Chapter 70: A Different Lucia

Looking back at the young lady, Rod couldn’t help but frown slightly. Staring at her, he finally spoke—and it was such a sentence. Feeling a bit puzzled, could something have happened?

The young lady’s expression remained as calm as before, just as composed as when she was attacked, though with an added sense of determination. If not for that, Rod would have classified her as one of those icy people.

“Why?” Rod asked doubtfully after a moment of silence. There must be a reason or excuse, right? Staying here seemed to bring no benefits to anyone—only drawbacks, endless danger. He certainly didn’t want to stay longer in such a place.

Just like Rod, the others also turned their attention to the young lady, watching this pure and serene woman as she quietly waited for her answer.

“There are people hunting us outside. Although this place is dangerous, it’s definitely much better than outside! If they could find us in such a short time yesterday, it means they have many spies. I guarantee that as soon as we leave, they’ll get the news right away. I don’t need to explain what will happen then. On the contrary, this place is far less dangerous than outside!” Taking a deep breath, she met Rod’s questioning gaze and spoke slowly, tilting her head slightly. At that moment, her appearance even captivated Rod a bit.

He quickly snapped out of it and shook his head, dismissing that thought. Damn it, how could he think like that? Shouldn’t he hate her? Could beauty grant her special privileges to forgive everything?

“Hmm, Rod, this young lady is right. We almost forgot—those damned guys are still out there, watching us. If we go outside, the result will be…” After a silence, Aida said helplessly with a grim expression.

They had almost forgotten such an important matter—apparently, their experience was still lacking. If the captain and the others were here, surely… Suddenly, their mood grew heavy again.

“Damn it!” Frowning tightly, he cursed loudly. Indeed, this was the most troublesome issue right now—poor communication made it impossible to seek help. It was frustrating! If only there were something called a mobile phone in this world… At that moment, Rod thought to himself.

“We can stay here for a while. Of course, we can follow the edge of this Magical Beast Forest, head northeast, enter the city from Blackstone City, and then circle around to the capital. That way, we’ll be entering the capital from the other side. I’m sure those men in black wouldn’t expect us to do this!” She bit her lip, seemingly hesitating, but after some deliberation, she continued. “Hm?” Rod couldn’t help but express his confusion, then looked straight at her, inwardly surprised—unlike what he thought, she wasn’t just a pretty face; she was quite thoughtful. Could it be that her family had trained her like this? At that moment, Rod felt a hint of doubt. Just like Rod, everyone else also began to view her with new respect. “Mm, okay. This might be the safest approach. Follow the edge, don’t go too far out, and don’t go too deep. With our group, we shouldn’t face much danger in such an environment, nor will we be noticed. I’m sure those men in black won’t expect us to take this route to Blackstone City!” Bit and Ada agreed. Blackstone City was in the north of the empire, while they were currently in the south—completely opposite. It was indeed a clever plan. “My name is Lucia. You can call me that from now on,” she said softly, a rare smile appearing on her face as she saw everyone accept her idea. “Lucia.” It seems like a nice name! Rod thought to himself. After some discussion, Bit, the more experienced mercenary, found that their current location was quite suitable after some exploration. So, after confirming the location and direction, the six of them set off toward Blackstone City while it was still early. Following the Magical Beast Forest, they didn’t encounter any signs of people along the way, which didn’t seem strange to anyone.

After all, although this place is called the Warcraft Forest, there aren’t actually many magical beasts here. Those in the outer areas are mostly weak ones, and even the stronger ones aren’t worth much—like the Toothsword Beasts. The truly valuable beasts are in the middle or deeper layers, and it’s suicide to try to enter without enough strength. