Chapter 152: Exchanging Hearts

What if Li En and his group had not come underground?

Perhaps, despite some twists, the underground world would eventually reach a "truce."

Though it's unknown whether the Mind Flayers enslaved the Dark Elves and Beasts, or whether the Dark Elves and Beasts completed their alliance, they would ultimately reach an accord.

Then the next target is destined to be the mortals aboveground—if nothing goes wrong, they will support the "Deer's" successful resurrection.

After all, once the "Deer" is released, it will surely go on a rampage among the people above.

And when the surface's living space becomes vacant, they will naturally try to seize it.

In the competition for living space, different races begin their relationships by imagining each other as enemies.

"When enemies fight enemies, why should we rush to interfere?" Li En watched the Beasts and Mind Flayers clash with pleasure; he even spotted numerous Dark Elf warriors among the Beast Cult's ranks.

Fate twisted at this moment: when the Brain Tyrant enslaved the Beast Prince and began rebuilding the "Mind Flayer Empire," it meant the Beast Faction, the Mind Flayers, and the Dark Elves had become mortal enemies.

The surface dwellers may look down on the underground world, but to them, this is the most vital living space—the necessity for their race's survival and development.

As time passed, their hatred and friction inevitably surged.

The Dark Elf families received orders to eliminate the Mind Flayer Brain Tyrant, to reduce pressure from the threat to Mordothil.

But in daily life, like that unfortunate third daughter, they had frequently interacted with the Beast Cult—now marching onto the battlefield together, it seemed only natural.

Lizard cavalry were elite Dark Elf warriors; some were temporarily reassigned from outside patrols, others were private troops already maintained by their families beyond the city walls.

On the battlefield now, at least a hundred and more had appeared, using their mobility to circumvent the front lines and achieve their strategic objectives.

Noble daughters from each family, protected by their guards, fulfilled their duties as priests, casting various supportive spells onto the front lines.

Notably, since they worshipped the Dark Elf shadow deity, the Silver Vial Lady, their supportive magic was subtly effective, while their spells summoning shadow creatures and attacking with shadow energy were exceptionally potent.

"Aoooo!" But what drew Li En's greatest attention were the Black Dragon Knights gliding across the battlefield.

Even including their tails, juvenile Black Dragons might not reach four meters.

Yet wherever they glided, they left behind trails of lethal acidic breath.

Just like their magical dragon wings, what appeared to be "spitting saliva" was in fact powerful, deadly magical elemental damage.

Anyone caught in the blast—whether Mind Flayers or slave warriors—would either die instantly or suffer grave injuries.

Riding the Black Dragon, Lu Xifude wielded her battle flag and halberd, boosting morale while pointing toward the assault direction and roaring at the behemoth—don't ask why, she just did it!

To the underground Dark Elves, at this moment, she truly looked like a war goddess incarnate, bearing the aura of a future divine maiden of Mordothil.

"But drawing so much attention—are you tired of living?"

Li En understood she needed more prestige, needed the Dark Elf warriors on the battlefield to remember her—but in a sector where you're not the strongest, isn't it safer to keep your head down? After all—

"Boom!"

A visible mass of magical energy directly transformed into a cannon shot, striking the Great Deer with full force.

"Whir!" The malformed Great Deer, its body blooming in agony and screaming, retaliated.

Its cerebral tentacles thrashed wildly; the antlers flashed again, unleashing continuous lightning.

"Zzzzz!" This time, it was a relentless chain of lightning sweeps.

Everything around was engulfed in an electric grid; countless lives were suddenly struck.

Most victims died instantly, reduced to charred corpses—but this attack struck first and hardest those closest to it: their own allies!

This was psionic-simulated lightning, but reaching such absurd power levels meant the Brain Tyrant was overwhelmingly potent within its own domain.

The Mind Flayers scattered away from the behemoth; their high intelligence made them unwilling to become cannon fodder.

Yet the slain slaves obediently remained with the behemoth.

In the center of the battlefield, two magical girls and the behemoth (plus the Brain Tyrant) began a brutal, direct slaughter.

For a time, magic cannons clashed with gravity waves; the Brain Tyrant, nearly insane, converted its psychic abilities into all manner of elemental magic.

After all, the Beasts and the magical girls were hardly sentient beings—they barely registered psychic damage.

Fighting the Brain Tyrant in the Mind Flayers' territory was as foolish as challenging a high-rank mage in his tower… but apparently, there was no other choice now.

Many Mind Flayers had collapsed; their psionic energy and even their souls were directly drained by the Brain Tyrant, becoming fuel to control the behemoth.

What it now controlled were two Beasts forcibly accelerated to princehood!

The behemoth descended into madness; the magical girls, also forcibly accelerated, could not yet master their own "authority."

But some things require no skill: the super-tier magic cannons, fueled by converted life energy, grew heavier with each shot.

The Beast Prince was further accelerated and evolved; its metabolism, sped up by psionics, healed its wounds at high speed.

This was clearly wasteful—the Beasts were already absurdly resilient lifeforms; forcing further "metabolic acceleration" upon a creature already artificially matured would continuously damage its core, shortening its lifespan.

But probably, everyone on the battlefield didn't care.

Ironically, both sides using the "Deer's" power were being manipulated by others, burning their own lives in desperation.

And even if they won, the victories and spoils would not belong to them.

The Dark Elves were also moving—they made no attempt to kill the Great Deer, even deliberately avoiding the battlefield… beneath the fissure cracked open by boulders, the Mind Flayers' underground lair had been exposed.

"The Great Lady of the Mirror watches over us! Killing the Brain Tyrant will surely make us the new Chosen!"

This, perhaps, was the plain truth.

