New Century Warriors

I've forgotten how long ago that was...

Cerberus received a mission from the boss to take over the work of someone who had gone missing.

Unlike previous jobs, this time the boss specifically named someone, and the only person he couldn't kill was that human named Raiye.

Cerberus was filled with intense curiosity and wanted to know why that person was special. So, after arriving in Hillius, she did not immediately start fighting, but instead disguised herself and entered the city.

It was called a disguise, but it was really just about keeping her size similar to a human's. As a result, she made it all the way to the Explorers' Guild in the city center without any obstacles.

As for her method of finding Lei Ye, it was simple and straightforward: just wait.

Find a place to sit down, and you'll run into that guy named Lei Ye sooner or later.

It also allows us to observe the strength of these humans.

Ha, so weak, she has no interest in even lifting a finger. She can just have her family do the work.

Kepolis quickly lost interest in the humans here, but to her surprise, someone actually approached her.

"Oh dear... beautiful lady, I've seen you sitting here for two days in a row. Is it because you can't find a team to team up with?"

Ha, glib-tongued humans, how boring.

Kempros simply uttered a single word.

"roll!"

A young girl pushed the man who was speaking aside and sat down opposite Cecil Rose.

"Sorry, big sister, he's a newbie and not very good at talking. But just by looking at that cool armor, I can tell you can't possibly not find someone to team up with."

"Wow~" Cepolis raised an eyebrow slightly. "Even though you're human, I didn't expect you to have such good taste. Tell me, what's so cool about this armor of mine?"

"This... well..." The girl scratched her head, then suddenly slammed her hand on the table. "Waiter, two drinks, please!"

Waiting around like this is boring. Since she has met a human who understands her carefully designed armor, she might as well do her a favor and let her treat her to a drink.

That's what Cecil Rose thought.

Just as she crossed her legs, waiting for the man to speak next, the girl produced a magical parchment.

"I see you've been sitting here for two days, and you're probably out of money. Don't worry, once you sign this, you'll be one of us. We'll make sure you have food, drinks, and a place to stay."

Kepolis frowned. She and her kind were extremely sensitive to this kind of absolutely binding contract, which was one of the few things they could not resolve with pure power.

She spread it out, ignored the girl who was trying to fool her into signing quickly and not looking closely, and carefully read the terms and conditions before quickly turning red.

That son of a bitch is trying to scam me!

The people of Hillius are so wicked!

Cepolis couldn't stand it any longer and transformed immediately.

I don't remember the details of the battle very clearly, but I do remember that none of them were strong enough to fight back. In the end, it was that guy named Raiye who ran out and somehow managed to break through her defenses.

For the first time in her life, Cepolis felt the fear of injury and even death, so she ran away without hesitation. Whenever she recalled her disheveled state, she felt ashamed. Later, she spent a lot of time investigating and found that the hardest metal in the city was something called Orichalcum.

The time for revenge has come.

"Come on!!"

Cepolis roared, unleashing the strongest hardening technique of her life in the face of the incoming sword.

She heard some strange buzzing sounds behind her, but she didn't pay any attention to them.

It's probably just that the explorers on the city wall are about to launch some kind of harmless attack.

This armor and this helmet are her proud creations, crafted using her hardening abilities. Even the weakest part is so tough that an ordinary explorer couldn't even scratch it.

"Well--"

The next second, the approaching buzzing sound pierced her body.

When Cepolis looked down, she saw a hand passing through her body.

"Are you out of your mind..." Cepolis spat out blood, pointing at the flying sword hovering in the sky, "No, shouldn't it have clashed with me head-on when it flew over like that? Instead, you just shoved your whole hand in... no... how could it..."

"I did plan to use it to kill you, but the description of that thing is too explicit and wouldn't pass censorship." Lei Ye scratched his head apologetically.

It was definitely the right thing to hold back earlier.

You can lift it up with Belisarius's furnace and launch it like a missile.

However, Lei Ye did not expect the effect to be so good, actually managing to deliver a chest-piercing critical hit. Lei Ye was indeed praying in his heart that this punch would be harder, as hard as Keboros's hardening. But in reality, he was using his own hand as a consumable. He knew that after this punch, his arm would most likely turn into mincemeat, but because he could recover in that disgusting way, he was fearless.

In short, it's good that this punch was effective. Taking advantage of the moment, Raino ran towards Kepolis, thinking he should quickly add some more damage with his attack.

...She staggered and fell down.

Ok?

