Chapter 30: Insurmountable

BOOM 

As the two women moved away from the edge of the bridge floating between the mountains, an explosion made the ground beneath them tremble. Quickly, they turned around, locking eyes with Jihan, who was staring at them, unmoving. 

"LI!" 

"GO! Circle around the mountains, I'll meet you on the other side." 

TSK 

With no other choice, Irmin, who was carrying Selene, complied with Jihan's request and started running. 

"Now then..." Li turned toward the forest, where twelve men emerged from the shadows. 

"What's this? A sacrificial act?" 

"I thought there were nine of you." 

"Haha, I had a reserve group in case something went wrong, but I guess I won't need them this time," Joseph laughed. "Anyway... let's finish this quickly, then we'll go after those girls." 

Li frowned. 

"I thought I was your target!" 

"Oh, don't be jealous, Jihan. You are the target, but, you see, I hold grudges against those who harm my men," Joseph taunted. 

"You'll never get past me." 

"Well then." Li clapped his hands together. He bent his knees slightly, drew his left arm close to his body with his hand open horizontally, and extended his right arm upward with his hand vertical. Both were covered by a thin layer of mana. "I've been itching to test some new techniques I learned last month." 

"Is that so?" 

"However, I'll have to hold back a bit. What would I do if I accidentally broke my new toys?" Jihan retorted, provoking the bandits. 

"You five, go first," ordered Joseph. 

"Sir?" 

"And don't make the mistake of underestimating him again. I won't tolerate another failure." 

"Aren't you coming first?" Jihan provoked. 

"A body can survive losing a limb, but not if it loses its head," Joseph explained. 

"Just be careful not to bleed too much." 

The leader remained calm. "I couldn't break that bridge, and the kid did it without even breaking a sweat. My instincts are screaming, but I can't give up now... we have the advantage in numbers and terrain." 

While Joseph pondered, the five men approached Jihan. As they reached a certain distance, they started to spread out to surround him. 

"Do you think I'll let that happen again?" Li charged at the nearest enemy, who tried to counter by slashing with his saber. 

The palms of Jihan's gloves, coated with a thin layer of mana, accelerated and slid along the surface of the blade, redirecting it. Cutting through only air with all his strength, the man, now surprised, lost his balance. 

Taking advantage of the moment, Li struck the man's chest with the palm of his hand. As soon as he hit, the white mana glowed brightly and compressed in the small space, suddenly expanded, forcefully repelling the bandit's body and throwing him toward a tree near his leader. 

WHOOSH 

The body flew through the air near Joseph, who grimaced. 

"Damn…" 

On the other side, Jihan smiled, cracking his fingers under his gauntlet. 

"Come at me, all eleven of you… let's finish this." 

_________________________________________________________________ 

While the fight continued, the two women reached the other side of the bridge. 

"You can put me down now, I think I can move," Selene requested. 

Irmin listened and set her down. 

"So, what's the plan from here?" the conjurer asked. 

"We circle around and meet him on the next island." 

Looking back at the bridge, the bandits and Jihan were almost disappearing on the horizon. The island of Cadmus was shaped like a U; they had just crossed from one end to the other. There was another bridge connecting the end to the middle, just as there was a bridge in the middle that led to the other side. 

Picking up a stick from the ground, Lind drew a diagram in the dirt for Selene to understand better. 

"We just need to cross the bridge connecting the two middle points and then head to the other end," she explained, drawing lines between the islands to indicate the path. "I believe that's what Li meant by circling around the mountains." 

"Wow, where did you learn to draw like that?!" 

"Selene, we don't have time for jokes…" 

"I'm serious! It looks great, you should draw more often." 

Irmin looked at the smiling girl and then at her own drawing. Pretending to cough, she continued: 

"Anyway, we need to hurry." 

Standing up, Lind entered the forest, with Selene close behind. 

"Wouldn't it be better to stay on the edge? The forest can be dangerous." 

"It's a double-edged sword. If we go along the mountain's edge, we'll be easily seen," she explained. "In this case, it's better to take the direct path, at least we'll get there faster." 

