On the Ark.

After absorbing Lin Ye's blood, [Maple]'s red color became even more solid, so intense it looked like it was about to burst into flames.

"Drink!" Blackback had already charged in front of Lin Ye, raising its greatsword to strike at Lin Ye's head. Lin Ye, who had spent time activating [Maple], had no way to dodge, especially with Mostima standing behind him, making avoidance impossible. Therefore, he chose to use [Maple] to take the blow head-on. After [Maple] absorbed Lin Ye's blood, Lin Ye vaguely sensed that its strength had increased to another level.

Clang.

The sword and the knife clashed with a crisp sound, but the clash did not stop. The blade sliced ​​through the sword, the crimson blade sinking directly into the blade, leaving a cut of about three centimeters, before wedging in the center.

Sure enough, the sharpness of [Maple] has increased again.

If Lin Ye hadn't been nearly exhausted, he could have sliced ​​Blackback's greatsword in two with that attack. But it wasn't over yet. Lin Ye pulled Maple from the jammed blade, and as the blade clashed, an orange light flashed, magnifying in an instant and completely enveloping Blackback. Blackback's movements immediately slowed down considerably.

【Maple - Lock of the Wasteland】!

When Lin Ye used [Maple] to cut open his hand, he also tried to utilize the Originium particles within his body and released "Lock of Desolate Time" once more. Although the magic circle disappeared before it could appear due to insufficient power, it was still captured by [Maple] and became his "property".

With Blackback's movements restricted, Lin Ye seized the opportunity and swung his sword at Blackback's head.

However, the instant the blade reached Blackback's neck, he broke free of the Lock of Desolation and grabbed Maple with one hand at incredible speed.

【Maple】 easily severed all of his fingers, but this gave him time to dodge. Although he had lost most of his sanity, Blackback's fighting skills were still top-notch. While retreating, he raised his greatsword with one hand and slammed it down hard at Lin Ye.

With a muffled groan, Lin Ye was struck squarely on the side by the greatsword, the powerful force nearly sending him flying.

"What a fucking monster!" Lin Ye felt like his internal organs were about to shift. Looking at Blackback, who seemed to feel nothing even though half of his hand had been cut off, he felt a headache coming on. He could barely stand, and his vision was becoming blurry. He could only vaguely see Blackback roaring and charging towards him. He had no choice but to grip [Maple] tightly again, grit his teeth, and prepare to step forward.

But just then, Mostima stood before him. Lin Ye looked up and followed her fair legs to her slightly tossed hair and the black halo magnified twice as much.

“Idiot,” Mostima whispered, in a voice only he could hear, “What would I do if you died here?”

Without waiting for Lin Ye's response, she raised her white staff at the charging Blackback, and then pure blue Originium Arts gathered in the air.

“That’s enough,” Mostima said to Blackback.

The pure blue Originium Arts spread out like sword energy, leaving behind inexplicable characters in the air while emitting a crisp sound like piano keys. Lin Ye had never seen such elegant Originium Arts before, but corresponding to this elegance was its power. Blackback, like a ferocious beast, was abruptly stopped in its charge when touched by this blue "sword energy".

However, the second "sword energy" arrived, and Blackback took two steps back.

The third "sword energy" arrived, and Blackback was directly pushed into the air by an invisible force.

The fourth "sword energy" tore through Blackback's body in mid-air, and even in this state, Blackback couldn't help but let out a painful howl.

After four bursts of "sword energy," Blackback fell into the mud, struggled for a moment, and then became unresponsive.

This left Lin Ye speechless.

Is that all?

Is this the skill hidden in the white staff, the "Key of Time" that matches the "Lock of Time"? The range and the damage are just too exaggerated! Lin Ye even regretted that he hadn't chosen the "Key of Time" but instead chose the "Lock of Time".

Of course, there's no going back in life. And more than anything, Lin Ye just wanted to find a place to rest. When he saw Blackback fall from the platform, Leap Strike disappeared at the same time. The exhaustion and pain washed over him like a tidal wave, making it almost unbearable.

