"Oh no, let's go!"
The moment the roar rang out, Lin Zhenyi's expression changed slightly. She pulled Lin Lichuan and ran in the opposite direction of the roar.
At the same time, the fierce aura in the distance paused for a moment, then approached them rapidly.
"What's that?"
Lin Lichuan could not help but frown and ask. The aura in the distance made him slightly apprehensive. Just from its strength alone, it was actually not weaker than Mo Luo, who was a knight.
"It's the monsters guarding the temple. They're extremely strong, and each of them has the standard of a Morning Star Knight."
Lin Zhenyi's expression was grave. If Lin Lichuan had not appeared, she had planned to lure these terrifying beasts out to deal with Mo Luo. She had fled all the way here, but now, she had fallen into her own trap.
"Each of them?" Lin Lichuan's gaze immediately froze. "You mean, there's more than one?"
Lin Zhenyi nodded solemnly. "No less than two digits."
"I found a diary in the ruins. It recorded that the temple is the core of the ruins. The area within ten kilometres is completely surrounded by a screen of distortion, and there are star beasts patrolling the area at all times."
"Star beasts?
What does that have to do with beasts? "
"I'm not sure either."
Lin Zhenyi shook her head. "But the star beasts' duty is to guard the temple. As long as we leave this area, they won't chase after us."
While the two were talking, the aura behind them had already closed in to a thousand metres. Lin Lichuan used all his vision to look back, and immediately saw the appearance of the pursuer. He could not help but be startled.
Behind them was an extremely familiar-looking monster. It was similar to the beasts they had encountered before, but instead of crawling on all fours, it stood on its hind legs. It looked very much like the legendary lizardmen. Its face was extremely ferocious, and there was a pair of long and narrow fleshy wings on its back. When it stretched out, it was at least four metres long. As it flapped, it stirred up gusts of wind as it swept towards them at lightning speed.
"This is a star beast?
It doesn't look much different from a strange beast … "
Halfway through his sentence, Lin Lichuan suddenly realized something. Mutated beast was the name humans gave to these monsters that originated from meteorites. Perhaps they were originally called star beasts.
As this thought flashed through his mind, Lin Lichuan quickly recovered. Now was not the time to think about this.
As he got closer, he could clearly feel the aura of the star beast behind him. Its strength was no weaker than Mo Luo's. In other words, its bio-energy level was at least level 21.
Although it shouldn't be difficult to kill this star beast with the Daiguren Hyorinmaru, there was more than one star beast in this area.
Lin Lichuan quickly made a decision. Without any hesitation, he grabbed onto Lin Zhenyi's waist and soared into the sky with a flap of his ice wings. He changed direction in midair and flew towards the place where they had entered the distorted region.
The moment her waist was grabbed, Lin Zhenyi's body stiffened slightly, but she quickly relaxed. She wasn't a knight and didn't have the ability to fly. Having Lin Lichuan bring her away was the best choice.
"The people who came with me are waiting not far ahead. After we meet up with them, we will immediately leave the ruins. There is still plenty of time," Lin Lichuan explained.
The speed of his ice wings was only a bit slower than the star beast chasing behind him. There was still more than 800 meters between them, which was enough for him to leave the distorted region before the star beast caught up.
However, the next second, a low roar suddenly sounded from one kilometer ahead of him. Then, the same fierce aura soared into the sky.
Two star beasts flapped their wings and soared into the sky like rockets. After a slight pause, they rushed towards them at lightning speed.
Looking at this scene, Lin Lichuan and Lin Zhenyi's expressions changed.
Without hesitation, Lin Lichuan decisively changed his direction and accelerated to the right.
If there was only one star beast blocking his way, he could still use the Daiguchi Hyorinmaru to break through. However, two of them destroyed his plan. As long as he was stopped for a short while, the star beast behind would catch up. When that time came, it would be three against two. No matter how many trump cards he had, he wouldn't be able to win.
At this moment, Lin Zhenyi suddenly pointed diagonally ahead and said, "Go that way!"
There was no need to explain the trust between the two of them. Lin Lichuan didn't stop for even a moment. He turned and flew in the direction his aunt had pointed without hesitation. He waved his sword and sent out a flock of ice bullets behind him, slightly delaying the star beast that was chasing after him.
Fierce roars that made one's scalp go numb kept coming from behind him.
Although he had long known that the ruins were full of dangers, it was only now that Lin Lichuan truly experienced it.
Three star beasts with the strength of a rank 21 Morning Star Knight, and that wasn't all of them. There were at least seven more star beasts of the same level or even stronger in the distorted area. If this force was released to the outside world, it would be enough to destroy the entire District 11. It was truly shocking.
Fortunately, these monsters would only stay in the ruins.
Two people and three star beasts chased after each other in the air. In just a moment, they had flown three to four kilometers. When the three star beasts were within a hundred meters of Lin Lichuan, a sparkling light suddenly appeared in the latter's field of vision.
