Chapter 146: Strengthen the Hero Xia Na

【BigMengShen: I found a unconscious blonde woman on the roadside—what do I do? Waiting online, urgent. PS: Lately I've been getting more and more into beating people into carpets—why is that?】

【ForeverSeventeen: Send it! I told you to send it and look!】

【BigMengShen: Here it is 【image. pg】】

【ForeverSeventeen: Did you do something shameful to her? Why is she like this…? But this girl's base is pretty good—even if she doesn't match our natural beauty and stunning charm, she's still decent.】

【BigMengShen: The sealing here is about to break—hurry over and lend a hand @Xia Na】

Xia Na: Hmm, obviously nothing works without me!

【BigMengShen:? To appear in the same work as the Great Sword Master is truly an honor… Alright, I can't take it anymore—this guy's barely over a meter tall and talks like he's on top of the world? Enju, Jianzi, this guy's actually under 1. meters tall…】

【Xia Na: Nonsense! I'm definitely over 1. meters!】

【BigMengShen: So are you coming or not?】

【Xia Na: Already on the way】

…………

Splash.

"The Reciter of Elegies, Marjorie Doh?"

Though phrased as a question, the man's tone was utterly certain.

In the world of Flame Haze, elegies are haikus, and haikus are elegies.

Marjorie Doh, awakened from unconsciousness by water, felt her head buzzing, everything spinning before her eyes, every part of her body throbbing faintly—she tried to move but realized she was tightly bound to a chair.

The restraints binding her? Not anything else—just the belt from her ever-noisy Contracted Demon, Marcusias.

And Marcusias was now uncharacteristically silent.

"Relax, relax… Let's start with some introductions."

The black-haired, muscular man who had just defeated her pressed his hands downward, signaling no ill intent.

"Jia Ji, male, 22, unmarried, second-degree karate practitioner, signature technique: killing with a glance and knife-hand strike. Honesty is my motto. Pleased to meet you."

"None of that is true!"

Xia Na, in her Flame Hair and Burning Eyes state, ruthlessly struck him from the side, then introduced herself with full grandeur.

"The Flame Hair, Burning Eyes Destroyer, Xia Na."

"Isn't knowing your name enough?" He pulled the great sword from Xia Na's hand and played with it—she seemed to have fully accepted the name—and raised one finger.

"You came here to hunt down the Bone Collector, Lammy… but I advise you to give up." Jia Ji's lips curled into a sly smile as he pointed clearly: "He—no, she—is actually the former strongest Free Master of this world, the Spiral Organ, Linnanxi. The Bone Collector, Lammy, is merely a temporary torch form she borrowed."

"What?" X2

The two Red World Kings, Marcusias and Alastor, unaware of when they had reached an agreement, both exclaimed in shock—the sensation of the pendant and the book speaking in unison was strangely surreal.

"Huh?"

The elderly gentleman beside him, leaning on his cane, also cried out in surprise—had he really been exposed right to his face like this?

Yes, this is indeed the Spiral Organ, Linnanxi.

During the time Marjorie Doh was knocked to her knees and rendered unconscious, Jia Ji had used the hunter's leftover magic treasure, the Glass Jar, to track her movements.

The Glass Jar—crafted by the "Serpent of Ritual" to monitor the city of Great Binding Lock he established—allows observation of human activity and the flow of Existence Power in a specific region, commonly known as a map x-ray hack.

Leveraging his nature as neither Flame Haze nor Apostle—thus undetectable—he snuck up, knocked the target out cold, seized him, and instantly turned him into an ally.

"Jia-ge, no no no!"

Linnanxi dropped all pretense, hurled her cane aside, and transformed like a magical girl—her wrinkled old man's form vanished, replaced by a barefoot, dress-clad, twelve- or thirteen-year-old girl with pink short hair and pink eyes, a silk scarf tied around her neck.

"Hehe, I won't mention how Linnanxi collects other Apostles' Existence Power to make nearly extinguished torches—all to restore the painting Donat gave her… Oh, Donat was her former human lover."

Done for.

The pink-haired girl slumped to the ground. All the existence power she'd painstakingly gathered over a century, her habit of fleeing at the first sign of danger, her carefully maintained persona and reputation—all shattered. Even her affair with a human had been exposed.

"You promised you'd help me escape the pursuit…"

She'd stayed here because Jia Ji claimed he'd make the Elegy Reciter abandon the hunt—and afterward, she'd only need to do him a small favor.

Instead, Jia Ji's method was to rip off her disguise, expose her publicly, and execute her reputation on the spot.

"That's so cruel…"

Xia Na muttered under her breath, earning unanimous agreement from those around her.

"Idiot idiot idiot!! The point is cuteness! If I didn't do this, how would Little Nan revert to her true form?"

The shameless martial artist declared.

Even Linnanxi, who had endured countless setbacks, felt tears welling up.

"Hmm… I understand. The Spiral Organ is harmless to the world's balance—the mission of extermination does not apply to her as a special Apostle…"

Marjorie Doh smoothed her flowing golden hair and nodded. Even toward this girl on the verge of tears, she felt not a shred of killing intent.

In the original timeline, she and Xia Na would have had to fight—but now, after being suddenly beaten into submission by Jia Ji's chaotic assault, she'd given up.

"So who exactly are you, and what is your goal?"

Slightly more alert, Marjorie Doh asked, her confusion not lessened—only deepened.

Where did this weirdo come from?

If she'd known from the start, she'd have used a long-range Free Art to kill him instantly—she wouldn't be a prisoner now. She deeply regretted it.

"I'm from another world, I know the future of your world, and I've come here as a kind-hearted slime to help you."

"Red World?"

Marjorie Doh lifted her head, took a deep breath, her face expressionless.

"In the mortal world, I'm a mortal. In the Red World… no, I said I'm from another world! A third world, different from your understanding!"

Jia Ji continued:

"I know where your pursued 'Silver Flame' is, and where Linnanxi can obtain the Existence Power needed to complete her painting…"

"But what?"

"I'll have you both assist Xia Na in her cultivation!"

【BigMengShen: I say, strengthen the hero Xia Na】

(End of Chapter)