Chapter 198: Burn, Baby, Burn (Part 3)
These two were Ronald, the Noble Swordsman, and Eileen, one of the Twin Thieves, trapped in the Demon Beast territory.
Ronald lived up to his title.
Compared to him, the Grand Prince lacked his grace, and O’Niens lacked his strength.
He was a handsome, elegant young man.
Even trapped in the Demon Beast territory for days, Ronald still maintained his noble demeanor, his fine clothes surprisingly clean.
Such attire wasn’t suitable for battle, but Ronald would rather die than wear clunky armor and wield an axe or machete like a common soldier.
His hair was always neatly combed, smooth and shiny, showing no signs of his ordeal.
The only thing Ronald couldn’t stand was the environment. The air was thick with a foul stench, the ground littered with Demon Beast excrement. Even with his best efforts, he would occasionally step in something disgusting.
Whenever this happened, Ronald would cry out in dismay, his skin erupting in hives… Then he would frantically pull out a water magic scroll from his storage ring and meticulously clean his shoes, sometimes even changing into a spare pair.
What was worse, there was no food fit for his consumption.
He had underestimated the difficulty of their mission. He had thought they could easily retrieve Jie Luo’s soul fragment and leave, but that damned Lomond had somehow learned of their presence and sealed off the entire area with a powerful barrier, trapping them inside.
Although they could break through the barrier with brute force, it would take time, enough time for the Demon Beasts to surround them.
This predicament also meant their food supplies were dwindling, forcing them to eat raw meat from wild beasts.
His skin, no longer as smooth and delicate as before, was a testament to their hardship.
By the Goddess of Holy Light!
When had he, Ronald, ever suffered such indignities?
He swore that he would exterminate all Demon Beasts. These filthy creatures didn’t deserve to live in this world.
Compared to him, the girl beside him looked much more disheveled.
She had a face almost identical to Airi’s, as if they were cast from the same mold.
But her dark brown hair wasn’t tied into twintails like her sister’s, but hung loosely down her back. And compared to her sister’s playful nature, Eileen was more reserved.
Her hair was a tangled mess, like a bird’s nest.
The leather armor she wore was also unkempt, the edges frayed.
Looking at the piece of meat Ronald offered her, carefully cut with a dagger into even slices, the blood cleaned with water magic, Eileen shook her head slightly. “Sorry, I have no appetite.”
“My fair lady, I understand… such crude fare is an insult to your delicate lips and pearly white teeth,” Ronald said, his voice smooth and melodious, like a bard’s.
“But we have no other choice.”
“We have to replenish our strength. We don’t know how long we’ll be trapped here. If we’re too weak, we’ll be in danger.”
“I apologize for dragging you into this,” Ronald said sincerely.
He had a good impression of most of the Hero Squad members.
The innocent and pure Loseweisse, the intelligent Athena, the noble and proud Sylph… These three fit Ronald’s aesthetic… mainly in terms of temperament.
Eileen and Airi, although not as elegant, had a youthful charm of their own.
He hated Muse, Karsus, Benson… and Ekaterina.
In Ronald’s eyes, those four were just violent gorillas.
Eileen hesitated for a moment, then took the meat and chewed slowly. “I’m not blaming you, Ronald,” she said.
“I’m worried about something else.”
“What is it?”
“Loseweisse just sent me a message. Eight new members have been added to the Hero Squad,” Eileen said.
Ronald’s delicate fingers twitched, and the meat he was cutting became uneven.
This seemed to enrage him. His hand trembled, and his handsome face contorted… A few seconds later, he suddenly stood up, throwing the knife and meat to the ground. He lowered his voice and growled, “Damn it! What’s going on?”
“Who allowed them to join without our consent?”
He disliked the crude Ekaterina and the others, but he still considered them his companions because they were chosen by Jie Luo.
He would accept anyone Jie Luo approved of.
But no one else could taint the sacred ground in Ronald’s heart.
“It was Wadsworth, Augustus, and those other old geezers…”
“What are Loseweisse and the others doing? Why didn’t they object?” Ronald was still furious, struggling to maintain his composure.
Just thinking about those inexplicable people joining their paradise irritated him greatly.
“Loseweisse said she strongly objected, almost falling out with Augustus and the others…” Eileen shook her head.
“But those old geezers brought up Karsus. He was corrupted by darkness, completely fallen, and executed. He’s a stain on the Hero Squad that can’t be erased.”
“That old man used this to attack the Hero Squad, saying that we’re no longer trustworthy, that new members are needed to protect the Second Hero, Qin Chu.”
“Karsus’s rampage, killing thousands of Holy Knights and hundreds of nobles, and his two attacks on the Hero are all facts. Augustus and the others even threatened to strip us of our identities as members of the Hero Squad if we didn’t agree… Loseweisse had no choice but to accept.”
Ronald’s slender fingers clenched, his body trembling, his face flushed.
“Damn Augustus…”
“Damn Qin Chu.”
This matter actually had little to do with Qin Chu, but Ronald hated him nonetheless. After all, in his eyes, if it weren’t for Qin Chu, none of this would have happened… But without Qin Chu, there would be no hope of resurrecting Jie Luo.
This contradiction made Ronald feel even worse.
After a long while, he finally calmed down slightly, “Who are the new members?”
