Chapter 167 Waiting for a Miracle

Instead of launching a ferocious attack to shatter the stone wall, the demon detoured slightly, split into three, and charged forward simultaneously.

As it plunged into the domain of holy light, black miasma hissed and billowed from its body.

Yet, in a mere instant, the surging black energy erupted from the demon, completely crushing the entire domain of holy light.

"Humph!"

Luo Yong grunted and decisively launched his attack, lunging toward one of the demon clones.

"A physical form?"

At close range, Luo Yong refrained from using his vibrating spear technique, fearing he might accidentally injure Hera nearby.

He slammed one hand onto the demon's head, forcing it down to the ground. Glaring at its ferocious and terrifying visage, he pressed his foot down hard and shoved it across the floor, scraping a deep gouge until its head collided against the cat-shaped stone wall. Only then did he let out a loud shout and unleash his skill—

"Hellfire!"

Boom!

Dazzling flames soared into the air, and the demon clone let out a miserable scream before dissolving into a wisp of black smoke.

At the same time, the Holy Light Guardian intercepted another demon clone, while Poya was locked in a fierce battle with the third.

"Ah!"

Suddenly, a cry of alarm rang out from Hera's direction.

Right beneath where she stood, the ground split open, revealing a pair of demonic claws that directly seized her ankles, hoisting her upside down and whisking her away into the distance.

As for the six shadow warriors guarding her, they were all entangled by a group of demon clones that had appeared out of nowhere!

"Damn it!"

Luo Yong roared in fury and moved to charge over.

Suspended in mid-air, Hera's hair was whipped into disarray, scattering in the wind as her cloak was eroded by demonic magic and slipped from her shoulders.

Once again, she was exposed entirely before Luo Yong without reservation.

Meanwhile, Pang Ding had already turned away to deal with a few small hell hounds nearby.

Those creatures were stubborn and extremely difficult to kill.

"Hera!"

Luo Yong shouted, charging forward at top speed, his heart consumed by frantic anxiety.

She was an astrologer renowned throughout the entire Blood Moon Continent. Although her level was not exceptionally high and her combat prowess wasn't overwhelming, within her professional domain, she was a towering figure. Much like the Elven Royal Yan Baoer—mention the Elven Divine Arbiter of the Mage Guild, and everyone knew her name.

As for the items the Elven Elder had sent Luo Yong to collect, if he could obtain just a word or two of guidance from her, perhaps he could find them much faster!

Because of this, he could not allow anything to happen to her, no matter what!

Although there was a tiny prophet apprentice back at Gaoge Camp, goodness knows if thirty years would be enough for her to grow to Hera's level.

"Fate..."

Watching the middle-aged mercenary charging toward her like a madman with his hair standing on end in fury, a faint smile appeared on Hera's face.

At that moment, she seemed to foresee something, though she could not be certain.

The demonic power began to corrode her legs, and Hera knew that in her current state, she could not hold on much longer.

With a surge of resolve, a flash of determination crossed her eyes. Magic surged within her body, and a mysterious symbol lit up upon her forehead.

As that symbol flared to life, mysterious runes ignited across her chest, abdomen, and every part of her body. Using her physical form as the foundation, they constructed a powerful spell formation.

In that very instant, her entire body, from head to toe, blazed with blinding brilliance.

"Damn it! Is she trying to self-detonate?" Luo Yong cursed loudly, catching the two cloaks falling from mid-air before tossing them aside.

Wind-attribute magic burst from beneath his feet, and his anti-gravity spell surged with doubled intensity. He leaped high into the air, hurtling toward Hera's position.

"Foolish human! Hera, even as an astrologer, you are merely appending your sealing power to delay the time of my birth!"

The demon holding Hera upside down in mid-air spoke in an ice-cold voice. "Originally, I wanted to devour your flesh and blood and claim your soul for my own use. To think you are so stubborn as to carve a self-destruction array into your flesh, attempting to perish together with me... Hahahaha... How naive!"

The demon emitted a few eerie laughs. Glancing at Luo Yong, who had closed in, it gave a forceful fling, hurling Hera away toward the other side.

"Damn it!"

Luo Yong shouted. The magic power within him erupted once more, his airborne body suddenly accelerating as he altered his course and chased after Hera.

Just as her body was about to crash into the stone wall, Luo Yong caught up to her, grabbed her ankle, pulled her back, and gathered her into his arms. Carried by momentum, the two of them slammed against the stone wall with a thud.

Fortunately, due to the anti-gravity spell, their bodies were feather-light and suffered no injury.

However, at this moment, Hera's entire body was glowing, her runes condensing as the light grew increasingly intense and blinding.

"Is this your solution?" Luo Yong asked, holding Hera and staring directly into her eyes.

"My abilities are limited... Although I saw some different scenes, perhaps... perhaps this is fate. That specific future failed to manifest, so... I had no choice but to do this..." Hera's voice was very weak. At this moment, the gaze she fixed upon Luo Yong was somewhat complicated.

