"Uugh, this is stink!" Lory complained in annoyance.
Lory's voice caught Zhao Li Xin's attention and the terrifying aura around him disappeared like dust in the wind. Zhao Li Xin headed to where Lory are while taking out a wet tissue from his 'fancy' leg bag and then wiping her hand from the traces of the beast's blood.
[Where's your glove?] Lory notices Zhao Li Xin's bare hands.
[It was stained with blood so I threw it away] Zhao Li Xin replied calmly while wiping Lory's cheek carefully from any remaining dirt or stain left, his expression when looking at Lory was very gentle and affectionate he doesn't like the man filled with blood lust like before which left Garrof and Lloyd perplexed.
[Oh, I got new gloves for you] Lory took out the new clean gloves from her waist bag.
[No need, it'll get dirty again later] Zhao Li Xin refused gently, he didn't want Lory to waste money on trivial matters, especially for him.
But Lory didn't want Zhao Li Xin's precious hands to be soiled by the remains of the beast so she pulled Zhao Li Xin's hands then forcefully pushed the gloves on Zhao Li Xin's hands, He glance at Lory and then chuckles.
Garrof cast his gaze at Zhao Li Xin for a moment but he doesn't ask anything, he then put his gun on his back and then gives everyone a reminder "Keep your head up, more is coming and we are still far from our destination!"
Lory heated his dagger and then continued their way with Garrof and the others. Along the way, they encountered more Wriths even though they weren't that strong but the beasts prevailed in numbers which caused them to waste a lot of time.
A body of Writh was cut in half as Lloyd swing his giant sword, they finally finish the last pack of Writh at least for now. Garrof checks his watch and it shows six o clock
Lory put back his dagger and then left with Garrof and the others, along the way they met other Wriths even though they weren't very strong but the problem was that there were too many of them which made them annoying just like flies therefore Garrof, Lloyd, Lory and Zhao Li Xin had no other choice but to fight them and it end up taking a mount of time.
Writh's body was split in two at the hand of Lloyd's great sword at the same time blood splashed onto the ground along with the beast's corpse, finally, they managed to finish off the last group of Writh, or at least for a moment.
Garrof checked his watch and realized it was already seven o'clock which meant they had been fighting for nearly four hours.
"Let's take a twenty-minute break!" Garrof dropped his butt onto the cold ground feeling very tired, even after they had consumed the health and recovery potion they still needed to rest as the potion didn't completely remove the fatigue they only held it in for a while therefore they needed to rest when they had the time. chance besides them having to face the big boss Maren later.
"You don't mind being surrounded by those beast corpses, do you?" Lloyd throws teasing smiles at Lory before taking a sit beside Garrof.
They were indeed surrounded by dozens of dead animals and many of their bodies were incomplete and blood also spilled everywhere because of that the fishy smell evoked their sense of smell until it was unbearable but thankfully after a while their smell started to get used to the smell around it.
"Nah, I can barely smell them anymore" Lory laughed dryly then casually sat down with Zhao Li Xin then she took out a mineral water bottle and an energy bar and shared it with Zhao Li Xin, the taste is not the best but is the best to replenish their energy.
Garrof observes Lory and Zhao Li Xin secretly and realizes the couple remains calm almost relaxed despite everything that they had been through, it was clear that they had experienced this kind of situation before, and because of that Garrof became more confident with his own prediction that Lory and Zhao Li Xin must experience the same kind of life as him.
"Are you involved in the 'war of the dark ages'?" Garrof suddenly asked Lory
Lory glanced at Garrof then smiled faintly "Yeah... once upon a time"
"Did you join any army or group?" Lloyd asked further.
Lory shook her head "Nope, I mostly work alone, it's easier that way" Lory answered casually and she wasn't lying because she was indeed alone in the last few years of her life.
Garrof and Lloyd were surprised for a second but they thought that Lory might be working as a mercenary and it wasn't strange at the time because in the end many of them abandoned their troops and chose to work alone as it proved safer than blindly following orders from their superior who usually had little care about their wellbeing and Garrof knew firsthand what it was like to be used as a mere tool.
"I'm sorry if you don't like to talk about it... I understand," Garrof said softly.
Lory took a deep breath while tapping her chin, she speak in a melancholy tone, "It's not like i don't like to talk about it, it's just that there isn't much to say...oh, I heard you were the former commander of the Ultima army?" Lory stared at him.
"Yes, me and Lloyd are former Ultima troops" Garrof answered.
"So you get what I mean, right..." Lory looked at him meaningfully.
"Yeah, I understand, it was indeed not much to tell..." Garrof stared at the frozen ground a deep sadness flashed in his eyes for a second "We fought and fought and fought...some lived some died yet we kept fighting on perhaps because that was the only option we had ...and then we survived, not because we were stronger or smarter but simply because we are lucky…we are just lucky" Garrof downed his drink with a look of bitterness.
"Cheers for that" Lory raised her mineral bottle then take a gulp.
Garrof and Lloyd chuckled, they lifted their drinks and took a swig.
Zhao Li Xin looked at their conversation with curiosity actually he started to understand some words but still not enough to understand the content of their conversation, Zhao Li Xin was even more eager to learn Lory language so he didn't have to feel left out.
"By the way, what is Ethan Hamilton looking for in this place, Jack said he was looking for rare materials" Lory is curious about what makes the rich young master risk his life.
"From what I heard from Miss Lilliane, Mr. Ethan is looking for rare materials to increase mana permanently," Garrof smiled sarcastically, he actually couldn't believe it and was confused about what made Ethan Hamilton trust the authenticity of the information.
Lory frowned, "Is that even possible?" The amount of mana was determined from birth, it was impossible to increase or decrease someone's mana, the only solution was to suppress it using the mana controller, and that was it.
"I have my doubt though, no one knows what or how he found out only Ethan Hamilton does but now he might not make it out alive" Lloyd's voice was laced with worry and Lory understood why.
From Garrof Lory's explanation, he came to the conclusion that this was all planned to harm Ethan or rather the Hamilton family and the only culprit that popped into Lory's head is the S.A.I.N.T. organization but the question is for what? why is that organization wanted to be involved with the arms industry when they parade their organization as a peaceful organization?
"That's why we have to make sure Ethan Hamilton wakes up before the Hamiltons decide to work with the organization in question" Garrof got up from the ground he then checked his watch again "We have seven hours to find that monster"
"Don't waste our time!" Lloyd immediately stood up as well as Lory and Zhao Li Xin.
"Do you know where The Maren is located?" Lory asked.
"It's not clear but based on the information regarding the habitat where Maren lives he must be deep in the cave" replied Lloyd.
"Never mind, sooner or later we will meet that creature!" Lory muttered casually without the slightest bit of trepidation.
Lory's easygoing attitude lightens the gloomy mood so that Garrof and Lloyd were made to laugh when they heard it.
Zhao Li Xin didn't know what Lory was saying, but a small smile appeared on his handsome face. He remembered that he used to go to the ancient forest with Lory, Bei Li Yan, and the others back then, no matter how difficult the situation was, everyone's mood remained light and happy whenever Lory was around, it was a stark contrast from him who used to call 'Joykiller' by Bei Li Yan behind his back, but Zhao Li Xin still found out anyway, thanks to the big mouth Mong Yi.
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