You are all my wings...

Suddenly, a circular hole appeared in the large painting behind the False Tree of Wisdom, which Machiru called a sacred mural. The hole twisted and drew in the power of the holy light.

Not only that, but the spellcaster, Brierita, also seemed to have suffered some great injury. She suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood and collapsed.

Leon reacted quickly and caught Britta in his arms. He was puzzled to see that she was pale and unconscious.

He certainly recognized what the thing that Machiru called a sacred mural was. It was a special magical artifact that recorded ancient mythological history and possessed endless mysteries.

Leon had never heard of a sacred mural being able to react to someone else's magic.

Of course, he is very knowledgeable about many aspects of the game, but that doesn't mean he is oblivious to the details. It's quite normal for things to go slightly beyond expectations. As a veteran player, he encounters various different details every time he plays different side quests. All he needs to do is use his rich experience to solve the problems.

However, the change at this crucial moment was still somewhat unfortunate.

Because this means that if we continue fighting like this, our own team will run out of mana and still won't be able to defeat the opponent.

Iris was also stunned by this scene, unsure whether to continue or what.

Because after the canopy was absorbed by the Holy Annihilation of Burelita, it recovered to its previous state at a speed visible to the naked eye.

"We'll come back and destroy this fake wisdom tree next time. Everyone, retreat!"

Lyon decisively gave the order to retreat.

"Ellie, fire five more shots, weaken it as much as possible, so we can save some effort next time. Remember, your decisive shot is the key to victory!"

Chapter 113 The master said, "Elise, you are very cute, I want to kiss you."

"it is good!"

Hearing Leon say this, Iris's resolve strengthened, and she continued firing.

Lyon conveyed his intention to retreat to the adventurers' team next door.

Although the adventurer group next door was puzzled as to what had happened, they knew that things would not be easy to fight if the main spellcaster suddenly fell unconscious.

Even if the opponent seems to have been weakened considerably, they still have plenty of magic power to use.

They had already exhausted much of their physical and magical energy and were truly unable to continue.

Of course, most importantly, they were forced into the territory of the Pseudo-Wisdom Tree by the fifth-order monsters from the very beginning, and were forced into battle.

We had wanted to retreat for a long time, but the group's overall strength was insufficient, so we were unable to successfully evacuate.

It wasn't until Leon and Iris joined in, sharing a significant portion of the pressure and successfully weakening the Pseudo-Wisdom Tree, that they now had the possibility of a safe retreat.

Three minutes later, the two groups, having endured the intense whipping of the vines, managed to leave the 150-meter radius of the Pseudo-Wisdom Tree without any major incident.

This distance also marks the outermost edge of the area whipped by its vines.

“Gentlemen, I know a place where we can rest temporarily. It's where I ran into the Holy Maiden before. Why don't you come with us?”

After the retreat, the bald gunfighter looked at Leon, who was holding Britta.

After the battle, he clearly saw Leon's important position in their group. He was agile and had amazing magical effects, so he should be a core figure.

"By the way, my name is Rente Kashlemie, a humble civilian adventurer and the leader of the Long Gun Adventure Group."

His voice was clear and deep, and his actions were generous, giving him the air of a strong man.

Leon nodded: "Leon Belron, the court magician. We'll give you a detailed introduction once we find a safe place to rest. Although we've evacuated safely, it doesn't mean we can let our guard down."

"Your command just now impressed me, and your cautious approach is quite in line with my personal combat philosophy. I certainly agree with your opinion."

Unlike Reynolds's rugged appearance, his choice of words was quite refined, suggesting he was more than just an ordinary civilian adventurer.

Soon, the group moved discreetly to a corner of a cliff about 400 meters away, where there was a narrow cave entrance.

While eating jerky, Leon observed the cave and quickly realized that this place was the hiding spot he occasionally used when he was fighting on the 41st floor in his previous life.

He then carried Britta on his back and crouched down to go inside.

Iris was originally supposed to carry the load in Leon's place, but Leon said, "When I carry people, I can use movement-based combat skills, which makes it safer. I don't want you to get injured when you encounter the enemy while carrying people." Iris had nothing to say.

There was even a hint of sweetness in her heart, and she couldn't suppress the smile on her face.

Witnessing this scene, Machiru was speechless. This elf was beyond saving; she had been completely fooled by Leon, that big liar.

However, she still had some mischievous ideas, after all, she couldn't just sit idly by and watch her master philander.

As a unique demon, rarer than a dragon, how could I possibly let my master be fickle?

Even if this master may not be long-term, even if Macchiato has not truly accepted Leon, she cannot accept that Leon has caused so many emotional entanglements!

"Hmph, now that you have me, you can't have anyone else!"

Thinking of this, Maggie walked to Leon's side and crouched down to squeeze into the passage.

"My dear and respectable master, I just used too much magic and my body is in a bad state. Could you carry me again?"

Her face wore a fake, obsequious expression.

Leon glanced at Macchiato, wondering how she had the audacity to put on such a terrible performance.

"Macchiato, don't you like looking in the mirror?"

"what?"

Macchiato paused for a moment and asked, "You carried me on your back, and you said it was a mirror. What does that have to do with anything?"

"I really don't like looking in the mirror."

After all, her appearance and figure haven't changed for many years, so there's no surprise when she looks in the mirror. What's the point of looking in the mirror?

"Actually, if you look in the mirror more often, you'll realize that the number of people you can fool is very small."

In fact, Ma Qilu's acting skills are not bad at all, and for certain objects, the effect is even superb.

