After work, start to speedrun the other world-Chapter 255 - 89 Deception and Deception
In the afternoon, at twilight,
the cold wind swept snowflakes across the village ablaze with flames.
Xi Mu stood amid the firelight, swinging the Great Sword of Death with ease, slicing a follower of the Dusk Cult attempting an attack, splattering blood and corpses flew into the burning hut, completely disappearing from sight.
"Killing them is meaningless," a calm male voice suddenly rang out. Xi Mu instinctively turned his head, looking towards the source of the voice, only to see the Red Dragon King approaching nonchalantly, unfazed by the flames, hands in his pockets.
"They’re just a bunch of lackeys," yawned the Red Dragon King, "As long as the snow calamity continues, the Dusk Cult can have as many lackeys as they want."
After the onset of the snow calamity, faith in the Flame Giant Sulter spread rapidly, leading to the swift expansion of the Dusk Cult. Although the top tier of their fighting power had not increased much, the ranks of the followers at the bottom had been sufficiently replenished.
Xi Mu turned to look at the overfamiliar Red Dragon King and asked, "You came to find me, and it’s not to talk about this, right?"
"The Dusk Cult is going to publicly execute your little lover," the Red Dragon King said, eyeing Ahtal’s increasingly agitated expression, knowing that the hero in people’s eyes was beginning to lose his composure.
He flashed a mischievous smile.
"What do you plan to do next?"
"This is a good opportunity," Xi Mu replied, his footsteps steady as he walked towards the outskirts of the village, his voice calm:
"It’s convenient for me to take them all out in one go."
"And what about your girlfriend?" inquired the Red Dragon King curiously, but Ahtal did not respond and disappeared into the wind and snow outside the village.
...
...
The Fenrir Kingdom.
The square.
"Sentenced to the scaffold again," Fifine was filled with despair, having been captured once more by the followers of the Dusk Cult only a short while later, now facing execution before the watchful eyes of the crowd.
The reason for the execution was all too familiar, intended to lure out someone related to her, namely Ahtal.
However, she and Ahtal were not very close, only acquainted, so why was she being dragged to the scaffold with him?
"It’s okay, Ahtal will come to save us," Letixia whispered reassuringly, firmly believing that Ahtal would come to their rescue.
Yet,
something seemed off.
Fifine looked puzzled, glancing at her best friend beside her, feeling a bit... alienated, as Letixia’s character would normally not permit her to say such things.
"What’s wrong?" Letixia turned her head, smiling at her best friend as always, her grace and gentleness unchanged.
"Nothing, I just think you trust Ahtal too much," Fifine muttered, listing her complaints:
"With so many followers of the Dusk Cult guarding us, it’s impossible for Ahtal to easily rescue us."
"Ahtal is a hero who defies the gods," Letixia explained, "Saving us should not be difficult for him."
"I hope so," Fifine sighed dejectedly, glancing at the Cult followers surrounding them.
Standing there on the scaffold, she was flanked by two Cult followers of considerable strength, wielding sharp swords, ready to decapitate her at any moment.
And around the square, a large crowd of commoners was closely guarded by the Cult followers, preventing any attempts to escape.
All those present were leveraged as moral hostages to bait the hero.
...
...
The last ray of the setting sun vanished.
The skies dimmed in turn.
Clop.
Clop.
Clop.
The sound of horseshoes grew from a distant echo to a near thunder, and under the scrutiny of all, Ahtal appeared on an eight-legged horse before the scaffold.
"Ahtal, hand over the Sword of Light," the dwarf loli demanded as she jumped down from the scaffold, her expression tense as she looked at Ahtal.
Even though Ahtal was surrounded by followers of the Dusk Cult... one bows their head when it should be bowed, for Ahtal’s reputation had reached a preposterous level.
Everyone found it impossible to disregard the value of Ahtal’s defiance against the gods.
Moreover, outside the borders of the Fenrir Kingdom, a troublesome group was always ready to charge in at a mere word from Ahtal.
In response,
Xi Mu merely cast a cold glance at the noisy dwarf loli, his dismissive gaze causing her to step back in fear.
It wasn’t a look filled with hostility but more like that towards something trivial; comparing to a lion, satiated and lazily watching a passing gazelle, too listless to pounce, yet for the gazelle, the mere presence of the lion was terrifying.
Xi Mu soon withdrew his gaze. Considering the current level of the dwarf loli, he reasoned there wouldn’t be much experience gained from killing her; she could be spared for now, to be disposed of conveniently after the quest narrative had played out.
He turned his attention to the scaffold, locking eyes with Letixia for a moment.
"Sorry for getting you involved," he said.
"It’s okay," Letixia shook her head gently, her delicate face showing hope and joy as she murmured softly:
"Ahtal, take care of yourself."
"Yeah." Xi Mu dismounted, pulled out the genuine Sword of Light, and handed it to the dwarf loli beside him, saying:
"Here’s the Sword of Light you asked for."
The dwarf loli’s face fell instantly, for she did indeed want the Sword of Light, just not the genuine article.
She stepped back and said:
"Don’t play dumb; we want the prototype Sword of Light."
Although the Dusk Cult had always wanted to seize the genuine Sword of Light, there was a problem: no one could wield it except for Ahtal and Letixia.
