Chapter 141: The Suggester (Third Chapter, Nearly Ten Thousand)

"Male, who gave you permission to look at me? Kneel and accept my whip punishment! Kiss my boots right now, or I shall grant you death."

The overly classic dark elf taunt instantly left Li En stunned.

He paused for a moment before confirming the words were directed at him.

Lucien Xia Luofen, eldest daughter of the city's third family, now rode a small black dragon, looking down upon this group of surface dwellers.

They had now reached an open field outside the city, teleported there by Zi Qiangwei's magic.

When Wei Erna had come to see them off, this noblewoman had been perfectly normal.

But after departure, this noble 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 the rare exception."

Zi Qiangwei still smiled, as if none of this concerned her.

In traditional dark elf society, only noblewomen were considered human; men were either cannon fodder or slaves. But this noblewoman's direct mockery was, in a sense, merely habitual.

"She's trying to seize command of the team by using me to establish dominance?"

Li En sighed and prepared to draw his sword.

Unconsciously, his pupils had transformed into dragon eyes.

Dragons are proud, even arrogant; Li En had never considered himself inferior to others. When he silently lifted his gaze, his dragon eyes glowed with a faint golden light.

"Aoooaoo!" Before the dragon knight could react, the small black dragon instinctively retreated.

It felt an inexplicable terror, as if it had encountered a predator of higher rank.

"Roar roar! (You're just a mortal!)" Feeling cheated, the small black dragon tried to roar back.

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

He hadn't truly wanted to make things this ugly—he'd planned to let this unlucky fool die naturally.

But now, he had no choice.

"Apologize, or die."

But someone stepped in front of Li En to defend him.

The crimson Valkyrie hovered midair, her divine spear radiating lethal flames.

The eldest daughter of the first family silently regarded the eldest daughter of the third family, her phoenix eyes filled with unhidden murderous intent.

She intended to kill.

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

And if Li En killed the noblewoman on the spot, the newly signed alliance would likely be nullified.

This could not be allowed to happen.

With no immediate response, the Valkyrie Alekne raised her spear, preparing to kill Lucien outright.

If the third daughter died at the hands of the first daughter, it would merely be another internal feud among dark elf families.

Her murderous intent had solidified; the spear had ignited.

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

But the mighty "dragon knight," realizing the city lord's elder sister truly meant to strike, froze in shock.

Beneath her tough exterior lay a soul that bullied the weak and cowered before the strong; when her life was threatened, dignity meant nothing.

The dragon knight hastily removed her helmet and offered insincere, rapid apologies.

She had been specifically summoned by the goddess-city lord, believing the family valued her and her dragon's strength. These past days, having gained the dragon knight title, she had grown arrogant beyond measure.

Dark elves are classic opportunists; this noblewoman, feeling herself "pursued," sought to exploit this advantage for greater leverage—perhaps even partial command of the mission.

In dark elf culture, only the leader gains the majority of benefits and honor; followers are mere servants.

On the journey here, her sisters had lavished praise upon her, as if she were poised to become matriarch, even new city lord. But now, frightened by the divine spear, reason returned, and she reverted to the cunning, opportunistic nature of a dark elf noble.

"I... I was just overly excited, surface dweller. I apologize for my rudeness." She didn't realize she was wrong—she realized she was about to die.

Though she apologized to Li En, her eyes never left Valkyrie Alekne; she had never regarded the surface dweller as anything at all.

Li En sighed. The Valkyrie stood before him; he cast a calm glance at the dragon and its rider. No rush. Not at all.

After this minor incident, continuing together was unnecessary.

As originally planned, they were to split into small teams. The Xia Luofen family immediately took their belongings and departed.

According to plan, they would now scatter and ambush individual mind flayer squads.

The priority was eliminating mind flayer squads sent from the Outer Realms—cutting off the mastermind's claws. Intelligence also indicated persistent search teams of mind flayers roaming the wasteland, which must be eradicated as well.

Watching the hurried departure of the black dragon knight, Li En fell into thought.

He wasn't shocked by the noblewoman's stupidity—he'd heard many similar stories before.

Born as a child of heaven, dark elf noblewomen moved only among other noblewomen; men were slaves or playthings. To a noblewoman, behaving as she had toward a surface male was perfectly natural—yet...

