Saving the Heartthrob Frenemy-Chapter 512: "I was only trying to help,"

"I was only trying to help," said Jolie before lunging towards one of the assassins her movements a blur, leaving only a rush of wind and the rustle of leaves in her wake. They had underestimated her, mistaking her delicate appearance for weakness. Before they had thought she was an adorable little girl with no violent bone in her body but they were wrong.

She tackled one of the assassins with ferocious speed, her dagger flashing in the sunlight as she slashed with deadly precision. The innocence they had perceived in her was gone, replaced by the visage of a fearsome warrior.

The silence that followed was deafening with the only sound coming from the man gurgling on the ground while choking in his own blood. The assassins, momentarily frozen in disbelief, exchanged wary glances as they realised the grave mistake they had made.

Jolie’s eyes blazed with a newfound intensity, and her swift, lethal movements had transformed her into a spectral figure, akin to the grim reaper himself.

"Kill them both!" yelled one of the leaders.

Qie Xieling who had been repressing his anger towards Luo Muchen needed an outlet to vent and there it was. The heavens dropped this opportunity onto his plate and the gods said, ’Eat my child.’ He smiled sinisterly his ethereal angelic face now looking like that of a seductive devil.

In the secluded bamboo forest, the sun shone brightly as the group of assassins closed in on him and Jolie, their blades glinting menacingly in the light.

Sensing the imminent danger, Qie Xieling swiftly unsheathed his sword, his eyes flickering with sinister aura. Beside him, Jolie grabbed the flying daggers from the dead assassin and flung them to the man rushing towards her. One of the daggers directly stabbed into his throat and the man stumbled back before tumbling to the ground.

In the meantime, the lead assassin lunged forward with a double-edged sword, his movements calculated and lethal. Qie Xieling parried the strike with precision, the clash of metal reverberating through the air. Meanwhile, Jolie gracefully evaded a flurry of flying daggers, her movements swift and evasive. She landed on her feet with her palm pressed against the ground. When she raised her head a sickle linked to a chain reflected in her pupils. She managed to shift her head away slightly and with a sharp piercing sound the sickle passed by her ear. She grabbed the chain and yanked it hard sending the man flying but he rolled to the ground and got back to his feet.

He swung the weighted chain with deadly accuracy, aiming for Qie Xieling’s legs. Reacting swiftly, Jolie intercepted the attack with her dagger, the sound of metal meeting metal echoing through the bamboo grove.

Qie Xieling continued facing off against another relentless assassin. His sword clashed against the assassin’s weapon, each strike carrying with it his inexplicable rage. The assassin’s weapon of choice was a straight knife with a curved blade wielded at the hilt on one side. Attached to the hilt was a long rope with a ring at the end.

It twirled and whipped, a deadly extension of the man’s will, but even its reach was not enough to deter the ferocity of his foe.

After a gruelling exchange, a swift manoeuvre by the assassin sent Qie Xieling’s sword spinning from his grasp. Before he could react, the rope coiled around his neck, constricting his breath. With a desperate twist, he managed to block it with his arm, the rough fibres digging into his skin. With a rough growl, Qie Xieling struggled against the suffocating pressure.

His other hand fumbled for his dagger, his fingers closing around the hilt just in time. In a swift, decisive motion, he lunged forward, piercing the assassin’s defences and driving the blade home. As the assassin collapsed, he tore the rope from his neck, gasping for air, his senses reeling from the intense confrontation.

Jolie moved to stand beside him, their backs pressing together. "Are you okay?" she asked, her voice a mixture of concern and adrenaline.

Nodding wearily, Qie Xieling steadied his breath, his gaze hardening as they turned to face the remaining six assassins, their injuries not enough to make them give up. "You take those three and I will take the other three," said Qie Xieling and Jolie who hadn’t quelled her thirst for competitiveness said,

"Whoever finishes them first gets to pick what the other eats for dinner."

Qie Xieling shouldn’t have accepted that deal if he had known how far Jolie would take it. As the battle raged on, one of the assassins managed to graze Qie Xieling’s arm and from the looks of it, he seemed proud of himself. Soon the man realised how much of a mistake that was because Qie Xieling’s strikes became even fierce. It was as though he had been injected with chicken blood.

Amidst the chaos, Jolie spun and weaved through the assailants, her agility unmatched as she countered their strikes with her dagger, her swift movements a dance of deadly elegance. Though shorter in stature, her ferocity was unmatched as she engaged the assassins with unwavering resolve.

Qie Xieling tapped into his character’s years of training and fought with unwavering focus, his sword a blur as he expertly parried and countered each assailant. His determination burned fiercely, driving him to fend off the relentless attackers.

As the clash reached its crescendo, the bamboo forest seemed to echo with the clash of steel and the determined grunts of the two sides. With unparalleled teamwork the pair fought in perfect synchrony, their movements flowing as one.

Finally, with a swift and decisive series of strikes, the last of the assassins found themselves overpowered. The last of them fell to the ground, defeated. The forest fell silent once more, save for the rustling of leaves in the wind.

Qie Xieling and Jolie stood beside each other their breaths heavy and their bodies marked with the signs of the fierce battle. Qie Xieling sat down while pulling his hair back. "If you want to interrogate them those two still seem like they are alive."

Jolie gently kicked the man groaning on the ground while saying, "He can’t speak. I ripped his tongue out."

Qie Xieling, "..."

"How did you even manage that?" he asked while bending his knees and pressing his palms on the ground to support his weight.