Chapter 331: The Birth of a New "Adamantite Rank" Squad, the Assembled Adventurers
Under the amber light of the setting sun.
The orange-red light shone on Enri's somewhat pale cheeks, leaving a mottled patch. The light and shadow slowly moved upward, covering her eyes.
"Ngh..."
Enri let out a soft groan. As her consciousness returned, she felt a deep ache in all her bones.
It was the same exhaustion she used to feel in Carne Village during the busy farming season, the kind that left her drained of all strength after a hard day's work. No, this feeling was even more intense.
Lord Captain...
What's everyone's situation now!
Thinking she was still on the battlefield, Enri hurriedly opened her eyes, only to be met by a swath of amber light, forcing her to close them again.
She raised a hand to shield her eyes before slowly opening them once more.
This... isn't the battlefield?
Enri's blurry vision cleared. Looking at the lamp above her and the familiar inn environment around her, a look of confusion and panic filled her eyes.
"Good morning... oh, it's already evening."
"It's about the time I calculated. You've slept for two full days and nights, Enri."
A gentle, soft laugh came from the side.
The familiar voice instantly eased the tension in the nerves of the just-awakened Enri.
"—Lord Captain."
"I... I was able to help."
Tang Zheng was taken aback. He hadn't expected those to be the first words she'd say upon waking.
"You must believe that you possess an unimaginable talent," Tang Zheng replied with a smile.
Though this talent was a bit different than he'd anticipated... Speaking of which, it was easy to notice from the light novel that Enri's luck had always been quite good.
"Mhm!"
Enri's eyes reddened slightly as she nodded forcefully.
From the very beginning, Lord Captain was the only one who believed in her. Even she herself had doubted whether she truly had the talent he spoke of.
She felt more and more that her Lord Captain was amazing.
"Grrrrumble~"
"Grrrrumble~"
A powerful stomach growl interrupted their conversation. As if in protest, Enri's cheeks flushed bright red in an instant.
"Your timing is good."
"There happens to be a banquet we're invited to later," Tang Zheng said with a hearty laugh.
A short while later.
The Evil Spirit Hound pulled a carriage, traveling along one of Kalinxia's main streets. It weaved slowly through the crowd, turning heads wherever it went, just as it always did.
Compared to the past when passersby would merely discuss and marvel at such a fearsome monster as the Evil Spirit Hound, now, many people who saw it already knew which adventurer squad this monster represented.
"Captain, that carriage... could it be..."
On one side of the street, a five-person adventurer squad stared intently at the carriage as it passed by them.
"To be able to use a dangerous monster like an Evil Spirit Hound, with a difficulty rating of over 30, to pull a carriage... it can only be them."
"The adventurer squad, Free Will!"
The squad's captain, a tall man carrying an iron hammer, spoke in a low, reverent tone.
"Is it really them?"
"I heard that those two legendary undead were both taken care of by this adventurer squad?"
"What nonsense are you talking about? That's impossible, no matter how you think about it."
"However, reliable information seems to mention that the legendary undead, the Soul Eater, was dealt with by Free Will."
"A legendary undead... I've never even heard of one before, let alone seen one. Captain, what's the difficulty rating of a legendary undead?" someone in the group asked, their voice filled with curious disbelief.
"The difficulty rating is probably over 100," the burly captain with the iron hammer said with some hesitation.
*Hiss—*
A sharp intake of breath was heard.
"No way!" a high-pitched voice cried out, its tone sharp with shock.
"Who knows? That's what the rumors say."
"It's terrifying beyond imagination!"
"A group of low-level adventurers like us might actually get to see a powerful figure of that caliber with our own eyes today."
"Haha! Let's go, everyone!"
"Today might be the most unforgettable moment for all the adventurers in our Holy Kingdom."
The burly captain reluctantly tore his gaze away from the departing carriage, his eyes sweeping over the unprecedented number of adventurer squads lining both sides of the street as he puffed out his chest with pride.
Over the past few days, word of the events that had transpired in the Abelion Hills had been gradually fermenting and spreading.
The legendary undead Death Knight!
The legendary undead Soul Eater!
An army of tens of thousands of undead!
The evil society Zuranon... Each and every piece of news was an unimaginable and unbearable calamity for commoners and nobles alike.
And this disaster, said to be capable of threatening a country and causing the deaths of hundreds of thousands, was actually resolved without the vast majority of people even knowing.
The indescribable sense of shock made anyone who heard the news think it was a joke!