"Sallyman, thank you, but there was no need to act so hastily." He turned suddenly, sincerely expressing gratitude, subtly implying: "Well done. Don't do it again."

"Huh?" Sallyman tilted her head, innocent and confused, unable to understand why he said that.

"Sssss (Hmph, I'm not helping you—I just hate that idiot!)" The other Sallyman was even more tsundere!

Turning away, Li En sighed. Her split personality was worsening.

He hadn't been certain—only guessing—but now he knew for sure: it was "Sallyman" who had acted.

On the journey here, Sallyman, as the "surface noblewoman," had exchanged a few words with this underground noblewoman. That must have been when she was targeted.

Her goal? Likely to provoke conflict, giving Li En reason to slay the noblewoman and her dragon—directly acquiring the materials needed for advancement.

A mind mage combined with an enchantress (illusionist)—layered deception, subtle and insidious. He hadn't even realized when he'd been ensnared.

The real Sallyman was surely not a first-circle mage (for her, stagnating at first circle would be a waste of resources); she had likely advanced beyond third circle in illusion specialization.

She probably excelled most in mind-affecting illusion spells.

Enchanters specialize in "adding magical effects to XX"—enchanted objects, imbuing them with various states.

Against enemies, these are curses; against oneself or magical items, they are buffs.

If one specializes in granting permanent enchantments to magical items, one becomes a professional logistical enchanter—the most profitable branch of magic.

But if the target of the spell is a "sentient being," the focus is on mind and behavior: charm, hypnosis, forced action—all possible. Combined with psychic suggestion, these kill without a trace.

"The revived Sallyman doesn't seem to be in a normal state either. A normal person split in two? Neither half is likely normal."

But Li En could only wait—for her to truly stabilize. So far, everyone else in the team had noticed Sallyman's oddness, yet Sallyman herself remained completely unaware.

The unpleasant incident might pass quickly, but the crack had formed. Others cursed Lucien for her stupidity; Li En's group felt a faint guilt.

But now that the rift had formed, it actually aided Li En's team in operating independently.

This mission wasn't just surface dwellers and the third family. Other families received tasks like "clearing stragglers" or "ambushing mind flayers"—less dangerous than holding the city walls (no beasts to face). Several families had sent their elites and noblewomen.

Now, scattered into small hunting parties, Li En's group easily separated from the main force and began autonomous hunting.

Alekne wanted to follow, but other families watched her closely; she could only temporarily agree on a meeting time and place.

Victoria of the second family, already an outsider in this mission, slipped easily into the surface dwellers' group. Though her family's noblewoman glared sharply, no one objected.

"Half of us making it back would be a miracle." Her first words sounded like a curse upon her companions.

"No, it's not a curse. I'm stating facts. This is the perfect time to settle old scores. Several top-ranked noblewomen have arrived—it's the ideal chance to eliminate rivals."

Victoria, who despised dark elves most, thought like one with remarkable maturity.

She was right. They all knew the "true mission," but none spoke it aloud.

During the mission, they would inevitably kill each other.

Their current obedient splitting into small teams? Likely to facilitate mutual hunting.

This underground wasteland holds all kinds of filth. Death is normal. No need to bury bodies—just leave them for monsters to devour.

"I don't want to follow my own family's squad. Someone like me will inevitably be pushed to the front as cannon fodder." Victoria sounded almost excited; she had clearly decided to leave dark elf society.

Stranger still, though she had accepted the ancestral soul inheritance, she showed no obvious changes.

"Alright, let's get to work. We can't rely on them—they'll mostly kill each other and never complete the mission." Li En sighed. Perhaps dark elves were better suited as enemies than allies; being one's ally was pure torment.

Yet, as he smelled the wild air and sensed the fragrance of battle, Li En felt an unexpected thrill.

He felt full of energy, eager to fight right now.

Perhaps this was simply his growing adaptation to the battlefield.

"Uh... Sallyman, it's still too early. No rush." Li En sensed something off—his condition felt too good.

"Huh?" The adorable Sallyman tilted her head, utterly baffled.

"Sssss (Ungrateful! Fine, I won't buff you anymore!)" The other Sallyman admitted it outright.

Of course—it was you again.

(End of Chapter)