The instant he detected the Night Watch, Lucian immediately hurled the Fire Glue he’d been gripping tightly toward him.
The magic of the "Ice Avenger" ring had already been expended, leaving Fire Glue as Lucian’s most potent weapon. That’s why he’d been running through the downpour with a tube in each hand, ready to throw at the slightest sign of an enemy.
"If it weren’t for the fact that ‘Bat’s Scream’ was practically useless for detection in this storm and thunder, I could have spotted him earlier and avoided him." With a slight shift in his cautiousness, he threw the Fire Glue from his right hand as well, then quickly moved toward the secret tunnel entrance to his left.
When the Night Watch saw Lucian, he also extended his hands, a pair of jet-black gloves that seemed capable of swallowing all light. As a Night Watch accustomed to battling all manner of dangerous creatures in darkness, his reaction was no slower than Lucian’s.
The first tube of Fire Glue was caught directly by the Night Watch’s hands, clad in those black gloves. Under the influence of spiritual power, it was on the verge of exploding, but within the grasp of the black gloves, it seemed to be smothered, producing no violent blast and no clinging, inextinguishable flames.
Every pair of Black Gloves worn by a Church Night Watch was an excellent magical artifact, inscribed with anti-magic circles corresponding to their rank. Due to the limited quantity of the Black Gloves artifacts, the number of Church Night Watch had always been small. Furthermore, each Night Watch relied not only on magical items; their own strength was formidable. They included High-level Knight Squires, Priests, Knights, incorporated Dark Knights, evil creatures, and even Mages.
Just as the Night Watch caught the first tube, Lucian’s second tube came hurtling after it. However, this tube seemed to lack force; it didn’t hit the Night Watch’s body but fell to the ground before him, exploding violently. A roaring fireball surged up, striking the Night Watch before he could react, while simultaneously igniting the tube he’d caught, causing it to detonate sympathetically.
With a *bang*, the Night Watch was blasted away, the glue adhering to his body and burning fiercely, completely unaffected by the torrential rain.
Lucian didn’t pause to assess the damage. He swiftly moved to the tunnel entrance and cast a spell to activate the mechanism.
Suddenly, a cry that seemed to resonate from deep within his heart filled Lucian’s ears, carrying the natural oppressive force of a top-of-the-food-chain predator. It made Lucian tremble involuntarily, his legs going weak. Without the "Ice Avenger" ring, his own casting focus and composure would have been utterly insufficient to withstand this pressure.
Another colossal, whip-like bolt of lightning flashed, revealing the Night Watch rapidly closing in through the storm. A layer of still-burning Fire Glue coated his body, yet he seemed entirely unaffected, his face merely a shade paler, a thin trickle of magma-like blood flowing from the corner of his mouth—damage from the blast’s concussive force, not the flames.
Through his scorched white formal wear and shirt, the skin beneath was visible. It was covered in a layer of vivid red scales, the Fire Glue’s flames completely isolated outside this scorch-resistant skin, only lightly charring the scales.
Seeing this, how could Lucian fail to grasp his opponent’s strength? This was a Dark Knight who had awakened his bloodline power, and that power was the "Red Dragon"!
This Night Watch gave Lucian a far weaker impression than the shadowy knight from earlier. Yet his speed and strength were still far beyond anything Lucian could match. If he turned and fled, he’d likely be caught the moment he entered the tunnel. None of his apprentice-level spells could hope to stop him, let alone the fact he also possessed a pair of Black Gloves—unless Lucian became a full-fledged Mage, drastically increasing his spiritual power to raise the frequency his Resonant Hand could simulate to the level of high-energy infrasound.
Facing the charging Night Watch, Lucian resisted the "Dragon Fear" with the help of the "Ice Avenger," remaining calm and calculating the distance between them.
"Twenty meters, ten meters…"
Then, he hurled his last tube of Fire Glue—not at the Night Watch, but to a spot five meters in front of himself. With a thunderous explosion, the burning ball of glue, controlled by Lucian’s spiritual power, shot forward. The massive shockwave, however, spread uncontrollably in all directions, including toward Lucian himself.
The Night Watch feared neither the burning of the Fire Glue, but the explosive force still slowed his charge, causing him to pause momentarily and even take a step backward.
Lucian, struck by the opposing shockwave, simply clutched his hood with one hand and shielded his chest with the other, sent tumbling backward by the blast.
The spot where Lucian stood was the sloping entrance to the secret tunnel. He therefore rolled directly into it, tumbling several meters down.
It felt as though a giant iron hammer had struck him directly. His internal organs vibrated, his blood surged, a rusty taste rose in his throat, and he spat out a mouthful of blood, dizzy and seeing stars.
Outside, the explosion subsided. The Night Watch stamped his foot and plunged into the tunnel after the now-standing Lucian. The distance between them was once again around twenty meters, and wary of other magical items, he advanced not in a straight line, but with serpentine movements.
But after only a few meters, the Night Watch saw the black-robed Mage press one hand against the tunnel wall, the other holding a vial of potion. He bowed slightly, as if saluting. Then, with a thunderous rumble, the tunnel entrance collapsed. The first layer of stone turned to mud and fell away; the stones behind lost their balance and cascaded down, burying the entrance completely in mere seconds.
It was the "Minor Fossil to Mud" Magic Circle, set up by Sage, designed for destroying the tunnel in emergencies.
The Night Watch slammed directly into the mud and stone, carving out a human-shaped hole a full meter deep. His momentum spent, he had to halt and gather strength again. Deep within the tunnel, another series of collapsing sounds echoed.
Staring at the yellowish-brown earth, smelling its "fragrant" aroma, and listening to the peal of thunder, the Night Watch gritted his teeth and punched the mud furiously. "I will catch you, you damned Mage."
…………
Lucian took "Storm" to stabilize his injuries and stimulate his potential, while simultaneously activating a magic circle every ten meters to destroy that section of the tunnel. After destroying five consecutive sections, he stopped, fearing the Night Watch would track him to the surface exit by following the collapses.
Relying on the potion-stimulated potential, Lucian used less than half the time it took to arrive. He quickly exited through the tunnel’s mouth and sealed it with a spell.
Next, Lucian shed his black robe, transferring the contents to the pockets of his inner linen shirt. Then, using "Maris's Little Spark," he burned the black robe to ash, preventing the keen-nosed Night Watch from tracking him by the deliberately added scent of herbs he’d infused into the fabric.
That herb scent was a preparation Lucian had made to mask his own smell.
With the sulfur’s aid, the soaking wet black robe was soon completely incinerated. Having completed all this, Lucian hurried out of the house, moving quickly through the darkness and the storm back toward his cottage.