Chapter 212: Ambushed
“I still feel like something isn’t quite right…”
Despite being looked up to by several people nearby, the orange-haired girl, whose physical height was still less than 1.6 meters, completely ignored her surroundings. She just tapped her glasses lightly and muttered, “Although the diffusion speed of the ice dust is within expectations, the efficiency of the reverse conversion is still too low. When the thunder snakes struck, they not only failed to trigger the electric field but were also weakened by about one-tenth of their strength. It seems that all the values calculated before were… Ugh, I really want to curse…”
Shuang Ye stomped her foot in annoyance, then opened her friends list, found Tan Mo, and sent him a stream of illogical curses.
“Hmm, I feel much better.” After her outburst, the girl sighed softly, then dejectedly put away the staff in her arms, clutching her small fists and complaining in a low voice, “This game is really too troublesome. Combat is, socializing is—everything is too troublesome! That damn Black Vatican is even more troublesome. I should be the one waiting for the rabbit, right?”
Shuang Ye rubbed her hair, then examined her character panel for the umpteenth time.
…
【Shuang Ye】
HP: 460 / 460
Stamina: 265 / 330
Mana: 630 / 690
Professions: Mage Lv10, Law Bender Lv18, Engineer Lv13, Alchemist Lv8, Potion Master Lv10
Faith: None
Alignment: chaotic neutral
Talents: Laziness, Shut-in, Pioneer, High-Precision Calculation, Discernment, Unorthodox, Combat Meditation
Basic Attributes: Strength 7, Dexterity 8, Intelligence 59, Constitution 23
Civilization Attributes: Eloquence 15, Charisma 27, Knowledge 63, Leadership 5
Combat Attributes: Fire Element School Lv10, Water Element School Lv10, Wind Element School Lv10, Lightning Element School Lv10, Earth Element School Lv10, Shadow School Lv10, Light Element School Lv10, Arcane School Lv15
Skills: Mana Control
This is the current level of the character ‘Shuang Ye.’ From every angle… she is terrifyingly strong. Apart from a certain exception among exceptions, none of Mo Tan’s other three characters can rival her.
As for her having only one skill…
【Law Bender】
Experience: ??? / ???
Category: Advanced Profession
Attribute Bonus: 30% Intelligence
Exclusive Skill: Mana Control
Description: You have read countless theories, yet you scoff at them; you remember all common sense, yet you disdain it; you delve into origins, you challenge taboos, you look down on everything, you trample on truths, and more importantly, you… might be right.
Unique Trait: You gain the skill 【Mana Control】. You will lose all skills except 【Mana Control】. You cannot learn any elemental spells (including passive ones).
【Note: I never wanted to be a good mage obediently, and now I finally have no choice!】
…
A hurried, inelegant sound of footsteps interrupted Shuang Ye’s thoughts. She frowned and turned her head, soon seeing Fire Claw Territory’s general manager of internal affairs appear at the entrance of the training ground, panting, and then run straight towards her.
“Miss Shuangye!” Le Wen greeted the displeased Shuang Ye in front of him, out of breath, and said with a wry smile, “Didn’t the Emperor ask you to stay in Scarlet Garden as much as possible…”
Shuang Ye nodded distractedly: “Yes, I go back to sleep every night.”
“That’s not what I meant, sigh, never mind…”
Le Wen scratched the fox ears on his head, sighed helplessly, and whispered, “I just came to tell you that Grand Duke Fernand arrived at the Royal Capital two hours ago.”
“Understood,” Shuang Ye nodded, then led Le Wen to the corner of the training ground, casually setting up a small-range sound-insulating barrier around them. “Grand Duke Simon, Grand Duke Baloka, Duke Dentis, Duke Hussein, plus the newly arrived Grand Duke Fernand and that old Emperor—only Marshall and that Grand Duke Crystal Wolf are missing. What’s going on with those two?”
Le Wen looked with admiration at the layer of swirling, flowing, wind-attribute sound-insulating barrier that Shuang Ye had casually ‘waved’ into existence. He reacted for a moment before replying, “Buffy Marshall is already on his way. Grand Duke Crystal Wolf has been setting up preventive measures in his territory since he heard about the ‘Plague,’ but he should be done soon, so…”
“If all goes well, the noble council can be convened in a few days,” Shuang Ye narrowed her eyes slightly, then turned and walked out of the barrier with a blank expression. “I understand. You can go back now, Mr. Le Wen.”
“And you?”
“I’ll stay here until evening.”
Shuang Ye activated the perpetual summoning array not far away and gently raised her hands. Behind her, various colored magic arrays quickly unfolded, and the surrounding elements began to surge restlessly.
Another low-level Earth Elemental Golem staggered out from the center of the array.
“Oh, right,” Shuang Ye turned slightly and smiled at Le Wen. “Don’t forget to have Kasi pick me up then. And if you could bring five or six more capable fighters, that would be even better.”
Le Wen was momentarily stunned: “But the Royal Capital should be very safe, and Scarlet Garden isn’t far from here…”
“I observed the stars last night and found that I might suffer a bloody disaster in the next two days,” Shuang Ye interrupted him rather forcefully, sighing faintly. “I’m just a weak woman, you know.”
Le Wen’s mouth fell open: “You’re also an Astrologer…”
Buzz! Buzz buzz buzz buzz!
A total of three Fireballs, three Ice Arrows, two rows of Wind Blades, four Earth Spikes, one Lightning bolt, and several Arcane Missiles simultaneously whistled out from behind Shuang Ye, passing over the Elemental Golem like a dazzling storm, blasting it into a cloud of dust amidst a series of roars.
A completely irrepressible clamor immediately erupted around them.
An old mage who had just come down from upstairs stared wide-eyed: “Is that… the low-level mage who just advanced from an apprentice?!”
Le Wen, on the other hand, looked at the ‘weak woman’ in front of him and was so choked up that he couldn’t utter a single word for a long time…
…
Game Time AM 03:00
Misha County, somewhere
Bang!
A slender female Paladin rolled to the ground in disarray, while her warhorse was simultaneously tackled by at least seven or eight Mutants behind her, instantly torn to shreds.
“Go back, Sara!” A tall, blood-soaked figure rushed past her, wielding a broadsword to desperately fend off two Mutants, and shouted back, “You and Jimmy take everyone and retreat first. I’ll hold them off here for a while!”
Not far away, a bearded knight, slowly retreating while holding a shield, spat out a mouthful of bloody saliva: “By the Goddess, do you think you can survive five minutes?”
“The Goddess will bless me to become nutrients and continue to contribute to this land,” the other party smashed a Mutant’s head with his sword hilt and laughed loudly, “If anything grows here later, don’t forget to come and water it often!”
It seemed they were Paladins of Ceres, the Goddess of Harvest.
The bearded man sighed, forcefully plunged his shield into the ground, whispered something, then turned and ran to the side of the heavily injured female knight, scooping her up. “Let’s go, Sara.”
The several Mutants behind them were blocked by the sudden light emanating from the shield.
“But Monsk…” The latter struggled weakly, looked back at the tall figure who was almost swallowed by the Mutants not far away, and closed her eyes in pain. “I was too weak!”
The bearded man, named Jimmy, looked at her sternly: “Wake up, lady. You are a Paladin. Even a clumsy Paladin should know that this is not the time for emotional impulses.”
“I understand, Jimmy.” Sara gritted her teeth, then shouted back at Monsk, “I’ll remember to come back and water you!”
A minute later, the two, with their backs to the broadsword of the low-level Paladin Monsk Kaha, covered the retreat of over twenty ragged civilians from the area.
And that tall figure slowly collapsed to the ground six minutes later.
“Tsk, I barely managed to exceed five minutes after all…”
…
Game Time AM 07:12
Mo Tan did not find Yu Cheng in the chapel after logging in. After sending two messages to inquire, he learned that she was currently at the outpost in the west of the city, carrying out rescue work, which was just coming to an end.
Ten minutes later
Mo Tan arrived at the Paladins’ temporary outpost in Mida City and saw Tairo, whose face was as dark as water, in front of a tent.
“Pastor Black Vatican.” Tairo also noticed Mo Tan at the same time and nodded in greeting to his companion with whom he had fought alongside not long ago. “The Holy Maiden just said you would come after you woke up.”