Mostima withdrew her staff and helped Lin Ye up.

Just getting up was already excruciating for Lin Ye, when a familiar voice rang out: "Lin Ye!? Are you still here?"

The person who arrived was Chen.

Seeing Chen arrive so late, Lin Ye's lips twitched uncontrollably: "Chen sir, your timing is a bit too good, isn't it?"

Seeing the scene before her, Chen was naturally shocked. She went to Lin Ye's side, her words filled with disbelief: "Did you kill all these people?"

Lin Ye was almost speechless. If Mostima hadn't been supporting him, he wouldn't have been able to stand. He could only give Chen a disdainful look with difficulty, and he didn't know if Chen could understand it.

Chen naturally didn't understand, but she knew what she needed to do most. She immediately took out her radio and notified the Guardian agents behind her to prepare to take Lin Ye to the hospital for emergency treatment. While Chen was on the phone, Chixiao continued to vibrate, but no one noticed.

Except for Lin Ye.

Just as he was about to lose consciousness, he seemed to hear a strange heartbeat approaching them little by little.

Is this just an illusion...?

Lin Ye was somewhat dazed.

No... this isn't an illusion!

Lin Ye opened his eyes, then abruptly turned his head, seeing a faint, ethereal figure slowly emerging from behind Mostima, a sharp dagger clutched in its hand. At this distance, there was no time to warn him. Lin Ye used all his strength to pull Mostima to the other side, then reached out to grab it.

puff.

A sharp dagger pierced Lin Ye's left palm.

Amidst the splattering blood, Lin Ye's eyes met those of the man.

Silver Blade...

Everything happened so fast that Mostima and Chen hadn't even had time to react. Seeing that Silver Blade's sneak attack had failed and he was about to retreat, Lin Ye used his pierced hand to grab Silver Blade's hand holding the dagger. At the same time, his right hand reached for his waist, but due to the angle, he didn't grasp [Maple], but instead gripped the hilt of Crimson Sky.

But he didn't have time to change his blade, so he simply drew out Chixiao.

Clang!

With a clear, melodious sound, Chixiao was unsheathed.

Crimson Sky - Draw Your Sword!

puff.

Silver Blade couldn't escape; Crimson Sky pierced his neck, pinning him firmly to the wall. He died with his eyes open, unable to rest in peace.

Lin Ye lost his last bit of strength due to this attack and immediately fell unconscious.

……

"Damn it, I was careless." Looking at Silverblade's gruesome death and the Crimson Blade on his neck, Chen's expression was complex. "I never expected he could do something like this..." She took a deep breath, then turned to the Guard Bureau agents below and shouted, "Listen! Clean up the scene carefully, look for any survivors or bystanders caught in the crossfire. And those thugs, see if any are still alive. These guys are dangerous, don't let them hurt you!"

"Yes, sir."

A unified response came from below.

After doing all this, Chen looked at Mostima, who was supporting Lin Ye, and said, "Why don't you go to the hospital with him? The ambulance will be here soon."

Mostima nodded and said, "Thank you, Officer Chen, but could I ask you for a favor?"

"Hmm? You go ahead."

“Please turn your head away,” Mostima said softly. “There is one thing I really want to do.”

"Turn your head around?" Chen frowned, somewhat confused, but did as instructed.

Mostima looked at the unconscious Lin Ye, blinked, and then slowly bent down.

Their lips slowly touched.

"Thank you so much." Mostima slowly raised her head, looked at the unconscious Lin Ye, and smiled slightly before saying softly, "It's so good to meet you again."

Chapter 459 It's been so long since I've been back. I don't want to have any regrets. Let's go down the mountain for a stroll after all this time.

Vidor Bar.

