Chapter 726 No Suspense
Sylas took deep breaths.
Today, he had already been through far too many battles. Just getting to this point required going through seas of government officials and literal monkeys, not to mention a Bronze King Beast.
He barely got a short break before Vesta's change had forced him to suffer a terrible injury, all before he was thrown into a battle with the mysterious Dogons.
Now, his Scorpion Warlord Armor had shattered, the Basilisk King was still in slumber deep under the bed of lava, and the Metarock Szorn had dug up had yet to be stored away either.
He had left it out because their repelling effect on the heat and lava gave the Basilisk King a better environment for a breakthrough. But the result was that he had been caught with his pants down… and for not even the first time today.
He still had no idea how those changes had happened to Vesta. The worst part was that even if he had had an idea of what might happen, which he certainly didn't, what else could he do?
Because of the Quicktime Event, he wasn't allowed to kill her for the next 30 days, and that included roundabout methods.
Letting her die would count just as much as killing her, and the system would punish him severely for it. And back then, the only method he had of saving her life was the Basilisk King.
All of this culminated in a moment where Sylas found himself in yet another relentless barrage of danger. He was…
Tired.
Sylas looked up to the skies high above his head. He could barely see it through the smog and billowing smoke. The entire volcano seemed agitated as though it might blow at any moment, but judging by his expression, one would have never guessed it.
Was he tired of the constant battles? The constant tiptoeing between the lines of life and death?
"No…"
Sylas' voice was soft, so much so that he didn't even hear himself very well.
He looked down from the skies, locking eyes with Linzie. She stood at the command position of the group of what must have been about 50 or so elite special corps. By now, she had already abandoned her spear, or rather, it was strapped to her back. Instead, she held a rifle and Sylas could see at a glance that she had a pistol strapped to her thigh though it was hard to spot.
Her gaze was malevolent, her anger not having faded in the slightest. But for some reason, when she met Sylas', she shuddered.
Those green eyes, filled with just the slightest hint of darkness, not carrying the slightest hint of emotion…
They seemed to pierce right through her soul.
Sylas suddenly vanished.
There was a blur in Linzie's eyes and for a moment she felt her heart leap into her throat. But when her vision cleared, she realized that Sylas' body was rapidly soaring through the skies, drawing a straight line toward the exit of the volcano.
"FIRE!"
Linzie was caught off guard for just a moment before she raised her rifle to unleash a hail of bullets.
Sylas hurriedly cast <Ice Banned Shield>. However, it only lasted a single bullet.
BANG!
The first bullet seemed to self-destruct with the shield of ice, a rain of frost and hail of ice falling from it in bits and pieces.
Sylas winced as a second bullet ripped through his shoulder and another ran right through his hip.
In an instant, he seemed to be riddled with holes.
There must have been at least 200 meters between himself and the special corps. It was a distance that only the best of marksmen should be able to hit, yet one would have thought that they had a homing device strapped to his body.
Linzie seemed to sense the opportunity.
"FLYERS, DISENGAGE! SEAL OFF HIS ESCAPE ROUTES!"
A group near the back of the special corps did as they were told, retreating from the battle for only a moment before they summoned their flying Mounts.
A small, half a dozen number fleet of bald eagles the size of two human men appeared.
Their talons sizzled against the lava as they launched themselves into the air, zipping toward the opening of the volcano.
The rumbling of the once dormant natural phenomena became more obvious as Sylas hacked up a mouthful of blood.
The bullets had hit him with so much force that his telekinesis was thrown off balance. His path swerved and he found himself falling further away from his target.
Thoughts of summoning the peacock swirled in his mind, but there had never really been a chance. Unlike those eagle riders, he didn't have the luxury to disengage. If not for his crystal bone armor, he would have already been torn to shreds by the bullets.
A shadow passed over Sylas' head and he suddenly found his escape route cut off.
However, he didn't seem to waver. He knew by Linzie's earlier words that those weren't Combat Mounts, they were normal Mounts. So long as he engaged them in battle, they would fall from the skies.
But the problem was that things weren't so simple.
BANG!
A bullet ripped through Sylas' kneecap.
A grunt left Sylas' lips, his body convulsing beneath the pain. He forcefully kept it together, but at that moment, the eagle riders had movement.
Three of them leapt from the backs of their eagles, landing on the backs of three others as they unholstered their weapons.
Sylas' expression flickered.
It was too much. They had too many abilities, too many people… they were too skilled, too prepared…
The guns trained on him from above and below. Their metal parts reflected the red gold of the surroundings.
This flicker seemed to be the last he would see.
Linzie's pupils trembled, tears falling from her eyes as she could practically see the sight of her revenge already.
The triggers squeezed down.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
There was no suspense.
Sylas' body was littered with holes, chipped pieces of his crystal bone falling from the skies.