Chapter 141: The Suggester (Approaching 10,000 Words in the Third Watch)

"Male, who allowed you to look directly at me? Kneel and accept my whipping! Kiss my boots right now, or I shall grant you death."

This overly classic Dark Elf taunt left Li En stunned for a moment.

He paused, only then confirming that these words were directed at him.

Lu Xier Xia Luofen, the eldest daughter of the city's third family, was currently riding a small black dragon, looking down upon this group of surface dwellers.

At this moment, they had already arrived at an open field outside the city, transported there by Purple Miss Zi Qiangwei's spell.

When Veerna came specifically to see them off, this noble lady had still been quite normal.

But after setting out, this noble eldest daughter revealed her true nature.

"So this is a Dark Elf noble?"

"Yes, this is what a Dark Elf noble truly is; what you saw before was actually a rare exception."

Purple Miss Zi Qiangwei continued to smile, as if it had nothing to do with her.

In traditional Dark Elf society, only noble ladies from noble families counted as people; males were either cannon fodder or slaves. Yet this noble lady directly spoke in mockery, which, in a sense, was also a habit.

"Is she trying to seize leadership of the group by using me to establish her authority?"

Li En sighed and prepared to draw his sword.

Unknowingly, those pupils had already transformed into dragon eyes.

Dragons are proud, even arrogant; Li En never felt inferior to anyone. As he silently raised his head, those dragon eyes emitted a faint golden light.

"Awooo!" Before the dragon rider could react, the little black dragon instinctively retreated.

It felt an inexplicable fear, as if it had encountered the hunting of a superior being.

"Roar roar! (You are merely a mortal!)" Feeling it had suffered a loss, the little black dragon tried to roar back.

Li En smiled; his hand had already reached the sword hilt.

He actually didn't want to make things look this ugly; originally, he had planned to let this unlucky person die naturally.

But now, there seemed to be no choice.

"Apologize, or die."

However, someone stood in front of Li En, speaking up for him.

A fiery red Valkyrie floated in the air, her divine spear emitting deadly flames.

The "eldest daughter" of the First Family silently watched the eldest daughter of the Third Family; in those phoenix eyes lay undisguised killing intent.

She intended to kill.

If Li En and Lu Xier fought each other, regardless of who won or lost, this mission would already be a failure.

And if Li En killed the noble lady on the spot, the alliance just signed would likely be voided.

How could such a thing be allowed to happen?

Not receiving an immediate response, the Valkyrie Alekne raised her spear, preparing to kill Lu Xier directly.

If the Third Eldest Daughter died at the hands of the First Eldest Daughter, it would merely be another internal struggle between Dark Elf families.

Her killing intent had already turned substantial; the spear had ignited.

"Sorry, sorry! Surface dweller! I spoke without thinking!"

But the mighty "Dragon Rider," upon confirming that the City Lord's sister truly intended to act, was instantly stunned.

Beneath her seemingly tough exterior lay a soul that bullied the weak and feared the strong; when life was threatened, what was dignity worth?

The Dragon Rider hurriedly removed her helmet, apologizing repeatedly with no sincerity.

She had been personally named by the Goddess City Lord to join the group, believing the City Lord's family valued her and her dragon's power. These past days, having obtained a dragon mount, she had been strutting with her tail in the sky.

Dark Elves have a typical personality of pushing their luck; this noble lady, feeling she was being "courted," intended to leverage this advantage to demand more, at least gaining partial leadership of the operation.

In Dark Elf culture, only the leader can obtain the majority of benefits and honors; followers are merely servants.

On the way here, her sisters had praised her endlessly, as if she could become the matriarch at any moment and the new City Lord. But now, frightened by this divinely powered spear, reason suddenly took the upper hand, and she reverted to being a Dark Elf noble skilled at shifting with the wind.

"I... I was just a bit overly excited, surface dweller. I apologize for my shallowness." This wasn't realizing she was wrong, but truly realizing she was about to die.

Although she apologized to Li En, her gaze remained fixed on the Valkyrie Alekne; she had never considered the surface dweller important from start to finish.

Li En sighed; the Valkyrie had also stood in front of him. He silently glanced at the dragon and the dragon rider. No rush, really no need to rush.

After this little incident, continuing to act together had become unnecessary.

Originally planning to split into small squads to execute the mission, the Xia Luofen family members took their luggage and left first.

According to the plan, they would now disperse to ambush individual Mind Flayer squads one by one.

The focus was on the Mind Flayer squads arriving from the Outer Planes to provide support, eliminating the Brain's claws. Some intelligence also indicated that there were always Mind Flayer search squads on the wasteland, which also needed to be cleared out.

Watching the black dragon rider hurry away, Li En fell into thought.

He wasn't surprised by this noble lady's stupidity; he had actually heard many similar stories long ago.

Born as a favored child of heaven, a Dark Elf noble lady's circle consisted only of other noble ladies; males were basically slaves and playthings. Whatever behavior she directed at surface-dwelling males was considered natural, just...

