Chapter 147: Just Out of the Wolf's Den, into the Tiger's Mouth

Chapter 147: Out of the Wolf’s Den, Into the Tiger’s Lair

Li Wei appeared beside the gravely wounded lava lizard.

The beast lay on the ground, its vulnerable belly exposed.

A fiery orange orb struck the lizard’s abdomen.

Boom!

The creature shuddered violently—then fell still, lifeless.

Shadow Servant slipped quietly into the corpse, retrieving the magic core.

Li Wei eyed the remaining treasures on the lizard’s body with longing, but carrying it would hinder escape.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Several ice spikes shot toward Li Wei.

Crack! Crack!

They struck—but shattered against his invisible armor.

Savith’s eyes widened in surprise.

He had assumed Li Wei’s magical shield would be nearly broken after enduring the lava storm.

Yet it had effortlessly deflected his Ice Spike spell.

His gaze sharpened; he cast Freeze, intent on trapping Li Wei.

Fwip!

A small fireball zipped past, interrupting Savith’s incantation.

“Kai! Stop!” roared Vex, activating Wind Trail and charging after Li Wei.

“Rushing Water Wave!”

Meryl unleashed a surge of water at Vex.

Boom!

The wind shield around him exploded outward. He staggered, then whirled toward her, furious. “What are you doing?”

Meryl glared back, eyes blazing. “What am *I* doing? What about *you*?”

“Were you just trying to kill us all?”

Her words hung heavy. Savith instinctively turned to Vex.

Now, even he realized—the lava storm had been Vex’s doing.

Savith seethed. His ice barrier had nearly failed.

Fire and ice were natural enemies—wind only fanned the flames, amplifying their fury.

He’d wasted precious mana for nothing.

“You did this?” Savith accused.

Vex’s heart lurched. Surrounded by accusing stares, he felt the weight of every arrow aimed at his back.

Desperate, he pointed at Li Wei and shouted, “He stole the Flame Lotus!”

Vex didn’t actually know Li Wei had taken it—this was pure, panicked deceit.

But his guess was sharp.

And it worked.

All eyes snapped to Li Wei.

Li Wei’s lips twisted bitterly.

He’d almost made it—only for this meddling fool to drag him back into the fire.

Wildr arrived at the battlefield, hearing that the armored man had seized the Flame Lotus.

He bellowed, “Hand over the Flame Lotus!”

“Oooohhh!”

The surviving lava lizard howled in grief and rage at its fallen kin.

Seeing the enraged beast charge forward, everyone’s scalp prickled.

Wildr glanced coldly at the creature. “What threat do two mere beasts pose?”

Second-tier earth magic.

“Stone Array!”

Rumble! Rumble!

The cavern trembled. Stone pillars erupted from the walls, weaving into a lattice that pinned the lava lizard to the ground, immobilized.

The group stared, stunned.

“Incredible!”

The lava lizard thrashed wildly.

Crack! Crack! Crack!

Snap!

Boom! Boom!

It shattered the stone columns, breaking free—then spewed molten magma in all directions.

Wildr’s face paled.

The others fell silent.

…Time to run.

But Wildr’s stone array had already blocked the exit.

They stood trapped, speechless.

Then—BOOM! RUMBLE-RUMBLE-RUMBLE!

A deafening explosion echoed through the cave, followed by the thunder of collapsing rock.

They turned—just in time to see Li Wei blasting open an escape route, already vanishing into the dust.

Vikas led the charge.

"Don't even think about escaping!" Part of him chased after Li Wei,

while another part simply wanted to flee.

Wilde stood alone, blocking two lava lizards. He glanced back and saw everyone else already turning to run.

His face darkened instantly.

So I'm the only one fighting seriously, while you all just abandon me?

Seeing this, Wilde quickly turned and fled as well.

"Earth Wall!"

He conjured a thick earthen barrier, holding the lava lizards at bay for a moment as he sprinted toward the exit.

Boom! Crash!

The wall held briefly—then shattered under the lizards' furious assault.

Roar!

The molten beasts gave chase without mercy.

Huff!

Li Wei noticed that after Wilde cast Rock Array, the surrounding mountain walls had weakened considerably.

Using his spiritual sense, he pinpointed the weakest spot—then unleashed a charged fireball, blasting open an escape route and bursting into freedom.

"Kai! Stop!"

Vikas burst from the cave entrance, hot on his heels.

Li Wei paid him no mind. At the sound of Vikas's voice, he accelerated upward, soaring into the sky.

Unwilling to give up, Vikas hastily laid down wind tracks beneath his feet, attempting to pursue.

But wind tracks were meant for gliding close to the ground—he couldn't truly fly.

Watching Li Wei vanish into the distance, frustration burned in his heart.

Suddenly, a vast shadow swept across the sky.

Vikas looked up, stunned.

Li Wei felt a violent gust slam into his back.

Thud!

A tremendous force struck him from behind, throwing him off balance. He tumbled—but realized he wasn’t falling.

Twisting his head, he saw a massive pterosaur, wings spanning over twenty meters, gripping him tightly in its claws.

Vikas stared in shock as the great beast carried Li Wei away into the sky.

"Damn it!"

"My spell!"

In the spectator stands, gasps erupted from the crowd.

"The armored man has been taken!"

"He's finished. Dead for sure."

"His only chance now is to forfeit and teleport out of the secret realm."

"What a pity! Such a shame! We thought he might actually win—only to meet such terrible luck."

The audience murmured in awe and sorrow.

Even Guze felt a pang of regret.

Losing such a powerful contender would dull the excitement of future matches.

Yet Li Wei was far from worried.

Instead, he lounged lazily within the pterosaur’s grasp, letting it carry him away from the battlefield like some bizarre airborne carriage.

Though the situation seemed dire, the pterosaur hadn’t breached his invisible armor.

The reason everyone assumed capture meant elimination

was simple: mages below third tier lacked flight spells.

A fall from such heights meant certain death.

Moreover, adult foot-winged pterosaurs could reach high second-tier, even peak second-tier strength.

Dominating the skies, they were apex predators in the island secret realm.

The pterosaur carried Li Wei to its nest—

a colossal structure perched atop a giant tree, more than fifty meters wide,

as vast as four basketball courts combined.

It dropped Li Wei inside. Immediately, three juvenile pterosaurs, each over two meters tall, crowded around.

Ting! Ting! Ting! Clang! Clang! Clang!

They pecked at him curiously, but their beaks could not pierce his invisible armor.

The adult glanced over, then lost interest.

Though it had never seen a human before, this creature was small—no threat.

And besides, it lay motionless, like carrion.

So the adult left him aside,

a teaching tool for the young—

a lesson in how to handle prey with tough outer shells.

An essential skill for fledglings.

After a short rest, the adult spread its wings and soared back into the sky.

Li Wei waited a moment—then slowly sat up.

The three juveniles stared, puzzled.

Why was the food moving again?

As one darted forward to peck at him, Li Wei kicked it sharply away.

"Get lost."

(End of Chapter)