Mo Tan frowned and asked in a low voice, “What happened?”
Although Yu Cheng had already briefly told him through a friend message, Mo Tan still wanted to know more details. Moreover, in Tairo’s eyes, he should have known nothing.
“A team that went out of the city to meet civilians was attacked on their way back,” Tairo shook his head sadly and sighed, “At least sixty Mutants, a larger scale than what we encountered in that village before. They must have come from the surrounding cities in the Southwest…”
Mo Tan nodded slightly and asked in a low voice, “What about the casualties?”
“More than half of the civilians died or were injured. The forty-odd survivors were treated by the Holy Maiden outside the city. During this process, seven people mutated into Mutants, but they were killed immediately. As for the accompanying knights…” Tairo’s expression darkened as he glanced at two heavily injured warhorses nearby. “Two Paladins of the Fertility Church died, three Paladins of the Sun Sect died, two Paladins of the Justice Church died, and one Paladin of the Dawn Sect died. The two Paladins of the Fertility Church who escaped with the civilians are both severely wounded…”
Mo Tan immediately gasped. A total of ten Paladins, eight of them died, and most of the nearly one hundred civilians died. This loss was truly too great.
“They were attacked about a hundred miles south of Mida City,” Tairo clenched his fists tightly and gritted his teeth, “Ten Paladins fought and covered the civilians’ retreat for over two hours. If we had received the news earlier…”
Mo Tan raised a hand to rub his forehead: “Was there no time to send someone back for help?”
“No,” Tairo looked back at the tent behind him, from which a faint light emanated, and shook his head. “The knights were already doing their best just to cover everyone’s retreat. The defensive line was compressed to its limit at that time; even one less person could have caused it to collapse at any moment. Almost no civilians could ride horses, and those who had no combat ability would have found it difficult to return to Mida City unscathed. More and more Mutants are wandering outside recently.”
Just then, the tent behind Tairo was gently opened a crack from the inside, and then Mo Tan saw Yu Cheng tiptoeing out, holding a roll of blood-stained bandages.
“Holy Maiden!” Tairo quickly bowed.
Yu Cheng instinctively flinched and whispered, “Both of them barely managed to survive. Mr. Tairo, you can go in and help Knight Jim bandage his wounds later. I’ve already given Sara some basic treatment. Oh, remember to wash your hands thoroughly first. Without proper hygiene, wounds can easily get infected.”
“Yes!” Tairo nodded solemnly, taking the bandages Yu Cheng handed him. “Holy Maiden, you’ve worked hard.”
“I’m fine,” Yu Cheng smiled gently and sighed, “But they were indeed too severely injured. Besides superficial wounds, even some internal organs… even divine spells would have difficulty saving them. Fortunately, Miss Luna gave me a few very effective potions last night. Their survival is mainly due to her.”
Tairo nodded, bowed to Yu Cheng again, and then turned and walked into the tent to treat the severely wounded man named Jim.
“You’ve worked hard,” Mo Tan looked at the girl in front of him, who could not hide her fatigue, and said with a wry smile and apology, “I’m really too unreliable. Wash your hands.”
With that, he pulled out a small water skin and held it diagonally in the air.
“Thank you~” Yu Cheng smiled sweetly, extending her blood-stained hands flat under the water skin. “How thoughtful.”
“This was distributed uniformly before we went to Luna’s village. I’m not the type to carry tissues around, looking for girls crying into their hands,” Mo Tan blinked, pouring water onto Yu Cheng’s hands as he asked, “You must have been helping ever since before the forced logout, right?”
Yu Cheng nodded softly: “They came back around five in the morning. I don’t really need to rest in the game, so I immediately went to help when I heard the news. But still, a few people mutated into Mutants because they didn’t receive timely treatment, sigh…”
“That can’t be helped,” Mo Tan shrugged, then mumbled thoughtfully, “No chance to call for help, huh… Hmm…”
Yu Cheng looked at him curiously: “Did you think of something?”
“I thought of an idea,” Mo Tan smiled, putting away the emptied water skin. “Is Yu Ying online?”
“Hmm, she just sent me a message to say hello~ She also helped a lot last night.”
“That’s good. I have something I want to ask her to help with, and also to do an experiment.”
Chapter 209: End