Chapter 220: Hardship
Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation
After panting for a while, Han Jin got up in a struggle. The Black Crystal Thread had not been refined, so Han Jin was worried that it may lose its effect at any moment. He must put an end to this once and for all.
Betty was on the ground, still struggling to break free. Although her entire body was tied up like a rice dumpling, at least she still had room for movement. In one moment, she was rolling around; in the next, she was flopping against the ground like a fish out of water, kicking gravel all over the place.
Han Jin originally intended to use the green radiance he was holding to kill Betty, but seeing her actions, he changed his mind. With how weak his body currently was, if Betty were to accidentally kick him, the consequences would be disastrous.
“Aren’t you tired?” Han Jin gloated.
Betty abruptly stopped her struggle and turned to look at Han Jin, her expression shifting every moment. Finally, she said faintly as if trying to whisper, “I admit defeat… Please, don’t kill me…”
“But I’m not the one who was trying to kill you, you’re the one who was trying to kill me!” Han Jin said as he lumbered to the side. His strides were awkward and his body swayed shakily.
“It’s that bitch who forced me to come! There’s no hatred between you and me, so why would I want to kill you?!” Betty appeared uneasy. “This is just a huge misunderstanding! If… If you kill me, what will you gain?”
Han Jin walked towards Edwina and squatted down strenuously in front of her. He held up Edwina’s wrist and listened to her pulse carefully. Moments later, he let out a long sigh, and his voice suddenly turned cold, “What will I gain if I don’t kill you?” Edwina’s heartbeat was extremely weak. If she had only experienced the penetrating wound by Caroline, Han Jin could still save her life. Afterwards, however, Edwina experienced another heavy blow from Caroline, and it damaged all her internal organs. Who knew how many of her blood vessels were snapped as well. Even if Han Jin had sufficient vital energy in his body, he might still be unable to save Edwina. Now, it was even more impossible.
“Is that your elf?” Betty begged. “I… I can do better than her! I’m willing to become your slave, really! If you don’t believe me, I’ll sign a contract with you.”
“A contract?” Han Jin stood up unhurriedly. Actually, he would never believe Betty, and would never let her escape, because he knew that she was an extremely sly enemy! During their battle, he could already sense that she was harboring evil intentions, since she deliberately refrained from assisting her companion to deplete her stamina. Even a fool would not trust a person like her!
“Yes, after the contract is signed, I will become your slave, and I will belong to you forever. And… and…” Betty blushed and shrank back a little as if she was shy.
Betty’s long gown had already been torn to pieces by Han Jin’s ‘Thousand Waves’ technique, and after all that she had gone through afterwards, she was now almost completely naked. Even though her hair had become a bird’s nest, and her face and body was covered in dirt, making her far from being beautiful or attractive, her body was well-proportioned like a piece of artwork, and her curves were graceful and slender, dipping and bending in all the right places. However, this was nothing surprising, as she could not have become Zaganide’s wife if she did not have matching capability and beauty.
Han Jin closed his eyes and adjusted his breath, then slowly opened his eyes again. “How do we sign the contract?”
“It’s easy. Just put your hand on my forehead, I’ll chant the spells, and then… you… you’re trying to kill me?” Betty suddenly became alarmed.
A ball of fire had appeared in Han Jin’s palm. It drifted forward slowly; it was extremely small, the size of a fingernail of a pinky finger, and it seemed that the slightest gust of wind could extinguish it.
“Nope, I’m signing the contract. This is my contract,” Han Jin said expressionlessly.
Betty turned over, pushed against the ground with her head and struggled for a while before she finally managed to stand up. But the flame was moving at such a slow speed that it was still 7 to 8 meters away from Betty when she stood up.
“This… This is not the contract! You’re trying to kill me!” Betty shrieked.
“This is the contract.” Han Jin remained expressionless.
Betty squatted down and suddenly shot out like a bullet. With her body as the weapon, she dashed directly towards Han Jin.
Fortunately, the two of them were 30 meters away from each other, and Betty was tied up from head to toe. Even if her knee could still bend, she needed more time to assume the required pose, which made her actions obvious. As a result, Han Jin was already on alert.
Seeing the ‘human bullet’ shooting towards him, Han Jin hastily dodged to the side. But his actions were still slower than his thoughts, and Betty scraped against his body as she speeded past. The impact caused Han Jin to spin uncontrollably twice before he fell face up onto the ground. The green radiance that he was holding was flung far away.
Bang…
Betty knocked into something, creating a loud crash. Han Jin did not dare to rest for even a second; he immediately stood up, but his actions appeared slightly awkward. However, when he turned to look at Betty, he froze.
Betty knocked all the way down to the foot of the mountain. Han Jin was not sure if there was already a pit at that place, or if it had formed from Betty’s impact, but half of Betty’s body had already disappeared into the cavity, and only her two legs could be seen swinging in the air.
Han Jin staggered forward, picked up his sword, then stumbled towards Betty. Betty’s legs swung vigorously, but with half of her body buried under the ground, and with her entire body tied up, she could not break free no matter how hard she tried.
