Meanwhile, on the other side, Emilia and Leinata were moving through the area with their captive.
Emilia stayed alert to the surroundings, while Leinata remained completely silent. Her mind was focused on only one thing—gathering information as quickly as possible and finding traces of Nuo Ai’er.
Behind them, they were escorting a captive with orange hair—the heavy-hammer girl from the Falcon Guild whom Leinata had defeated.
“Mmph…”
She had lost all will to fight now.
Her hands were tightly bound in front of her with tough vines, the knots firm and unyielding. Any attempt to struggle only made the vines dig painfully into her wrists.
Completely controlled, she could only follow their pace obediently, not daring to resist.
Through relentless interrogation along the way, Leinata and Emilia finally learned the orange-haired girl’s name—Xiruila.
“She’s surprisingly obedient,” Emilia whispered to Leinata.
“That’s because I scared her into submission,” Leinata said with a hint of pride.
It wasn’t wrong. Xiruila had been thoroughly intimidated by Leinata’s overwhelming combat power, which was why she cooperated.
During their fight, Leinata had casually caught her warhammer with one hand. That monstrous strength and pressure were unlike anything Xiruila had ever experienced.
And then there was Emilia…
For some reason, every time Xiruila looked at her, she felt a strange sensation.
If she ever fought Emilia, it would be as if the whole world had abandoned her.
The three girls continued silently through the forest path.
‘This one feels even scarier…’ Xiruila thought.
“Are you sure this path will lead to your teammate?” Emilia asked.
“Usually, in a wilderness survival dungeon, Nailuo will find a stream first to secure water and food… After all, she’s a ninja. There’s only one stream nearby, so I’m certain she’s here,” Xiruila said.
The “Nailuo” she mentioned was the female ninja who had been fighting Hui Mei.
But the two of them hadn’t been eliminated yet.
After a silent trek, Emilia casually observed the dejected, tense Xiruila, quietly calculating the information she had gathered.
So far, they only knew part of the Falcon Guild’s member strength. The core—the Guild Master—remained a complete mystery.
Emilia slowed her pace slightly and asked softly, “Why don’t you tell us? What kind of person is your Falcon Guild Master?”
“Eep—!”
The moment those words left her mouth, Xiruila, who had only been slightly tense, flinched violently, as if struck in her most fearful weakness.
She snapped her head up, her orange-red eyes filled with extreme terror, and shook her head frantically.
“I… I can’t say! I don’t dare to!”
“I… I… Wuwu… Please, don’t ask me anymore, I really…”
“What’s wrong with you?” Leinata asked.
“I can’t reveal anything about Elder Sister… If I do, I’ll be punished…”
“Sob…”
Emilia could see it—her reaction was intense and genuine, not an act. It was a fear etched into her bones, an instinctive wariness born from long-term suppression.
Even now, as a captive whose life was in someone else’s hands and who could be eliminated at any moment, she still didn’t dare to divulge any information about that “Elder Sister.”
“Alright, I won’t push you.”
“Thank you, thank you…”
Xiruila breathed a sigh of relief.
Emilia’s gaze darkened slightly as she carefully captured every subtle change in Xiruila’s expression. The answer was clear in her mind.
This Falcon Guild Master was definitely not just domineering.
She was likely a ruthless character as well.
At this thought, a flicker of worry rose in Emilia’s heart.
That soft, small Nuo Ai’er—fragile in combat, unable to protect herself—had landed randomly at the start. If her luck was bad, she might have run straight into that vicious Guild Master.
If she were really caught and imprisoned, tortured at will…
‘Don’t fall into that woman’s hands…’
‘Little Nuo Ai’er… I hope you’re lucky. Please, please…’
***
After being electrocuted, an unknown amount of time passed before Nuo Ai’er slowly opened her red-rimmed eyes.
Meanwhile, the scene returned to the abandoned cabin.
“Hmm…?”
Her whole body felt weak, lacking strength…
She blinked, slowly adjusting to the dim light inside the cabin, then tried to move.
But in the next moment, she realized something was wrong.
Her hands wouldn’t move.
“Huh? What’s going on?”
Nuo Ai’er felt a tight binding around her wrists. Cold, hard ropes coiled tightly around her skin, her hands firmly tied behind her back.
Beside her, the blue-haired loli was also bound, just like her.
Nuo Ai’er paused and slowly looked up.
The black rope that bound her wrists didn’t end there. Instead, it extended upward along her and Tina’s bodies, winding and twisting, passing through the cabin’s beams and securely tied to a hook on the ceiling.
Not only that.
The black, flexible rope was very long, crisscrossing and winding around their small bodies—around their waists, binding their shoulders, and tightening across their chests, suspending the two little lolis in the air.
They could only stand on tiptoes.
“You’re awake…”
The blue-haired loli quietly stayed by her side, sharing this sudden punishment.
Nuo Ai’er knew that Tina had ended up bound like this because she protected her, an enemy captive.
“I’m sorry, Tina. I dragged you into this,” Nuo Ai’er said with her head lowered.
Tina shook her head, no resentment in her voice.
“It’s okay. It was my choice. I don’t regret it.”
From the moment she chose to stand in front of Nuo Ai’er and defy Stella, she had already accepted whatever punishment would come.
She didn’t regret it.
If she had to do it again, she would still stand in front of Nuo Ai’er without hesitation.
Just as the two lolis were lost in complicated thoughts—
Creak—
The front door of the cabin was pushed open from outside.
Dreadful footsteps slowly entered the hall, and a wave of pressure instantly filled the entire room.
“Oh, you’re awake.”
Stella walked back in.
She idly toyed with another long, pitch-black whip.
She lifted her gaze, casually sweeping it over the two small lolis bound by layers of rope.
Seeing them subdued, no longer able to resist—
This was what disobedient lolis deserved.
“Ugh…”
The two little lolis instinctively flinched, lowering their heads obediently, not daring to look forward.
Nuo Ai’er pursed her lips tightly, her small body curling up slightly.
As Stella approached step by step, the two who had been trying to keep calm finally began to tremble.
Tina was shaking too.
The two lolis, bound side by side, stood still, trembling slightly.
Stella walked slowly up to Nuo Ai’er, looking down at the soft, small white-haired loli.
She raised her whip and gently brushed it against Nuo Ai’er’s tender, fair cheek.
Then over Nuo Ai’er’s little belly, and then her thighs…
“Mm…”
The cold touch slid across her skin, making Nuo Ai’er shudder.
Stella chuckled softly.
“Now that I take a closer look, you really are an adorable little captive.”
“So then…”
The whip paused gently by Nuo Ai’er’s cheek.
Stella spoke slowly, “Tell me, how should I punish you?”
Nuo Ai’er: “…”
“Wah, help…”
Unknown punishment was about to descend.