Ch. 58 How much is a Tarnished's life worth?

Patches calling out to warn Kalé was definitely not out of concern for him.

He was just reminding himself.

Hmm… maybe just a little bit?

The feeling of not wanting Kalé to die in front of him…

That was because Kalé wasn’t someone he had scammed; the people he knew could only be scammed by him!

But regardless, Patches was not an honest guy.

After dodging that Rain of Light, he seized that momentary opportunity.

The three Spirit Wolves, as well as Kalé, were all distracted by the sudden attack of the Rain of Light.

Patches, taking advantage of them not having reacted yet, immediately scrambled up and ran.

‘Who’s going to play with you bunch of do-gooders! I’m out!’

He thought to himself.

Since he was going to escape, he certainly had to look for complex terrain and use the terrain to shake off his pursuers.

The most complex place he could see was the Waystation Street Ruins right in front of him.

Taking advantage of Kalé not having reacted yet and not looking at him, Patches immediately broke into the Waystation Street Ruins.

However, there was one thing Patches seemed not to have considered.

That was the three Spirit Wolves that were staring at him at all times.

However, this was understandable; after all, with freedom right before one’s eyes, not everyone could remain calm. Most of the time, a Soldier’s judgment had to rely on improvisation.

Before Patches had even broken into the ruins, the Spirit Wolves reacted.

They rushed over, howling.

Patches heard the howling of the Spirit Wolves, and naturally, his hair stood on end. He ran quickly into the ruins filled with Miranda Flowers.

The entire ruins were shrouded in a strange fragrance.

The three Spirit Wolves had just rushed in when they slowed down.

Canines, even when transformed into spirit forms, were still heavily reliant on their sense of smell.

Aside from the strange fragrance, the ruins were filled with smoke from the burning and pungent odors.

The entire ruin was shrouded in mist.

The sound of crackling flames echoed in their ears.

“Awoo—” Red detected a trace amidst these incredibly intense distractions.

She signaled to her companions and quickly ran in that direction.

Patches was in that direction, but the vines covering the streets and alleys made every step difficult.

A small Miranda Flower was clinging to the wall and collided head-on with him. The flower instantly retracted its bud. Patches cursed his bad luck, lowered his body, and scrambled beneath the flower.

With a *pfft* sound, the Miranda Flower behind Patches sprayed a cloud of green toxic pollen, and a scent that made one’s head spin shot straight into his nasal cavity.

Patches shivered and continued running forward; the figures of the Spirit Wolves had already appeared at the corner behind him.

Lappland was in the lead, yelling as she ran, while the other two charged toward Patches in silence, with the posture of a hunt.

Then, Lappland rushed straight into the toxic mist… Just like its name, it felt completely unreliable.

“Tch…” The Spirit Wolf was choked by the pungent odor and sneezed violently. With a whimper, it covered its nose and retreated outside the green toxic mist.

Texas seemed stunned, coming to a screeching halt just outside the toxic mist released by the Miranda Flower.

“Phew.” Patches turned his head just in time to see this scene and smiled triumphantly.

Keep chasing, will you?

Immediately after, Red leaped out from behind Lappland.

Holding her breath, she jumped, passing through the toxic mist—which didn’t cover much area—in an instant.

Patches jolted, turned into a corner in a panic, only to find that this place was unmistakably a dead end.

He looked at the walls in despair, but the Spirit Wolves didn’t give him a chance, following close behind.

There was no other way; Patches gritted his teeth. Even a rabbit will bite when cornered, and when a person is desperate, isn’t climbing a wall all there is to it? Who couldn’t do that!

Just as the Spirit Wolves lunged at him, he performed an extremely dangerous, backward-leaning wind-up motion, then leaped with all his might!

Patches’ hands gripped the edge of the ruined wall, but a Spirit Wolf lunged up and bit his foot.

Two forces pulled constantly against the long-weathered wall. The fragile wall could barely support Patches’ weight, and stone bricks fell one after another.

“Hmph, hmph, aaaaaahhhhh—”

Patches’ face flushed red, and he even lost his grip several times due to the loose bricks, but the desire to escape ultimately overcame everything. Patches used every ounce of his strength to hang onto the top of the wall.

In that moment, he almost thought he would be torn in two.

The biting force on his foot suddenly vanished, along with the force that had been pulling him backward. Patches, who was hanging on the wall and struggling to climb up, suddenly fell headfirst over the other side of the wall due to momentum.

He fell face-first onto the stone bricks. He lifted his head, looking utterly disheveled, and when he looked back, he saw that his boot had been bitten off by the Spirit Wolf.

What a clever escape, Patches thought as he scrambled up, feeling relieved. Before he could even turn around, he heard the frustrated, angry howls of the Spirit Wolves.

Now was not the time to stop; he had to keep running…

He was currently in a space surrounded by ruined walls on three sides. There were two paths he could choose: one on the ground, and another leading to a deep, underground staircase.

At a time like this, of course, one would choose the path with a better chance of escape—the one at the gap in the stone wall.

But the path at that gap was crowded with Miranda Flowers that had already noticed him and were slithering toward him.

This path was blocked!

There was no other choice.

If he couldn’t escape, he’d just have to kneel and apologize!

Patches gritted his teeth and rushed into the dark staircase leading underground.