"Am I pretty?"

She looked into Luo Yong's eyes and reached out as if to remove his mask.

"Even though... whether intentional or not, you've already seen everything... Do you think I'm pretty?"

As her life approached its end, Hera lay quietly in Luo Yong's arms—the arms of this man disguised as a middle-aged mercenary—and asked with a touch of shyness.

"For some reason, I really want to spank your bottom right now and teach you a proper lesson."

Luo Yong looked at her and said expressionlessly.

"Eh?" Hera was taken aback.

"Can't this formation be reversed or stopped? I don't want you to die right now." Luo Yong said.

"Reversed? Or stopped?" Hera turned her gaze toward the demon floating in the air and said, "Would doing that really be of any use?"

"How would we know if we don't try?" Luo Yong replied.

"But..." Hera let out a soft sigh. "This is my only remaining chance. If I proceed, while it may not necessarily kill the demon, it will inflict severe trauma upon it, making recovery difficult over the long, endless years to come."

"However, if I merely cast this formation to contain it, and you aren't here to help me trigger it, I won't be able to unleash its maximum power."

"Yet I still don't want you to die."

Luo Yong said with a certain overbearing tone.

Demonic descent, apocalyptic doom—none of it mattered to him; his sole mission was to rescue the elven royal Yan Baoer.

And Hera, as an astrologer capable of prophecy, would be of immense help to him.

Although she was indeed very attractive, possessed a wonderful figure, and was thoroughly well-endowed, Luo Yong wasn't risking his life to save her purely for those reasons.

"So, you do think I'm pretty, then?" Hera asked, a hint of a smile appearing on her face.

"......Yeah, pretty. Truly pretty, both your face and every other part of you..." Luo Yong answered honestly.

Had his heart not long since belonged to the elven royal Yan Baoer, he might have lost control right then and there.

Anyone else placed in this situation would have lost control.

"In that case, I choose to keep believing in fate!" Hera narrowed her eyes and broke into a sweet smile. At that moment, she blossomed with breathtaking beauty.

Truth be told, at that very second, Luo Yong's heart skipped a beat.

Anyone's heart would have skipped a beat.

"Believing in fate?"

"Mhm, believing, and with absolute conviction!" Hera motioned for Luo Yong to help her stand. Then, she traced her hands through the air, guiding the runes and the formation within her body, peeling it out and holding it suspended before her chest.

The formation shrank, becoming incredibly solid, while the runes danced around Hera like frolicking spirits.

At this moment, her long hair fluttered along with them, creating a scene of ethereal beauty and sanctity.

It set Luo Yong's heart racing and his mind wandering.

"Oh?"

The ancient demon, who was also racing against time to carve its own spell formation and gather all its might to rapidly devour magic and strengthen itself, suddenly sensed a hint of threat.

"The power of the seal! Damn it! The power of the seal again!" The ancient demon roared, temporarily halting the construction of its formation as it lunged toward Hera.

"Hera! I've changed my mind! I will kill you first, then those two, and finally slaughter every single person in this world who believes in the holy light!"

"Divine Mercy!"

Hera shouted at the top of her lungs, shoving the formation in her hands forcefully forward with every ounce of remaining strength before collapsing into Luo Yong's arms.

Swish!

The seemingly tiny formation expanded instantly upon flying into mid-air. Multiple nodes flared with light, interconnecting to form a glowing cage that trapped the lunging demon inside.

Then, it began to shrink.

Countless runes flashed and burned, hissing as they struck the demon trapped within the formation, piercing its body and branding themselves upon the core dark red bead deep within its flesh.

"Ah!"

The ancient demon roared in fury, its vicious nature fully exposed. Staring at the limp woman resting in Luo Yong's arms, it snarled, "Hera! You cannot trap me forever! Sooner or later, I will break free, tear you to pieces, devour your soul, and enslave your body so you can never escape!"

"I am waiting for a miracle." Hera rested against Luo Yong's chest, feeling his body heat. Her expression remained calm and composed, as though she had long since lost all fear of life and death.

She hadn't chosen to die because she still had a reason to keep living.

And that reason was given to her by Luo Yong.

As for that miracle...

"What a tragedy!"

Pang Ding glanced over from a distance at the pair of shameless lovebirds clinging tightly to each other, and let out a cold snort. He instinctively felt that these two shameless wretches were bound to come to no good end!

Everyone else was working hard killing monsters over here!

And look at the two of you—

Hugging each other so tightly you might as well consummate the marriage right here on the spot!

"Huh?"

Luo Yong suddenly let out a startled cry and glanced down at Hera in his arms. He had been wondering what nonsense she meant by "miracle" or "fate"—invisible, untouchable concepts!

Yet, right at this moment—

He felt a magical power connecting through invisible threads directly to him, transmitting a summons from afar.

Immediately afterward, with a single thought, a piece of sheepskin parchment appeared in his hand.