Seven days later

Ester's body shivered in fear along with the shaking ground, and Lupa was in a similar position as the bloodlust nearing them was powerful. Additionally, Lupa's wolf tail and ears cowered, displaying her frightening emotions.

The approaching Royal Guard Ants murderous intent drowned the two trembling girls in a suppressive pressure they couldn't resist.

As Feng Mengli turned his gaze, he noticed Ester and Lupa breathing heavily and unable to stand for more. The old man raised his hand to brush his beard, and an irritated expression appeared on his face.

"Tch! These pesky bugs are starting to get on my nerves." He murmured.

"Hump!" Feng Mengli released a powerful controlled wave of murderous intent. It didn't affect Ester or Lupa while canceling the Royal Guard Ants combined pressure at the same time. Ester and Lupa could now breathe easier.

"Take the cart and leave it to Feng Mengli, the patriarch of the Heavenly God Mantis sect, to eliminate these pesky bugs. The path behind me is safe because I arrived from there. Also, it would be splendid if you young maidens travel in a straight line behind me. Not only you should arrive in the city, but you will considerably help me."

"Vincent has sent a strong murderous and sinister intent wave. Even though Vincent is like a beacon that has attracted their attention and stopped, the ants will notice that my and Vincent's aura is different. Unfortunately, his strange aura can't be replicated if a prodigy like me can't."

"But this proves one thing. This ant breed is from the Northern Continent a hundred percent. Furthermore, it increases the possibility of being trained by a dark sect. But why was an ant Queen smuggled here." Feng Mengli stopped when he felt a non-human presence closing in.

Feng Mengli turned his gaze and noticed a shadow on his left, hiding behind a tree. He raised his hand. He opened his hand, extended his fingers like a blade, and said before swinging his arm like a blade in a calm manner, "Heavenly God Mantis Art. Scythe."

*Whoosh*

A powerful gust of sharp wind condensed like a transparent crescent blade suddenly emerged. The intense wind followed the razor wind advancing as fast as an arrow. It was only visible from the compressed and distorted wind and close range. It was almost invisible from afar.

Loud noises of trees falling from getting cut erupted and branches swaying with the strong gust of wind rang. Such power made Ester and Lupa stare in a daze.

The two of them had no chance to beat the old man, not even if there were dozens of Esters and Lupas at each side. The gamble Lupa took was the only way to live, it seemed.

Fortune was with them as Feng Mengli was curious about Vincent and his world. Dominic Smith's journal entries turned the powerful old man into an overly talkative and overly friendly person when finding the truth about Vincent.

"Deviant Art. Implosion." Feng Mengli casually closed his open hand.

The wide wind-formed crescent blade that was cutting the trees as if it found no resistance suddenly shrank. The compressed air with mana particles trapped inside had nowhere to go. Soon after, it exploded violently like a bomb, shattering multiple trees from the powerful blast.

*Boom!*

"Heavenly God Mantis Art. Protective Wing." Feng Mengli simply swung his arms like a swimmer's breaststroke. A strong gust of wind formed in front of them like a curved wall that gradually extended into a protective dome.

Feng Mengli, Ester, Lupa, and the cart with Vincent, Tula, and the ant eggs inside were protected from outside harm.

The explosion was devastating as the loud sound blasted, showing the intensity of its might. A rain of splinters and gore rained, but strangely, nothing touched them. A transparent protective dome repelled anything that fell on it.

The rain ended, and Feng Mengli snapped his fingers, popping the mighty protective wind dome as if popping a bubble.

The scene a few meters in front of them was horrifying. Shattered trees and a large crater were left behind. The hole was filled with blood, ant gore, acid, and destroyed trees.

The deadly wind bomb left only destruction, blood, and gore in its wake. It was like an endgame player decided to help a few players in the beginner zone.

"This isn't a sight fit for young maidens. You should hurry and leave. More will soon come. I have felt their approach for a while now." Feng Mengli understood Ester's and Lupa's disgusted expressions.

'Outsiders have a weak stomach, unlike us cultivators, but alas. These young maidens have a strong will and boundless determination in my books. They wanted to fight me in their condition and with their meager strength, hoho.' Feng Mengli thought with a light smile.

'This power... Feng Mengli might be an S Ranker! Who is Hawkeyes from the Lusterfall Kingdom to have such a powerful friend?' Ester was stuck in her thoughts. She was so surprised that the destructive performance brought multiple thoughts.

'Is this how strong I need to become to protect Vincent and Ester? I need to train harder, or I might not be worthy of being his mate.' Lupa reflected on her current strength and wished to become stronger in the future.

