"Not bad..."
Lin Luo's expression did not change. As long as he was not embarrassed, then the embarrassed one would be someone else.
"Perfect timing for a little renovation."
Lin Luo said it without blushing or even catching his breath.
"Cough, cough..."
Edgar could not help coughing a few times. Good grief, the Misbegotten might have wrecked this place for half a year, but they had not done as much damage as Lin Luo had in one go.
The two looked at each other, and an awkward scent inexplicably filled the air.
Lin Luo suddenly shuddered, feeling an inexplicable chill. He quickly turned away and looked up at the sky.
"Mm... today's moon... the sky is especially blue."
The entire city was filled with smoke. How exactly had he managed to see that?
A cross-shaped vein bulged on Edgar's forehead as he felt his blood pressure rising.
Good grief, he had been touched for nothing. He had invited a Tarnished grandpa.
Still, Edgar came to terms with it. Even if Castle Morne had remained perfectly intact, it would still have been the Misbegotten's domain.
Although the damage Lin Luo caused was a little excessive, he had at least killed nearly ninety percent of the Misbegotten...
In a sense, Lin Luo had completed his commission...
The price had merely been a little steep.
"Only the area by the sea, where that Lion Guardian is, hasn't been cleared yet."
Edgar looked at Lin Luo as he spoke.
"There should still be a few Misbegotten around, but not many. That is the Lion Guardian's territory. Those Scaled Misbegotten don't dare approach it, though a few might have other ideas."
"That sword is in the Lion Guardian's hands."
Edgar pointed toward the sea below. A broad path led to a platform. That should have been where the Lion Guardian was.
"Mm..." Lin Luo nodded, merely glancing at Edgar.
"Go wait for your daughter at the gate. When you come back, we'll go find that Lion Guardian."
Lin Luo had already spotted a Site of Grace ahead. If he was not mistaken, he could communicate directly with Melina there.
"Irena..."
A trace of tenderness filled Edgar's eyes, the last tenderness belonging solely to this man. All he had left was loyalty and his life.
"Uh... I'll get going."
Lin Luo could no longer maintain his persona in front of this man. If you said Edgar did not value you, he could kneel and beg you, even willing to act as bait himself.
But if you said he valued you, after no more than two sentences, he would drift off and start thinking about something else.
Seeing that Edgar still ignored him, Lin Luo felt a little irritated. Good grief, was he over there contemplating life?
Lin Luo forcibly suppressed the urge to kick Edgar and turned toward the Lion Guardian's location.
If he stayed any longer, Irena might only get to experience the pain of losing her father.
Lin Luo neatly jumped down from the city wall. At the breach was a small, round rooftop. Below it stretched layers of stone walls.
They looked much like stairs. He did not know whether they were nature's handiwork or carved by human hands.
There was a Site of Grace below, so Lin Luo spared the dung beetle he spotted along the way.
After all, a Site of Grace could directly replenish the energy missing from his Flask of Crimson Tears, while a dung beetle was gone once it was gone. This was not a cycle where everything would recover after resting at a Site of Grace.
Lin Luo swiftly reached a small platform made of solid wood. At its center was an irregular hole that looked as though it had been smashed open. Perhaps the Lion Guardian had done it.
Lin Luo looked down. Mm... it was not too high.
But Lin Luo did not choose to jump down directly. Of course, to be clear, it was definitely not because he feared death. This was not a cycle—falling beyond a certain distance would kill him. That was unreasonable.
The main reason was that there were so many wooden beams crossing the space below. If he suffered some irreversible injury while falling, he would not even have tears left to shed.
Lin Luo decided not to gamble with his future happiness and jumped directly onto one of the beams.
When he reached the middle of the beam, he turned sharply left and arrived at the next one.
He used the same method to reach the third... then the fourth.
Then there were no more beams.
At that moment, Lin Luo leaped down.
The commotion was loud. The rats nearby instantly opened their eyes... Mm, they had not smelled wrong. It was the scent of food.
That was right. The rats in the Lands Between were enormous, and most had mutated after feeding on those blessed by Grace.
They gnawed on human corpses and attacked those blessed by Grace. Over time, traces of Grace even appeared within their bodies.
Sometimes, killing these rats yielded Rune Arcs from their corpses. That was the best proof.
After describing so much, it was not because they were powerful. He simply wanted to pad things out... simply to explain some common knowledge about the Lands Between!
Lin Luo's feet hit the ground. In the darkness, more than a dozen red pinpricks appeared in his field of vision.
"Squeak... squeak, squeak!"
A noisy, monotonous sound rang out—the piercing cries of the giant rats.
"Clang!"
Two rats charged at Lin Luo first, their massive incisors aimed at his neck, only to be blocked by the Moonveil Katana in his hand.
A piercing scrape of metal rang out.
Lin Luo frowned slightly and exerted force with his right hand. The sharp blade cleaved straight down through the giant rats' jaws.
"Slash..."
The Moonveil Katana was so sharp that the instant its blade touched the rats' flesh, it sliced them in half. A foul stench immediately flooded Lin Luo's nostrils.
The splashing blood did not frighten off the rats behind them. Instead, it further provoked their rage and... perhaps their beastly instincts?
The rats grew increasingly frenzied and swarmed Lin Luo.
Lin Luo remained unhurried as he slowly backed toward the doorway. White mist began to rise from his right foot.
"Let me show you the power of this old cold leg..."
Lin Luo muttered, then stomped his right foot hard against the ground. A vast patch of icy thorns burst from the earth and spread out before him.
The charging rats instantly turned into white mist. Their resistance was low, and frostbite was directly triggered. Under Lin Luo's Frost Stomp, they became Runes.
After confirming that no enemies had been left behind, Lin Luo walked out. Two left turns from the door led to the Site of Grace.
He lit the Site of Grace as usual and began calling for Melina.
Melina's figure gradually emerged, a hint of surprise on her face.
"So quickly... you have already cleared out those Scaled Misbegotten..."
"More or less..." Lin Luo glanced at Melina, raised his hand, and pointed toward the small platform below.
"Only that big fellow is left."
Lin Luo said calmly, "Help me bring Irena back first. Her father is waiting for her at the city gate."
"Mm..." Melina nodded lightly, and her figure dispersed once more. She did not ask whether Lin Luo was confident he could defeat that whatever-it-was. She knew Lin Luo's strength very well. At least, from what she knew, the Lion Guardian could not possibly be Lin Luo's match.
"Well then, kitty, you're next!"
A cruel smile appeared on Lin Luo's face. Though he looked like a villain, he had to admit that he was a little excited.
Before you continue