The haughty ladies either summoned demons or leapt onto the "filthy lizards," charging alongside the lizard cavalry.

Only one merit existed; none would allow another to claim it.

The cunning Dark Elves immediately grasped the situation: while the magical girls distracted the Great Deer and the Brain Tyrant, the Brain Tyrant's true body was defenseless.

Large numbers of lizard cavalry, escorting the noble daughters, avoided each battlefield and surged toward the fissure.

"Boom!"

The first lizard cavalryman, accompanied by the eldest daughter, leapt into the base's fissure—and then—

"Aaaaaa!"

A woman's scream echoed around them—clearly, she had met with misfortune.

This underground fortress, the Brain Tyrant's true body, was clearly not undefended.

"The entire underground base is likely the Brain Tyrant's psionic field—this settlement alone has at least a hundred Mind Flayers; the psionic energy it drains will be terrifying. The weak can't even approach."

Violet Rose made her judgment, still smiling calmly at the battlefield.

She watched the two Deer-magic girls and the behemoth fight to the death, as if entirely unrelated to her.

"I cannot approach the battlefield—or they might abandon everything else just to eliminate me."

These calm words were the Snake Witch's helplessness.

"Whenever a 'Snake' appears, the 'Deer' will ignore everything else and perish alongside it. Tsk, we're the least destructive Beast—this is too much."

But Li En didn't believe the latter half of her words; to treat the 'Snake' as harmless was to be truly foolish.

He wanted to ask: what exactly did you do to become the #1 target of hatred?

"So we just watch here?"

Li En felt reluctant—so much evil—but he knew that if his group entered this battlefield, they'd be erased instantly.

"I can't go near, but you can."

Violet Rose leaned close, smiling, as if implying something.

"I?" Li En was confused—what was special about him?

He wasn't a thief, couldn't teleport—approaching this level of psychic field would mean instant death.

"Don't rush. Wait a moment… I left a teleportation point, specifically for you."

"What?" Li En was even more lost, but Violet Rose was already pressed against him—on the other side, the two Shaliman had glaring eyes fixed on them.

"Auntie, what do you mean? The psionic field at the Mind Flayer lair—anyone below high-rank would be obliterated instantly!"

"Psionic power can be guarded by psionic power," Violet Rose had already prepared her response.

"Impossible—it's not the same level of strength," Shaliman shook her head; she could barely test herself against a normal Mind Flayer, but this was the Brain Tyrant's psychic domain.

"Idiot, I wasn't talking about you," Violet Rose shot her a disgruntled look.

Then she turned, rose on tiptoe, and stretched out her arms as if to embrace Li En.

"Auntie!"

Shaliman's shout still rang in his ears when Li En realized he couldn't move.

Then he stared, dumbfounded, as those red lips drew closer.

"Auntie!!"

"Sssss! (You bitch!)"

It had come—the moment Li En's eyes widened in utter disbelief.

But he truly felt that softness—he'd never experienced anything like it.

The light kiss lasted only a moment, yet felt eternal.

The adorable magical girl covered her cheeks, her face flushed as if she'd drunk wine.

She seemed shy, yet excited.

Li En was stunned—his first kiss was gone, right here on the battlefield?

"This… is my first kiss too," she murmured, embarrassed, then lifted her head, her pupils brimming with expectation.

"Can you… believe me? Can you give me your heart?" The girl, gazing at the man she favored, no longer concealed her feelings—she declared her love outright.

Before Li En could respond, Shaliman's hair had already bristled with snakes.

"Aun—" But Violet Rose merely waved her hand—and Shaliman froze.

Shaliman, who had intended to strike, found herself utterly immobilized—only able to stare with tear-filled eyes.

Li En was stunned, but his head was twisted by two hands.

The pouting girl looked up at him; at this distance, Li En saw her glistening eyes and caught the faint, pleasant scent of flowers.

"Now, look only at me." The girl no longer suppressed her emotions.

"I" took a deep breath; since she had confessed, Li En was no herbivore—he would give a clear response.

The next moment, his mouth was sealed again.

This time, something wet seemed to enter his mouth!

Then, the girl stepped back and parted, smiling at him.

Li En had just regained his breath and was about to speak when a soft finger pressed over his lips.

The girl still smiled like a blooming flower, yet her pupils held complex emotions, as if she had seen through everything.

She knew how Li En would answer—but she did not want to hear it.

"I'm joking; we're not there yet."

"Just lend me your heart for now. Belief is magic—I will protect you."

As the silenced Li En frowned in confusion, she lightly waved her staff, murmuring softly.

At the same moment, behind her, the most active black dragon and its rider had already charged into the underground base.

She was the strongest and most fearless dragon rider among the dark elves on this mission.

"Sssss (We never left.)" Just then, Violet Rose completed the incantation.

The next instant, the scenery before Li En blurred—he vanished from his original spot.

When his mobility and vision returned, he found himself atop a black dragon's back!

This "coordinate" was right on the black dragon's back!

Violet Rose had not lied—it was the "target marker" prepared for Li En.

Yet, without anyone on the battlefield noticing, Li En had simply hitched a ride on the dragon rider's back and entered the main brain's base!

Just a meter ahead of him, the dragon rider Luo Si Xia Luofen was still laughing wildly.

The black dragon's power, along with the "divine artifact" she held, had successfully blocked the psychic field's pressure—everything unfolded as planned.

Lost in ecstatic joy, she seemed to already see her dream fulfilled: ascending to Mother Superior, becoming the next candidate for city lord.

Watching the evil presence so close and utterly defenseless, Li En seriously considered his options.

"Should I just deliver a righteous backstab to shock the hell out of it?"

(End of Chapter)