https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-97-The-Diary-of-an-Unconventional-Man/12956434/
Chapter 98: The Mysterious Black Aura
Chapter 98: The Mysterious Black Aura
The black aura felt like living creatures, akin to black octopi wrapping around his arms and constantly writhing.
Rain had never seen anything so eerie.
Upon closer inspection, it seemed somewhat similar to the green glow emitted by the wooden charm.
"Some sort of mysterious evil energy?" Rain wondered.
"But how is that possible? Weren't the Barbarian bounty hunter squad out to eliminate the Ogre?"
The squad's leader, the Barbarian nicknamed 'Giant' Harald, was exceptionally tall and formidable, and Rain recalled his formidable presence. If anyone wanted to harm the Shield Maiden, they would have to get past him first.
Yet, here she lay, her life hanging in the balance, and Rain felt that this situation was more complex than it seemed. Simultaneously, a sense of foreboding crept into his heart.
"Regardless, I should first check if there's any hope of saving her."
Rain immediately approached and examined her closely.
He slowly turned her over, laying her flat on her back.
The maiden's face contorted in pain, her eyebrows furrowed, and blood trickled from the corner of her mouth. She seemed to have suffered some sort of internal injury.
The headband on her forehead was gone, and her light yellow hair, now matted with blood, sweat, and dirt, hung loosely, sticking to her forehead and cheeks in clumps.
Rain placed two fingers on her pale neck, feeling for her pulse, and nodded slightly.
"She has a pulse, weak breathing... Good, she's still alive, and there's hope." Rain breathed a sigh of relief. Before, he might not have been able to do anything, but ever since Anna gained control over that mystical green light, he felt that as long as the Shield Maiden wasn't dead, Anna should be able to slowly heal her.
The only issue was this black aura.
It seemed a bit tricky, adding an element of uncertainty to the treatment.
At this moment, the Pug 'Cookie' suddenly barked loudly towards Rain's back.
Rain's danger sense also reacted, and he immediately put down the Shield Maiden and turned to look.
Several pairs of greenish eyes slowly approached from the depths of the forest.
"Forest wolves!" Rain's dark vision quickly identified their silhouettes. There were seven or eight forest wolves with brownish-grey fur, gradually surrounding him.
These forest wolves were larger than the North American grey wolves Rain had seen in his past life, and their combat strength was no less than that of a spear-wielding adult male.
"Whine~"
'Cookie' seemed a bit panicked and afraid, shrinking back towards Rain's feet.
The wolf pack slowly encircled them.
Seemingly noticing the 'weakness' of their opponent, the alpha wolf, the size of a calf, let out a low growl, triggering an offensive wave.
A two to three-meter-long brownish-grey wolf shadow, like a bolt of lightning, pounced towards Rain.
"Power Surge!"
Rain's entire body suddenly surged upwards by twenty to thirty centimeters, his muscles bulging and veins popping out.
Immediately, a silver arc of light flashed from below, tearing open the alpha wolf's lower abdomen.
"Swoosh!"
The sound of flesh being sliced echoed.
"Whimper~~"
The alpha forest wolf howled in agony as its body twitched in mid-air, blood and organs spilling out from its torn belly!
The next second, it slammed heavily onto the ground, its body split open by Rain's sword.
This startled the other charging forest wolves, causing them to tremble and turn away from Rain, the 'killer'. Rain kicked the alpha wolf's corpse back towards the hungry wolf pack.
The wolf pack, intimidated by Rain's formidable presence, whined and retreated.
At this moment, 'Cookie' seemed to sense its master's dominance and the enemies' fear.
It took two steps forward and barked at the wolf pack, twice its size.
"Woof woof woof!"
It perfectly demonstrated the concept of 'dog backing its master'.
Rain quickly picked up the Barbarian maiden from the ground, grabbed the battle axe and the damaged shield nearby, and turned to leave.
Saving lives was the priority!
This was why Rain chose to use the 'Power Surge' skill, instantly killing the alpha wolf with a single strike, ensuring a swift resolution.
After Rain left, the wolf pack quickly surrounded the twitching corpse of the alpha wolf and began to feast without hesitation, unconcerned that it was one of their own.
'Satiation' was their top priority.
When Rain returned home, covered in blood, his mother, Emma, was startled.
"Anna, go and prepare. Mother, this is wolf blood."
Anna, understanding Rain's intention, quickly ran upstairs.
She knew Rain wanted her to use the mystical charm to save the maiden.
"What's this?"
"Mother, I found her lying on the road while walking Cookie. I brought her back." Rain explained.
Emma was relieved to hear this and asked, "Should we find a physician?"
