Chapter 130: The Hidden Narens

In the forest at night, moonlight spilled through the canopy, casting dappled, shifting shadows.

"Hammond! Hurry up!" Bugaway, a Level 3 wizard apprentice from Fangs of Blood, urged his companion.

"How is he so fast? Could he be a wind-element wizard?" Hammond asked.

Bugaway, his portly body moving with surprising speed, shook his head. "I don't think so. I noticed him earlier; it's likely a shadow or darkness-related talent."

Watching the figures trailing him closely, Lin Wei remained calm.

"Taking out two Level 3 wizard apprentices at once will be difficult..."

Having been promoted to a Level 3 apprentice for less than a month, Lin Wei knew that holding his own against opponents who had clearly been at this level for years was already no small feat.

"Should I keep running in circles?"

Lin Wei weighed the pros and cons in his mind. "This won't work... I have to either lose them or kill them. If I don't, once the other apprentices from the Shadow Forest are wiped out, I’ll be caught in a pincer move by the Fangs of Blood."

"Hmm?!"

Lin Wei’s movement faltered abruptly as a sudden sense of danger washed over him. His perception was incredibly keen; although his neural chip provided no warning, he sensed something was amiss.

"The source of danger..." Lin Wei looked in the direction of his intuition. "Is it that tree!?"

"No!" Lin Wei judged instantly. "Not the tree—it's the tree's shadow!"

"Neural chip! Initiate scan!"

Even though the chip's scanning range was limited to five meters, Lin Wei issued the command. "Perhaps the one hiding in the shadow can help me make my escape..." he mused to himself.

The two pursuers behind him failed to notice that Lin Wei had slightly adjusted his trajectory, veering toward a seemingly ordinary large tree.

"This danger isn't directed at me; it's just an instinctive reaction to the strength of the hidden threat..." This was why Lin Wei dared to move toward it. Even so, he prepared himself fully; the moment the danger in the shadows erupted, he would react immediately and shift the threat onto his pursuers.

The instant Lin Wei entered the five-meter radius of the tree's shadow, an image was transmitted to his mind by the chip.

"It's this guy?! I never expected him to have a shadow-element talent..." A playful smile tugged at the corner of Lin Wei's mouth. "It seems I can get away safely after all..."

The source of danger detected by the neural chip was none other than Narens, the one who had tried to steal Lin Wei's points earlier!

"Hah!"

Lin Wei stopped abruptly at the shadow, turned to face his pursuers, and wore a triumphant, conspiratorial grin.

"Is it a trap!?"

Hammond and Bugaway halted instantly. Their intent to swarm Lin Wei was forcibly suppressed by suspicion.

"Aren't you here to kill me?" Lin Wei laughed recklessly, showing no sign of someone who considered themselves prey. "Come on then!"

As he spoke, black sand coalesced from the void, floating in a cloud before him.

"Something feels wrong..."

Whether intimidated by Lin Wei or genuinely sensing a threat, Hammond and Bugaway stood frozen.

"The trap I've been setting for so long can finally be put to use!" Lin Wei’s eyes gleamed with success. "Come out, my partner, Narens!"

Lin Wei channeled his wizard energy into his left foot and stomped hard on the shadow beneath the tree. A ripple of energy pulsed outward from the shadow.

"It's a shadow-type concealment spell! There really is an ambush!! Fall back!!"

Hammond grabbed Bugaway’s sleeve and dragged him ten meters back in a flash.

The shadow twisted rapidly, and a figure materialized out of thin air.

"You!!" Narens pointed a trembling finger at Lin Wei, his eyes filled with boundless rage.

He had been hiding perfectly well—how had he been dragged out like this?! And by one of his own from the Shadow Forest, no less!?

Narens had watched the skirmish earlier and knew the Shadow Forest had little chance of winning, so he had chosen to flee. To avoid being branded a traitor to the academy, he had used a spell to hide in the woods, intending to wait out the raid. He hadn't expected Lin Wei to ruin his plans.

Lin Wei naturally wouldn't let his enemy know the truth. He stepped forward, standing in front of Narens with a solemn, imposing expression. "Narens, I'll cover you! Hurry and trigger the trap!"

"Trap?!" A blank look flickered in Narens's eyes.

"There's a trap?!" Bugaway and Hammond turned pale.

"Quick! Hammond! Attack that green-robed apprentice! He's the one who can trigger the nearby trap!!" Bugaway roared, condensing a spell that radiated a violent, destructive aura.

Hammond reacted quickly, cold sweat sliding down his cheek. How could they have walked into an enemy's trap while chasing them?!

Believing they were at death's door, Hammond frantically condensed his own spell.

"Damn it!!!" Narens realized he had been played by Lin Wei. "You..."

"Move faster! I will protect you!" Lin Wei’s words cut Narens off. A layer of black sand formed a defensive screen in front of Narens, and his defensive posture only confirmed the trap to Bugaway and Hammond.

"Die once the trap goes off!" Lin Wei bellowed, playing his part to perfection.

Seeing this, Narens felt he had no choice. He considered fleeing, thinking with a cold sneer, "Setting me up? Fine, I'll leave and let you handle it yourself!"

"Hmm?!" Just as Narens prepared to bolt, he realized his feet were bound by Lin Wei’s black sand.

Lin Wei glanced back, his eyes mocking.

"Oh no!" Narens felt a surge of dread.

"If you're dead, what trap could possibly be left?!"

Hammond and Bugaway’s spells erupted, two beams of light hurtling toward Narens behind Lin Wei.

Seeing this, Lin Wei instantly dissipated his black sand shield and spun away, leaving Narens fully exposed to the enemy's attack.

With no time to think, Narens pulled a grimace and desperately erected a white light shield before him.

*Boom!*

The two beams collided with Narens’s shield and exploded. Narens was sent flying like a ball, slamming into a thick tree trunk behind him. The trunk snapped from the force of the impact, and Narens spat out a mouthful of blood!

Bugaway and Hammond exchanged a look, confused by what had just happened.

"Thank you for using your own body to block the enemy's spell for me! I owe you my life, Narens!"

Lin Wei’s voice echoed through the woods, but he had already vanished from the battlefield, sprinting deep into the forest.

Narens, having just stopped coughing up blood, felt a fresh surge of agony in his chest, and another mouthful of blood spewed out!

"Damn you!!!"