The Time to Wear the Crown Has Come

"Linsey, do you want to die? Put me down!"

"We need at least one person to relay the message back to town!"

Anrui, of course, couldn't just give up on his decision like that.

He lay on Linsey's back, trying to struggle, but the toxins in his body quickly drained his strength, leaving Anrui powerless to break free.

He remained silent for a few seconds.

Seeing that Linsey remained completely unmoved, he had no choice but to command in a serious but weak tone:

"Linsey, this is my order as the Borderlands Lord!"

"Now put me down, and you go back to town alone to tell everyone what's going on here."

Linsey readily offered a reason. "Uncle Anrui, I'm either a farmer from the City of Law or an apprentice of the School of Death. If you want me to obey, you'll probably have to find someone with the appropriate background."

"..."

Anrui, who was lying on Linsey's back, was speechless for a moment.

At this moment, he wished he possessed the abilities of a messenger so he could use his extraordinary skills to persuade Linsey.

It's just a pity he was a soldier.

His combat skills are all that he has as an Awakened One.

"Warrior...heh, warrior."

Anrui chuckled self-deprecatingly.

His talent, after advancing to the Fifth Stage of skill, could no longer make any further progress.

Fifth Stage Awakener, Ascender! This is an achievement that would be the envy of anyone, given that there are countless Awakeners in the world who are stuck at the second or third stage, not to mention that he is a warrior with powerful combat abilities.

But today, he was careless and was ambushed by Devil Beast of the same level.

Perhaps it was because of the cover provided by other spiders.

Perhaps it's because of the counterintuitive phenomenon that occurred with fifth-tier Devil Beast.

However, Anrui reflected that the most critical problem was that he had neglected the vigilance of a warrior during his century of peaceful life, which led to his current predicament.

If it were me a hundred years ago, when I had just advanced to the Fifth Stage.

The battle just now might not have gone smoothly, but at least it wouldn't have ended in such a bad way, where he even had to have his student carry him to escape.

Just then.

Anrui then heard Linsey say from below:

"And please don't say anything about staying behind to stop the spiders."

"Uncle Anrui, I have a strong sense of perception. I'm quite certain that those guys are right behind us, and there are a lot of them! Even if you're willing to sacrifice yourself to stay behind and hold them off, you can probably only stop a small portion of them."

As she spoke, Linsey walked quickly.

With his current attributes, carrying an adult on his back while running is no problem at all. Compared to the spiders chasing behind him, his speed is probably about the same.

Anrui listened to Linsey's advice.

Feel the trees in the forest rushing past on either side of your body.

He recalled the scene when they first met three years ago, and an idea involuntarily popped into his mind.

Linsey is no longer a child.

He has become an excellent awakened one!

After realizing this.

Anri's opinion of Lindsay suddenly changed drastically.

He even endured the pain and joked:

"Linsey, if you're ever given orders by someone else in the future, will you then consider yourself a citizen of Hidden Borderlands?"

I noticed the change in Anrui's tone.

Linsey also knew that Anrui had temporarily accepted his plan.

He breathed a sigh of relief, and his steps became more steady than before. "If I could, of course I would say that!"

Anrui continued to ask:

"What if you were Hidden Borderlands and commanded by those same people?"

"..."

Then I'll say I'm a resident of Earth.

They will only accept constructive suggestions from a portion of the people from the other world.

That's what Linsey was thinking, but she simply replied, "Well, I have other excuses too."

At this time.

The atmosphere between the two was slightly more relaxed than before, when they were facing a life-or-death situation.

However, on Linsey's [Map] skill, the Red Dot symbolizing the group of spiders always closely followed them.

About an hour passed.

The two arrived at the edge of the Hilly Area, and before them was the same Mirror Lake they had just come down from, and the surrounding temperature warmed up.

But it was here that Linsey stopped in his tracks.

Anrui also broke free from his back and said in a weak but relieved tone:

"Linsey, you've done enough, but now you have to give up on me. You should go back."

"..."

The reason Anrui would say such a thing is very simple.

A new group of Devil Beast had gathered on the calm lake in front of them.

If Anrui were in excellent condition, these things would naturally be unable to stop them—but he is currently seriously injured.

If Linsey were to act alone, with his speed, he could also find a way to slip through the Devil Beast and then rush up to Climbing to Heaven Vine —but he was unwilling to abandon Anrui beside him.

At this moment, the Devil Beast on the very edge of the lake had heard their commotion and shifted their menacing gaze from the lake to the two of them.

"Well--"

Anrui sighed.

The place where the two had previously engaged in a bloody battle was now going to become his graveyard? He found the scene before him incredibly ironic.

While the Devil Beast were still observing the two and had not yet launched an attack, Anrui said one last time, "I only have one arm left now, and my body is extremely weak."

"Even if you take me there, climbing on the Vines will only slow me down, and we'll still be caught by those spiders."

"They climb trees much faster than people."

Anrui was able to guess Linsey's plan.

It's simply a matter of figuring out how to climb the Vines and try to hold out until the cold wind blows.

The spiders that chase them will naturally be frozen by the cold wind.

But the probability of such a thing happening is too small! Linsey himself might be able to hold out until then, but with him as a burden, it's a completely impossible fantasy.

"Don't even think about taking me to climb these Vines. There's simply not enough time. Before the cold wind blows, you'll be caught by those spiders."

As he said this, Anrui pulled out his dagger again.

At this point, he only had one hand to hold the weapon, so he handed the other dagger to Linsey:

"Take it!"

"Take this dagger to Anna and tell her that her father has always loved her deeply..."

"No, Uncle Anrui! I told you, I have a way!"

Anrui's act of giving his last words was suddenly interrupted by Linsey.

Just as he was about to unleash a torrent of abuse on Linsey for her foolish behavior and teach this ignorant student a lesson.

He saw Linsey in front of him, reached behind his back, pulled out a pink Rose Wreath, and put it on his head.

"Huh? This is..."

Anrui was about to ask this question.

He then discovered an even more surprising fact.

Just a breath ago, the Devil Beast that had been glaring menacingly at them on Mirror Lake had transformed their ferocious gazes into cautious observation.

If now goes by.

As long as the two of them don't launch an attack, the Devil Beast in front of them will definitely not attack them.

"..."

Anrui stood there, blinking blankly.

He could certainly guess that it was the headband Linsey was wearing that was activating its effect.

But in such a remote and secluded place Hidden Borderlands, where did his students obtain such magical items?

This is completely illogical!

At this moment, Linsey once again lifted the stunned Anrui off the ground and steadily walked towards Mirror Lake.

That calm voice seemed to be stating only one fact. "Uncle Anrui, we will go back alive together."

"Go tell everyone in town about what you've found here."