Seeing that Seraphina was about to explode from anger and worry at any moment, Liana looked at Shadow Wolf and said.
"Don’t worry, my little one can pass through shadows."
The black wolf sank into the wall’s shadow. The spiritual bond between him and Liana stretched for a few seconds.
Shadow Wolf came out from a farther shadow and followed Lian’s Mana trace.
But the distance grew with every Thunder Step.
"Even Shadow Wolf can’t reach him." Liana clenched her teeth.
"You said he’s not running away." Rindo looked at Seris.
"He’s not."
"He wants to get himself arrested." Seris watched the city’s central path.
"Why is he tearing up half the city to get arrested?" Rindo laughed in disbelief.
He felt he had heard a very funny sentence. What he was seeing was Lian charging toward the prison to attack it.
What kind of attempt to get arrested was this?
"Because if he surrenders here, they’ll take him to a regular detention center or an interrogation room." Seris did not take her gaze off the path.
Seraphina looked at her. She also saw this as foolishness and agreed with the student council president.
She felt Lian wanted to attack the prison and forcibly save those three along with the Ruined Realm native.
"But if he breaks into the Rootspire’s military zone, his crime will be directly registered under the tower’s security." Seris continued.
"And they’ll take him to that same prison." Liana whispered.
Seris nodded.
Rindo showed no reaction for a few seconds, then the veins of anger on his face became more prominent.
"I’m still sure his goal is to forcefully attack the prison. So much effort isn’t needed to get arrested, but regardless, that madman is insane!"
In the end, it was unclear whether his goal was to get arrested or to forcefully save his friends.
None of them could say with certainty what Lian’s insane goal was...
The soldiers still had the path blocked.
"I am the Council Head of this district. If we don’t go after him, he might kill your soldiers." Rindo raised his Guest Sigil.
"He hasn’t killed anyone so far." the group’s commander said.
"Then let us pass before he changes his mind."
The Cindari man hesitated. At that same moment, a new message was received through his communication equipment.
He looked at the four humans and then opened the path.
"Weapons stay in their sheaths."
"Only if necessary." Seris answered.
The four crossed the bridge quickly.
At the same time, Lian had reached the city’s second defensive ring.
A Heartwood Barrier had blocked his path.
A movable wall of black plates and compressed roots had risen between two buildings.
The red veins inside it were spinning rapidly, distributing any direct strike across the entire surface.
Behind the Barrier, more soldiers had gathered.
Hundreds of Mana lines were visible in the barrier’s structure, but all of them connected to one main junction on the left side of the gate.
He raised his right hand.
[Glacial Reaper Claw]
An ice claw formed around his fingers. Instead of attacking the Barrier’s center, Lian sank the claw into the connection gap.
The cold moved quickly into the red veins.
For a moment, the Heartwood resisted the ice. The internal heat and the cold met.
White steam burst from the cracks with pressure. The sound of wood and metal cracking echoed on the path. The main joint could not withstand the temperature difference.
With an explosion of black chips and steam, the left side of the gate collapsed.
The barrier was not completely destroyed, but a gap large enough for one person to pass had formed in it.
Lian passed through the smoke. The soldiers behind the Barrier had lost their vision for a moment.
He pushed aside one of the shields with Iron Fortress, bent through two spears, and passed through the ring without delivering a fatal blow.
The people of Vhalaris watched the scene from higher levels. A murmur had risen from the bridges and platforms.
An Outsider who had entered the city only a few hours ago was now moving at full speed toward the Rootspire.
From their view, this behavior could only be a mad attack, and they became more certain that the outsiders were crazy and savage.
But Lian calculated every move. He did not strike any vital points, did not push any soldier from a height.
Even when an archer aimed directly at his heart, Lian only cut the bowstring with his ice claw and passed by.
If someone was killed, his crime would change from unauthorized entry to murdering city soldiers. Then the chance of being executed before reaching the prison would be much higher.
The Rootspire was now directly in front of him.
The massive trunk had risen through all of Vhalaris’s levels. The central bridge connected the city to the tower’s military entrance like a wide arm.
But with Lian’s approach, its defensive structure changed.
Golden veins lit up inside the bridge. Three layers of Barriers formed in front of the entrance.
The regular forces moved aside, and warriors with black and gold armor took their place.
