Chapter 149: Act 82 – The Story of Turbulence and Fish (4)
“Xi.”
A clear voice called out from the forest, accompanied by hurried, chaotic footsteps, as if a group was rapidly approaching from behind. The girl with light red long hair pressed her hand against the tips of her hair at the back of her head and turned around. Her thick eyelashes fluttered, and her nearly translucent eyes, reminiscent of wine, reflected the distant flames of a fire. With a crackle, sparks danced, and her ambiguous gaze flickered.
She appeared somewhat puzzled.
“From the sound, it seems to be Saliya and the others. Didn’t they go to find Yula and Leidi? Why have they come back? Did they find them, or did they encounter some trouble?”
The girl named Xi alertly raised her halberd— or what could be referred to as a war spear. If Brendel were here, he would definitely recognize this spear, for apart from the nearly one-foot-long, pitch-black spearhead, the spindle-shaped axe blade was one of the most distinctive features of the weapon— its sharp edge opened up along a light golden rim on both sides, appearing exceptionally beautiful.
Yet beautiful things are often dangerous.
The weapon called “Spear of Thunder—Logos” was once one of the most famous drops in the Shubli region, a must-have for spear mercenaries. Although it was only about a level 25 war spear, its price had always remained high on several well-known trading sites; the reason was simple. This spear had a 1% chance to grant the holder an “Electric Word” surrounding effect when attacking.
This effect originated from the eponymous spell of elementalist and could attach 10% lightning damage to the attacker, almost equivalent to a ten percent increase in attribute damage. Thus, a tactic widely circulated among spear mercenaries involved first using the Spear of Thunder to activate the effect and then quickly switching to their main weapon with the mercenary class’s unique skill “Instant Readiness,” complemented by wind-element sensing potions and attribute enhancement crystals as consumables to maximize damage output.
This was known as the attribute damage stream.
However, the “Spear of Thunder—Logos” was said to be possessed by a ghost knight engulfed in fiery red soul flame from the northern forest of Shubli, so how it ended up in the hands of this girl was indeed a mystery. If Brendel were to witness it at this moment, he would likely be astonished:
The first “Spear of Thunder—Logos” appeared in the Year of the Swift Swallows (377), before the Year of Blossoms and Summer Leaves (375), when the forests north of Shubli were still occupied by lizardman bandits, weren’t they?
Xi lifted her head and saw a few people rushing out from the forest in a hurry.
She frowned.
For the girl, the Gray Wolf Mercenary Corps held a different meaning. She was an orphan adopted by Kabute, and this collective felt more like a huge family to her. Each time she fought was not for money, but to protect her family.
However, outside of combat, she felt uncertain about what else to do.
Just fighting—
But for eleven years, the Gray Wolf Mercenary Corps had repeatedly achieved victory, each member’s confidence growing day by day, gradually forming a sense of honor. Yet this pride suffered a heavy blow tonight—Xi couldn’t understand where these enemies came from, but without a doubt, they were extremely tricky opponents with a terrifying fighting will.
She felt a bad premonition in her heart, as tension and fatigue made her small heart pound heavily in her chest.
“What’s wrong?”
“Xi, Yula found them.”
The girl let out a near-sigh of “heh,” and her eyes flickered. She lowered her halberd, shook her long hair, and then pressed down the ends of her hair, asking, “So what? What did the commander say? Do we advance or retreat?”
A ripple of stifled laughter erupted from the crowd. It was a well-known fact in the corps that this red-haired girl had feelings for Aike, yet the main parties involved remained blissfully unaware. Sadly, this secret admiration had to be kept hidden—Yula was Aike’s fiancée, so her relationship with that woman wasn’t necessarily good.
“But Yula is a Star Seer, and she’s smart; the commander must value her even more.”
Xi pretended to be indifferent with a slight grunt, then raised her head to glare at them.
“Watch your mouths.”
But the laughter only grew louder, mingled with good-natured teasing. “Xi, the commander has decided to advance northeast. You, Leidi, and Loluole are each to lead a team to clear the way. Can we join you?”
Xi suddenly smiled: “Why would you want to join me? You must have ulterior motives, right?”
“How could that be?” The ones caught red-handed hurriedly waved their hands.
She stared up at one of the young men, who quickly looked down. “Idiot,” Xi huffed inwardly.
“Suit yourselves,” she replied, turning around.
The young men stared at the girl’s retreating figure for a moment, not understanding that the girl was worried about the strength of the ‘Card’ Mercenary Corps, fearing it exceeded their expectations. Yet why did Commander Makarolo not temporarily order a retreat but rather insist on executing the original plan? Was it confidence or some other reason?
