Chương 73: Sword Token

The opening on the eastern side had already been completely blocked by the fallen Graywood Rock. Behind the stone ring, however, the narrow crevice that allowed only one person to squeeze through sideways was still open. Elaine removed her medical case and went through first. The two hunters followed closely behind. They had dismantled the folding stretcher into several sections and carried the pieces separately on their backs. Only after entering the stone ring did they take them down and reassemble it.

Beyond the front opening. The Rock-Marrow Dire Bear still hadn't left. Its front paws pressed against the loose stones, its enormous body crouched slightly lower. Pale golden markings extended outward from around its eyes. Its gray-yellow pupils remained fixed on Sera. The Sword Token floating above Sera's palm slowly rotated. Four mana fluctuations of completely different affinities interlocked with one another, forming a pressure far beyond her own realm.

Low growls continuously rumbled from deep within the Rock-Marrow Dire Bear's throat. Sera stood before the front opening. Her right hand never loosened its grip on her sword.

"Hurry." She didn't look back. Inside the stone ring. Elaine had already crouched beside Velesa. Velesa leaned against the inner wall of the Graywood Rock. Her face was so pale that almost no color remained. Every breath was extremely short. Dark-red blood continuously seeped from the corner of her mouth, running down her chin and dripping onto her chest. Elaine cut open the damaged leather armor covering her chest and abdomen. The moment her palm pressed near Velesa's ribs, Velesa's body twitched slightly.

"Be careful!" Talia pushed herself upright against the Graywood Rock. Her left arm could no longer be raised and hung limply at her side. Elaine ignored her. She continued checking downward along Velesa's sternum. Several ribs had clearly shifted out of place. One section of her chest rose and fell abnormally with each breath.

"Broken ribs."

"One of them is close to the lung." Kane pressed a hand against the unbandaged wound where his ear had been severed. Blood continued seeping between his fingers.

"Can we carry her back?" Elaine remained silent. She took a slender vial from her medical case. After opening it, she poured the liquid over the area where Velesa's chest and abdomen had suffered the worst trauma. The pale blue medicine rapidly seeped inward the moment it touched her skin. Velesa's breathing temporarily steadied. A few seconds later. The skin over her chest and abdomen suddenly bulged slightly. A wave of gray-black mana spread outward from deep within the injured area.

The bleeding that had already stopped began seeping out again. Elaine froze. She extended two fingers and pressed against a mana node beside Velesa's chest. An extremely faint fluctuation traveled back through the Mental Power concentrated along her fingertips. It wasn't Velesa's own mana. It was something heavy. Sluggish. Like shards of stone embedded in flesh. When the Rock-Marrow Dire Bear unleashed its stratum shock, part of its mana had invaded Velesa's body along with the impact.

That power had stagnated around the fractures, near the lungs, and within several of the most severely injured areas. The impact itself had ended long ago. But the residual mana continued damaging the injured bones and organs.

"Its mana is still inside her." Elaine took a securing band from the medical case.

"We have no way to remove it here." Talia looked at Velesa.

"What about back at camp?" Elaine wrapped the securing band around Velesa's chest and abdomen.

"The camp can't remove this residual mana either." Velesa's body trembled faintly again.

"Even if we bring her back, all we can do is keep suppressing the injuries."

"We can't save her." The stone ring fell silent for an instant. Kane's hand tightened slightly over the place where his ear had been severed. A low roar suddenly came from outside. The Rock-Marrow Dire Bear stepped forward. The aura released by the Sword Token abruptly pressed down. Its front paw froze in midair. Eventually, it lowered the paw back to the ground. Loose stones were ground into powder beneath its claws. Sera still didn't look back.

"Elaine."

"How much longer?" Elaine glanced toward the front opening. Then back at Velesa.

"I can't save her."

"If we stay here any longer, the others won't be able to leave either." Talia lowered her head. Her right hand closed around a thin chain hanging from her neck. A silver-gray pendant hung from the end. There were no visible seams across its surface. But when she injected a trace of mana, a tiny ripple spread across the center of the pendant. Like a fingertip gently touching the surface of water. Talia reached her right hand inside. A moment later. She pulled something out of the pendant. It was a drop of water.

A single drop of water, frozen in midair. Only about the size of a thumb. The transparent droplet retained the natural shape of falling water as it rested on her fingertip, yet it didn't flow downward. A thread of silver-white light slowly drifted within.

"Isn't that from your grandfather...?" Kane couldn't hide the surprise on his face. Talia had already moved beside Velesa.

"I chose this subjugation."

"I'm not leaving you here." She dropped to one knee and placed the solidified water droplet on Velesa's chest. The droplet remained steadily between the leather armor and her clothing. It didn't roll away. Talia placed her right hand above it. Mana seeped from her palm. Ripples spread across the transparent surface. The droplet's previously solid shape rapidly dissolved. It seemed to truly melt, spreading across Velesa's chest. The transparent liquid flowed outward through the gaps between her clothing and armor.

