Chapter 5

The wind snake bit at empty air.

It was almost successful, if not for Rod suddenly appearing from behind.

"Mr. Rod?"

Lijie, who had narrowly escaped death, lifted her head and was surprised to find Rod standing behind her, with her leaning against his chest. Perhaps due to the shock, the young girl found herself completely weak, unable to muster any strength. She instinctively tried to stand up, but her legs gave out, and she sat back down.

"Lijie!"

Seeing Lijie escape death, Carter let out a sigh of relief, but soon his heart tightened again. The wind snake that had missed its target had turned around, spread its wings, and raised its head, preparing to attack again. Damn! He gripped his twin swords and ran towards the two, hoping to arrive in time—yet it seemed he wouldn't make it.

The young girl, once again facing the wind snake, held her breath. She wanted to do something but didn't know what to do. As a Spirit Master, she didn't need to use weapons, and she didn't have any with her. What should she do now?

"Leave it to me."

Just as Lijie was panicking, Rod's voice reached her ears. Then, she saw Rod take a half-step forward, blocking her from the front.

Is he planning to fight the wind snake bare-handed?

Just as Lijie was puzzled, she saw Rod extend his right hand. At that moment, Lijie noticed that on the back of Rod's right hand, a complex and ornate magic array was shining with a bright and clear magical light. Lines spread from it, extending to each finger, and a translucent, card-like object gradually emerged from the center of Rod's palm.

Then, Rod gripped it with his hand.

A white, dazzling light suddenly appeared.

The无形的魔力解除封印，化为有形的气浪向四周扩散开来，首当其冲的风蛇尖叫着扇动翅膀，试图在这狂暴的气流冲击下保持平衡。但还没等它做出进一步的动作，一道耀眼的光芒便从气浪中乍现，重重地砍在风蛇身上，将其彻底打飞。

"Phew……"

Rod let out a sigh. The dazzling light had dissipated, replaced by a beautifully crafted, entirely white longsword in his right hand. He swung the Star Dust Sword, and specks of light slowly fell from it, creating a mesmerizing scene.

He didn't notice that the others were completely stunned. Lijie sat on the ground, staring in disbelief at the man standing before her. Carter also slowed his steps, his eyes filled with surprise and astonishment. Although he had long suspected that Rod was no ordinary person, he never imagined that he would be so "extraordinary."

Even though she was still sitting on the ground, Lijie couldn't help but admire the flawless, entirely white longsword. The slender blade was engraved with ancient patterns, emitting a faint glow. Around it, visible specks of light were beautiful and ethereal. The wings on the hilt were exquisitely detailed, with each feather clearly visible. While women generally weren't particularly interested in weapons, this sword had transcended the realm of weapons and could be considered a work of art.

Lijie was purely admiring, but Carter's gaze was different.

As an experienced adventurer, Carter could swear he had never seen anything so bizarre. In fact, when Rod summoned the weapon, Carter was stunned. He had seen some mages perform summoning, but they mostly used crystals and needed to chant strange incantations to summon ugly monsters. Summoning a weapon? He had never seen such a thing.

Although he didn't know what Rod was holding, Carter was clear that such a magical weapon was not something an ordinary person could use. Those who could wield such weapons were undoubtedly of noble and special status. Seeing the lifelike wings on the hilt, Carter frowned. He knew very well that angels were a highly esteemed race on this continent, often holding prominent positions or being key members of important organizations. For example, the ruler of the Muun Principality, Lydia Pahfeld Miral Fralica, who ascended to power three years ago, was an Archangel. Although he didn't know the young man's true identity, the sword alone was enough to confirm that he had some connection to that noble race.

These thoughts flashed through Carter's mind as he approached the two.

"Are you okay?"

"I, I'm fine."

Lijie's face was still pale. This couldn't be blamed on her for being timid; after all, if Rod hadn't pulled her back, the young girl would have been dead. The fear of narrowly escaping death was not something an ordinary person could experience.

After confirming that Lijie was not injured, Carter immediately turned his gaze to Rod.

"Mr. Rod, are you okay?"

Rod shook his head, indicating he was fine. Although his left side still hurt during movement, it didn't significantly affect his combat ability. Instead, he was more concerned about something else.

"What do you plan to do?"

The surrounding wind snakes were increasing in number. Although the airship was moving at full speed, it still couldn't escape the majority of the wind snakes. Their situation was not improving; it was getting worse.

"We plan to break out of their territory. Until then, we can only keep holding on."

If they were on land, Carter might have had other options, but since they were in the air, he had no better solution.

However, just as Carter spoke, the young man frowned.

"It's too late, Mr. Carter."

"Oh?"

"The wind snakes have a significant advantage in the plains. Even if we speed up, we won't be able to escape before the airship disintegrates."

"Really?"

Carter wasn't stupid. He made this decision because he was unfamiliar with the area. Hearing Rod's words, he immediately understood the severity of the situation.

"What should we do then?"

"Descend immediately."

Rod almost immediately gave the answer, then pointed to the side.

"Then we rush into that area."

Carter followed Rod's finger and was surprised to see what he was pointing at.

"You mean we should rush into the Twilight Forest?"

"To escape the wind snakes, this is our only option, and... ..."

Rod glanced around.

"Our time is running out."

The situation was indeed worsening.

The threat from the wind snakes wasn't just their venomous fangs; their corrosive venom was equally deadly. Their slender bodies allowed them to quickly change targets if a direct attack failed. Many wind snakes had already broken through the glass and entered the cabin. Faced with this situation, the group had no way to defend themselves. Although the confined space of the cabin limited the wind snakes' agility, their threat remained high. As a result, the cabin was in chaos, with thick smoke billowing from several breaches, indicating a dire situation.

Carter didn't hesitate and immediately turned to leave. Rod, holding the Star Trace, blocked the front breach.

"Hisss!!"

A wind snake flew in from the right, opening its mouth to attack Rod. But as it charged, Rod sidestepped to the left, and his white longsword swiftly rose, striking the wind snake's chin and deflecting the venom it tried to spray. Rod quickly turned, and his silver-white sword sliced through the air, accurately piercing the wings of another wind snake that tried to attack from behind. As it lost balance, he delivered a final blow, ending the snake's life.

However, the wind snakes' attacks didn't stop. The scent of blood only further incited them. As Rod pulled his sword from the dead wind snake, dozens of wind snakes suddenly pounced on him. They swarmed in layers, looking like a green cloud or the open mouth of an unknown monster, ready to swallow the prey in an instant.

"Mr. Rod!"

After dispelling the toxins from another mercenary, Lijie turned and saw this scene, involuntarily exclaiming.

Acidic liquid sprayed out like a rainstorm, heading towards Rod. If he were hit by this acid rain, he would likely be severely injured or even die.

But at that moment, Rod suddenly stepped back.

The acidic liquid, carrying a foul odor, narrowly missed him, splashing onto the deck and creating small holes as it corroded the surface. Almost simultaneously, the wind snakes had reached Rod, and in the next moment, they were about to tear apart this dangerous and hateful existence.

If it were an ordinary person, they would have been terrified by this scene. But Rod remained very calm. Facing the swarm of monsters that were about to tear him apart, he simply raised his sword with his right hand and thrust forward.

The Broken Blade activated.

White light blades suddenly erupted in the midst of the wind snakes, one splitting into two, two into four, and several blades rapidly shot forward, piercing one wind snake after another. The powerful air currents, like invisible hands, pulled the few that managed to avoid being hit, mercilessly tearing them apart. In an instant, the green cloud was completely shredded by the dazzling light, leaving only fragments of flesh.

Everyone held their breath at this moment.