Chapter 85: Lightness and Gravity

Luge looked at the red-haired woman who was an Extraordinary, also hiding a trace of nervousness beneath her solemn expression, and understood that this matter probably would not be easy to resolve. Moreover, it most likely was not some sudden incident; if it truly were, there was only one person here worth targeting, and it certainly would not be him, an unknown Kobold.

Lorigo suddenly reached out and pulled the red-haired woman aside, walking slowly to stand before Luge, examining that dog face covered in fur and small scales at close range.

"Wizard Luge, can I trust you?"

Lorigo's expression was extremely grave.

Being stared at so closely, with eyes locked, Luge indeed felt somewhat uncomfortable. But he could already sense that sincerity — or more accurately, not sincerity, but a desperate, all-or-nothing genuineness born of having no choice.

"These Atoners could not have suddenly appeared here; their appearance is most likely related to me. They may want to stop me from exploring the Ruins, or they may simply want to take my life. I lean toward the second possibility. Even that Ruin may not exist at all. They must have accounted for Motel; anyone familiar would know Motel always stays by my side, so there must be an Extraordinary hidden in the dark capable of opposing Motel..."

Young Master Lorigo spoke in a clear, orderly manner; the sounds of slaughter around the camp made his complexion grow uglier, but did not disrupt his train of thought.

This was also the first time Luge had heard the red-haired woman's name. But it raised another question: himself, a Spellcaster who happened to be a Wizard, simply appearing in a filthy, chaotic Yuanwo town and encountering them — on reflection, that was somewhat suspicious. No wonder the red-haired woman had been looking at him with some nervousness from the start.

"If you are willing to believe, then you can trust me. Calling out my name, Lord Luge, will guarantee your safety tonight," Luge's mouth slipped, spitting out a line from a Biography Novel he had read recently, then hurriedly changed the subject, saying, "Since we met, although you have been eager for me to perform a Spell, out of respect you never voiced it. Tonight let you witness it: Kobold Summoning!"

As Luge spoke, he waved a hand; an invisible Spatial Door opened, and Aijin and Dasha walked out carrying weapons.

The sudden appearance of two tall, fierce figures made Lorigo retreat repeatedly in shock.

Luge gave Aijin a look.

"From now on, you will protect Young Master Lorigo. Do not let anyone harm him," Luge said.

The two tall Kobolds nodded at the words, flanking Lorigo on left and right to guard him in the middle.

The red-haired beauty Motel opened her mouth as if to say something, but was stopped by a wave of Lorigo's hand.

"Thank you, Lord Luge, for intervening," he said with head lowered.

Luge waved his hand, began casting Light Body Technique and Bull Strength on himself, and walked slowly toward the tangled battlefield, heading straight for those crowds with unsound minds.

He reached the camp's edge and leaped into the crowd; Foul Skin activated, and dense patches of people fell piece by piece. Some Mercenaries retreated repeatedly in fright; others had already killed until their eyes were red and took the chance to viciously stab fallen opponents. A few individual Mercenaries were also affected, but Luge paid them no mind — being affected proved they held malice toward him.

He strolled as if at leisure, controlling the battlefield's situation; the bloody, cruel melee, because of his power and the enormous gap in strength between the two sides, instantly turned into child's play.

He wandered through the crowd, harvesting the sounds of enemies falling and the Mercenaries' awed gazes; his every move was like a miracle. Some old Mercenaries were still discussing how Luge was very different from the Wizards they had seen before.

Luge, watching the people continuously falling before him, could not help but sigh with emotion.

"Your faith is not pure enough!"

If these people could be like Ba'angte, truly believing firmly in their doctrine, they should not be so affected by Foul Skin. Since they firmly believe that all people including themselves are Sinners, and that wielding weapons helps others atone, they should hold a mindset of helping others. Whether the weapon falls on themselves or on him, it should be a form of Redemption.

He began circling the camp with his steps; so far no one had appeared who could withstand even a single blow. The Extraordinary in the dark — who knew whether they would be frightened by this unknown power and not dare show themselves. By rights, if they came to kill this Young Master, for safety they would inevitably arrange two or even three or more Extraordinaries.

After all, the red-haired woman is a Spellcaster, and in the temporarily assembled Mercenary Group there are three Extraordinaries: the Captain and Vice-Captain, one a low-rank Knight, two a kind of Fighter who only succeed by drinking Alchemical Potions.

Many Wild Wizards make a living brewing inferior Fighter Potions. There are many kinds of Fighters; for example, a Life Fighter requires a belief in a strong yearning for life combined with a Potion to generate their own Fighter Mark, and can normally accumulate Life Force in the Mark — in short, their specialty is being very hard to kill. A Strength Fighter requires a yearning for power; after generating the Mark their strength increases, and so on. They are a kind of quick-trained warrior with no future, despised by Knights.

And interestingly, the most durable Life Fighters often die faster than Strength Fighters. These are all topics those people in taverns chat about; they sometimes even sneer and use them as drinking entertainment, even though most of those drinkers cannot scrape together enough Sun Coins to buy Potions in a lifetime. Fighters are the Supernatural Path most accessible to ordinary people — or rather, the only one they can touch. As long as they save a sum of money, find a channel to buy Potions, and have a firm belief in their heart, the Supernatural Path lies before them.

Luge walked with leisurely steps; perhaps in the eyes of powerful Extraordinaries, that Mercenary Captain Knight and two Fighters amount to nothing.

Finally, a figure who could no longer restrain himself leaped out from a dark Corner — that person had actually been hiding in the camp all along.

Just as expected, that person rushed straight toward Young Master Lorigo.

Luge looked back.

Dasha abruptly took One Step forward, blocking between that person and Lorigo, swinging the large iron hammer in his hand — a hammer strike no one present could ignore. Luge had even considered finding a chance to get Dasha a Fighter Potion.

That person seemed especially confident in their agile figure, not changing their forward route in the slightest.

The instant the hammer shadow overlapped with that figure, the person flashed behind Dasha, and was immediately knocked flying by a cheap Longsword slashing diagonally from the side.

Luge noticed the red-haired woman had not moved at all; clearly there were still enemies in the dark making her wait.

Perhaps this master-and-servant pair had long since guessed who was playing a little joke with them here, and already anticipated the coming storm in their hearts.

For a moment Luge only found it interesting; it seemed he had also become a character in a Knight Adventure Novel.

(Chapter End)