"Miss Shaliman, thank you, but there was truly no need to be so urgent." He suddenly turned his head, expressing gratitude sincerely, while implying, "Good job, but don't do it next time."

"Uh?" Miss Shaliman tilted her head, looking innocent, somewhat unable to understand why Li En would say that.

"Hiss hiss (Hmph, I wasn't helping you; I just found that idiot annoying)." The other Miss Shaliman was actually acting tsundere!

Turning around, Li En sighed; this split personality was getting worse and worse.

He actually had no certainty; it was pure speculation. Asking now confirmed it was indeed "Miss Shaliman" who had acted.

On the way here, Miss Shaliman, as the "surface noble lady," had chatted a few words with this underground noble lady; she must have been infected at that time.

The purpose? Probably to provoke a fight, giving Li En a reason to kill the other party and the black dragon, directly obtaining the required advancement materials.

A Psion plus an Enchanter (Beguiler), darkness within darkness; truly, one wouldn't even know when they had been infected.

The real Miss Shaliman probably wasn't a First-Circle Mage (stopping at the First Circle would be a waste of resources for her); she should have cultivated at least to the Third Circle or higher in Beguiler specialization.

What she was most skilled at was probably various mind-affecting Beguiler spells.

Enchanters specialize in "imposing magical effects on XX," meaning they enchant "items" to bestow various status effects upon them.

Against enemies, it can be a curse; against oneself or a Magical item, it can be a buff.

And if the specialization involves granting permanent enchantments to magical items, that is the professional logistical enchanter, the most profitable branch of mages.

And if the target of spellcasting control is a "sentient being," the influence primarily affects the mind and actions; charm, hypnosis, and forced movement are all possible, and suggestions mixed with psychic power can kill without a trace.

"The resurrected Miss Shaliman does not seem to be in a normal state. A normal person, split in half, is naturally not very normal."

But Li En seemed to have no choice but to wait, waiting for her to truly stabilize. By now, the rest of the squad had noticed Miss Shaliman's oddness, yet Miss Shaliman herself was completely unaware.

The unpleasant interlude might pass in a flash, but the rift had already formed; while others cursed Lucil for being an idiot, Li En's group felt slightly guilty.

But since the influence had taken hold, it actually facilitated Li En's group acting independently.

This time, not only Surface Dwellers came, but also the Third Family; other families received missions to "mop up stragglers" and "snatch Mind Flayers," the danger of which was actually lower than fighting to the death on the city walls (no need to face beasts), so several families dispatched their core members and noble ladies.

Now forming small squads to hunt separately, Li En's group also smoothly separated from the main force to conduct their own hunting.

Alekne actually wanted to follow, but other families were watching her closely, so they could only temporarily agree on a meeting time and place.

As for Victoria of the Second Family, she was already a marginal figure when she infiltrated this time; she easily blended into a squad of Surface Dwellers. Although the gaze of her family's noble lady was piercing, no one said anything.

"It would be good enough to get half back." And as soon as she spoke, it seemed like a curse upon her companions.

"No, how is that a curse? I am stating a fact. Now is the time to settle mutual grievances; several top-ranked noble ladies have arrived, making this a perfect opportunity to eliminate competitors."

Victoria, who hated Dark Elves the most, possessed a remarkably mature Dark Elf mindset.

She was right; they all likely knew the "true mission" of this journey in their hearts, they just didn't say it outright.

In the process of completing the mission, they would surely slaughter each other.

Now that they are so obediently splitting into small squads on their own, it should be to facilitate their mutual hunting.

This underground wasteland has all sorts of chaotic things; isn't dying perfectly normal? There's no need to even deal with corpses; just leave them in the wilderness and let monsters eat them.

"I don't want to follow my own family's squad; someone like me will sooner or later be pushed up to be cannon fodder." Victoria was somewhat excited; she seemed to have already made up her mind to leave Dark Elf society.

And even more bizarrely, although she had clearly accepted the Heroic Soul inheritance, there were no obvious changes.

"Alright, we should get to work too; we can't rely on them. They will mostly focus on slaughtering each other and won't actively complete the mission." Li En sighed; perhaps things like Dark Elves were more suitable as enemies, and acting as allies was purely torture.

But smelling the scent of the wilderness and feeling the fragrance of the battlefield, Li En inexplicably grew excited again.

He felt full of strength and wished to fight a great battle right now.

Perhaps this was also a manifestation of him gradually adapting to the battlefield.

"Uh, Miss Shaliman is a bit early for that, no rush." Li En felt something was off; it seemed his own state was too good.

"Eh?" The cute Miss Shaliman tilted her head, looking completely bewildered.

"Hiss hiss (You don't appreciate good intentions, so I won't buff you)!" And over here, Miss Shaliman simply admitted it.

As expected, it's you again.

(End of this chapter)