“The match is decided. Everyone from Lin City, we can now discuss the matter of our move into the city,” Mord said with a laugh as he stood up.
Unlike the celebratory atmosphere surrounding the Black Fang Legion, Lockes and the others were plunged into a deathly silence.
“No… You can’t!”
Aurora stood up abruptly.
Having just had the toxins removed, her body had not yet fully recovered.
Her steps were unsteady and she was devoid of strength, forcing Qiaolin to support her by her side.
“You can’t? Surely Lady Aurora, as the master of a city, doesn’t intend to break her word?”
Mord feigned an expression of anger and continued, “I don’t believe the Demon Race would protect a faction that fails to keep its promises, and we Balthar people will not let anyone who violates the ‘Three Flag Challenge’ off the hook!”
Aurora clenched her hands tightly.
Even though her teeth drew blood from her lip, the indignation in her heart had no outlet.
Why were these people so shameless?
They used every possible means to steal her home.
‘Why is this happening?’
No one answered her.
No one cared about the thoughts of a group of losers.
“Rest assured, Lady Aurora. Once we have completed our mission, the legion will naturally depart. During this time, we will not harm a single resident of Lin City. You can continue living your normal lives just as before. We might even help with the city’s construction.”
“Don’t make me laugh. You’re nothing but a bunch of bandits —”
“You were the ones who proposed using these rules! A loser should have a loser’s grace!”
Aurora’s use of the word “bandits” clearly struck a nerve with Mord.
In their early years, the Balthars were active as tribes on the northern grasslands.
To obtain more resources, they chose to head south and plunder other city-states.
Over time, people labeled them “Barbarians,” or to put it bluntly, bandits.
The strong prey on the weak; the powerful plunder the feeble by any means necessary.
It was all for survival.
“Was there anything wrong with that?”
Even seizing Lin City was for the sake of the Balthar Empire’s 100-year foundation and to end the history of their confrontation with the Kingdom of Nolan in the Celtic Forest!
“In a sense, this too was peace!”
“Even if it caused a small amount of sacrifice, so what? “
When the Hero blasted open the gates of the Demon King’s Castle and slew the Demon King, didn’t that also result in countless casualties?
Regardless, whether by force or by the rules, Mord believed he had bested his opponent.
Even if the Demon Race wanted to settle accounts, they wouldn’t find an opening.
Unless they wanted to go to war with the entire Balthar Empire, the Demon Race would have to face the Holy Hero Church, and behind the Church stood God.
“I… *sob*…”
The young woman let out a choked sob.
Aurora tried her best to hold back her tears, but they still flowed uncontrollably from her eyes.
Looking at her crying, Qiaolin felt a strange wave of melancholy.
It was as if he could feel Aurora’s sorrow.
Qiaolin finally spoke.
“The outcome isn’t decided yet.”
The man’s voice wasn’t loud, yet it reached the ears of everyone present.
“Do you even know what you’re saying?”
Fenris stared at Qiaolin with eyes like a hawk.
“Everyone saw that I finished healing the patient before you. What excuse could you possibly have?”
“Healed? Just because you say he’s healed doesn’t mean it’s true.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“Exactly 15 minutes passed from the start of the match to the moment you declared it over. Even if you knew the structure of the toxins beforehand, constructing three different Detoxification Spells simultaneously with your 4-Crown strength… even if you were a 5-Crown, it would have taken at least 20 minutes.”
Qiaolin crossed his arms, his tone leaving no room for doubt.
“That’s absolute nonsense! I changed my treatment method long ago. By constructing the spells while simultaneously treating him, the speed becomes much faster!”
“And so…”
Qiaolin raised his hand and pointed at the white-bearded counselor.
“The toxins inside his body have likely mutated, haven’t they?”
As soon as he finished speaking, threads of magic power released from his fingertips surged into the counselor’s body.
Since the counselor’s own magic power was weak, there was no need to worry about a rejection reaction.
Thus, Qiaolin’s magic power could unhesitatingly concentrate all the toxins and pull them out like a fish on a hook.
A black pustule quickly formed on the back of the counselor’s hand.
As it burst, a sphere of black blood emitting a foul stench floated between Qiaolin’s palms.
