Vol 4. Chapter 122: The Convoy Crossing the Border
At the same time,
Night had fallen over the border of the Crimson Leaf Empire.
"BOOOOM!!!"
A deafening explosion suddenly shattered the peaceful night along the border.
Under the combined assault of multiple elements, including raging flames, thunder, shattered ice, and wind blades, the once-flat grassland was abruptly torn apart by an overwhelming force, leaving behind an enormous crater approximately five hundred meters in radius.
And within that crater, the elemental attacks showed no signs of stopping. Instead, the various elements continued interacting and merging with one another, collectively performing a prelude to the end, relentlessly tearing at the beautiful purple figure standing at the center of the explosion.
Terrifying shockwaves swept across the entire surrounding grassland.
Even the earth itself began trembling uncontrollably.
The magical beasts roaming the grassland were utterly terrified upon sensing this horrifying concentration of power. They immediately scattered in panic, fleeing frantically in every direction, desperate to distance themselves from the center of the explosion and escape the fierce battlefield.
These magical beasts understood perfectly well that if they were caught up in this battle, they... would undoubtedly die...
...
Meanwhile, at the center of the battlefield...
Dozens of Archmages, along with seven or eight Magic Swordsmen standing at the front, were staring solemnly at the center of the explosion.
Their bodies, along with the tremendous magical power and battle aura within them, remained on the highest possible alert.
Every single one of them was overwhelmed by an unprecedented sense of dread.
As the leader of the group, Viskao, who possessed Mid Seventh-Tier strength, couldn't help biting his lip until it bled.
Fear was steadily spreading through the heart of this powerful warrior.
"Damn it... What... What kind of monster is she...?"
As the strongest adventurer team in Saint Lomari, Viskao's group had accepted a secret mission from one of the empire's great nobles.
Their objective was to eliminate a candidate for Imperial Sovereign.
More precisely, their target was the girl named Lingluo, who was currently traveling to the Crimson Leaf Empire as Saint Lomari's special envoy.
Viskao had originally believed this would be an extremely easy mission.
After all, this candidate for Imperial Sovereign didn't possess any particularly powerful backing within the empire, her personal strength was insufficient, and even the guards surrounding her were composed of "inside agents."
Killing her should have been ridiculously simple.
If that great noble hadn't offered such an enormous reward, Viskao wouldn't even have bothered accepting such an unchallenging assignment.
Originally...
Viskao had planned to complete the mission quickly by completely eliminating Lingluo and her attendants on this deserted grassland, just as they entered the territory of the Crimson Leaf Empire.
However...
When he led his subordinates into battle...
This battle-hardened adventurer was horrified to discover that the mission was nowhere near as simple as he had imagined.
This wasn't some beginner-level mission at all...
It was a hell-level mission...
The kind of mission that would get everyone fucking killed!!!!
...
W-Why?!
Why was this woman...
Why was the maid accompanying this woman...
A-A-A FUCKING ABYSS DEMON?!!
AND A FUCKING DEMON KING-CLASS ABYSS DEMON AT THAT AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!
"ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME?!!"
Viskao couldn't help roaring hysterically in his heart.
Unfortunately...
The adventurer had no spare energy to contemplate the reason.
Because, at the very moment he let out his roar, an extraordinarily beautiful and melodious voice, yet one overflowing with chilling murderous intent and violent bloodlust, suddenly erupted from the center of the explosion in a burst of maniacal laughter.
The sound immediately caused Viskao and the others' expressions to change drastically once again.
"HAHAHAHAHAHA!!! THAT'S IT?! THAT'S ALL YOU'VE GOT?!! THIS IS FUCKING BORING, YOU PIECES OF TRASH!! CAN'T YOU EVEN MANAGE TO HURT ME A LITTLE?! HOW FUCKING PATHETIC CAN YOU GET?!!"
As those mocking, crazed words rang out...
Bolts of dark-purple lightning suddenly erupted from within the explosion!
Under the devastating assault of the lightning and terrifying Shadow of Silence Power, the dense magical energy and scorching waves of heat surrounding the beautiful purple figure were, unsurprisingly, shattered into pieces.
