Yarra’s Adventure Notes
Chapter 457 - 24 My Name is Pannis_1

Chapter 457: Chapter 24 My Name is Pannis_1

"Tsk," Pannis and River’s afterimages still lingered in their original positions, but the blast of energy collision had already resounded in the air. To others, Pannis and River appeared to have suddenly bumped into each other, then swiftly retreated to their original positions. However, in the eyes of the Legendary girls, the two had counterattacked thirteen times in between one collision, each avoiding the attack three and four times, respectively. But those were all just covers for their real intentions. The real attacks each only happened once. Pannis’s finger jabbed into River’s ribs, causing a crisp sound of bone-breaking under his black robe. River’s fist hit Pannis’s lower abdomen; although Pannis didn’t appear to be injured, from the way he landed, one could assume that his intestines might not be so intact.

"Hehe, you’re really desperate." When River laughed, one could see his mouth full of rotten teeth. "Sadly, you don’t seem to be in too good of a shape right now, hehe. It appears that you forcibly used your Inherent Psychic Domain - that’s what you call it, right? - to enhance your strength. It’s easy to find a weakness, hehe."

"So what, it’s enough to kill you." Pannis’s smile and gaze were as cold as ice, devoid of any emotion as if he were looking at a rock blocking his path. "Are you still in the capability of my killing you?"

"Heh, I must admit, if it were just you alone, your death-defying tactics might well leave me trapped here forever." River’s withered forefinger suddenly pointed to the girls behind Pannis. "Sadly, you have those burdens behind you. If you want to protect them, you don’t stand a chance of killing me. Let’s make a deal. Give me the Skyboat, and I promise to let them, and all the passengers on the ship land safely. It’s a win-win."

"Burden?" Pannis glanced back at the girls. They had never seen this kind of smile on his face before - a radiant, confident smile, a smile from a time one hundred years ago. Pannis carefully looked at each of the girls’ faces, he then turned back to River and scoffed disdainfully. "You call them burdens? Sorry, all I see are my companions whom I can trust my back with, in both strength and will, they’re ready for any battle. Don’t forget, just now it was under their attacks that you ’burdens’ were forced to reveal yourself."

River fell silent. Though his withered face revealed no expressions, the girls could sense his mood darkening. His voice suddenly became much more somber. "I suppose you’ve always intended to stop me?"

"Even though I’m not sure what you guys want with the Skyboat," Pannis laughed coldly, "but sadly, the best thing to do right now is to prevent you from doing what you want."

"Hehe, foolish." River’s cackling laugh was filled with fury. "Then all of you will be buried with this ship."

River waved his hand forcefully, causing a slight tremor to emerge in the Skyboat beneath them. The shaking became more and more intense, to the point that even the hull began to noticeably sway.

"Freya, you protect the captain and control the Skyboat, be ready to make an emergency landing," Pannis stayed very calm, staring down River without turning a hair. "Catherine, Lina, Vivian, are you scared to fight with me?"

"Hehe." Catherine looked at her narrow sword and chuckled softly. "Are you really a fool?"

"Heh, I see now." Pannis smirked and spoke at a blistering pace. "Catherine, defend with your all - under no circumstances should his attacks reach Lina and Vivian. Lina, keep casting shields and Healings on Catherine. Vivian, distract him with your full-power control magic, even if it lasts only for a second, if it succeeds, I can trap him here for a short time."

"Finished with your last words?" River suddenly reached inside his belly and pulled out a scepter which he held in his hand. With a swift movement, he instantly appeared in front of Catherine, his scepter whistling through the air as he struck.

This is Catherine’s first real fight since becoming Legendary. She should have been pretty nervous, but all the distractions in her brain had vanished at that moment. Only the impressions from Pannis’s teachings about how a top-tier Guardian Knight should fight remained. The years of rigorous basic training had finally paid off as Catherine felt her body moving of its own accord even before her brain had issued the commands. Her Aggression exploded at full might, and when River raised his scepter to its highest point and was just about to strike down, Catherine’s sword, concentrated with all her Aggression, stabbed directly towards River’s hand that was holding the scepter.

Before their weapons crossed, Catherine was already enveloped in a white gleam. Healing Spell and Cure started taking effect on Catherine. Although they were pointless and wasteful of mana and vitality, with this preemptive treatment, any minor injuries can be healed instantly. Even for severe injuries, the earlier treatment starts, the higher the possibility of recovery.

Everything happened quickly. The hand gripping the scepter clashed with the tip of Catherine’s sword, which held all her strength, producing a dull impact sound. Following the sound of metal twisting and breaking, a hairline crack formed on the metal gangway beneath them. Catherine was hammered into the floor like a nail, with only the part above her knees still exposed. However, despite Catherine’s trembling arms and her body being hammered like a nail, River’s first attack was skillfully taken on. River’s scepter was deflected as he wished, his body naturally halted for a bit.

