Whoosh!
The skeleton shuddered, every bone in its body turning dark green.
The Storm Piercer Dagger's poison had taken effect. Coupled with the golden dagger's extra damage against the undead, it left the unfortunate skeleton no time even to struggle. It fell to the ground and instantly became a pile of broken bones that even a hungry dog wouldn't eat.
The attack succeeded.
Having given them a taste of their own medicine, Sun Fei felt a great sense of accomplishment and chuckled gleefully.
But at that very moment, the other Skeleton Archers hiding behind the ruins quickly spotted Sun Fei. Twang, twang, twang! Bowstrings thrummed in rapid succession, and arrows filled the sky, raining down on him.
"Damn, they're really coming!"
Holding up the Soul Emblem Buckler, Sun Fei dodged and rapidly retreated. He planned to throw the skeletons' formation into disarray and pick them off one by one, dealing with the whole bunch of walking bone scraps.
But-
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!
Blue ice arrows flew past him from behind. Sun Fei turned to see that the female mercenary Elena hadn't moved away as he'd told her to. Instead, she strode forward to attack, arrows streaming from her longbow like meteors.
"This is bad!" Sun Fei was startled.
This was the first time the beauty had disobeyed him. It seemed she didn't understand how dangerous Tristram was. If she kept attacking, not only would she fail to deal with these cunning skeletons, she would put herself in danger. Hidden among the Skeleton Archers were two mini-bosses whose arrows dealt terrifying damage and carried magical effects. One fired ice arrows, the other lightning arrows. The former could slow an enemy's attack speed, while the latter could instantly drain an opponent's life. Even a barbarian with a huge health pool like Sun Fei didn't dare take their attacks head-on; he had to chug potions while fighting on the move. And with a little more bad luck, they might even alert other monsters and demons in the distant ruins. If they disturbed Tristram's chief boss, Griswold, the consequences would be unthinkable.
"Retreat! Get back, quickly!"
Sun Fei shouted, repeatedly signaling Elena to fall back.
But it seemed a little too late. The monsters quickly spotted the beautiful mercenary, and while continuing to attack Sun Fei, they caught Elena in that terrifying rain of arrows as well.
The female mercenary had neither heavy armor like Sun Fei's nor a shield. Unable to dodge in time, she was soon struck by several sharp arrows. Blood splashed out, staining her blue light leather armor red.
"My lord... completing the mission is what matters. Don't worry about me... I'll draw the demons' attention. Quickly, go around the side and rescue Lord Cain! Go!"
Arrows still lodged in her body, Elena was sweating profusely from the intense pain, her pretty face deathly pale. Yet her gaze was more resolute than ever. She suddenly tossed her head, caught her red hair between her teeth, and, ignoring the arrows in her body, gripped her longbow steadily in her right hand. Firing ice arrows one after another, she advanced step by step into the arrow storm.
Her blue armor flashed repeatedly in the rain of arrows, its light growing dimmer and dimmer.
Elena now looked like a valkyrie who knew nothing of retreat. Her face showed no fear, and her eyes shone with hatred and fearlessness as she advanced steadily, step by step, step by step.
But just then, something unexpected happened-
Crack!
A Skeleton Archer Leader concealed among the skeletons struck without warning. It fired a deadly lightning arrow that struck Elena without fail.
The female mercenary's body went rigid.
Amid the crackle of lightning, Elena swayed on the verge of falling. Beneath the rain of arrows, her health visibly plummeted.
"Damn it!"
Sun Fei's face changed in alarm at the sight.
Ignoring the arrows flying at his back, he raced over and caught Elena in his arms. He poured a Minor Healing Potion into her mouth, then activated the barbarian skill Howl to frighten away the monsters closing in at the front. Seizing the chance, he quickly activated a Scroll of Town Portal. Before the monsters could surge over them like a tide, he rolled into the deep-blue portal with Elena in his arms, escaping by a hair's breadth.
A soft hum sounded.
The two narrowly escaped death and returned to the Rogue Encampment by the slimmest of margins.
Thanks to the Minor Healing Potion, Elena had largely recovered and was reasonably clearheaded. Sun Fei, on the other hand, had taken several arrows in the back while saving the beauty, including lightning and ice arrows from the two Skeleton Archer Leaders. Their magical effects had paralyzed his entire body, blood was flowing freely, and his health had dropped below thirty. He was in extreme danger.
The situation was much like the computer games he'd played in his previous life.
Many times, you thought everything was fine, but you never knew when you'd have to return to the Rogue Encampment and make a corpse run.
"Saving a beauty like a hero really isn't something just anyone can fucking do!"