However—
The most elite forces of their Holy Kingdom, the Holy Knight Order and the Cleric Corps, were actually stationed in Kalinxia. Someone had even seen the captain of the Holy Knight Order, Lord Remedios.
And that's not all!
The most lively thing in all of Kalinxia recently was the explosive increase in the number of adventurers, with a massive influx arriving from both the Northern and Southern Holy Kingdoms.
They came to celebrate the birth of an "Adamantite Rank" adventurer squad—in the Holy Kingdom!
Due to the Holy Kingdom's long-standing national policy, the status of adventurers had always been relatively low!
But at this moment.
Because of Free Will, every adventurer who appeared in Kalinxia could feel the gazes of the people upon them, different from how they usually were.
Inside the carriage.
Enri, holding a half-eaten loaf of soft white bread, tightened her grip.
"Miss Cuiye, she's staying in the Abelion Hills?"
Tang Zheng nodded.
Enri's shoulders relaxed. She hadn't seen Miss Cuiye just now and had thought something had happened. Although she didn't understand why Lord Captain made such an arrangement, she knew he must have his reasons.
"Enri, what did it feel like when you attacked with your sword back then?" Tang Zheng asked, curious about the finer details of Enri's job.
He needed to assess how to best improve her strength.
"I don't know either."
"I just felt..." Enri bit her lip, recalling the moment, and shared a detailed and unreserved account of what she had experienced.
Tang Zheng became lost in thought.
The Soul Eater possessed the ability to emit a "Fear Aura" and an "Instant Death Aura." The distance between them at the time shouldn't have been that great.
Because of the "Fear Aura," everyone was subconsciously fleeing, triggering a wave of panic, yet Enri was able to ignore it.
And the "Instant Death Aura"!
The lower a person's level, the less likely they were to pass the "Instant Death" check. At that time, Enri's level was undoubtedly the lowest on the entire battlefield.
However, at that distance, Tang Zheng couldn't be sure if Enri had been affected by "Instant Death." If she was affected?
—Then.
A glint flashed in Tang Zheng's eyes.
The job, Hero-Worshipper, must have passive abilities that included at least "Complete Resistance to Fear" and "Instant Death Invalidation."
A special job class usually has two to three job skills!
Heroic Moment was just one of them. He would have to assess the others as she leveled up.
Actually, there was no need for too much thought.
Based solely on the effect of the Heroic Moment skill, Tang Zheng already had a basic idea of how Enri's job was structured.
"I originally just wanted to be a supporting character in this incident."
Hearing the fervent discussions from the street outside the carriage, Tang Zheng felt a headache coming on.
He had never wanted to be high-profile.
Even when eliminating the Death Knight and the Zuranon Alliance Leader, he had borrowed the power of the Slane Theocracy, and these things could be explained away with excuses like combat awareness and potions.
But Enri's case...
An ordinary girl annihilating a Soul Eater in a single blow.
It was truly a bit too exaggerated.
"The Theocracy will probably form some kind of speculation about Enri," Tang Zheng mused inwardly.
Have Enri pose as a "Player" and stand in the spotlight?
The moment this idea appeared, Tang Zheng snuffed it out!
Posing as a "God-kin" was safer than posing as a "Player."
Besides, Enri could withstand an investigation!
The biggest difference between Players who descended upon the otherworld and the local natives, aside from the gap in power, was that their pasts were a complete blank; they appeared in this world out of thin air.
Enri was from Carne Village, with a father, mother, and sister. As long as the Theocracy investigated this point clearly, they would drop their suspicion of Enri being a Player.
The problem was...
Whether the Theocracy would suspect him because of Enri—that was what Tang Zheng was worried about.
"Fortunately, I've already had Imina start making preparations," Tang Zheng thought to himself.
Since he knew about the "characteristic" blank past of Players, how could he not be prepared? His secret manipulation of Eight Fingers back then was precisely to use their power to control the Kingdom's underworld.
Turning something fake into something real wasn't always difficult!
"In the end, it's still a matter of strength."
"These preparations were originally meant to confuse the Great Tomb." Thinking of the ritual he had laid out in the lava zone according to his own design, Tang Zheng felt a fire ignite within him.
Perhaps his own strength would see a major increase!
"Still missing a few things."
The image of the Spiral of Death Ritual appeared in Tang Zheng's mind as he modified and adjusted it.
The birth of the Death Knight and the Soul Eater had given him a deeper understanding of the Spiral of Death Ritual, especially Khajiit's transformation into a Soul Eater.
