Chapter 101
Chapter 101: The Final Challenge
Running into this mother-daughter pair was somewhat expected, but Naya hadn’t thought it would happen so soon.
To avoid any premature conflict, Naya did her best to smile amicably.
“What a coincidence! We meet again here.”
However, Semiya’s expression was far less friendly.
“What are you doing here? Weren’t you supposed to be sightseeing in Rex City?”
Iris answered, “Are we not allowed to change our minds? Seeing how eager everyone is to come here for treasure hunting, we got curious too.”
Naya, who was holding onto Iris’s left arm with her right hand, subtly ran her fingertip along the inside of Iris’s arm, signaling her not to show too much hostility toward the mother and daughter.
Semiya cautiously observed the trio’s every move.
The silver-haired woman and the pink-haired little girl both leaned against the red-haired woman.
It seemed that the red-haired woman was the leader.
“But isn’t it a bit reckless to bring your wife and child here? This place isn’t a playground.”
Not only that, but their clothing was clearly ill-suited for combat, which would likely hinder them in a fight.
Unless they were high-level magic users.
They wouldn’t need to rely on physical combat.
“Didn’t you also bring your child?”
“Our situation is different. My daughter has been trained as a knight since childhood. She’s already capable of handling dangerous situations.”
“Thank you for your concern, Lady Paladin, but we aren’t as fragile as we appear.”
The Paladin silently stared at Iris for a few seconds before finally revealing a faint smile.
“Apologies, I misjudged you based on appearances.”
Before Iris could respond, rustling sounds came from another direction, and three more figures emerged from the thick fog.
“Whoa! You scared me! Oh, it’s the Paladin!”
At first, they prepared for battle when they saw Naya’s group, but upon recognizing the armored woman as the Paladin, they breathed a sigh of relief.
“Hello there!” The female member of the trio waved at Naya in greeting.
Their group also consisted of two men and one woman. The woman had blonde hair, one man had green hair, and the other had blue hair.
This kind of pairing inexplicably reminded Naya of her past.
[Host, be careful. Anyone who can make it this far, regardless of their strength, has a 99% chance of having a system.]
[What about the Paladin? Didn’t Iris say she didn’t have one? How did she make it here?]
[You fool of a host, have you forgotten about that little girl?]
Naya glanced at the blonde little girl beside the Paladin and suddenly understood.
Right.
All along, she had been trapped in her own thinking, assuming that children were just children and could hardly stir up any trouble. She had never considered that Semira might also have that possibility.
Meeting Naya’s gaze, Semira flashed a friendly smile.
After some brief pleasantries among the eight of them, the female warrior of the human trio said, “Why don’t we team up? It’ll be easier to deal with the guardians along the way. Once we get close to the Flower of the Earth Vein, we can compete fairly.”
Naya and Iris exchanged glances and nodded in agreement.
“Sounds good.”
The Paladin and her daughter also accepted the proposal.
For now, they formed a small team and continued forward.
“Oh dear, what a hassle! What kind of guardians have you all encountered? Or have you managed to pass through without any issues?”
The blonde woman seemed to be the spokesperson of the trio, keeping the atmosphere lively among the eight of them.
“Nothing much, just encountered some soldiers,” Semiya replied casually.
“Guess we’ve made it through without any problems.”
Iris also concealed her own experiences.
Their attitudes were already telling. They weren’t comrades, so there was no need to reveal their strengths to each other.
The reason they hadn’t rushed into infighting was that they wanted to conserve energy for the guardians they would encounter next.
At the very least, they needed to reach the end to witness the birth of the earth vein relic.
“Do you know the way? Are we just going to keep walking like this without any objections?”
The blonde woman suddenly asked again.
“We’re following the Paladin’s lead, she must know the way,” Naya quickly deflected the attention to the Paladin, trying to hide the fact that she had a system.
“Oh… I guess the Paladin must have scouted this area beforehand, right?”
“Hmm.”
The Paladin’s curt response plunged the atmosphere among the eight back into silence.
But everyone tacitly walked in the same direction, and they were indeed heading the correct way.