On the surface, it's just an ordinary bar, but in reality, it's a branch of bounty hunters, handling one-fifth of the bounty missions on the Terra continent. Logically, it should be a bustling place, but because this bar is near the coastline, it needs to handle missions that aren't available elsewhere. And the number of people capable of handling these missions is extremely limited. So, even with high bounties, this branch still has the fewest bounty hunters of the five branches, yet it has the highest casualty rate.

Therefore, anyone who can continuously take on missions in this bar and stay alive must possess undeniable strength.

such as……

*Snap*

A huge, indescribable head was slammed onto the counter, crushing half of it. A dark green liquid seeped out, filling the entire bar with an indescribable stench. In other branches, such an act would undoubtedly be considered provocative, but here, the boss in charge of issuing the task simply rubbed his hands together, then looked on with excitement at the person who brought the head here.

"As expected of you." The boss smiled and gave the other person a thumbs up. "Only you can handle such a monster."

Skadi remained silent, her expression perfectly calm, clearly unmoved by the boss's praise. She simply extended a hand to him. The boss, however, understood her meaning and nodded repeatedly, "Don't worry, it's all prepared."

Then he took a heavy bag of gold coins from under the counter and placed it in front of Skadi.

"Please order something," the owner said with a smile.

“No need.” Skadi accepted the gold coins and said calmly, “No one would dare to lie to me.”

"That's true," the boss said with a smile. "So, would you like to take on another mission? I specially reserved one for you. The reward is double that of this mission, but as for the difficulty... three bounty hunters have already failed to return after taking on these missions."

Skadi simply said, "Give it to me."

"Hehe, I knew you wanted this." The boss placed the task sheet on the table. "I really can't think of anyone else who would be the safest person to entrust this level of task to besides you, and the reward is quite substantial."

Skadi ignored her boss's incessant chatter and instead reached out to take the task sheet.

But when he reached halfway out, he suddenly stopped.

"Hmm?" The boss noticed Skadi's unusual behavior. "What's wrong?"

Skadi looked at her boss and asked, "What's the date today?"

"What's the date?" The boss thought for a moment and gave the date.

After listening, Skadi frowned slightly, then murmured, "Has it been out for this long already?"

After saying that, she withdrew her hand that was about to take the task sheet, and then turned and left.

The boss was taken aback: "You're not taking this task?"

"No, thank you." Skadi said without turning her head. "I've been out long enough, and I've been feeling uneasy ever since... I think it would be better to go back and check on things."

She left the bar without giving the owner a reply, and the clinking sound of the coins echoed for quite some time before slowly fading away.

……

Victoria Harbour.

This is probably the largest port on the continent of Terra.

A ghost servant, dressed like a samurai with his hair tied in a bun, carried luggage while chattering to the girl behind him: "To be honest, Miss, when Madam received your letter and learned that you were cured, she didn't sleep for a whole day and night. Master was the same; although he didn't say it, you could tell he was very happy. Now everyone at home is waiting for you to come back."

Guigu Xuehui softly hummed in agreement, then raised her head to look at the ship in front of her. The ship's itinerary was posted on it—Victoria to the Eastern Kingdom. This made her feel somewhat dazed, as if everything was a dream, although she didn't like dreaming because it brought her too much of a burden.

"The ship will depart in an hour," the servant said to Guigu Xuehui. "Miss, is there anything else you wish to buy?"

What do you want to buy?

"Yes," the servant said with a smile. "Although you came out this time to seek medical treatment and have recovered, it will be difficult for you to come out again after you return. You are the one who will inherit the position of head of the family, and unless there is something important, you should not leave the Eastern Kingdom again. So, if there is anything you want to take away from this land, such as souvenirs, buy more so that you don't have too many regrets."

The servant's words made Onigani Yukie fall into deep thought.

"Don't leave any regrets about what you want." Guigu Xuehui slowly raised her head, looking at the somewhat dazzling sun, feeling her mind become hazy. She stood there for about half an hour, and when the servant reminded her that it was time to board the ship, she suddenly reached out, picked up her luggage, and said, "You go back first."

The servant was taken aback: "Miss?"