Lei Ye was full of questions. He approached and circled Keboros twice. The big guy stared at him with wide, puzzled eyes, and remained motionless.

She is dead.

Dead...dead?

That's too hasty.

A mini-boss with such a strong sense of oppression should logically have required a major defeat, a revolving door of challenges, and moments of friendship and bonds before it could turn the tide of battle. How could it die so easily?

Lei Ye remained motionless, standing frozen over Keboros's corpse for a long time, unable to understand how the guy had died.

The airship arrived just in time to provide reinforcements, and the explorers who had just fallen regained their mobility and helped each other toward him. The mages on the city wall responsible for other districts also arrived at District One at just the right moment.

When Lei Ye came to his senses, the cheers of the explorers celebrating their victory rang out around him. However, the first person to step off the airship was not the Fury Control that he had asked Elena to find, but Ye Lei. She was the only one who did not seem excited in the face of Keboros's corpse. She silently approached, pulled Lei Ye's arm out of Keboros's body, and then put it back on Lei Ye's body.

"You learn faster than him," she praised Lei Ye with a helpless tone.

Then he clapped his hands and said, "Great job."

The slapping sound was in sync with the others who were already making a ruckus. It seemed that they were really happy that Ceporous, who had suppressed Hillius for five years, had been killed. No one was even particularly concerned about how Boss Lei had killed her.

But Lei Ye couldn't help but feel conflicted. After thinking for a moment, he moved closer to Ye Lei and asked her in a low voice.

"So it was you who did it, wasn't it?"

Ye Lei remained silent, giving off an expression that said, "I won't tell you anything."

Surprisingly, there was also the riddle-solving segment, which Rai Ye hated the most.

He paid no attention to the others shouting Lei Ye's name. He just stared at Ye Lei silently, watching her stand beside the corpse of Kebo Rose, her eyes filled with sorrow for her dead kin and a grief that Lei Ye could not yet understand.

There were still many things to deal with on site, such as battlefield repairs, treatment of the wounded, and collection of battlefield data. However, these were all things that Antorola had to worry about. Raiye was pushed back to the guild by the crowd.

As today's MVP, Lei Ye didn't have to do anything. He just sat in the corner he had chosen, and waiter Kuku served him his food.

Lei Ye had no appetite for food. On one hand, he couldn't help but wonder why Cepolis died so suddenly and what exactly happened in that instant. On the other hand, Ye Lei was playing with the two Belisarius furnaces with great interest.

She gave an unhappy smile.

"Interesting. It can automatically release buff spells and even fly using a small magical drive engine... You plagiarized my idea in this part. You must have been watching me secretly when I was making this gift for you."

"..."

There's no way to answer that. It's all the work of Lei Ye from Line 2. He really didn't know.

Besides Belisarius's furnace, Ye Lei also seized the fluorescent blue longsword and its handle.

This time, the smile she showed was the kind of smile an ancestor would give when seeing the prodigy of his own sect, especially when she was playing with that long sword.

"I underestimated you, darling. You're a true genius! Do you have any other mysterious little inventions or creations?"

"..."

Lei Ye felt that there was something there. The seemingly ordinary items in that storage bag had all been modified by Lei Ye from Line 2, and he must have done it secretly behind Ye Lei's back. Since he didn't want Ye Lei to know, Lei Ye didn't want Ye Lei to know either, so he remained silent.

"Did you put the one you hid back in?" Ye Lei continued.

"It's installed."

We can answer this honestly, since it's something Ye Lei has already seen.

To be honest, Raiyo still misses the feeling of flying in the sky more.

The feeling of being able to pee whenever you want is truly liberating.

Although it still feels more reassuring to have it on your own body.

"That's good. Don't hide them anymore. I'd like to use them even if you don't, and it's rude to leave them on someone else's property." Ye Lei handed the things back to Lei Ye and said slowly.

"Someone else's..." Raino paused, then asked, "You know Ais?"

"I saved her life, of course I know her. It's you who shouldn't know her at all."

Ye Lei picked up her chopsticks and started eating and talking.

Her tone was so calm that Lei Ye didn't immediately grasp the deeper meaning of her words.

And then, some clueless genius showed up and disrupted Raino's thoughts.

It was Loya. She crept closer and peeked her head out. "Can I share a table with you?"

"No," Ye Lei waved her hand and refused immediately. "If it were before, I might have thought it would be interesting to let you join in, but today I want to enjoy some time alone, so please go somewhere else to drink."

Luo Ya wanted to say something more, but Ye Lei smiled and looked over to add a sentence.

