Blood flowed from all of Ju's orifices as he stumbled. The impurities in his body were already reaching the limit, but Ju had no choice but to use dark assault again. The young boy felt a surge of energy once again as he leaped over a crack in the ground.
Seeing how the Mother Snake was adamant about chasing Ju. Master Pike's expression grew grim as essence surrounded his body. He made another move. Beneath the spiritual beast, a large blue seal manifested and managed to slow the Mother Snake down. The beast was enraged seeing this interference as it struggled to break free. However, this delay was enough for Master Pike to catch up to the silver-horned Snake and face it head-on.
"Ju, move far away from here. I would restrain this monster!" Master Pike yelled.
At this point, Ju could hardly hear a single word. However, his survival instincts urged him to keep up the running, which he did. A few minutes later, the boy was already out of sight as massive explosions rang out from the cave.
Sometime later, Pike and Mason were carefully searching the forest. The faces of the two Essence artists were quite pale. After Ju had escaped, the Mother Snake directed all of her rage on Master Pike, so much so that he considered abandoning Ju and retreating for his life; luckily, Mason and Madam Pang arrived, and another vicious fight occurred.
Ultimately, there were no victors, and the Mother Snake eventually backed away. Although the Essence artists wanted to kill it, they realized that at least one person would lose his life in the process, which did not sit well with any of them. No one was ready to risk his life for the sake of others.
All in all, the trip could be said to have been a massive failure. It took a lot of haggling and resources before Master Pike could claim the two eggs Ju had snatched. Madam Pang had already returned to Ender town while Mason lingered in the dark forest.
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"Could it be that brat has already run away with the eggs? Just like that Aron you spoke about?" Mason muttered impatiently and used his spiritual awareness to survey the area.
"Impossible, according to Madam Pang, his sibling is still in her inn. She said there was no way he would abandon the little girl over there. Also, he is too injured to make it that far; after all, he is just a brat who has opened a few nodes; how far could he get after that encounter." Master Pike waved his hand dismissively.
Mason was about to reply, when his face changed, and he looked straight ahead up on a tree, Master pike had already moved past him and brought down a small figure that was not moving.
Master Pike had an odd feeling as he looked at the young boy, clearly in his early teens, sleeping peacefully in his arms. Ju had already fainted, and although he managed to climb a tree before passing out, the teenager could only hope that Master Pike found him before anything else did.
The two eggs were safely in Ju's embrace; despite everything, they remained unharmed.
But Pike's eyes only focused on one.
"This has a greater spiritual nature."
'There is an uncomfortable aura around him, and it looks like the brat knows some tricks." Mason commented as he observed Ju, who was badly injured and comatose.
"Of course he does, how else could he be the only one that survived in that group apart from that sly fox Aron. What was most shocking is that the brat could still manage to remain alive despite the pressure from that bitch Snake." Master Pike laughed as he took the eggs and studied them fondly
"Interesting. He can tank so many wounds without succumbing; it's really weird," Mason added after seeing the extent of Ju's wounds.
"Anyway let us get going, I doubt he could hold out much longer."
Master Pike said as he held Ju's small frame with one hand and moved through the forest towards an exit, with Mason following him.