Chapter 133 - 129: No Other Explanation

Chapter 133: Chapter 129: No Other Explanation

DRIP, DRIP...

Blood slid down the cracks in the rock, dripping into a small puddle and slowly dyeing it red.

The bodies of two War Lizardmen lay askew, the clean cuts testament to the speed of the two sword strikes that ended their lives.

Of course, the sharpness of the swords had something to do with it.

But what mattered most was the power and speed of those who wielded them.

In other words, if it had been Urzha and Marcus just now, even with Lu Wei controlling the War Lizardmen for them, they might not have been able to kill them in one blow.

And even if they had managed to kill them, it wouldn’t have been nearly as clean and decisive.

And so...

"What a powerful Combat Skill..."

Taking a deep breath, Marcus, who had somewhat regained his composure, looked at Furen. His opinion of the seemingly naive young noble had changed dramatically.

He could tell that [Jump Slash] was just an Ordinary, Universal Combat Skill.

Therefore, there was only one reason it could be so powerful—

Furen had practiced this Combat Skill to a very High Level.

This meant that the blond young man before him had practiced it thousands, if not tens of thousands, of times.

Marcus couldn’t help but admire such a quality.

After all, in his experience, rich young masters were supposed to just spend money on Skill Books and High Level Equipment, relying on these external aids to boost their Attributes and Power.

But Furen was clearly not like that.

Not only did he have the perseverance to practice an Ordinary Combat Skill countless times, but he also didn’t seem to have a single piece of High Level Equipment on him.

’Maybe my perception of young nobles has been wrong all along...’

Sighing inwardly, Marcus shifted his gaze to Mirana, who was silently inspecting the War Lizardmen’s corpses.

Compared to Furen’s "naivety," his impression of Mirana had always been one of "indifference."

But now, it seemed this indifference wasn’t due to a withdrawn personality, but rather the "arrogance" that came with Power.

Marcus had seen it clearly: Mirana hadn’t used any Skills. A single, simple sword strike had Divided the War Lizardman in Two.

So, if Furen’s strength was comprehensible, Mirana’s was anything but.

In his dozen or so years as an Adventurer, Marcus had never seen anyone capable of such a feat.

Not even a [Warrior] he had briefly worked with before.

’Power greater than a Warrior’s... How is that possible...’

Staring blankly at Mirana, Marcus still couldn’t fathom how it was possible.

But at this point, it hardly seemed like the most shocking thing.

Because...

He glanced back at Lu Wei, who stood with his arms crossed and a calm expression, having not even drawn his Sword. Marcus gulped, Lu Wei’s words from two minutes ago echoing in his mind.

"Furen, you take the one on the left. Mirana, you take the one on the right."

"I’ll give you three seconds."

"..."

I’ll give you three seconds.

The implication of that sentence was so direct that Marcus couldn’t possibly attribute the two Lizardmen’s sudden "daze" to any other cause.

And the thought of how terrifying a Skill that could directly "Hard Control" an enemy was sent a shiver down his spine.

’Every team member is terrifyingly strong, and he himself has mastered such a powerful Skill.’

’Adventurers with this kind of Power have no business being in Gelan Forest.’

’So they must be members of the Dusk Shadow Association...’

’There’s no other explanation...’

...

...

First, he’d seen the Miss Mage willingly act as a servant. Now, he’d witnessed this kingly display of killing enemies in three seconds.

At this moment, Marcus no longer had any doubts. He was now certain that Lu Wei was an outer member of the Dusk Shadow Association.

And if not that, then he had to be the son of some big shot.

In any case, his background was unfathomably deep.

Of course, he couldn’t possibly ask Lu Wei for confirmation, so he could only resolve to get on his good side.

Urzha, on the other hand, wasn’t thinking about any of this. She just thought Furen and Mirana were very strong.

"Kid! I’ll ask you one more time! You wanna have some fun with me tonight?!"

The Half-Beastman had a strong obsession with passing on "superior genes." Urzha’s eyes burned with fire as she extended another sincere invitation to Furen.

"Huh?"

Furen’s eyes went wide. "I-I think I’ll pass..."

"Hm? Are you discriminating against us Half-Beastmen?!"

"No, no, no, it’s just... Ah, right, it’s because I already have a girlfriend!"

"Don’t worry, I don’t care. Half-Beastmen value loyalty, not fidelity."

"Er..."

A moment later, the conversation between Furen and Urzha finally broke the silence.

Lu Wei subconsciously glanced at Urzha’s pierced ear before looking at Mirana.

"Find anything?"

"No."

Mirana straightened up. "Just these two Short Spears."

"Then let’s get going. Their den is probably just ahead."

Lu Wei nodded, unconcerned.

After all, they were just two Ordinary mobs. The real goods would definitely be in the main cave.

And so, the five of them continued down the tunnel. They encountered no more traps or other War Lizardmen.

After a few dozen meters, they arrived in a moderately sized cave.

It was obviously the "love nest" of the two War Lizardmen from before.

The corners were filled with the skeletons of demi-human monsters, goblin limbs were scattered about their feet, and there was even a half-eaten head.

It looked very cozy.

The five of them gave the area a quick search, but aside from a few Javelins, they found no other loot.

They did, however, find a clutch of eggs.

There were four in total, each as large as an ostrich egg from his previous life, roughly the color of a chicken egg, and covered in a sticky fluid.

That’s right. Unlike goblins, Kobolds and War Lizardmen are oviparous monsters.

This was a major reason why Kobolds always believed they had Dragon Bloodline.

Because Dragons also hatch from Dragon Eggs.

War Lizardmen, on the other hand, were more inclined to classify themselves as "serpents."

In any case, it was all very strange.

"What should we do with these eggs?"

Furen nudged the eggs with his foot and asked, "Should we take them back for dinner?"

"Let’s leave them for now. We’ll deal with them after we take care of the boss monster."

As Lu Wei spoke, he picked up a Javelin to inspect it, then tossed it away in disdain.

"Let’s go. We need to hurry; we’re all getting a little hungry."

"Oh, okay."

Having found nothing in the cave, the five of them quickly retraced their steps back to the fork in the path.

Without much delay, they turned directly into the left-hand tunnel.

Now that they had some experience, the group advanced much faster. Their torchlight soon vanished once more into the depths of the tunnel.

Meanwhile, as they continued their search for the main cave, Bai Ya returned to the temporary camp outside the cavern, carrying a pile of mushrooms.

Not far from the cave entrance, Geluo and Andrew had already built a campfire, though they hadn’t lit it yet.

After all, it was only dusk; there were still two hours until nightfall.

"Thanks for the hard work. You can leave the rest to me."

Shaking the mushrooms onto the ground, Bai Ya drew her Dagger and began to deftly prepare the ingredients.

Geluo and Andrew offered to help, but she turned them down with a single sentence.

"No need, I’m responsible for all three meals a day for our team. Just help me start the fire later~"

Geluo: "..."

Andrew: "..."

???

’Being ordered around was one thing, but she was also responsible for cooking?’

’Wait, don’t tell me the Miss Mage’s role in the team is actually a servant???’

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