Chapter 130: The Injured Koneko

After the two walked out of the Small Village, the scenery before them suddenly twisted, transforming from the original path into a vast Palace.

"What is this place?" Lingqi drew the short gun at his waist, watching his surroundings with caution.

Lingyun chuckled and also drew the Long sword from his back: "It should be a special mission map. It seems this mission is not simple at all; otherwise, this world wouldn't have specifically generated another map. Correspondingly, the familiar obtained after completing this mission shouldn't be anything simple either!"

"Roar!" Just as the two finished speaking, an angry roar came from beside them.

Lingyun and his companion turned to look. The monster that appeared before them was seven or eight parts similar to a human, wearing a warrior's armor, with a long Samurai Sword slung at its waist. It had a crimson face, a long nose, a pair of wings on its back, and wore high-soled wooden clogs on its feet.

"This appearance is... a Tengu?" Lingyun frowned slightly. In the past, when he traveled through various worlds, he had seen many creatures that only existed in legends, and this guy was one of them.

"Tengu?" Lingqi looked at the monsters surrounding them. "What kind of monster is this?"

"This is a type of monster that only appears in mythology. Some of them are good, but these guys are clearly not in that category!" Lingyun looked at the gray-white icon above the Tengu's head, a hint of gravity flashing in his eyes. "These guys are all condensed from the power of the Underworld King of the End. Each one has the combat power of a high-level elite monster; don't take them lightly!"

"Understood!" Lingqi nodded slightly.

"Daring to invade the Lord's Palace, you really don't want to live! Kill them!" The leading Tengu let out a sharp shout; it was clearly a small leader.

There were ten Tengu in total, likely a small squad. After hearing the leader's command, the other Tengu shrieked and surrounded Lingyun and his companion, brandishing their Samurai Swords.

"Cover me!" Lingyun said to Lingqi in a low voice, then raised his Long sword and met them head-on.

"No problem!" Lingqi raised his short gun and fired a shot at the Tengu charging in the front.

Sparks splashed from the Tengu's body. The Tengu stumbled, and the health bar above its head decreased by a tiny bit.

"Tch, such thick health!" Lingqi clicked his tongue in annoyance.

"Clang, clang, clang," Lingyun had already engaged the Tengu charging at the front. The Long sword and Samurai Sword collided repeatedly, sparking a flurry of fire.

"The combat power of this monster is unexpectedly fierce!" Lingyun sighed inwardly. With his current strength, he could absolutely crush the vast majority of known monsters, but this type of Tengu was able to go head-to-head with him in strength without falling behind.

"However, the fighting style is a bit too monotonous!" Lingyun flicked his Long sword, parried the Tengu's Samurai Sword, and then slashed heavily at its abdomen, cleanly knocking it flying.

After repelling one of the Tengu, the ones behind had already surrounded him. The Long sword in Lingyun's hand danced, creating a wall of defense that firmly blocked the Tengu's siege. A gray-white light flickered on the Samurai Sword held by the Tengu squad leader in the back; it was clearly trying to activate a Sword Skill. At this moment, a bullet slammed into its nose, interrupting the skill. Behind Lingyun, Lingqi held his short gun, looking at the Tengu leader with a provocative expression.

With Lingqi assisting from behind, Lingyun's fight was much easier. Whenever a Tengu wanted to activate a Sword Skill, Lingqi's bullet would arrive at its side immediately, interrupting its startup.

Without the threat of Sword Skills, Lingyun dealt with the squad of Tengu with complete ease. In terms of strength, he could suppress all the Tengu, including the squad leader; in terms of technique, he could outclass them by miles. Under these circumstances, the Tengu's defeat was a foregone conclusion.

"Crack," Lingyun struck a Tengu heavily with his sword. With this blow, the last bit of the Tengu's health was wiped out, and it shattered into fragments filling the sky. The first Tengu died, and the battle, which was already tilting toward Lingyun, collapsed instantly. Under Lingyun's heavy strikes, the Tengu turned into fragments one after another.

