At the cave, Audrey rode a white horse out from the rubble.
What surprised her was that a figure stood outside the rubble pile. It wasn’t anyone from the Knight Order, but she recognized them.
Fiery red hair, simple cloth clothes, amber pupils.
Audrey never expected to meet Ailya under these circumstances.
“You… how…”
Audrey’s voice wavered with doubt, but Ailya cut her off.
“Where’s Lu Xin?”
Hearing that, Audrey sighed in relief. The person before her was definitely Ailya.
Ailya swept her gaze around Audrey. When she didn’t see Lu Xin, her eyes grew dangerous.
She had run into the Misty Forest shortly after the Knight Order set out, tracking Lu Xin’s scent the whole way.
But just now, she passed a large patch of mushrooms whose spores blocked his scent.
Just as she was at a loss, a knight ran past her, and an explosion occurred in the distance.
Her heart leaped—she’d found him again. But fearing Lu Xin might be in danger, she hurried over.
Yet amid the wreckage, she didn’t see that man’s figure. Her heart rose again.
“Where’s Lu Xin?”
“Listen to me first. Things happened suddenly. I’m not sure where Lu Xin is, but…”
Bam!
Before Audrey could finish, a figure flashed in front of her, accompanied by a terrifyingly powerful punch.
Audrey frowned and took out her shield again to block Ailya’s attack.
But the sheer force still knocked her back several meters. She dug her feet in to stop.
Ailya shook her hand, which was slightly red.
She looked at the shield in surprise and said, “Guardian Galahad?”
Guardian Galahad was the name of that pure white shield.
There were thirteen legendary weapons in total, and Galahad was one of them.
Ailya shook her head regretfully. The Audrey before her held a legendary weapon but couldn’t fully activate its power—she might even suffer backlash.
Audrey was stunned again. Ailya had already surprised her so much—not only was her physical ability terrifying, but she even recognized Galahad.
But the priority now wasn’t to investigate her identity; it was to end this unnecessary fight.
“Ailya, calm down. Lu Xin is definitely fine.”
Audrey raised her shield to guard against Ailya, soothing her while watching her expression. Even her white horse prepared for battle.
Seeing that Ailya didn’t attack again, Audrey quickly explained what had just happened.
“You’re saying Lu Xin left holding that Dark Elf?” Ailya’s expression darkened. How did Lu Xin get involved with another woman?
“Yes, but I’m sure they’re fine. I trust Lu Xin.”
At that, Ailya turned to continue searching for Lu Xin, but Audrey called out:
“Wait, Miss Ailya.”
“What?”
“You… why not come with me to the depths of the Misty Forest?”
“Why?”
“I think Lu Xin and Ruilin will go there too. Then we can all reunite.”
Ailya held her head in frustration, pouting with her red lips. How long had it been, and Audrey was already so familiar with Lu Xin?
Just then, the knights from the forest ran back.
They had originally run toward the forest, but before getting far, they were trapped by mushrooms. Just when they thought they would die, flames suddenly ignited the mushrooms.
In a daze, they saw a flash of red, thought it over, and chased after it—only to end up back here.
Audrey looked at the knights. Including Hai Er and the others, there were nine in total, ten counting herself.
Ailya glanced at the knights and said calmly, “I saved them on the way. But some had already melted.”
“Thank you. As the Knight Captain, I offer you my gratitude.”
Ailya didn’t care much about gratitude. She just wanted to set off quickly and reunite with Lu Xin.
Audrey put away her shield and remounted her horse, ready to lead the group.
Just then, Ailya grabbed the horse’s tail and grinned. “Can I ride your pegasus?”
The white horse turned its head unhappily, but when it met Ailya’s gaze, it fearfully looked away.
Audrey was too exhausted to be surprised anymore by what Ailya recognized. “Go ahead.”
In the dense forest, Lu Xin held a short sword in one hand and a wooden spear in the other.
Through [Air Flow Perception (Basic)], he predicted the Owlbear’s attack. Sidestepping, he thrust the wooden spear toward it.
Thud!
The spear pierced the fur with a sound, but pushing it deeper was difficult.
The Owlbear grabbed the spear and swung, throwing Lu Xin along with it.
The spear had struck its shoulder, enraging it further at the creature before it.
Before Lu Xin could steady himself, the Owlbear charged and swiped its paw with incredible speed. The wind ruffled his hair.
The Owlbear struck five times in a row, each blow enough to shatter a boulder, but Lu Xin dodged them all.
While evading, he kept stabbing the wooden spear at the Owlbear’s belly and throat. Although the thick fur blocked most damage, it left several bloody gashes.
The Owlbear was fully enraged. It flapped its wings hard and flew into the trees.
Under the moonlight, the Owlbear’s figure circled in the forest, its calls sounding near and far, making it impossible to pinpoint its location.
Suddenly, the sound of its flight vanished.
This was its skill, Silent Dive. That was why, earlier, it had swooped toward the branch Lu Xin was on without a sound.
But as luck would have it, both of Lu Xin’s skills were perfectly countered.
After receiving feedback from his skills, Lu Xin turned and raised the wooden spear to block.
The Owlbear’s front paw slammed down onto the spear. With a crack, the spear broke in half.
Lu Xin stumbled back, not expecting his trusty wooden spear to break here.
His breathing was ragged. This was the first time he had fought a monster for so long.
He had to end it quickly.
Lu Xin pulled out his only vial of purple liquid and poured it over the short sword.
He closed in on the Owlbear with the sword. When it made a heavy swipe, he didn’t dodge but tanked it with [Hardening (Basic)].
Trading blows, Lu Xin slashed the Owlbear’s body multiple times, each cut driven deep into flesh with all his strength.
As the fight dragged on, the Owlbear’s movements slowed, and its pupils began to dilate.
It tried to flap its wings and fly away, but it couldn’t. Then its eyes rolled back—it was done.
Thump.
The massive body crashed to the ground, kicking up dust.
Lu Xin looked at the short sword. He had coated it with poison refined from the Venom Sacs of Tree Crown Venom Lizards.
Pity. He only had that one vial.
[Killed medium-level Owlbear. Beginning random extraction of its inherent abilities…]
[Extraction complete. Acquired ability: Brood Keeper]
Lu Xin’s expression changed. What did this mean?