Then, beneath the despairing gazes of Viskao and the other adventurers, the beautiful purple-haired girl casually swung her sword, effortlessly dispersing the destructive forces surrounding her.
Like a messenger of death emerging from the abyss, she simply hovered in midair.
Her dark-purple eyes, burning with excitement and an intense desire for battle, swept coldly over Viskao and the others below.
"That's it? Come on, then?! Attack me again?! Keep going!! Don't tell me... you're already finished? I... haven't had nearly enough fun yet~"
...
...
"M-Monster..."
Viskao muttered in utter terror.
He couldn't help stumbling backward repeatedly.
After discovering that the combined attack of his entire adventurer group, launched with every ounce of strength they possessed, had failed to inflict even the slightest injury on the Abyss Demon girl before them, and hadn't even managed to touch her, the last remnants of Viskao's fighting spirit completely vanished.
An incomparable sense of fear and despair spread through his heart like a virus, instantly overwhelming his rationality.
Where had this Demon King-class monster come from?
Why was there a humanoid Demon King-class Abyss Demon?
Why had she disguised herself as a maid and remained by Lingluo's side to protect her?
...
Viskao no longer had the strength to consider any of these questions.
At this moment, only one thought remained in his mind.
And that was...
"RUN FOR YOUR FUCKING LIIIIIIIIIVES!!!"
With his mentality completely shattered, Viskao could no longer maintain any so-called balanced offensive and defensive formation.
Under the horrified gazes of his fellow adventurers, the group's leader abruptly turned around, gathered every last bit of magical power remaining in his body, and fled into the distance at full speed.
Upon seeing their leader abandon them, the remaining adventurers' last traces of resistance instantly crumbled.
Their formation completely collapsed.
Everyone abandoned their magical incantations and discarded their weapons.
Amid terrified screams, they frantically fled into the distance, desperately trying to escape from the horrifying demon hovering in the sky, disguised beneath the skin of a beautiful young girl...
Even as they ran...
The adventurers continued launching magical attacks and firing ranged weapons at the purple-haired girl, apparently hoping to slow her down.
Unfortunately...
Their already insufficient firepower, coupled with the loss of Viskao's unified command, rendered their magical attacks almost completely ineffective.
These dazzling attacks, resembling the final rays of a setting sun, were abruptly twisted by a mysterious force just before reaching the purple-haired girl.
They immediately disintegrated, transforming into countless particles of magical energy that scattered across the flame-filled sky.
...
...
"Huh?"
Meanwhile, upon seeing Viskao and the others lose their will to fight and retreat in such a miserable state of terror...
The maid "young lady" named Pipi, who was hovering in midair, gradually restrained the excitement and battle frenzy on her face, suppressing her instinctive desire for combat...
A deep sense of disappointment slowly appeared between her brows.
"They're running away already?... Tch... How boring..."
After letting out several disdainful snorts, Pipi, having completely lost interest, tightened her grip on her sword and raised the enormous pale greatsword, which was even larger than her delicate body, high above her head.
"Since you can't fight anymore... there's no reason to keep trash like you alive."
After coldly delivering this declaration of death to Viskao and the other adventurers, Pipi swung the greatsword downward without the slightest hesitation...
The next instant...
Under the horrified, despairing gazes of Viskao and the others, filled with regret and unwillingness, a wave of sword energy intertwined with lightning rapidly approached them.
Finally, the merciless thunder, resembling a roaring, bloodthirsty beast, swallowed every last one of them without mercy.
Before they could even utter their final screams, Viskao and the others were completely reduced to ashes beneath the rampaging, terrifying Shadow of Silence Power...
...
...
—
Several minutes later, at a campsite dozens of miles away...
Suddenly...
Under the astonished and worried gazes of several maids inside a tent, a purple-haired girl covered from head to toe in blood, looking somewhat "disheveled," abruptly pulled aside the curtain and stepped inside.
"Head Maid?!"
"Head Maid! What happened to you?! Why are you covered in blood?!"
"..."
Faced with the two young maids' startled cries, Pipi clicked her tongue disdainfully.
However, she offered no response, maintaining her usual "cold and aloof" silence.
