Chapter 97

What happened!?

The sudden turn of events left everyone stunned, and they hadn't even recovered by the time Kuripa breathed his last.

"Lord..."

Lock swallowed hard: "This guy... was an old enemy of mine..."

"Oh."

Tang En nodded: "Then I've avenged you."

This doesn't feel right!

Lock felt like crying. He should have been the one to show off his prowess and save Tang En and Eilys, earning their gratitude! But before he could even make a move, Tang En had already taken care of Kuripa. What kind of situation is this!

No, no, no!

Lock snapped back to his senses and hurriedly said: "Lord, don't worry about these guys. Without Kuripa, they're just a bunch of scum! We'll save you right now!"

"I'm not worried..."

Lock pretended not to hear Tang En: "Please rest assured, Lord! We'll take care of them!"

"I don't need help..."

"No, no, no, you don't have to be so polite, brothers! Take out these remnants of the Flame Sword!"

Lock roared, brandishing his weapon and charging at the Flame Sword mercenaries.

Who the hell is being polite with you!

Tang En's face was a mix of frustration and tension. This guy isn't listening!

He could see what Lock was up to. Clearly, Lock wanted to earn his favor to gain future opportunities in Ellington.

But, is my favor so cheap?

Tang En didn't waste any more words. He scooped up Eilys with one arm and held a longsword in the other, charging at the ungrateful mercenaries.

"The leader is dead!"

"That bastard ambushed the leader—kill him to avenge the leader!—Wait? Avenge?"

A Flame Sword mercenary had just shouted, but then realized something was off. Damn it, what revenge? The leader is dead, so of course they should flee!

The Flame Sword was originally a motley crew, forcibly united by Kuripa with gold and force. They were already at odds with each other, and now without Kuripa, who cared about the others' fate? They scattered in an instant.

"Greta! Surround them! Don't let a single one escape!"

"Understood! Everyone spread out! Kill all the remnants of the Flame Sword!"

"Kill them all!"

They had been betrayed by the Flame Sword several times, and several of their comrades had died. How could they let them escape now?

In an instant, the forest clearing erupted into a fierce battle.

After cutting down a mercenary, Lock looked up at Tang En, who was weaving through the crowd. He was shaken to the core and couldn't help but draw a sharp breath.

It's terrifying, truly terrifying!

Tang En had surprised everyone by killing the Black Iron-level Kuripa with a single sword strike, which Lock had attributed to a sneak attack. But now he didn't think so.

None of the Flame Sword mercenaries could stand up to Tang En, and none of them could slow him down.

No matter who stood in his way, Tang En's solution was a single sword strike, and the enemy would be destroyed.

His movements were fluid, his sword techniques simple and efficient, each strike lethal, giving the enemy no chance to counter. And he was holding a little girl in his right arm, using only his left hand to wield the sword...

This, this is clearly a master swordsman!

Master swordsman? If Tang En knew what Lock was thinking, he would probably laugh out loud.

What the hell kind of master swordsman!

He was just attacking normally. Their attacks couldn't break his defense, and his attacks were always overwhelming, so it naturally looked very impressive.

"Die, you monster!"

"Lord, be careful!"

Tang En glanced over and casually swung his sword. The sword wind howled, easily tearing through the man's neck. Hot blood spurted out, and he was dead before he hit the ground.

"This..."

Lock, who had rushed over, looked awkward and frustrated. It's so hard to earn his favor!

Want to earn my favor? It's not that simple.

Tang En smiled wryly and continued the slaughter.

Since these people were ungrateful and treacherous, Tang En felt no guilt in killing them.

Even cold-blooded villains despise betrayal, let alone Tang En.

After just a few minutes, the forest clearing was calm again. The green grass was stained red with blood, and the bodies of dozens of Flame Sword members were scattered around. The air was filled with a pungent smell of blood.

"The battle is over, Greta, report the situation!"

"Leader, no deaths, four severely injured, twelve lightly injured, but it doesn't affect the mission."

In this overwhelming situation, four were still severely injured?

Lock frowned: "Treat their wounds immediately. If the injuries are serious, send a few people to... take them to Ellington."

Although four were severely injured, they had been searching for several days, and the mission wasn't complete, so they couldn't return yet.