“This… This is impossible!”
Fine beads of sweat broke out on Fenris’s forehead.
Her eyes darted around, not daring to look at the bead of toxic blood.
“The toxins in the counselor’s body were never fully cleared. While it’s difficult for an outsider to see the minute toxins moving under the skin, it isn’t hard for us Healing Mages.”
Qiaolin spoke loudly to the crowd before lowering his voice to whisper in Aurora’s ear, “Never give up. Don’t let your emotions cloud your judgment.”
“Mr. Qiaolin, you actually… Does this mean —”
“It means we won.”
With Qiaolin’s casual declaration of victory, Aurora finally felt completely relieved.
Her body collapsed like a puppet with its strings cut, but Qiaolin wasn’t in a hurry to catch her, as someone else had already rushed over.
Lockes caught the girl from behind.
Seeing the young man’s concerned expression, Aurora gave a weary smile.
“We didn’t lose. Lin City is still ours.”
“Dammit!”
Mord’s side was exploding with rage.
He never imagined that Fenris, that old hag, would actually resort to trickery! Losing was one thing, but the key issue was that she had made him lose face in front of so many people!
“Fenris, when we get back, you can get lost and go farm in the countryside! You’ve been a Healing Mage for so long, and yet you can’t even compare to a brat the age of your grandson! The kingdom has wasted years feeding you!”
Mord didn’t care about his image anymore.
Since his reputation was already ruined, he felt he had to curse Fenris to feel any sense of relief.
“General, I’m sorry… I…”
Fenris wanted to say more, but Mord simply roared at her.
“Get out!”
The old woman had no choice but to leave dejectedly.
Mord snapped the white flag he had previously obtained right in front of Qiaolin’s group and slammed it into the ground.
“I misjudged this round. I fell right into your trap!”
“Don’t say that, General. I only barely managed to win. It was pure luck,” Qiaolin teased with a smile.
Mord had never expected this young man to be a Healing Mage as well.
To be able to surpass a veteran at such a young age was incredible.
It was said that the people of Lin City were a bunch of exiled criminals and refugees, but what kind of blind faction would drive away a mage with such high talent?
Now, only the final round of the “Three Flag Challenge” remained.
This time, Mord really intended to use his true strength.
Coincidentally, Lockes was thinking the same thing.
The vampire youth pointed his index finger at Mord and then made a provocative gesture.
Watching the previous two rounds had made Lockes restless, especially seeing Aurora poisoned.
He felt he had failed in his duty to protect her.
This time, he could finally release all the resentment and anger built up in his heart.
“Lockes, if you aren’t confident about the final round, I can step up again,” Qiaolin said from the side.
“Please just rest, Mr. Qiaolin. Healing Aurora must have drained a lot of your magic power. I’m going to settle things with this guy myself!”
Seeing Lockes’s eyes filled with fiery impulse and battle intent, Qiaolin felt quite satisfied.
“That’s more like a man. When you see the person you love get hurt, it’s only natural to fight to the end.”
Hearing those words, Lockes nodded instinctively.
It took a few seconds before Aurora was the first to react.
“Eh?! Um… Mr. Qiaolin, that’s a bit… too much…”
Lockes froze for a moment before noticing the red-haired girl’s flushed cheeks.
She toyed with her golden hair, avoiding the gaze directed her way.
“Whoa~”
The people from Lin City cheered and hooted upon hearing the comment.
“Don’t… Don’t misunderstand! I’m just fulfilling my duty! Fine, fine! I’m going in!”
Lockes was just as embarrassed as Aurora.
Meanwhile, Qiaolin enjoyed the drama from the sidelines.
After interacting with Aurora and the others for these past few days, Qiaolin had long since noticed the relationship between the two.
They had been together for 100 years.
Even though they were perfectly in sync when dealing with each other, they had never officially confirmed their relationship.
No wonder Aurora hadn’t even had time to settle down and practice her cultivation over the years; they were simply too busy.
“Some things have to be fought for, whether it’s for you or for him,” Qiaolin said to Aurora.
The girl pursed her lips, lowered her head, and hurried past Qiaolin, leaving behind only a shy, tiny complaint.
“Mr. Qiaolin, you’re mean…”