"Remember five years ago when you couldn't find a team on your own, I provided you with a magical item that allowed you to accept quests independently, right? Consider it repaying that favor, okay?"

"W-why are we suddenly bringing this up? Never mind, I didn't really want to share a table anyway."

Loya sneaked away again, but was grabbed by the saleswoman after only a few steps.

Speaking of large-scale raids organized by guilds, there is always a post-war military court process. People like Loya would be judged as war criminals and would be locked in a small dark room in an underground prison to reflect on their actions.

However, it was probably the application of the charge against Cecil Rose that exempted her from this punishment; instead, she only needed to help set up the celebration venue as free labor.

No wonder they came here to share a table. They probably thought that since they were the MVP, this table wouldn't be disturbed, so they came here to seek refuge.

However, they weren't completely undisturbed, because Antorola came over to offer a toast right away.

"You're amazing, Boss Lei! I never knew you were this strong! Don't worry, although I know you're not short of money, the guild will definitely give you a reward that will satisfy you. And feel free to make any other requests you may have!"

Lei Ye didn't have any requests, so he simply shook his head.

If you ask him what he's thinking, he wants to rebuild the Forest River. This thought has been popping up ever since he learned that Ais is still alive. This little dragon girl is the strongest fighter in the Forest River on Line 1. If she were here, today's battle wouldn't have been so difficult.

Of course, he couldn't say that, and he subconsciously glanced at Ye Lei.

After thinking it over, Ye Lei gave him the answer, "I'll leave the wedding arrangements to you."

"You're bringing this up again? Of course, no problem, but is that really how it is...?"

"Because it's very important to me," Ye Lei smiled, "consider it a way of repaying you for pulling me out of the lake. Please give me a wedding I'll never forget."

"Understood, leave everything to me!" Antorola's expression turned solemn.

Lei Ye scratched his head as he listened to the conversation, becoming alert.

It's one thing for Ye Lei to help Luo Ya, since Ye Lei found Luo Ya at the same time as Lei Ye on Line 2, and they had some connection.

However, the only way Ye Lei could save Antoula's life was if she specifically waited at that lake beforehand.

And Ais...

"They're so pitiful," Ye Lei said, chewing on a vegetable roll as she watched Antoura turn and leave. "If they hadn't met you, they would all have died in all sorts of bizarre ways. Except for Loya, they were all pretty nice girls, but they all died tragically. It's really... what's that word again... beautiful women with tragic fates."

"What...what do you mean? You didn't save them all, did you?" Raino asked, holding his breath.

He was so eager to know the answer to this question that he even forgot the bewilderment that Raino from Line 2 should have shown when faced with this topic.

"Of course I saved them all. Besides those mothers, I also helped other people with small favors, because I love you."

Lei Ye didn't feel much emotional reaction to this confession because he had heard it many times over the past few days; he just didn't understand it.

Because you love me, you have to save all your rivals. What kind of logic is that?

Perhaps noticing the confusion in Lei Ye's expression, Ye Lei offered further explanation.

"Because I love you, I want you to love me too. If I want you to love me, first of all, I can't let you hate me. It sounds a little convoluted, but it's actually a very simple principle."

She gently took Lei Ye's hand and rubbed her face with the back of her hand.

"You have too many worries on your mind right now, that's not good. Calm down and enjoy today's celebration. Look how happy everyone is today, and have you noticed that no one died today?"

Lei Ye looked around and found that it was true. Kebo Rose's greatsword was incredibly powerful. Despite fighting such a monster, there were no casualties today.

"Alright then, after the wedding, I'll tell you everything you've been wondering about, without holding back. Until then, let's enjoy this peaceful and joyful life for a while longer. It'll only be a short time, very soon."

at last.

Lei Ye finally understood.

He slowly stood up and looked at Ye Lei.

Ye Lei put a finger to her lips, stopping Lei Ye from saying what he was about to say.

But when their eyes met, he knew Ye Lei knew what he was going to say, but she couldn't say it, because saying it would change everything.

Just like he knew that most of the female fans in his old book clubs were actually effeminate men, but he couldn't say it, because if he did, the female fans would really become effeminate men.

After a moment of silence, Lei Ye suppressed his fear and slowly sat down.

He heard Ye Lei say this to him in a very serious tone:

"Of all the books you've written, I still... prefer lighthearted and fun adventure stories, so, darling."

She sighed softly, but then gave a warm smile, like an iceberg melting.

"I will definitely give you back a lighthearted and joyful adventure story."