Chapter 96: Dancing on the Edge of a Blade

Although the Gaoge Camp wasn't large, news traveled fast. Wendy and her companions had barely returned when camp guards hurried over to verify the quest items. Wendy stayed close throughout the inventory process, while the others replenished their supplies in the general store.

"Your squad did well this time!" The ones sent to confirm the items were none other than the cold-faced guard and the bearded one, both of whom Royong knew. They were also fairly familiar with Wendy.

As they counted, they chatted idly.

"How did you manage so quickly? And with such a large haul?" The cold-faced guard seemed perplexed. He knew Wendy and her team were generally weaker than the Death Reaper Dragonflies; even with every trick in the book, the outcome shouldn't have been so impressive.

"Our captain has the power of money," Wendy replied with a mysterious smile, using a phrase she'd learned from Royong.

"Superpower?"

"Is this another new magic system?" The cold-faced guard muttered, but didn't press further.

Every hero's personal information was protected after initial registration; under normal circumstances, others had no right to inquire. Thus, as one grew, no matter what abilities or opportunities they gained, there was no need to report. However, voluntary reporting came with certain rewards. Both options had their pros and cons—each person chose for themselves.

"It seems your Gale Squad will be the ultimate winner in this quest," the cold-faced guard said, recording everything and handing Wendy a list to sign as confirmation. "This will be your proof of mission completion."

The bearded guard handed her a card, which detailed the quest and Gale Squad's performance. "You'll need this to claim your reward later. Keep it safe."

"Alright," Wendy replied with a smile, watching them depart.

Then, her teammates gathered around.

"What do you think the reward will be?" asked the Wild Hunter.

"I'm so excited! We haven't—uh, actually, almost never—received a mission reward from the camp before!" Elia exclaimed.

"That's because we've never actually completed a camp-issued quest," the Storm Sorcerer replied, rolling his eyes.

"I don't know. The quest has just begun; other squads may still need some time," Wendy glanced at her teammates and shook her head. "We'll find out soon enough."

"Um..." Lilian spoke softly from the side, "Shouldn't we go check on the captain? He's all alone..."

"No need!" the Barbarian Priest declared. "That kind of worry is pointless. He won't be attacked by monsters!"

Lilian fell silent, uncertain whether their trust in Royong was genuine or blind. Perhaps their mutual trust was simply unconditional.

Blind faith.

Yet, at that moment, Royong's situation was indeed precarious.

During his support bombardment, everything had gone according to plan. Dodo had gathered what she needed among the countless fragments. But once the squad departed, all the Death Reaper Dragonflies lost their targets and began circling endlessly above the Land of Divine Tears, occasionally suffering fierce attacks.

This ruthless tactic had left the dragonflies stunned.

And then, a smaller yet faster, stronger, and more rapidly beating Death Reaper Dragonfly appeared. Its compound eyes glimmered with a hazy light, and it instantly locked onto Royong.

In that instant, Royong felt a chill. He activated his blink skill and vanished, appearing far off. But as soon as he materialized, brilliance flashed before his eyes—the dragonfly had followed him like a shadow, darting toward him with lightning speed!

"Damn!" Its speed far surpassed Royong's expectations, reminiscent of the level 25 spider monsters in Fear Canyon. But according to intelligence, there shouldn't be any monsters here above level 20!

In such a scenario, a slower hero—even with a tactical scroll, that game-breaking weapon—wouldn't have time to activate the scroll's spell array and would meet their end.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!

Royong blinked repeatedly.

Swish, swish, swish!

The Death Reaper Dragonfly always managed to strike at him the instant he appeared.

"Dammit, this is outrageous!" Royong grumbled as he ran, prying at the rune gems on his longsword.

As the sword transformed into a [Fangtian Halberd], he embedded a +3 stamina rune gem—recently acquired from the elven elder through some... well, negotiation.