“You’re so funny,” Han Jin said softly, “It makes me a little reluctant about killing you.”
Betty paused, then started struggling again. Han Jin could even vaguely hear her muffled whimper.
Han Jin squinted his eyes as he focused his attention on chanting the spell for Three True Flames. On his palm, a flame flashed but swiftly disappeared afterwards. Han Jin smiled bitterly; he really should rest to recover his energy. However, his Immortal-Binding Rope could lose its effect any moment now, and if that happened, he would be the one to die instead.
“Aren’t you good at guessing? Why haven’t you guessed your own ending?” Han Jin patted Betty’s sole with the short green sword. “Let me give you a chance; can you guess if I’ll chop off your left foot first, or your right foot?”
Betty floundered even more vigorously. Han Jin lifted the green sword and slashed down with all his might. With his remaining strength, he hacked at Betty’s legs again and again.
Betty’s muscles and bones were extremely tough, and after tens of slashes, only a number of scratches appeared on her legs. It was definitely not enough to chop off any of her legs, but it was already enough to make Han Jin so exhausted that he could not even stand upright.
Han Jin collapsed onto the ground, feeling extremely helpless and absolutely powerless in this situation. Without vital energy, he was a complete loser.
If he continued repeatedly slashing like this, God knows how long it would take him to finish off Betty. He might as well take the risk and rest! Without further ado, Han Jin laid onto the ground and started adjusting his breathing with his eyes closed. If Betty managed to break free while he was recovering, then he would be the one dead; but if Betty was unable to escape, then Betty would definitely be the one to die.
After a long while, Han Jin slowly opened his eyes. His first action was to look at Betty, and seeing that she was still struggling, he let out a sigh of relief. Flipping his hand, a crystal ball appeared on his palm. He tapped the crystal ball and a plume of smoke surged out. Instead of dissipating in the air, the smoke thickened, gathering to form Harley’s figure.
“Master… Oh my!” Harley exclaimed upon seeing Han Jin’s disastrous appearance.
“Do you have any way of dealing with a vampire?”
“Those lowly beings? Of course, they’re no match for me!” Harley cried.
“Cut the crap.” Han Jin held out a finger feebly. “Get rid of her!” A ghost spirit that had not engulfed any other ghosts would definitely be unable to hurt Betty. However, Han Jin had not wiped out Harley’s consciousness, and with the situation now, his decision could not be any more correct.
“Yes, Master!” Harley’s figure turned into a plume of smoke, coiling towards Betty’s floundering legs. But once they came into contact, Harley resumed his shape. “Ma… Master, I feel that she has extremely strong psychic force!”
“You can’t deal with it?”
“If she became unconscious…”
“You’re as good as trash!” Han Jin waved his hand. “Never mind, I don’t need you anymore.” After he finished speaking, he took out a Wooden Army Calling charm from his space ring and slapped it out. After he reached the one Xuan milestone, these Wooden Army Calling charms became useless for him. If the enemy was weak, he could deal with them himself; but if the enemy was too strong even for him, he would not be able to turn the situation around even if he used hundreds or even thousands of Wooden Army Calling charms. Therefore, he actually thought about discarding these charms to make space for other objects, but fortunately, he had not taken action.
A giant wooden puppet appeared out of thin air next to Han Jin. It raised a gigantic fist and smashed it into Betty’s shin, the other fist immediately following.
The wooden giant was inexhaustible and strong; of course, that was compared to a regular person. Its power was still too weak to pose any threat to high-grade professionals. But for Betty, who was trapped underneath the ground, the wooden giant was deadly!
After a hundred punches, Betty’s calves fractured from the sheer force, and under Han Jin’s control, the wooden giant gruesomely tore out her broken limbs. At the same time, it ripped out her blood vessels and tendons. Betty’s blood gushed out like a fountain, staining the ground deep red.
Betty wailed hysterically under the ground; every movement of her legs caused a shower of blood to splash out from the opening. But being tied up with the Black Crystal Thread, she could not even release a transformation spell, let alone some magic.
Han Jin tossed the green sword onto the ground. The wooden giant picked up the sword, then kneeled down, and started jabbing into the cavity randomly.
Gradually, Betty stopped bawling and her legs rested weakly against the entrance. Han Jin was not sure if she had really fainted or was just acting like it. But this could not fool Harley, as the smoke he released had been wrapping around Betty the entire time.
“Master, it’s okay. Leave it to me!” Harley exclaimed in excitement.
Han Jin signalled to the wooden giant to stop its attack, then laid down on the ground. Han Jin could place his complete trust in Harley; though he could not make a judgement on the effectiveness of a contract in this world because he did not understand how it worked at all, he trusted his own Daoist Arts.
A wave of drowsiness overcame Han Jin, and his eyes could no longer stay open. The hazardous battle completely depleted his vital energy, physical energy and mental energy; he was now already at his limit. But he dare not sleep at all, because his Immortal-Binding Rope would lose its power once he lost consciousness.
Han Jin’s eyelids drooped little by little, but he forced them open once again. Repeating this over and over, he finally could no longer withstand his weariness, and he fell into a deep sleep.