Su Qing was covered by a layer of cyan light that formed a shield, blocking her attack.
Clearly, someone had intervened.
"I did!"
A calm voice drew everyone's attention.
Su Qing opened his eyes and looked at his saviors, unable to hide his surprise.
"You're the guests from Brother Wu's ship?!"
Brother Wu was the captain of that merchant ship.
After the captain saved Su Qing, Su Qing had taken to calling him that because his surname was Wu.
And now, the people who had stepped in to save him were Shen Luolun and Lan Yan, who had sailed on the same ship.
Su Qing remembered them well.
After all, high-quality men and women were rare, and they were unforgettable at first sight.
"Mm, I didn't expect us to meet again after we parted. There must be some fate between us. I saw an injustice on the road, so I stepped in."
Shen Luolun spoke with a calm expression.
"Thank you!" Su Qing said gratefully.
Though he wasn't afraid of death, being alive was still better than being dead.
Even if he did have to die, he would rather be killed by a charging wild boar than die at this woman's hands.
"Hey, hey, hey, I'm the one who saved you, all right?"
Lan Yan said unhappily, holding her ring blades.
This guy really knows how to steal the spotlight.
He's taken all the credit.
"Huh?"
Su Qing froze.
The one who had intervened was her?
Shen Luolun coughed awkwardly and argued in his defense:
"This is the result of our team's collective wisdom. You stepping in is the same as me stepping in. There's no difference."
"How is there no difference? And when did I ever agree to team up with you?"
The girl puffed out her cheeks in displeasure.
"No-!"
At that moment, Shen Luolun was like a devoted wife abandoned by a faithless husband.
"Lan Yan, didn't we agree to be on a team with The Knave for the rest of our lives?"
"Have you forgotten the top-tier Anemo artifact set I farmed for you, and the fully refined signature weapon I pulled from the gacha for Master Yun for you?"
What nonsense is this guy spouting?!
Lan Yan promptly elbowed him.
Shen Luolun nearly saw a helicopter.
"You're still being absurd at a time like this."
"Take a look at the situation."
She jerked her chin toward the beautiful young married woman.
Shen Luolun grimaced.
"Sorry, sorry. Genshin Impact made me like this. I'm usually very serious."
"Of course, I can't rule out the influence of other gacha games either: Wuthering Waves, Endfield, Star Rail, Honor of Kings-"
"Shut up!"
The beautiful young married woman could finally take no more.
"You people, are you pretending I don't exist?!"
"You dare interfere with my plans? Are you looking for death?!"
Lan Yan stepped forward, shielding the others behind her.
"Who are you? Why do you want to kill him?"
"Talking is pointless. You aren't worthy of knowing!"
The beautiful young married woman spoke coldly.
Before Lan Yan could respond, she struck first-
Her iron whip sliced through the air, hurtling straight at the three of them.
The barbs covering the whip glinted with a chilling light. Anyone struck or ensnared by it would suffer the agony of having their skin flayed and bones stripped, unable to live or die.
"Wind threads, dance with the shears!"
Clang-
The iron whip was knocked away again.
Protected by the cyan shield, the three were completely unharmed.
The beautiful young married woman's expression darkened. She refused to believe it.
She swung her whip again and again.
But when it struck the shield, it couldn't raise even the slightest ripple.
Shen Luolun pulled a pair of sunglasses from somewhere and put them on, then took out the snacks he carried with him and began eating. He watched the show with relish, commenting from time to time:
"Hey, hey, hey, put some strength into it! Didn't you eat enough?"
"My A-Yan's shield has 4,000 attack. Did you think it would be that easy to break?"
"Trash, you don't even have a Vision, and all you do is copy the farm owner. Don't you know pure physical attacks are outdated? Some mysterious Cryo claymore woman is still sitting on the throne as the number one physical main DPS. How the hell are you going to win without a new move?!"
"If it were me..."
The more the beautiful young married woman attacked, the more irritated she became.
This guy was like a fly buzzing nonstop in her ear.
"Shut your mouth!"