*Clap*

"Quickly depart before more bugs arrive. Remember to show my sect's disciple identification tablet when you arrive. Hawkeye should keep a watchful eye that way. I don't think he will attack any of you, but it's better to be safe than sorry. Hawkeyes is an outsider. Unlike me, our values are different." Feng Mengli informed them.

Ester and Lupa looked at each other. They nodded and said in unison, "Thank you, Feng Mengli. We hope to meet again."

Ester picked the shell shield on the ground. The acid melted a few inches of the mudcrab shield, but it possessed enough thickness to protect from more attacks. It could take a few more buckets of acid.

Lupa saw Ester pick the shield and thought to herself, "My claws need a few more days to regrow. I need... Ohh, there is Tula's sword and shield on the ground. I will take them to fight with."

Feng Mengli then waved at the injured and exhausted Lupa pulling the cart and Ester pushing from behind. They kept moving until leaving the dreadful ant nest. The powerful old man was left alone in the destroyed ant's nest and amidst the many corpses both of ants and humans.

"Looks like Vincent is exceptional, hoho. He stirred the ant colony with the strange bloodlust his presence emitted. Are all people from his world that mysterious? I wonder. Dominic Smith filled the Northern Continent with strong monsters. He also summoned..." Feng Mengli turned his gaze where the last crescent scythe flew. It seemed more Royal Guard Ants were inbound.

"This will address the last favor I owe to Hawkeyes quicker. That damn Hawkeye should stop nagging me to help after this, hoho." Feng Mengli chuckled as if the stampede of ants approaching was nothing to him. He casually talked to himself while waiting for what might pop out.

*Day 38*

*Day 39*

*Day 40*

*Day 41*

*Day 42*

*Day 43*

*Day 44 - Evening*

Seven days later, in an unknown place, a pair of hazy emerald eyes squinted open. The first thing the pair of eyes faintly noticed was a pile of ant eggs surrounding them.

[Vincent, thank god you are awake. We have been worried sick about you.]

Vincent could understand from Kazumi's tone how much she was worried about him. However, he was simply happy to hear her voice. She didn't die from the previous fight to the death.

As Vincent started to regain his sight and hearing, a surge of pain rushed to his brain. The body that once was as skinny as a mummy recovered a bit of thickness, but the lost muscle tissue didn't regenerate. Other than his head, nothing moved to his commands.

"Ugh." Vincent forcefully uttered with a weak voice after a surprising surge of pain emerged.

Lupa was currently pulling the cart when her ears picked a sound from a familiar voice. She excitedly turned her head and noticed Vincent was starting to wake up.

Lupa stopped pulling and placed a thick wooden stopper to keep the damaged two-wheeled cart leveled. Such actions caught the attention of Ester and Tula. Shortly, the two of them saw Vincent's eyes slowly squinting open and his face slightly contorted in pain.

"Vincent!" The three girls happily exclaimed. They surrounded the cart filled with ant eggs and the injured Vincent inside. Their eyes became red and joyful tears collected.

Ester, Lupa, and Tula only saw Vincent in a comatose state for seven days. This day was the evening of the seventh day. For Vincent, it was a few minutes, but for the three, it was a lot.

Ester and Lupa took turns feeding Vincent mouth to mouth. They also checked if everything was fine with the mystical moist healing bandages Feng Mengli wrapped around Vincent.

They didn't dare remove the bandages after Lupa noticed their regeneration boosting powers. Her lightly scalded fingertips from the acid started to regenerate slowly until not a single mark was left behind in a few days.

It confirmed that the moist bandages promoted the natural cells to recover quicker. However, the healing bandages were drying by the day, and the healing was decreasing as well.

Vincent's vision became clearer by the second; however, the pain intensified as well. Moaning in pain was the only sound his trembling lips could utter.

Kazumi noticed Vincent wasn't faring well when his pain receptors started working as intended. She decided to pull Vincent into his Soul Domain. She thought it would be best to explain the current situation and what happened when he was in a comatose state.

Kazumi wanted to give Vincent a good and well-deserved rest, so she didn't try to wake Vincent up forcefully.

Vincent's vision turned dark. The next time his eyes blinked open, a bright glowing wisp welcomed him. Kazumi didn't look to have the weak mana body he saw before fainting.

Vincent lowered his gaze and noticed his body was wrapped in bandages like a mummy. He quickly understood what the situation of his body outside was.

His body in the Soul Domain was in a normal condition, and bandages covered his body tightly. But that was the representation of his soul. His body was weak and fragile in the living world.

[I know you have many questions to ask, but let me fill you in because it's a long story. Let me first quickly summarise what happened after you fell unconscious.]

Vincent knew he was in for a long ride if Kazumi told him it was going to be a long story.