Elman pulled out his sword; a metallic scraping sound against the scabbard was released, with the blade glinting slightly in the darkness .
“Who’s there?” He furrowed his brows and asked with a wary expression .
“Hehehe . ”
A light giggle came in response . The laughter was not far away, and Elman saw the air in front of an ancient tree shimmer before a woman walked out with sauntering footsteps .
She had a pair of long pointed ears and her long purple hair flowed sleekly behind them like a waterfall . Her upper body swayed lightly while she walked, and her fingers combed through the top of her hair . The long eyelashes cast a darker shadow over her light purple irises, and combined with a beautiful almond-shape face with purple lips, made one feel that she was captivating .
However, it was the features of her lower body that captured the group’s eyes . Vines and thorny brambles completely formed her ‘legs’, and they extended to cover her ample chest with the stray vines reaching to her neck and cheeks .
[What is with this appearance? A naked woman covered in vines? Someone crazy? Or perhaps some kind of legendary creature in bardic tales like a Dryad?]
Elman continued to point his sword at her . The woman smiled faintly, pointed at the sword and said: “Young man, what do you hope to accomplish with that thing? Hurt me? Protect yourself?”
Rono’s reaction was slower than Elman as he was distracted by the woman’s appearance . He blushed before regaining his senses, and raised his pointed eyebrows and demanded: “Who are you? We’re Aouine’s ambassadors and not to be trifled with—”
The woman giggled: “How cunning . ”
She slowly walked forward to them like she did not see the sword in Elman’s hands, the vines and brambles squirming as she did so . They were like a pair of gigantic worms and made the group’s hair stand on end .
“Rono . Disciple of Grandmaster Heumann, the young Alchemist prodigy of Kirrlutz . But you also possess the nickname of Wolverine . You severely injured eleven and killed two in Kirrlutz’s Royal Academy of Magic . What lies beneath your shy exterior is a savage heart . ”
She turned to Faena and Elman with smiling eyes .
“As for this girl . Faena, The little princess of the Duke of Flowers, Lord Menedicia, and the only successor to the dukedom . Finally, viscount Elman, a noble-born out of a lowborn mother . You are just as brilliant as your siblings, but who can see the depths of your ambition?”
Elman’s lips jerked when he heard the words lowborn .
“As for this little girl behind you . Indeed, she’s indeed someone from Aouine, but her background appears to be insignificant since I
did not get a report on her . I am a little intrigued by that interesting lord of hers though . ”
“If you’re interested then go ahead and look for him . ” Faena glared at the half-naked woman . Her greatest taboo was when a stranger divulged her identity as the successor of a duke: “You shameless woman!”
She turned around to the black-haired youth: “Rono, what are you looking at!”
The youth’s face turned red and looked back at her like he was wronged: “I don’t think this is the time to say something like that, Faena . ”
“Hmph,” Faena gritted her teeth with a huff, “all of you men are bad!”
Dia was the only one who did not speak and was secretly prepared for a fight . She had the least experience amongst the Mercenaries of Lopes, but she was at least ready with the basics .
“What exactly are your intentions, my lady?” Elman watched the woman get closer to them and started becoming anxious . He placed his sword in an aggressive stance and threatened to cut her .
But he could not imagine that his words caused the woman to giggle instead . She walked up to him and flicked against his sword with her finger:
“You humans call this thing a sword . It’s a weapon that can protect you or hurt someone… . . Because you believe that the human body is fragile, and metal is something that is sturdy . Tools are the specialty of civilizations . Unfortunately, this thing in your hands is no different from your bodies and it is just as frail . Everything decays and withers, and the only thing will persist is Chaos . ”
Her purple eyes locked onto Elman, and as she spoke, the sword in Elman’s hand actually spawned a purple rose . The rose’s petals fell off individually against the wind and withered, while the sword’s blade rusted and crumbled into dust as though it had aged for thousands of years .
“A member of the evil cults!”
Everyone was shocked to discover her identity, but it could not compare to the moment when they witnessed Elman’s sword crumbling into dust .
The Element Power that caused decay .
They could only think of one person who was a member of the evil cults and possessed the Withering Element Power in the entire continent .