He doubted he could have fooled someone who'd lived so long. The elder agreed to the exchange only because it benefited him. The elves were honest, but that didn't mean they lacked intelligence; in fact, their overall intellect was quite high—much like their beauty.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!

After several more blinks, the dragonfly had begun to anticipate Royong's movements, waiting at his next location before he even arrived.

"It really does have intelligence—capable of some level of mental attack!" Royong felt some interference as he blinked. Fortunately, he had studied mental attack magic and could neutralize it, or else this would have been truly dangerous.

Now, gripping his transformed Disguised Blade, he prepared to unleash a mighty strike and slay this mutated Death Reaper Dragonfly!

He hadn't noticed before he arrived, but suddenly realized: if the dragonfly card belonged to a separate series, and he managed to collect them all at once, he could lift the level cap and embark on the path to ultimate power!

With that thought, he deliberately changed his blink distance and direction, confusing the mutated dragonfly, causing it to misjudge and miss its attack.

Buzz!

The dragonfly vibrated its wings fiercely, releasing a wave of strange energy. Its compound eyes shone with dazzling light.

"A mutated Death Reaper Dragonfly!"

Meanwhile, far away on a cliff, a squad watched the scene intently. They had just arrived, having not used the direct teleport scroll.

"That was close! Lucky we didn't act rashly—the dragonflies here have all been disturbed by those who came before!"

"Steadiness above all, patience is the way!"

"Let's observe the situation first and prepare some trap materials. Once the dragonflies settle and fall asleep, we'll make our move."

"I say, why not use the tactical scroll amidst the chaos? If we're lucky, we might blow up a few, pick up the loot, and finish the quest."

"No way! That tactical scroll is far too precious to use lightly!"

"But didn't the general store recently lower the price on scrolls?"

"Lower prices compared to that old, outrageously expensive magic shop, but for us, it's still costly!"

"A little expensive is normal; if every squad could afford them and greeted each other with tactical scrolls, the world would be in chaos!"

"Tch, your world is fragile indeed, if a few scrolls could throw it into disorder!"

"Shh! Quiet!"

Their leader waved his arm impatiently, signaling his teammates to hush.

"Something seems off..."

"What's wrong—hey, wait..."

"There's someone over there!"

At the captain's word, the squad gazed into the distance. Deep in the Land of Divine Tears, a streak of light moved at incredible speed, with a trail of shimmering color following close behind. The scene looked dreamlike, almost like a fairy tale.

"That light..."

"That ethereal color..."

"There's someone! Someone in the Land of Divine Tears!"

"Oh damn! That's definitely a mutated Death Reaper Dragonfly! Nothing else could produce those colors!"

Two members exclaimed in disbelief, and everyone exchanged incredulous glances.

"Who is it? Who could be so bold, refusing to retreat and lingering here? Incredible!"

"Dancing on a knife's edge! That's playing with death!"

"Perhaps it's some big shot from the Mage Guild or Hero Association, on a special mission," someone speculated.

"What kind of special mission?"

"Like, the questing squad spotted the mutated dragonfly and notified the Mage Guild or Hero Association, so the two powers sent a powerful warrior to eliminate the monster and clear the way..."

"Thanks for painting them in such a glorious light—now I believe in 'radiance' again."

"Stop guessing—no point. For now, let's just quietly observe," the squad leader said.

"So... does that mean we can skip setting traps?" a teammate asked.

No one answered.

Because they heard a loud shout—

"Unrivaled!"

Royong had circled for ages, blinking non-stop, finally luring the mutated dragonfly close. Several blinks nearly saw him caught. At last, it stopped ascending, continuing low flight as it seemed to realize its foe couldn't fly.

With a cry of "Unrivaled!", Royong's Fangtian Halberd struck the dragonfly with force.

Boom!

A flash of light, a burst of color.

A fierce collision erupted between them!

A surge of powerful magical energy rippled outward from their center in all directions.

Then came a series of thunderous booms, as if someone were pounding a mighty drum in the wide valley.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Each sound shook the heart as if it might burst from one's chest.