Chapter 113

Steel boots crushed dry mud, while glowing moss overhead faintly marked the path, allowing Li En's Dragon Eyes to gradually adapt to this underground wilderness.

"You might not believe this, but compared to the dark elf cities, I actually find this underground wilderness more comfortable."

Li En stretched his body and swung his longsword casually, slicing a venomous snake hiding in the tree into pieces.

As bloody, stinking snake flesh fell to the ground, Li En frowned at the bark-like snake skin.

This place truly isn't survivable for ordinary people; most underground life forms are extremely aggressive and have evolved abilities in "stealth" and "perception."

Judging by its triangular head, this was a venomous snake—most creatures here possess one-strike lethal methods; without Dragon Eyes, I'd probably have been ambushed nonstop.

"I also think it's way more comfortable than the inn. I always feel like the dark elves might sneak in at any moment—it's stressful. I mean, they've already arrived, but not in large numbers."

Larry fully accepted Li En's words but continued steadily forward, scouting the path.

Li En occupied position one, watching right; Larry occupied position two, watching left—their stance followed the standard diagonal guard formation.

In adventuring parties, it's traditional for melee fighters like paladins to take the front line, and usually the strongest knight leads.

Li En had no desire for this honor—he thought Larry's armor was far superior to his own, so Larry should logically be the frontline tank—but Larry stubbornly insisted on following his senior, and Li En didn't want to say it too plainly.

"Forget it, it's about the same anyway. I'll go first—I can use Dragon Eyes to see farther. Ugh, another ambush predator in the grass—hope it's smart enough not to jump out."

Larry followed three steps behind Li En, the standard trailing position, convenient for timely support.

From her performance so far, her basic tactical training was solid; Li En had even learned some tactical maneuvers from her.

Unlike other surface orc warriors who panicked the moment they entered the underground, both frontliners in this squad had adapted effortlessly to the environment.

Li En's faintly glowing Dragon Eyes and Larry's spider-sense could easily detect hidden threats—most native creatures' camouflage was useless against them.

Occasionally, a few managed to fool both of them, but the "elders" behind would immediately warn them.

Though behind them weren't just elders—they also had a dad.

"Are we there yet?" came the weak, gasping complaint from behind Li En—it was Miss Miss Shaliman again.

"We've only been walking for less than twenty minutes."

Li En sighed; this was the third time Miss Miss Shaliman had complained.

Is this what noble ladies' stamina is like? But you've at least undergone one racial evolution—your base stats shouldn't be this low.

"This hellhole—I can't even walk! It's so sticky, so exhausting."

The snake woman stared at her tail, her face filled with disgust and irritation.

Snakefolk aren't without their own "boots"—they often wear scaled tail guards when traveling.

They're certainly less nimble than ordinary boots, but in certain situations, they're even faster—if Miss Miss Shaliman were willing to slither low to the ground like a true snake, she'd be the fastest.

Her body had internalized the habit of walking upright in that "noble snake lady (launch-step)" gait, which was precisely why she was so exhausted.

This gait deliberately defied the species' natural physiology for aesthetics and status—only someone like Miss Miss Shaliman would cling to it now.

"I can't take it anymore. I want a carriage."

She seemed mentally drained—this brightest, most beautiful pearl of Radiant City had descended into childlike whining, likely overwhelmed to the point of surrender.

Since they'd used teleportation magic, not even Larry's giant spider-beast had been brought along—everyone walked except him.

"Giddy-up!" A Lord Lord Kuku rode past on a mechanical dragon—no one knew how he'd assembled it from junk parts in mere minutes.

The dragon was exquisite, its design a classic gear-based mechanical dinosaur from Li En's memories.

Paired with its rider—a mechanical Kusla—it looked like a comically oversized toy set.

But now, this "toy set" was getting boring.

So he made his mount circle Miss Miss Shaliman repeatedly, using action to urge her forward.

"I can't walk anymore." This finally broke Miss Miss Shaliman completely.

She stopped moving entirely.

Li En sighed; bringing Miss Miss Shaliman along had clearly been the worst decision.

"Forget it, I'll handle this." Suddenly, the ever-bouncing Violet Miss Zi Qiangwei spoke up.

She murmured softly, and next moment, a giant serpent appeared on the ground before them.

It was a serpent equipped with a seat, a sunshade, even a fishing rod and a barbecue stand.

Of course Violet Miss Zi Qiangwei had a mount—she wouldn't possibly walk such a long distance herself.

