Free Web NovelChapter 27: Arrival at Grand Anchor Bay
The cold wind of the Whispering Ravine whipped against Rhys’s face as he stepped out onto the iron track platform.
Outside, the canyon was a scene of absolute chaos.
Thanks to Selena’s vicious curse spell, the coordinated ambush had completely collapsed. High up on the rocky ledges, dozens of slender figures clad in dark leather armor were screaming in pure confusion.
The Dark Elves had completely forgotten their target. Instead, their death energy runes had gone haywire, forcing them to turn their black-wood bows on one another.
Arrows flew wildly through the air, piercing their own companions as they slaughtered each other in a state of mass delusion.
"Don’t let them recover!" Kai yelled, her body flaring with her signature white body-enhancement light as she leaped off the side of the train.
Yuki was right beside her, her hands already glowing with ice. "Let’s clean this up quickly! I don’t want to smell that disgusting lizard brain anymore."
Rhys followed behind them at a casual pace. He had already activated Mind Edge again, and with his sharpened senses, tracking the movements of the crazed elves was incredibly easy.
He didn’t even need to use his flashy Phantom Passage to dodge anything.
Whenever a stray arrow flew in his direction, he simply tilted his head or shifted his weight slightly, letting the projectile whistle harmlessly past his ear.
Inside his mind, he triggered his classic loop. Psychic Ripple. Psychic Ripple. Psychic Ripple.
Invisible waves of raw mental force erupted from his position, sweeping up the steep rock walls.
The Dark Elves, already mentally broken by Selena’s curse, stood absolutely no chance against a peak Apprentice-level psychic assault.
One by one, the archers stopped screaming, their eyes rolling back as their brains were instantly turned to mush.
They dropped from the high ledges like ripe fruit, slamming heavily onto the rocky ground below.
[You have killed a Dark Elf. Extracting Lifespan. Lifespan extracted: 365,000 days.]
’Holy shit! This is more efficient than Hummingbirds!’ he exclaimed inwardly.
[Of course, the risk is also multiple times higher...]
’Still...’ he grinned as more lifespan was gained with each kill.
Rhys smiled inwardly. Within less than ten minutes, the remaining ambushers were completely wiped out.
The surviving Stone Monsters and Iron-Claw Baboons, losing the mental connection of their elven necromancers, simply fell dead as there was no one to control them.
"Is everyone dead?" Kai breathed heavily, her white armor light slowly fading away as she wiped her blade.
"Every single one of them," Yuki confirmed, walking over to Rhys and giving him a bright smile. "You were amazing back there, Rice. Your mind magic is so fast. It’s almost like you don’t even need to form the spell circles."
"I just have quick reflexes," Rhys lied without blinking, scratching the back of his neck. "Anyway, we should get back to the train. Kai needs to help the pilots move those boulders so we can finally get out of this creepy place."
Kai nodded respectfully, her previous arrogance completely gone. "Right. I will handle the tracks immediately."
With the combined strength of Kai’s physical enhancement and the surviving independent mages from the other carriages, the massive boulder barricade was pushed off the iron tracks within half an hour.
Selena returned to her seat inside compartment seven, looking deathly pale but completely satisfied with the results.
The train’s engine hummed back to life, its purple kinetic runes glowing warmly as the metallic beast slowly accelerated, finally leaving the dark, whistling shadows of the ravine behind.
By the time the sun began to set, the train finally pulled into the massive station of Grand Anchor Bay.
The moment Rhys stepped off the carriage, a wave of salty sea air hit his nose, mixed with the heavy scent of dynamic fish markets and wet wood.
Grand Anchor Bay was a massive port city, a sprawling industrial hub where giant wooden and iron ships lined the docks as far as the eye could see.
The sky was filled with thousands of glowing lantern arrays, casting a beautiful orange and purple light over the crowded stone streets.
The group immediately headed toward the local MSFRM there to report their successful defense.
"Here are your rewards," the stout supervisor behind the counter said, stamping their official paperwork with a heavy thud. "A coordinated Dark Elf ambush is a serious matter. I will have the local guard division look into it immediately. Excellent work, disciples."
He nodded at Rhys. "For you, the credits will be available to claim at your local MSFRM branch."
"Thank you," Rhys smiled.
The supervisor then turned toward the three women, presenting three beautifully engraved jade slips. "And here are your official experience certificates for the Inner Sect Trial. Your names have already been registered in the master ledger." freēwebnovel.com
"We finally got them," Kai said, a rare, genuine smile appearing on her scarred face as she tightly gripped the jade slip.
Yuki turned her purple eyes toward Rhys. "Hey, Rice, since we all got what we wanted, we should celebrate tonight! What are your plans?"
Rhys shrugged his shoulders. "Honestly, I was planning to just take the train back tonight and sleep."
"Well, you can’t do that even if you wanted to," Selena interjected, leaning against the wooden counter with a weary sigh.
"Did you not hear the station announcement? The front locomotive suffered severe kinetic damage from those boulders. The engineering mages said it will take until tomorrow afternoon to fully repair the kinetic runes. The train isn’t moving anywhere tonight."
Rhys blinked. "Ah. I see. So we’re stuck here for the night?"
"Exactly," Yuki chirped, grabbing his arm with a joyful grin. "Which means you have to come sight-seeing with us! Come on, Grand Anchor Bay has the best night markets in the entire outer territory. You can’t just sit in a dark room all night."
’Remove your hands off him... little bitch.’
Yuki’s smile instantly froze as she hurriedly moved a step away from him like she was electrocuted.
’Stay like this...’
She pursed her lips at the cold voice of her master. It felt like she had to be considerate around him, lest she angered her master.
Rhys didn’t see the change in Yuki’s expression as his mind was occupied with thoughts of returning to Azure City and taking the Crown of Force.
But since there was no way for him to return today, sight-seeing with three beautiful women sounded not bad.
"Sure, sight-seeing sounds fine. But where are we going to stay?" he asked.
"I actually know a very good seaside inn near the southern docks," Kai spoke up, her tone surprisingly helpful. "It is quiet and has a great view of the outer ocean. Follow me."
The four of them left the crowded station hall and began walking down the stone pathways toward the lower harbor district.
