Chapter 265: Sylph Needs More Treatment
Sylph was mortified.
It was all Qin Chu’s fault.
If it weren’t for him, her body wouldn’t be so sensitive, her mind wouldn’t be filled with such… inappropriate… thoughts, and she wouldn’t have made such a fool of herself.
He was the one to blame.
Her embarrassment seemed to worry Qin Chu. “What’s wrong?” he asked, his voice filled with concern, “Were you injured during the fight with the Demon Beasts? Where? Let me see.”
His gentle concern made Sylph feel even more flustered.
Please don’t be so kind to me, she thought. It only made her more confused.
She bit her lip, stood up, and shook her head. “I’m fine,” she said, “it’s just a small scratch…”
But under his insistent gaze, she couldn’t refuse. Sighing, she unbuttoned her leather armor, revealing the delicate skin beneath her collarbone.
A crimson wound marred the snowy white flesh, a strangely beautiful contrast.
A soft, white light emanated from Qin Chu’s palm, and as he touched her, the wound began to close, the stinging pain fading.
Sylph adjusted her shirt, her gaze complex as she looked at him. “Why were you in the Demon Beast territory?” she asked.
“And you just happened to save me?”
It felt… too coincidental.
“I heard that Eileen returned, and then you, Athena, Eileen, and Airi left. It seemed that Ronald was trapped in Lomond’s territory,” Qin Chu said, his voice grave, “I was worried that you might be trying to rescue him, so I rushed over.”
“I arrived just in time.”
Actually, he had been there for a while, watching from a distance, only intervening when Sylph tried to kill herself.
He wasn’t done playing with her yet, how could he let her die so easily?
Besides, he hadn’t fully unravelled the secret within her, those threads of the Evil God, which could be very useful.
Sylph’s feelings were a tangled mess.
This Second Hero, Qin Chu, was a truly good person.
The former Hero Squad members hadn’t accepted him, yet he was so concerned for their safety.
This poor man, he didn’t even know that they all wanted to kill him, that they only saw him as a tool to be used and discarded.
“By the way, where are Athena, Eileen, and Airi?”
“Athena went to support Muse, at the Snow Chain Mountains,” Sylph answered without thinking, then added with a hint of mockery, “As for Airi and Eileen, they should be safe now.”
“Safe, that’s good,” Qin Chu seemed relieved.
Seeing his reaction, Sylph knew that if Airi and Eileen were still in the Demon Beast territory, he would rush to their rescue.
What a foolishly kind man.
Sylph felt increasingly conflicted, torn between Jie Luo’s resurrection and this good-natured Qin Chu.
The images of the two men flickered in her mind, an endless loop.
She longed for something to distract her from this turmoil, like those times at the residence, lost in a frenzy of passion, her mind blank, focused only on Qin Chu.
She had so much pent-up frustration, she needed to release it.
She placed her hand on her chest, took a deep breath, and spoke, her eyes locking onto his:
“Hero…”
“I think I need… more treatment.”
“Huh? Are you feeling unwell somewhere else?”
Sylph bit her lip, her heart racing, her eyes glazing over, “No, I mean… inside my body, my soul… the corruption…”
Qin Chu understood.
Of course.
With the taint still within her, she must be worried. They should indeed continue the treatment as soon as possible.
“Then, which method do you prefer this time?” he asked.
Sylph’s cheeks flushed crimson. “The… second one?” she stammered.
“No, wait, the third one.”
Something’s off with you, Sylph, Qin Chu thought, a smile playing on his lips.
“Perhaps we can try a few different methods and see which one is more effective,” he suggested.
Sylph, forgetting their location, her shyness replaced by a strange eagerness, reached for her armor, as if to remove it.
But Qin Chu stopped her.
She looked at him, puzzled. Was he refusing to treat her?
“I mean… let’s just… keep it on… just in case we’re attacked,” he said, finding a convenient excuse.
…
Meanwhile, in the dark forest.
Thanks to Sylph drawing away all the Demon Beasts, Eileen and Airi’s escape had been surprisingly smooth.
They had already left Lomond’s territory and crossed back into human lands.
But they didn’t relax their vigilance.
Night had fallen, and the dim light of their oil lamp barely penetrated the darkness.