Li En felt a pang of envy—he'd heard high-ranking paladins could summon divine mounts—but he doubted he'd ever get such a blessing; he had no intention of believing in gods.

"Why didn't you say so sooner?" Miss Miss Shaliman grumbled as she struggled to climb onto the serpent, now acting like a spoiled child.

"I…" Violet Miss Zi Qiangwei touched her brow and sighed; she'd only wanted to give her little niece some training.

What do you do when a child misbehaves? Violet Miss Zi Qiangwei felt her fingers twitching.

But time was tight, and delaying the whole team wasn't worth it.

Violet Miss Zi Qiangwei silently watched her niece climb onto her chair and start rummaging through her drink bag, adding another note to her mental list.

A child being a little bratty or lazy is normal—especially when unguided. Very normal. So, after returning, as an elder, I'll properly discipline her—with magical girl love!

Violet Miss Zi Qiangwei clenched her fist, recalling how her seniors had shown her "love," and smiled more cheerfully.

She'd previously tolerated Miss Miss Shaliman because she hadn't seen her potential—but now, she'd train her as a reserve candidate from the moment they returned.

Being chosen by the Hall of Spirits proves her potential isn't weak—hellish training shouldn't kill her… right?

Violet Miss Zi Qiangwei smiled, quietly scheduling her little niece for magical girl-level hell training.

With that burden gone, the team moved more easily; the other noble lady, Larry's younger sister Xiao Nona, had never slowed the pace and remained silent throughout.

But from the exhaustion on her face, she likely also struggled with travel in this region—especially with constant vigilance required, otherwise…

"Here we go again." Sudden, rapid footsteps announced another encounter.

Li En sighed; this underground zone was truly insane—only twenty minutes in, and this was the third enemy encounter.

But unlike previous monsters, this opponent was somewhat surprising.

"Weak." Before even the rear spellcasters moved, Li En severed the lead gray dwarf's weapons with two strikes.

Once the frontline meat shield fell, the rest collapsed into rout; this Grey Dwarf squad was dispatched by the Outsiders in two moves.

He had fought Grey Dwarves before; their weapons and armor were fine, and most were highly familiar with the battlefield. There was no reason for them to be this weak.

"Your previous opponents were all Class-holders, right? This one is a non-Classed militia?"

The Grey Dwarf warriors who struck first had already all fallen. Compared to the opponents Li En had faced before, they were truly too weak.

And this seemed to mean

"There should be a Grey Dwarf village nearby." Their range of activity rarely extends far.

"We shouldn't be far from the target location, then."

Perhaps they could borrow some labor? For an evil faction that wanted to kill him, Li En felt no psychological pressure at all about making them mine and work for a while.

"No need! Labor already reserved! Very reliable."

At this moment, Lord Lord Kuku, however, seemed to have a different opinion.

"Indeed, no need to complicate matters, but Grey Dwarves are, in a sense, vassals and hired hands of the Dark Elves. These wild Grey Dwarf tribes usually guard something. Why not go take a look?"

But a single sentence from Purple Miss Zi Qiangwei made Lord Lord Kuku, whose curiosity was already at maximum, change his mind on the spot.

"Coming too! Coming too! Let GuGu wait a moment! It's fine!" Lord Lord Kuku seemed to have revealed something.

"Who is GuGu..." Li En still wanted to ask, but Lord Lord Kuku had already rushed out.

Helplessly, Li En sighed and could only follow.

If they really opened up a street's worth of distance, Kusla would simply disconnect and collapse; at that point, after Lord Lord Kuku reconnected, he would definitely complain again.

Li En did not want to complicate matters; after all, who knew what demons and monsters lurked in this underground region.

But this time, complicating matters might be the right choice.

"Mind Flayers?! How can there be Mind Flayers here? Are all these Grey Dwarves slaves of the Mind Flayers?"

In an empty village, an octopus-headed Mind Flayer was saying something to those Grey Dwarves wearing collars.

Li En was still hesitating whether to launch a surprise attack.

"I'm going!"

He saw Lord Lord Kuku charge out ahead of everyone else.

These were Mind Flayers, mid-tier BOSSes in many novel stories. Can your small frame really handle them?

"There are Mind Flayers! That means treasure! They plunder; we plunder them!" Alright, you're in a rush to rob the rich to help the poor.

But since Mind Flayers usually only pursue treasure... ahem, since there is evil before your eyes, what is a Paladin hesitating for? Charge!

"Break Evil!" Li En's sword was always fast.

(End of this chapter)