As the dagger was pulled out, a large spurt of blood gushed outward.
Ge Rui En felt all her strength drain away, her life rapidly ebbing.
She tried to support herself and stand, but her legs would not obey.
A soft thud sounded as she collapsed weakly to the ground.
“I guess this is where I end…”
“Lord Holy Son, please return quickly…”
Just then, a sudden thunderclap exploded.
“Who’s there?!”
Before the leading mercenary could turn around, his head had already rolled off.
The mercenaries stared at the young man who had appeared so abruptly, none daring to step forward.
He looked at Ge Rui En lying in a pool of blood, then at Lai La being protected behind the crowd. The fury in his heart nearly boiled over, and killing intent permeated the air.
Man En said nothing. He simply walked up to Ge Rui En and placed his hand on her back.
“Retrospection.”
The next moment, Ge Rui En, who had been at death’s door, stood up, even she herself was somewhat dazed.
“Young Master Man… Lord Holy Son? Was it you who saved me?”
Hearing her voice, Man En recognized her as the one who had contacted him using the magical device.
For some reason, a feeling of nostalgia arose, yet mixed with a hint of inexplicable unfamiliarity.
No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t remember anything about her.
In this situation, he had to make a decisive choice, so he chose to follow his heart.
Trust this “stranger” before him.
“Take them and leave first. Leave this place to me.”
“Yes, Lord Holy Son.”
“Your Excellency is Mann Matthews?”
Behind him, a mercenary approached.
However, Man En treated him like air, not even sparing him a glance.
And this arrogant attitude had long since angered the members of the mercenary group.
“Come with us. The Captain wants to see you.”
“Of course, if you refuse, we’ll take you back by force…”
As the man spoke, he collapsed weakly to the ground. A large amount of blood flowed out.
“You…”
Man En looked at the mercenaries before him. His killing intent had reached its peak.
“Not a single one of you will walk out of here alive!”
“Loose arrows! Loo…”
“Earth Shrink Technique!”
Man En’s figure vanished abruptly. When he reappeared, he was already holding someone’s head.
His blood-soaked, Shura-like figure stunned everyone present.
It took a while before someone reacted.
“Get closer! Don’t give him room to move!”
But before they could act, everyone felt a flash of white light pass through their bodies, followed by their heads separating from their bodies, and their waists being cleaved into several pieces.
Until they watched Man En slowly leave, they still had no idea what had just happened.
Most of them lost their lives before they even had time to feel fear.
After confirming that Ge Rui En and her group were safe, Man En immediately began to sense mana fluctuations, using this method to roughly assess the situation within the territory.
Just at this moment, a group of high-level adventurers also began to move, engaging the mercenary group in battle across the territory.
Although they had managed to arrive in time via the Guild’s teleportation array, with the mercenary group backed by the Heretic God Sect, a quick decision was the best strategy.
After all, no one could predict how the madmen of the Heretic God Sect would act.
Therefore, the safest course was to quickly eliminate the leader of the mercenary group and organize an effective defense against the Heretic God Sect.
Given these guys’ creed of strength above all, the one with the strongest mana should be his target.
Having determined his plan, Man En immediately put it into action.
As expected, among the many chaotic fluctuations, one was the most prominent, overwhelmingly stronger than the rest.
And he happened to be fighting someone, his mana surging.
“That person… is Mei?!”
“Not good, I have to go over there! If this continues, she’ll probably be at a disadvantage.”
A thunderclap exploded, and Man En vanished from where he stood.
—
“Little girl, you’re no match for me. Why bother forcing yourself?”
The speaker was a burly man with dark skin, his expression relaxed. However, Mei already showed signs of fatigue, her breathing uneven.
“Less talk! Tell me! You’re clearly a demihuman, why join the Empire’s mercenary group?”
“Oh? A member of the royal family who works as a servant for an Empire noble—and you have the nerve to talk to me?”
The big man’s expression turned somewhat mocking.
“…So you refuse to back down no matter what?”
Mei also brandished her dagger, her eyes gradually turning serious.
“Heh… You’ve completely become a loyal dog, haven’t you? It seems you’ve thrown away all the pride of the royal family!”
“Shut up!”
Mei thrust forward fiercely, but only heard a crisp clang of metal. A broad greatsword completely blocked her attack.
“Such a weak attack. Do you really intend to fight seriously? Then let me, in place of your deceased Father King, teach you what battle is!”
He swung the greatsword with one hand, easily sending Mei flying far back.
Although she had blocked with her dagger, the immense force still numbed her arm.
“This guy… he might even be stronger than Master Ge Rui En!”
Mei marveled inwardly, but no longer dared to attack lightly. Because she knew very well that the previous strike was just a greeting.
To fight him, relying solely on strength was absolutely impossible; she could only use footwork to maneuver.
“Oh? Not planning to attack first? Then I’ll go.”
With that, the big man appeared right in front of Mei, simultaneously swinging his greatsword fiercely toward her abdomen.
So fast! But still manageable!
“Earth Shrink Technique!”
Mei’s figure, like a ghost, instantly circled behind the big man.
But just as she was about to stab, her hand was tightly grabbed by the opponent. Then, a tremendous force threw her flying.
Almost without giving her time to catch her breath, the big man immediately pursued, bringing the massive blade straight down at Mei’s head.
At this moment, she was still in the air, unable to adjust her position with Earth Shrink.
In other words, she couldn’t dodge this blow.
Just as she thought she had no choice but to take the hit head-on, a flash of white light passed, followed by a huge clash of metal.
Clearly, someone had blocked that strike for her.
Looking at the familiar back before her, Mei subconsciously spoke the familiar words.
“Young Master Man En…”
Man En looked at Mei and nodded lightly.
“So you’re this woman’s master?”
Man En looked at the big man, his expression turning disdainful.
“To be precise, I’m her lover.”
At these words, Mei blushed deeply and lowered her head, not daring to look at Man En.
But the big man was startled by this declaration.
“Huh?”
Man En was too lazy to say more, directly swinging his dagger to knock him back.
And as the big man stopped his body, the greatsword had already snapped in two.
“…Good weapon! If I’m not mistaken, the material should be Celt Holy Stone, right?”
“Oh, you’re quite knowledgeable.”
“Yes… Of course I recognize it…”
“After all, the Celt Raw Ore was mined in my homeland!”
‘Celt Raw Ore? His homeland?’
He remembered that the original novel had mentioned that in the past, when the demihuman nation still existed, this ore was its main economic resource.
“So you’re a demihuman? Surprising that you joined the Empire’s mercenary group.”
“Making a demihuman royal family member serve as a servant—you’re not much better.”
“I’ll say it again: we’re lovers. And I have no interest in continuing this conversation with you.”
Man En gripped White Fang tightly and assumed the stance of Extreme Ground Shrink.
He stared intently at the opponent, like a hunter waiting for the right moment.
Just as the atmosphere was tense, Mei gently patted Man En on the back.
Man En turned to look at Mei; her eyes had already turned crimson.
“Please leave him to me. He’s my clansman—I’ll deal with him myself.”
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