“W-w-wi…… . ” Faena’s face was as white as a sheet . She stared at the woman and pointed with her finger, stuttering because she was terrified .
Elman retreated a few steps and immediately drew out his spare shortsword . He knew that there was no meaning to continue talking the moment he knew her true identity .
The only thing that mattered was to act first .
The reactions from Rono were just
just as fast as him this time, even before the woman’s words ended, he had thrown more than a dozen bombs at her . But she raised her right hand at the same time he acted, and a net of vines burst out from the ground with loud rustles . When the bombs came into contact with them, they exploded violently and nearly injured the youth instead .
Rono covered his face and rolled backward . His hand stretched out and the metallic orbs that he carried with him floated onto the air, rotating around him before they started drawing a Magic Formation .
[What… . . ?]
But a few seconds later he dropped his jaw . The artifacts’ metallic surface started to rust, while the Magicite in them became dull and void of light . They plopped down onto the ground and rolled towards a dirty puddle of water, and he could not feel any connection to them any longer .
Elman rushed forward with his sword raised . But his target was not the terrifying woman but Faena . The girl looked on in confusion, but her subconscious mind instinctively got her hand to pull out her sword . Mana surged into the rapier, causing white light to flare out to form a shield .
Unfortunately, such shoddy arcane magic was no match for Elman’s full assault . His brute force disarmed Faena’s sword, and he grabbed her by the throat, turning her around and placing his sword on her neck .
The entire process was such a surprise that everyone froze .
Dia was the first to recover and immediately activated her prepared magic . Ice shot out from her hands and flew towards Elman in the shape of a dragon . Frost followed its path with an eruption of harsh cracking sounds, but Elman used Faena as a shield who immediately shrieked . Dia was just as startled and she hurriedly canceled her magic . The ice cracked and scattered into countless pretty shards .
Elman stared at the strange woman and inhaled deeply . His tone was calm: “I believe your target is her? But I’m sure that a dead successor to the dukedom has no value to you, right?”
Faena took a few moments to understand the sudden turn of events before she gasped . She trembled, not knowing if it was due to her companion’s betrayal, or the fact that she was in a situation full of despair .
[No, Elman must be doing this on purpose . He’s trying to save everyone with this method . ]
She convinced herself and felt a little better, but when she recalled Elman’s icy gaze that was like a dead fish, she could not help but quiver . Rono gritted his teeth and kept his silence, who also thought
also thought the same as Faena .
“Stop struggling,” Elman said coldly to the shaking girl in his hands .
“Are you crazy, viscount Elman?!” Faena screamed, as she finally realized that Elman was only interested in himself .
“Shut up . If you want to live, stop talking!”
“You……” She was still indignant, but his blade sank into her skin slightly, causing a small ripple of pain, and she forced back her words .
[T-that damn country bumpkin, Commander Veronica, or someone, save me… . . !]
She was crying inside her heart, but she thought of that horrible youth first .
The woman who watched the chain of events glanced at Dia and said: “Hmm? A Water Elementalist . But how does a Water Elementalist possess such a potent telepathic power?”
Dia’s expression changed: “It’s you, you’re the one who disrupted brother Brendel’s communication with me!”
“Oh? Is he called Brendel? I watched that interesting boy lead those young men quite well against the wolves . Thank you very much, little girl!”
Dia was furious . She stretched out her hand and Ice Arrows were fired at the woman . But they were turned back into water after a short distance, and the woman smiled faintly: “The Laws of Magic last only but for a moment . Indeed, the original form of Mana looks best . ”
She raised her hand . Countless vines answered in response and reached for Dia . The young Wild Elf tried to resist by casting several spells at them, but she was bound tightly in the end .
“You haven’t answered me,” Elman watched Dia get bound up with emotionless eyes and said .
“Your question?” The woman turned around and sneered: “You think your little tricks can fool me?”
“You really think I don’t dare to kill her?”
“Try it . ”
Elman forced his sword deeper into Faena’s pale neck, and a visible wound appeared . He stared at the woman: “What about now?”
“Are you crazy?” Rono roared, but he stood where he was, afraid that he would trigger that madman into doing something truly insane .
The woman narrowed her eyes . She thought Elman was pretending to take her hostage, but it seemed like he really was a mass of cruelty .
