Chapter 161: 140、Lia: Lin Da, will you return to the team?
Lia resolutely faced the Serpent Leader’s curved blade without dodging and executed the Blazing Swordsman’s level 20 Ultimate Skill, Explosive Flame Slash.
Crimson blood bloomed like flowers, even more vivid than the girl’s red hair.
The Serpent Leader let out a piercing scream as its body was cleaved in two by the Explosive Flame Slash.
Blue, foul-smelling blood sprayed across the sky.
The Trident Scepter in its hand dropped to the ground.
Orbs of light burst forth from the Serpent Leader’s body, showering upon Snow Goose and the others.
...
They cleared the twelfth level of the Mystic Realm and received the Divine Gift from the World Tree Goddess.
Each person gained a level and three pieces of Purple Gear burst forth. S~ea??h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.
But Aiko and the others felt not a speck of excitement.
Each team member’s heart was in their throat, anxiously looking towards the short-haired girl who stood in place, the greatsword bloodied in her hand.
“Lia, are you… alright?”
Aiko’s voice trembled slightly.
No matter how one looked at Lia, it seemed she was in big trouble.
But aside from this dry remark, Aiko couldn’t find any other words of comfort.
“Captain…” Klyne covered her mouth, her eyes filled with a hint of distress.
Klrona was dazed, for the first time realizing that adventure wasn’t a “game”, it involved real-life death-threatening risks.
Oru was blaming himself for not convincing Klyne that night to lend money to Lia.
Otherwise, perhaps the Serpent Leader would have already fallen.
“Oh, this lady is fine, it’s just a minor injury.”
Lia touched her left eye, where the blood was thick, warm, and had clotted over her vision, rendering her momentarily unable to see clearly.
Her mouth uttered carefree words but, in reality, she was a bit scared. What if she were to lose her sight permanently?
But the sensor ladybug was directly facing her, and outside the display screen were many adventurers, likely Lin Da was watching too. She must not show any sign of weakness.
“I’m sorry!” Phyllis quickly ran over, casting Healing Arts on Lia’s face.
Lia didn’t know the current situation, but the others could see clearly.
A three-centimeter-long, bone-deep gash slanted across Lia’s left eye, blood gushing like a fountain.
Ordinary Healing Arts could only stop bleeding, accelerate wound healing, and restore the thickness of the Life Barrier.
But for organs that were already damaged, they could do nothing.
Phyllis slapped herself twice, filled with guilt.
Had she not tried to be clever and altered Lin Da’s Strategy… Lia wouldn’t have ended up like this.
Ah?
Lia, seeing everyone’s hesitant and troubled expressions, felt a tinge of panic appear on her small face.
Even with Healing Arts stopping the bleeding, her left eye still throbbed painfully.
Forcing it open, she saw only darkness.
On the belly of the sensor ladybug, torrents of suggestions came flooding in:
[Congratulations to the Snow Goose Adventure Team for conquering the twelfth level of the World Tree!]
[Impressive, I couldn’t pull off that last sword move.]
[Seems like three pieces of Purple Gear burst out? Snow Goose is quite lucky.]
There were also some concerned about Lia’s eye, wondering if she would go blind.
But to most adventurers, injuries like Lia’s were commonplace.
Six people dive into the Mystic Realm; it’s expected that someone would leave with injuries.
Broken legs and arms were too common.
Losing an eye, on the other hand, was considered a ‘minor injury’.
But Snow Goose was different.
They were a group of privileged young ladies, who had scarcely been injured before.
The most severe injury Lia ever suffered was a cut on her arm on the ninth level.
‘Can’t see anymore? Will this eye never work again?’
Lia, feeling out of her depth, touched her left eye, biting her lips hard, not wanting to show her weakness.
“It’s just an eye.”
She shook the blood off her hand, wiped it trembling on her pants, and said with feigned indifference, “It’s no big deal.”
Any member of Snow Goose could tell that Lia was putting on a brave face, being stubborn. The tears in her eyes had already swollen to the size of beans.
This time, no one had the heart to scold her openly.
“Silly captain.” Aiko sighed and pulled Lia into her embrace.
Klyne disconnected the sensor ladybug from the display screen.
Snow Goose Adventure Team needed a moment to themselves.
…
…
When Lin Da and the others returned from Breeze River Beach, it was already night.
A full six hours had passed, and still, no one from the Guild or the Imperial Knights had come to investigate.
The only consolation was that there were still two days before the Monster Tide erupted.
They still had plenty of time.
The Inner City District was brightly lit at night, with Magic Guided Streetlamps spaced at regular intervals along the street.
But in the distance, the scene resembled a faltering flame, making out only the vague silhouette of an adventure team of about half a dozen.
Lin Da was immersed in his own thoughts.
How to persuade the Adventurers’ Guild to organize a large number of adventurers to station at Breeze River Beach.
He held his chin in his hand, his head slightly drooping, his gaze toward the ground.
The night streets were not very crowded, even without paying full attention to what was ahead there would be no issue.
However, Lin Da’s footsteps came to a halt.
Before him lay a pair of brown boots caked in mud.
The black stockings were torn, revealing large patches of bruised skin, topped with a red miniskirt, with many battle Magic Potions hanging from the belt.
