Chapter 54: The Deception
Alna was taken aback for a moment, then hurriedly pulled Zane over, glanced around, confirmed no one was present, and closed the door.
“Zane brother?” Alna called out uncertainly.
“Yeah, it’s me!” Under the white glow, Zane reverted from his transformation.
“Great! I thought I would never see you again…”
“How could that be? Look, I’m here to find you. You look like… you’ve been kept at home?” Zane asked.
“…That’s right, my brother… doesn’t let me go out.”
“Why?” He could be said to know the Wishcaster profession better than anyone else besides Alna.
With numerous controls, the Fire Curtain can resist flying attacks, and its stamina growth rate is as high as 4 stars. Furthermore, it can later learn Blessing and Spirit Heart, making it a perfect support profession, even capable of dealing damage.
“Actually, my power is almost gone… In the past six months, even the power of wishing has nearly been taken away from me.” Alna’s gaze dimmed. “My brother keeps me in the room to avoid any accidents.”
“…So, what about him? Leaving his sister at home while he goes out to have fun?”
“That’s not it; he went to the Grey Ridge Plain to find that underground tunnel we were in before.”
“Ugh, alright.”
The atmosphere suddenly became awkward.
Zane wasn’t exactly a social butterfly, or else he wouldn’t still be single.
Finally, it was Alna who broke the silence: “Zane brother, did you come just to chat with me?”
“Oh right! I almost forgot the main thing!” Zane realized.
“What is it?”
“Alna, do you have any alcohol?”
Although Zane’s term was a bit strange, Alna still replied, “Yeah, of course, my brother is a big drunkard; if you want to drink, I’ll go get it.”
“It’s not for me…” Zane scratched his head awkwardly and relayed what Xiin had said earlier.
“Someone qualified to teach Sister Starry… is also a drunkard… could it be!” Alna’s green eyes widened.
“The Bladed Madness — Xieu!”
Sounds impressive.
“Is he really that strong?”
“Yeah, I’ve heard rumors about him since I was young. Originally, Xieu was an unknown soldier, but he grew through countless encounters with the Dark Faction and eventually reached the height of Sword Saint. However—” Alna’s tone changed.
“It’s said that he fell in love with a succubus, and they even set aside the hatred between their factions to snuggle together.” At this, her small face turned flushed.
What a cliché plot.
“Unfortunately, the good times didn’t last long. The succubus’s leader, one of the twelve kings in the Dark Faction, the Enchantress Shadow — Gelnir discovered this and completely erased the succubus’s soul.” Alna’s expression also showed a sense of regret.
“…”
“Xieu started to self-destruct, living in misery with alcohol. His friends came to persuade him but returned empty-handed. Furthermore, his strength didn’t decline with his emotions. Five years ago, Twilight City was attacked by the Dark Faction, and in the midst of despair, he stepped forward. Although his swordsmanship was chaotic, every attack carried a frenzied momentum, trading injuries for injuries, and he defeated the Storm Lord head-on!”
Isn’t that a typical protagonist template?
“He appears and disappears mysteriously, and he won’t show up without good alcohol. Even Miss Xiin, who was once in his group, can’t pull him out.”
“No way, that’s terrifying? Then Starry’s job change is pretty much hopeless…” Zane said, speechless.
“Well… there might be a way.”
…
In the center square of Yunshui City.
Everyone had gathered, and Brother Shiu had also joined the team.
“Wow! Achen, you’re amazing; everyone in this squad is an expert except you!” Brother Shiu exclaimed privately.
“Ugh, it’s everyone except you being an expert!” Zane scoffed.
“Where are we going to farm today?” Endless Sea asked.
Zane pointed toward the West Gate. “After crossing the Grey Ridge Plain, take a detour around a small creek, and you’ll reach it in about 20 minutes.”
Everyone had no questions and set off immediately.
Strangely, Starry’s consciousness still hadn’t awakened; is she still in bed? That doesn’t seem like her.
I’ll ask her when she wakes up.
“Um…” On the road through the Grey Ridge Plain, Youyoufen suddenly spoke.
“What’s wrong?” Zane asked curiously.
“I wanted to ask, where did that little sister go yesterday…?”
“Little sister?” Brother Shiu was also curious.
“…”
Zane was still pondering whether to demonstrate his transformation when suddenly, Starry’s body detected an unnatural disturbance on the right side—a lurking assassin!
Instinctively, he launched an attack.
Miss!
Although he missed the target, the assassin’s evasive action was too pronounced, resulting in a failed stealth!
A faint figure revealed its true form.
The ID was ‘Yuhua Wuhen’, a level 15 assassin. Although discovered, he showed no signs of panic and instead coldly sneered, “Hmph, shedding Starry; you really dare to come out under a bounty!”
“Why wouldn’t I? This Grey Ridge Plain isn’t your Rainflower’s territory,” Starry replied nonchalantly.
At the same time, Zane noticed the fallen leaves on the ground frequently deforming and scattered footsteps—more people were coming!
Endless Sea also sensed something was off. “Not good; there are more and more of them. We can’t fight here; we’d better leave!”
Brother Shiu nodded. “Okay!”
Youyoufen looked a bit nervous. “So many people…”
“You all go first, head to the marked place!” Zane controlled Starry and shouted.
There are too many people now; it’s inconvenient to transform. If the assassin holds us back, it would be troublesome when their main force arrives!
“Trying to get away!? No way! Everyone, attack!” Yuhua Wuhen roared.
In an instant, hidden assassins all revealed themselves—there were at least fifteen!
Their levels ranged between 12-14; it seems Yuhua was serious about taking them down!
This guy… then I’ll make you my first target!
Starry raised the Qiu Yue Sword, theatrically gathering strength.
Yuhua Wuhen’s eyes lit up, almost bursting into laughter.
Daring to use Heavy Strike as the opener in a battle with assassins? This so-called expert on the leaderboards is nothing special.
To know, Heavy Strike has a wind-up of about 0.5 seconds, and agile assassins can easily sneak around to perform a backstab during this time. Once they enter the opponent’s blind spot, the rhythm is in their control!
Almost instinctively, Yuhua Wuhen brushed past Starry, intending to backstab.
However, in the moment of crossing paths, he unintentionally caught sight of the smile at the corner of Starry’s mouth.
This guy thinks he has a sure win?
I’ll teach you today what a technical expert is!
The dagger sliced through the air, creating a gust, and a huge miss appeared—nothing!
Wait, how can this guy still move??
Yuhua Wuhen suddenly remembered; isn’t Heavy Strike a skill of the Swordsman? And she… seems to have not changed her class yet.
