Chapter 144 (2): If You’re Bad, Practice More

The moment Wayne threw the punch, his worker’s shirt tore at the arm. His fist thrust forward, compressing and pushing the air, making an explosive sound like a whip cracking. The violent force pushed forward relentlessly, striking the tip of the grey spiral lance dead center.

When the two forces collided, the explosive recoil drove Wayne’s feet into the ground, which cracked and split audibly.

As his fist touched the Death energy, the spiral’s momentum stopped abruptly and dissipated in an instant. The remaining force continued to strike the skeletal lance; such terrifying power could punch a deep hole into even steel.

Boom!

The ground shook. Kael’s eardrums thundered like he had gone momentarily deaf. While he couldn’t hear anything, his head was buzzing noisily. The sound waves forced him to retreat repeatedly as wind whooshed into the mine, shaking loose large chunks of debris and soil.

The lance faltered, its surface cracking with large patches of fractures. As the violent wind swept over, the cracks spread until the entire lance shattered completely, scattering broken parts everywhere.

With his white bones broken and the divine power exhausted, Dunn stood stunned with blood and mangled flesh covering him. He kept muttering ‘impossible’. The fact that Death had crumbled at the contact with Nature challenged his faith; he couldn’t accept reality.

If it had just been his Death magic, it would be one thing. His defeat wouldn’t mean more than that. However, it was an avatar’s divine power...

“If you’re bad, practice more! There’s no such thing as impossible!”

Wayne withdrew his fist with a blank face, hiding it behind his back and rubbing it. He’d been overconfident. While Death's energy couldn’t hurt him and even felt like coming home, the bones were genuinely hard.

Kael snapped out of his shock and peered behind Wayne. “Oh, you’re rubbing your hand. It hurts, doesn’t it?”

You ridiculous clown!

Wayne ignored Kael, waving his hand to send vines shooting toward Dunn. Dunn was covered in filthy blood and no longer had any strength left in him. Watching the rolling green vines crashing toward him, he smiled with sinister delight. His bloodied face made his grin particularly menacing.

Boom!

Flesh and blood exploded, spraying chunks imbued with Death energy everywhere. Within the dense Death, a malicious curse lingered persistently.

Pieces of white bone emerged from the flesh, guided by Death energy to combine into a three-meter-tall bone giant. Stripped of flesh, the white skeleton was surrounded by an ominous aura. It held a long bone sword in one hand and a bone shield in the other. Two orbs of white light danced in its skull, with grey mist trailing behind it like a cape, painting the image of a formidable fighter.

“It’s Death’s curse. He cursed himself to know no fatigue or pain, and he would never fall.” Kael frowned. “Let me handle this. It’s tricky, but my holy light can effectively suppress—”

While he was talking, Wayne had already walked up to the skeleton and thrown a punch, dispersing the energy of Death and scattering bones everywhere. The white skull rolled several times on the ground, the glowing orbs in the eye sockets going out after flickering a few times.

“Come again?” Wayne turned around and asked. “What can the holy light suppress?”

(눈_눈)

𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

Oopsie. He misread the magical formula in a moment of carelessness. It wasn’t a persistent curse at all, but only a bluff. Damn follower of Death, trying to trick him even on the verge of death.

Wayne rubbed his fist against his back, speaking mockingly, “Stop daydreaming, Kael. Come over here and see if you can bring him back.”

“Yeah.” Kael huffed. “If I were one of the seven angels governing the Golden Law, and if his soul went to heaven, I would be able to save him.”

I see,

Wayne thought.

Another useless tidbit.

Kael dragged Mayor Wales out of the mine and woke him up with a left hook. Before the man could speak, he gave him a series of slaps.

“I didn’t expect you to have such a strong sense of justice,” Wayne said in surprise. He had thought he was the only one like that.

“It’s his fault for marrying such a beautiful wife!”

Speechless, Wayne politely withdrew from the conversation. He picked up the mayor’s pistol and tucked it behind his back. Then he stared into the depths of the mine. As he’d said before, he wasn’t going to head in. If the mine collapsed, who would be upholding justice in his stead?

