CHAPTER 143: CHAPTER 143 - ESCAPING!

As Logan stared at the colossal tree in a daze, a blinding light formed high above the forest.

It shaped itself into a sword as it was held by a lone figure in the sky.

Several tree roots headed for the person under the sword, purple mist filling the sky behind each of them.

Then the sword dropped, almost in slow motion.

The moment it touched the first root, the sky exploded.

A bright flash blinded Logan instantly.

A second later, a loud thunderous boom hit him.

He stumbled back, eyes burning as the flash faded.

What he saw next turned his blood cold.

A massive wall of dust, broken trees, and shattered roots came through the forest straight toward him.

He raised his arms and used the last of his mana to activate the basic Flaming Body Technique.

The wave hit a second later.

It wasn’t just wind—it was heat, force, and debris crashing into him all at once.

He was launched backward like a ragdoll, crashing through branches behind him before finally rolling through the dirt.

Logan coughed up dust as he pushed himself to his feet.

’This is completely out of my league,’ he thought, a shiver rolling down his spine.

He turned away from the battlefield, breathing heavily.

Through the snapped trees, he finally saw the edge of the town.

Logan gritted his teeth, ignoring his aching body as he started jogging.

He needed to get out of there. Now.

’Just one car. I don’t care what kind.’

He reached the outer street and immediately spotted a small parking lot by a local shop.

Most of the civilians had already fled, but a few vehicles remained.

Rushing to the nearest car, he found it busted and unresponsive.

’Next,’ Logan thought, quickly darting to the next one.

Behind him, the explosions from the fight echoed through the air.

Finally, he found a simple blue car.

Logan crushed the door lock and forced the mana ignition using a bone from his undead element.

To his relief, the car’s engine started.

"Good enough," he said, letting out a sigh of relief.

Without another word, he stepped firmly on the pedal.

The car’s tires screeched before it shot out of the parking lot onto the road.

He glanced at the rearview mirror, watching the sky behind him explode with light from the chaos.

As he drove, he activated the hologram projector on his watch.

’Show me a map...’ Logan thought, searching through his hologram.

As he scrolled through the device, the sky suddenly darkened.

"What?" he muttered, glancing around.

The trees all around him started trembling, their leaves shaking.

Suddenly, the windows in his car cracked.

Logan froze, glancing into the rearview mirror.

He nearly slammed on the brakes.

Behind him, the colossal tree radiated a deep purple light. Glowing purple cracks spread across it’s bark, like it was splitting open.

For a moment, it was as if the world stood still.

Then, dark sap started leaking from the tree.

Entire sections of forest died and regrew in seconds, only this time in a dark purple color.

Logan’s eyes widened as the trees all around him grew from their normal height to dozens of feet tall.

His foot was planted on the pedal as firmly as possible while the car barreled down the road faster and faster.

’I need to get out!’ was the only thought in his mind.

As he sped forward, the road ahead started changing.

Trees warped unnaturally, twisting like coils.

Behind him, the purple glow had reached its peak.

Suddenly, the road in front of him cracked.

Black thorned roots, dripping with purple liquid, burst through the road and lunged at his car.

Logan swerved hard, barely dodging as one of the roots tore off the car’s roof and ripped into the street behind him.

"Shit!"

He didn’t dare slow down.

The trees around him twisted unnaturally, their bark forming faces just like the Treants.

’There has to be some kind of limit to this!’ Logan thought, eyes fixed ahead.

That’s when he spotted green trees in the distance.

’There!’

Another root shot toward him from the side of the road.

It tore through the right side of the car as Logan continued speeding on.

’A little more!’

Finally, Logan burst out of the corrupted zone, the car shaking and barely holding together.

Glancing behind him, he noticed that the tree roots had stopped chasing him.

"What kind of monster is that?" he muttered, glancing back at the purple forest behind him.

The tree roots had all shot up into the sky toward where the figure had been earlier.

Thick purple mist covered the thorns, making the air vibrate from the sheer toxicity.

Logan shook, his thoughts spiraling.

’Did I really release that thing?’

’What if it kills that SSS-rank?’

’How many people already died because of it?’

Most of all, he couldn’t understand how such a powerful creature had hidden itself in a mere C-rank dungeon and how it woke up from the bait he had spread.

’It doesn’t make any sense.’

Logan’s eyes snapped up as he heard the sky rumble.

Two streaks shot across the clouds, both radiating different kinds of power.

One white wind streak and one crackling with silver lightning.

’Reinforcements,’ Logan thought, heart pounding.

Even from miles away, he could feel the sheer mana pressure sweeping around.

’Whatever’s about to happen next... might wipe this entire zone off the map.’

Logan didn’t stop driving.

He just kept going—faster, farther, and praying that he was outside the blast radius when the next move landed.

Only after what felt like hours did Logan finally let himself slow down.

His hands trembled on the wheel, knuckles white from how tightly he’d been gripping it.

Far behind him, the purple glow from the colossal tree still lingered in the sky, fainter now but still visible.

Logan ran his hands through his hair and closed his eyes.

"They struck first," he whispered, staring at the horizon.

If they hadn’t tried to kill him, Silas wouldn’t have been injured, Mercer Headquarters wouldn’t have been damaged, and his employees would’ve still been alive.

He exhaled shakily, the guilt for the innocents that died here eating him alive.

But if he was forced to choose between Silas and these civilians, he would’ve made the same decision in a heartbeat.

’They wanted war,’ he told himself. ’Now they’ve got it.’

’This will keep them off Mercer’s back for a long time.’