Sun Fei caught a whiff of the faint maidenly fragrance coming from the "valkyrie" Elena, but he had no time to savor the bliss of holding her warm, soft body. He fished a Minor Healing Potion out of his backpack and downed it, then tossed Elena another bottle. Rising to his feet, he grimaced as he pulled the three or four arrows from his back. Blood immediately spurted out again, and the pain made him hurriedly drink another potion.
Fortunately, the Healing Potions were as sweet as syrup and had no side effects.
"Oh my god, that hurts like hell... Listen, beauty, why did you have to disobey me? Didn't I tell you at the start to stay farther away?"
Seeing that the Healing Potion had restored his health to full, Sun Fei couldn't help reproaching Elena. If she hadn't disobeyed him, nothing so dangerous would have happened.
The beautiful mercenary lowered her head, tears in her lovely eyes, and offered no defense.
Sun Fei saw that she was clutching the Healing Potion in her hand, unwilling to use it. Her wounds hadn't fully healed, her body was covered in bloodstains, and she looked like a tearful flower in the rain. His heart softened, and he couldn't bring himself to blame her anymore.
"Forget it. Drink the potion... Oh, right. Don't come back to the battlefield with me in a bit. I can't look after you. I'll come find you again once I've finished this mission."
After some thought, Sun Fei decided to leave Elena at the Rogue Encampment and go to Tristram alone to complete the mission. With both of them there, he really couldn't look after the beauty. Surrounded by hordes of monsters, an archer had no chance to show her strength. And if they tried the classic, shameless harassment tactics from the computer games of his previous life, the two of them would certainly fail to coordinate. One careless mistake, and the delicate magic archer would probably be surrounded by monsters and torn to pieces.
But Elena had clearly misunderstood what Sun Fei meant.
"Huh? No! Don't dismiss me, my lord... Next time... I'll be more careful next time. You don't have to worry about me... I can protect myself... I..."
Elena's beautiful face was filled with panic, much to Sun Fei's surprise.
Perhaps this was the most she had ever said in front of Sun Fei.
For a long time, ever since Tristram had fallen and monsters had blocked the road east, the camp's Rogues had been able to purchase and trade for equipment and medicines only from adventurers like these, using them to sustain the entire camp in the wilderness. Otherwise, the equipment and medicines gathered and crafted by camp leader Akara, the blacksmith Charsi, and the others would never have been enough to keep the Rogue Encampment going.
Everything the Rogue Encampment had accumulated over the long years before had been exhausted during the sixty years since the mysterious adventurers from the east had suddenly disappeared. If things continued this way, it would take less than another year for the demons to overrun the Rogue Encampment.
Sun Fei's appearance offered the Rogue Encampment a chance to continue existing.
A new adventurer had finally appeared.
These adventurers could always find unexpected rewards in the wild, obtaining equipment and medicines the Rogues could never find.
That was why, despite the countless stories in the Rogue Encampment of female Rogues being exploited, abused, and humiliated by adventurers, leader Kashya had still agreed to provide a mercenary to Sun Fei, a stranger. For everyone in the camp to survive, someone had to make sacrifices. Elena wasn't the strongest of all the Rogues, but she was certainly the most beautiful. To secure cooperation with an adventurer, any sacrifice was necessary-including the bodies and lives of the female Rogues.
If Elena unfortunately lost her life in the wilderness, another female Rogue would take her place and continue serving Sun Fei, maintaining the cooperation between him and the Rogue Encampment.
Such was the cruel world of Diablo.
The naked law of the jungle.
Sixty years ago, weak villages like the Rogue Encampment had survived through such means, allowing the people living in them to stay alive.
It was no exaggeration to say that the appearance of Sun Fei, an adventurer, was a glimmer of hope the Rogue Encampment had finally glimpsed in its hour of peril amid boundless darkness. Neither Akara nor Kashya would give it up, whatever the cost.
Of course, Sun Fei himself knew nothing of these circumstances.
That was also why Elena, normally as serene as a wild orchid in a secluded valley, had panicked as soon as she heard Sun Fei's arrangement. She thought he was dismissing her tactfully.
Offending an adventurer could very well cause immeasurable losses to the Rogue Encampment. Besides, the care Sun Fei had shown her in the less than two hours that had just passed was a thousand, ten thousand times better than the despicable adventurers in the camp's stories. Without realizing it, Elena had grown accustomed to fighting this way. While grateful for her good fortune in meeting an upright adventurer, she also treasured this opportunity.
Please add this to your favorites. Favorites, favorites!
And votes, too.
Daozi needs a little stimulation.
Let's make a deal: if the daily red votes pass two thousand, I'll release an extra chapter.
I don't know whether that number is too high, and I don't mean to exchange updates for votes. I just want to keep myself motivated and stimulate my inspiration.
Hardship breeds life; comfort breeds death.