Chapter 25

A short distance away from the clearing.

The forest was beautiful. Splatterings of sunlight flooded in through a mosaic of green leaves, and the many trees in the area grew vibrantly with large healthy trunks.

A frantic middle-aged man ran by the lush foliage. He was very large, with his body towering over the many plants on the forest floor. His bunned up long black hair flickered under the canopy’s brief spurts of sunlight, and his high quality satin clothes rustled in the wind.

This man was Finn’s father, the Bindan Village governor.

There was a reason why he was so frantic. A few minutes ago, he had sensed that the talisman he had given Finn had been cracked.

When Finn was only five years old, his father had given him a spirit energy talisman that, when cracked, would alert his father of his location. From then on, Finn always carried it on him. Obviously, it was to be used only for emergencies.

What made Finn’s father especially worried was that near the area Finn’s talisman had been cracked, he could sense faint residue spirit energy fluctuations. Could something have happened to his son?

‘I hope I make it in time!’ Finn’s father grit his teeth and continued to sprint through the forest, quickly making his way toward his destination.

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The clearing in the forest.

Zairen haphazardly dumped the tall masked man onto the ground.

Dusting off his hands, he slowly stood up and sighed.

He thought back to how, at the crucial moment, the tall masked man had grabbed Zairen’s leg, preventing him from chasing the other masked man.

At that time, Zairen had ran out of spirit energy. However, he could have pulled out the Shadow Dragon Sword and used the black stone’s spirit energy to shadow walk and catch up to the assassin.

However, he had decided not to do that. The reason was simple: he was unwilling to use that reserve storage of spirit energy. In his previous life, as a result of not having enough backup spirit energy, he had been killed. He had now learned his lesson, and would not use that extra spirit energy unless he was in a truly dangerous situation.

Furthermore, the assassins were not his enemies in the first place. Although they did attack Zairen, their true target was Finn. It was better to not get too involved in this conflict.

Thinking about that, he shifted his eyes and his gaze landed on the kneeling body of Finn. The small blue haired boy was bent over on the ground, his hands in a protective position over his head, his entire body trembling uncontrollably.

Zairen sighed inwardly. What was he going to do with this boy?

After a short while, Finn finally realized that someone was standing in front of him. He looked up, and seeing Zairen’s familiar figure, he instantly prostrated himself, half-crying: “Sir! You saved my life!”

Zairen raised an eyebrow. Although at first he found it funny, Finn treating him as superior was now making him feel a bit uncomfortable.

Just as he was thinking about how to respond, his entire body suddenly jolted. He sensed a huge fluctuation of spirit energy coming from behind him, shooting toward him like a cannonball!

Not given any time to think, Zairen threw himself to the side, his body landing on the ground.

“WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO MY SON?!” A massive figure shot into the clearing, landing with an explosion on the patch of grass Zairen had been standing on just a second prior.

BOOM! The ground underneath his feet was almost completely destroyed.

Zairen hurriedly got up and observed the person who had just arrived. A rough, angular face, two big blue eyes, a massive muscular body, and expensive-looking satin clothes… If it wasn’t obvious enough, this person was Finn’s father!

‘What bad luck!’ Zairen could only curse. ‘This guy thinks that I’m the one who tried to kidnap his son... ‘

But before he could say anything, the huge man was charging at him again! The governor’s speed was fast, about ninety percent as fast as the small masked man Zairen had faced just a few minutes prior. However, now that Zairen could clearly see his opponent in front of him, he could relatively easily dodge. He sidestepped and then backed up three large steps.

Seeing Zairen dodge, Finn’s father grimaced. He thought for a few moments, and then came to a decision.

‘This guy is fast… too fast… I'll never catch up to him.’ He pondered. ‘I'll have to use that technique.’ He suddenly crouched downward, and spirit energy gathered in his legs.

At that moment, Zairen felt an incredible sense of danger. That concentrated spirit energy… What was Finn’s father doing?

Zairen knew that with the governor’s strength, with one landed hit, the fight would already be over. He silently got ready to pull out the Shadow Dragon Sword.

He had no enmity with the governor, but he knew that even if he said something right now, the governor would most likely not listen. He had no choice but to get ready to receive whatever attack Finn’s father was preparing.

Just at that time, Finn seemed to have finally realized what was happening, and he suddenly shouted out: “Wait! Dad! Stop! He was the one who saved me!”

Unfortunately, at that moment, it seemed as if the governor was unable to hear his son. He suddenly shot out like a meteor, several times faster than he was previously, his fist extended out in front of him!

With that absurd speed, there was no way Zairen could dodge! Without any hesitation, he immediately pulled out the Shadow Dragon Sword, and just barely managed to use some of the stored spirit energy to form a barrier.

KUH-SSSSSHHHHHH!!!

The barrier Zairen had created was instantly shattered by the governor’s fist. Although the speed of the punch was halved, it passed straight through Zairen’s defense and slammed into Zairen’s cloak-covered body.

“Guh!” Zairen spit out a mouthful of blood, and his body was blasted backward. The cloak over his face flew off, revealing the complexion of a young black-haired boy.

Zairen’s body was flung high in the air before he finally crashed down on the ground more than ten meters away. His whole body wracked with pain, he couldn’t help but think: ‘So strong! What the heck was that technique?!’

But the governor was by no means finished with his assault. Even before Zairen could try to stand up again, the governor was already charging towards him for the fourth time.

Zairen could sense that his injuries were severe. Even though the barrier had halved the speed of the governor’s punch, its power was still massive! Furthermore, Zairen had the body of a seven year old, and was not able to take blows very well. As a result, he had suffered a large amount of internal damage.

If he had not made a barrier, maybe he would have been directly killed!

However, seeing the governor advancing toward him, Zairen ignored the pain and only held the Shadow Dragon sword out in front of him. A determined glare shone in his eyes, and the sword suddenly glowed with a black radiance!

‘Looks like I have no choice!’ Holding the glowing sword, Zairen watched with steady eyes as the governor charged towards him.

“DAD! STOP!” Suddenly, a high-pitched squeal rang out in the air, and a small but chubby boy jumped right in front of the charging governor.