He came back to his senses and looked up in surprise.
Standing in front of him was a girl with fiery red hair, her left eye covered with a white patch, her lips pressed together, looking at him with a slightly hostile gaze.
She wore a brown turtleneck coat that wrapped her petite body, with her hands stuck in her pockets.
Lin Da paused for a moment before looking towards the girl’s companions:
Aiko was smiling at him, but her face looked very tired. Klyne gave a reserved nod, Oru waved his recovered arm in greeting.
Klrona looked down, poking the ground with the toe of her boot as if she were crushing ants.
Phyllis, clutching her fists and shivering, looked as if she had done something wrong.
At first glance, the Snow Goose Adventure Team gave off a most disheveled impression. Each member was dirty and dispirited, no different from those teams defeated and returning from the Mystic Realm.
However, the strategy Lin Da had given Phyllis was sure to guarantee their success.
What moved him most was that facing his old teammates, in just over half a month, there was already a subtle sense of estrangement.
Behind him stood Kafni and Monica. This chance encounter was also between two different adventure teams.
The streetlamps between them cast a clear line of light.
Each leader, with their team members, met each other.
“I’ve cleared the 12th level,” Lia said, lifting her small head and speaking first. “Did you see, did you see this young lady’s performance?”
Aiko blinked vigorously, as if signaling something.
Lin Da, of course, understood what Aiko meant, but today… he didn’t want to ‘understand.’
“No,” he shook his head and said, “I’ve just returned from the field.”
Lia stared at him, astonished.
“Your eyes…” Hesitating for a moment, Lin Da inquired.
“Oh.”
“It’s nothing serious, quite normal for an adventurer.”
“Just blindness.”
Lia spoke nonchalantly, as though discussing someone else’s problems.
“Blindness?”
Lin Da frowned.
Lia expected him to panic immediately, to start thinking of a solution,
but after a pause, Lin Da thought to himself: the game seemed to be back on track.
In the game, he knew Lia as a one-eyed Swordswoman with red hair.
Mature and steady, a top-tier Swordswoman leading The Mandalas to the peak.
But the Lia he met after crossing over was much weaker.
He had also reflected on whether it was his own fault, taking on too many responsibilities that should have belonged to the team leader, turning Lia into a giant baby who constantly complained about others.
After he left the team, the game seemed to return to normal.
This way, there was still hope for Lia to become the respected ‘Bursting Flames.’
People do not stay the same forever.
The intersection where their paths crossed had been passed, and from here, each would walk their own path—perhaps that was a good thing.
He would lead his own team, with the ultimate goal of defeating the Demon King.
And Lia, too, would transform from being a giant baby into the reliable swordsman from the game.
“If you don’t rejoin,”
Unexpectedly, Lia seemed to be trying to salvage something, articulating each word: “More people will get hurt.”
“Perhaps even die.”
Something hot surged in Lia’s chest.
She bet that Lin Da couldn’t let go of the Snow Goose.
She didn’t believe Lin Da could forget the three years of shared adventures.
If Lin Da didn’t care about her, why had he spent so much more energy on her than on Aiko and the others?
Now, Lia gave Lin Da a chance.
The young lady lifted her head, pride in her expression.
“I’m in a hurry, though.”
Lin Da didn’t look at her but said to Aiko, “Snow Goose, it’s up to you now. You can become an excellent adventure team.”
A polite comment, but it drained the color from both girls’ faces.
“Let’s get together when there’s time,” Lin Da said. “I have some unfinished business over here.”
Getting together when there’s time,
the biggest lie of the adult adventurers.
A complete deflection.
Aiko, tasting the bitterness in her mouth, awkwardly responded, “Okay.”
As Lin Da walked past with his team members, seeming to head towards a place unreachable by an outstretched hand,
an impulse suddenly surged in Lia’s heart, and she bit her lip and grabbed Lin Da’s wrist.
Aiko and the others looked at Lia in astonishment.
Could it be,
she’s going to say it?
That powder keg?
Lia, who had been slashed by the Serpent Leader, perhaps had a more active brain now.
But Aiko felt sympathetic.
It was already too late, and she could even guess Lin Da’s response.
“If I invite you back…” Lia said slowly.
“Would you, would you return to Snow Goose?”
Lin Da’s footsteps halted.
Monica nervously clutched the hem of his clothes, and Kafni also looked at him with narrowed eyes.
Without any hesitation, Lin Da shook his head: “My teammates are with Phoenix Tail Flower.”
Lia’s eyelid twitched, and she took a half step back.
“Lia, I’ve thought about it.”
Lin Da looked at the great tree standing at the city center and said, “Taking everyone from Snow Goose to the top of the World Tree.”
“Then why did you leave the team?”
Lia was brimming with confusion.
The original members of the Snow Goose Adventure Team, too, had, on a night just like this, on the curb of a dilapidated street, looked up at the World Tree under the starry sky and shared their dreams.
Since Lin Da had promised to take them to the top of the World Tree, why leave the team?
Upon further thought, they never actually sat down calmly to discuss.
“The original intent of Snow Goose has changed,” Lin Da said.
…
…
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