The Cornflower Witch Chapter 171

What choice would you make when faced with all your fallen companions and an unimaginably powerful enemy?

Running away is never wrong; it saves your life.

However, after running away, different personalities will face different outcomes. Some will be sad for a while and then forget; some will be trapped in the shadow, depressed; others will make a solemn vow to seek revenge to quell their regret and unwillingness.

The world is not a fairy tale where every encounter follows a logical story. Real destiny is unpredictable, full of malicious jokes.

But we can still, in unpredictable encounters, gradually turn the outcome towards the fairy tale ending we desire.

Thus, we call such people heroes, or heroes of their time.

…

On the narrow stone steps of the mountain path, Hylial discarded her bow and arrow and drew the Jade Tree Spirit Sword from her waist. A fluorescent green glow enveloped the blade, constantly sharpening its edge, making it even more potent and sturdy.

She regulated her breathing, dispelling the stiffness in her body, and the food she had just consumed rapidly replenished her energy.

Is it necessary to be so desperate for just one adventure? This thought crossed her mind.

Indeed, if she were to flee now, the lizard would likely not catch her. But what would be the consequence of running away? She loathed that feeling of regret, the overwhelming sense of loss, and the chilling pain of life.

It’s truly a dilemma. But since the situation has already arisen, I’ll give it my all and see how far I can go.

Hylial shook her black hair, and a faint silver halo covered her whole body. Then she leaped up with her sword, soaring over the gray mist that filled the mountain path, and plunged towards the giant lizard.

The petrified lizard reacted indifferently to the Tier 2 girl, opening its mouth again to spew gray-white misty breath.

Her body moved through the gray mist, and a cold sensation spread from her skin, bringing a slight stiffness. Fortunately, the abundant ‘Glorious Moon’ aspect offset and neutralized this power, only slightly reducing her speed.

To the lizard’s disbelief, the girl safely traversed the mist, and the fluorescent green sword light flashed from the hazy mist, piercing its body and causing scales to fly.

Although it was Tier 3, this lizard had spent most of its life in hibernation, always ambushing its opponents. It rarely engaged in fierce battles, which meant its scales were not very high tier, still stuck in Tier 2.

Upon encountering the girl who was fearless of its petrifying breath, the lizard was clearly uncomfortable, even panicked. It bit and clawed occasionally, but its movements were not swift, likely stiff from pretending to be a stone for so long.

The fluorescent green sword light flickered, leaving streaks of blood and flying scales. The wounded petrified lizard was enraged, but it could never catch the agile Hylial.

Finally, it once again turned into mist and dissipated, flying into the stone gate at the end of the mountain path.

When its form reconsolidated, all its wounds disappeared, and it returned to its original state.

Taking a large gulp of spring water, the giant lizard charged out again, confronting Hylial, who had pursued it to the stone gate.

Claws struck, tail swept, sword edge and scales rubbed, creating tiny sparks. It was still injured, but this desperate fighting style also caused Hylial some minor injuries.

After several more skirmishes, Hylial had to temporarily retreat, clutching her arm wound and applying powder to stop the bleeding.

At this, the giant petrified lizard’s eyes gleamed fiercely with pride and bloodlust. It swayed its long tail and body, charging once more.

The battle resumed.

The long, thick tail swept down diagonally, as stout as a concrete pillar, parrying the swinging blade and crashing onto the ground, scattering shattered stones.

Hylial retreated a few steps, then charged toward the side of the mountain wall. She flipped in the air, then held her sword behind her, hands clasped together, gripping the hilt, and thrust with all her might.

The sharp green light pierced through the air, embedding itself in the petrified lizard’s side neck, causing it to shriek and struggle in terror. The violent thrashing forced Hylial to release the hilt and retreat for a moment.

However, she also seized the opportunity to sprinkle seeds into the wound. The grass seeds, with their sharp, thorny leaves, flowed into its bloodstream, and then sharp thorns penetrated its blood vessels, drawing out copious amounts of blood.