Seeing this situation, the Tengu squad leader knew things were bad. Taking advantage of the moment Lingyun killed one of the Tengu, it spread its wings and flew toward the sky. Lingyun knew that the two of them were currently infiltrating the enemy's base and had not yet been discovered by the boss here. If this guy escaped, perhaps the next thing they would face would be the encirclement of a Tengu army.

Thinking of this, Lingyun let out a sharp whistle. A golden light flickered on his Long sword, and he swept it toward the sky. A golden Sword Qi whistled as it detached from the blade, slamming heavily into the Tengu squad leader and blasting it apart in mid-air.

After finishing off the Tengu squad leader, Lingyun eliminated the other Tengu at top speed, then quickly led Lingqi away from the area. Although the battle here ended quickly and the monsters left no traces behind after dying, Lingyun could not be sure when the next batch of enemies would arrive.

Not long after Lingyun and his companion left, another squad of Tengu appeared at the location.

"There was a loud noise here just now; it seems some kind of battle took place. You lot, look carefully for me!" the leading Tengu squad leader said loudly. However, no traces were left at the scene, and after a fruitless search, the squad of Tengu could only leave in frustration.

After leaving the previous battle zone, Lingyun and his companion soon entered a small forest. Lingyun carefully used his Search Skill to scan the surroundings and found no enemy units. However, under a small tree, there was a green dot representing a friendly unit.

"Let's go, let's go over and take a look!" Although the scan showed a friendly unit, Lingyun did not let his guard down; after all, in SAO, it was not impossible for a friendly unit to turn into an enemy unit.

The two cautiously approached the small tree, but what they saw surprised them. Under the tree lay a small white Koneko, which was staring at them with wide, vigilant eyes. However, the Koneko had many wounds on its body, and the health bar above its head had bottomed out, looking as if it could die at any moment.

"What a pitiful little Koneko!" A hint of pity flashed in Lingqi's eyes as he quickly approached the Koneko.

Seeing Lingqi approach, a flash of vigilance appeared in the Koneko's eyes. It shrank back, then suddenly lunged forward. Lingqi's figure flickered, and he dodged to block the Koneko's path, reaching out to scoop it up and hold it in his arms. It looked as if the little white Koneko had jumped directly into Lingqi's embrace.

Discovering it had been held, the little white Koneko struggled, and the health bar above its head flickered, ready to hit zero at any moment.

"Hey, hey, don't move, this is very dangerous!" Seeing the Koneko's state, Lingqi was shocked.

Lingyun walked up and gently stroked the Koneko's head, while slowly radiating his goodwill. The Koneko seemed to feel Lingyun's goodwill; its struggling gradually ceased, and its eyes narrowed, as if enjoying Lingyun's petting.

"Lingyun, why is the Recovery Crystal useless on the Koneko!" Lingqi said, shocked, holding a Recovery Crystal in his hand. "If this continues, the Koneko will die!"

"Recovery Crystal is useless?" Lingyun frowned slightly. "Let me try!"

Lingyun placed his right hand on the Koneko's head while his left hand activated the Recovery Crystal. Sure enough, he received a notification that the usage failed. Lingyun raised an eyebrow, then mobilized the Source Power within his body and slowly channeled it into the Koneko.

The Koneko let out a comfortable meow and lay motionless in Lingqi's arms, but the health bar above its head began to recover bit by bit. Once the Koneko's health bar reached the yellow zone, it began to rise slowly on its own.

Lingyun let go and let out a light breath. Only then did he notice that the Koneko in Lingqi's arms had fallen asleep.

"Lingyun, can we take it with us for the rest of the journey? It's too dangerous for it to wander alone in this forest!" Lingqi looked at Lingyun with anticipation.

Looking at Lingqi's expression, Lingyun was even more certain that Lingqi loved small animals, especially Koneko. Moreover, the Koneko in his arms always gave him an unusual feeling. In a map like this, it was impossible for a Koneko to appear without any reason; perhaps bringing it along would lead to some unexpected gains!

"Hmm, then let's take it with us." After weighing the pros and cons, Lingyun nodded slightly.