Chapter 128: Bear Soldiers and Relief Troops

"Is it really that magical?"

Luo Yong couldn't help but sigh. Bo Ya was, by nature, a magical artifact, even if her power level was potentially very high. But how could she also form contracts?

Bo Ya herself was a bit confused; she didn't quite understand what had happened, but it seemed rather fun.

"Guest..."

The shop assistant, who had been dozing behind the counter, perked up at the sight and hurried over to intervene. "According to the ancient treaty, everything that emerges from this 'Cow-Eater' belongs to this shop. If you want it, you can only..."

Before he could finish, Luo Yong already knew the drill—it was the same old rhetoric. But before the clerk could say anything more, Bo Ya had already initiated a summon.

"Bear Army, descend!"

With a graceful wave of her hand—perhaps she had taken a liking to the feeling of being a general—she pointed forward. Instantly, a portal of light appeared, from which roars emanated.

Following that, grizzly bears over a meter tall leaped out, quickly filling the shop. Yet, the portal continued to churn out bears. Moments later, the bears spilled out into the street, wandering aimlessly until something caught their attention, and within a short time, they had all vanished from sight.

"That... that's all?"

Bo Ya’s eyes twitched, a hint of resentment forming in her heart.

*Crack!*

With a sharp sound, the portal she had summoned triggered a self-destruct mechanism, dissolving into a shower of light that vanished into thin air.

As for the shop assistant, he was cowering behind the counter, trembling. It seemed he had never witnessed such a scene, and the psychological trauma was enough to keep him from showing his face. Though he didn't sprout rabbit ears, Luo Yong guessed his species couldn't be much tougher than a rabbit.

"Hmph!"

Bo Ya, feeling annoyed, pushed Luo Yong aside and reached out with one hand toward the "Cow-Eater" and the other toward him, demanding more gems.

Luo Yong felt speechless, but he still pulled out the gems and handed them over. After all, she was his own summon!

Empress Bo Ya spent a while testing her luck here, surprisingly pulling a Gold Card quite quickly. The patterns on the cards were also very close to matching; her luck was no less impressive than Luo Yong's.

"Gold Card! Gold Card! Gold Card!"

A moment later, Empress Bo Ya was calmly "spending" her way through the game, while Luo Yong shouted excitedly on the sidelines, as if they had swapped roles.

"The patterns match..."

"Oh, ho!"

Luo Yong yelled, jumping up in excitement, and then saw a golden ball of light emerge and circle around Empress Bo Ya.

"Eh?"

Luo Yong suddenly felt something was off. "Why am I cheering for her?"

"Quiet!"

Empress Bo Ya turned her head, gave him an emotionless look, and pointed at the "Cow-Eater."

Luo Yong silently took out more gems and fed them into the machine.

Sunset Town seemed to have been paused by the gods above. Here, it was always twilight. There was only one setting sun.

"Sunset Continent must be similar to Blood Moon Continent, I suppose," Luo Yong sighed. After about half a day of intense "combat," Empress Bo Ya finally shook off the addictive joy of spending gems. She stretched elegantly, shot Luo Yong a detached glance, and transformed back into a figurine, landing on his shoulder.

As for those golden orbs, she hadn't contracted a single one.

"As expected, the result doesn't matter; the most satisfying part is the process of spending!" Luo Yong said solemnly.

He then began reaching out to touch the orbs. These were uncontracted items; without a contract, there was no way to take them out.

"P-please, wait a moment!"

A pair of eyes peeked out from behind the counter. The clerk stared at Luo Yong and the golden orbs floating around him, saying, "According to the ancient treaty, these items all belong to the Nazdak Shop. Even if you are an honored guest, you cannot..."

"Cannot what?"

Luo Yong felt irritated. When Empress Bo Ya was here, the clerk hadn't said a word, but now that he wanted to claim the items, the man stood up! If this wasn't deliberate targeting, what was?

Thinking this, Luo Yong grew angry. Amidst the many golden orbs, he found a bronze one and tapped it—

"Bear Army, descend!"

He didn't know who had named the ability, but that was what it was called. It was a one-time magical item that summoned grizzly bears, disappearing after use.

"B-bear... bears...?!"

In the blink of an eye, the shop was once again crammed with meter-tall grizzly bears, and the clerk retreated, clutching his head in fear once more. Luo Yong ignored him and quickly formed contracts, finishing all of them before the bears could run off.

As he walked out of the shop, Luo Yong suddenly thought that perhaps, according to the clerk's logic, if he had bought these items from him, he could have taken the orbs out of the shop without needing to contract them first?

