Genetic Ascension novel Chapter 129

Chapter 129 Fatigue

Sylas had just suddenly attacked Alex, and they hadn't even managed to get a grasp on the situation before the latter was heavily injured.",

There was no time to explain. Sylas could only rush after him, casting Astral Bind again, only to be rebuffed by some mysterious strength.

Alex glared daggers at Sylas as though trying to bore the man's visage into his psyche. He felt humiliated, but he also felt that it was his fault. It wasn't just Sylas' stats that had calmed him, but also the fact the man was at the end of his rope. And yet somehow he had still let this happen.

Suddenly, Sylas took out the second Trembling Spear from his Madness Key. His eyes reflected with a cold, indifferent glint, his emotions unreadable.

Alex's gaze glinted. That was the second item they wanted to procure in this excursion, a serendipitous coincidence, if you will. But the cards hadn't fallen.

A normal person would have let their guard down after Lauren exposed herself, but somehow Sylas had seen through him. Clearly, there was some sort of flaw the two had left behind.

Alex's body suddenly gleamed like metal beneath the moon's light as he pushed out against the coming spear.

The clash shook his arm, but he used the momentum to carry him backward even further, using his agility to slip into the cascade of trees.

"Sylas! Stop!" Cassarae called out. "You're too spent!"

She had seen how heavily Sylas had been breathing until just now. But it wasn't just that he was tired, he was clearly brash as well. She was usually the rash one. It was Sylas who was the voice of reason. If he was so certain that Alex was a traitor, why not use him as bait? This would make things more troublesome.

What Cassarae hadn't considered was that Sylas felt he had no choice. The methods of these people were too deep. They could hide their stats, apparently they could fake their affiliations as well or else Cassarae would have long since seen through their Favorability, Lauren had somehow just disappeared into thin air, and just now Alex had managed to keep his hand after lashing out against the equivalent of over 350 Effective Strength with just a fist.

You could only use such a tactic against people you understood the limits of. If you didn't understand where their limits lay, then you'd just end up dying before you understood what was going on.

Even so, Sylas came to a stop, his breath coming out in heaves. Cassarae was right. He really didn't have the strength left to go after him. Just those few failed casts of Astral Bind and pumping that spear full of Aether just now had made those searing Paths within him cry out in horror again. It felt like he had just dumped a bunch of rubbing alcohol on an open, festering wound.

However, that didn't mean things would end like this.

"No!" The sudden cry came from the forest and a familiar figure was sent flying back into the wet marsh.

Alex landed in the tall, wet grass, scrambling backward. He still had a hand pressed heavily into his neck, but his gaze was flickering with emotions that ranged from astonishment to fear.

At that moment, a black snake slithered into view, barely perceptible under the night air. In fact, if not for the two orbs of crimson that pulsed with their own light, its silhouette would be hardly discernible.