"Shit, this bastard cheated death and placed the blame on me?" Velcorn gasped, using an Essence Stone to replenish his Origin Essence reserves. He then took out an Artifact, seeping his Origin Essence into it to activate it, causing a pale white energy to wash out as his wounds began to slowly recover.
He panted in exhaustion, stopping his bleeding as his energy began to recover little by little. Currently in his hands was a scroll that he had fished out from the pockets of one of the slain experts. The scroll was pretty damaged as it seemed to be a copy that had traded a lot of hands, but he was still able to make out some details.
And among it were details related to him, possessing expert details regarding his power, his character, and tendencies. Honestly, there was so much information about him in this scroll that was more detailed than what he thought about himself.
It was like a learning experience for him when suddenly, Velcorn shuddered, "H-How does that bastard know about all this? Fucking Main Character bastard!"
Swish!
"Shit!" Velcorn screamed in anger when a fire arrow slammed into him, burning the scroll in the process as he instinctively defended himself with it. He hadn't managed to read through much on the scroll, cursing his worsening luck as he quickly began to run once again, "I didn't heal much in that short duration, dammit!"
"He's here!" An expert shouted, launching another fire arrow at Velcorn, this time hitting his leg accurately, causing Velcorn to scream in pain as he unleashed all his Origin Essence, filling up the tunnel with a dense mist.
This mist corroded anything living that touched it, preventing the experts from immediately catching up to him. And in the meantime, Velcorn took out a bunch of Essence Stones, replenishing his Origin Essence while activating the healing Artifact.
Healing Artifacts were so rare that at most, the strongest of the Clans/Sects of a Realm might possess one. And that too might only be thanks to them having a fixed line of doctors with healing type Martial Spirits that used their healing attributes Origin Essence to barely create such an Artifact.
He obtained this Healing Artifact after killing the young master of a famous Clan in the Realm he landed at. Once he stole this Artifact, things turned sticky for him there as he was on a constant run for most of the time.
When he realised that he wasn't able to remain in hiding there any longer, he used a spatial bridge connecting the Realms to arrive at the Gaider Realm in search of Compass Carburettor.
But it hadn't even been a week since his arrival when he was chased after once again. But this time, the net was slowly closing in on him as his pursuers had a clear understanding of his ability and even his character.
Moreover, every wave of pursuers was better equipped to deal with him, causing him to feel like the noose around his neck was slowly tightening itself.
As he continued to hop around with his injury, a sharp pain originated from his other leg as something had grabbed hold of it, dragging him deeper into the tunnels, "Aaaah!"
Screech!
There was a grating chirp before he was thrown into what seemed like a nest. And, seated within was a chick, but despite being a baby, it was already at the Sixth Layer of the Origin Refinement Stage.
As for its mother, it was at the Martial Providence Stage. And, the bird had intended for him to be the chick's food, also to serve as a whetstone that trained it to hunt and kill its prey.
But, the moment he was dropped into the nest, Velcorn grabbed hold of the chick's fur when it pecked his injured leg. Gritting his teeth in pain, he latched onto its back, beginning to corrode its body a little, causing it to scream in pain.
In response, the bird screeched in anger, pecking towards him, intending to kill him when Velcorn slipped to the side, shouting, "Dumb bird! If you dare kill me, I'll drag your child with me to hell!"
Scree!
The bird fumed in rage, flapping its wings to unleash powerful gusts of wind, in anger and worry, noticing the chick slowly turning weak over time.
Velcorn activated the healing artifact, healing the chick as he shouted, "If you promise to not kill me, I'll cure your child and you too!"
The reason he had taken this approach was after noticing the large unhealed gash on the bird's stomach, an injury that almost crippled it, preventing it from taking flight. That was why it had moved into this tunnel to hide and take care of its newborn until it became strong enough.
Honestly, it was a fluke that he spoke at the perfect moment, watching the bird pause, flapping its wings from time to time, contemplating before chirping upon seeing that the chick was unable to endure anymore.
In this time, Velcorn had replenished a bit of his Origin Essence, diverting part of it to heal his injuries and the other into the chick, ensuring both of them were alive.
Slowly, he repeated the process until both were fully healed. With his leg regenerated, he was able to walk once again, sighing as he cautiously approached the bird, noticing it flap its wings and retreat instinctively, lowering his head in an effort to peck him to death.
Chirp!
When the chick chirped in response, displaying abundant vitality, the bird slowly lowered its beak, allowing him to touch its stomach. Upon activating the healing Artifact, the wounds of the bird began to slowly heal.
But at this time, the bird's senses registered some invaders, hurriedly pushing the chick into a nearby tunnel as it slapped a boulder, suddenly closing the tunnel, making it seem like a tunnel didn't exist there.
Moreover, the chick's chirps were no longer audible while before the entrance closed, Velcorn noticed enough food stocked within the tunnels and a narrow tunnel leading towards the surface, only wide enough for it to fly out of.
"We'll have to escape!" Velcorn shouted all of a sudden, gazing at the bird, "If they see me here, they'll also kill you and your child."
Chirp!
The bird immediately carried him on its back, flapping its wings to run through the tunnels as the experts arrived at the scene, barely missing each other.
By the time they noticed them, the bird had exited the tunnels, showing the experts flying there with his Martial Providence Stage prowess, swatting them away before taking off to the air, rapidly flying towards the Folkan Secret Realm entrance.
