The Hero's Party

That sudden shout startled Chen Cheng and the other two. Only then did they see Noah and his companions emerge from the forest.

By then, Liphia had raised her staff and begun chanting a spell at Kui Niu.

When Chen Cheng heard the familiar incantation, he immediately turned his gaze on Liphia.

Chen Cheng was still in his Pseudo-God State. His gaze carried such powerful will and piercing force that it frightened timid Liphia into forgetting the spell.

Her staff slipped from her hand and fell to the ground.

At that moment, Noah, captain of this classic Western-fantasy hero's party, naturally stepped in front of Liphia, the delicate girl who looked as though a push would topple her.

Then he launched into the speech expected of a classic Western-fantasy protagonist who dominated everyone around him.

First came a string of grandiose declarations about protection and the like—the sort that could only inspire a traditional hero's party like theirs. Then he turned his lecture on Chen Cheng and the other two, especially Chen Cheng and She Li.

"I believe you were heroes once, too. So why have you abandoned the glory of being heroes and joined forces with a vicious Beastfolk? Have you forgotten the vow you made beneath the divine statue in the Royal Capital?"

Noah roared the last of it. Chen Cheng, meanwhile, only wanted to scratch his scalp, which itched from sheer awkwardness. He had no idea what had gotten the man so fired up.

But Noah's fellow party members were fired up by his incomprehensible speech. Even Liphia, the most timid of them, found the courage to pick up her staff again.

"Hey, you lot in the gaudy outfits. What's got you so worked up? And while we're at it, where are we? Which kingdom's capital are