“Interesting . You want to live?” She said .
Elman nodded .
“Very well, I’ll give you a chance . Kill that boy, and then follow me . ” She ordered lightly as she gazed pleasantly at Rono .
Rono stared back in surprise, but he cried out in pain a second later . He looked at the crossbow bolt sticking out from his chest in disbelief before he looked up at Elman .
The projectile had poison on it, which was even mixed with his own hands . The goal was to deal with the monsters in the Dark Forest, the Dark Forest, but he could not have imagined that he would be the first experiment . He did not think that Elman would be so decisive and looked at him with incomprehension .
His body fell backward .
“Rono! Have you gone mad? What have you done, Elman!” Faena could not believe her eyes . Tears gathered in her eyes as memories of the shy boy came flooding in her mind .
But Elman did not look at her and continued to hold his sword against her neck . He threw away the crossbow in his left hand and looked at the woman .
The latter looked at this scene with interest and clapped her hands: “You’re just like I expected . Clean and decisive . You do have the potential to join us . ”
She tilted her head with a smile: “Do you want to?”
Elman did not doubt that a refusal would end up in his death . He hesitated for a moment before he nodded . When he did so, his nerves that were fraught with anxiety was flushed with relief . As a rising talent amongst the high nobles in the Kirrlutz Empire, he believed that he still had value in her eyes .
[She won’t harm a new initiate . ]
But this thought was ended in an instant . The vine that was slithering behind him moved in a blur and pierced through his neck and emerged out from his throat .
The blood that spurt out drenched Faena’s neck .
She felt the man he had known for years fell heavily onto the ground with a thud . Her thoughts were blank and she fell down on both her knees, unable to utter a single word .
The woman stretched out a hand . Vines emerged in front of her, carrying a coiled thorny whip . She took and swung it at where she was standing . A violent shockwave streaked past Faena and cleaved Elman’s body into two, causing the air to rain with blood as the two parts flew away .
She swung the whip again, coiling it around Elman’s short sword and hurled it at Dia . The blade penetrated her heart, and she struggled for a while before her head drooped down .
“How foolish . Does he think that I am similar to the weak fools in the Unifying Guild who are obsessed with authority?” She smiled with satisfaction .
“Power is nothing more than an illusion . One day, the throne will turn into dust . ” She glanced at Faena, her lips raising upwards: “As for you, little girl, you are indeed of a little use to me . Come, I’ll bring you to make a transaction— I really do love how the humans put it, a transaction . ”
Elman pulled out his sword a metallic scraping sound against the scabbard was released, with the blade glinting slightly in the darkness . Who s there He furrowed his brows and asked with a wary expression . Hehehe . A light giggle came in response . The laughter was not far away, and Elman saw the air in front of an ancient tree shimmer before a woman walked out with sauntering footsteps . She had a pair of long pointed ears and her long purple hair flowed sleekly behind them like a waterfall . Her upper body swayed lightly while she walked, and her fingers combed through the top of her hair . The long eyelashes cast a darker shadow over her light purple irises, and combined with a beautiful almond shape face with purple lips, made one feel that she was captivating . However, it was the features of her lower body that captured the group s eyes . Vines and thorny brambles completely formed her legs , and they extended to cover her ample chest with the stray vines reaching to her neck and cheeks . What is with this appearance A naked woman covered in vines Someone crazy Or perhaps some kind of legendary creature in bardic tales like a Dryad Elman continued to point his sword at her . The woman smiled faintly, pointed at the sword and said Young man, what do you hope to accomplish with that thing Hurt me Protect yourself Rono s reaction was slower than Elman as he was distracted by the woman s appearance . He blushed before regaining his senses, and raised his pointed eyebrows and demanded Who are you We re Aouine s ambassadors and not to be trifled with The woman giggled How cunning . She slowly walked forward to them like she did not see the sword in Elman s hands, the vines and brambles squirming as she did so . They were like a pair of gigantic worms and made the group s hair stand on end . Rono . Disciple of Grandmaster Heumann, the young Alchemist prodigy of Kirrlutz . But you also possess the nickname of Wolverine . You severely injured eleven and killed two in Kirrlutz s Royal Academy of Magic . What lies beneath your shy exterior is a savage heart . She turned to Faena and Elman with smiling eyes . As for this girl . Faena, The little princess of the Duke of Flowers, Lord Menedicia, and the only successor to the