But even so, the lizard clung to life.

Its form once again misted, leaving scattered blood and grass seed debris. The gray mist then rushed like wind behind Hylial, re-aggregating and spewing out a large area of petrifying breath. In response, Hylial had to dodge again, quickly moving out of the breath’s range.

She could rely on the power of ‘Glorious Moon’ to neutralize the petrifying effect, but this neutralization was not limitless. Each time it occurred, it weakened her, and if it happened too many times, she would not be immune.

What was originally a life-and-death battle turned into a prolonged war of attrition, it was just a matter of who would give in first.

The two separated again, then clashed back and forth on the mountain path repeatedly. Unfortunately, the three petrified individuals below could not see such a scene; they could only stiffly wait.

About half an hour later, the petrified lizard was somewhat exhausted. Even though it could still perform several mist-form transformations, it still couldn’t guarantee killing the girl in front of it.

Each breathing method had its own characteristics. If Iona’s Sun-Glow Breathing Method was about explosive power, then Hylial’s Moonlight Breath Method was about sustained endurance from continuous recovery.

The minor wounds on her body were gradually healing and stopping bleeding under the effect of the breathing method. Although she was a bit disheveled, it wasn’t time for her to fall yet.

Taking a deep breath and readjusting her state, Hylial raised her right hand. The fluorescent green blade and her arm formed a straight line as she slowly walked forward.

Finally, when she faced the petrified lizard, its will began to waver, and it instinctively retreated.

Indeed, compared to the enormous lizard, the black-haired girl in front of it seemed extraordinarily frail and small. However, after repeated battles, the beast had to change this preconceived notion.

A faint silver halo appeared, and Hylial’s fate card was now entirely equipped with ‘Glorious Moon’ abilities.

[Moonlight Breath Method] (Glorious Moon), [Hylial’s Spring] (Glorious Moon), [Meditation Method] (Glorious Moon).

The three echoed each other, synergistically supporting and enhancing their respective effects. This was the advantage of specializing in a single affinity: it allowed for the coordinated unleashing of specialized affinity, generating power far beyond that of the same tier.

At this moment, the central card of her soul’s fate disk was no longer the ‘Emerald Honey’ affinity card, but a card bathed in starlight.

On the card, in the night sky behind the girl, stars twinkled and scattered, encircling her. They absorbed, transformed, and exhaled the moonlight power transmitted by the three surrounding ability cards into points of starlight, which then fed back to the three surrounding ability cards, causing the borders of the cards to take on a strange hue.

Another clash.

The blade ripped through scales, leaving streaks of wounds, while the petrified lizard, fearless of death, lunged and bit, forcing the girl to retreat again, avoiding the ferocious sweep of its tail.

This time, however, Hylial retreated to the edge of the spring pool.

Her heels touched the cold pool water, bringing her back to her senses, and then she withdrew.

However, the girl soon leaped up, directly landing in the pool, and then the special card in her fate disk shone brightly.

[Hylial’s Spring]

The figure within this card became clear, her appearance perfectly identical to Hylial’s current self. The sole distinction was that the card’s depiction showed her in a white dress, perched at the pool’s edge, her silver hair flowing like a waterfall, with a silent prayer in her eyes.

Silver light continuously spread outwards from her body, filling the entire pool. When the petrified lizard rushed over anxiously, the pool water rose, submerging it.

The clear spring water cleansed the wounds on the lizard’s body, flowing into its body along with its blood, allowing it to experience the coldness of the mountain spring for the first time.

Then, the sword light reappeared from the water, piercing through its vulnerable throat and into its skull.

This time, the petrified lizard intended to transform into mist and escape, but the special ability it gained after advancing failed. It could only struggle in panic, finally developing a fearful urge to flee.

Alas, there would be no second chance to escape.

Blood slowly trickled down the hilt of the sword. Its struggles only widened the wound, and then it slowly fell into the pool, letting the blood dye the entire pool red.