Hearing Lumina's thinly veiled threat, Li Xiuman was about to speak and negotiate.
But then, a large tree in the distance suddenly began to sway.
Both Li Xiuman and Lumina were startled, almost thinking that the opposing “encirclement” was closing in on them.
Li Xiuman, in particular, was nearly scared to death.
The “encirclement” was actually this close, and he hadn't noticed at all?
The large tree slowly turned into a phantom image and faded away, and Manshius stepped out from it.
He had only used the Amnesia Gem to erase their short-term memories of discovering him.
Because of this, both Li Xiuman and Lumina recognized Manshius instantly.
At this moment, both of them were incredibly shocked.
When Lumina and Li Xiuman saw how shocked they both were, they realized that Manshius did not belong to the opposing party.
There was... a third party!
Li Xiuman instantly determined that this guy was a plant from the White Bear City nobility!
He was absolutely sent by the White Bear City nobles!
Did they discover his skeleton identity?
Or did they find out Lumina was controlled by a succubus?
How much of their conversation just now did he hear? Had his identity been exposed?!
As for Lumina, she instantly determined that this guy was a competitor!
Her bastard employer had actually hired another thief!
And this bastard had wanted to play the mantis stalking the cicada, planning to snatch it straight from her, which was why he had disguised himself as a merchant caravan to gain her trust.
Then, he would find a way to rob her of the fruits of her labor.
Despicable!
Only now, when he heard that there was an encirclement of guards outside, did he reveal himself to seek a partnership!
Despicable! Utterly despicable!
The three of them stared at each other, each fully convinced of their own assumptions!
Yes, that was exactly it!
“Um, you two.”
“The encirclement outside is way too massive.”
“Can... can't I just admit my mistake?”
Manshius was the first to break the silence this time.
Lumina let out a disdainful snort, utterly unwilling to associate with a peer who only knew how to steal achievements and beg for mercy faster than anyone else.
Hearing Lumina's disdainful snort, Li Xiuman felt his suspicions confirmed.
This guy was indeed a man of the White Bear City nobility, and Lumina intended to ignore him and kill him directly.
To be this arrogant and look down on humans so much, she really was a succubus under Lucia's command.
However, something was off.
Did this guard just end up here by some sheer stroke of bad luck?
Was he just so incredibly unlucky that he got frightened out of hiding when he heard they were surrounded by succubi?
Wait a minute!
Could it be that this guard was actually just a disposable pawn?
After all, why would a noble's guard suddenly go into smuggling?
If his identity as a skeleton hadn't been exposed...
Then, this guard had been planted here because Lumina's control by the succubus was exposed.
Back in the dungeon, Lucia had controlled a large group of Tier 2 adventurers who all died inside.
This must have drawn the attention of the White Bear City nobility.
Thus, they intended to lure out the succubi this time to catch them all in one net.
Everything... connected perfectly.
This had to be the truth!
This was a purging operation by the White Bear City nobility targeting the increasingly rampant succubi!
With this in mind, Li Xiuman looked at Lumina.
Lumina was clearly unaware of this. She had no idea that her own encirclement of succubi was actually surrounded by an even larger encirclement of guards.
This was his chance!
As long as he could hold out until the guards attacked, he could fish in troubled waters then. Capitalizing on the chaos, he might just find a chance to escape.
The three of them remained at a standstill.
But then, Li Xiuman suddenly raised an eyebrow as a stone bird flew down from the sky and landed on his hand.
Several squads of guards were pursuing them along the main road?
Sure enough, everything was exactly as he expected!
He had seen through everything!
Seeing Li Xiuman suddenly catch a Golem bird, both Lumina and Manshius were startled.
Lumina finally understood.
So that was how the guards had managed to stealthily close in around them—it was all because this guy was covertly using Golems to transmit information.
Now he wasn't even bothering to hide it, directly using a Golem bird to receive information right in front of them!
“Skeleton, do you actually want to negotiate or not?”
Lumina frowned as she questioned Li Xiuman.
She was anxious. She was getting anxious.
Li Xiuman felt even more at ease.
The people before him were on the first and second levels, while he was already on the third!
He was looking down on the two of them from a higher dimension.
Gradually understanding everything!
“Of course I want to negotiate.”
“After all, an all-out fight won't benefit either of us.”
Right now, Li Xiuman could only hope to stall Lumina as much as possible, as well as the succubi who had perfectly hidden themselves to surround the area.
Li Xiuman really couldn't understand how these succubi managed to conceal themselves so flawlessly.
Even with them lurking nearby, he had scouted the area with his Golem bird again and still couldn't find a single trace.
If he didn't already know they were lying in ambush, he would have believed there was absolutely nothing out there.
Anxiety was indeed starting to creep into Lumina's heart.
She could tell that the Li Xiuman before her was stalling for time.
Why?
Why?!
The surrounding area was already crawling with his guards, so why did he need to stall?
He should be forcing the negotiation right now. What was with this beating around the bush to buy time? She couldn't comprehend it at all.
Could it be that he still had some other trump card?
No.
Fine, she would just admit she'd met her match this time. Right now, she only wanted to leave this troublesome place.
“Skeleton, let's stop playing games and lay our cards on the table.”
Lumina spoke.
Li Xiuman panicked internally. Did she realize he was stalling and want to use force against him?
“Wait, just wait a bit longer. Give me some more time to think about it.”
“You want to stall?”
“Could it be that more guards are on their way?”
Lumina's expression shifted.
Li Xiuman's expression also changed.
Manshius's expression contorted even further.
Lumina: Just how cautious is this guy? He's not leaving me a single chance to escape. Is he completely intent on cornering me?
Li Xiuman: This succubus saw right through me? How is that possible? How did she figure it out?!
Manshius: Making an example of me? This setup is practically built to slay a dragon! Please, I beg of you both, stop torturing a petty smuggler like me and just get it over with!
“Are you seriously not going to leave me any way out alive?!”
“Weren't you also planning to capture me alive to study me?”
“Why on earth would I want to capture you alive?! Do you even have anything worth stealing?!”
“Grandpa, Grandma, I swear I will never smuggle again!”
“Shut up!”
“Make yourself clear. What's this about stealing?!”
“Something is wrong, something is definitely wrong here!”
“Just who is the one pulling your strings from behind?!”
“No one is pulling my strings! I just wanted to smuggle some Fireheart Iron!”
“Do you think I'll tell you who my employer is just like that? Don't be so naive!”
“Really, I only smuggled a tiny bit! The employer is Rotman from Iron River City!”
“What employer? What about the controlling succubus?!”
“My employer is a blacksmith! He works with iron!”
“What succubus? What are you even talking about?!”
“Shut up!”
“What, are you trying to force an all-out fight now?!”
“...” Manshius kept his mouth shut.
Who am I?
Where am I?
What am I doing?
Rate on N.U.
