Cornflower Witch

Chapter 417 The Last Escape Route
Following the escaped pigman, Hilti quickly traversed the complex underground passages, sensing that she was getting closer to the location of Scallion Street.

She had initially held onto a sliver of hope that the pigman could lead her to Anali's secret hideout, but now it seemed she would have no choice but to inquire at the 'Fire Pig's' headquarters.

Ten minutes later, Hilti stopped. A faint silver light shone in her eyes as she used the birds in front of her to see the situation at the end of the passage.

There, a hidden cover opened, and the pigman huffed and puffed as he ran into a room. Judging from the surrounding furnishings, it was probably an underground dormitory for pigmen.

Huh? Instead of reporting the situation to her superiors first, it seems she overestimated the intelligence of these pig-men.

However, this is also good, as it avoids alerting the enemy and gives her more time to search for clues.

After entering the underground stronghold through a concealed cover, Hilti observed her surroundings and slowly approached its core area.

There are many pigmen guarding the passage here, and she will inevitably have to fight if she wants to pass through.

After careful consideration and analysis, Hilti took action. She summoned several phantom swords and quickly traversed the passage. Before the pigmen could even notice, she pierced their bodies, avoiding vital points as much as possible and focusing on rendering them unable to run or move.

After being injured, some of the pigmen howled in anger, but Hilti could not care about that at this point. She calmed herself down and continued to move forward, using the birds to scout the area and determine the direction and situation ahead.

Inside the underground headquarters, Fire Pig received a message from outside.

"Your Majesty, an unknown person has rushed in and is getting closer." A scarred pigman ran in to report. He could speak human language and his strength was at the third tier.

"Have men hold the line."

"Yes."

After the other party left with a group of elite pigman guards, the fire pig slowly stood up. He looked at the seat he had been sitting in for more than twenty years, broke off the stone chair back, and revealed what was hidden behind it.

Inside was a thick golden chain, an incredibly heavy golden axe, and several bottles of dark red blood wine.

He opened the bottle and gulped it down. His whole body turned red, radiating intense heat, and his breathing sounded like a steam whistle.

He first put on the gold chain, then picked up the heavy gold axe and slowly walked out.

Inside the passage, pigman guards were cut by the darting magnetic sand swords, and then a gleaming silver bird swooped down, knocking aside the pigmen who were blocking the way, temporarily revealing a wide road.

At this moment, the fire pig finally saw who had broken in and prepared to kill him.

"So it's just a little girl." He made a slightly sarcastic sound, whether mocking her for overestimating herself or laughing at himself for being driven to such a desperate situation by such a girl.

Seeing the enormous, fiery red figure emerging from across the road, with its invisible heatwave spreading out, Hilti felt her heart beat a moment slower. Although this giant pig was only at the 'Third-Order Blood Law' level, the aura it exuded was comparable to that of some Fourth-Order beings. It must have been stuck in this position for a very long time, and the accumulated power of its nature was far beyond what an ordinary Third-Order being could compare to.

This is getting a bit troublesome. The girl raised her hand, caught the iron sword floating beside her, and then gripped it tightly with both hands. A series of cold lights flashed across the blade, reinforcing and sharpening it.

At this moment, the pigmen in the passage brought out crossbows and aimed them at the girl, but her gaze did not waver at all, still fixed on the fire pig carrying a giant axe.

"Bang! Bang!" The sound of bowstrings vibrating repeatedly rang out as crossbow bolts were fired.

Before reaching the third tier, it is difficult for ordinary creatures to withstand crossbow fire head-on. The opponent has already realized that this girl is not a warrior with a strong body and is preparing to defeat her by focusing fire.

Facing the incoming crossbow bolts, Hilti took a step forward, activated her long-prepared breathing technique, and unleashed a burst of power that allowed her to quickly step onto the side wall of the passage, avoiding the incoming crossbow bolts. She rushed forward at an extremely fast speed, even hanging upside down and stepping over the top of the passage.

As she approached, she leaped over the encircling pigmen from the ceiling, her sharp blade swiftly slicing across the back of their necks, causing them to fall one after another. At this moment, other pigmen approached, wielding axes and spiked clubs. Instead of taking the hits head-on, she flipped over again to dodge, then threw her iron sword, sending it spinning rapidly through the air and crushing the approaching pigmen.

Seeing the girl using her agile movements to take down one of his men after another, Fire Pig shook his head and told everyone to clear the way.

"let me!"

He strode forward, his massive body pressing down like a mountain of flesh.

As Hilti was about to retreat and dodge, her opponent opened her mouth, took a deep breath, and then let out a huge, explosive roar.

The powerful sound waves swept through the passage, their power amplified in the narrow space. Even Hilti had to take the hit head-on, her body being sent flying by the sound waves and crashing into the stone wall.

A few seconds later, she struggled to her feet, looked at her cut hands and the dust covering her body, and shook her head.

"I was a little careless," Hilti murmured.