However, because Leon has a negative filter on Macchiato and knows her true nature, he can easily tell whether her acting is convincing or not.

"Hmph! I don't believe you! You wait and see, I'll prove it to you!"

Maggie turned and took a few steps back, whispering to Iris, who was leaning against her from behind:

"Miss Iris, do you know what my dear master just said to me?"

"What did he say?"

“He said Iris is very cute and beautiful, especially your little lips. He wants to kiss them every time he sees them, but he is a little shy, so he never dares to do it.”

"what?"

In the dark passage, a splash of red stood out.

Macchiato turned and sped closer to Leon, whispering:

"Miss Iris just said that she can't help but want to kiss you, do you believe her?"

After Macchiato finished speaking, she suddenly froze and slapped her head.

What's going on? Why am I trying to play matchmaker for these two?

Are you trying to see the possibility of failure?

Lyon glanced back, wondering what this guy was up to.

The passage was narrow, and looking back, one couldn't see Elizabeth's face at all.

Leon ignored Macchiato, leaving her disappointed, and quickly moved forward, soon entering the cave.

There was a smell inside, the kind that small monsters often excrete. Leon activated a miniature purification spell to remove the odor.

Brelitta's coma was rather strange; Leon had already used a water-based healing spell once, but it had no effect.

After careful observation, Leon concluded that Berylita was suffering from magic exhaustion.

It's likely that the sacred mural forcibly drained his magic power during the spell, causing him to become physically exhausted. He probably needs to rest and replenish his energy for several days.

Magic overdraft is different from normal consumption to the limit. It is a forced consumption of the body beyond the limit to generate magic power, so the problem is more serious.

As for the spit-out blood, it was probably a backlash from the interrupted spell, not a serious problem, and should be resolved with an intermediate healing spell.

Fortunately, it was only a backlash from an intermediate-level combination spell. If the casting of a higher-level spell had been interrupted, the situation would have been much more serious.

Then the others came in one after another.

The strangest one was Elise. As soon as she came in, she kept her distance from Leon. Every time Leon looked at her, she would immediately look away, which was very suspicious.

"Elise, what's wrong?"

Leon thought it must be Macchiato's doing, but he didn't know what Macchiato had said.

Could it really be related to kissing?

With that in mind, he decided to stare at Iris's lips and test the waters.

Chapter 114 Iris, come here to me

Leon's gaze fixed on Iris's lips was quickly noticed by her.

Her face turned even redder, like she'd had a few drinks, a flushed, intoxicating red that added a touch of allure to the otherwise pure and beautiful Elizabeth. Leon couldn't help but think of a freshly baked chiffon cake—sweet, soft, glossy, and steaming hot.

At the same time, I felt a subtle urge to take a big bite out of it.

"Why are you staring at me like that?"

"Can't we keep an eye on them?"

"It's not impossible, but..."

Iris looked like she had something to say but hesitated.

"What's the but but not the but? Others won't gossip. Elise, come over to me."

Lyon patted the empty seat next to him.

He has already cleaned this place with micro-magic, so there's no need to worry about it getting dirty.

Iris obediently came over as soon as Leon ordered her.

This is an effect that only Lyon, who has long held command, could achieve.

She sat down next to Leon and couldn't help but glance at his lips out of the corner of her eye, as if they possessed a mysterious allure.

As she watched, her face unconsciously moved closer to Leon, as if she were about to kiss him.

Upon seeing this scene, Maqilu's heart stirred, and she couldn't help but grind her teeth, thinking to herself:

"Damn it, is that girl Iris going to kiss me on her own initiative? I've miscalculated, I've miscalculated. Did I end up helping them by trying to prove my acting skills? And Iris is too easy to fool, she doesn't doubt me at all? No, I have to think of a way to stop her!"

Just as Macchiato was thinking this—

"The smell has lessened considerably; it seems Your Excellency is proficient in many convenient magics."

At the back of the passage, the others crouched down and walked in one after another.

Upon entering, Reynard, who had been frowning, immediately broke into a hearty smile and exclaimed in praise after smelling the much fresher scent.

"You flatter me, Your Excellency. It's nothing more than a trivial little magic."

Lyon responded modestly.

"It's not easy to use micro-magic at will. Your calm command and brilliant battle strategies during the battle were truly impressive."

As if he hadn't seen Iris and Leon's interaction, Reynt squeezed over and tried to strike up a conversation with Leon, talking about the details of the battle.

This did indeed stop Iris's actions. Upon hearing the sound, she turned her face away like a startled fawn, casually smoothing her hair with her hand and taking out the last remaining strands of Radiant Moss to replenish her magic.

Then, listening quietly to Leon and Reynter's conversation was also quite beautiful.

Seeing this, Maqilu breathed a sigh of relief, thinking to herself:

"Although it proves my acting skills failed, the result isn't so bad... But who knows, there might be other plans from Iris, no, even Leon might have been inspired by me... Sigh, I'm really crazy, why did I have to use something like this to fool Iris? I should have used something simpler."

Meanwhile, other people witnessed the intimate interaction between Iris and Leon.

Karl thought to himself, "Damn it, you wouldn't be planning to take advantage of the Saintess's unconsciousness to secretly do things with Miss Iris, would you? The two of them seem unusually passionate. I hope the Saintess can't see any of this while she's unconscious... Wait, why am I assuming the Saintess doesn't want to see this? No, why am I thinking that?"

Thinking of this, Carl couldn't help but smack himself on the head.

Mark: "Oh, Karl, what's gotten into you all of a sudden?"