The moment their car neared the foothills of the Blackrock Mountains, Wendy spotted trouble long before Evan did.
A squad of Rovan soldiers—Lion Guard uniforms, rifles raised—blocked the narrow dirt path ahead.
“They’re here for us,” she said.
Zhang Fantie had clearly ordered a full perimeter lockdown. No matter which route they took, someone would be waiting.
“Hit them,” Yvonne said.
“Hold tight.”
Evan slammed the accelerator. The engine roared, the car shot forward, and the soldiers scrambled to aim.
Yvonne rolled down the window and slipped out like a weightless shadow, one hand gripping the roof as she perched on top of the moving vehicle. Evolution energy crackled in her palm—yellow light gathering like a storm.
The soldiers opened fire.
Yvonne snapped her hands apart, pulling a streak of lightning into a whip. She lashed it forward, and the air erupted with crackling arcs. The lightning web caught every bullet mid?flight, melting them into droplets of glowing metal that hissed against the ground.
A heartbeat later, the car burst through the line. One soldier dove too late and was sent flying.
Evan didn’t slow down. He drove straight into the tall grass, bumping over uneven ground until the car could go no farther.
They abandoned it and began climbing.
They hadn’t gone far when Wendy glanced back.
“They’re coming.”
“Then we change direction,” Evan said.
He activated the No?Trace Walker relic. His steps grew lighter, leaving no footprints behind. Only then could he keep pace with Wendy’s Breaker?tier physique.
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But the pursuers were relentless.
A military jeep arrived at the foot of the mountain. Three men and a dog stepped out.
Evan recognized Zhang Fantie immediately.The second man was one of Elias Zhao’s personal guards.The third wore Lion Guard armor and held the leash of a sleek, sharp?eyed dog.
Wendy’s expression tightened.
“That’s a Wind?Scent Hound. Tier?1 beast. Military tracking unit. Its nose is terrifying.”
The dog sniffed once and barked sharply—straight toward their trail.
Zhang Fantie didn’t even wait. He scooped the dog into his arms and sprinted uphill, leaving his companions behind.
Evan stared.“Who chases people while carrying a dog?”
Yvonne grabbed both Evan and Wendy by the collar and ran. Her speed skyrocketed, wind whipping their faces like lashes. But she wasn’t fully healed, and carrying two people slowed her down.
Zhang Fantie gained on them.
Yvonne’s temper snapped.“I’ll fight him!”
Evan and Wendy grabbed her arms.
“Don’t! You’ll reopen your wounds.”“You’re our only protection—don’t throw your life away.”
Their words barely calmed her.
Then everything changed.
Yvonne suddenly veered sharply, nearly flinging both of them off her shoulders.
Zhang Fantie’s face lit up with triumph.
“General Yeh Muni! Help me capture those three!”
Evan’s heart dropped.
Ahead of them stood General Yeh Muni—and beside him, an elderly man in a white suit, scholarly and calm.
Both were chasing a shadowy figure.
At Zhang Fantie’s shout, all three stopped.
The shadow halted too… and condensed into a man with rainbow?colored hair.
Quentin Vilewind.
Yvonne tried to run, but a wall of fire erupted in front of her. Two more walls rose on either side, boxing them in. The flames didn’t burn the leaves on the ground, yet the heat was suffocating—so intense Evan felt his skin tightening.
A Saint?tier’s power.
There was no escape.
Yvonne set Evan and Wendy down, jaw clenched.
Zhang Fantie strode forward.“Thank you, General!”
But the old man beside Yeh Muni suddenly spoke.
“Professor Liu?”
Wendy stiffened.“Dean Amida… I’m no longer a professor at Gu’an University.”
Amida turned to Yeh Muni.“General, you intend to arrest them?”
Yeh Muni’s expression shifted.
“Dean, the boy is a murderer who illegally crossed from Muke. I was entrusted to bring him back. The two women are not targets.”
Running into a Saint is bad luck.
Running into two Saints and a mad Saint at the same time… that’s destiny being cruel.
