School Transmigration: I, Chosen as the Saint by Dragons at the Start-Chapter 145 --The Real and Fake Jiplin

"Chase?" Owen shot forward like an arrow, leaving everyone stunned.

With the dead and the wounded, now was the time they all wanted to rest.

What did he mean by chase?

Not being killed by the River Crossing Demon’s offspring was already fortunate enough, and now they were to walk into danger again?

Jiplin simply sat down, his chest heaving dramatically, "That madman, I can’t possibly follow him. I need to rest."

Jonathan felt conflicted, noting that they still couldn’t perform a soul explosion, he could only say, "Right, the teachers outside haven’t resolved the issue yet. We need to survive and wait. Owen is being too reckless."

Brawny and Willow took a couple of steps forward, noticing the lack of movement from the others, their faces showing a mix of emotions.

They had also tried and found they couldn’t self-destruct, indicating the adverse factors from the outside world hadn’t been eliminated yet.

Now, facing troubles within the illusion meant actual death.

Brawny, grinding his teeth, declared, "No, I’m going after him."

Seeing this, Willow sighed, "Let’s follow."

Suddenly, the battered team split into two groups and departed.

A headcount revealed Feldin’s team was entirely wiped out.

Jonathan’s team was down to four people—Willow, Brawny, Owen, Bryce.

Jiplin was left on his own, and another academy team that had entered the mine wasn’t seen at the outset, and now after exiting the mine, they were still missing, likely lost.

Leaning against the rock wall, Jonathan’s gaze was filled with melancholy.

The deaths of other team members did not concern him much, but those in his team were his classmates, some of whom he shared a classroom with.

Now their souls were extinguished, and their bodies in the real world would no longer live.

This realization, emerging from the depths of his soul after the exhaustion of battle, was suffused with a profound sadness that threatened to overwhelm him.

During the fight for survival, there was no time for grief, but now, having escaped from the flesh fortress, he felt a pervasive loneliness.

Monkey and Bryce remained silent, the atmosphere heavy with a stillness as oppressive as the calm before a storm.

Jiplin stood up, stretching lazily, then his eyes suddenly flashed coldly.

Claws materialized in his hands, and he twisted around to pounce on Jonathan.

Jonathan, caught off guard by such an unexpected turn of events, instinctively tried to dodge.

Despite his quick side-step, Jiplin’s claws still pierced through his abdomen.

Blood spurted out violently, and the intense pain made Jonathan scream, driving away all his sorrow and filling him with agony.

Monkey was stunned, frozen for a moment before rushing towards the River Crossing Demon’s offspring.

But it was too late.

The next second, Jiplin shed his disguise, revealing himself as the River Crossing Demon’s offspring, and darted towards the tunnel on the opposite side from Owen, with the speed of lightning.

In the mine, screams carried far.

Hearing the scream and having run thirty to forty meters, Owen felt something was amiss.

He suddenly realized, "No, that Jiplin was fake. He ambushed Jonathan!"

This revelation sent chills down Brawny and Willow’s spines.

When the River Crossing Demon’s offspring had first appeared before them, it had donned Loa’s skin.

After enduring numerous battles, they had somehow forgotten about its ability to disguise itself.

Owen turned around and sprinted off again, with Brawny and Willow quickly on his heels.

Upon returning to the spot, Monkey, wielding his longsword, vigilantly scanned their surroundings.

Jonathan, his face covered in sweat, had blood gushing from his abdomen, even attempting to stuff his intestines back into his stomach.

The scene was more horrifying than anything they had witnessed in the flesh fortress.

The aesthetic of the flesh fortress was uniformly sinister, filled with bones, flesh, and organs...

Now, having left that place, the sight evoked a profound sense of unease among them.

Owen had no time for discussions; he immediately headed towards the right tunnel.

It was easy to guess; if the River Crossing Demon’s offspring had directed them towards the left tunnel, then the right one was undoubtedly the correct path.

Willow stomped her foot, cursing, "Damn it, it must have been the earthquake and the sudden changes, coupled with the poor lighting in the tunnel and everyone being covered in blood, we didn’t notice and gave it the chance to exploit."

Turning to Monkey, she said, "Stay here and look after things, I’m going to chase Owen. And try to find Jiplin."

Jiplin, having been disguised, might have already fallen victim to the River Crossing Demon’s offspring.

Brawny followed closely behind.

The trio hurried along the tunnel.