Taking a closer look, it was actually a vast lake. The endless surface of the lake was rippling under the gentle breeze.
"Enter the lake."
Lin Zhenyi pointed at the lake and said quickly, "Star beasts can't swim. As long as you enter the water, they won't chase after you!"
Lin Lichuan nodded slightly and increased his speed without saying a word.
As if sensing that the intruder was about to escape, the three star beasts behind him roared angrily in unison. Their speed suddenly increased, and they rushed out like meteors. In the blink of an eye, they crossed a distance of fifty to sixty meters. At the same time, they waved their sharp claws. Accompanied by a short and sharp sound of air being torn apart, five formless claw-shaped shock waves shot towards Lin Lichuan like sharp arrows.
In the blink of an eye, fifteen claw-shaped shock waves attacked Lin Lichuan's back with ear-piercing whistling sounds.
When Lin Lichuan heard the sound of something breaking through the air from behind him, he remained unmoved. With a thought, the ice dragon that was coiling around his right hand and shoulder suddenly rushed out, baring its fangs and brandishing its claws. It waved its claws, swung its tail, and bit at the back. It used its violent and desperate stance to block all of the shockwaves. While its body collapsed and shattered, it also eliminated the fierce attacks of the star beast.
At this moment, Lin Lichuan fell from the sky like a meteor. With a boom, he fell into the lake, creating a large splash.
Splash!
The water droplets fell from the sky like a curtain of rain. The three Star Beasts that were rushing over suddenly stopped above the lake. Looking at the ripples that were gradually calming down, they roared in vain for a while before flapping their wings and ascending to the sky.
However, they didn't leave. Instead, they slowly hovered above the lake.
"The intelligence of these monsters doesn't seem low."
Looking at the scene above through the clear lake water, Lin Lichuan felt relieved, but at the same time, a hint of surprise flashed in his eyes.
"Maybe it's related to their appearance. Creatures that look like humans usually have high intelligence, just like apes and monkeys."
Lin Zhenyi let out a long sigh of relief and casually guessed. In the end, she curiously looked at the giant sphere that enveloped her and Lin Lichuan. "What is this?"
"It's the Spiritual Pressure Protection Sphere. With it, we can stay underwater until the monsters leave. We only need to go up every one or two hours to get some fresh air," Lin Lichuan explained.
Lin Zhenyi was startled when she heard this. Shaking her head, she said, "I read in the diary that star beasts are ferocious and extremely patient. Once they discover an intruder, they usually won't stop until they kill us. I'm afraid they won't leave until they kill us. It's even very likely that they'll call for more companions."
As if to verify Lin Zhenyi's words, when her voice fell, a sharp and ear-piercing whistle came from above the lake. The sound was different from the previous roars and was extremely penetrating. It could be heard clearly even in the water.
Hearing this, the two people inside the Spiritual Pressure Protection Light Sphere looked at each other.
Obviously, this was most likely a call for companions.
"These guys can't be planning to stay up here forever, right?"
Lin Lichuan suddenly felt a toothache. Even if they had the Spiritual Pressure Protection Light Sphere and didn't have to worry about being caught by the star beasts, hiding in the lake forever wasn't a solution.
Moreover, in another day and a half, the light gate would close. At that time, they would have to stay in the ruins for another month before they could leave.
"Maybe there's another way we can try. Maybe we can leave the ruins."
At this time, Lin Zhenyi suddenly said.
Lin Lichuan turned his head and saw Lin Zhenyi looking at the Spiritual Pressure Protection Light Sphere with shining eyes.
"What way?" he quickly asked.
"Speaking of which, we have to land on this lake." Lin Zhenyi suddenly pointed into the distance. "Look, what's that?"
Lin Lichuan looked in the direction she was pointing and saw a fish slowly swimming dozens of meters away. He was startled at first, but then he immediately reacted and said in surprise, "The water in this lake is running water?"
Lin Zhenyi smiled. "That's right, and it's fresh water. I didn't bring much food and water when I entered the ruins. I've been relying on this lake to survive until now."
"But how can there be running water here?"
Lin Lichuan was greatly surprised. The ruins were a sealed place. How could there be a running water lake? Unless …
A thoughtful look appeared on his face.
Lin Zhenyi saw this and knew that Lin Lichuan had understood what she meant. Her eyes revealed a look of admiration as she continued, "I discovered this lake by accident. The diary I obtained previously didn't mention it at all. In addition, the star beasts guarding the temple are all unable to swim. In this case, the existence of the lake undoubtedly provides a safe zone for us invaders to hide in. The builders of the temple must have considered this."
"So this lake shouldn't have existed in the first place." Lin Lichuan continued her words, his eyes lighting up.
Clearly, there shouldn't have been a lake in the ruins in the beginning. It was only after a thousand years that some kind of change — perhaps it was the movement of the earth's crust. After all, the ruins were buried deep underground — that the lake was born.
In other words, this lake was connected to the outside world. This also explained why there were running water and fish in the lake.