Splash!
Inside the cave hall, Colin plunged into the deep pool like an arrow.
"Roar!!"
The Black-Maned Giant Pig King pursued closely, its massive body entering the pool and stirring up high splashes of water.
But soon, it stopped. The pool in the cave hall was long and narrow, an oval shape that wasn't large—only about tens of meters wide—but it was very deep.
With just a few steps, it felt like it was almost submerged.
Its massive size, while offering great strength, made it a poor swimmer.
However, it wasn't in a hurry and stood by the edge, observing carefully.
Underwater.
Colin's face was pale.
The water was ice-cold and piercing, but not as cold as his heart.
This was his second time diving in… and he didn't know how long this brief respite would last.
In theory, a Great Knight's physical abilities should allow him to hold his breath underwater for half an hour.
But the Black-Maned Giant Pig King possessed exceptional sight.
Often, it didn't take long before it would find him in the pool and then charge with that swift, torpedo-like collision, fiercely striking him in the water.
Colin took this brief moment to breathe and circled the pool once more.
In the previous continuous chases, he had always tried to find another way out within the cave hall.
He had checked the cave hall several times, and this was his second sweep of the pool, but he found no traces of a possible escape route.
The entire cave hall was like a sealed arena.
Colin, feeling the Magic Power he had left, felt disheartened.
Under normal circumstances, he could dodge the impacts or bites of the Black-Maned Giant Pig King.
But when it was covered with dark red patterns,
the speed of the Black-Maned Giant Pig King would suddenly increase, and increase drastically!
With such an increase, Colin hadn't successfully dodged even once to this date.
The strong speed brought about powerful kinetic energy.
If it weren't for his own three layers of defense protecting him like a steel bean, he probably would have ended up like the Chiwen Gang Apprentices long ago.
Why else would it be that although he was disheveled every time, he only suffered minor injuries?
But such a situation was only temporary.
Under the extraordinary charge of the Black-Maned Giant Pig King, his Magic Power was rapidly draining, now barely at one and a half percent.
He was truly in a dire situation…
Colin clenched his teeth—he hadn't given up yet!
Although this was the second sweep of the pool.
In fact, without the illumination from the Light Brightness Skill, the cave was now completely dark, and underwater visibility was less than a meter.
So, his first sweep in the dark, yielding no results, was quite expected.
But he firmly believed there must be a way out in the pool.
Before diving into the pool, he had observed carefully.
The water was clear, not stagnant.
And if it wasn't stagnant, it meant there might be a connecting passage.
This might be the only chance at survival.
"Roar!!"
The roar of the Black-Maned Giant Pig King entered the water a bit distorted.
Swoosh swoosh—
It kept stirring the pool, and the once-clear water by the edges was now completely murky.
After pondering for a moment, Colin moved his arms, shifted directions, and then kicked with his legs, swimming deeper into the pool.
A little while later, he gradually stopped, closed his eyes, and relaxed his body from head to toe, floating like a feather in the air.
Colin carefully felt the fluctuations of the water currents.
Swish—swish—
The rhythm was rapid and irregular like rain hitting a lute, clearly caused by the giant pig.
He focused his mind, slowly filtering out these fluctuations.
The world grew quieter and quieter, the distant roars of the giant pig seemed as if they were coming from another world, growing far away. Gradually, he felt his heartbeat slowing down.
After an unknown length of time, Colin finally caught a consistent surge of current below the pool.
He opened his eyes, a glint of surprise flashed through them, followed by no hesitation, and he immediately swam in the direction of the current.
After a while, he felt his body completely enveloped by the current.
"It's time… there's no way to accurately pinpoint the passage any longer."
He prepared himself, his heartbeat gradually quickened, and then with a thought—
A bright sphere of light lit up at the bottom of the pool!
Instantly, the underwater became as bright as daylight. Colin quickly scanned the surroundings, trying to locate a possible flowing passage.
The Black-Maned Giant Pig King by the edge was taken aback.
"Roar!!"
Its eyes flashed a bright crimson light, and its heavy breathing caused ripples on the water surface.
Shoo!
It suddenly charged towards Colin's position.
Plunge!
Like a torpedo exploding, the water surface erupted into meters-high white spray as it heavily slammed into the cave ceiling, then fell back into the pond.