At this moment, the fire pig continued to charge forward with heavy steps. Although it was not fast, it seemed as if the earth was shaking, which was frightening.

Hiltiya raised her hand, and several sharp threads appeared in the passage, tightening around the advancing fire boar and then cutting bloody wounds.

Faced with this tactic, the fire pig took another deep breath, its muscles swelled and became incredibly hard, forcefully severing the silk threads and advancing once more.

Taking advantage of a lull, he grabbed the axe left behind by the pigman guard at his feet and threw it, which narrowly grazed Hilti's ear, leaving a trace of blood.

Faced with such danger, Hilti's eyes flashed, but she quickly suppressed them.

She almost switched to her new form. Instead of continuing her reckless attack, she retreated and began to think about how to defeat her opponent.

If she were to go all out, she would have many ways to take down the Fire Pig. She could even simply summon the previously sealed Floating Demon Eye to focus fire and penetrate it. Unfortunately, this is the Mage Alliance. Many methods, even if no one sees them, will still leave traces. She doesn't know how many methods the Mage Alliance has that can be traced and investigated, but for the sake of a more important mission, she cannot expose herself so easily.

As she retreated, Hilti threw her sword, aiming straight for the fire boar's face. The boar shook its tusks, knocking the iron sword away, and continued to advance. At this moment, the fire boar inhaled again, preparing to unleash a sonic roar.

Seeing this, Hilti had no choice but to retreat quickly, using a corner of a passage to avoid the direct impact of the sound wave.

During the fight, other pigman guards rushed over and blocked her retreat.

If it were just an ordinary Tier 2 pigman, it wouldn't be difficult for her to deal with it; it would just take some time. Unfortunately, the fire pigs were closing in, and she didn't have much time.

"I have to go all out," Hilti thought to herself. She took another deep breath, spread her hands slightly, and a magnetic sand-condensed iron sword appeared in each of her hands, which she then held in her palms.

For the past six months, she has spent most of her time studying the various courses required to enter the 'Mithril Clock' school. Although she has not obtained any of the school's secret techniques, she has found some commonalities and characteristics in these subjects, namely, a more accurate way to observe, record, analyze, and change the world.

As a pale silver light spread across the iron sword, the originally brittle 'Phantom Flying Sword' spell began to change. Complex runes began to appear inside the iron sword, and then a denser and more solid structure gradually emerged.

First, the originally gray-black blade turned silver-gray, its shape shrinking slightly but appearing heavier. Then, a cold glint flashed at its edges, a faint sense of danger emerging. Next, the internal structure changed again, taking on a honeycomb-like outline. Finally, the blade hummed, like a crossbow bolt fully charged and ready to be fired. Steel, Sharp, Solid, Charged, Fast

With two longswords in her hands, Hilti quickly swept past the charging pigman guards and dealt with them. With the enhancement of various rune effects, the two swords displayed rare power, easily breaking through the guards' steel armor.

After clearing out the reinforcing pigman guards, Hilti paused briefly to recover her energy. She looked towards the side of the road, where the booming sounds of approaching footsteps continued to echo.

Then a huge, fiery red figure reappeared, carrying a giant axe in one hand, dragging it and leaving long scratches on the ground. His fat jiggled as he ran, like waves.

Upon rediscovering Siltiah, the fire pig paused slightly, glancing at the fallen pigman guards scattered across the ground, and at the two longswords gleaming with silver light in the girl's hand.

“You are very strong, and you shouldn’t be using your talent and abilities here.” He also learned about the girl’s identity through his subordinates.

The reason is simple: in the Asura district, this black-haired newborn girl is just too easy to spot.

"I know, it's just that one of my friends has gone missing. There are many things we can't help," Hilti said with a sigh.

"Can you tell me where she hid it? Can you return her and the treasure intact?"

"Hehe." The fire pig did not answer.

He might have a chance of survival if he defeated the girl and handed her over to the police officers; however, admitting that he had sent people to steal the 'Bionics School's' treasure would be a certain death sentence.

"It seems there's no way to negotiate." Hilti had already known this outcome; she had only asked the question as a last glimmer of hope.

She stepped forward again and shot one of the swords at the fire pig's face.

This time, the blade flew at an exceptionally fast speed. The fire pig didn't have time to stop it, and the sword pierced its face, with only half of the blade protruding.

Such an injury would have killed an ordinary person long ago, but for his incredibly thick skin and fat, it was nothing more than a minor injury.

Ignoring the blade on his face, the fire boar gripped his giant axe and swung it, the blade whistling through the air. At its highest point, it let out a deafening roar, shattering the wooden frame beside it. Hiltia, standing in front of him, faltered, but having missed the best time to dodge, she could only turn away again, narrowly avoiding the axe blade that grazed her face.

The strong wind made her cheeks sting a little. Then she kicked up and leaped onto the wall of the passage in mid-air before the other party could turn around.

