UNLOCK: I CAN SEE MY STATS

chapter 17 : surrounded

Whoosh… whoosh… whoosh…

Deep inside the dense forest.

Marcus and Tina moved quickly, nearing the edge of the Maamour Forest and the border of the Al-Qantara village region.

Suddenly, Marcus, who was in the lead, lifted his right arm sharply and signaled for her to stop.

She halted immediately and looked around cautiously.

“Mar ...”

“Shhh, quiet…” he cut her off with a sharp gesture.

In that instant, the chirping of insects and birds in the forest ceased. In the stillness of the night, only the rustling of wind through the leaves could be heard.

The place was too quiet.

They both held their breath and scanned their surroundings, as if some lurking beasts or predators were watching, making it too tense to even breathe hard.

Whoosh~ Whoosh~

Suddenly, sharp, rhythmic sounds broke through.

Tens, no, hundreds, of arrows shot from the dense trees ahead, like a rainstorm so thick one couldn’t even look directly at it.

“Watch out!”

Tina shouted, and to Marcus’s astonishment, she responded with a speed that stunned him, forming hand seals with both hands, inhaling deeply, and then exhaling powerfully.

∆ Wind Style: Grand Piercing ∆

WOOOSH!!

She released a C-rank technique, but its strength rivaled that of a high-level offensive jutsu.

A storm-like gust erupted from her mouth, like a level-12 windstorm, obliterating a wide swath of the forest in front of them.

As for the arrows?

They were scattered long before they could reach them.

Marcus estimated that her mastery of this technique was no less than level 4 by system standards, and the Eternal Energy consumption must’ve exceeded 100 points.

Otherwise, this level of destructive force wouldn’t have been possible.

Logically, if her only goal was to block the arrows, there was no need to expend that much energy.

Or… does she have so much chakra she doesn't know where to use it?

No. Of course not.

The real reason Tina did that was partly to repel the arrows, but mostly, it was sheer panic. The sudden attack had startled her, and she reflexively poured everything into the technique.

“Tch… inexperienced…” Marcus thought bitterly as he glanced sideways at Tina, who was now gasping for breath, her face slightly pale from overexertion.

“We're surrounded…” he whispered as he stepped back beside her.

Before the dust and smoke had even settled, more than a dozen Ironland soldiers rushed toward them.

Though they tried to act composed, the broken branches and leaves stuck to their armor made them look rather disheveled.

But neither Marcus nor Tina could laugh.

There was no reason to, because as soon as they appeared, another ten soldiers emerged from both flanks.

Marcus’s expression darkened as he muttered in his mind, "This is bad."

The Ironland soldiers were now split into six squads. Each squad leader wore distinct gear.

“For the enemy to send this many soldiers… they’re clearly not just chasing us…” Marcus thought while analyzing the situation.

“Unlucky… to run into something like this.”

“I don’t get it. They risked coming this deep into enemy territory. Either they’re confident they can handle any backup, or they’re after something far more important…”

“You two!!” one of them barked ,a thin man with a noticeable scar across his left cheek, pointing his sword. “Raise your hands, now!”

Marcus and Tina exchanged glances.

“This doesn’t look good…” Marcus joked casually, earning a baffled stare from Tina, How could this boy stay so calm in a situation like this!?

When the scarred man saw that they didn’t comply, his eyes narrowed, and he raised his hand.

The archers took aim instantly, arrows now pointed directly at Marcus and a visibly terrified Tina.

This was exactly why she had chosen the path of a medical fighter rather than a frontline soldier.

Marcus realized he couldn’t hold back anymore. He sighed bitterly and pulled out the purple energy orbs. He tossed one toward the confused Tina.

“Try not to die.”

Then, without hesitation, he consumed the rest himself. Tina, trusting him, did the same.

“You... what are you doing?! Fire, now!!” the scarred man growled and ordered the archers.

Without delay, another volley of arrows was released.

Whoosh~ Whoosh~ Whoosh!

“Haah!?” Tina’s eyes widened in shock as she felt her energy reserves surge slightly. She stared at Marcus in disbelief as he swiftly completed multiple hand seals.

∆ Earth Style: Earth Wall ∆

CRACK!!

Earthen walls erupted from the ground, easily blocking the arrows. Without pause, Marcus completed another round of hand seals and slammed his palm into the ground.

∆ Earth Style: Spearfield ∆

The earth trembled, and in an instant, multiple stone spears burst from the ground, targeting the enemy soldiers.

“Jump back , quick!” one of them shouted, but it was already too late.

“No…”

A pleading voice reached their ears.

THWMP!!

The sickening sound of a blade piercing flesh.

An Ironland soldier’s eyes widened suddenly, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth.

“Ha… ha… ha…”

A choking sound escaped his throat

Splurt...!

A gush of blood burst from his mouth.

He collapsed onto the spear impaling his body, light fading from his eyes, dead.

He was the only one killed in the strike, but several others were injured to varying degrees. A few managed to avoid the attack altogether.

“Damn it!! Attack without hesitation!” the commander barked, furious at his soldiers’ condition.

He quickly formed several seals, inhaled a large volume of air, and released it infused with Eternal Fire Energy:

∆ Fire Style: Scorching Flame Wave ∆

BOOOOM!!

Like a flamethrower, a massive wave of fire surged from his mouth, incinerating the earth wall Marcus had just created.

“Tch… this guy’s a Warden level…” Marcus muttered darkly as he stared at the incoming flames. He swiftly completed hand seals, grabbed Tina’s arm, and stomped the ground hard.

∆ Earth Style: Earth Pillar ∆

CRACK~!

A stone column shot up from the earth, launching them into the sky.

Tina felt weightless, then, in a blink, they were 20 meters high.

“Damn it! That used up my reserves… looks like I have no choice but to use that technique again…” Marcus muttered grimly.

He shook off the thought and refocused on the Ironland soldiers below.

He turned to Tina and asked, “You only have wind affinity?”

“No. Besides wind, I also have water affinity…” she replied, confused by his question, struggling to stay upright as the soldiers below began attacking the pillar.

“Water? Tch… useless…” Marcus grumbled, scratching his head, trying to think of a way other than activating All for One again.

“Tch! … I’ve got some S-rank techniques, but not enough energy to activate them…”

“All options lead back to All for One…” he muttered bitterly.

“Hey! I’m about to awaken my bloodline! , again…” he said aloud.

“What?!” Tina exclaimed.

“Just listen,” Marcus said firmly. “The side effects could make me pass out…”

“So the moment I take them out, we leave immediately. I expect you to handle things if I lose consciousness.”