What Pannis wanted was this pause. He had silently pounced over from behind. He was not barehanded this time but held two daggers in his hands, one coated black, the other white. The daggers didn’t gleam in the light nor made any sound. Instead, like a venomous snake showing its fangs as its body shot forward one last time, they attacked in a stealthy, vicious, and fierce manner, all for the sake of killing their prey.

But the unexpected still occurred. With a sudden shift in his stopped body, River appeared on the ship’s rail at the edge of the deck. Standing on the rail, River ceased his prattle. Instead, he threw one last hateful glance at those on the deck from his black hollow eye sockets. Then, with a powerful leap, he escaped from the range of the skyboat, beginning his descent from five hundred meters in the air. Despite the struggling, swaying skyboat, the wind pushed it forwards in a straight line. By the time Pannis reached the ship’s rail, there was already some distance between them. He could only watch as a Skeletal Vulture rose from below, lifting River’s body and flying away without looking back.

"He’s strong." Catherine stupidly rubbed her aching right arm that had sustained substantial damage from just one simple touch. The surprised Catherine asked, "Are we fighting a demigod?"

"No, be at ease. Your enemy is not a demigod, but the deities. If you truly faced a demigod, I would definitely advise you to stay as far away as possible. But facing deities, you are not entirely powerless," said Pannis as he leaned against the ship’s rail and stared off in the direction River had escaped. "While their strength compares to that of demigods, these deities resemble magical beasts rather than half-gods. They don’t have aggression, mana channels or psychic domains, so they can not cast infinite shields or initiate offensive and defensive maneuvers through domains. Consequently, they are not entirely immune to your attacks. If they are not completely immune, there is room to fight. Even though your attacks seem ineffective, they can greatly impact them and create opportunities for me. The only thing of concern is that their attacks are very powerful. Even without aggression or mana channels, their use of mana has become an instinctive capability. Under their unique attack, Lina and Vivian would likely be instantly killed. However, with you, Catherine, I believe you can resist their attack once. I am sorry that I took it upon myself to gamble with your safety. Even though we eventually won, I still owe you an apology."

"That’s why I want to ask if you’re really an idiot? You ended up apologizing for something like that?" Catherine glared at Pannis as she bit her lip, pulling her leg out of the broken deck’s gap. "But, is it sufficient to resist their attack head-on just once?"

"It’s enough," Pannis’s eyes finally withdrew from the distance. Assured that River had indeed flown off, he couldn’t help but laugh while clutching his stomach and sinking back against the ship’s rail. "Finally, scared him off. Haha, quite a pathetic situation."

"Huh?" The three girls simultaneously looked at him in surprise. "You’ve been enduring this entire time?"

"Of course, it’s killing me," Pannis said with a cold sweat, clutching his abdomen. "His punch caused three breaks in my intestines and a slight rupture in my spleen. If we didn’t manage to scare him off and he discovered my condition, none of us would have made it out alive."

"Hm, looking at your performance earlier, I thought you could defeat him," Catherine said with a bitter smile. "I didn’t expect this to be the case."

"In theory, I should be able to kill him," Pannis sighed. "This is my doing. I placed a seal of my own power on my body that can only achieve full strength within my Inherent Psychic Domain. Yet, pulling deities into a domain’s space is near impossible. Although the seal could be undone, he wouldn’t afford me the several seconds preparation time necessary."

"Isn’t it said that demigods can hide in their own domains?" Lina asked curiously. "Ah, right, it’s because of us, isn’t it?"

Pannis laughed, "Not totally. The seal wasn’t meant to be undone unless it’s a dire situation. As long as I can endure up to the point of returning to Legendary Rank, I will regain my full strength."

"Inherent Psychic Domain..." Catherine sighed and shook her head. "Initially, I thought you were one of the Legendary Masters. I thought we were getting closer after you advanced to the Legendary Rank, but... haha, are you really a demigod?"

"Yes... I am," Pannis said softly, avoiding eye contact and looking down, as if waiting for a decision. "Your guess is right."

"Hey, come to help!" Freya shouted from the control platform. "Captain is losing control, come quickly!"

"Coming," Catherine responded loudly but didn’t move. She stood silently for a while before approaching Pannis and gently asked, "I just want to ask one thing, what is your name?"

"I am..." Slowly, a smile crept onto Pannis’s face. "Pannis."

"Phew." Catherine breathed a sigh of relief, extending her hand towards Pannis. "Then let’s continue marching on together, our family member." (To be continued. If you enjoy this novel, please visit qidian.com to cast your vote or become a monthly sponsor. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users please visit m.qidian.com to read.)