“Mona, if you can hear me, come on out!” Wayne shouted and listened for a response. The mine was far more complex than he had imagined, definitely far from a single straight tunnel. He placed one hand on the ground. A vine emerged beside his foot, and as he channeled mana into it, the vine’s tip bloomed into a small white flower as pure as himself.

Rustling sounds filled the air as the vine crawled deep into the complex mine. Whenever it encountered a fork, new branches would grow, each ending with a white flower.

Kael shivered at the sound, muttering quietly, “I’ve wanted to say this for a long time. Church of Nature’s magic gives me the creeps.”

Ten minutes later, through his extended sensory, Wayne spotted in a collapsed tunnel a familiar ass... a familiar rear view. A follower of Nature would describe it as a peach rich in water content.

She wore the tactical unit’s uniform, lying limply on a pile of soil. Her white robe was spotless, while her black stockings had runs in several places. She wasn’t wearing shoes, and she seemed unconscious. The whole scene looked like the aftermath of something nefarious.

Wake up, stop sleeping!

The vine crawled onto her shoulder. Since Wayne couldn’t wake her with his voice, he could only opt for whipping her face. Mona’s brows furrowed deeply. She was too exhausted, and her eyes didn’t open after her eyelids trembled a few times.

Wayne had no choice but to gather the other vines to form a web, enveloping her and dragging her toward the mine entrance through the same path. During the process, her robe continued to slide up until it was at her waist.

The vine took a peek, but Wayne found the view uninteresting and drove away the vine that had acted on its own volition, manipulating the other vines to cover her with the robe properly. What was there to see? It wasn’t new to him anyway.

He lifted her and placed her on the fishnet woven with vines. To prevent her from getting disfigured, he had thoughtfully arranged her to lie on her back. Along the way, her stockings rubbed against the ground and broke further, creating another classic look.

Three minutes later, the vine net brought Mona back to the mine entrance. Wayne snapped his fingers, telling Kael to come over and heal her. He didn’t know holy magic at all, so the task should be left to a professional.

Kael crouched in front of Mona, placing one hand on her forehead and channeling holy light to treat her. It didn’t work very well.

“Her injuries aren’t serious. They have already healed. She’s most likely unconscious because she exhausted her thoughts, which is understandable. The enemy was something else.” Kael shook his head. They could only wait for Mona to wake up on her own.

“Carry him,” Wayne said while pointing at the mayor. “Let’s get out of here first.”

“I’d rather carry Mona. At least she’s female.” Kael made a disgusted look. Between a hideous man and a hideous woman, he would rather have the woman.

“He’s your romantic rival. Who else but you is going to carry him?”

Wayne quickly hoisted Mona onto his shoulder before Kael could act. Walking out of the mine, he unconsciously patted her on the backside. “The mayor can die, but not here. There’s a whole bunch of accomplices for him to identify in court. You’ll be literally upholding justice. That’s an honor many don’t have the opportunity to enjoy. What’s there to complain about?”

“Easy for you to say. Look how heavy he is.”

Kael refused to get into such close contact with Mayor Wales, so he dragged him out of the mine by the wrist instead. Once they reached the miners’ dormitory, Kael tossed the man onto the floor.

Wayne looked around at the filthy floor and the metal bed frame without bedding. He chose to put Mona on the bed frame. If she slept on the ground today, tomorrow, she might crawl onto the bed and sleep with her boss. Better to just put her on the bed.

“We’ve found her. Mission accomplished. Now, it’s time for my commission.” Kael turned to Wayne, raising an eyebrow. “I remember you saying that you’d write the investigation report for half the payment.”

“I was just talking. You actually bought it?”

“How can a man not keep his word?” Kael shot back furiously.

Well, of course there would be times when a man didn’t keep his word. Wayne flipped him off. The mine could collapse at any moment. He would have to be a right fool to go in.

Just then, Mona woke up with a soft groan, propping herself up and shaking her groggy head. “Quick, there’s a stone tablet deep in the mine. Go get it immediately.”

Her head was killing her. She didn’t know if it was her imagination, but she felt someone touch her rear while she was half-conscious. It felt familiar, like the way her mas—Bruce had touched her.

She turned to the two gentlemen present. Which was it?