Chapter 133: Chapter 94: Promotion! Lynch Becomes a Half-step Noble
Annabella raised an eyebrow, a cold glint flashing in her eyes.
"Noisy."
She flicked her wrist again.
"SHHIIING—!"
Another bone spear shot through the air, piercing Lianna’s other shoulder with unerring accuracy.
"AARGH—!"
Lianna let out a piercing scream, her entire body now pinned to the wall by two bone spears. Blood stained a large patch of the rock face red.
The intense pain and blood loss made her vision swim with black spots. She finally didn’t dare to spout any more threats.
She could clearly feel Annabella’s killing intent. If she truly angered her, there was no guarantee she wouldn’t actually kill her.
The scene fell into a dead silence.
The masters looked at each other in dismay.
For a moment, no one knew what to say.
But the Holy Knight, Master Casper Iron Shield, furrowed his brow deeply.
As the leader of the Holy Light System masters present, he couldn’t just stand by and watch Annabella harm Lianna without doing anything.
He took a step forward and said in a heavy voice, "Master Annabella, while Master Lianna’s actions were indeed impulsive and inappropriate, she was only worried for her student’s safety. It’s one thing to teach her a lesson, but must you go this far...?"
Annabella cut him off without a hint of courtesy, sneering, "Does the Holy Light System think it has a monopoly on reason? When she laid a hand on my student, why didn’t I see you step out and say ’that’s enough’?"
She paused, her aura surging once more. The Wind Wing Bone Dragon, as if on cue, let out a whistle-like roar, the Soul Fire in its eye sockets burning fiercely, its presence overwhelming.
"Casper," Annabella said, her voice flat as she looked down at him. "If you’re not happy, if you think I’ve gone too far, we can ’spar’ right here, right now. Your Holy Light lineage loves ’sparring’ with us from the Undead System, don’t you?"
Casper’s face darkened. "You—!"
"Alright, alright, Master Casper." Seeing the situation about to worsen again, Master Gwen hurried out to play peacemaker, stepping between the two. He said to Casper, "Master Lianna was indeed the first to lose her composure today. Master Annabella was just being fiercely protective, though her methods were a bit heavy-handed... I’ll have a word with Master Annabella in a moment."
Master Gwen was quite powerful, and he had always been an easygoing man who kept to himself, maintaining good relationships with the masters of every system.
Hearing this, Casper nodded, his face grim, and stepped aside without another word for the moment.
Lynch, however, watched this unfold with a malicious thought. ’This Casper fellow is acting like he’s doing Master Gwen a favor, but I’ll bet he’s only backing down because he knows he can’t beat Master Annabella.’
「It was only then」
...that Avril struggled to slide off Red Rabbit.
A sharp pain in her ankle made her stumble, but she gritted her teeth and limped forward a few steps. Only then did she raise her pale little face to Annabella in the air, bowing deeply as she pleaded, "Master Annabella, I’m sorry. This is all my fault. My leg is injured, so Lynch was kind enough to let me share his ride, which caused my master to misunderstand. I’m begging you, please let my master down. She’s lost so much blood..."
Others could ignore Lianna at a time like this, but as her student, Avril had to step forward and plead on her master’s behalf.
The other masters also noticed Avril’s limp and had a sudden realization. The girl really was injured and had trouble walking, which was why Lynch had shared his mount with her.
Still, that Lynch kid probably had some ulterior motives. Otherwise, why didn’t he let the girl ride the Skeleton Dog while he walked out himself?
Of course, this was just a minor detail.
In fact, the Warrior master even gave Lynch a wink, his eyes now filled with a certain admiration...
Hearing Avril’s plea, Annabella’s expression softened slightly. She turned her gaze to Lynch, as if asking for his opinion.
Seeing his chance, Lynch immediately went into full-on actor mode.
He first dismounted from Red Rabbit with a show of weakness, stumbling as he landed and nearly "falling" if not for Ophelia catching him just in time.
He forced a bitter, guilt-ridden smile. "Ma-Master... *cough, cough*... It’s not Master Lianna’s fault... *cough, cough*... It was my own thoughtlessness... *cough, cough, COUGH*!!"
As he spoke, he let out a few "pained" coughs, a trickle of blood even spilling from the corner of his mouth.
"After the battle, I was just so exhausted... I wasn’t thinking straight. All I could think about was that my junior, Avril, had a bad leg injury and couldn’t walk, so I let her rest on Red Rabbit... I should have been more considerate and let her have Red Rabbit to herself... *cough, cough*... That’s what caused the misunderstanding... It’s not... *cough, cough*... It’s really not Master Lianna’s fault..."
As he finished, he devolved into another series of coughs, spitting up a spray of crimson blood.
Ophelia and Lilith rushed to his side to pat his back.
In an instant, the masters’ gazes toward Lynch were no longer just filled with admiration, but also with a touch of pity and respect.
’What a good kid. He’s been so wronged, fought to the death to complete his mission, and is still so considerate.’
’And then there’s Lianna, pinned to the wall with a face full of venom...’
’Sigh. The difference is night and day.’
Even Master Casper’s brow unfurrowed a bit, his gaze toward Lynch softening.
However, after hearing all this, Annabella shot Lynch a secret, exasperated glare.
’Others might not know what a little scoundrel her student was, but how could she not?’
Still, this wasn’t the time to expose her own student. She just snorted coldly and said, "What’s the rush? Let her hang there for a while and listen to how you all completed the mission. A little blood loss won’t kill her. Let this be a lesson she won’t forget."
