Chapter 131: Chapter 53: The Holy Maiden is Too Generous - a Su Xuan Trap
"I know... all sorts of things."
Lucia whispered softly in Su Xuan’s ear, her voice like a magical spell that sent his heart racing.
It took him a long moment to calm down.
"Cough, cough."
Su Xuan cleared his throat and said to Lucia, "There’s a special commission. It’s going to be difficult, and it’s timed. I’m not sure if we should accept it."
"A special commission?"
After a moment of thought, Lucia replied softly, "Accept it. I can guarantee we’ll complete the mission successfully."
"Lucia, you..."
Su Xuan was stunned by Lucia’s words.
Seeing the confidence in her eyes, his heart suddenly beat faster, and a strange joy welled up inside him. ’Is this the sense of security a Mythical Adventurer provides?’
Beneath the white veil covering her eyes, Lucia’s golden-red pupils shimmered, betraying a hint of a smile no one else could see. It seemed Su Xuan’s genuine admiration thrilled her.
"Alright! I’ll accept the mission!"
Buoyed by Lucia’s encouragement, Su Xuan immediately accepted the special commission.
[Task Accepted!]
[Number of accessible Demon Caves: 3 (Allocated based on Player rating)]
"Three possible locations?" Su Xuan murmured.
According to the mission description, a total of 50 Demon Caves needed to be destroyed, each with its own risk level.
The three locations assigned to Su Xuan were likely all Demon Caves with low risk levels.
"Which three?"
Lucia asked, curious.
"They’re all within the Star Kingdom: Red Maple Territory, Fallen Star City, and the Shadow Mountain Range..."
’Shadow Mountain Range?’
Su Xuan suddenly recalled that the Necromancer from his D-level Task was also in the Shadow Mountain Range.
"Let’s go to Red Maple Territory first," Lucia suggested. "It’s managed by a Princess. Both its military strength and its terrain give us an advantage."
"You’re from the Sun Sect Country. How do you know so much about the Star Kingdom?" Su Xuan asked, curious.
Lucia smiled and replied, "Isn’t it common for a Saintess to travel to other countries?"
"Fair point." Su Xuan nodded. "Then let’s head to Red Maple Territory first."
After a brief discussion, Su Xuan immediately made his way to Red Maple Territory.
Since this was a preliminary scouting trip for the special event mission, Su Xuan only brought Lucia with him.
When the Teleportation Array delivered them to Red Maple Territory, Su Xuan didn’t see any of the chaos he expected Demons to cause. However, the town streets were filled with far more Soldiers than usual, all of them patrolling the area.
Of course, since the mission was still active, it meant the Demon Cave in Red Maple Territory had not yet been destroyed.
’Players?’
Su Xuan glanced around and saw a small group of Players gathered in Red Maple Territory—a dozen or so in total.
It was likely because the Demon Cave’s difficulty was low that more Players were participating. A high-risk Demon Cave would probably have attracted very few.
"Do we have the exact location of the Demon Cave?" Lucia asked softly.
"It’s five kilometers southwest of our current town," Su Xuan replied. "But before we head out, we need to gather some intel on this Demon Cave."
As he spoke, his gaze drifted to the soldiers and Players in the distance. After a moment’s consideration, he decided and walked over to a few resting Soldiers from Red Maple Territory.
After asking some questions, he got a general idea of the situation at the Demon Cave.
"I’ve got the gist of the situation near the Demon Cave," Su Xuan said seriously as he approached Lucia. "The army of Red Maple Territory has already cleared out most of the Demons that escaped. Only a few members of the Demon Race over Level 30 are left. In addition, the army organized a team of over a hundred men to try and delve into the Demon Cave, but they ultimately suffered a fierce counterattack from the Demon Race and failed. Because of that, they’ve temporarily slowed their efforts to destroy the cave, hoping Adventurers will scout the inside first. However, I heard the reason they were utterly defeated was because they encountered a High-Level Flame Demon that was over Level 40."
"You’re quite good at gathering intelligence," Lucia noted, nodding in approval.
"It’s amazing what offering a cigarette can get you. The Soldiers here are surprisingly friendly," Su Xuan replied with a smile. He didn’t smoke, but those Soldiers were clearly regulars.
What puzzled him, though, was that when he went to ask, the Soldiers of Red Maple Territory had acted like they knew him. Their enthusiastic attitude was a little surprising.
"Let’s go check out this so-called Demon Cave," Lucia said calmly. "If we can capture a member of the Demon Race, we can also question it about the situation in the Abyss."
"Mm."
Su Xuan nodded and prepared to head to the Demon Cave’s location.
Just then, a male Player with side-swept bangs walked up to Su Xuan. "Hey, friend," he invited, "this mission is pretty dangerous. Interested in joining our party?"
After speaking, the male Player gestured to the group behind him. It looked like he had already partied up with three other Players.
Su Xuan glanced at them before declining. "Thanks for the offer, but I don’t really like to party up."
He couldn’t possibly party up with other Players. Not when Lucia’s aloof Authority, part of her combat persona, gave a 200% Power boost. He couldn’t give that up. That was the whole reason he’d only brought her along.
"Alright, that’s a shame."
Hearing Su Xuan’s reply, the male Player gave a wry smile and left.
When he returned to his party, Su Xuan overheard the other Players’ chatter. Their words were filled with confusion and doubt over his refusal.
"He actually turned us down?"
"Hmph. How strong does he think he is? There’s no way he can finish this mission alone!"
"Whatever, forget him. If he wants to go solo, let him face the consequences."
"..."
Su Xuan paid them no mind, though he did note that the group of Players seemed to be organizing a party to enter the Demon Cave.
’Even though they all had D-Level or higher Player ratings, they might not be able to beat a Level 40+ High-Level Flame Demon, especially since it would likely be surrounded by a group of Low-Level Flame Demons.’
"Rejecting them was the right choice," Lucia’s voice, like a heavenly melody, rang in Su Xuan’s ears. "You only need me. That is enough."
The moment she spoke, she flicked a finger as elegant as carved jade. A Golden Lotus, as radiant as the morning sun, instantly bloomed beneath her feet. The Golden Lotus lifted both her and Su Xuan, carrying them slowly into the air.
This scene astonished Su Xuan.
’Is this the power of Magic? Or some kind of mystical Magic Item?’
However, before he had a chance to ponder it further, the Golden Lotus suddenly accelerated, rocketing them toward the Demon Cave.
The sudden acceleration made Su Xuan lose his balance and stumble backward. Fortunately, Lucia caught him in time and asked softly, "Are you alright?"
"Thanks," Su Xuan replied gratefully. At the same time, he noticed a faint blush spread across Lucia’s cheeks, but she suppressed it in less than a second.
’But all we did just now was touch hands. Could this be the Sensitive Authority? Just a simple touch of the hand causes such a strong reaction!’
’So, what would happen if I touched her feet?’
Su Xuan’s gaze fell to Lucia’s bare feet, his mind filled with curiosity.
’Why isn’t she wearing shoes? Is she doing it on purpose to ensnare me?’