After the war, Tang Zheng had made a special trip to the corpse pit to conduct research and investigation.
In addition.
Through resurrection, he had already obtained complete information from the Alliance Leader. He now knew the specific identities and current locations of all eight remaining high disciples of Zuranon.
The Alliance Leader really did have a connection to the Slane Theocracy, but he wasn't one of their people as Tang Zheng had imagined. Instead, he was a figure from 200 years ago, from the era of the Thirteen Heroes.
"If anyone asks about your ability, just say it's the effect of an innate talent," Tang Zheng told Enri.
"Mhm, I understand." Though Enri was a little puzzled, she still nodded forcefully.
—Adventurer's Guild.
The Adventurer's Guild in Kalinxia was rather old and worn. Due to a lack of attention and the relatively scarce number of adventurers in the Holy Kingdom, the Adventurer's Guild's presence was more symbolic than anything else.
At this moment!
The entrance of the usually empty Adventurer's Guild was packed with a dense crowd of adventurers.
These were all adventurer squads who had rushed here from nearby cities, and even from the Southern Holy Kingdom.
*Clatter-thump—*
The vibrating sound of wheels rolling over the ground came from down the street.
"They're here!"
A soft cry came from within the crowd of adventurers.
In an instant, countless excited, fervent, and curious eyes turned toward the street. They focused on the approaching carriage, pulled by the Evil Spirit Hound.
As the Evil Spirit Hound pulled the chains taut, halting the carriage's forward momentum, the wheels slowly came to a stop.
*Click!*
The carriage door opened.
Tang Zheng was the first to step out. Seeing the hundreds of adventurers gathered in front of the guild, a look of helplessness appeared on his face.
Enri followed closely behind. Facing the intense gazes, she subconsciously wanted to lower her head.
"You are no longer the Enri who needs to be looked after, hiding in the back."
Tang Zheng spoke to the figure behind him and started walking toward the Adventurer's Guild.
The shadow that had been shielding her gradually moved away from Enri's body.
Miss Cuiye isn't here either.
Usually, she just had to follow behind Miss Cuiye.
Enri's fingers trembled slightly. Gazing at the white-clad back in front of her, a voice suddenly surfaced in her heart.
'I can help Lord Captain now.'
Those were the words she had just said not long ago!
*Step~*
Enri took a step forward. The sense of inferiority and caution from a border village girl deep within her light brown eyes was gradually disappearing.
*Thud—*
Enri planted her other foot firmly on the ground. She suddenly clasped her hands behind her back and gave all the adventurers looking at her a simple and kind smile.
The triple-braid on the left side of her chest bounced slightly as she quickened her pace to catch up with Tang Zheng.
A trace of heroic spirit began to coalesce in her stride!
"The young man walking in front must be the leader of Free Will."
"That's right!"
"It's 'Genius Alchemist' Tang."
"There are only two of them? I thought the Free Will squad had three members, and one of them was a demi-human."
"A demi-human? Did they not come along because they know we people of the Holy Kingdom dislike demi-humans?"
"That girl is so young. Don't tell me the rumors are true, and she's the one who eliminated the legendary undead?"
"She looks so weak."
"Wait, she smiled at me! So cute!"
"..."
Whispers and discussions rose continuously from the adventurers on both sides.
Guild Master Botejin was already waiting at the entrance of the Adventurer's Guild. Seeing Tang Zheng and Enri appear, he took the initiative to walk up to them quickly.
"Welcome back, Lord Tang, Miss Enri."
Guild Master Botejin bowed slightly, his face holding a respectful expression as he addressed the two.
His gaze lingered on Enri for a brief moment.
If he hadn't received confirmation from a member of the Holy Knight Order, he would have found it truly hard to believe that this ordinary-looking girl could actually slay a legendary undead.
Heavens!
To think I actually had this Miss Enri open the door for me back then.
However.
Her presence is indeed a bit weak.
Guild Master Botejin suppressed the various thoughts in his mind and quickly averted his gaze after that brief pause.
"This is a bit too lively, Guild Master Botejin."
Tang Zheng gestured with his eyes toward the surrounding adventurers.
Changing an adventurer's rank plate wasn't really a big deal. Even changing the plate for an "Adamantite Rank" adventurer squad didn't involve any special ceremony.
As for why this situation had occurred, Tang Zheng could roughly guess that it was Guild Master Botejin's deliberate doing, all to improve the extremely low presence of the Adventurer's Guild within the Holy Kingdom.
(end of chapter)