Chapter 136: How Did It End Up Like This?

The time was two in the afternoon.

Lan Qingyou slowly woke up after sleeping through the entire morning.

But the moment her eyes opened, she bounced up from the bed like a coiled spring.

'Why does it smell like something's burning?'

Frowning, Lan Qingyou glanced around but could not find the source of the fire.

'Could there be a flaw in the tent's design?'

Lan Qingyou could not help but wonder. After all, this was her first night sleeping in the tent, so it was entirely possible there were hidden dangers she had previously overlooked.

However, when she looked down at Wireball sleeping snugly beside her, she nearly burst out laughing.

A chunk of the pet owl's normally perfectly slicked-back feathers had been completely scorched off.

"Pfft! Hahaha... Wireball, what happened to you? I just took a nap, and you went out to find Teacher Tony for a haircut?"

Unable to hold it in anymore, Lan Qingyou roared with laughter.

Hearing her voice, Wireball rotated its head a full one hundred and eighty degrees to stare at her.

That large, charred patch on its forehead paired with those yellow, innocent, yet seemingly intelligent eyes made Lan Qingyou lose whatever composure she had left.

She scooped up Wireball and poured a Healing Potion over its head.

Only then was that punk-like hairstyle finally cured.

"How did you even end up like this?"

Lan Qingyou asked as she stroked Wireball's freshly regrown slicked-back feathers.

She had noticed earlier that one of the magic puppets was missing from the tent. Seeing Wireball's condition, it did not take a genius to guess why.

Either this little guy had secretly driven its toy out to hunt monsters, or danger had approached, and instead of waking her, it had gone out to hog all the experience points.

"Hoot-hoot!"

With the scorched feathers on its head healed, Wireball's spirits lifted considerably. It grabbed Lan Qingyou's collar with its beak and tried to fly outside.

Seeing this, Lan Qingyou cast a Light Body Spell on herself and let Wireball drag her out.

Rendered practically weightless, Lan Qingyou was dragged along as effortlessly as a large handkerchief.

"What... what is going on here!!!"

Once Wireball pulled her out of the tent, Lan Qingyou stared dumbfounded at the scene before her and could not help but cry out in shock.

The once pristine landscape of lush green hills and clear waters now looked as if it had been plowed by artillery shells.

Potholes and craters covered the ground, and several trees and bushes in the distance were still ablaze.

Thick smoke billowed from the fires, making the area look like the aftermath of a massive battlefield.

And standing amidst this battlefield was a battered Rolling Blade Beast. One of its chainsaw arms was completely missing, while the other hung precariously by a thread. Its entire body was charred black, and the two wheels beneath it had snapped.

It was worth noting that although those wheels were wooden, the material used was the toughest cloud-pine cedar that The Chariot could currently source.

Yet, they had still been reduced to such a pitiful state.

"Did you do all this while driving the Rolling Blade Beast?"

Lan Qingyou looked at Wireball with suspicion. The owl simply tilted its head back and placed its wings on its hips, striking a pose that screamed, 'I'm amazing, aren't I?'

"The enemy must have done this."

Crack...

The moment Lan Qingyou said that, Wireball's proud expression immediately crumbled.

"There's fire magic, ice magic, and even arrows over here. It looks like you ran into a whole party. That makes sense—anyone you run into outdoors right now is usually in a full team. Was it a gathering squad on an expedition?"

Because people tended to group up, and considering that most monsters out here were D-Rank.

Unless someone possessed an absurdly overpowered talent like Li Huai, venturing out alone was practically a death wish.

"Still, the fact that a little guy like you could pilot a Rolling Blade Beast and fight off enemies—and seemingly win—is a major achievement. I'll have Gu Xiaobei send you some beef later!"

Even though she had figured out that she had lost a magic puppet in less than a day, Lan Qingyou did not mind much.

On the contrary, even though she had not been present to witness the specifics of the battle, she could deduce the combat effectiveness of a single Rolling Blade Beast based on the battlefield's condition.

This provided excellent practical combat data, both for her and for The Chariot.

Therefore, she decided to reward Wireball.

"Hoot!"

At the mere mention of the word beef, Wireball instantly perked up.

While it enjoyed eating demon rats, how could they ever compare to the savory, chewy texture of good beef?

After snapping a few photos of the scene, Lan Qingyou sent the images of the ruined Rolling Blade Beast to The Chariot and returned to her tent.

Even though she was already awake, it was not time to move out just yet.

At the very least... she needed to eat first.

The Chariot: "How did it end up like this?"

The Chariot: "How did it end up like this?"

The Chariot was completely dumbfounded when he saw the battered Rolling Blade Beast.

It had only been a day since she set out, hadn't it? One magic puppet was already scrapped. However, after seeing the photos of the battlefield, he felt that losing only one was actually an acceptable outcome.

Thus, The Chariot wanted to figure out exactly what had happened.

Although he had not been present just like Lan Qingyou, he only had photos to work with, making his analysis far less smooth than hers.

Lan Qingyou then gave a brief summary in the group chat of what she assumed had transpired.

The Chariot: "Uh... so those grooves were meant to be a cockpit for your pet. It's a neat idea, but you should have told me in advance so I could have optimized the design."

The Tower: "I wasn't sure if monsters could even pilot them at the time, so I just kept it as a backup plan. It's not too late now that we know they can. Besides, we won't be limited to just these twenty magic puppets in the future."

The Chariot: "True. Let me take a look at that Rolling Blade Beast first. If it can't be repaired, I'll just have to prep the materials and build a new one."

The Tower: "Alright, you're the professional here. But judging from this battle, the Rolling Blade Beast definitely holds up well in combat. If you're prepping materials, prep some extra. Let's keep it in batches of twenty, same price as before."

The Chariot: "Deal."

High Priestess: "Looking at this, it seems like a massive battle took place. Did an owl really do all this just by piloting a magic puppet?"

Right as Lan Qingyou finalized her deal with Orff, Vivian and the others popped up in the chat.

This was primarily because no one tended to interrupt when others were discussing serious business.

The Chariot: "Indeed, I'd like to know that as well."

Lan Qingyou: "Most of the battle damage was likely caused by a gathering squad on an expedition. Only a small portion was the work of the Rolling Blade Beast. My Wireball is a highly mobile monster and can't use any offensive magic."

The Fool: "Looking at it that way, your Rolling Blade Beast's combat strength is quite impressive."

The Pope: "Or maybe the opponents were just too weak."

Death: "Based on my personal experience, these battle traces—especially the scorch marks—were likely produced by someone with a C-Rank or B-Rank talent."

...

Li Huai's words plunged everyone in Tarot Manor into a deafening silence.