Although they could see clearly in the dark, this was still Demon Beast territory, and they had to be careful.
The sounds of nocturnal creatures echoed through the forest, adding to the eerie atmosphere.
Airi’s fingers toyed with a thin, silver wire, while Eileen’s hand spun a dagger expertly.
After a long silence, Eileen finally spoke, her voice tight, “Why did you leave Sylph behind? Why didn’t you maintain her invisibility?”
This question had been weighing on her mind. They were twins, their thoughts usually in sync, but this time, she couldn’t understand Airi’s actions.
But she had still cooperated with her sister.
Under the moonlight, Airi’s orange eyes seemed to glow red, a flicker of killing intent that made even Eileen’s hair stand on end.
“Because that bitch wanted to steal Big Brother Jie Luo!” Airi said with a cheerful smile, “And it wasn’t my fault. I didn’t dispel her invisibility. It was her own carelessness that exposed her, not me.”
Eileen ignored her excuse, her brow furrowed. “You wanted to kill Sylph just because of that?”
“It was Lomond who killed her, not me,” Airi shrugged.
“Well, if she died… If not, her fate might be even worse than Ronald’s.”
“And that’s not the only reason,” she continued, stretching her arms, trying to puff out her chest, but her figure remained stubbornly flat, which made her pout slightly, “You haven’t met Qin Chu, so you might not know, but… Sylph and he are very close.”
“It’s more than just surveillance, or trying to please him for the sake of resurrecting Big Brother Jie Luo.”
“That woman is not on our side. Keeping her around would only be trouble. It’s better to use Lomond’s hand to eliminate her. And no one can blame us afterwards,” Airi said with an innocent smile.
That smile made even Eileen’s scalp tingle.
Everyone thought that Loseweisse and Ronald were the most devoted to Jie Luo… but Airi’s devotion was no less intense, and perhaps even more…twisted.
“What if… one day… you see me as an obstacle and eliminate me too?” Eileen asked, her eyes narrowing.
Airi looked at her sister in surprise, then grinned and hugged her, her head nuzzling against Eileen’s shoulder, “Sister, what are you talking about?”
“You’re my sister.”
“Don’t you remember? We’ve always shared everything, haven’t we?”
A smile appeared on Eileen’s face. Yes, they were used to this, sharing everything.
They were sisters, inseparable.
After a long moment, they separated.
“By now, Sylph should have been captured by Lomond. I wonder how long she can last. We should go back soon,” Airi said, glancing around, her orange eyes flickering nervously as she saw a few will-o’-the-wisps dancing in the forest.
By the time they returned to the camp, it was already the next morning.
The reinforcements from the Auville Empire had arrived.
Emperor Wadsworth had promoted Barnal to the rank of lieutenant general, recognizing his achievements. Although it wasn’t a particularly high position, it was the highest rank a commoner could achieve, breaking the class barrier.
But this army was a bit… special.
To boost morale, Wadsworth had even sent one of his sons to the front lines as the supreme commander, instructing him to listen to the advice of the veteran officers.
Clearly, he was just there for show, to gain some experience and perhaps learn a bit about military command.
And if Wadsworth had sent his son, the other nobles, naturally, followed suit, each sending a descendant to the battlefield, along with a large number of personal guards to protect them. This greatly inflated the army’s size.
And in Wadsworth’s eyes, these personal guards, better equipped and trained than the regular soldiers, were the true reinforcements.
The arrival of the reinforcements, bringing with them a large amount of supplies, weapons, and food, brought a renewed sense of hope to the camp.
The prince in charge knew he lacked experience, and with his father’s instructions, he immediately appointed Barnal as his second-in-command, entrusting him with all matters of logistics, training, intelligence gathering, and giving him full authority over all the soldiers, including the nobles’ personal guards.
He could punish anyone who disobeyed, even execute them.
After giving his instructions, the prince immediately went to the Hero’s tent with his attendants.
He knew his true mission. Fighting on the front lines was secondary, at least for now.
Building a good relationship with the Hero was his top priority.
Moreover, he had brought a special gift from Wadsworth for the Hero.
And a piece of information that the Hero would be very interested in, related to the being that had corrupted the Grand Prince, and to the Blissful Witch Society!
Leave a Reply