, revealing a manic smile toward the trio, like a hyena that had spotted its prey.

“Unfortunately for you, you’re not as lucky as you were before.”

Before he finished speaking, he hurled a hook chain directly from his hand, aiming straight for Ailina.

A dark red blaze flickered, seemingly coated with twisted flesh and blood.

Clang!

From the start, Cross at Ailina’s side had been in a state of full concentration.

Seeing the Butcher launching an attack without hesitation, he rushed forward immediately, shielding Ailina from the hook chain with his weapon.

Even so, the strength on the chain still numbed his arm with its vibrations.

At the same time, polluted blood splattered from the chain, dotting the hammer, corroding several pits into it.

“Not too shabby, my previous restraint in not attacking you was indeed the right choice.”

Confronted with this scene, the Butcher laughed uncontrollably, striding forward as he launched the hook chain once more.

“It’s just too bad, I am not the same as I once was!”

“Go!”

Faced with the hook chain stabbing straight for her face again, Ailina’s eyes sharpened, her entire body emitting a blinding white light.

The severe impact not only blew the incoming hook chain away but even caused the Butcher’s advancing steps to falter.

Seizing this opportunity, she shouted just one word and turned to run.

Just as they had avoided entangling with Swordsman Yun earlier to prevent Patrick from having the chance to hunt at his leisure, tangling with Patrick right now wasn’t a good idea either.

Finding the Goddess Statue was the real deal, so she decisively chose to flee once again.

And Cross, as a loyal guard, responded almost instantly, not only following closely behind but also deflecting the oncoming hook chain as he went.

Seeing the prey slip away just as he was about to catch it, the Butcher stood in place, still laughing uncontrollably, his demeanor like that of a madman whose brain had been scorched by Sinflame.

However, the next moment, his laughter came to an abrupt halt as he looked at Fu Qian beside him.

The latter was standing casually, having not so much as budged an inch.

“You’re not running?”

With his blood-red eyes fixed on Fu Qian, Patrick’s expression curved into a sneer, as if mocking the prey in his hand.

“No need to run, feel free to make your move.”

Fu Qian shook his head, his tone resolute.

…

However, faced with a prey that had given up, Patrick’s expression grew strange and he did not strike immediately.

“Why don’t you run? Are you not afraid of dying?”

“Die?”

As if he had heard some laughable word, Fu Qian hummed, standing with his hands behind his back, recalling Swordsman Yun’s previous words.

“Confusion and torment, years of agony, I’ve learned that there are many things far more dreadful than death.”

“And on the Demigod Path, death will be the best whetstone, and I will be reborn from the ashes.”

In the midst of Fu Qian’s transformative tone, Patrick suddenly darted to the side, dodging a blood-red whip lashing toward his head.

“So don’t hold back.”

His strike missed, and Fu Qian didn’t pursue either, he just smiled at Patrick.

“This time I came here, I only want to kill someone or be killed by someone.”

…

“In that case!”

After Fu Qian finished speaking, Patrick fell silent for a moment, then burst into wild laughter, looking up at the sky.

“Then I’ll grant your wish!”

The next moment, his body leaped high into the air, and without looking back, he sped off into the distance.

“This… he…”

After ten seconds, sensing that something wasn’t right, Ailina returned from the distance.

Gazing in the direction Patrick had left, her features twisted in confusion.

“Was he just bluffing us? He still doesn’t want to fight us after all?”

The next moment, Ailina jolted to a realization and grasped the problem.

“Isn’t it obvious?”

Fu Qian glanced at her.

“If you think about it, based on the Butcher’s style, did you escape too easily just now?”

“Indeed…”

Ailina acknowledged Fu Qian’s point and murmured to herself.

“But why? He’s already amassed such intense Sinflame. He shouldn’t be this cautious, right?”

“Maybe because he’s just like us.”

Fu Qian blinked his eyes.

“You mean he’s also in a hurry to find the Goddess Statue?”

Ailina caught on immediately.

“It seems that can only be the reason! It definitely can’t be a sudden attack of conscience.”

Fu Qian sighed.

“This guy after all is a two-time defending champion, his understanding of the rules must be quite solid. And judging by his previous behavior, he’s feigning madness but actually being cautious, so it’s impossible for him not to pay attention to the threat of the Sin Seekers.”

“If I were him, rather than waiting for people like you to keep strengthening the Sin Seekers and trouble him, there’d be a much more straightforward method—”

“Just guard near the Goddess Statue, kill one as they come, kill a pair if two come, in short, don’t give anyone a chance to pray to the Goddess for purification.”

“Under such circumstances, even if the Sin Seekers could resurrect over and over, it wouldn’t be a problem at all.”

“Just now, if the three of us were mediocre in strength, he surely wouldn’t mind killing us offhand, but it looks like it would take a lot of effort to take us down, and he’s more eager than we are.”

Is that so?

After Fu Qian finished speaking, Ailina and Cross both fell silent.

His reasoning seemed to make some sense, a pity that the two of them had been scared away without realizing anything was amiss.

“So, you see!”

Fu Qian didn’t give them much time to process their emotions.

“If we trust the judgment of this reigning champion, it seems we should follow him. He may very well have a clue about the statue’s location.”

“…Okay!”

Ailina agreed after a brief hesitation.

They had no leads at the moment, and following wasn’t a bad idea.

At worst, they’d be discovered and have to run away again.

Though it was all Fu Qian’s speculation, Patrick had indeed been bluffing.

…

Tracking Patrick wasn’t difficult, because along the way he would casually leave behind a trail of bloodshed.

Ultimately, by following the direction he’d left in, the three of them discovered a pool of water as smooth as a mirror.

Who would have thought there could be such a place below? I wonder if there are any fish?

Fu Qian bent down, about to peer into the water, but in the next moment, his right hand reached out and caught an arrow.

At the same time, Ailina let out a yelp of pain, having been hit.