But none of it dripped onto the ground. Instead, as though drawn toward her body, it rapidly enveloped Velesa's torso and limbs. Part of the liquid seeped into her body through the wounds. Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. Silver-white light flashed beneath her pale skin. Velesa's rapid breathing gradually slowed. Soon, it became so faint that it was almost imperceptible. The blood continuously seeping from the corner of her mouth also slowly stopped.

Elaine immediately pressed two fingers against the side of her neck. Her heartbeat was still there. It had simply been suppressed to an extremely low level. The gray-black mana stagnating around her injuries hadn't disappeared. But it appeared to have been sealed together with the transparent liquid. Both its spread and its destructive effects had been reduced to the absolute minimum. Then. A shimmer of water reappeared beneath Velesa's skin. The transparent liquid slowly solidified along the contours of her body.

Beginning at the chest and abdomen. Then gradually spreading across her limbs, neck, and head. Within only a few breaths. Velesa's entire body had been sealed within a transparent shell. The shell clung tightly to her clothing and armor. It looked like a stream of clear water frozen in time. Elaine tapped the surface with one knuckle. A crisp sound echoed inside the stone ring. Both Velesa's life activity and the deterioration of her injuries had been suppressed to an almost completely suspended state.

"Put her on the stretcher." Elaine stood.

"Until this shell disappears, she won't die for the time being." She looked up at the two hunters. They had already unfolded the stretcher. They carefully lifted Velesa onto it. Her body showed no further obvious reaction. It was as though she had fallen into an extraordinarily deep sleep. Elaine turned toward Kane.

"Move your hand." Kane was still covering the place where his ear had been severed.

"It's going to look a little ugly."

"You already look ugly enough." Elaine pulled his hand away. The severed animal ear was gone. Only a short section near the base remained, with an uneven wound left by the claw. She rapidly cleaned the injury and stopped the bleeding. Then she wrapped a bandage over the top of his head and beneath his jaw to secure it. Kane grimaced.

"Gentler." She turned to Talia. Using a wooden splint and bandages, she immobilized Talia's left forearm. Then she treated the wound on her forehead. Of the remaining two guards, one had a dislocated shoulder, while the other had suffered a deep cut to the lower leg from falling rubble. Elaine performed only the most basic immobilization and hemostasis. This wasn't a place to treat the wounded. They needed to leave as quickly as possible.... Outside the stone ring.

The Rock-Marrow Dire Bear moved several more steps forward. The Four-Phase aura released by the Sword Token remained intact. But the pressure that had instinctively terrified the beast was no longer as powerful as when it first appeared. The armament patterns across the Sword Token were also beginning to dim. The Rock-Marrow Dire Bear raised one front paw. It didn't attack Sera directly. Instead, it slammed the paw into the ground beside her. Bang! Loose stones exploded outward.

A relatively weak tremor traveled through the underground strata. The ground beneath Sera shook slightly. She stepped half a pace forward. Water rose beside her and wound itself through the rubble and soil ahead. The shock that had been spreading toward the stone ring was forcibly dispersed. The Rock-Marrow Dire Bear stared at her. Ferocity burned in its eyes. It hadn't received the counterattack it had expected. The growl in its throat gradually grew louder. Sera's grip around her sword tightened slightly.

The bear hadn't truly seen through the Sword Token. But the residual mana from the spiral crown was continuously weakening its fear and caution. And the Sword Token's deterrence could not last forever. Behind the stone ring. Elaine had already moved with the stretcher to the narrow crevice. The folding stretcher had been able to pass through while dismantled. But now that it had been reassembled, there was no way to carry it sideways through the narrow passage.

Only by driving away the Rock-Marrow Dire Bear and opening the front exit would they have a chance to leave. Elaine raised her head toward Sera.

"Ready!" Sera didn't answer. She merely stared at the Rock-Marrow Dire Bear as it lowered its body again. The final armament patterns maintaining the Sword Token's deterrent aura were slowly going dark. She couldn't wait any longer. Sera drove the long sword in her right hand into the ground. Then drew a short blade from her waist.... Antler Camp. Rowan remained seated cross-legged inside his workstation. The final section around the outer edge of the auxiliary core was slowly closing.

His Mental Power had been divided into several strands. Each maintained the stability of a different position. Only an extremely small gap remained at the final connection point. One final push. And the Mind-Splitting Art would be truly complete. The interior of the auxiliary core was trembling faintly. The vibration wasn't strong. But it had never completely disappeared. Rowan maintained the current state. Time passed bit by bit. The tremors repeatedly traveled through the auxiliary core.