Her response was a friendly middle finger and the kind greeting, "I bought a watch last year."
"Bastard!"
The beautiful young married woman gritted her teeth.
Murderous intent surged within her.
No one had ever stirred up such intense emotions in her, not even that person...
Kill him, kill him!
The iron whip, which had begun to slow, sped up again, attacking so fast it left afterimages.
"Tch."
Lan Yan frowned slightly.
Her shield was being depleted faster too.
She kicked a certain someone's shin in displeasure.
"What are you doing?"
Lan Yan had originally planned to slowly wear the woman down, then take advantage of her weakness to defeat her.
Even if she couldn't take the woman down, she could at least force her to retreat.
At worst, victory had been guaranteed.
But after Shen Luolun provoked her, the woman attacked like a madwoman, regardless of the cost.
The situation seemed headed toward both sides suffering.
Of course, that was only how it appeared.
In truth, after observing the woman for a while, Lan Yan had gotten a good grasp of her moves.
If she dropped the shield and fought the woman one-on-one, Lan Yan was confident she could take her down within two exchanges.
Still, if she could win safely, it was naturally better to play it safe.
Wearing her out and then delivering a fatal blow would make the risk very, very low.
But a certain someone just couldn't keep his mouth shut.
"Hey, wasn't she already bound to lose?" Shen Luolun asked quietly, retreating behind Lan Yan.
He believed in Lan Yan's strength, which was why he had dared to swagger and provoke the woman under her protection.
But what Lan Yan said made him a little nervous.
"More or less, but there was no need to make her so angry. Now she only wants to kill you, and she's attacking like a madwoman. She's already worn down nearly half my shield."
"Then what do we do? Lan Yan, did you pull C6? At C6, you can use your Elemental Skill one extra time and refresh the shield when it breaks. Then we won't have to be afraid of her."
"What C6? Do you think I'm an adeptus? I only have one life."
The girl gave a certain someone a karate chop on the head to bring him to his senses.
"But by the time the shield breaks, she'll be nearly out of stamina too."
"Will you win?"
"I will!"
Hearing his good friend's confident answer, Shen Luolun finally relaxed.
"Heh heh heh, you don't even have the strength to hit someone. You really are useless. Come on, get over here!"
A certain someone had resumed his arrogant manner.
He curled a finger at the beautiful young married woman, provoking her.
As a result... the beautiful young married woman attacked even more fiercely, and the light of the shield began to flicker.
Su Qing watched from the side, dumbfounded.
This pair really was... special.
One handled defense and damage, while the other taunted the enemy and drew aggro.
They had the vicious, overbearing beauty running in circles.
So this is what the strong are like. Amazing.
More than half an hour later.
"Mm, that should do it. Everyone, get back!"
Lan Yan looked at the nearly transparent shield and the panting beauty, deciding this was the perfect moment.
Hearing her words, Shen Luolun and Su Qing hurriedly retreated several dozen meters.
Hum-
The shield dissipated.
But the beautiful young married woman didn't seize the opportunity to attack again.
She glared fiercely at Shen Luolun and Su Qing behind Lan Yan, mostly at Shen Luolun, then turned and ran.
She had little stamina left and couldn't afford to keep fighting.
But Lan Yan wouldn't give her a chance to escape.
"You want to run now? Too late!"
"Kun strings, step out beneath the moon!"
Lan Yan tapped the ground with her toes and leaped into the air. The two ring blades in her hands were instantly covered in Anemo power.
With a sharp whoosh, both blades shot through the air, attacking the beautiful young married woman from either side.
"Damn it!"
The woman's expression changed drastically, and she hurriedly raised her iron whip to block.
"Pfft-"
In a single exchange, the exhausted woman was struck by both ring blades and sent flying backward. She crashed heavily to the ground and spat out a mouthful of blood.
"Go!"
Lan Yan made a gesture, and the bundle of cord at her waist flew out like a spirit snake, binding the beautiful young married woman from head to toe. (See turtle-shell bondage.)
"Done!"
(I haven't had much time lately, so for now there'll be one update a day. If you can, could you send me a free gift?)