Li Xiuman was racking his brain.
Lumina was also racking her brain.
Under intense pressure, Manshius only wanted to confess everything he could, not thinking at all.
Had he gotten something wrong?
No, either way, his goal remained the same.
Escape the succubus encirclement and head to Iron River City.
Break out in the direction the guards were coming from first!
Li Xiuman quickly backed away, charging toward the guards' direction.
Seeing Li Xiuman charge forward, Lumina subconsciously rushed after him.
Seeing Lumina rushing at him, Li Xiuman raised his wand without hesitation. Several Fireballs instantly condensed and flew toward her.
“Are you crazy?!”
Lumina quickly drew her sword and slashed the Fireballs apart.
Manshius's brain short-circuited even further. Aren't these two together? Why are they fighting?
“Golems!”
Seeing Lumina make a move, Li Xiuman stopped holding back. With a wave of his hand, the Golems hidden around them swarmed forward, charging toward her.
“Tell your people to come out! Stop hiding!”
Li Xiuman shouted as he deployed layers of magic circles, looking fully prepared to risk his life.
“What do you mean, my people?! Isn't everyone around here yours?!” Lumina shouted, slashing apart the Golems pouncing at her.
“...Don't tell me you thought I set an ambush for you?”
“There's no ambush around here?!”
“Why on earth would I ambush you?!” Lumina yelled in sheer exasperation.
“I didn't set any ambush either!”
“Despicable thief! Hand over what doesn't belong to you!”
No sooner had Li Xiuman finished speaking than a large number of guards emerged from the dense forest, charging toward them.
“...And you still say you didn't set an ambush!”
“Despicable, shameless bastard!”
“...”
Now, the mud had truly splattered into his pants—even if it wasn't filth, there was no way to prove his innocence anymore.
“There are even accomplices! Arrest them all!” the guard captain bellowed.
“Wait a minute, I'm not with him!”
“How are you going to prove that?!”
Li Xiuman only wanted to clear his name right now.
He didn't want to provoke a noble right after offending succubi.
Since he was certain there was no succubus encirclement around them, he now only wanted to leave this den of trouble as quickly as possible.
Li Xiuman looked at the trembling Manshius.
It seemed his previous deduction was slightly off.
Lumina had stolen something, which was why she was being pursued by White Bear City guards.
As for Manshius, he was probably a disposable pawn planted by the guards.
The purpose was not to purge demons as he had previously thought, but to recover the stolen goods.
So, if he wanted to prove himself...
Li Xiuman's eyes lit up.
There is only one truth!
“I'm with him! I'm not with that thief! I was just trying to subdue her a moment ago!” Li Xiuman shouted, pointing at Manshius.
Manshius's eyes widened, looking at Li Xiuman in utter disbelief.
He seemed to be racked with confusion, trying to figure out how on earth he was with this guy without his own knowledge.
In reality, when Manshius had been babbling earlier, Li Xiuman had been listening to Lumina and hadn't really heard his words clearly.
The guard captain and his squad of guards froze for a moment.
“Oh, is that so?”
“Yes, exactly!”
“Then that settles it! He is a despicable smuggler, and as his accomplice, what else do you have to say for yourself?!”
“...Ah?”
“Arrest them all! Don't let a single one escape!”
The guards rushed toward the trio.
Watching the aggressively advancing squad of guards, Li Xiuman opened his mouth, but in the end, no sound came out.
It was too chaotic. It was impossible to untangle this mess anymore.
Still, this was already much better than what he had originally envisioned.
The White Bear City guards weren't that strong, so he had a decent chance of breaking through.
If it were succubi, he would be in real trouble.
Thinking of it this way, he felt much better.
“Thankfully, it's not Lucia who showed up.”
Li Xiuman thought to himself.
“Found you!”
Flying figures appeared in the pitch-black night sky.
Lucia and her succubi were floating in the air, flapping their pitch-black bat wings.
And in Lucia's hand, she was clutching a struggling stone bird.
“Demons!”
“Why are there demons here?!”
The guard captain was shocked, as were the other guards.
“Are you all working for the succubi?!”
“...”
Please stop adding more variables to the equation!
Whether out of a sudden flash of inspiration or sheer desperation, Li Xiuman bellowed!
“Lady Lucia! I have lured the humans here exactly as you planned!”
“Now, it is time to sacrifice these humans to the Demon God, just as planned!”
Li Xiuman's voice was full of energy, instantly drowning out all other sounds.
Then, giving Lucia no chance to speak, Li Xiuman quickly pressed on.
“You all might as well resign yourselves to being sacrificed to the Demon God!”
“Not a single one of you will leave here alive tonight!”
“You will die in the most agonizing way to please the great and supreme Demon God!”
“Even your souls will be devoured, imprisoned, and never find peace!”
“Hehehe!”
Ahhh, this is so embarrassing!
I actually said such cringe-worthy lines! I sound like a total edgy teenager!
Lucia was utterly bewildered. What sacrifice? What Demon God? What souls never finding peace?
She understood every single word individually, but when put together, they made absolutely no sense.
Even so, she had no intention of explaining anything to these lowly humans.
Upon hearing Li Xiuman's words, the guards fell into an instant panic.
“Quiet!”
Seeing this, the guard captain quickly roared.
“Demons, get back!”
Summoning his courage, the guard captain shouted at the succubi in the air.
“Humans, I do not wish to clash with you.”
“Exactly, Lady Lucia!”
“Why waste your breath on these despicable humans? These trash were born to be sacrificed to the Demon God!”
“This is the best end they could hope for!”
Li Xiuman had no intention of letting Lucia clear up the misunderstanding.
Number Zero, it's time to make a move.
Whoosh!
Number Zero darted out of the grass, instantly impaling a guard before anyone could react.
The deadlock was finally broken.
Snapping out of it, the guards were the first to launch an attack toward Lucia.
At this moment, they had pieced together the “truth” in their minds.
These demons were using a thief and a smuggler to lure the pursuing guards here to sacrifice them to the Demon God.
Thinking about it carefully, there were simply too many coincidences in this entire affair. If demons were manipulating things from the shadows, it would make perfect sense.
“Fight your way out!”
“These succubi are way too arrogant!”
Rate on N.U.
