Chapter 126: I Excel at Multiple Choice
This bone-cleaving knife was something Saul took from the morgue.
A case of "borrowing" public property.
But there was no helping it—when it came to a good knife, Saul had never seen one better than his bone-cleaving knife.
Whenever he needed to dissect abnormal corpses in the morgue, this knife was always his first choice.
So when it came time to sever the long-necked head, no spell or scroll could make Saul feel as reassured as his bone-cleaving knife.
And this time, the knife did not disappoint him.
With just two precise chops, the blade struck cleanly through the bone crevices, smoothly splitting the neck in two.
The connection severed, and the head fell to the ground instantly, not even struggling.
Instead, the headless neck on the other side snapped back like a recoiling rubber band, retracting in an instant.
Saul had no time to ponder.
He knew that once the enemy realized their surveillance head was dead, they would immediately send new pursuers after him.
And this time, they wouldn’t be using Saul as bait anymore.
Saul swiftly put away the Phantom Sound Eye, commanded Little Algae to release the neck, withdraw from the rock wall, and shrink back into his own neck.
Then, grabbing his backpack and gripping the bone-cleaving knife, he sprinted deeper into the cave.
He even activated Glimmer Spell.
Although this might make it easier for his pursuers to spot him, fumbling in the dark would only slow him down.
As long as he created enough distance and took a few turns, the light wouldn’t be noticeable.
Luckily, even though this cave had been a last-minute escape route, it wasn’t a dead end.
After crouching and sprinting for dozens of meters, Saul encountered a steep slope.
His eyes lit up—as long as the passage sloped downward, it was likely to lead to an underground maze.
There were many dangerous creatures in those labyrinths, but staying on the surface meant certain death.
Little Algae shot out from behind Saul’s neck, transformed into four chains, and suspended Saul as he rapidly descended the slope, reaching a flat area.
Without waiting to steady himself, Saul kept running.
After a few steps, he reached a fork in the path.
Just as he was about to randomly pick a tunnel, his diary suddenly flew out.
---
Lunar Calendar Year 316, April 20th.
A lone man ventures underground.
Your courage is commendable.
But ahead lies a pool of stagnant water,
inhabited by a swarm of omnivorous insects.
Their mouths may be small,
but their feeding speed is terrifying.
As you dash across the pool,
you’re shocked to find your strides getting smaller.
You look down—your lower legs have been devoured!
This injury isn’t fatal,
but before you can even treat yourself,
the enemy rushes in and smashes you into pulp.
---
If the previous warnings had only made Saul wary, the final sentence made his eyes widen in shock.
The enemy was already on his trail.
And they were fast!
Saul didn’t have time to think. He immediately took another route.
The diary said he had barely finished crossing the water before being caught, which meant the enemy was already very close.
Any hesitation could let them catch up, and being caught meant death.
The enemy was fast and incredibly strong.
---
Saul sprinted at full speed, even commanding Little Algae to dig into the soil ahead and pull him forward to increase his speed.
Soon, he reached a second fork in the path—this time, with two choices.
While running, he glanced at the left tunnel.
The diary immediately warned him:
The left path was a dead end—if he went that way, he would be smashed into meat paste, stuck to the rocks.
Without hesitation, Saul turned right.
He hadn’t gone far when the diary flashed again, displaying several urgent lines:
---
As Saul flees, a Shadow Spider suddenly leaps onto his back, aiming to bite through his neck.
While struggling with the Shadow Spider, the enemy catches up.
Both Saul and the Shadow Spider are crushed together into a bloody pulp.
---
So being caught really does mean death!
But this time, there was no fork ahead—no new route to take.
Saul had no choice but to swing his bone-cleaving knife while ordering Little Algae to scout ahead.
After a dozen steps, a sharp whistling sound came from his left side.
Something slammed into the net-like barrier that Little Algae had set up.
Without hesitation, Saul chopped down with his knife.
The restrained Shadow Spider was cleanly severed.
Even as the severed appendage twitched, it continued blocking the spider’s charge.
"Sorry, Little Algae."
The situation had been too urgent for Saul to hesitate.
A tentacle gently reached out, brushing his cheek in reassurance—Little Algae wasn’t angry.
---
Saul kept running.
This time, he reached a five-way intersection.
Glancing at the first three tunnels, he saw that each one either contained a monster or some obstacle that would slow him down.
Either way, he’d get caught and turned into pulp.
He checked the fourth path—no diary warning.
Just as he was about to enter, he hesitated and glanced at the fifth path.
This time, the diary’s warning caught his attention.
At the last second, Saul veered into the fifth tunnel.
---
Warning: The path ahead contains abandoned Shadow Spider webs.
If you step on them, you’ll get stuck, become entangled in layer after layer of webs, and after a few minutes, be captured along with the web by your pursuer.
---
Now that Saul knew what was ahead, he immediately leapt onto the walls, avoiding the sticky floor.
There were some webs on the walls too, but forewarned, Saul was able to use Little Algae to swing to the other side.
After a tense fifty-meter dash, he finally reached solid ground again.
---
This was just a stalling tactic, but given how easily the enemy could kill him, these tricks might only buy him seconds.
Still, Saul had no choice.
The pursuer remained completely silent, yet the diary kept warning him—if he paused for even a moment, he would be caught and obliterated.
This silent, unseen enemy was even more terrifying.
Saul could almost feel their breath chilling the back of his neck.
---
He pressed on, but the tunnel was getting narrower.
Saul began to worry—if he hit a dead end, he was doomed.
"Hmph, even if the odds are slim, I won’t just stand here and wait for death!"
Stretching out both arms, Saul summoned spectral soul-boring worms from his spiritual body.
"Too bad these things can’t survive long outside my body—otherwise, I could leave them as traps."
---
By the time Saul had to crouch while running, he saw another downward passage ahead.
"Another descent…?"
He gritted his teeth.
Going deeper underground meant greater danger.
But there was no time to hesitate.
He leapt down.
Black tendrils shot from his neck, anchoring into the walls to slow his fall.
Then—
A sudden glow appeared beneath him, rising rapidly!
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