dukedom . Finally, viscount Elman, a noble born out of a lowborn mother . You are just as brilliant as your siblings, but who can see the depths of your ambition Elman s lips jerked when he heard the words lowborn . As for this little girl behind you . Indeed, she s indeed someone from Aouine, but her background appears to be insignificant since I did not get a report on her . I am a little intrigued by that interesting lord of hers though . If you re interested then go ahead and look for him . Faena glared at the half naked woman . Her greatest taboo was when a stranger divulged her identity as the successor of a duke You shameless woman She turned around to the black haired youth Rono, what are you looking at The youth s face turned red and looked back at her like he was wronged I don t think this is the time to say something like that, Faena . Hmph, Faena gritted her teeth with a huff, all of you men are bad Dia was the only one who did not speak and was secretly prepared for a fight . She had the least experience amongst the Mercenaries of Lopes, but she was at least ready with the basics . What exactly are your intentions, my lady Elman watched the woman get closer to them and started becoming anxious . He placed his sword in an aggressive stance and threatened to cut her . But he could not imagine that his words caused the woman to giggle instead . She walked up to him and flicked against his sword with her finger You humans call this thing a sword . It s a weapon that can protect you or hurt someone . . Because you believe that the human body is fragile, and metal is something that is sturdy . Tools are the specialty of civilizations . Unfortunately, this thing in your hands is no different from your bodies and it is just as frail . Everything decays and withers, and the only thing will persist is Chaos . Her purple eyes locked onto Elman, and as she spoke, the sword in Elman s hand actually spawned a purple rose . The rose s petals fell off individually against the wind and withered, while the sword s blade rusted and crumbled into dust as though it had aged for thousands of years . A member of the evil cults Everyone was shocked to discover her identity, but it could not compare to the moment when they witnessed Elman s sword crumbling into dust . The Element Power that caused decay . They could only think of one person who was a member of the evil cults and possessed the Withering Element Power in the entire continent . W w wi . Faena s face was as white as a sheet . She stared at the woman and pointed with her finger, stuttering because she was terrified . Elman retreated a few steps and immediately drew out his spare shortsword . He knew that there was no meaning to continue talking the moment he knew her true identity . The only thing that mattered was to act first . The reactions from Rono were just as fast as him this time, even before the woman s words ended, he had thrown more than a dozen bombs at her . But she raised her right hand at the same time he acted, and a net of vines burst out from the ground with loud rustles . When the bombs came into contact with them, they exploded violently and nearly injured the youth instead . Rono covered his face and rolled backward . His hand stretched out and the metallic orbs that he carried with him floated onto the air, rotating around him before they started drawing a Magic Formation . What . . But a few seconds later he dropped his jaw . The artifacts metallic surface started to rust, while the Magicite in them became dull and void of light . They plopped down onto the ground and rolled towards a dirty puddle of water, and he could not feel any connection to them any longer . Elman rushed forward with his sword raised . But his target was not the terrifying woman but Faena . The girl looked on in confusion, but her subconscious mind instinctively got her hand to pull out her sword . Mana surged into the rapier, causing white light to flare out to form a shield . Unfortunately, such shoddy arcane magic was no match for Elman s full assault . His brute force disarmed Faena s sword, and he grabbed her by the throat, turning her around and placing his sword on her neck . The entire process was such a surprise that everyone froze . Dia was the first to recover and immediately activated her prepared magic . Ice shot out from her hands and flew towards Elman in the shape of a dragon . Frost followed its path with an eruption of harsh cracking sounds, but Elman used Faena as a shield who immediately shrieked . Dia was just as startled and she hurriedly canceled her magic . The ice cracked and scattered into countless pretty shards . Elman stared at the strange woman and inhaled deeply . His tone was calm I believe your target is her But I m sure that a dead successor to the dukedom has no value to you, right Faena took a few moments to understand the sudden turn of events before she gasped . She trembled, not knowing if it was due to her companion s betrayal, or the fact that she was in a situation full of despair . No, Elman must be doing this on purpose . He s trying to save everyone with this