I want to be a faded person for life

"Then come back, Kulala, it's enough."

The environment inside the tower was no longer suitable for the soul jellyfish to hide in. So Xiangzi took the initiative to cancel the summons.

Just as she thought, there was something wrong with the registrar.

Xiangzi hid behind the wall leading to the tower and observed the plank road in the direction of the city gate.

After a moment, a dirty piece of clothing was revealed behind a raised relief.

Xiangzi secretly observed for more than ten minutes, but the other party still did not take the next step.

"It's troublesome."

With a guy like this following behind her, she couldn't continue exploring with peace of mind.

But if he chose to go back and kill him first, Xiangzi had no confidence that he could succeed.

Putting aside the question of whether or not you can win, just trying to catch up with the opponent in an environment like the plank road is not an easy task.

If he fails to succeed, it will turn into a long war of attrition, and what Toyokawa Shoko lacks most now is time.

This insidious gatekeeper was like a scavenger vulture, waiting for its prey to become weak so that it could pounce on it and devour its flesh and blood.

Things were temporarily at a standstill, so Xiangzi had to take out Stonewell's map to study it. It seemed that the bottom of the tower was connected to a wine cellar.

It would be best to get rid of the opponent here. Even if that is not possible, you have to trip him up and throw him away.

While thinking, Xiangzi already had a rough plan.

The girl took action immediately. She first rang the summoning bell to call out the swordsman and asked him to stay in the room for the time being.

There is a distance limit for the Soul Summoning Bell to summon souls. Once she leaves too far, the summoning will be automatically cancelled, so the swordsman should not exist for too long.

However, Xiangzi had no intention of letting the other party stay in the tower all the time. As long as he could ensure that the registrar could not catch up with him immediately, it would be fine.

The rooms inside the tower are divided into two floors by wooden boards and stairs. There are no windows in the castle tower, only two dim candlesticks on the wall.

The shelves on the lower level were filled with wooden wine barrels, while the upper levels were filled with wooden boxes containing unknown objects.

Xiangzi noticed a servant wiping something on the upper floor. She did not show any nervousness. Instead, she put her straight sword back into the sheath and walked over calmly.

She was now wearing the standard armor of an exiled soldier, and the room was dimly lit. It was not until the girl was less than five steps away from the servant that the latter realized something was wrong - the soldier in front of him seemed too short and did not meet Lord Greg's recruitment standards at all.

Before the shackled servant could react, Xiangzi had already covered its mouth and stabbed it several times in the chest with the dagger hidden under the shield.

The girl fumbled around on the other person's body for a few times and found a fire starter and a burning pot with oil paper stuffed in the bottle mouth.

The information Eric provided was indeed correct. The servants of Stonewell City would carry oil bottles and burning pots. Although they were not powerful in themselves, they could cause considerable trouble to people.

Xiangzi looked back and saw that there was indeed a staircase leading to the highest point of the tower in the wooden door behind him. Although he failed to find the key from the servant, it was not difficult to destroy a wooden door.

So the girl immediately lit the flame pot and threw it onto the wooden rack full of wine on the bottom floor.

The flames burned rapidly, and in just a few seconds they spread to an uncontrollable level. Xiangzi felt that his armor and skin were being burned hot by the flames.

She raised her leg and kicked the wooden door, causing it to shake.

The soul-summoning bell was ringing softly. It seemed that a battle had already taken place in the room where the pumpkin-headed swordsman was stationed. Her current position was almost at the maximum distance where the soul-summoning bell could be effective.

There were several shrill screams coming from the flames. Xiangzi felt his scalp tingling and immediately kicked the wooden door hard a few more times.

Finally, the twisted and deformed bolt fell off with a clang.

As the wooden door opened, Xiangzi rushed in without looking back.

Suddenly, the soul-summoning bell began to shake rapidly, and the girl felt the sound of wind on her back.

She instinctively raised her leather shield, and with a clang, a servant who had been hiding in the corner stabbed the shield with his sword.

Xiangzi's heart was pounding. If she hadn't turned around, the servant's dagger would probably have pierced her body from behind.

