But now, disturbed repeatedly and feeling betrayed by Thrett, Lofisso vented all her resentment onto Ellyad.
Ellyad faced Lofisso’s roar with silence, but he also stared at her with a determined gaze, indicating he wasn’t planning to back down.
“You said your name is Ellyad, right? I challenge you here!” Lofisso pulled out a crumpled paper from her pocket and threw it to Ellyad. It was the bounty for the Rhino King that someone had recommended to her in the guild.
She declared, “Let’s have a competition to see who can hunt down the Rhino King first. If I win, I’ll demand to travel with you.”
Lofisso knew it was impossible to separate Ellyad from Thrett at the moment. She was aware that the current Thrett would surely reject her request. However, as long as she could stay close to Thrett, there would still be a chance to rekindle his interest.
Ellyad stared at the woman before him, a momentary surrender appearing in his eyes. Finally, he nodded in agreement. Lofisso quickly added, “But Thrett can’t intervene.”
Considering Thrett’s abilities, it was impossible for him not to be able to kill a tough beast like the Rhino King. If he intervened to help Ellyad, Lofisso would have no chance of winning.
Thrett just chuckled in response, “Depends on my mood.”
He was somewhat detached from the development of the situation, not fully understanding why Lofisso was angry or Ellyad’s mindset in accepting the challenge. He simply saw it as normal human interaction, especially in an area that interested him. So, he was content to be a spectator.
After quickly finishing his work for the day, Ellyad followed Lofisso towards the forests outside the town.
The dense forest was tranquil after the sunset, with only the faint sounds of insects. Then, the only disruption in the form of three people rustling through the foliage emerged. This was the best evidence of magical creatures inhabiting the area. The more powerful the magical creature, the fewer surrounding living beings there would be. They instinctively avoided dangerous areas, seeking true sanctuaries, and would never choose to approach the territory of magical beasts.
Lofisso, an experienced bounty hunter, was already on high alert, her spear ready for a stealth attack. Although Ellyad lacked experience in hunting magical beasts, he remained vigilant alongside Lofisso.
Lofisso made a gesture, indicating that the competition had officially started, and they needed to begin their separate actions. Ellyad nodded in agreement. Then, turning to Thrett, Ellyad murmured, “Thrett, please wait here for a moment.”
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
“Nope. I will follow you,” Thrett replied nonchalantly, disregarding the rules set by Lofisso. He didn’t even intend to immerse himself in the tense atmosphere.
“Dea…” Siisjv aglfv ab qgbafra, offilcu atf lcafcrf ujhf ogbw Obolrrb, yea yfobgf tf mbeiv olclrt tlr rfcafcmf, j mtjbalm cblrf fgeqafv ogbw atf vfcrf yertfr lc atf vlrajcmf. Nlcfr tjculcu ogbw atf agffabqr rkjsfv lc gfrqbcrf.
Obolrrb kjr atf olgra ab gfjma, rkloais vbvulcu jr j wbcxfs-ilxf, ibcu-jgwfv wjulmji yfjra qbecmfv abkjgvr tfg bglulcji qbrlalbc. Zlrrlcu lar ajgufa, atf yfjra gbjgfv ibevis, j rbecv rb qlfgmlcu la wbwfcajglis qjgjishfv atbrf ktb tfjgv la. Fcojhfv, Obolrrb gfabgafv, “Vtea eq!” Qlat j rkloa jcv qbkfgoei raglxf, tfg kjg rqfjg qlfgmfv atgbeut atf mgfjaegf’r atgbja, rlifcmlcu la. Obolrrb rwlgxfv aglewqtjcais jcv uijcmfv ja Siisjv yftlcv tfg.
Although this smaller ape-like magical beast didn’t pose a significant threat and wasn’t their target this time, Lofisso felt a sense of superiority in this encounter, highlighting the difference in abilities between the two. However, Ellyad’s attention was not on Lofisso. He was closely watching the area where the disturbance had occurred.
Suddenly, Ellyad rushed forward, pushing Lofisso aside. The next moment, a gigantic rhinoceros, the Rhino king, charged out aggressively!
It turned out the young ape from earlier was frantically darting through the bushes to escape this massive creature.
Ellyad swiftly pulled Lofisso out of the way to avoid the rhinoceros’s charge. However, he couldn’t control their speed in time, and both of them collided with a nearby tree, tumbling into an awkward position. Lofisso’s war spear flew out of her hands.
“Don’t crush me! Roll away quickly!” Lofisso panicked, pushing and shoving Ellyad, who had fallen onto her. It wasn’t a matter of stubbornness; she was well aware that the rhinoceros would soon turn around to attack them. Without her war spear, facing the beast with its tough, steel-like skin, she couldn’t resort to biting, could she?
As expected, the rhinoceros quickly turned around, lowered its head with the sharp blade-like horn, and charged again at Ellyad and Lofisso. Ellyad, caught off guard, subconsciously shielded Lofiso, closing his eyes. Even amidst the chaos, he could still hear the woman’s scream.
His body suddenly shook, feeling a heavy impact on his back, but it wasn’t as painful as he had imagined. He didn’t even feel the sensation of being pierced by the horn.
“Are you okay?”
Ellyad turned around to see Thrett behind him, and what was even more astonishing was the rhinoceros horn protruding from Thrett’s right side!
“Thrett!” Ellyad exclaimed in horror, attempting to turn around, but Thrett restrained him.
