Chapter 465: Hidden in the World and the Reunion

The agreed meeting point was Axe Beach.

Along the way, he could also fulfill the agreement with Miss Wen Na Miss Puwei and extract the Lilith bloodline within her.

Deep Water City was not far from Axe Beach.

The two places were separated only by the Adip Forest. He had walked this road a few days earlier, so Rod had no mind to leisurely admire it again.

Using the Crystal Swan, he cast a no-cost 【Group Flight Spell】 on the two of them.

It took only the better part of a day to reach the territory of Axe Beach.

Speaking of which.

This Crystal Swan was given to him by Lily's good friends — the mage Doris and the cat-girl Kouyi.

The halfling Lily recognized it at a glance, after all this thing was treasured by her friend Doris.

Now that it appeared in his hands, she couldn't help but ask a few questions.

Rod couldn't exactly tell the truth — after all, Doris had given it to him as a reminder not to run out on the wedding with Lily.

The two of them hadn't reached that stage yet.

To be fair.

Lily now seemed more like a good brother, a good friend to him.

Apart from last night, when he ate her leftover egg custard and her expression was a little interesting, there was no difference from when they had met in Emerald Jade City before.

In the end.

Rod played it off with a laugh, saying it was a gift exchanged with the other party, and muddled through.

This time they entered the city through the northern Farming Gate.

While the two were lining up, they happened to see the massive breach in the city wall cleaved by 【Giant Sword】 boosted with 【Celestial Blessing】.

Four days had passed, yet the aftershocks of the battle still hadn't been cleared away.

Huge rubble, a road churned into chaos, and meteor craters smashed out by bodies one after another.

Workers were busy, the repair work proceeding at full tilt.

Although this was something Rod himself had chopped out with his own hands.

Setting emotion aside and looking at it again after a few days, he still couldn't help but sigh in awe.

"Never expected that the Axe Beach regime was secretly seized by demons and Scarlet Brotherhood people, right under our Chivalric Alliance's noses next to Deep Water City."

Lily, seeing him looking up at the city wall, said with a hint of unwillingness.

"After all, you were busy slaying a dragon."

"No need to comfort me, Rod. The Chivalric Alliance needs no excuses. But that organization called the Knights of the Light — 'In the guise of light, expose lies, challenge falsehood' — could see through their plot? How interesting."

"An organization I've never heard of, sounds a bit like something made up."

Rod's face was expressionless.

After all, it was a disposable alt.

He planned to lower Lily's expectations of this organization, so he casually disparaged it a few times.

"You can't say that either. The Spirit Continent has now entered the Fourth Epoch, after so many years, there must be some hidden powerful organizations. Look, now that the continent has fallen into chaos, they can't stay hidden anymore."

As he spoke.

A young couple behind them, apparently finding Lily cute, smiled kindly and handed over a candy.

Although Lily was short, her proportions were good — compared to a halfling, she looked more like a young human.

No wonder they mistook her.

But Lily didn't take kindly to it, glaring fiercely at the stupid couple and giving them a fright.

Rod laughed, took the candy, and handed it to her.

Only then did Lily huff and reach out her hand.

Then she unwrapped the paper, flicked it into the air, and coolly caught it in her mouth.

She added:

"And that Gorgon man — at only Seventh Rank he could single-handedly fight one Eighth Rank and two high-stage Seventh Ranks, and still win overwhelmingly. It makes me even more certain that the 'Knights of the Light' is a hidden organization from the previous Epoch. I believe many will have the same guess as me, and many may even go probe them."

"Uh—"

The halfling girl stole a glance at the tall man beside her with a speechless expression.

Such an unbelievable battle record — instinctively she felt only this man could pull it off.

The ability to cleave open a city wall with such seemingly boundless Spirit felt familiar to Lily.

And beforehand, he had indeed been in Axe Beach—

But Lily quickly shook her head and stopped overthinking.

Whether it was or wasn't, what did it matter? Rod was a friend she cherished; what harm was there in a friend having some secrets.

Soon.

The two passed the militia mage's inspection and entered Axe Beach.

Lily promptly changed the subject:

"Right, Rod, you said you were meeting someone — who is it?"

"A resident of Windwall Forest, who happens to be heading to Misty Forest to gather materials. We traveled together along the way, saves on teleportation costs too."

"I see!"

"Look, there — Kalieste! Over here."

Just as he was thinking, Rod suddenly waved toward the street ahead.

At that moment, a tall bear-kin passed in front of them, just blocking Lily's view.

And after the bear-kin walked past.

She immediately spotted two tall figures appearing at the end of the street.

One was an exquisitely beautiful elf, rare even among elves.

Her glowing white pointed ears peeked through her golden hair; she wore a green-and-white interlaced cloak and bore the classic elf scowl.

Her emerald-green eyes carried a cold, scrutinizing gaze, the very image of an ice beauty.

The other presented herself with short hair, a capable demeanor, and a heroic bearing.

First, there was her height, taller than most human males.

Beneath slightly form-fitting high-waisted shorts lay a pair of plump, powerful, yet well-proportioned long legs wrapped in slightly ripped, flesh-revealing stockings; a provocative steel tail swayed agilely in the air from time to time, occasionally wrapping around her thigh and leaving faint indentations on the flesh.

Despite her cool and fierce appearance, she possessed a pair of tiny mouse ears with pink inner rims, creating a striking contrast.

It was clearly a street brimming with commoner atmosphere.

Yet the sudden appearance of these two was like a fresh breeze, instantly forming a beautiful sight that drew the attention of many passersby.

The two turned their heads simultaneously, looked straight at Rod, and then approached at a leisurely pace.

"Wow, two gorgeous beauties!"

Lili exclaimed.

She grinned wickedly and nudged Rod's ribs with her elbow: "Girlfriends? Or two of them?"

Rod laughed: "Don't talk nonsense; that elf can't stand such talk and will scold people."

"Sounds a bit like the headmistress back at the academy."

"Pretty much."

As they spoke,

the elf Kalist and the rat-woman Number Thirteen had already arrived right before them.

Number Thirteen's expression remained blank; her non-mainstream bangs covered half of her exquisite face.

She stepped a few paces ahead of Kalist.

Swishing her high, plump rear, her steel-textured, flexible iron tail coiled around Rod's arm, affectionately tightening its grip.

Kalist spotted the halfling Lili.

She paused for a moment and offered no greeting.

Elves are like that: proud and never initiating greetings.

She scowled and looked coldly at Rod.

"You truly never took my advice to heart."

Rod knew she was referring to her warning about "not bringing girls into the forest."

He and Lili exchanged a smile, both seeing in each other an even firmer conviction of the elf's "headmistress" trait.

(End of this chapter)