Chapter 31: Two Fighters

The woman with the short yellow hair in the distance locked eyes with Lu Xin.

She was the vice captain of the mercenary group, Yilianna, an expert in assassination.

Lu Xin nodded and watched as she disappeared into the forest, then followed directly after her.

Through the Eagle Eye Mark on her eye, Yilianna tracked Lu Xin’s position. She silently drew two short knives coated with Paralysis Poison.

But to her surprise, Lu Xin’s agility in the trees was far beyond ordinary, and he didn’t make a single sound.

“Damn it, where did he go?”

Yilianna quickly looked around. Just then, Lu Xin dropped down from above her, his two throwing knives crossing toward her neck.

‘Like shooting in the dark? Well, I like playing dirty too.’

Just as Yilianna was about to lose her head, a large shield covered in spikes slammed into Lu Xin.

Duo Nan looked at the shaken Yilianna and asked with concern, “Are you okay, Lianna?”

“Mm, this kid’s weird. Let’s take him down together.”

“Alright.”

Duo Nan glanced at the cold Yilianna beside him and decided to put on a good show—maybe she would finally accept his confession.

Meanwhile, Lu Xin’s head spun. If it weren’t for 【Hardening】, that shield bash might have impaled him on the spikes.

He pulled out a bottle of liquid, drank it, and restored his Magic Power to full.

Then he expanded 【Silent Barrier】 to its limit and vanished once again among the trees.

“This trick again. Watch out, Duo Nan.” Yilianna stood back to back with Duo Nan, alert.

“Don’t worry. If he shows up again, I’ll crush him into paste.”

At that moment, an arrow flew through the air. Duo Nan sneered and blocked it with his giant shield.

But when the two looked closely, they saw that the archer was a Dark Elf.

By now, Lu Xin had already reached behind them.

He released 【Silk Touch】, using their own hair to cover their eyes.

His throwing knife stabbed toward Yilianna’s neck. She barely reacted through the strands of hair and kicked at Lu Xin.

But Lu Xin only frowned, didn’t dodge, and drove the knife deep into her throat.

Duo Nan had already brushed the hair from his eyes. Seeing this, blood vessels burst in his eyes. He slammed his giant shield down from above onto Lu Xin.

Like a collapsing mountain, he was determined to crush Lu Xin into the dirt.

Lu Xin sneered. A few strands of hair near his ear snapped, then hardened in midair and shot toward Duo Nan’s eyeballs.

Duo Nan felt something flash before his eyes, then a sharp pain in his eyes.

He couldn’t open them anymore. Blood mixed with tears streamed down, but the burning pain wouldn’t stop.

“Duo Nan, don’t stop. He can’t escape.” Yilianna held her throat and spoke hoarsely. Thin trickles of bright red seeped through her fingers.

Then, on the palms of Yilianna and Duo Nan, a mark lit up—the Resonance Mark, which could transfer all of one person’s Magic Power to another.

“Ahhh, I’ll kill you!” Duo Nan roared and pressed down with all his might.

But the next second, Duo Nan’s body tilted and fell to the side.

An arrow had pierced through his back.

Lu Xin looked up at Ruilin, who was on a tree branch giving him a thumbs-up.

He breathed a sigh of relief.

Facing a shield larger than a person coming down on him had actually been pretty intense.

Yilianna sat slumped under a tree, clutching her neck.

Her breathing was already labored, but when she saw Duo Nan fall, she still reached a hand out toward him.

Lu Xin walked up to her, looked down, then lifted his foot and kicked the bottom of the throwing knife, pinning Yilianna to the tree trunk.

On the other side, Sang Qie had been split from top to bottom, his plate armor unable to save him.

Audrey wiped the blood from her longsword.

The rest of the Knight Order’s battles were also nearing their end.

Hai Er had cut off his opponent’s arms but didn’t kill him.

They needed to keep one alive to take back for questioning.

If they had truly been sent by the Kingdom of Helvi, then the Kingdom of Delk would demand an explanation.

Ailya held the Colorful Chicken and Little Grey, clapping for Lu Xin’s victory.

Actually, she had wanted to fight alongside Lu Xin, but he had stuffed the two magical creatures into her hands and told her to wait here safely and not get hurt.

“Lu Xin, thank you for your help. And you too, Miss Ailya.” Audrey stepped forward, handing Lu Xin his short sword while expressing her gratitude.

“No problem. Just give me a little extra pay when the time comes.” Lu Xin raised an eyebrow, making a light joke to lighten the mood.

But before Audrey could respond, Ruilin cut in: “No problem. After all, we’re family.”

All the expenses for this operation were provided by the Kingdom of Delk, so Ruilin was happy to help Lu Xin fleece them.

Audrey gave Ruilin a puzzled look.

She hadn’t expected the two to get along so well, but she felt something was off about Ruilin’s words.

Ruilin had only briefly told Audrey about Lu Xin taking care of her and the Colorful Chicken.

She hadn’t mentioned what happened underground.

After thinking it over, Ruilin figured that should count as her private business. Even though she was loyal to Audrey, she could tell her another time.

But Ailya turned her head and muttered quietly, “Stupid elf. Who’s family with you?”

Sensing the awkward atmosphere among the three women, Lu Xin quickly changed the subject.

“Captain Audrey, I think our mission is pretty much complete. How about we head back now?”

Hearing this, Audrey glanced at the Colorful Chicken in Ailya’s arms and couldn’t help but sigh at how thorough the intel from above had been.

Its colors were so vivid—anyone could see its precious value at a glance.

But things were going to be tricky from here.

According to Ruilin, this chicken was a creation of the Life Witch, and it had already acknowledged Lu Xin as its master.

She needed to bring the Colorful Chicken back to the kingdom, but Lu Xin had saved Ruilin’s life.

She really couldn’t bring herself to ask.

Audrey shook her head helplessly. It seemed she would have to return to Morning Breeze Town first and figure things out there.

At worst, she could invite Lu Xin to the Kingdom of Delk. With her around, there shouldn’t be too many problems.

If she couldn’t handle it herself, she would have to trouble her mother to step in.

Having thought this through, Audrey nodded and said softly, “Mm. Let’s head back as soon as possible.”

Just as everyone finished packing their gear, several magical creatures blocked their path.

“Tch. Looks like we’re fighting again.” Hai Er drew his short sword again, ready for battle.

But at that moment, the Colorful Chicken let out a cry.

The surrounding trees began to sprout countless strange fruits.

In just a few seconds, these fruits went from blooming to bearing fruit, then fell to the ground.

The magical creatures saw the fruits, turned around, and started eating.

With each fruit they devoured, the monsters’ bodies swelled, and the aura they emitted grew more dangerous.

“What is this…?” Several knights looked on in confusion. Why was their ally buffing the enemy?

“Hehe, these are Living Fruits. When magical creatures eat them, they get stronger. But if they eat too many, they go into Berserk Mode.”

Ailya stroked the Colorful Chicken and explained to everyone.