method . She convinced herself and felt a little better, but when she recalled Elman s icy gaze that was like a dead fish, she could not help but quiver . Rono gritted his teeth and kept his silence, who also thought the same as Faena . Stop struggling, Elman said coldly to the shaking girl in his hands . Are you crazy, viscount Elman Faena screamed, as she finally realized that Elman was only interested in himself . Shut up . If you want to live, stop talking You She was still indignant, but his blade sank into her skin slightly, causing a small ripple of pain, and she forced back her words . T that damn country bumpkin, Commander Veronica, or someone, save me . . She was crying inside her heart, but she thought of that horrible youth first . The woman who watched the chain of events glanced at Dia and said Hmm A Water Elementalist . But how does a Water Elementalist possess such a potent telepathic power Dia s expression changed It s you, you re the one who disrupted brother Brendel s communication with me Oh Is he called Brendel I watched that interesting boy lead those young men quite well against the wolves . Thank you very much, little girl Dia was furious . She stretched out her hand and Ice Arrows were fired at the woman . But they were turned back into water after a short distance, and the woman smiled faintly The Laws of Magic last only but for a moment . Indeed, the original form of Mana looks best . She raised her hand . Countless vines answered in response and reached for Dia . The young Wild Elf tried to resist by casting several spells at them, but she was bound tightly in the end . You haven t answered me, Elman watched Dia get bound up with emotionless eyes and said . Your question The woman turned around and sneered You think your little tricks can fool me You really think I don t dare to kill her Try it . Elman forced his sword deeper into Faena s pale neck, and a visible wound appeared . He stared at the woman What about now Are you crazy Rono roared, but he stood where he was, afraid that he would trigger that madman into doing something truly insane . The woman narrowed her eyes . She thought Elman was pretending to take her hostage, but it seemed like he really was a mass of cruelty . Interesting . You want to live She said . Elman nodded . Very well, I ll give you a chance . Kill that boy, and then follow me . She ordered lightly as she gazed pleasantly at Rono . Rono stared back in surprise, but he cried out in pain a second later . He looked at the crossbow bolt sticking out from his chest in disbelief before he looked up at Elman . The projectile had poison on it, which was even mixed with his own hands . The goal was to deal with the monsters in the Dark Forest, but he could not have imagined that he would be the first experiment . He did not think that Elman would be so decisive and looked at him with incomprehension . His body fell backward . Rono Have you gone mad What have you done, Elman Faena could not believe her eyes . Tears gathered in her eyes as memories of the shy boy came flooding in her mind . But Elman did not look at her and continued to hold his sword against her neck . He threw away the crossbow in his left hand and looked at the woman . The latter looked at this scene with interest and clapped her hands You re just like I expected . Clean and decisive . You do have the potential to join us . She tilted her head with a smile Do you want to Elman did not doubt that a refusal would end up in his death . He hesitated for a moment before he nodded . When he did so, his nerves that were fraught with anxiety was flushed with relief . As a rising talent amongst the high nobles in the Kirrlutz Empire, he believed that he still had value in her eyes . She won t harm a new initiate . But this thought was ended in an instant . The vine that was slithering behind him moved in a blur and pierced through his neck and emerged out from his throat . The blood that spurt out drenched Faena s neck . She felt the man he had known for years fell heavily onto the ground with a thud . Her thoughts were blank and she fell down on both her knees, unable to utter a single word . The woman stretched out a hand . Vines emerged in front of her, carrying a coiled thorny whip . She took and swung it at where she was standing . A violent shockwave streaked past Faena and cleaved Elman s body into two, causing the air to rain with blood as the two parts flew away . She swung the whip again, coiling it around Elman s short sword and hurled it at Dia . The blade penetrated her heart, and she struggled for a while before her head drooped down . How foolish . Does he think that I am similar to the weak fools in the Unifying Guild who are obsessed with authority She smiled with satisfaction . Power is nothing more than an illusion . One day, the throne will turn into dust . She glanced at Faena, her lips raising upwards As for you, little girl, you are indeed of a little use to me . Come, I ll bring you to make a transaction I really do love how the humans put it, a transaction .Chapter end
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