"Hey, Lind, can I ask you a question?" 

"It's better if we stay quiet, talking can attract attention." 

"Just one question…" 

With no way to refuse the woman's request, she agreed. 

"Why did you say that story?" 

"Hm? That? I didn't think it would be a problem." 

"Well… it's not, but it's not something you usually share with others. Do you trust him that much?" 

"Not completely." 

"Then…?" 

"I just felt it was okay… that he wouldn't judge us or anything like that," she replied. "And you… why did you lie to him?" 

"I'm not as quick to judge people as you are." 

For a few seconds, both remained silent. 

"Do you think he'll be able to handle himself alone?" Selene asked. 

"Honestly… I'm more worried about us than him." 

__________________________________________________________________ 

"WHIP BLADE!" Joseph's saber curved through the air like a whip, aiming for Jihan's legs. Jihan quickly jumped to avoid the blow. As he leaped, two other men awaited him in the air, attempting to strike his head in unison, but prepared for this, Li used both gloves to block their blades. 

In the instant he blocked, two more bandits attacked from below. 

"Che…" Using the momentum from defending the two overhead strikes, Li spun his body and, with the reach advantage of his legs, kicked the hands holding the sabers. Still falling and with the enemies off-balance, he grabbed their wrists and pulled with all his strength, slamming them into the ground. 

"GAH!" As soon as the two opponents hit the ground, Jihan charged both fists with mana and helped bury them deeper, embedding them into the earth. 

Once he recovered from the landing, Li quickly distanced himself from the remaining enemies to catch his breath. 

HUFF HUFF 

"I can't keep fighting like this for much longer," Jihan thought, panting. 

"Already getting tired, boy?" Joseph taunted. 

"You're not in much of a position to say anything, old man!" 

TSK 

Looking around, several bodies already decorated the ground. Only Joseph and two other men remained standing. Li, however, was already tiring, and his mana was running low. 

"Hahaha, you're really good, kid, but not as much as I thought!" Joseph retorted. "Do you really think you can beat me with the little energy you have left?" 

Li smiled. 

"Ahh… it really sucks…" 

"Why is this bastard still smiling, has he lost his mind?" 

"I didn't want to have to use this now, but Miss Amélie did warn me…" 

A strong sense of danger washed over Joseph. 

"Attack, quickly!" 

Without questioning, the two bandits beside their leader charged at Li, who was pointing his thumb at his own chest. 

"Too late." Pressing his finger, Jihan shouted, "LIMITER, BREAK!" 

As soon as he finished speaking, a massive wave of energy pushed back the approaching enemies. White mana emanated from his body in abundance. 

"I thought I could get through this test using only 30% of my reserves, but I guess I underestimated this phase." 

"Mon... Monster!" 

"Come on! Let's see who runs out of energy first, me... or you!" 

Bending his knees to gain momentum, the ground beneath Li's feet cracked, and he launched himself at full speed toward the remaining enemies. 

_____________________________________________________________ 

"We're almost at the bridge connecting the middle islands, but we haven't encountered any enemies," Selene observed. 

"Don't say that out loud, it's bad luck to count on good fortune before it's time." 

"If we hurry, maybe we can help Jihan. Who knows if more of those guys will show up." 

"It's a bit odd, don't you think?" The bigger woman said. "I mean, it doesn't make much sense. By basic logic, there shouldn't be so many people on one island, and even if there were, what are the chances they're all in the same group and hunting for the same person?" 

"Thinking about it that way… but divine trials have been around for so long, who would have the power to break the rules like this?" 

"Maybe it's not just one pers..." 

"Hm? Irmin?" 

"Stay behind me!" Positioning herself in front of Selene, Irmin raised her shield. 

From the shadows, a one-handed axe flew towards the woman, who took a step back from the impact, almost having her shield pierced. 

"Well, well, you're not so bad after all." 

The air heated slightly, and a man emerged from the darkness of the trees. 

"Looks like this capture will be a bit more fun than I thought." With his white hair and red eyes reflecting in the light, Xu declared, "I was getting bored, come, entertain me a little."