As they ventured deeper, the concentration of earth vein energy around them became denser.
Semira cautiously glanced at the pink-haired little loli in Iris’s arms, initially thinking she was just an ordinary noble girl.
To her surprise, she was also an adventurer.
Semira had thought that after their encounter at the clothing store, she would never see Illya again.
Yet here they were, reunited.
Semira felt a mix of joy and anxiety.
After all, encountering someone in a place like this meant they could only be enemies. Everyone here had one goal, to seize the earth vein relic.
But then, she saw Illya smile, revealing her cute little white teeth, beaming brightly at her.
Semira felt her heart begin to heal.
“Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!!!”
The sound of something slicing through the air prompted all three teams to quickly take defensive positions.
Brilliant light surged from all directions.
Colorful magic swarmed toward the eight of them like a furious swarm of wasps.
Then it exploded.
According to the principle of “smoke but no harm”, once the smoke cleared, the eight of them were unharmed.
Immediately, the surrounding scenery began to change; the forest was no longer shrouded in thick fog, and the sky started to clear.
The guardian reappeared, and this time it seemed to be a very powerful magician.
The magician hid in the shadows, unleashing magical attacks on them.
“Paladin, what should we do?”
The blonde woman asked again.
Semiya raised her long sword and pointed in a direction within the forest.
“She’s over there.”
“Wolrit, go find the guardian. With so many of us, we should be able to handle just one guardian, right?”
“Understood.”
The blue-haired man named Wolrit quickly ran in the direction Semiya indicated.
“Let’s follow, Paladin. It’ll be easier to support my teammates.”
[Host, there’s no need to worry too much right now. We’re currently in the guardian’s secret realm. As long as the space hasn’t shattered, you and Iris won’t be separated by the chaotic space.]
[Oh.]
Naya released her hold on Iris’s arm.
Otherwise, holding onto Iris like this would make it hard to keep up with the group.
They followed the Paladin and the leader of the trio and soon found the guardian lurking in the shadows: a purple-haired woman in a deep V black gown.
The blue-haired warrior was engaged in battle with her.
Semiya gripped her sword tightly and began to chant.
“O Knight King of Casimir, grant me your strength.”
Golden particles of light gathered at the blade of her sword.
“Knightly glory, empower me! Ha!”
With a swing of her sword, the Paladin unleashed a golden beam that accurately struck the purple-haired magician, the guardian of this realm.
The golden light shattered the magician’s body, and the space began to collapse.
The scenery around them returned to the misty forest.
“Stay close to me!”
Continuing to fight the guardian wasn’t a wise choice.
The Paladin, with her daughter, quickly ran toward the areas with denser earth vein energy.
The trio of heroes followed closely behind.
“Phew! That guardian shouldn’t be able to catch up with us, right?”
The blonde woman sighed.
The Paladin also slowed down, lightly catching her breath.
Semira also appeared somewhat exhausted.
To avoid seeming too out of place, Naya pretended to be out of breath as well.
“Haah… Haah…”
The physical prowess of these dragon kin was truly extraordinary.
They must have run over two kilometers without breaking a sweat. Iris was even carrying Illya while running, yet she remained completely unfazed, standing there with an expression as calm as ever.
Calm Iris successfully drew everyone’s attention.
The Paladin glanced at Iris and thought to herself: I really didn’t misjudge, among this trio, this red-haired woman is the primary combat force. Moreover, she seems to possess considerable stamina.
Meanwhile, the blonde woman was secretly plotting her own schemes, deciding to be more cautious and looking for other ways to kick that trio of mother and daughter out of the team.
Indeed, those who made it this far were no ordinary folks, just because they brought a child along didn’t mean they should be underestimated.
The blonde woman raised her head to look at the Paladin, her golden eyes shining with admiration and awe.
“Paladin, you are truly impressive. Seeing the glory of the Casimir Knights firsthand is truly as remarkable as the legends say.”
“Let’s keep moving.”
No one wanted to engage the blonde woman in idle chatter.
After a brief minute of rest, they resumed their journey.
