I really don't want to date a girl addicted to the internet!

“Ruan Jingyi, did you see that? It’s like the sun, haha…” Zhou Han’s eyes were empty, and he let out a laugh that was completely devoid of any joy.

Allied soldiers around them began to advance, and a steady stream of ammunition was carried up from the lower city to supply the front lines.

The people carrying ammunition were also dressed as civilians, including many women and even children. They moved around crouching behind cover, dropping off supplies and quickly leaving.

A small figure draped in a cloak mingled among them. Despite carrying only a small box of ammunition, he staggered and seemed exhausted. He put down his things, bent over, and supported himself on his knees, panting.

Just then, a beam of green particles shot out from somewhere and hit the wall above her head, leaving a bright red spot.

The little figure froze, then hurriedly ran down to the city center as if fleeing.

Ruan Jingyi watched this scene silently, initially tilting her head, unsure of what to do, until a small figure inadvertently revealed a strand of golden hair as it ran around the corner, and the girl's eyes widened slightly.

……

Having witnessed the fleet's defeat in the decisive battle, the Imperial Army on the ground quickly collapsed.

The remaining fleet received orders to head towards the upper city, lower their altitude, and deploy ramps to meet the retreating Imperial troops.

Now, their only remaining option is to evacuate Riften.

The demon knights and ordinary soldiers rushed to the waiting ships, fearing they would be left behind on this continent.

A group of heavily armored demon knights stood on the nearby open ground, like rocks standing in the waves at low tide, remaining unmoved as the imperial army boarded their ships.

Bantu, clad in armor and wielding a sword and shield, with his familiar in a dark purple dress floating behind him, glanced at the increasingly full airship behind him and said calmly, "Edward, you should retreat first."

“My lord, we share responsibility for this battle. We will stand together.” Edward rested his hand on his sword, gazing calmly ahead. Jasmine leaned on his shoulder, her eyes lowered.

On the street ahead of them, a group of dark figures flashed across the rooftops.

The first to descend from the sky were two silver-haired elves with pointed ears, their hair tied in ponytails. They wielded rune-covered longswords shrouded in light, their bodies covered in solidified dark red liquid, and the killing intent in their pupils was palpable.

What followed were a boy and a girl who, despite appearing to be human, were incredibly agile even without a familiar.

"Cheng Fei, you've finally come out!" Edward suddenly drew his sword, pointed it at the young man, and his eyes blazed with intense fighting spirit.

"Sigh, although it's been a long time, you don't have to miss me so much, do you?" The young man shook his head and sighed, twirling his black longsword.

"You despicable scoundrel, we haven't settled the score from last time!" The blond youth's forehead veins bulged.

"I don't think I did anything to your wife, so why did you chase after me for months over that?" The young man looked on with feigned suspicion.

Ye Shuang glanced at him and couldn't help but feel a chill. She quietly took a step to the side to create some distance between herself and him.

"You!" the blond youth gritted his teeth, "Let's continue our duel from last time, and fight to the death! Do you dare?!"

“Edward, calm down,” Jasmine said softly.

"Since you're so sincere in your request, I'm not unwilling to grant it," the boy shrugged.

At this moment, another voice, full of interest, rang out, "It seems you made a pretty big grudge in Yongquan Town?"

Heisen landed beside the boy with the few remaining demon-slaying knights of the allied forces, while a red-haired half-elf with a cold expression floated behind him.

Seeing this, Bantu, who had been silent all along, pointed his longsword at him, narrowed his eyes, and said in a deep voice, "Haisen Vilvano, the fifth son of Grand Duke Vilvano, you have betrayed the Empire?"

"It's been a long time since I've seen Uncle Bantu. I wouldn't call it betrayal; it was just making the right choice." Haisen smiled and respectfully placed his hand on his chest in a gesture of respect.

"No wonder the Empire is in such bad luck; it turns out there are scoundrels like you. Today, I will cleanse the house of the Vilvano family!" Bantu stepped forward, gripping his sword and shield tightly.

Meanwhile, Edward realized something, "Cheng Fei! Where's your familiar?"

"I also want to ask you, didn't you catch her?" the boy asked curiously.

“I didn’t arrest her. I’m not you. I wouldn’t do something so despicable!” Edward’s anger intensified.

"What? Well, I admit you're quite chivalrous..." The boy was surprised, then shook his head. "But it doesn't matter, since I don't have a familiar right now, you're no match for me anyway."

As soon as he finished speaking, Cheng Fei's figure disappeared from the spot.

"Edward, be careful." Jasmine raised her voice, and mysterious runes appeared in her palm. Golden flames instantly enveloped herself and the blond youth.

The blond youth's pupils contracted, and he barely managed to block the lightning-fast attack by swinging his sword horizontally. "Cheng Fei, don't be so arrogant!"

