Chapter 50: The Price of Deception

Marjorie remained oblivious to Gapp’s betrayal. Even if Gapp hadn’t sold him out, Marjorie was fully prepared to do the same to Gapp.

Enhanced by the magic arrays deployed across Aitran County, he could feel a formidable power coalescing within his body.

Marjorie then channeled this power, unleashing it as a psychic shockwave. A colossal, formless ball of mental energy hurtled directly towards Ellis’s barrier.

This psychic surge, almost solid in its intensity, utterly drained the life from the ground around Marjorie.

Yet, a scene that utterly astonished Marjorie unfolded before him.

Ellis’s barrier, despite such a terrifying assault, remained completely unmoving.

Truth be told, Marjorie was utterly bewildered.

The vast discrepancy between reality and his expectations bred a gnawing doubt within him.

‘Could it be that the entire Aitran County wasn’t enveloped by the barrier, but rather the enemy had concentrated their defenses solely on his immediate area?’

‘But the information from his kin had indicated that the barrier’s strength was uniform across all locations!’

Marjorie’s head spun. What he hadn’t anticipated was that the time afforded him for thought was even shorter.

Through the intelligence relayed by his kin, Marjorie realized that an enemy was approaching him at an alarming speed, annihilating every single Demonic Spirit tribesman in their path.

Ignoring his own physical state, Marjorie once again activated the primal magic array, releasing a psychic shockwave of the same magnitude as before, directed towards the enemy.

However, confronted by such a terrifying attack, the enemy seemed to have no intention of evading. Like a Red Leopard that couldn’t turn, they collided head-on with his psychic shockwave.

“Fool! If this strike hits you, both your body and soul will be utterly obliterated!”

Marjorie was absolutely convinced of this, but what transpired next once again defied his comprehension.

That individual, who should have been completely erased from both body and spirit, seemed to have just passed right through him.

Moreover, Marjorie felt as though he had lost a part of his body.

He slowly looked down, discovering that he had been severed at the waist. His lower body, detached from his torso, floated momentarily in the air before plummeting to the ground.

Marjorie strained to turn his head and glimpse his assailant.

Instead, a beam of sword energy, brilliant as the sun, enveloped him.

“Done.”

Watching Marjorie dissolve into ash, Larry breathed a sigh of relief. He was about to inform Ellis that she could remove the barrier when he suddenly noticed something peculiar about the remaining Demonic Spirit tribesmen.

After their leader’s demise, they stood motionless, like puppets.

Suddenly, a powerful updraft appeared, and the Demonic Spirit tribesmen began to fall, one after another, like harvested straw.

Though invisible to the naked eye, Larry’s senses detected an unseen mental energy emerging from the bodies of the fallen Demonic Spirit tribesmen. This energy then began to flow with the air currents.

Their converging point was… the direction of Ellis!

Larry gasped, a sharp intake of breath. He shot forward like an arrow released from a fully drawn bow, hurtling towards Ellis.

Ellis, too, had sensed the anomaly. Cold sweat beaded on her forehead.

The enemy seemed to have entirely shifted their target to her.

“Resilient Young Miss, are you still not planning to retract your power now?”

Mitchell’s gentle reminder came through. “That good-for-nothing seems to have let the enemy through.”

“If I retract it, all my efforts will be for naught!”

Ellis offered a smile that looked more like a grimace, gazing at the colossal phantom gradually taking shape. ‘She had never heard of the Demonic Spirit tribe possessing such an ability.’

This enormous Demonic Spirit phantom was Marjorie, who had used a forbidden art of his tribe, sacrificing nearly all his kin to coalesce into this form.

He gazed down at the diminutive Ellis and declared, “For a minor character like myself to alarm an S-rank adventurer, it is an unparalleled honor.”

Ellis’s smile was even uglier than a cry. “Indeed, I feel the same way.”

“However, you’ve expended so much energy on the barrier, how much strength do you have left to deal with me now?”

The Demonic Spirit phantom seemed to have no immediate intention of attacking. Instead, he negotiated with Ellis. “The reason I’ve done all this is purely because I was exploited by Gapp, the King of Danga. As long as you are willing to spare my life and remove this barrier, I guarantee I will not harm you.”

Ellis furrowed her brow slightly, seemingly contemplating the feasibility of this proposal.

“It would be best not to stall, for my patience is now extremely limited.”

Marjorie raised his colossal claw, preparing to strike down towards Ellis.

“Alright.”

Ellis sighed, as if she had reached a conclusion.

Marjorie, thinking he had a chance, momentarily paused his attack.

“I choose to refuse!”

Ellis suddenly shouted at Marjorie, then directly manipulated Mitchell to fly elsewhere.

Although she no longer had her flying artifact, Ellis could still use primal flight arts, though its flexibility and speed would be significantly slower.

Marjorie retorted, filled with shame and fury, “You bastard! How dare you deceive me!”

Despite his immense size, Marjorie didn’t move quickly, but each of his steps was equivalent to a hundred of Ellis’s. He swung his massive claw, attempting to swat Ellis down.

However, before his claw could descend, a piercing pain shot through his palm. His movements involuntarily stiffened, and he watched helplessly as Ellis escaped from beneath his grasp.

Marjorie roared in unbridled fury, a colossal sound erupting from his mouth. The sound waves carried a powerful psychic force.

Ellis, buffeted by this psychic energy, felt her head spin and throb.

“What are you roaring about? Do you think you’re the only one who can shout loudly? If it weren’t for me needing to cage you properly, I’d have tamed you into a dog by now!”

“Desperate Young Miss! Concentrate!”

At this moment, Mitchell’s anxious voice cut through, and Ellis realized a gigantic shadow was covering her—Marjorie’s hand.

‘Tch, at this speed, I can’t seem to dodge it. Do I really have to remove the barrier after all?’

Ellis watched Marjorie’s hand descend with great reluctance. She knew that once the barrier was removed, Marjorie would immediately flee.

Just as she was about to retract the barrier, a broad figure shielded her from behind.

That colossal hand dissipated under Larry’s sword light before it even had a chance to fall.

“What are you trying to do to Ellis?!”

Larry’s cold voice, though not loud, clearly reached both Marjorie and Ellis’s ears. The murderous intent in his words sent a shiver down Marjorie’s spine.

Without giving Marjorie any chance to explain, a sword light extended from Larry’s longsword, stretching all the way to Marjorie’s head, then heavily cleaved down, slicing the giant Marjorie in half.

Amidst a mournful wail, Marjorie was utterly and completely dead. Clean and decisive; this time, there were no further surprises.

“Phew, truly my little brother. Always arriving just in time when your big sis is in danger.”

Ellis sighed in relief, then stepped forward and patted Larry’s shoulder.

To her surprise, Larry spun around abruptly, gripping Ellis’s shoulders with both hands, looking at her anxiously. “Are you alright? Are you hurt anywhere?”

“I’m fine…”

“I’m sorry I was late. Let me check you quickly…”

Larry, overly concerned with Ellis’s current state, forgot her current gender and began to check her body with his hands. Slowly, however, Larry’s actions became a little improper, and his expression turned lewd.

Ellis:

“Listen to me!”

An uppercut sent Larry flying into the air. As he fell, she delivered a straight punch to his stomach, sending him crashing into a tree ten meters away.

“Don’t try to take advantage of me under the guise of concern!”