I Refused To Be Reincarnated

Chapter 254 - 254: The King's Gaze

Five minutes prior, King Leon's gaze landed on Shepard's rapidly travelling smokey form until he reached Elderglade Peaks, wondering about his goal. However, his subsequent actions caused him to frown.

He saw him smirk as he conjured a deadly fog that engulfed the entire area. With dread, he watched the soldiers hold their throats, their faces contorting in agony as their eyes bulged and their faces turned a deep red.

Reading on the arcanist's lips, he repeated, "Playing with fire will always cause smoke to erupt."

Then, he saw the fog billow under his control, devouring everything in its wake like a gaseous beast. Soon, soldiers from both countries dropped to the ground like flies, poisoned to death.

Next, Shepard dismissed his spell, his eyes narrowing as he muttered, "I didn't feel the kids' shapes."

"He is

This method would allow them to reach the river bank in six days without endangering him. However, this misadventure exposed one of his most significant flaws: his mana circuits were terrible, even worse than Julius'. This revelation carried heavy consequences.

Since he had never used mana for so long, he only knew that discharging too much in a short time harmed him. Yet, duration proved to be problematic, too.

'I must ask Shepard for ways to improve them,' he thought, frowning. To make an analogy, he felt his mana was diesel running on a petrol engine. Hindered by the quality, it struggled to pass, clogging and swelling in the circuits.

"But first, we need to escape," he said, smiling wryly before emptying his mind to focus on his task.

Soon, amidst the reverberating noise of breaking rocks, sweat, and dust, six days flashed by. Despite his regular pauses, his circuits were heating in his ethereal form, alerting him he almost reached his limits again. Yet, preoccupied by Morgane's state, he decided to make one last push.

The poor girl already looked like a bag of bones devoid of muscles or fat. He knew she wouldn't hold long. Even Julius' firm arms looked like two twigs, adding to his worries.

"You'd better pierce through!" He exclaimed, materialising his spinning spearhead again. But this time was different. With more mana, he added a thin layer of vibrating energy to increase its penetration before hurling it.

CRASH

A strident cacophony erupted as the projectile drilled through the mountain as if challenging its hardness. Tremors shook the ground and more gravel flew in every direction, rising dust as the spear furiously eviscerated the rocks until...

"You did it!" Screamed Nova as warm sunlight filtered through the freshly dug tunnel, and the mana spearhead slowly dissipated a few meters away. Excitement filling her, she added, "Let me carry the kids out!"

"Don't touch them!" Adam hurriedly screamed, holding his ethereal frame with a grimace. "They are too weak to be moved. We must feed them first," he added, his eyes fixing the flowing river below.

"What can I do to help?" She asked, her hands itching to do something helpful for the kids.

Reassured to see her comply, Adam revealed, "I can't move too far from Julius. So, catch some fish in the river and bring them back."

However, a bad feeling gripped his heart as he saw Nova blush. 'Why does her reaction seem familiar?!' He thought in alarm, anticipating her answer.

Shame covering her features, Nova said, "I don't know how to swim."

"..."