Xi pressed her hand against her chest, feeling her heart racing. But since the commander had given the order, she also had no room for disobedience. As for the rest, it all depended on the spear in her hand. She tightened her grip on the Spear of Thunder, a gift Aike had bought from a merchant for her on her fifteenth birthday. She had long resolved to fight alongside this halberd until the last moment, even if it meant losing her life.
Sometimes Xi even felt this was the very meaning of her existence.
However, after walking for a while, she thought of something. She turned her head and asked, “I remember that merchant was camped around here, right? Why don’t we see him?”
“Probably… got separated…”
As they followed behind, a few young men hesitated to respond. After all, they were not Makarolo’s confidants; in fact, not everyone in the Gray Wolf Mercenary Corps knew Brendel’s identity. Most still believed they were merely forming a temporary alliance, outwardly, at least.
The girl frowned. “Then let’s look for him in this direction.”
“Is that… okay?”
“Why wouldn’t it be? The Gray Wolf Mercenary Corps can’t be accused of being faithless.” Xi answered.
The group behind her chuckled again, clearly soft-hearted yet eager to find a dignified excuse. They were willing to accompany her mainly to witness this young lady’s contrasting attitudes, though they approached it all from a good-natured perspective.
But just as the girl finished speaking, another strange laugh echoed through the forest. The laughter was cackling, akin to the squeaks emitted by scarecrows that these mercenaries had seen in the eastern plains of Rendener’s noble estates—hollow and dull, yet filled with a sense of dread.
Xi’s face changed suddenly, and she looked up.
She quickly spotted a figure in a black robe with red trim standing atop a treetop, laughing—next to him, a gigantic blue beast coiled around another black pine. The monster had a goat’s head, with a pair of meaty wings drooping down, showcasing thorny black metal chains wrapped around its wings.
“When did they arrive?”
The girl was startled, frowning immediately. Though she didn’t recognize what it was, she understood it was definitely a formidable opponent.
“Little girl,” the robed cultist laughed, speaking in a high-pitched tone, “you said someone got separated from here?”
“It’s none of your business.” Xi raised her halberd, grinding her teeth as she replied.
During this attack, the Gray Wolf Mercenary Corps had lost a squad of sentinels, one of whom was a sister she was very close to. While mercenaries had long grown accustomed to life and death, it didn’t mean she could be at peace with the enemy responsible for all this. Life and death were the mercenaries’ choices, but the enemy was still the enemy; they could not share the same sky.
“It doesn’t matter, I have a colleague who seems to have perished at their hands, so I’ll take my anger out on you first.” The black fire cultist cackled, “Abakiss!”
With a clang, a pitch-black iron chain shot towards the girl from mid-air.
Xi grunted as she struck the iron chain with her spear, sending it flying. However, the force that responded to her caused her to subtly startle; just that one strike had already made her entire right arm tingle. Yet her performance evidently exceeded the high-ranking black fire cultist’s expectations: “Silver strength! Makarolo’s subordinates truly are hidden talent; even a little girl possesses such strength, which is quite unexpected!”
“There are many things you won’t expect—Logos, Electric Arrow!”
Xi gritted her teeth and responded, thrusting a spear towards him—an electric flash immediately appeared, creating a long arc of electricity along the blade’s edge. With a crack, the arc leaped several dozen meters toward the high-ranking black fire cultist.
But the arc barely struck in front of the black-robed man before it was blocked by an invisible shield, sparks flying. The bark of the pine tree beside the cultist instantly charred, yet he stood completely still, not even the hem of his robe was disturbed.
“Tier 2 magical weapon, quite rare,” the black-robed man exclaimed after a moment.
By now, Xi’s heart had completely cooled down. She took a breath, feeling cold in her hands and feet. Yet after a brief moment of fear, anger surged from her heart as she turned around to see her companions drawing their weapons, preparing to join the fight. Unable to hold back her anger, she shouted, “Run, what are you all doing?!”
“Xi…”
“Captain, you?” Several young men were instantly stunned.
“Run fast, I’m not his match; get the commander to come rescue me!”
“Quite the plan,” the high-ranking black fire cultist snorted, raising his hand, and the monster opposite him immediately shot out another chain.
This time, the target was those young men—
“Damn!”
Xi gritted her teeth, tossing her spear at the chain with a bang, sending it and the Spear of Thunder flying in opposite directions. But the red-haired girl immediately raised her hand, a bolt of lightning flashing between her and the spear. The next moment, the halberd instantly flew back into her hands—as if there were a mutual sensing between them.
“Elemental Resonance!” the black fire cultist screeched.
……(To be continued. To find out what happens next, please log in for more chapters and support the author by reading the official version!)