"Leader," Greta hesitated, "What about using healing potions..."

"No, we haven't found the necromancer yet, we can't waste valuable healing potions. Besides, they're not in immediate danger... Fine, take out a bottle and share it among them."

Lock, reluctant to use the healing potions, gritted his teeth and agreed.

Tang En glanced at the injured and took out a bottle of healing potion, tossing it to Lock: "No need to make it complicated, just dilute it a bit and give them a drink."

"Is this... a healing potion?"

"No, it's a life potion, more precisely, the Blood of the Goddess."

"Blood of the Goddess!?"

Lock, Greta, and the others exclaimed in unison: "Is this the legendary Blood of the Goddess that can instantly heal all wounds!?"

"Always the same reaction... Can you hurry up?"

Tang En pointed at the injured on the ground: "They'll bleed to death in a few more minutes."

Lock didn't hesitate, immediately fetching a jug of water and pouring the Blood of the Goddess into it.

Seeing his actions, Tang En, who had wanted to remind him that a few drops would suffice, closed his mouth. Since he had given it to him, he could use it however he wanted.

After the injured each took a few sips, everyone witnessed a miracle.

Deep, bleeding wounds that had been gushing blood were completely healed in the blink of an eye. Pale faces turned rosy, and the severely injured, who had been lying on the ground, were instantly and fully healed, even better than those who hadn't been injured, with their stamina restored.

"Is this the effect of the Blood of the Goddess!?"

Lock and Greta stared in amazement. They had heard of the Blood of the Goddess, but with the Cross Rose's resources, they couldn't afford it, so this was their first time seeing it in action.

Seeing the speed at which the four severely injured were healed, Lock groaned in regret.

In that situation, they probably only needed a little, but he had poured in more than half a bottle of the Blood of the Goddess!

Although the remaining half bottle of water could still be used, the potion would lose its effect quickly after leaving the sealed crystal bottle. To avoid wasting it, Lock, despite his pain, had to distribute the remaining potion to the twelve lightly injured.

He handed the remaining half bottle of the Blood of the Goddess to Tang En with a pained expression: "Sorry, Lord, I wasted more than half a bottle..."

Tang En said casually: "The rest is a gift to you."

"What? This is the Blood of the Goddess!"

"I know, I don't need it."

"But... that's too much!"

Although he said it was too much, Lock clutched the bottle tightly, showing no signs of embarrassment.

At the same time, he felt even more pained. If he had known Tang En would give the rest to them, he should have been more frugal. This potion could save many lives in critical moments!

He hadn't earned Tang En's favor, but instead owed him one...

Lock was filled with complex emotions.

Tang En waved his hand and asked a bit puzzled: "You haven't told me why you're here. Weren't you supposed to be hunting the necromancer?"

"That's right, we're still searching for the necromancer's trail. We've been in the forest for several days."

Lock carefully put away the remaining Blood of the Goddess, happy that his team was now healthy. He said: "I haven't thanked you for those soaps yet. Thanks to those soaps, we've been safer in the jungle."

Tang En said casually: "If you know the benefits, help me promote them when you return. I can give you a commission."

"Commission?"

"Uh, we'll talk about it later."

Tang En wasn't interested in explaining what a commission was right now. He frowned and said: "What about these bodies?"

"It's not convenient to burn them in the forest. The local beasts will take care of them after we leave, but we need to do some processing first."

The "processing" Lock referred to was stripping the Flame Sword mercenaries of all valuable items.

Tang En frowned but quickly relaxed. This was the survival rule here. Since they had become enemies, they should be prepared to be killed. Now that the Cross Rose had won, they could take the spoils.

"Lord, from the Flame Sword, we've seized about 5,000 gold coins worth of supplies and potions. This set of mithril armor is worth 10,000 gold coins, so the total is 15,000 gold coins. According to the rules, you can choose items worth half the total value first, but you can also choose the mithril armor."

Lock looked at the mithril armor with a bit of reluctance. As expected, Tang En would choose the mithril armor, as it was made of magical metal and very valuable.

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PS: I was about to go to sleep because my eyes were blurry from typing... but then I refreshed and saw 339 votes... Everyone is so supportive! I'll add another chapter! Keep voting tomorrow!