Rowan gradually adjusted the proportion of Mental Power supporting several structures. Excess force was withdrawn little by little. The connections that had originally felt somewhat rigid gradually became natural again. The vibrations inside the auxiliary core finally began weakening. Until they disappeared completely. Only then did Rowan push the final section forward. His Mental Power slowly approached. There was no violent fluctuation. No eruption of mana. The two ends connected in silence.

The auxiliary core was complete. Rowan still didn't open his eyes. He tried channeling Mental Power through the auxiliary core. It clearly separated into two streams. The sensation was strange. As though he had suddenly grown another pair of hands for spellcasting. Unfamiliar. But nowhere near as sluggish as he had imagined. Rowan mobilized the mana within his Source Crystal Core. The mana passed through the Source Rune molds on the surface of the core. Two sets of temporary Source Runes appeared one after another.

The first stream of Mental Power followed a path he had long since mastered. One group of temporary Source Runes rapidly drew together and began forming the simplest Water Blade model. At the same time. The second stream of Mental Power passed through the auxiliary core and pulled at the second group of temporary Source Runes. It was noticeably slower. Several of the Source Runes were also slightly misaligned. But the first completed spell model remained perfectly stable. Rowan adjusted them little by little.

A moment later. The second Water Blade model also gradually stabilized. Two complete spell models existed simultaneously. Rowan didn't release them. He withdrew his Mental Power. The two groups of temporary Source Runes dispersed. He slowly opened his eyes. The Mind-Splitting Art was complete. Outside the workstation, the sky had already grown noticeably darker. Sera and Elaine still hadn't returned. The camp's state of alert had not been lifted either. Rowan glanced at his wrist.

The Möbius Ring was still on cooldown. He stood and walked toward his equipment case. One by one, he took out all six sets of Bone-Spike Traps. After organizing the rest of his equipment. He finally went to Taun.

"Lend me a crossbow." Taun glanced at the Bone-Spike Traps strapped across Rowan's back. He didn't ask any questions. He opened the weapon chest beside the material shed and took out one of the two remaining improved Tendon-Cord Crossbows. Marlock stood beside the east gate. When he saw Rowan approaching with his equipment, his expression was still far from pleasant.

"Where are you going?" Rowan paused.

"I never said I wasn't going to help with the rescue." Marlock looked at him for several seconds. In the end, he had the east gate opened. Rowan walked out of the camp. The gate closed again behind him.... Rowan didn't use Wellspring Step the entire way. Whenever he passed through complicated terrain, he stopped to confirm his direction and inspect the surrounding traces. The commission route had already been loaded into his offline AR.

As he traveled, Rowan compared the footprints and trail markers along the way to continuously correct his direction. The sky grew darker. The footprints on the ground became increasingly obvious. The traces left by four people traveling at high speed extended toward the southeast. The closer Rowan came to Scree Slope. The stronger the smell of blood became. A roar suddenly sounded in the distance. Immediately afterward came the sound of breaking trees. Rowan stopped.

Amid the chaotic residual fluctuations of the battle, an extremely concentrated mana fluctuation suddenly appeared. The power wasn't spreading outward. Instead, it was continuously converging toward a single point. Rowan had no idea what was happening there. He immediately stopped using Wellspring Step. He quieted his footsteps and circled toward a higher slope off to the side.

Only after concealing himself in the angle formed between a fallen tree trunk and a cluster of rocks did he look toward Scree Slope through the gap. The Graywood Rock stone ring had already entered his field of view. A dire bear larger than a freight wagon stood before the front of the stone ring. Pale golden markings surrounded its eyes. The rock armor across its back ground against itself. It was struggling forward. Sera stood in front of the stone ring. The palm of her left hand was already stained with blood.

A gray Sword Token floated in front of her. Blood seeped inward along the intersecting, sword-scar-like armament patterns across its surface. One pattern after another lit up. Sera's hair and the edges of her clothing streamed backward in the overflowing mana. She brought her bloodstained index and middle fingers together. The Sword Token slowly rotated in response. Its front edge pointed toward the Rock-Marrow Dire Bear's neck. The loose stones beneath all four of the bear's limbs were continuously sinking.

The air itself seemed to have suddenly become unbearably heavy. Its body was being suppressed by some invisible force. A teeth-grating grinding sound came from between its armor plates. Rowan minimized his movements to avoid drawing attention. His offline AR automatically recorded the mana fluctuations ahead. Rowan himself kept his gaze fixed on the Rock-Marrow Dire Bear. The bear had not been completely restrained. It was still struggling. Sera swung her joined fingers forward and down.

The floating Sword Token trembled at the same time. A streak of gray light slashed from the front of the token. The instant the gray light appeared, the air along its path seemed to be split cleanly in two. The Rock-Marrow Dire Bear released an almost frenzied roar. The rock armor across its back and outer limbs closed simultaneously. At the final moment, its enormous body erupted with strength and forcibly twisted to the side. The gray light had originally been aimed at its neck.