At this moment, she gripped the sword hilt with both hands, the blade gleaming with brilliant silver light, and then brought it down heavily.

Like a comet striking the moon, the sword sliced ​​through the massive fat on the fire pig's neck, revealing a small amount of pale pink flesh.

Afterwards, under the attack of the Fire Pig's returning axe, Hilti retreated again, waiting for the next opportunity to attack.

After repeating this several times, the fire pig gradually realized something was wrong. Despite his great strength, resilient body, and long endurance, he was of little use against this girl, with only his indiscriminate sonic attacks proving effective.

In fact, in every exchange, if this girl showed even the slightest weakness, such as being a little slow in dodging or failing to find an opportunity during the gaps in the moves, she would be severely injured by the fire pig and would not be able to achieve any decent results.

It was just a hair's breadth away!
Fire Pig's anger swelled, and in the next exchange, he unleashed his full power, his muscles bulging, and his crimson power erupted, causing the speed of his battle axe to suddenly increase once again.

The sharp axe blade swept across like a giant hammer, the resulting shockwave engulfing the ground and stirring up various debris. Finally, the axe blade slammed heavily into the wall, and when the dust settled, the girl was still standing unharmed opposite.

However, unlike usual, her eyes shone with a dazzling light, taking in the flow and circulation of the 'blood law' power throughout the Fire Pig's entire body. She could clearly sense any movement or attack in advance, which is why Hilti was always able to accurately find the flaws in those dangerous battles.

When observations are accurate and comprehensive enough, prediction becomes a kind of inevitability.

After several more exchanges, the silver-glowing longsword in Hilti's hand finally shattered and dissipated into light.

At this moment, the wounded fire pig saw hope again. He raised his head and roared, and then the necklace on his chest shone with fiery red and golden light. Then, invisible vitality flowed into his body, and the torn wounds slowly healed.

Hiltiya blinked, surprised. It was a rare healing treasure. She had initially thought it was a treasure with amplification and protection effects.

At levels 1-3, most magical abilities can only be used to stop bleeding and heal wounds, not to provide true healing. They can only prevent the wounds from worsening and create suitable conditions for self-healing, allowing the body to heal slowly. Generally speaking, superhumans with the three attributes of 'Blood Law, Beast Fang, and Dragon Eye' will recover much faster.

True healing abilities generally only appear at level 4, which means truly reconnecting muscle fibers and enabling the use of force.

The fire pig's body slowly recovered, but the treasure was only at the fourth tier, just enough for healing. The regrown muscle fibers and flesh were not as strong as they had been initially.

He ignored Hilti and turned to run away quickly.

Is this an escape?

Hilti followed, thinking that after her sword shattered, her opponent would have hope and fight her again. But the fire pig's first thought was to take this opportunity to run away.

Strands of silk appeared beside the girl, then transformed into silver birds that chased after her. Lacking powerful attack methods, Hiltiya was indeed unlikely to cause any damage to the fire pig at this moment. The silk birds were merely delaying the opponent's escape.

Returning to his previous underground room, Fire Pig picked up the blood wine from the back of the chair and gulped it down. He didn't look back, letting the sharp wings of the birds cut tiny wounds.

Although a few orcs spotted this, they were more afraid of a powerful enemy capable of defeating the Fire Pig than the loyal pigmen guards they had previously been guarding. So they dared not approach, and no one dared to report the news to the authorities. The Fire Pig's previous influence was still there. That was the rule of the underworld: fighting to the death was acceptable, but asking the police for help was an extremely cowardly and shameful act that would cause one to lose face in the underworld.

Under these circumstances, Hilti also felt somewhat uncomfortable. She had originally wanted to finish the battle quickly, but now it had dragged on for a long time. Moreover, her main purpose was to save people, not to fight the fire pig.

“If you tell me where Anali is hiding and the location of the Dragon Eye Treasure, and clear her of suspicion, I will no longer concern myself with your affairs.” She decided to try one more time.

Unfortunately, Fire Pig was focused on escaping at this point. His mind and body had long been corrupted by the chaos and untrustworthy nature of the underworld, so he would never believe such an incredibly tolerant promise.

It must be a scam!
Since arriving in the Asura District to fill his stomach, Fire Pig has never encountered any selfless and kind people. Everywhere he goes, there is only naked struggle for profit. To grab food and to make money, both opponents and himself are capable of all sorts of unscrupulous things. Lying is just the simplest part of it.

He knew he would inevitably be disliked, that those who seemed loyal would eventually betray him, and that the slightest hint of discontent from officials would make him realize the impending crisis.

Only one's own strength is real, which is why he is so obsessed with banquet rituals.

In the dark underground passage, the giant pig-man covered in scars ignored the various noises behind him and rushed towards the escape route that had been planned for many years. Although he had failed to complete the feast ritual and become a powerful fourth-tier superhuman, he was content as long as he could survive.

There lies the final path to freedom he left for himself.

(End of this chapter)