Seed of Titan-Chapter 96: Blood Splatter

"Looks like you have a class or skill that specializes in fighting plants, but that’s all there is to it. Your mistake was attempting to kill me, since it made me realize that your sword which had seemed really sharp before couldn’t actually hurt my hand. Your weak strength was also exposed when you couldn’t even pull your sword out of my grip," the woman said to Jian, who was currently hanging by his neck right in front of her.

"F-fuck... yuh..." Jian swore at the woman with great difficulty since he was being choked.

The woman snickered and said, "You may not know this, but we’ve been specifically ordered not to kill you heretics. But aren’t you glad that I’m willing to make an exception for you? I might get punished later for insubordination, but it’s better than leaving a smug little bastard like you alive."

Jian chuckled as he reluctantly resigned himself to his fate. He felt that death was certain, unless a miracle occurred.

’But there’s no such miracle for side characters like me,’ Jian thought ruefully.

The woman’s grip suddenly tightened, and Jian began to suffocate.

"Learn not to fuck around in your next life," the woman coldly remarked.

Jian couldn’t even talk back since he was losing consciousness. As he approached his final moments, the figures of his two roommates suddenly resurfaced in his mind.

’Hehe. After talking shit about safety and whatnot, I ended up sending myself to death. How ironic...’

However, right as this belated remorse dawned on him, Jian suddenly fell to the ground with a thud.

*Gasp!*

Jian’s chest heaved, voraciously inhaling the revitalizing air. Twinkling lights filled his hazy sight as he adjusted to the sudden change in blood pressure, supplying the much-needed oxygen to his brain.

Jian suddenly heard a loud commotion. Massaging his temples to relieve his headache, he slowly stood up.

"What the fuck happened..." Jian mumbled while looking at his surroundings. His gaze stopped upon seeing the previously bound girls who were now standing around. Some of them were crying and hugging each other, while the others looked traumatized. Scattered around their feet were pieces of vines that had begun to wither.

A girl suddenly ran out of the crowd. She dashed straight toward Jian, slamming her small body onto Jian’s sturdy frame, which made Jian flinch a bit.

"You’re alive!" Flo cried out with tearful eyes, hugging Jian tightly.

Jian scratched his head helplessly and replied, "Apparently I am. What happened? Where’s that hobo woman?"

Without looking, Flo slowly raised her hand, pointing toward the upper floors of the female dorm behind her.

Jian raised his head and looked in the direction that Flo was pointing at. His eyes instantly widened, as a large blood splatter was plastered on the wall between the second and third-floor windows. If one looked closely, they would see that small pieces of meat and bones were also splattered there, sticking to the wall beneath the bloodstain.

"T-that’s the woman?!" Jian asked, slightly paling due to the gruesome sight. "How did she end up like that?!"

"An old man appeared out of nowhere and grabbed her wrist. He then took something out from the woman’s robes and threw her onto the wall," Flo explained with a muffled voice since her face was still buried in Jian’s chest.

"Old man...?" Jian muttered before turning his head in the direction from which he had come earlier. There was nothing there, but Jian didn’t avert his gaze.

Shortly after, Christo and Liam emerged from the darkness, slowly making their way toward Jian and Flo.

"You saved me?" Jian questioned right as the master and servant arrived.

Liam remained silent, and Christo also chose not to answer. Instead, he mentioned, "Drai said he’ll make it up to you."

Jian fell silent. He looked away, already regretting his rather shameful outburst toward his two close friends back in the crimson dome area.

Finally releasing her hug, Flo looked at Christo in surprise and asked, "Why are you here, Christo? And..." Flo glanced at Liam nervously, "...is that old man with you?"

Christo briefly explained the situation that led them here, omitting the unnecessary details, especially the matter regarding Jian’s harsh words earlier. He also introduced Flo to Liam, and vice versa.

"But why do you have a servant? And how could Liam get here? Did he know we were getting attacked?" Flo curiously asked. She was way less apprehensive toward Liam after knowing that he was Christo’s subordinate.

"It’s a long story. I’ll tell you about it later, Flo," Christo replied, refusing to elaborate. It’s not that he didn’t want his other friends to know about his general background, as he felt less of a need to keep it a secret after opening up to Drai. But the explanation really was somewhat long, and it would definitely raise more questions than answers, so Christo felt the time wasn’t right to reveal it to the others. After all, not everybody could be like Drai and easily suppress their curiosity after getting a preview of Christo’s secrets.

"Alright," Flo said. She glanced at Jian and wondered what had happened between the boys.

Most of the female students around them had begun to scatter, with many of them immediately leaving the vicinity. The few that remained were looking at their dorm with worried looks.

A loud crash suddenly attracted the eyes of everyone in the courtyard. Looking up, the crowd saw that a wall on the third floor had just blasted open, sending a large figure flying out.

The figure somersaulted in the air and landed in the courtyard with a heavy thud. He was a large well-built man with a wide frame. His height was similar to Donk’s, but he was way bulkier than Donk’s transformed version and much fitter than his original version. His long white hair looked wild, with its lower part dropping down his back, reaching his knees. And unlike the other intruders, his robe was sleeveless, revealing his extremely thick arms that were covered in white hair.

Looking at the hole through which he had been sent flying, the man grinned menacingly.

A slender figure appeared from the opening, standing on the edge. Christo, Flo, and Jian immediately recognized the figure despite the far distance because she was currently emanating a familiar azure aura.

Eyeing the brute who was standing in the courtyard below, Natalia remarked disdainfully, "Fucking zealots..."