By then, the Black-Maned Giant Pig King had completely submerged, shooting towards Colin like an arrow, its speed creating a long white trail behind it.
Meanwhile, Colin had no time to regard the impending danger behind him. He widened his eyes, frantically searching his surroundings!
The Black-Maned Giant Pig King hadn't arrived yet, but the impact of the water flow had. Suddenly, it was as if he was a lone boat in a storm, propelled unwillingly forward by the currents.
The Black-Maned Giant Pig King was about to reach him from behind in the next second!
Just at this critical moment, Colin's eyes brightened, and he used all his strength to kick forward, swimming swiftly towards the front left side like a barracuda.
Bang—
The giant pig collided with the cave's stone wall, emitting a dull sound.
"Roar—" the Black-Maned Giant Pig King shook its head.
In the narrow, person-sized tunnel ahead, Colin braced against the walls and turned around.
The globe of light summoned by the Light Brightness Skill floated between him and the Black-Maned Giant Pig King.
Through the semi-translucent globe, he could clearly see the Black-Maned Giant Pig King watching him intently with its over one meter diameter crimson eyes.
Bang!
The Black-Maned Giant Pig King suddenly backed up before violently slamming towards the tunnel entrance, its sharp tusks breaking off several pieces of stone.
Whoosh.
The water surged, causing Colin's reflexive slight retreat, but he quickly stopped again.
The underwater stone wall was hard, and the Black-Maned Giant Pig King had no leverage… It seemed impossible for it to chase him in.
Colin watched the Black-Maned Giant Pig King outside the passage, suddenly shifting his thoughts. Quietly, He retrieved a few darts from behind his waist, holding them tightly in hand, silently waiting for the right moment.
Bang—Bang—Bang—
The Black-Maned Giant Pig King was still futilely colliding.
Colin maintained a calm expression, clutching the darts even tighter.
After a while, the Black-Maned Giant Pig King seemed to realize that its efforts were futile, and gradually stopped.
It clumsily shifted its body, once again staring at Colin in the tunnel with its red eyes.
'Now's the time!'
Colin's gaze intensified.
Shoo!
Three darts shot out of the tunnel like lightning towards the giant pig.
Plop!
At such close range, the Black-Maned Giant Pig King had no chance to react.
The darts shot straight into its huge left eye.
"Roar!!" The Black-Maned Giant Pig King let out a painful scream!
Blood spurted out, quickly spreading in the water, instantly staining a large area red.
Shoo!
Colin didn't pause. He continued to employ his Arrow Shooting Skill, launching more darts at the Black-Maned Giant Pig King.
Unfortunately, such a good opportunity only comes once.
This time, the darts only hit the neck of the Black-Maned Giant Pig King and did not cause significant damage.
The next second, as Colin was gearing up to continue the attack,
the Black-Maned Giant Pig King suddenly dived downward, disappearing from Colin's sight.
Colin sighed.
Within the tunnel, although his safety was somewhat assured, his field of vision and attack angles were severely limited.
With thoughts rapidly crossing his mind, he hesitated for a moment before slowly moving toward the mouth of the tunnel.
He needed to check the condition of the Black-Maned Giant Pig King.
…Hoping that his last attack was lethal enough to kill it.
He didn't wish to rashly escape along the dark tunnel behind him… Who knew where it would lead?
…The best method was always to handle the Black-Maned Giant Pig King in front, then wait in the cave hall for Holt and others to return.
The cave hall contained the corpses of several Black-Maned Giant Pigs and a few corpses of Wizard Apprentices. Therefore, even if the passage to the outside world was blocked by debris, Holt and his group would most likely return, and they would find a way to clear the passage.
While swimming toward the mouth of the tunnel, he stayed alert to any noises from outside.
Initially, there were swishing sounds of the water and the distinct painful grunts of the Black-Maned Giant Pig King, but as he got closer to the tunnel entrance, they all gradually weakened.
When he reached the entrance of the tunnel, everything had calmed down.
Colin cautiously peered out of the tunnel but found nothing. The uneven walls formed many blind spots, blocking his view.
Seeing this, he got an idea.
Shoo!
A ball of light quickly flew out.
Colin carefully observed the outside.
…Nothing happened.
All was calm and still.