"It shouldn't be a problem. I'll take her upstairs and let Anna check on her first." Rain didn't elaborate further and carried the Barbarian maiden upstairs.
Emma was taken aback by this.
At that moment, Anna, who had been waiting by the side, slowly stepped forward. But Rain stopped her, intending to begin treatment immediately, and pointed to the black aura on the barbarian girl's left arm.
"Anna, be careful. That black aura seems rather eerie."
"If it's too much, don't force it."
Rain's concern caused Anna's cheeks to redden, and she obediently nodded, humming in agreement.
Anna then held the wooden talisman in both hands, closed her eyes, and concentrated her mind on the wooden charm.
Soon, a lush green glow appeared in Anna's palm.
The soft, rich green light, under Anna's control, quickly landed on the barbarian girl.
In an instant, the girl's entire body was engulfed in green light!
No, only the left hand that originally held the shield still emitted a faint black aura.
At this moment, the black aura seemed to sense the green light's intention to expel it, and it 'fought tooth and nail' against Anna's controlled green energy.
However, with Anna's continuous supply of green energy, seemed to be stronger than the black aura.
Soon, the green light pushed back the black aura, retreating from the girl's left forearm to her palm.
But at this point, Rain noticed that Anna's forehead had started to bead with sweat.
Clearly, this operation was extremely mentally draining for Anna.
Just as Rain was considering whether to advise Anna to take a break, the green light further blossomed, and the black aura was directly forced out of the shield maiden's body, instantly dissipating into the air.
However, the air seemed to be filled with a faint stench of blood and decay.
It was like the smell that hits you when an uninhabited house for over a decade is suddenly opened one day.
At that moment, Anna's slender body swayed, and her originally rosy complexion turned pale with weakness. Rain immediately supported Anna as she sat down by the bed.
"Anna, you're pushing yourself too hard! Why don't you do it in two parts?"
"No, Rain, I can sense that black aura is terrifying. If I stop, the black aura will rekindle, and it will occupy her arm again."
"If we start over, it'll be all for nothing. So, we can only do it in one go." Anna shook her head, looking into Rain's eyes and explaining earnestly, a hint of stubbornness in her gaze, barely noticeable.
"Hmm?" Rain nodded, understanding.
As Rain looked at the barbarian girl again, he noticed her previously furrowed brows had relaxed, and her long lashes trembled slightly. Her expression seemed much better than before the treatment.
After a moment's thought, Rain turned to Anna and said, "Anna, you go and rest first. I'll take care of things here."
"Okay." Anna obediently nodded and, with Rain's support, returned to the room to rest.
Indeed, her condition wasn't good at the moment. The previous treatment had taken a toll on her mentally, and Anna felt a wave of dizziness. She desperately needed a good sleep.
Rain didn't have to wait long.
After about half an hour, the treated barbarian girl slowly regained consciousness.
With a soft moan, the barbarian girl opened her dazed eyes.
"You're awake?" Rain asked softly.
The girl's body trembled, and she slowly turned to look at Rain. "Awake?"
Her eyes gradually cleared, but the next second, she seemed to remember something, and she instinctively curled up, hugging her knees and sobbing softly on the bed.
Rain was momentarily stunned by this situation.
But soon, he realized that something might have happened to the rest of her squad.
"Can you tell me what happened to you?"
"I remember," Rain chose his words carefully, "your entire squad came to Shangjin Town."
The girl continued sobbing for a while before slowly asking, "Is this Shangjin Town?"
"Yes, this is Shangjin Town. You're safe here. By the way, can you tell me your name? I'm Rain." Rain was relieved that they could communicate.
"I'm Ragle, from the northern frosty tundra of the Empire, a barbarian tribe."
"Thank you for saving me!" The girl lifted her head, her swollen red eyes fixed on Rain, with tears still on her lashes, but her gaze revealed a hint of determination.
That determination made Rain feel like a steadfast rock, unmoving in the howling northern winds.
This time, Rain didn't ask again.
The barbarian girl named Ragle slowly began to tell the story of what had happened to their squad over the past two days.
"The report from the Habsburg Manor's Falcon was correct. There was only one ogre, but when we arrived, we discovered it was an elderly ogre, very cunning."
An elderly ogre? Could it cast witchcraft?
Rain was puzzled but didn't ask. Instead, he patiently listened to Ragle's story.
"Actually, it had many minions, but it had them scattered around its lair, which led to our initial misjudgment."
"When we attacked, that cunning elderly ogre summoned its hyena and goblin minions to surround us."
"Fortunately, my brother Harald is a Ferocious Berserker, with over forty percent of his body's potential unleashed."
(End of Chapter)
Chapter end
Report
