After mastering the resurrection technique, they begged me to extend their lives.

"!"

Sometimes, communicating with An Xiao brings Xinuo an indescribable sense of frustration.

Despite her peak battle rank being a terrifying level 70, while he was just a level 2 noob... in critical moments, their positions seemed to have completely reversed in terms of judgment, which made her feel extremely frustrated.

"This is really bad... If this continues, will he think I'm just a pretty face with big breasts and no brains?"

"But my breasts aren't very big, and I don't have the softness of love. Doesn't that mean I've completely failed in life?"

No one knows what the silent Sword Maiden was thinking all along the way.

"He resurrected me, rescued the princess, and promised to give me back her whole... But I was ungrateful and immediately tried to imprison him and force him to reveal the truth about the divine law..."

"I deserve to die."

Looking at the struggling boy's back, her gaze momentarily wavered.

I vaguely felt that the distance of only five meters between the two seemed to span thousands or tens of thousands of years, both within reach and yet unattainable.

Everything happened too magically.

Thinking about it carefully, if it weren't for the person in front of me, I would probably still be lying in that cold coffin filled with ice, never to see the light of day again.

What does death taste like?

Some say it's suffering, others say it's liberation.

Some people believe that living is already so difficult, and the repetitive, hopeless cycle makes life worse than death, so it's better to get it over with in one go and skip the process.

However, only those who have truly closed their eyes can understand that it is a dark void.

He wanted to call for help but couldn't make a sound; he wanted to reach out but had lost his strength. Suffocation felt like a giant hand gripping his throat, and the pain intensified to the extreme in an instant.

Is this really good?

"Ugh."

She sighed softly, her mind filled with complex emotions.

...

When they successfully returned to the cellar in Ningye Town, it was already dawn.

Looking at the familiar surroundings, Xinuo felt a sense of peace.

As An Xiao had predicted, their escape was very successful. The pursuers lost their way shortly after they emerged.

Traveling at night is difficult, especially when carrying a heavy load.

An Xiao carried the princess on her back the whole time, so it was impossible for her to walk without stopping. She had to stop and go at times.

However, the light from torches was too bright at night, so they couldn't be used casually. They could only rely on Xinuo's eye technique to guide them along the way.

After all, her Wind Eyes also have a certain night vision function, which can clearly determine the direction.

The two cooperated completely silently, without any communication.

Xinuo understood that An Xiao's exhaustion was not only physical, but also mental. That weariness could be felt simply from her eyes and complexion.

This only made her feel even more guilty.

After slamming the cellar door shut and carrying Airi to the bed, An Xiao turned around and sat on the edge of the bed, weakly saying to the Sword Princess:

"Bring out the excavator; I need to examine its construction."

"Ah... okay."

Time was limited, so Hino nodded subconsciously and secretly channeled her magic energy to summon something from her magic ring.

With a loud bang.

A strangely shaped excavator appeared in the center of the room.

At first glance, this thing looks like a tank, but its head has been modified into the shape of a huge and thick auger.

It is not large in size, the wheels are completely covered by tracks, and it is red and blue all over, so it looks that it is reasonably mobile;

It has a storage compartment on the back, which can store a large amount of gravel and soil, and the space is quite considerable.

It's worth mentioning that it's also covered with small, technologically advanced magic circle patterns. If An Xiao isn't mistaken, this is where the so-called "silent" function comes from.

"Could you demonstrate how to operate it? Time is of the essence; we need to finalize our plans as soon as possible," he reminded them.

"Um."

Hino was now completely obedient to him. She operated the control token according to the instructions the master craftsman had given her.

Soon, the excavator flashed its light, and as if controlled by something, slowly turned, aiming at the direction of the border mountain range, and charged headlong into the wall—

Buzzing! ...

As the drill bit spun, the enormous sound that was spreading outwards was suddenly enveloped by an invisible force field in the form of a semi-circular transparent dome. The next moment, there was no further movement.

An Xiao was surprised to find that even though she could see with her own eyes that it had broken through and smashed the wall, she couldn't hear a sound at all!

"Could it be a vacuum isolation array?"

He quickly figured out the principle behind it: "Logically speaking, although the vacuum enclosure can cover the excavation area and prevent sound from reaching it, the vibration of the wall will still be felt by nearby residents... Fortunately, we are deep underground and there are no neighbors in front, behind, left, or right."

After thinking it over, he felt that the plan to dig a hole to cross the town and leave the country was theoretically feasible and would not even affect his rest and mana regeneration. So he stopped looking at the maze chariot that was working frantically and turned his attention back to Princess Airi lying peacefully on the big bed.

"Next, it's her problem."

"What...do you plan to do with Princess Airi?"

Seeing that he seemed to be finally about to make a move, Xinuo couldn't help but perk up, wanting to observe closely how he would do it.

Unfortunately, An Xiao shook her head and said:

"My current mana is far from enough to cast the resurrection spell again. If nothing unexpected happens, it will take at least two more days to recover, unless you can get more and larger capacity mana potions."

"Oh? But that's very expensive, I really don't have any more..."

Seeing that he couldn't immediately resurrect the princess, Xinuo bit her lower lip, somewhat anxious, "And if we only have two days, Volta might send people to track us down here..."

Hearing this, An Xiao took a deep breath: "Miss Sword Maiden, are you sure you're not mistaken?"

"Huh?"

"The current situation is that I cannot revive the princess without magic."

In other words, the princess's body will slowly rot away, and you will never be able to meet her again.

The decision on this matter rests with me, not you, so there's no point in you rushing things. Do you understand what I mean?

"...I...I know, I'm sorry."

She leaned against the cold, cracked wall, bowing her head like a child who had said something wrong.

"..."

An Xiao glanced at her, too lazy to press the issue any further. After all, she was already exhausted and didn't have time to argue with her.

He then said, "Alright, go and carry her into that coffin. Lilia said there's some kind of solid ice inside that she bought at great expense, which has a preservative effect on corpses. I suppose it's better than being exposed to the air anyway."

"Okay, sure."

Xinuo nodded like a chick pecking at rice, put away the long sword at her waist, and then walked over to do as An Xiao instructed.

A rustling sound rang out.

After the princess was settled and the coffin lid was closed, she turned back again and silently awaited his instructions.

An Xiao was about to lie down and sleep, but she was both amused and exasperated by the way the woman looked like she had been badly bullied. She said speechlessly:

"I need to rest now. Sleep is the best way to restore my mental and magical energy, and it's effective and inexpensive. So, during this break, you can find a place to sleep without having to ask for my opinion on everything you do."

He said it calmly.

"it is good."

Hino nodded, watching him turn his back to her, take off his shoes, and climb into bed, seemingly preparing to doze off. She then glanced around at their surroundings—

The excavator in the room is working silently.

Airi occupied the central coffin.

Apart from the cold ground, there was nowhere suitable to rest.

She didn't want to lie on the cold ground.

So, she turned her attention back to the only double bed where An Xiao was lying.

After arriving at a conclusion in one's mind that one believes to be correct,

She made a decisive decision.

She loosened her clothes, walked over slowly and gently.

……

……