“Four of them are representatives of Sage Mountain, the Holy See, the Church of the Earth Mother Goddess, and the royal family. The other four are Qin Chu’s women…”
These words enraged Ronald again.
“That damned bastard! What does he take the Hero Squad for? His harem? Bringing those filthy women in!”
If he could leave this place, Ronald really wanted to rush to Qin Chu and tear his face apart.
“And there’s more bad news…” Eileen added, “The newly formed Hero Squad, coupled with the recent disasters in the human world, needs a victory to boost morale.”
“Those old geezers discussed it and decided on the Hero’s first expedition. The members of the Hero Squad naturally have to follow… which means Loseweisse and the others can’t come to our aid.”
Eileen’s voice was clear, but filled with a sense of oppression, “We have to find a way to escape from here ourselves.”
After a pause, Eileen stuffed the remaining pieces of meat into her mouth and glanced at Ronald with her orange eyes, “Alright, it’s time for us to leave this place…”
They couldn’t stay in the same place for too long. Demon Beasts had a keen sense of smell, and if they stayed in one place for too long, they would be discovered.
They hadn’t had a proper rest in days and were exhausted.
Ronald also knew that being angry was useless now, but he had already made up his mind. After leaving this place, he would definitely find an opportunity to teach that damned Qin Chu a lesson… After all, he couldn’t defeat Augustus and Saint Monique.
But dealing with Qin Chu shouldn’t be a problem.
Even if he couldn’t kill him directly, castrating that womanizing idiot should still be possible, right?
He carefully buried the traces they had left behind.
Standing on a treetop, Eileen could see a great distance. Demon Beasts often flew across the sky.
A large number of Demon Beasts had appeared around their location, surrounding the area layer by layer.
Eileen wasn’t afraid. This had happened many times before.
Those Demon Beasts could only determine their approximate location. As long as she and Ronald remained invisible, they couldn’t pinpoint their exact coordinates.
A large number of Demon Beasts would enter the area to search, and Eileen and Ronald would take the opportunity to escape from the encirclement. After all, no matter how tight the encirclement, there would always be gaps.
The same scenario as before, it even bored Eileen a little.
She was about to go down and take Ronald with her when she suddenly noticed something different this time.
The large tree beneath her seemed to be trembling slightly.
The ground seemed to be under tremendous pressure. Eileen frowned and looked into the distance. Her expression quickly changed.
She saw a figure as tall as a mountain, its massive body, tens of meters high, even taller than the tallest trees in the forest. Every movement sent tremors through the ground.
It was… Lomond.
The one who trapped them here.
A bad premonition arose in Eileen’s heart. This was the first time Lomond had personally appeared.
And that wasn’t all. The number of flying Demon Beasts in the sky seemed to be even greater than usual, and it was still increasing.
Figures flickered continuously in Eileen’s eyes.
They were a type of Demon Beast called Flamingos. They had ugly bodies and human-like limbs, but their heads were completely bird-shaped, with crimson wings on their backs.
These Demon Beasts weren’t very strong. Their wings could shoot flames, about as powerful as the small fireballs cast by human mages.
They weren’t very fast, and their sense of smell wasn’t very keen.
What was the purpose of arranging so many Flamingos?
Eileen couldn’t understand Lomond’s decision for a moment.
But soon, she shivered, her face turning pale.
The clever girl seemed to realize something. The next second, she jumped down from the treetop and rushed to Ronald’s side, grabbing his wrist.
Ronald was still puzzled, not understanding what was going on.
“Damn it, that Lomond… he’s planning to burn the forest!”
Eileen’s anxious words made Ronald’s face change drastically.
Without time to think, Eileen immediately took Ronald and activated their invisibility, “We have to leave here immediately. It will be troublesome if we’re late…”
On the other side, a twisted smile appeared on Lomond’s face as he looked at the increasing number of Flamingos in the sky, his eyes filled with cruelty and madness.
The suggestion provided by that mysterious person was quite good… After Candice left, the more Lomond thought about it, the more brilliant the plan seemed.
Of course, he had also thought of it, but that mysterious person had mentioned it first. This didn’t mean that he was less intelligent than that person.
Eileen, the Twin Thief, and Ronald, the Noble Swordsman, your doomsday has arrived.
His gaze swept over the tens of thousands of Flamingos filling the sky and the countless Cerberus surrounding the forest.
Lomond raised an arm high, his eyes seemingly burning with flames.
“Burn!”
With a roar, Lomond’s arm slammed down.
Instantly, tens of thousands of Cerberus raised one of their heads and opened their maws.
The next second, fiery flames erupted from their mouths simultaneously.
A huge ring of fire suddenly appeared around the forest, the flames instantly rising tens of meters high, completely sealing off the area.
The decaying leaves and dry branches on the ground were ignited almost simultaneously.
The fire grew stronger and stronger.
Then, the Cerberus raised another head, spewing out a fierce wind.
In an instant, the sea of fire surged forward like a tsunami, the crimson light dispelling the darkness of the Demon Beast territory, the entire world bathed in a red glow.
Thick, black smoke billowed into the sky, blotting out the sun.
The flames soared higher and higher.
The crackling sound of burning filled the air, and countless animals in the forest were turned to ashes amidst their desperate cries. Lomond believed that Ronald and Eileen would meet the same fate.
Meanwhile, the Flamingos also descended upon the forest, their wings spread wide, raining down a dense shower of fireballs.
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