Completely cornered, it's only now when Ryu realized nothing was happening. Nothing was happening to his bracelet that is. When his grandmother passed it to him, she informed him that he can activate this protective charm with his mana. 

Yet, now when he actively delivered his mana into it... nothing happened. There was no change at all in the state of the bracelet. It was like a sponge, devouring his mana without any response at all. 

"Are you trying something?" Paula tilted her head to one side. She can clearly read the flow of Ryu's mana. Was the boy trying to activate some kind of artifact to help him? "Whatever you are doing, boy. It isn't working." 

Had she not been in such a somber mood, Paula would have certainly played with the kid. But the entire episode with Lyod had left a bad taste in her mouth. Not wasting any time, she moved in to grab the boy. 

"A cultivator like yourself should be ashamed of going after a kid like that, miss." It was like the gods have finally taken mercy on the kid. Out in the distance, Ryu noticed a tall lady with broad shoulders heroically stepping towards them. 

Ryu didn't take long to figure out there was an altercation between these two women. And what can be a piece of better news than this for a measly brat like him? Sure enough, this newcomer had successfully attracted all the attention to herself. 

"You too want to come in my way?" Paula had been devastated. Her misery was steadily turning into fury and Linda's arrival has only escalated her irritation. "We can go our separate ways if you leave the brat alone." 

Linda might have advocated for Ryu's safety to be paramount, yet the fact remained she was choosing this confrontation for purely personal reasons. Saving the green boy was just a consequence of her premeditated actions. 

"Then I suppose you have chosen death as well." The level of Paula's infuriation can be assessed by the simple fact that even after defeating Lyod in her last fight, she had not undone her demonic state. 

"Whatever sails your boat woman..." Linda took off the long coat that had hidden her large muscular body. Underneath, she only had a tank top that revealed most of her shapely arms and her strong shoulders. Blood-red patterns gradually came to life on her body, giving her a spectacularly formidable appearance. 

"Going all out already? Smart.." Paula was not interested in wasting any more breath on this new irritation to her plans. Despite having won against Lyod, her heart seems to have taken a severe blow. If she faltered right now, she ran the risk of failing her mission. 

On his butt, Ryu was contemplating whether to take this godsend opportunity to sprint or not. Considering how this woman took practically not even a breath to catch up to him, he was more inclined to stand his ground.

*BAM* *BAM* Before the boy could decide between fight or flight, explosions cracked the firmament around him. The shockwaves from another demigod-level fight threatened to rip his miserable body apart. 

"Got you.." While being forced back, Ryu found himself in the embrace of another lady with elegant features. Evidently, the touch of a woman right now almost made the boy scream out in terror. However, he was able to hold it back when he saw no malice in her eyes, unlike the first lady in black clothes. 

Yalda had been the one who protected the boy against the onslaught of discharging mana waves. Noticing the suspicions in his eyes, she gently explained her origins. "I am with that lady over there young man. We aren't going to harm you."

Ryu seems to readily believe her, probably because in contrast to Paula's demonic manifestation, the embrace of a real human was much more consoling at a precarious time like this when he was so close to almost losing his life. 

Seeing him nod, Yalda carefully brought the boy back such that they can be at a safe distance from the two mammoth cultivators colliding. "We are here to help you boy, but first you need to answer my questions.. starting with who are you?" 

It was obvious old man Lyod was ready to trade his life to safeguard this boy. And more importantly, why would such strong cultivators choose a fight to the death over a seemingly puny brat with little to no cultivation to speak off? 

Ryu gulped, taking a long time to calm his racing heart. Aware of his plight, Yalda didn't push him. "If we know more about you, we might be able to help you better." Expectedly, Yalda was completely opposed to the idea of her mistress intervening. Yet, since Linda had made up her mind, Yalda must do everything to help her mistress out. 

Just like Ryu, she very well knew running away was a futile effort. If Linda ends up falling, it was only a matter of time before she was put to death as well. 

"I am Ryu.. from Korua town. I am the grandson of grand mage Emily." Whether he liked it or not, Emily was the most influential name he could attach to his introduction. Right now, Ryu required all the help he could gather. 

As anticipated, there was a visible change in Yalda's countenance when she heard him refer to Emily as his grandmother. "Grandson of the water mage?" Bells rang in the Wilder maid's head. Was there more to this boy than his relationship with the grand mage? 

"Why is she after you? And what is your relationship with old man Lyod?" Ryu's eyes gained like when he heard that name. "He is my teacher.. is he hurt?" Ryu had a hunch old man Lyod might be in trouble since their assaulter had managed to leave him behind and trace him in the woods, however, Yalda's next words left his face drained. 

"I am afraid old man Lyod is no longer with us." Ryu felt he suffered a nervous breakdown. Old man Lyod was no more? After his grandmother, if Ryu had ever entrusted someone with his life.. he was none other than master Lyod. This training trip helped them inculcate their bonding even further. 

"Stay strong, boy. The old man fought till his last breath to save you, don't let his efforts go to waste." The acute despair on Ryu's face told Yalda the boy had not been lying to her. He must have been close to his old tutor Lyod. 