After the mine returned to normal, there were fewer forks in the path, and the route they took was almost straight forward, with only the occasional turn making it slightly more cramped.

With the help of glow worms, they were able to follow a trail of green blood stains along the way.

Seeing the blood, Owen breathed a sigh of relief.

It proved that the River Crossing Demon’s offspring could no longer move freely through the dungeon.

...

The River Crossing Demon’s offspring raced through the corridor with lightning speed, as if a tiger were chasing it.

Familiar with the mine’s layout, it didn’t take a single wrong turn, reaching the stone chamber in about thirty seconds.

Inside the chamber, the woman had torn off all her tendons, staggering outwards.

After the initial shock subsided, a flood of pain overwhelmed her, feeling as if her body had been drained dry.

She even harbored the illusion that her body was like a tattered sack with countless holes, from which blood streamed out unceasingly.

In fact, it seemed to be the case.

The monster appeared abruptly, and before the woman could react, she was tackled to the ground and bitten ferociously.

"Don’t eat me, don’t eat me. I am your mother," she screamed in agony, reaching out to defend herself, but the creature bit into her arm, crunching loudly.

The intense pain knocked the woman unconscious, her body twitching uncontrollably.

Meanwhile, the creature’s wounds healed at a visibly rapid pace, even the lost half of its palm regrew.

The River Crossing Demon’s offspring derived nourishment from its mother; when its injuries were severe, its demand became more hysterical, devoid of any rationality.

Soon, its bony armor had fully regenerated, with spikes even emerging on its shoulders and elbows.

The River Crossing Demon’s offspring hoisted the woman onto its back and turned to leave.

It couldn’t stay here; it needed to find a more suitable place to nest.

But it hadn’t taken two steps before stopping dead, staring intently into the darkness of the opposite corridor, even stepping back twice.

Just a few seconds later, Owen appeared in another corridor, following the blood trail, which led them straight here.

However, the River Crossing Demon’s offspring seemed off, crouched and roaring into the darkness ahead.

This wasn’t a display of threat or dominance but rather seemed blusterous and fearful.

It must have heard the footsteps of Owen and his group, but its gaze didn’t shift towards them at all.

What was it facing?

Owen blinked, and a white figure darted past.

Was it the guardian spirit of the town? Had it also entered here?

The snow leopard pounced beside the River Crossing Demon’s offspring, biting at its ankle, clearly avoiding the spikes to not damage its teeth.

With astonishing speed and the demon caught off guard, the leopard dragged it, causing it to stumble.

As the demon raised its spike-filled fist to strike the leopard, Owen threw a guard’s dagger.

Now, with a third of his strength gathered for the throw, the dagger flew like an arrow.

The demon reacted quickly, trying to dodge, but the dagger was faster, slicing a wound across its chest armor.

Owen moved forward, intent on confronting the River Crossing Demon’s offspring personally—both for revenge and to claim fate points.

But something faster, unbelievably so and carrying a scorching aura, struck the demon’s chest wound first, flinging it three meters away to pin it against the rock wall.

Only then did the group see clearly that it was an ordinary standard-issue spear, but the spear was alight with flames.

The flames, a pale blue verging on ghostly white, were so hot they melted the surrounding rocks like chocolate.

The wound on the River Crossing Demon’s offspring was instantly charred by the spear, the green blood sealed within without a chance to spray.

It attempted to grasp the woman to consume her flesh and blood for replenishment, but the snow leopard had already whisked her away in the opposite direction.

The offspring tried to pull out the spear, but its claws sizzled and smoked upon contact, making it impossible to touch.

Then, urgent footsteps approached, belonging to six or seven people.

Finally seeing the long-awaited reinforcements, Willow and Brawny, even though not of this illusion, couldn’t help but break into smiles, excitedly shouting, "Reinforcements, it’s the reinforcements. We’re saved."

Owen stood frozen as a figure cloaked in dark red walked past him, stopping a yard in front of the creature for a confrontation.

Could this person be the Red General Willow mentioned?

A cold voice echoed from the depths of everyone’s heart: "You send your little demon to wreak havoc in my city, Whitesand River Crossing Demon, what exactly are you trying to achieve?"

The creature pinned to the wall only struggled and roared, showing no sign of responding.

The Red General waited patiently for a few seconds before speaking indifferently, "Very well. No matter what you intended, it’s your offspring that die. You should think carefully about that."