Just when everyone thought Jake was done for, Leo shouted:
"Brother Feit! Leave him a dog's life—we'll collect the debt first!"
At that command, the red-clad man instantly pulled back thirty percent of his power.
Jake didn't care whether he held back or not. His eyes flashed gold….
And the red-clad man convulsed as if struck by lightning, his body trembling violently before collapsing to the ground.
"W.W.W.W….WHAT!!!?"
Leo and Marcus, still sitting on the floor, were stunned. Before another word could escape their lips, they met Jake's gaze.
It was like staring into an abyss. Like being crushed beneath a mountain.
Leo felt like an ant. A fragile ant that could be stomped out at any moment.
"Is this a god? This is a god!" His knees buckled. He nearly dropped to the floor.
"Get lost."
Leo snapped out of it and turned to flee. But just as he lifted his leg, he regained his conciousness….
[F.f.f.f. kk}
He seemed to remember something even more terrifying. His body jolted, stumbled, and scrambled back.
Together with Marcus, he dragged the red-clad man and fled in a panic.
Once aboard the air-skiff, through the window, just before takeoff, Leo pointed a trembling finger at Jake.
"You… you… you… you… dead… dead…" He wanted to say You're dead meat, but the words wouldn't come out.
"Leo, bro…" Marcus whispered, still following Leo's lead like always.
"Da-da-da… duh-duh-duh…"
Marcus: "......"
Leo wiped the sweat from his forehead, his teeth chattering. "Duh-duh-duh… w-we-we're d-d-done for…!!!"
They glanced at Brother Feit, still collapsed on the floor. Their eyes were full of despair.
"M-M-Marcus… Brother Feit is the second boss's little brother!"
"D-d-don't even think about running. W-we-we need to go find the second boss."
At the thought of Victor Blacktiger—the terrifying second-in-command of MK-14—Leo nearly collapsed again.
Meanwhile, Jake tapped his arm terminal and sent a message to Soly: "Get here ASAP!!! Address: xxx."
Then he couldn't hold on any longer. His head tilted—and he collapsed onto the floor.
No one knew how much time had passed. When Jake slowly opened his eyes, he found himself lying in bed. Soly was sitting cross-legged beside him.
The moment Jake opened his eyes, Soly turned his head. "My lord, you're awake? What happened? I saw a pool of blood on the floor."
Jake didn't respond. He sat up and quickly scanned his body and Spirit Sea which located in his Ajna Chakra Node.
He let out a long breath. "No major damage. But my Spiritforce definitely took a hit."
Soly didn't rush him. He waited quietly for Jake to speak.
Jake glanced at him. "You did well."
"I could feel it. If my lord had died… I would've died too."
Jake nodded. "MK-14 came. Two Dymins. One Aspella Class. To deal with the Aspella, I had to use Spirit Magic.
But this body is still too weak. My MSR level is too low. It doesn't match my Spiritforce. It's not enough to support my spellcasting.
Even the lowest-grade spell—Soulpierce—was enough to drain me."
Soly paused for a moment. "My lord, you need time."
Jake still didn't know he'd just killed the younger brother of MK-14's second-in-command. He'd called Soly over purely as a precaution.
Jake stood up. "Cheeseburger's on the way. We'll eat, then go to some place safe for me to cultivate."
------
Soly wiped the grease from his mouth and the tears from his eyes. "My lord, I really like The Blue Planet food."
"That's because you've fused with this Blue Planet soul. Same here. But isn't that a kind of pleasure too?"
"Mm-mm-mm." Soly was too busy chewing to respond.
Jake glanced at the ten burgers. He'd only eaten three—and the rest were gone.
Smack! A palm landed squarely on Soly's head.
"I told you to eat, not inhale them! Didn't you eat anything after you got back?"
Soly's scarred face twisted into a look of pure grievance.
"No, my lord. I've been reacclimating to the body, studying ancient texts and techniques, sorting out matters at The Frontier Academy. These past few days I've been surviving on Spirit March Pills…"
As he spoke, tears welled up in both eyes. With that scar, it was quite the dramatic image.
Jake's face darkened. "You're a thousand-year-old cultivator. Try to maintain some dignity."
Soly gave a sheepish grin. "I started as a magic apprentice too. Even back then, you were already a founder-tier figure to me, my lord. Heh…"
Jake: "…"
"Alright. Let's leave this place. We both need time. I don't want any extra trouble for now."
Just then, the door creaked open.
Eight people filed in, two neat rows—instantly crowding the tiny room.
Once the two rows of four had taken their positions, a man in red fur strode in behind them.
Trailing him was a small, dark-skinned figure.
In his hand, the little guy was dragging two much larger men—Leo and Marcus—both bloodied and barely conscious.
He carried them like a pair of chickens.