"Why would this person come for you, do you have any idea Ryu?" At this time Ryu was feeling like someone had plunged a knife through his heart. Did he lose such a close person just like that? "I.. don't know.." 

Yalda was disappointed by the response, however, the boy seems to have suffered a trauma, and taking into consideration his age, she carefully held onto him. "It's okay. We will do something, don't worry." 

This was the second time she had asked him not to worry, but Ryu's mind was shattered already. It's like he could not hear anything Yalda said. 'I told you, didn't I? You are not an ordinary boy who can have a breezy childhood, boy.' 

The news of Lyod's death had opened up new vulnerabilities in Ryu's mind. His misery gave way to dejection which in turn caused self-blame, followed by extreme anger towards himself. 'Our fates are intertwined. I warned you, today it was the old man. Tomorrow it will be your mother. The day after that it will be that little bunny of yours. Are you truly willing to keep on taking such losses? If yes, then what will be there to even live for?'

Ryu's deep green eyes had gradually taken a red hue as his hands clenched into fists and his jaws gashed so hard that it cracked his jawbone. Who are these bastards? Do they think they can harm the people he was close to... so easily? 

First, it was Kira and Lyla. Just when he promised never to rely on the Demon's powers, Lyod lost his life. It's like there was a divine play here to mess with his sanity. Were the gods of this world testing his resolve? It is said when cornered, even a deer would fight back. With all the fear and fright he had felt today, Ryu was going to direct it back on the person who caused it. His eyelids had changed and his pupils enlarged. 

At the same time while Ryu was mentally besieged by the Demon, another struggle had already begun some distance away from him. 

Paula's face was expressionless while she hit Linda with a barrage of savage strikes. Fists were thrown and kicks were delivered, each encounter creating a crater in the ground beneath. What was shocking was the fact that even at her best, the tattooed woman was actually able to keep up. 

Any person who had been unfortunate to be in the proximity of the fight would have their eardrums shattered just from the buzzing noise of the brawl. What's more, with time the ferocity of the fight was only growing in intensity. At this point, Linda had even left Lyod behind in her damage output. 

What Paula lacked in understanding was as someone from the Wilder clan, engaging Linda in a physical fight was the worst thing her opponent could do. However, mad in rage, Paula took too long to come to this inevitable conclusion. 

As the fight progressed, Linda started gaining the upper hand. Her punches were falling onto demonically enhanced Paula like mountains. It's obvious, the difference in their cultivation level could not be coped with this level of augmentation. 

*BANG* The disparity had grown so much that the next kick to Paula's head broke the bones in her arm that she used to defend. Her feet dragged through the earth below, only stopping once she had been pushed almost two dozen yards away. 

"Human life is not so cheap, wretch." Linda gradually folded her right leg with a scoff. "I didn't anticipate the complexity of this mission." Paula heedlessly fixed her shattered arm before leaving the ground altogether and taking to the sky. 

After a first-hand experience of the menace Linda's muscles were capable of, Paula had come to her senses. Probably the physical combat was the forte of her opponent and it's never logical to fight your enemy where she is strong. 

Linda was very much aware of what was coming next. "Samd Pandemonium!!" She had seen Paula fight with her own eyes, aware of her apt control over the sand element. Watching the swathe of topsoil floating in the air, she still didn't let out any kind of emotion. 

The Wilder woman might not have element magic, however, she had her own set of tricks. "Pebble, you are up..!!" Each person from the Wilder clan carried with them a space stone that contained their tamed beast. Right now, Linda had chosen to rely on that very same beast. 

The space stone glowed with a bright blue light. Once the blinding light diminished, a peculiar creature was revealed. It was peculiar because of how unassuming it was. 

Instead of a vicious creature that Paula had assumed will be launched her way, Linda had actually revealed an overgrown worm. With plates of deep brown shiny armor, the large worm beast immediately began digging into the earth as soon as it was called on. 

"You know what to do, Pebble." The next moment, Linda's formidable legs thrusted her right through the atmosphere until she was right next to Paula. Sure the demonic woman tried to defend with the pillars of black sand, but the Wilder lady simply relied on brute forcing her way through each obstacle. 

Having no other choice, Paula can only embrace for the unavoidable impact. It had to be known that her sand powers had received a monumental boost once she began relying upon the artificially injected Demon lineage in her body. 

Thus once the black sand coagulated in front of her as an imposing shield, Paula was more than certain it could even take on a superficial attack from a grand mage. Yet, what happened next was totally out of her calculations. 

Linda's mana-endowed body crashed through every barrier out in her way, rapidly closing on Paula. "Haaaaahhh!!" Her arm shot back to create the required tension to punch a hole through the last sand shield. 

However, right at the time her hand closed in on the shield, the sand particles separated. As astounding as it might sound, the shield of sand ended up rupturing from the center. 

Paula had no time to react. Her face felt a brutal impact that fractured a majority of her facial bones. Her body was shot into the barren land below much like a shooting meteorite. 

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