*Tsk, tsk.*

It was too late to think of that now.

He didn't see Pang Ding here, and Luo Yong didn't intend to wait long. Some things were the same whether he was there or not; his goal was to rescue the Elf Royal, Yan Bao'er!

After spending some time on the road, Luo Yong returned to the Stonehenge. If the Skeleton Secret Realm wouldn't work, he would keep grinding the Demon Secret Realm. There was no other way to level up quickly. Many heroes ground their levels up bit by bit, and it was unknown how much time that took. But did Luo Yong have that kind of patience?

This time, from far away, he saw many people gathered around the Stonehenge, split into several factions. They appeared to be arguing, their tempers high, and it looked like a fight could break out at any moment.

With these people blocking the way, it wasn't convenient for Luo Yong to go directly and open the portal; if he caused trouble, it would only waste more time. However, after waiting outside for a while, Luo Yong vaguely heard some familiar names and the voices associated with them.

So, he squeezed his way to the front.

"Gale Squad, hand over the Secret Realm Key in your hands, and we'll clear a path and let you leave!" a man in a cloak said in a sinister, mocking tone.

The voice was familiar, though Luo Yong couldn't immediately place who it was.

"Orland, keep dreaming!" Elia stood at the front like a warrior.

"The Secret Realm Key was left to us by Captain Luo Yong; we will never hand it over to you!" Wendy added.

"Is that so? Then..." Orland shifted his stance, looking smug; even through his cloak, one could feel him sneering. He waved a hand, and a burly man walked over, carrying a young girl who looked to be only seven or eight years old.

"Seli!" the Barbarian Priestess gasped.

"How could this be..."

"How did Seli fall into their hands?!"

The group of beautiful team members was confused and anxious, wanting to save her.

"This was also left behind by your captain, right? Well, do you want her back?" Orland shrugged and reached out to pinch Seli's cheek. "Want to trade her back? Just one Secret Realm Key... Ouch! Ouch, ouch! Let go!"

Seli glared at Orland, her eyes filled with fury. She refused to let go, biting down hard until blood began to flow.

"Let go! I told you—hiss!"

Orland endured the pain and yanked his hand back, but his finger was already bleeding. He raised his hand in anger, threatening to strike her.

Yet, the little girl looked up, bravely meeting his gaze. In her bright, tear-filled eyes, there was a clear sense of hatred!

"She hates me?"

Orland felt a jolt of alarm. He wondered what heinous act he could have committed to make even an innocent child hate him so much. *Cough, perhaps it's just because she's too young to understand,* he consoled himself. But that look made him unable to meet her eyes. He felt guilty.

His raised hand did not descend.

"Seli, good bite!" Elia shouted, gesturing to Seli; her voice was soft but still audible.

"Orland, release her first, and we can discuss other matters. Adult business shouldn't involve children!" Wendy said.

"Fine... ah! Let's talk about 'adult business' then!" Orland waved his hand, ordering his men to take Seli away, and said, "The leader of our Fearless Legion, 'Son of the Wind' Handsome Blood, was murdered! We suspect your Gale Squad did it!"

"Whoa!"

The moment those words were uttered, the entire crowd erupted in uproar. It wasn't just the members of the Fearless Legion; the onlookers gasped as well.

"'Son of the Wind' was supposed to be a Level 20 hero, right?"

"The Gale Squad members are all around Level 10..."

"Has Orland, that lackey, lost his mind?"

"Come to think of it, ever since 'Son of the Wind' died mysteriously, the Fearless Legion's leadership has left, the internal structure has split, and it's become a scattered mess, existing in name only..."

"But how is a bottom-feeder and lackey like Orland able to throw his weight around everywhere?"

"Could he be trying to become the leader himself?"

"Him? As if! Pfft!"

"Watch, someone will deal with him eventually!"

"When?"

Luo Yong gathered information from the crowd and roughly understood the cause and effect. Truth be told, the death of the "Son of the Wind" did have something to do with him, but Luo Yong had only been present; he hadn't actually struck the blow. That was the work of the madman Pang Ding. It could only be said that Handsome Blood had brought it upon himself.

However, Orland's character was truly vile; he was capable of anything. This time, his secret kidnapping of Seli had truly angered Luo Yong. Regardless of the motive, he should not have laid a hand on a child!

Although Wendy and the others had the "Death Dragonfly" in their possession, they were hesitant to act for fear of hurting Seli.

"If the team members can't handle it, the captain has to step in himself," Luo Yong muttered to himself. He backed out of the crowd and stealthily moved toward the Fearless Legion.