Iya Continent: Card God

"Giddy up!" "Clatter!!"

The majestic white horse galloped forward in the direction the river flowed. Its hooves pounded the ground, splashing mud and grass.

Silver Dog Rod's fierce eyes kept staring at the surface of the river, his pupils fixed.

"Uu——!"

Finally, he pulled on the reins and stopped the pursuit.

A look of surprise and doubt appeared on his fierce and cold face as he turned to look back at the river ahead.

what happened?

Why? Why didn't those two guys come up from the water?!

What Silver Dog Rhodes couldn't understand was that after chasing for so long, the other party should have been unable to breathe underwater and had to surface for air by now. There was no reason for this. Why?

Swimming upstream? Impossible. The current is so strong here; you can't swim upstream for long and would quickly become exhausted and be swept downstream. Dead? Impossible too. If he were dead, he would float to the surface. Could he have been eaten by the fish or beasts at the bottom of the river? This Song River only has some ordinary fish and shrimp; there aren't any large fish that could devour people.

"what happened!"

The silver dog, Rhodes, gritted its teeth and roared with intense hatred.

Today is the worst day ever. Never before have I felt so confused and lost.

……

"Pfft!" "Ugh..."

Linta, soaked to the bone again, climbed out of the water, the rushing river having worn down his last bit of energy.

Although the elven girl Shia was also soaked, with her long hair sticking together, she showed no fear or discomfort, always maintaining her defiant expression.

"Guala la la!"

The little fishman beside him made cheerful, yet incomprehensible, quacking noises.

Linta's lips curled into a smile as she looked at the savior, Guagua, "Thank you... Without you... I'm afraid I really wouldn't have been able to escape..."

They escaped by falling into the river, all thanks to the little fishman's quack-quack. Linta never expected that this agile, unbound little fishman would be so powerful in the water! With the strength of a single fish, he grabbed himself and Shia with both hands, his webbed feet propelling him forward like a dragon, surging against the current.

"Da la da la!"

Shia looked at Linta with a cold expression. "Are you still alive? If so, leave. It's not safe here."

"Oh..." Linta responded weakly, forcing himself to keep going with the belief that he had escaped death.

Linta didn't ask anything along the way. She was too tired and didn't want to ask. She figured she'd find out eventually.

In a daze, I don't know how long I walked, but I saw the appearance of Jingu and Songguo.

At this moment, Jin Gong was empty-handed; that greatsword was for one-time use only.

"Where is my sword?!"

Jingon stepped forward and questioned Shia.

Shia said coldly, "It's still in the same place. Go find it yourself."

"Find a hammer!" Kim Gung yelled, stomping his feet in anger.

Pinecone, the bear-man, looked at Linta gently. "Are you alright?"

Linta smiled faintly, "It's nothing."

He glanced at everyone and seemed to understand what was going on. This was a concerted effort to save themselves.

Without magic, none of us could possibly defeat the silver hound, Rhodes, head-on.

Therefore, the only option is to launch a surprise attack.

With her immense strength, the bear-man Pinecone launched the greatsword of King Gong from afar in a sneak attack. Shia, small in stature, gripped the hilt and flew alongside. The silver hound, Rod, must have been surprised by the greatsword's sneak attack and would have immediately used a magical sword strike to cut it apart. He certainly hadn't expected Shia to fly alongside the greatsword; at such a direct angle, it would be difficult for him to spot her from a distance. At this moment, Shia, close in, used the momentum of her flight to strike the silver hound. Then, with her agile movements, she immediately returned to Linta's side and pulled him into the river. The little fish-man, Quack-Quack, was there to help, swimming upstream, catching him completely off guard.

"Thank you all for your help." Linta expressed his sincere gratitude.

Shia said coldly, "You also saved us from jail, so now we're even. Fool."

Jin Gong asked, puzzled, "I don't understand you. You've never fought before, so what are you going back for?"

Linta replied earnestly, "If I don't go back, something will happen to the old couple who helped us last night, won't it?"

Kim Gong was speechless.

Shia stared intently, her eyes flickering, and then asked, "So? You saved them?"

Linta laughed and said, "We should save him. Originally, that silver dog, Rod, was going to the village to find us. But I appeared beforehand and ambushed him. His purpose was diverted. Even now, he won't go back to the village. Because he knows we're definitely not there, and he can't find any trace of us."

Pinecone said, "So that's how it is."

"Gala la la lo!" the little fishman clapped his hands and said.

Jin Gong stroked his beard, frowned, and said, "You little rascal, you actually came up with a solution..."

Linta laughed and said, "I have to thank Shia for this; she reminded me."

Shia was a little confused, "Huh?"

Linta smiled and said, "Shia, you told me that if I made a move in front of the old couple, it wouldn't be saving them, but making them accomplices. That's when I realized that I just needed to make a move beforehand and divert the silver dog Rhodes' attention to me, and that would be enough."

Shia frowned. Was this guy an idiot? Clever yet foolish.

What a strange person.

"Hey, before we get going, could we find a place to make a fire and dry off? I feel really cold right now," Linta said, shivering and curling up.

Shia replied, "Go southeast, where you'll find the scent of the forest; that's where you can temporarily hide."

"Then, let's go quickly..." Linta couldn't wait and set off.

Shia and Jingon stared at the human figure with strange looks in their eyes.

Throughout the history of the continent of Iya, no one like this has ever been seen. On this magical, dog-eat-dog world, such a person truly exists.

Linta had no idea that his return this time would not only save the elderly couple's lives, but also earn them their trust and friendship, making them willing to entrust their lives to him someday.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

On the road back to Mag City, the silver dog Rod rode a white horse, his face fierce and angry.

Thinking that Bruno, the man with the iron bucket, had caused all of this, he vowed to make him pay when he saw him.

"Miss Rui'er, I will definitely come to see you..."

Rhodes muttered to himself, though he had lost his prisoner, he still didn't want to miss the Marquis's banquet. After all, this was a rare opportunity for him to see his beloved.

"Forehead?"

Silver Dog Rod's fierce expression darkened as he noticed the guy blocking his way at the intersection ahead.

A middle-aged man dressed in a slovenly and disheveled manner, with a black beard.

"Anti-magic ring?"

Silver Dog Rhodes' eyes suddenly lit up; the other person also had a magic-suppressing ring on their wrist.

Is this guy one of the escaped prisoners?

That's right, the middle-aged man in front of me is Klose.

Those blazing steel eyes lifted and looked at the silver hound Rhodes, their gaze carrying the look of someone eyeing an insect.

"Good heavens, how dare you show your face in front of me!"

Rhodes, enraged, held back no longer, spurring his horse forward and thrusting forward, his longsword gleaming with magical power.

"Aha!"

Suddenly, he leaped off his horse and slashed down with his sword.

A fierce strike from the Silver Knight.

"Fuck!"

"Den!"

Rhodes the Silver Dog's pupils widened, and something even more unbelievable happened.

Just inches from his opponent, his sword was caught between the man's two fingers, and the magic power gathered on the sword dissipated with a "ding".

What's going on? Wasn't this guy supposed to be immune to magic?

“The original plan was for you to be sent to the slave quarters. But things have changed, which is quite interesting, so I’ll just go with the flow,” Kluff said with a half-smile.

Rhodes the Silver Dog was confused. What? What was the other person saying?

"Crack!"

The fine sword, held between two fingers, snapped in two with a "crack".

Before Rhodes could flee in panic, the broken arrow pierced his neck, his eyes filled with fear and astonishment, and he collapsed to the ground.

The disheveled yet composed man left without a trace of emotion, casually crushing the magic-suppressing ring in his hand and tossing it aside.