Nobilis of War novel Chapter 278

"Are you implying that I am rude and discourteous? It seems the punch you had is not enough. Let me give you some more. Then we'll see how you spit out those insolent words," Finley raged. Without allowing the beast to respond, Finley rushed toward Water Kylin with clenched fists.

Water Kylin had already anticipated this outcome. Since he had showed his loyalty to Darren, he relied on Darren to protect him. Water Kylin hid behind Darren and begged him, "Master, please help! Finley is a jerk."

A small chasing game ensued. Darren relaxed and watched Finley chase the creature. With a slight smile, he dissuaded Finley, "Stop it, Finely! There is no point in sulking. He is as shifty and sly as you. Why do you bother picking on your kind?"

Being close to Darren, Finley was smart enough to know that Darren was joking as well as complimenting his wit. Even so, he pretended to be irritated and accused, "Sly and shifty? Is that what you think of me? I can't believe that you are comparing me with such an ugly beast, man. It is like you have stabbed me right in the heart." Furrowing his brows, Finley grimaced at Darren as if he was upset.

However, the inciter, Water Kylin, did not stay silent. Before Darren could speak, he added fuel to the fire. "You are even worse than beasts," Water Kylin blurted out.

The creature's words led to a higher spurt of anger. Finley ground his teeth with fury and barked, "You son of a bitch! If I don't tear your dreadful mouth apart today, I will change my name!"

Upon sensing that Finley was truly infuriated, Water Kylin tried to escape. However, much to his surprise, Finley used his space skill and grabbed him by the tail.

There was no doubt that Water Kylin would pay for provoking Finley. Even so, Darren knew that Finely would not kill the legendary beast now that Darren and the creature had created a bond. So, Darren smiled as he watched the two fight like quarreling siblings. Then he said, "Why on earth do I have to be with you two freaks? Isn't it enough that I have so many hardships to go through? Go ahead, strike hard, and eliminate one burden for me. I don't want you two to be arguing about something around me all the time."

And then, without any warning, Darren retreated from the Ancient Void Battlefield.

Looking at Darren's progressively fading figure, Water Kylin became even more panicked, for he knew that no one would be able to stop Finley except for Darren. "Master, don't go! Please don't forsake me!" he cried out in terror.

However, in a few seconds, Darren disappeared.

As time went by a lot faster in the Ancient Void Battlefield, the two days Darren spent in the battlefield were equivalent to a few hours on earth. After waiting for several consecutive hours and not hearing from Darren, the superior talents thought that he had been killed on by the creature.

So, they were mourning for Darren at the time that he emerged.

A water column shot out of the water, surprising the talents. In a flash, Darren erupted from the water and landed at the gate of the underground cave.

Everyone recognized him at once. "Darren! Darren! It is Darren!"

Contrary to everyone's anticipation, Darren remained unscathed, which inevitably surprised and pleased everyone. Hurriedly, they rushed to move the stone at the gate to welcome Darren.

Tom, who had been in agony thinking that Darren had died, relaxed and beamed with delight. "It is really you, my friend. It is a miracle that you are still alive. How did you manage to get through all those difficulties?" Tom inquired with glee as he tapped Darren's shoulder.

Just as Darren began to assure Tom, Robb interjected in their conversation. "You lucky boy, Darren. You have no idea how much we prayed for you. You owe us a favor, man," he said humorously.

Darren smiled vaguely and replied sheepishly, "I am so sorry that I worried you. You can say that I am a lucky dog. You know that beast that chased me, right? Just as the beast was about to catch me, a gust of strong power dragged it off into the depths of the woods. I couldn't even see what kind of a beast could have such power. Anyway, thanks to that thing, I was able to escape and am safe and sound now." Darren made up a fake explanation before persuading the talents to begin their march toward the big island. There was a small exchange of booing and wonder over Darren's experience. However, the chatter died as everyone stopped thinking about what might have happened. It was important that Darren had been able to go through and return to them.

So, after all the necessary arrangements had been made, they set off for the island.

Although he now was not in the Ancient Void Battlefield, Darren could still feel everything happening in it. Much as he had left Finley and Water Kylin behind, and it felt like he was indifferent to their existence, from the bottom of his heart, Darren was afraid that Finley might get angry enough to kill Water Kylin. So, on his way to the island, Darren used his spiritual sense to investigate what was going on between Finley and Water Kylin.

Darren did not want Water Kylin to be harmed because the creature had its benefits and would serve as a huge advantage to him in the future. Because Water Kylin was a strong and powerful legendary beast, Darren could summon him wherever he was. Given the achievements he had reached, the creature would be a competitive assistant for Darren.

After perceiving the Ancient Void Battlefield, Darren realized that he had been wrong to worry. He could sense that Water Kylin was groveling and kowtowing in front of Finley. Apparently, these were Finley's terms in exchange for not venting his anger.

Darren felt sorry for Water Kylin. He knew that a legendary beast was always well-respected and would hardly find himself in such an embarrassing and awkward state. Darren sighed and said, "Finley, stop bullying Water Kylin. Otherwise, I will make you do the same in front of the beast."

Finley grinned. He was quite satisfied with the way Water Kylin was begging for mercy. After receiving Darren's order, he bent down and terrorized Water Kylin one last time, "I am only sparing you because of Darren. If you offend me again, don't expect me to forgive you. The next time you annoy me, I will rip your ugly hide off." Then, after some more moments of begging and threatening, the fight between them finally finished.

It took the group of talents more than a month to reach the end of the cave. Finally, they set foot on the big island.

Once there, they realized that the island was more of a continent. The area it covered was immensely large and estimated to be around thousands of miles.

"Be careful, everyone! Some dangerous creatures might be living here. We might also encounter other treasure hunting groups," Robb warned everyone as he glanced around.

"This island is so big. How do we find Primitive Stones while our strengths are suppressed?" one of the men said in dismay.

"It is true. Without the help of our skills, we are at a huge disadvantage," another man sighed.

"Don't worry! I know where to look. Just follow me, and I assure you that we will find good things," Robb encouraged, injecting inspiration into everyone.

He then led the group in a direction. They only covered about two miles before Robb, who had been walking in front, suddenly halted.

A horrific scene appeared in front of the group. Several dead bodies lay in a pool of blood. From the clothes they wore, the talents instantly recognized the dead people to be the group of superior talents that had begun their march ahead of them.

"What has happened here? Why were they killed so mercilessly?"

"Is it possible that the man Mr. Brian You warned us about is still alive? Was he hiding in this group?" People started speculating as terror coursed through them.

They all felt that their chances of surviving the danger had reduced significantly.