——If I get seriously injured here, all my efforts will be wasted.

Finding that his sneak attack had failed, the servant randomly slashed his dagger on the leather shield. The angry Xiangzi kicked him into a sea of ​​fire, which had already spread over.

The summoning distance had reached its limit at this time. The registrar's pale face appeared in front of the wine cellar door, and the blazing sea of ​​fire completely separated the two of them.

Xiangzi waved goodbye to him with the most standard smile of a customer service staff, and then immediately climbed up the stairs using his hands and feet.

The registrar stared at the girl with a gloomy face for a few seconds, but still left the tower because he was afraid of the fire.

When Xiangzi climbed to the top floor of the tower, the stairwell below was completely engulfed in flames, and thick smoke was pouring out from several holes in the wall.

This route probably won't be usable when we return, but as long as we can find the blessing, there's no need to go back the same way.

After Xiangzi was sure that the city gate registrar had not caught up, he stood on the top of the tower and observed the surrounding environment.

After looking around, Xiangzi found a building that was probably a chapel.

The spire of the chapel is second only to the tower in height, with the height difference between the two being only three or four meters. It is not difficult for Xiangzi to jump over from here now.

The direction of the chapel and the target banquet hall also happens to be the same.

Having determined the route, Xiangzi began to run, and the moment she landed, she grabbed the stone sculpture on the top of the building. Then she flexibly let go and landed on the eaves of the second floor of the chapel.

Xiangzi crashed through the rose window in front of him and fell into the hall of the chapel. He rolled on the soft red carpet to release the force, stabilized his body, clapped his hands and stood up.

"...You seem to be, the Fader?"

A young man was standing under the altar in the chapel.

He wore light half-leather armor and beige trousers, lined with a fancy yellow-green leg-of-mutton sleeve shirt, white silk gloves inlaid with round blue pyroxene, and pointed boots with pointed toes.

The young man wore a huge wide-brimmed hat with feathers on his head, and the whole person gave people the impression that he looked a bit like the joker card in poker.

The presence of the strange man immediately made Xiangzi alert.

"Oh don't worry, as you can see I'm just an outsider mage - a Faded like you."

The young man spread out his hands to indicate that he meant no harm.

Chapter 28 Not a Small Animal

"Nice to meet you. My name is Roger. I came to this city in search of something, so I've been hiding from the soldiers."

The magician who called himself Roger seemed a little familiar, or perhaps it was just because their situations were similar that he felt a sense of familiarity.

"You were the one who set the fire on the tower just now. It was a truly spectacular sight. Thanks to you, no one should be chasing me anymore."

Xiangzi nodded, and his left eye became slightly glassy.

In the eyes of the current girl, Roger's magic power is about half that of hers. He is an experienced and skilled wizard. By the way, this is the first time that Xiangzi has encountered a faded person other than himself in Nimgefu.

"...By the way, why did you come to Stonewell?"

Roger was curious.

"You know, everyone in this city is hunting the Faded to use as sacrifices for [Limb Reattachment]. Normally, they wouldn't approach them, right?"

Xiangzi breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed that the other person's situation was very similar to his own - the only difference was that Roger was looking for something, while she was looking for a companion.

"My friend is missing, and someone said she was last seen in Stonewell—have you ever seen anyone like that in Stonewell?"

Xiangzi described Gao Songdeng's appearance in detail.

"She's a quiet girl, as harmless as a little animal."

"Oh, that's really... I'm sorry, I haven't met anyone like that."

Roger shook his head at first, then quickly changed his tone.

"I hope you can find your friend, and I hope she's lucky enough not to become a sacrifice."

"Thank you so much."

Although Xiangzi was disappointed, he still expressed his gratitude very sincerely. This was the blessing she most wanted to hear now.

Roger felt a little embarrassed by being thanked so formally, and he scratched his head through his hat.

"You seem to have learned pyroxene magic... I have a few magic-related combat skills here. I have made them into spirit ash. If you are willing, would you like to try them?"