Because of his contempt for the human race, Pipi considered most humans beneath his notice.
Apart from opponents who dared to fight him and the select few individuals he acknowledged, Pipi couldn't be bothered to speak to beings as weak as these little maids, whom he could crush to death with a casual movement.
Just as Mom had said...
As a boss, one must always maintain the imposing presence befitting a boss!
In other words, one must maintain a cold and aloof aura!
Although Pipi frequently disobeyed his mother's instructions and constantly caused trouble, he possessed a strangely inexplicable obsession with maintaining his intimidating presence.
And so...
Turning his head away, Pipi ignored the two maids' worried expressions.
Meanwhile...
A certain girl sitting on a simple bed clearly understood Pipi's personality.
After helplessly shaking her head, she raised her hand to stop the two maids.
"All right, Mei'er, Xiao Luo, there's no need to worry. The Head Maid is fine. Besides, you two should go and get some rest first. I have something to discuss with the Head Maid."
"But..."
Seeing that the green-haired girl had already said so, the two maids exchanged somewhat strange looks.
Nevertheless, after glancing at each other, they ultimately decided to obey their mistress's wishes.
"Understood, Miss Lingluo."
After bowing respectfully to the green-haired girl, the two maids withdrew from the tent.
At this moment, only Lingluo and Pipi remained inside.
One human, one demon.
Once everyone else had left, Lingluo slipped on a nightgown and slowly approached Pipi, gently wiping the bloodstains from his beautiful face with a handkerchief.
"Seriously, how did you end up looking like this? Would you like to take a bath?"
"A bath?!"
"That's right. If you want, I can take one with you~"
Hearing this, Pipi frowned and immediately revealed a wary expression.
He couldn't help recalling what had happened when he had shared a bath with Lingluo before, when the other girl had taken every opportunity to shamelessly take advantage of him.
In an instant, Pipi abruptly crossed his arms over his chest and retreated several steps in fright, looking just like a startled little girl.
"I'm not taking a bath! You're just trying to take advantage of me again! Don't even think about it!"
"Oh, is that so..."
Lingluo spoke with a hint of disappointment.
"Well, if Pipi doesn't want to, then I suppose there's nothing I can do."
However, the green-haired girl quickly restrained the teasing expression on her face.
Her expression grew somewhat serious as she turned her head toward the west, in the direction where Pipi had been fighting earlier.
"So, what happened to those people?"
"A bunch of trash. What else could have happened? I wiped them all out."
Pipi raised both hands behind his head and spoke with a disdainful expression.
"Anyway, just as you requested, I eliminated both those hired adventurers and our own escort guards. Now, all that's left of our convoy... is this small group."
"Mm, as expected of Pipi. You did wonderfully."
"Tch, naturally."
The purple-haired girl raised her chin with a slightly smug expression.
"But... Was there really any need to make things so complicated? If you'd just given me permission, I could've wiped out those escort guards ages ago, you know?"
"That wouldn't have worked. Although those people had malicious intentions, they were still guards assigned by the Council of Elders. Eliminating them directly would naturally have been inappropriate."
"Fortunately... it seems some of those noble families finally lost their patience with me... and sent an assassination squad to kill me."
"That gave us the perfect opportunity to use the encounter as an excuse to get rid of those troublesome guards. This way, even the Council of Elders won't have anything to complain about."
"Tch... Whatever you say."
"Oh... Right! Pipi!"
Seeing that the purple-haired girl was about to turn around and leave, Lingluo suddenly seemed to remember something and hurriedly called out to her.
"Huh? What now? Is there something else you need me to do?"
Pipi turned his head back somewhat impatiently.
However, at the very moment he turned around, Lingluo tossed a thick book directly toward him.
It landed in Pipi's arms, causing the purple-haired girl to tilt her head in confusion.
Pipi had an instinctive dislike of anything resembling a book.
"Hmm? What's this??"
"A class roster."
"What kind of roster?"
"Didn't I tell you I'm a student at Yexinlian Star Source Comprehensive Academy? This is the roster of my class. It contains information about my other classmates. Pipi, take a good look through it first and prepare yourself for entering the academy later."
"Hmm?"