"Not bad, as expected of you." Cheng Fei's lips curled into a smile, and he vanished from his spot once more. "Then... how about this?!"

Rhea and Eve followed closely behind, charging forward and wielding their greatswords of light to smash into the nearby enemy troops.

Heisen also met Bantu head-on, and the two collided at extremely high speed.

"You think you can challenge me? You were still breastfeeding when I was promoted to Gold Badge!" Bantu strode forward, using his shield to block his opponent's attack. At the same time, he silently swung his sword upwards with his other hand, leaving a ghostly dark purple afterimage in the air. This was his signature magic technique.

“Things are different now, Uncle Bantu!” Haisen grinned, twirling his long katana to clash with the other’s longsword.

As the final battle on the front lines was about to erupt, behind the Allied Forces' lines, Nagasaki Asuna, who was treating the wounded, heard Ruan Jingyi's words and grabbed her hair as if struck by lightning, "You mean you saw a tall little girl with blonde hair wearing a cloak who looks like Xiao An serving in the Allied Forces?!"

Ruan Jingyi nodded silently.

"Where did you see her? Let's go find her!" Nagasaki Asuna grabbed the quiet girl's arm and ran.

710. Nagasaki Asuna found the Shadow.

"Hello, have you seen a half-elf, wearing a cloak, about this tall, with golden hair..."

"Excuse me, have you seen...?"

At the Allied positions in the lower city, a pink-haired girl, looking anxious, was asking around, led by two soldiers dressed as civilians.

On the nearby open space where supplies were piled up, a small figure lifted the cloak from her head, revealing blonde hair, ruby-like eyes, and a pair of pointed ears. She squatted in the shadows of the corner, holding the flatbread she had just received and taking a bite.

The flatbread has only a slight saltiness and no other flavor. It is also dry and hard, making it the most common food for the poor at the bottom of Riften.

However, she still ate with relish, finishing half of it in no time. Because she ate too fast, she choked, her shoulders twitched and she made a gurgling sound. She quickly tilted her head back and tried to swallow the food.

Looking at the remaining half of the pancake, she hesitated for a moment and decided to wait until she had some water before eating it. Besides, she didn't feel very hungry after eating half of it, so she might as well save it for when she was a little hungrier.

She carefully tucked the half-baked pancake into her bosom, propped herself up to stand, and felt utterly exhausted and powerless. She longed to find a place to sleep.

But she can't sleep.

Once Riften is liberated, everyone can live a good life. She can freely go to the Upper City to do business, and no one will capture her as a familiar anymore. This is what those who saved her said.

Although she didn't quite understand what liberation meant, she knew it probably meant killing all the lords and nobles.

With all the nobles dead, is there still business to be done? She was vaguely worried about this, but she couldn't worry about it anymore. Working with these people called the Allied Army meant at least she would have food to eat every day, although it wasn't as good as it was on the ship. At least she didn't have to worry about the oranges going to rot.

The little half-elf rejoined the supply-carrying team, casting a spell on himself to save effort.

Just then, a familiar voice rang out behind her.

"Little An?"

Upon hearing the voice, Shadow paused, slowly turning his head to see a pink-haired girl with a gentle and healing aura standing not far away, watching him with deep shock and worry on her face.

"Tomorrow... Nai?" The blond half-elf, his face smeared with black ash, stood frozen in place, his ruby-like eyes widening.

"Little An, we've been looking for you for so long, we thought something had happened to you!" Nagasaki Asuna ran to the little half-elf, squatted down and hugged her tightly, pressing her cheek against that doll-like, childlike face, and whispered, "Little An, let's go back to the ship, okay? Cheng Fei won't let you be a familiar anymore."

"Asuna..." Feeling the girl's warm embrace, An Ying's lifeless face trembled, and she didn't even know why, but tears suddenly slid out of her eyes.

On that airship, Nagasaki Asuna and Rhea were the two people who treated her best, and also the two people in the world who treated her best. But for some reason, Nagasaki Asuna wasn't there on the day she left. After she disembarked, she stayed near the dock to say goodbye, but she waited for a long time and didn't see her appear...

She suddenly widened her eyes, hugged the other person tightly, and burst into tears, "Asuna...!"

Under the watchful eyes of the surrounding Allied soldiers, two figures, one tall and one short, embraced tightly.

……

Shangcheng District.

One by one, the remaining imperial warships, laden with evacuating soldiers, left the ground.

Below the last warship about to take off, the streets, ravaged by war, were in ruins, covered with charred marks from melting and solidification.

On the final battlefield, only the last Demon Knights remained, locked in a fierce battle.

With lightning speed, the boy knocked the sword out of the blond youth's hand, and then the black longsword stopped at the other's face.

Edward's pupils contracted, and an expression of disbelief and horror finally appeared on his face. "You didn't even bring your familiar... This is impossible!"

