Bonita

Along with Ian's death, Bai Xiaowen also received a series of notifications, all related to changes in Affection Level and reputation.

What interests Bai Xiaowen more is that Maki, the lord of Redleaf Fief, has a decreased Affection Level towards him, but the decrease is not significant; he is currently at the indifferent level.

In addition to the chest dropped by Ian, the two level 7 Elite Tier bandit guards who were killed also each dropped a large Silver Treasure Chest. As for the Elite Tier bandits who were killed by Bai Xiaowen's two Great Orochi Nagi at the tunnel entrance, they also dropped two medium silver chests.

Bai Xiaowen's Black Soul Stone has seen a significant increase in growth, currently reaching 233/300, with 173 Soul Essence points. It seems it won't be long before the Black Soul Stone reaches level 4.

In addition, Bai Xiaowen's combat experience exceeded 60%. The rewards for killing Ian and the level 7 Elite Tier were quite substantial.

However, this battle was also very tough, mainly due to the loss of summoned creatures. Three of the four Skeleton Sword-and-Shield Soldier were killed, and the Rageclaw only had about one-third of their Life Value left. The Shadow Assassin were also less than half health.

Fortunately, there were no casualties. The Skeleton Sword-and-Shield Soldier died, but they can be resummoned after 12 hours.

"Time is of the essence, don't open the treasure chests yet," Bai Xiaowen said. "The bandits are all scattered, but we gave the horses laxatives beforehand, so they can't escape. Let's rescue the hostages first, and then we can recruit soldiers as we can, as many as we can."

Li Shuyi nodded, and the two of them collected all the dropped treasure chests before rushing to the mine pit in the northern part of the mine.

Although the battle with bandit Boss Tier Ian was intense, it only lasted a few minutes. There was still plenty of time to rescue the hostages and recruit the bandits.

Bai Xiaowen had already memorized almost the entire map of the mine with his abnormal memory. Now, heading to the North District, they didn't need to worry about being discovered by bandits. The two traveled at an extremely fast pace and soon arrived at the North District mine.

The mine was deserted. Only the dim yellow light of torches flickered and danced.

"Has the hostage been taken away?" Li Shuyi asked worriedly. "That guard, what's that ' Old Matt ' guy, isn't here either..."

Bai Xiaowen frowned and said, "Logically, that shouldn't be the case. The bandit Boss Tier has been killed, and everyone is in a state of panic. Who would care about a hostage?" He walked into the mine, trying to find some clues.

Suddenly, a slightly immature female voice rang out. "No need to look anymore, I'm here."

The sound came from above.

Bai Xiaowen and Li Shuyi looked up and couldn't help but laugh. It turned out that an iron chain was hanging down from the top of the mine, and the hostage was locked in a cage at the end of the chain, suspended about two meters high.

"Don't you have any compassion? How dare you make fun of me like this!" The iron cage trembled slightly, and two small, slender white hands gripped the iron bars and shook them vigorously, showing that the owner of the hands was very angry.

"Stop shaking me, aren't you dizzy?"

Bai Xiaowen smiled and quickly found a winch mechanism in the corner. He turned it hard, and the creaking of the chains rang out as the iron cage was lowered.

"Who are you, and why were you captured by the Blackwind Bandits?" Bai Xiaowen asked as he turned the winch.

"I... I am a novice knight. I heard from the destitute refugees about the crimes of the Blackwind Bandits, and I came to punish them in the name of justice... Alas!"

The iron cage suddenly went out of control when it was half a meter off the ground, falling freely with a loud thud. Bai Xiaowen quickly apologized with a smile, "Sorry, I slipped my hand at the last part."

"... I'll forgive you for saving me," a muffled voice came from inside the cage.

The iron cage opened quickly, and a blue-haired girl bent down and peeked out.

With a thud, the blue-haired girl landed on the stone ground in a graceful, swan-like motion.

"Are you injured?" Li Shuyi asked in surprise.

"I'm... I'm not hurt. My leg is numb..." The blue-haired girl, wearing a light-colored armor that was more decorative than practical, struggled to get up, trying to push herself up with her hands. She could only tilt her head and reach out her small hand to Li Shuyi: "Help, help me..."

The Shadow Assassin stepped forward, grabbed the girl's hand, and pulled her up.

The girl cried out in alarm, "Filthy, filthy undead creature..." She hesitated, wanting to pull her hand back but afraid of falling again.

"Don't worry, this is my summoned creature, it won't hurt you," Bai Xiaowen said.

The blue-haired girl exclaimed again, "That despicable necromancer..."

"..."

The Shadow Assassin abruptly withdrew her hand, and the blue-haired girl stumbled and nearly fell. Fortunately, Li Shuyi stepped forward and caught her.

"Thank you, thank you..."

Li Shuyi could only apologize on Bai Xiaowen's behalf, while clarifying. "He is a multi-racial summoner, not just a simple necromancer. Besides, we were doing something righteous; we just killed the Boss Tier of the Black Wind Bandit Group."

The blue-haired girl was greatly surprised.

Bai Xiaowen shook his head and said, "It's enough that we rescued the person. Let's hurry out and stop those bandits." He took his summoned creatures, such as Rageclaw, and strode towards the cave entrance.

Li Shuyi helped the blue-haired apprentice knight up and followed behind, exchanging a few words with him and explaining their identities and backgrounds.

The blue-haired girl's Bonita Bernita. She is an apprentice knight of the Holy Light Church. She is out on a mission as an apprentice knight, and after completing it, she will be promoted to a full knight.

"Your mission is to wipe out the Black Wind Bandit Group? Such a difficult mission..." Li Shuyi, somewhat puzzled.

"No, no... my internship assignment was... it was to deliver a message..." Bonita lowered her head. "I've already delivered the message and was on my way back when I suddenly saw some pitiful refugees who were barely clothed. After asking around, I found my way here..."

Bai Xiaowen, who was walking ahead, also heard these words and secretly found them amusing.

It turns out she's a girl who's read too many chivalric novels, probably with some connections. The Holy Light Church didn't intend for her to undertake any difficult apprenticeship missions, just simple mail delivery. But this girl actually overestimated herself and went to the biggest bandit den in White Stone Town to act like a righteous fool—a true example of courting death.

Fortunately, Ian, the leader of the Black Wind Bandit Group, wasn't a normal bandit either, otherwise this girl named Bonita would probably have become their sex slave long ago... The bandits' lust is beyond doubt, as can be seen from that bandit named Kitz before.

However, after rescuing Bonita, Bai Xiaowen finally received a notification message:

"[Side Quest: Rescue] Completed."

"Mission Objective: Rescue the hostages in the northern mine pit of the Cliffside Mine Cavern. Currently, 1/1 has been rescued."

"That's it?" Bai Xiaowen was stunned. What about the reward?

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