"After all, I am also a Faded One who has been blessed and guided. I want to use this identity to help my colleagues."

Roger only symbolically accepted a few hundred basic units of rune from Xiangzi and handed her the jar containing the ashes.

"Well, I say goodbye to you. I hope both of us are safe and sound."

Shortly after Xiangzi left, Roger suddenly fell into deep thought.

"Could she be talking about..."

Roger recalled a battle he had participated in on the outer wall.

He encountered an extremely powerful enemy, a horned omen who could use powerful prayers to drive many holy weapons to fight.

But the Faded One who came to his aid was also incredibly powerful. The pyroxene magic released by that person was as powerful as a storm, and occasionally mixed with a few purple-black meteorites created by gravity magic.

Even when facing a powerful evil omen, he was not at a disadvantage. If it weren't for that person's help, he might not have been able to enter the city until now.

"It shouldn't be possible."

Although her appearance and gender could not be seen clearly due to the hood, such a powerful Fader was definitely not a harmless girl like a small animal.

In the end, Roger just put down his hat, scratched his head, and started to do his own thing.

-

Melina appears next to Xiangzi.

"I learned the technique of adding ash to weapons from Kale. If you want, I'm always available to help you."

Xiangzi couldn't help but complain.

"...When did this happen?"

Even though she was a spirit, Melina's movements didn't seem to be constrained like the souls that inhabited the ashes.

As a collaborator or... friend, she is too reliable.

We should be considered friends - it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say we share a common destiny.

Xiangzi was not very confident about this, so he subconsciously tried to test it out.

"That shouldn't be what the contract contains."

"...helping the Faded become stronger is, of course, a witch's duty."

This was not the answer the girl wanted to hear.

But it didn't matter, she was somewhat used to Melina's way of speaking.

Xiangzi handed over his straight sword. Stonewell's standard weapon was quite easy to use, with the length and weight being just right.

A few minutes later, Melina returned the weapon to Xiangzi and disappeared without a word.

Recorded in the ashes is a special combat skill called [Kalia Greatsword].

Soon, after leaving the chapel, Xiangzi found someone to test his fighting skills.

A tall knight in silver armor and holding a sword and shield appeared in the distance. He and a convicted soldier were patrolling the road.

This should be the Lost Knight that Eric mentioned before - the one recruited by Greg.

In this border area, knight is not a title of nobility or a purely honorary title. Being called a knight means that the combat capability is completely different from that of ordinary soldiers.

According to Melina, the current Shoko Toyokawa is powerful enough to join a demigod force during the Broken War and be knighted - in other words, the Lost Home Knight is at least an enemy of equal strength to her.

Hiding behind the corner of the wall, Xiangzi stood with his legs apart, turned sideways, and raised the straight sword above his head with both hands according to the memory in the ashes.

In an instant, light blue starlight covered the straight sword, extending the length of its blade by nearly double. With the continuous consumption of magic power and physical strength, the light blue sword body suddenly expanded again.

The illusory starlight condensed, and the original straight sword had now turned into a giant sword as wide as a door panel and four or five meters long.

At this moment, the sound of armor colliding was approaching, and the Lost Knight had already walked into the girl's attack range.

Feeling that his body had reached its limit, Xiangzi swung his weapon with all his might, and the light blue sword light swept directly across the wall.

The Forsaken Knight, clad in silver armor, reacted instantly, crossing his sword and shield to block his head—but even if he had responded correctly, it was already too late.

The giant sword smashed the knight and his shield into the ground like a hammer, and the shield and the heavy plate armor were cut in half.

The sword blade cut off the knight's forearm, and cut into his chest from the shoulder before dissipating into light blue starlight.

The weapon in Xiangzi's hand fell to the ground with a clang. After she used her magic wand to kill the exiled soldier standing nearby, she held her knees and gasped violently.

It requires an astonishing consumption of both physical and magical energy, and the charging time is longer than that of Storm Blade, but the effect is very significant, which is enough to directly determine the outcome of a battle.

With just one strike, she killed an opponent whose true strength was similar to hers.