"Sorry, I'm a little stronger than before." Cheng Fei casually held his sword level, staring at his opponent. After a moment of silence, he suddenly withdrew his sword.

Edward stared blankly at the boy's actions, "Why?"

“I feel like if I killed you and went back, I’d be called a despicable person even more, so I decided to just let it go.” The boy shook his head and sighed, then raised his chin to look at him. “You actually let Xiao An go. I acknowledge you, even though I think that’s pretty stupid.”

“Cheng Fei.” The blond youth stared at the boy’s face, his clenched fist trembling violently, before finally bowing his head in despair. “…I lost.”

"Edward, I'm coming down?" Jasmine said softly as her slender body landed on the ground.

Allied soldiers, who had been observing from behind cover for a long time, quickly surrounded the two men and pointed their guns at them.

On the other rooftop, the duel between Hysen and Bantu also reached a fever pitch.

Heisen's katana had turned crimson at some point, colliding violently with Bantu's sword and shield, which were shrouded in dark purple afterimages, distorting even the surrounding air.

At a certain moment, Hysen delivered a sudden thrust that struck Bantu's shield. The roof beneath his feet shattered with a deafening roar, and he spun into the air, his katana ablaze with intense heat.

Bantu looked up at the scene, his expression hardening, and then he executed a nimble backflip.

Haisen shouted, and the burning katana flashed red in mid-air before crashing to the ground, melting through the spot where Bantu had been standing.

"How could this be?!" Haisen landed on the ground, staring wide-eyed at the scene.

The red-haired half-elf perched on his shoulder looked impatient. "You missed again. I told you never to use that move again."

Bantu sneered, and out of the corner of his eye, he saw Edward surrendering on the street. His expression changed, and without hesitation, he ran towards the last Imperial warship that was slowly rising behind him. He leaped up, grabbed the gunwale with his strong arms, and climbed onto the deck.

In mid-air, the Allied fleet, flying green flags, caught up and unleashed deadly fire upon the Imperial fleet, which was in disarray.

A beam of green particles pierced through the blue flag with a golden lion on it. The flag was instantly ignited by the intense heat, turning into a ball of flame that flew into the air and then drifted down to the ground.

On the ground, Allied soldiers pouring out of the lower city watched the Imperial fleet flee in panic and erupted in enthusiastic cheers that could be clearly heard throughout the entire airspace.

Deep inside the lord's manor, armed Allied soldiers kicked open the door to the room in front of them and rushed in.

The richly dressed, pale-faced young man huddled under the table, trembling, his hands covering his head. He was pulled out by the Allied soldiers like a chick, his face showing terror.

"Don't kill me... I don't want the imperial title anymore, please... Don't kill me!" The pig-like pleas for mercy echoed in the air above the lord's manor.

……

711. The Corridor Research Department is exhausted.

As Cheng Fei removed his helmet, the setting sun streamed in through the window, casting a warm glow on the white walls of the rented room.

The boy stood up, stretched, looked out the window at the street scene, blinked, and felt as if he were in a dream.

In the dream, people called the Allied Forces and the Imperial Forces clashed in the ancient streets and alleys, sailing warships floated above the city, firing dazzling particle beams at each other, and burning warships plummeted to the earth, trailing thick smoke...

Why did his life turn out this way?

It's strange no matter how you look at it.

The boy shook his head, banishing the jumbled thoughts from his mind. He yawned, went to the bathroom to wash up, and left the rented room.

When Cheng Fei arrived at the 36th floor of the upscale apartment building across the street and opened the door, the living room was quiet.

He went to the sofa and saw Zhou Han leaning against Ruan Jingyi, breathing evenly. The latter silently looked at him, like a young mother who dared not speak to her husband because her child was asleep.

Ye Shuang simply used the sofa as a bed, curling up beside it with her eyes slightly closed. You could see the girl's small feet, encased in white over-the-knee socks, pressed together, their pinkish hue subtly showing through.

Just as Cheng Fei was about to go around to the other side for a closer look (he absolutely did not intend to peek under her skirt), a girl with cat-like, light and silent steps approached from behind, hugged the boy's back, and transferred her entire body weight to him.

"Cheng Fei, I'm so sleepy..." Nagasaki Asuna said in a pained voice.

It's Friday afternoon now, and theoretically they've been working on the battle for Riften for a full day and night.

The boy turned to face the girl.

Asuna Nagasaki took the opportunity to bury her face in his chest, letting out a soft, comfortable sigh, and making a coquettish sound, "Master, can I sleep like this, holding the cat?"

"Sleep my foot! Go sleep in bed if you want to sleep." Cheng Fei pinched that fair and tender cheek.

"Okay~ then Master, how about you go to sleep with the cat now?" Nagasaki Asuna sweetly agreed, and then took the initiative to rub her face against the boy's palm.