About an hour later, Naya heard the system prompt in her mind.
[Host, prepare yourself. Up ahead is the Flower of the Earth Vein.]
[Okay. I can already feel the oppressive energy of the earth vein. The heavy density of energy makes it hard to breathe.]
Naya felt as if each step was like wading through water, with the flowing earth vein energy in the air creating an intense pressure that made her a bit dizzy.
Taking another step forward.
Suddenly, the fog parted, revealing the light.
The dense mist surrounding them suddenly vanished.
All eight of them looked up, gazing at the golden flower hovering several meters above the ground.
The surrounding trees had been crushed by the earth vein energy, as if even the vegetation itself had been bowing to the Flower of the Earth Vein.
“That’s the Flower of the Earth Vein…”
The blonde woman’s eyes sparkled with excitement.
The golden petals resembled the shape of a flower from another realm, and atop the golden petals, there was a cluster of brown fruit—that was the treasure chest of the earth vein relic.
As long as it was opened, one could obtain weapons formed from the earth vein energy, whether a longsword, spear, shield, bow, or staff, anything was possible.
“I can’t believe we got here so easily.”
The trio of heroes couldn’t quite believe their eyes.
Naya and Iris stood at the back, silent, waiting for others to take action before deciding on their strategy.
The Paladin and her daughter had already gripped their weapons tightly, poised for action.
Meanwhile, on the side of the trio…
“The earth vein relic is mine!”
The blonde woman flashed into the air, eager to seize the advantage and grab the relic, but the moment she touched the petals of the Flower of the Earth Vein…
Brilliant white light erupted from the brown fruit.
It washed over her vision like a tide.
“Where is this…?”
When her sight cleared, she found herself in the midst of ruins.
In front of her stood a blue unicorn, and a knight clad in black armor rode upon it. The helmet obscured the knight’s face, rendering it unrecognizable. The knight raised a long spear, pointing it at the dazed blonde woman.
“Welcome to the Cycle of Despair, challengers.”
The knight’s deep voice resonated in her ears, and an overwhelming sense of pressure engulfed her. Just standing next to this knight, she could feel an invisible weight radiating from him.
The blonde woman hurriedly stepped back, her two teammates supporting her shoulders.
Her attention shifted from the black knight.
She surveyed the surroundings.
Everywhere she looked, there were shattered tiles and broken houses, blood staining the ground. Many severed limbs lay scattered among the ruins, both dragon kin and humans mixed together in a dizzying array. Anyone with a weak constitution would likely vomit at the sight.
The sky was overcast with dark clouds, and distant thunder rumbled.
The desolate scenery echoed the knight’s words: this was indeed the—Cycle of Despair.
Of course, it wasn’t just her and her two teammates who were brought into this predicament.
Iris and her family, as well as Semiya and her daughter, were also here.
[System, what’s going on?]
Coming to her senses, Naya quickly inquired in her mind.
[This is the final guardian. The scene here likely depicts the last battle thousands of years ago between the cult pursuing dragon transformation and the human army.]
So, that’s why it’s a graveyard here?
Naya swallowed hard.
Illya, too, was dumbfounded. For the six-year-old, the shock of this scene was immense, yet she didn’t feel fear. Instead, she even felt a bit of excitement.
[So, we have to defeat this final guardian to obtain the earth vein relic?]
[Yes. Isn’t that how adventure stories go? Defeat the boss to receive the reward. A world-class relic wouldn’t be guarded by a boss if it weren’t for the challenge.]
“Are you ready? Challengers.”
The black knight raised his spear, pointing it toward the sky. The dark clouds above began to swirl, forming a black storm, as if the clouds across the sky were revolving around the knight.
“Iris…”
Naya leaned closer to Iris’s arm, seeking her advice on how to face this challenge.
“Let’s observe for now. Do you have your spear?”
“I’ll summon it now. Credo!”
Naya grasped at the air, and her crimson knight’s spear materialized in her hand.
“Divine Shield.”
In any case, it was best to focus on defense for now.
Let the Paladin and the trio of heroes fight against the Black Knight on the unicorn first.