Rise of the Harem King
Chapter 129: The beast break her chains

Chapter 129: The beast break her chains

"Let’s join our group," were the words that convinced Lina to team up with those girls.

In the end, she wasn’t a difficult person to convince at all. Due to her shy and insecure nature, Lina was always easily swayed.

And it was precisely because they noticed this that that group approached her.

They were all in Rank E or D, so it was very unlikely that their team could even participate in the tournament.

Of course, they had no real hope of winning, but even if they just made it past the first phase, the rewards would already be great.

Not to mention all the exposure they could gain. Being an explorer wasn’t just about power; some made a living from fame.

That’s why they all put on makeup and dressed up as much as they could. They hoped that beauty would be their most powerful weapon.

And everything got even better when they saw Lina’s ridiculous clothes. With that cloak completely hiding her body, they would undoubtedly stand out even more.

That said, they held back their laughter upon seeing her. It would be bad if Lina hated them; after all, she was the only fighter in the group.

And so that team was formed. And even though on paper the mage was the leader, she just continued to follow the orders of her new friends.

"There’s someone there, hit him!"

And when one of the girls detected Davi, she yelled that.

However, Lina didn’t manage to hit the target on the first try, and he escaped.

"Idiot, you let him get away!" one of the girls complained.

"How can you be so useless? Let’s at least try to keep up; we need to chase him!"

"Yes, he was alone."

Because of this, Lina had to desperately run after the women.

Meanwhile Davi disappeared into the forest until they lost sight of him completely. But he had not lost sight of them.

ООО

At the same time, Lara found herself face to face with Zack’s group. Almost immediately, a sickening feeling swept through her entire body.

One of the man’s companions had wrapped her arm with a whip, restricting her movements. Meanwhile, a woman beside him sharpened metal claws on her hands, ready to strike at any moment.

But all of Lara’s focus was locked on the man in front of her.

Zack.

He was approaching with slow, deliberate steps, each one heavier than the last. His cold eyes stared into her, and his smile was like a blade pressed against her throat.

Lara’s heart pounded. Her fingers trembled slightly.

She didn’t want to admit it, but her body remembered. Remembered the pain, the fear, the helplessness Zack had caused her in the past.

And with each step he took, the air seemed to grow heavier. Her breath grew short, her legs heavy.

She knew she couldn’t fail in that moment. She couldn’t just freeze like that again. But the terror was like a chain, dragging her back to those moments when there was no escape.

Zack stopped, just a few steps away.

"You’re still as weak as ever, Lara," he said with an arrogant smile, his eyes gleaming with sadistic pleasure.

He extended his hand, his fingers nearly touching her forehead, ready to once again invade her mind with those nightmares.

Zack was confident, this battle was already won. After all, no one burdened by fear or trauma could resist his powers.

But everything can change in an instant.

A tremor.

Lara’s fists clenched so tightly that her nails dug into her own flesh, crimson drops of blood dripping onto the ground.

Her muscles tensed, and her whole body vibrated like a tightly strung wire on the verge of snapping. And then a power indescribable surged from within her soul.

How could she let herself be defeated by that man?

She had a master to protect, and that damned trash would not stop her—she would never allow it.

So when she finally raised her head, her once-empty eyes now burned with pure, incandescent fury.

"NO!"

The scream echoed like thunder, shattering the veil of illusion. Her spirit, sharp as a blade, sliced through Zack’s mental control.

He stepped back, the confidence draining from his face, and for a moment, his gaze faltered. He was no longer sure he could defeat that woman.

"I’m going to kill you!"

She roared like a beast unleashed, and everything around her began to tremble violently, her mana swirling in terrifying waves.

Zack clenched his fists and, for the first time, he felt fear as he faced the woman who now roared with untamed rage.

He had hoped the fight would be simple, but things became much more complicated than he could have expected in an instant.

He didn’t even know if his current group was powerful enough to deal with that woman.

"Damn it! Damn it!" He complained with a hateful expression on his face.

For some time now, things hadn’t been going well for that man. He had seen all his plans destroyed before his eyes. And now, the very woman who should have been his easy prey was rising up to resist him.

Just a short time ago, Zack had been at the peak of his life. He had used Luis as his stepping stone and was going to reach new heights in his life.

Amanda seemed impressed with his abilities, so he managed to become close to her. And with the blonde came many more connections with politicians and influential people.

Zack was all set to become a research assistant for a famous professor whose lab produced great results every year.

The professor in question was very influential, so his lab always had plenty of funding. What’s more, he had the best research equipment.

The lab was a well oiled machine that would easily keep producing great results in the future. And in all these results, Zack’s name would be seen.

Not just that, but the old head professor was a man easy to manipulate. So the man quickly got into good grace with him.

But before anything could be officially set in motion, the boy’s plans crumbled to dust. It all began when Amanda attempted to assassinate Sophia. Everything might have gone smoothly if the operation had been a success, but everything seemed to go wrong.

And the more the blonde began to use her influence in a desperate attempt to hold onto power, the more her allies began to distance themselves from her.

For instance, many were against sending the rescue squad whose true mission was to assassinate the students. But Zack saw this as an opportunity to show loyalty and gain more influence with the woman. That’s why he grew even closer to her in the beginning.

And everything might have worked out, if that damn group hadn’t survived once again. Amanda went berserk when she received the news, and Zack had to abandon her at the last minute.

His betrayal, obviously, was not well received, and he ended up in a terrible position. Many of the people who had previously distanced themselves from Amanda now hated him for having taken advantage of the situation to gain influence.

To make matters worse, those who were still loyal to the blonde despised him even more for abandoning her at such a critical moment.

Thanks to his decision, he avoided prison, after all, he hadn’t been directly involved in her illegal activities. But he lost almost all his contacts.

With no other options, the boy was forced to start climbing the social ladder from scratch once again.

And every single day, he clenched his teeth in fury as he thought about how Sophia and Davi had ruined all his plans. Without a doubt, he would do everything in his power to get revenge.

The first step of his plan was to join a team of rank A and rank B students. He needed to deliver a strong performance to draw attention and secure a contract outside of Enki.

He desperately needed to transfer to another explorer academy where he wouldn’t carry such a tarnished reputation.

But it was also because of that, that his team wasn’t particularly strong, and seeing how Lara looked ready to resist, he couldn’t help but worry.

At the moment, he only had two other companions, but he quickly used a flare he had bought to call the rest of his teammates.

The first thing he desperately needed to do was buy time.

"Keep your distance if possible," he said to his two companions.

At the same time, he used the six powers to create illusions in Lara’s mind. He needed to delay her in every way possible.

At first, his plan worked, and Lara, lost fighting against illusory enemies, could be contained by his two companions.

The problem was that Zack’s powers depended heavily on his enemy’s mental state. And as the girl was gradually calming down, his abilities were also slowly losing their effect.

And his illusions disappeared completely, more or less at the same time that the rest of his teammates finally arrived.

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