Because of that final struggle, it only grazed the edge of its shoulder and neck. Its torso escaped the strike. But one of its forelimbs failed to withdraw in time. The gray light passed through rock armor, flesh, and bone. The entire forelimb was severed near the shoulder. Gray-black blood erupted outward. The severed limb crashed heavily onto the loose stones. The Rock-Marrow Dire Bear lost its balance. Its enormous body rolled sideways.

After smashing through several pieces of ordinary stone, it struggled back to its feet. The light between the gaps in its rock armor flickered violently. Yet the pale golden markings around its eyes still hadn't disappeared. It released a pained howl. Then turned and crashed into the forest. Trees snapped one after another along its path. The heavy footsteps rapidly faded into the distance. In front of Sera. The armament patterns across the Sword Token extinguished simultaneously.

A fracture spread from the center of the token to its edge. The Sword Token lost the power keeping it afloat and fell. Sera reached out and caught it. The gray token was now covered in cracks. Not a trace of mana fluctuation remained. Rowan looked at the completely ruined Sword Token. That attack had been far beyond the level of an ordinary Three-Phase spell. Before the attack was released, there had also been an obvious suppression and locking effect. The price was the complete destruction of the artifact.

The offline AR continued storing the mana fluctuations it had just recorded. Rowan didn't rush to draw any further conclusions. The people inside the stone ring were already moving.

"The front is clear!" Sera shouted. The two hunters carried Velesa out through the front opening, now that the bear was no longer blocking it. Elaine stayed beside the stretcher. Kane supported Talia. Bren gave one final glance in the direction the bear had fled. Then he noticed the severed forelimb lying among the loose stones. The limb was nearly as long as an adult human was tall. Its outer surface remained covered in intact rock armor. Gray-black blood continued pouring from the severed end.

One of the caravan guards noticed it as well.

"That's Three-Phase material." Sera glanced down at the cracked Sword Token in her hand.

"Ten breaths."

"If you can't secure it by then, leave it." Bren and the guard who could still move immediately rushed over. They unfolded the blood-sealing cloth originally prepared for processing the Spiral-Crowned War Antelope and wrapped it around the severed end. A tow rope was looped around the rock armor and the bear paw. Together, they tightened the knot. The severed limb was too heavy. No one could carry it. They could only drag it. Sera didn't wait for them to reinforce the bindings repeatedly.

"Move!" The two hunters carrying Velesa left first. Elaine kept one hand pressed against the edge of the stretcher. Constantly confirming that Velesa's breathing had not changed. Kane supported Talia behind them. The guard with the dislocated shoulder carried the lighter supplies. Bren and the other guard dragged the bear limb. Sera remained at the rear. She looked toward the two hunters carrying the stretcher.

"Gray Deer Concealment Talisman Plaques?"

"We have them." One of the hunters patted his waist.

"Two." Sera nodded.

"Wait for my order before using them." They were still too close to the bear. And the smell of blood was far too strong to conceal. The group also had to carry a stretcher, drag the bear limb, and remain constantly on the move. Using the plaques now would only waste them. The group left the Graywood Rock stone ring. No one noticed Rowan on the slope to the side. Rowan didn't follow immediately. He looked toward the direction in which the Rock-Marrow Dire Bear had fled.

Large amounts of gray-black blood stained the ground. But the trail didn't continue very far. The rock armor surrounding the severed stump was slowly drawing inward. The gray-black blood that had originally been spraying out had also gradually slowed to intermittent droplets. The Sword Token was destroyed. The rescue party was carrying a stretcher and wounded people. There was no way they could move quickly. And they had taken the bear's severed forelimb with them. Rowan shifted his gaze toward their retreat route.

He quickly pulled up the AR recording of the bear's movements. After losing one forelimb, its center of gravity had clearly shifted. Its remaining front limb now had to bear more weight. The way it turned and accelerated over short distances would both be affected. The risk was still extremely high. But it was no longer completely uncontrollable. Rowan didn't head toward the retreating group. Instead, he descended the opposite side of the slope and circled ahead toward an animal trail in front of them.

A narrow stretch of forest appeared before him. Exposed rocky slopes rose on both sides. The middle was only wide enough for the Rock-Marrow Dire Bear to pass through alone. Rowan crouched. He removed the first Bone-Spike Trap from his back. Rowan brushed aside the dead leaves and soil. Based on the likely landing point of the injured bear's remaining forelimb, he adjusted the trap's orientation and trigger range. The Bone-Spike Trap was slowly pressed into the mud.

Rowan carefully covered it again with dead leaves. In the distance. The sound of breaking trees rang out once more. Immediately afterward. A roar filled with pain and fury came from deep within the forest.