[Rootbound Warden]
[Level: 26]
[Rootbound Warden]
[Level: 24]
[Rootbound Warden Captain]
[Level: 27]
Lian looked at their information for a moment. These were not ordinary city guards. Each of them could easily defeat most academy students without trouble.
Heavy bows were placed on platforms on both sides of the bridge. Golden strings formed inside them.
The World Memory Map recorded the structure of the three Barriers.
The first barrier distributed impact energy. The second disrupted movement Skills. The third was directly connected to the Rootspire and was powered by the tower’s Mana.
Destroying all three with raw power was possible, but it would probably collapse part of the bridge.
Lian looked for another path.
The first and second Barriers both drew from a single central junction for a brief moment.
He placed his palm on the bridge’s surface.
[Cataclysm Pulse]
A small and compressed wave entered. This time, its goal was not destruction. The Pulse followed the Mana paths.
It passed under the soldiers’ feet, directly entered the central junction, and the Barrier’s golden surface trembled.
"Stabilize the barrier!" the Warden commander shouted.
A few soldiers poured more Mana into the structure, but the Pulse had disrupted the junction’s rhythm before the new energy arrived.
But suddenly, a narrow gap opened in the center of the first two Barriers, and that was enough!
Lian activated Thunder Step. Blue lightning passed through the gap.
He appeared inside the Rootspire’s security ring, but before he could take the next step, something came down from above.
A long spear struck the bridge’s surface, and a ring of compressed fire spread around the impact point, closing the path behind Lian.
Kael stood in front of him. The commander’s cloak moved in the warm air.
The veins on his face and neck were now fully lit. The spear in his hand shone like a glowing rod.
"I gave you the chance to enter the city as a guest." Kael said with controlled anger.
"I’m still a guest, aren’t I?" Lian looked at the ring of fire around them with a smile.
The commander turned his head slightly and looked at the broken Barrier behind him.
"Guests don’t usually attack the center of government."
"Then your hospitality rules are strange."
Kael’s eyes narrowed for a moment, then he spun his spear.
Predator’s Instincts warned a moment before the attack.
Lian pulled his body back. The spear’s tip passed in front of his face.
But Kael did not stop the attack. He turned his wrist and struck the end of the spear into Lian’s side.
[Diamond Skin]
Lian’s skin and muscles hardened. The strike hit his side, but even with active defense, Kael’s force pushed him back several meters on the bridge.
The soles of his boots created grooves on the ground, and before he fully stopped, Kael had already advanced again.
The spear went directly toward Lian’s chest this time. Lian used a short Thunder Step.
Lightning exploded at a distance of less than two meters, and he shifted to Kael’s left.
[Glacial Reaper Claw]
The ice claw struck the spear’s shaft. A layer of white ice spread on the ground, but the veins inside the weapon lit up with more intense light.
Heat burst from the shaft’s center. The ice cracked with a loud sound and turned to steam.
Kael attacked Lian’s face with his elbow, and Lian raised his forearm.
The impact made the bones in his hand vibrate.
The commander was not only dependent on spear Skills. His physical power and close-range experience were also high.
Lian stepped back. Kael raised his spear above his head and struck the bridge. Three lines of fire emerged from the surface.
Each covered a different path.
Lian jumped over the first line. The second one changed its path in the air.
Predator’s Instincts warned.
He spun his body, and the fire passed by his armor, burning part of his side’s cloth.
The third line reached his landing point directly.
Lian placed his arm against the wave. The fire explosion pushed him back, and smoke rose from his armor’s surface.
Kael immediately appeared from within the flames. The spear’s tip reached Lian’s side.
Diamond Skin prevented full penetration, but the heated blade cut the skin, and warm blood ran down from beside the armor.
Lian clenched his teeth and placed his hand on the spear’s shaft.
He released a very weak Cataclysm Pulse at close range. The wave did not enter Kael’s body, but entered the Mana path inside the weapon.
The spear trembled for a moment, and the fire veins became irregular. A small explosion formed between the two.
The commander was pushed back a few steps. Lian also distanced himself from the wave’s pressure.
For a few seconds, both examined each other without moving.
Kael looked at the blood on Lian’s side, then at the guards behind him who were wounded but alive.
"You’re holding yourself back."
Lian did not answer.
"You could have killed at least three of my men. Why didn’t you?" Kael continued.