Of course, the rhinoceros wasn’t dead. It had impaled Thrett, but Thrett had also seized the creature’s horn, rendering it completely helpless.
The Demon King’s strength cannot be measured by human standards. He can enhance his arm strength or grip strength for a short period using magic. With the magical enhancement effect, the Demon King can even effortlessly uproot an entire tree with his bare hands.
“You go to a farther place; the rhino horn will pierce you if you stay here.” Thrett spoke calmly. The rhino horn had pierced through Thrett’s right side, and if it weren’t for his tight grip on the sharp tip, it might have impaled both Ellyad and Lofisso at once.
“But you—” Ellyad dared not move, but he couldn’t restrain himself from worrying about Thrett’s injury. Even in this urgent situation, he had lost his composure.
Unfortunately, Thrett had too many seals on him this time, and the available power wasn’t as abundant as before. Thus, he couldn’t simply command the magical beasts to retreat using magical commands.
The rhinoceros king continued to thrash its heavy hooves forcefully, attempting to advance or retreat but unable to do so.
Watching Thrett’s bloodied hand, if it weren’t for the fact that he was dressed entirely in black, he would undoubtedly be covered in blood. Suddenly, Ellyad felt powerless, unable to escape. Lofisso was even more frightened and had been rendered limp. She had never seen Thrett in such a battered state.
Directly blocking an attack with his body to protect someone—such sacrifice between comrades was truly unprecedented for Thrett.
“Can’t run, can you?” Even though Thrett was the one heavily injured, he remained calmer than Ellyad and Lofisso, even showing a sense of indifference. He only cared about Ellyad’s condition.
At that moment, taking advantage of Thrett’s distraction, the Rhino king fiercely thrust its horn forward, slashing across Ellyad’s spine. Fortunately, it only left a thin bloodstain.
Thrett immediately furrowed his brows, angered and frustrated, squeezing the rhino horn in his hand.
In an instant, starting from the place he tightly grasped, several strands of chaotic black flames silently adhered to the Rhino king’s armor, enveloping its entire body in a soundless assault. In less than a blink of an eye, the entire Rhino king was shrouded in a dark abyss.
Even more peculiar was that the colossal figure no longer thrashed about; instead, it began to disintegrate like burnt matter, starting from the tail, and turned into fine ashes. It seemed to skip the burning process and directly transformed into a gust of wind-blown dust.
Ellyad didn’t get a clear view of the scene behind him, but Lofisso witnessed the entire process from start to finish. Fear of Thrett appeared in her eyes.
“If it were an ordinary demon, could it become this powerful?” she wondered.
Finally, even the rhino horn that pierced Thrett’s body turned into black ashes and dispersed. Thrett then said to Ellyad, “It’s all right now.”
Only after fully turning around did Ellyad see the ashes scattered on the ground and asked incredulously, “You dealt with that monster?”
“More or less. I happened to have a vial of poison specifically for these tough-skinned creatures. I threw it into its mouth when it wasn’t paying attention, and then it became like this,” Thrett explained casually. Lofisso remained silent, afraid to meet Thrett’s gaze.
She didn’t understand Thrett’s intent in concealing the truth. All she knew was that since this was Thrett’s decision, if she deliberately exposed the lie, she would undoubtedly face the consequences of being silenced.
“Ah, let me see your wound, Thrett!” Ellyad tightly grabbed Thrett’s cloak, careful not to shake him too forcefully. The blood-soaked fabric resembled a piece of torn wet cloth, constantly stimulating Wol’s vision.
“Thrett, quickly let me see your wound!” Ellyad tightened his grip on Thrett’s cloak, being cautious not to shake him too forcefully. The blood-soaked fabric resembled a torn wet cloth, continuously unsettling Ellyad’s sight.
“I belong to the type of demonic race with strong regenerative abilities. Even if I were beheaded, I should heal, but I try my best to avoid such situations,” Thrett explained.
Ellyad stared at Thrett’s healing wound in silence. After a while, he sighed deeply and said, “I won’t let that kind of situation happen. Next time, I’ll be the one to protect Thrett.”
He gazed directly into Thrett’s eyes with a resolute look. In his deep amber eyes, there was a shining radiance of determination, even the Demon King was subdued by that gaze.
“Is it because he’s a hero?” Thrett wondered inwardly. As the Demon King, he couldn’t possibly submit to a mere human’s gaze, but he couldn’t explain this phenomenon.
Lofisso felt like she was getting farther and farther away from them. When she realized it, she had already walked out of the dense forest. The cool evening air brought her some clarity. Lofisso had fully understood that it wasn’t that she had no hope, but the status of the person named ‘Ellyad’ was incomparable to hers.
Because she was an expendable existence, as long as she made a bit of effort to entangle Thrett, she still had some chance of staying by his side. But Ellyad was different; he was an existence that “absolutely cannot be lost.” Therefore, Thrett was so protective of him, although Ellyad himself didn’t perceive it and even held suspicions about Thrett.
Perhaps this competition wasn’t over yet, but continuing now would only lead to Lofisso’s defeat. She could only make a tactical retreat, waiting for the day when Thrett grew tired of that person.
Good, and stay far away from them!! 😭
Good that everyone came closer to realizing their feelings. Good for you,Lofisso! I am certain living constantly as the third wheel with (hopefully) plenty of PDA showed down her tbroat would make her come to the sane conclusion – but I am still glad I did not have to read about her in too many chapters
<3