Published at 5th of August 2026 7:42 am

Chapter 965: The Race

This chapter is updated by JustRead.pl

The moment the lights turned green, Asher’s hand immediately moved, shifting the gear into drive with flawless ease while his right foot, which was already resting on the throttle, pressed down without the slightest hesitation. With a booming roar, his car and the nine others shot forward like bullets fired from a gun.

Each of them sliced through the air at astonishing speed as they accelerated. For the sake of fairness, every car possessed the exact same specifications, model, and components, ensuring that the racing track couldn’t be accused of favoring any participant over another.

Asher was currently in fourth place, while Arianna, Henry, and Lewton occupied first, second, and third place respectively.

As they sped forward, the AI installed inside each vehicle issued a warning in its mechanical voice.

"First obstacle course; Blessing of Arrows."

At that very moment, thousands of blazing arrows and ordinary arrows were launched from ahead by an unknown force and unseen individuals. The sky darkened beneath the volley as the projectiles rained down with terrifying momentum.

Seeing this, Asher merely smiled. His hand darted toward the gear lever once again as he smoothly shifted gears before flooring the throttle even further, causing the car to surge ahead with even greater speed.

"Deploy car barrier?" the AI asked.

"Negative," Asher replied.

Each car barrier possessed a fixed amount of durability. Once that durability was exhausted, the barrier would disappear entirely.

The front of Asher’s car immediately slammed into the rear of Lewton’s with tremendous force, shoving the man’s vehicle forward. Lewton clicked his tongue before instinctively swerving to one side to create space while simultaneously deploying his own barrier. The next instant, the arrows descended mercilessly upon the racers.

Explosions erupted one after another in utter madness as every driver struggled to keep their vehicle on the road instead of being overturned. Asher continuously swerved, alternating between sudden braking and bursts of acceleration with remarkable precision as he completely focused on tanking only the ordinary arrows while avoiding every explosive one.

The shockwave from a nearby explosion slammed into his car, violently pushing it sideways as the tires screeched across the asphalt. His heart pounded wildly as adrenaline coursed through his veins in pure exhilaration. Time itself seemed to slow within his perception as his foot instantly stomped on the brakes while both hands firmly gripped the steering wheel. The side of his car slammed into the side of Miracle’s vehicle, the impact helping him stabilize and bring the car under control.

However, the side window shattered instantly, sending shards of glass flying toward his face. Fortunately, the racing helmet absorbed the impact and protected him... although, even without it, the shards wouldn’t have been capable of injuring him anyway.

"You fucker! Deploy your damn barrier!" Miracle shouted from inside her own car as the durability of her barrier visibly dropped due to the force of the collision.

But Asher wasn’t listening.

At that moment, he was having the time of his life.

The instant his car fully stabilized, his hand flew toward the manual gear once more, immediately shifting it into reverse. Without wasting even a fraction of a second, he slammed his foot onto the throttle again, causing the car to rocket backward at astonishing speed as though its rear had become the front.

His eyes remained fixed on the rear-view mirror as he raced backward, the speedometer needle climbing higher and higher while explosions continued erupting around him, chunks of asphalt being violently torn from the road by the barrage of arrows.

Without warning, Asher shifted from reverse back into drive before yanking the handbrake. The tires shrieked against the asphalt as thick white smoke rose around them. His car spun with breathtaking precision until it faced forward once again, and the very next moment, it shot ahead like an arrow released from its bow.

He had now climbed into second place. Lewton had lost one of his tires after his barrier gave out, forcing him out of the race entirely, while the remaining participants had slowed down considerably in order to better avoid the explosive arrows.

Fortunately, the first obstacle course had already ended.

What remained now was the second and final obstacle.

Asher’s car continued charging forward as he rapidly closed the gap separating him from Arianna. However, Arianna refused to give him even the slightest opportunity to overtake her. Her driving skills and experience were displayed to their fullest, every turn, acceleration, and correction executed with exceptional precision.

But Asher didn’t particularly care about her driving ability. A wicked smirk appeared across his face as he deployed his own barrier before ruthlessly slamming into the rear of Arianna’s car with tremendous force.

Arianna clicked her tongue in annoyance, but before she could retaliate, the obstacles for the second course finally arrived.

Goblins.

They screeched as they charged after every participant’s car regardless of their current position in the race, their bloodshot eyes filled with madness.

"Second obstacle course; Raging Starved Goblins."

Asher ignored the AI’s announcement as he opened the center console before pulling out the firearm provided for every racer. In fantasy novels, goblins weren’t exactly known for their speed, but these particular goblins instinctively circulated Astra Energy through their legs, allowing them to perfectly match the speed of the racing cars before hurling themselves forward with either their bodies or crude blunt weapons.

Gunfire instantly erupted across the racing track as every driver fought their way through the goblin horde.

However, every vehicle had only been supplied with a limited amount of ammunition and magazines. Every wasted bullet brought a racer one step closer to elimination.

Ratatatatatatatatatatata!!!!

Asher and Arianna immediately entered a state of complete concentration as they fired nothing but headshots with astonishing precision, looking as though they had spent years mastering firearms.

The reality, however, was entirely different. Neither of them had ever fired a gun before. Yet with their absurd talent, perception, and natural learning ability, mastering basic marksmanship was no more difficult than breathing.

The front bumper of Asher’s car slammed into a goblin directly ahead, sending the creature flying through the air before it crashed violently into the rear of Arianna’s vehicle, briefly knocking her off course.

The surrounding goblins immediately seized the opportunity, swarming her car from every direction as they repeatedly battered her barrier with raging attacks until it finally shattered completely. Even then, Arianna never stopped firing. Without removing one hand from the steering wheel, she smoothly replaced her empty magazine before resuming her barrage with frightening efficiency.

Unlike her, Asher still possessed his barrier since he had chosen not to deploy it during the first obstacle course, his gaze shifted toward Arianna’s tires, a wicked smile slowly spread across his face. Without the slightest hesitation, he fired two shots with remarkable precision.

The two bullets struck perfectly, causing both tires to explode outward. The sudden bursts sent goblins behind the vehicle flying backward from the violent shockwave while Arianna fought to regain complete control of the car.

Asher wasted no time, he floored the throttle once again as his vehicle surged into first place.

As he flashed past Arianna, he casually turned his head and gave her a playful wink at the exact moment their cars crossed one another.

A couple of minutes later, leaving behind a trail of blood, destruction, wreckage, and goblin corpses, Asher crossed the finish line in first place.

Arianna was definitely going to need that handkerchief.

_____

AUTHOR’S NOTE: I rushed the race so I won’t be attacked by you all, lol.

Also, how was the discussion between Arianna and Asher?

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