After leaving the team, the adventurer ladies regretted it deeply-Chapter 757 - 521, the Witch appears, team wipeout

"Woo woo, woo woo woo!"

The Fierce Emperor Bear was ablaze, unable to extinguish the flames, its pitch-black eyes filled with terror.

"Since you’re still just a cub, I’ll give you a swift end."

Lia struck the smaller Fierce Emperor Bear dead with one slash.

Its body continued to burn until it was charred to ashes.

Looking down at the scorched remains underfoot, Lia pondered to herself: The Destruction Law and my [Super Charge] don’t seem to complement each other.

Super Charge emphasizes explosive power, but Annihilation Flame Slash focuses more on continuous damage.

Moreover, her flames had shifted from orange-red to "outer red, inner black."

The magic circuits inside her body felt icy cold, reminiscent of a stomachache after eating too much ice cream.

Lia felt a twinge of unease...

Continuing to comprehend the Destruction Law wouldn’t affect her body, would it?

She had a persistent feeling that her understanding was heading in the wrong direction.

The Destruction Law fragment left behind by the Dark Shadow "Dai Lian" was just a small shard, incomplete, forcing Lia to piece everything together on her own.

If only she could meet him in person and observe the full Law Core.

Right now, she seemed to be on a dead-end path.

"Sigh, after all, this is the law of the ’most promising adventurer to ascend the World Tree.’ While I’m pretty impressive, I’m still lagging behind the Dark Shadow."

A streak of red light floated out from the corpse of the Fierce Emperor Bear and entered her Cultivation Bracelet, increasing the war merit number from 143 to 144.

Lia raised her head, gazing expectantly at the sky.

There hung a colossal cyan leaderboard, spanning nearly a kilometer in diameter, blocking out the sun.

The mere generation of such a vast structure by magic was a testament to Angel the Commander’s formidable prowess.

Light Rank adventurers compared to Heaven Ranks were like tiny shrimp against giant dragons.

Lia scanned the cyan list and spotted her name at the top section.

Ninth in war merit: [Bursting Flames] Lia, 144!

Hahaha, I’ve surpassed Isa!

Lia laughed heartily, hands on her hips.

Isa, who had been ninth previously, was bumped down to tenth by her.

Additionally, Lia spotted a few familiar names further up the list.

Most of those participating in the Ancient Forest assessment were second-year students, so Lia recognized most of them.

Romanli and Volgan occupied the fifth and sixth spots, while fourth was held by a member of the Phoenix Tail Flower Team—the red-haired girl with the silly expression, Taige.

"When I hit level 59, I’ll definitely be stronger than her."

Lia consoled herself.

Taige and Lin Da both ranked at the Ultimate Light Tier.

Their level advantage was insurmountable.

Third was [Flash] Rees, a Lightning Series magic prodigy who had reached phenomenal levels.

Continuing to study the leaderboard...

Huh... Oren ranked second?

Lia paused, surprised.

Yesterday, Oren had been far ahead.

The number one position in war merit had switched to [Eye of True Knowledge] Lin Da, with 251!

Oren’s war merit remained at 243 points, unchanged.

Could these two have struck some kind of deal?

Lia was stunned by the thought.

"Now that Lin Da is first, I have to keep trying. I’ll kill 10 more Magical Creatures!"

A fiery determination burned within Lia as she ventured deeper into the forest.

Just then—

Whoosh—

A streak of purple light zipped past.

The figure was flying low, shrouding its presence, weaving through the tree branches for cover.

At a glance, they appeared to be up to no good.

Lia stood frozen, her little mouth agape in shock.

The fleeting face she saw became etched into the depths of her mind.

It was a pair of eyes as dark as the night, silken pink hair cascading down, and a pair of curved ram horns atop their head.

On their back was a black Magic Spear...

Gradually, the image overlapped with someone Lia remembered.

A name surfaced urgently!

"Lin Da! I have to inform Lin Da right away!"

Lia scrambled in excitement.

She pulled out her compass and map, fiddled with them for a moment, and then spread her Light Wings, flying toward Lin Da’s camp tent.

...

The sun sank beyond the horizon, and the forest plunged into darkness.

Lin Da returned to camp, covered in dirt and leaves tangled in his hair, looking utterly exhausted.

After a day and night of battling, his war merit finally surpassed Oren’s.

Entering the tent, Lin Da saw Taige sound asleep and Monica meditating in a chair nearby. Being of the Mage class, Monica wasn’t adept at solo adventuring, so after her war merit entered the top hundred, she gave up on hunting Magical Creatures.

Others were still out there, trying their luck.

"Commander, welcome back!"

Monica opened her eyes, enthusiastically offering Lin Da a cup of hot water.

"Alright, alright, Monica, such a good girl."

Lin Da smiled warmly.

"What about mine?" Kafni entered the tent too.

Monica quickly ran back to pour Kafni a cup of hot water as well.

"Not bad, not bad." Kafni expressed her satisfaction.

Just as the two were about to sit and rest, a leather pouch at Lin Da’s waist began vibrating.

"What’s going on?"

Lin Da opened the pouch in puzzlement.

Inside was a leaf made of ice crystals, shimmering brightly.

It was a [Communication Leaf].

Within close range, one could inject magic power to communicate with a pre-linked [Communication Leaf].

Yesterday, Oren had handed Lin Da this leaf before leaving.

In case something unexpected happened, they could contact each other via the Communication Leaf.

The ice crystal leaf in his hand was vibrating persistently.

Lin Da squinted his eyes.

Contacting me so quickly—could something have happened to Oren?

He activated his magic circuits and injected a trace of magic into the Communication Leaf.

With a faint hiss, the leaf began to stir.

What emerged was the sound of wind rushing through the air.

And a feeble, labored breath.

Lin Da’s expression shifted.

Pressing the Communication Leaf to his ear, he listened intently.

"Quick... run...

For me...

Avenge... me!"

Broken and fragmented, the words were barely audible.

If someone were speaking directly into the leaf, it wouldn’t sound like this.

It seemed as though the Communication Leaf and Oren were separated by some distance.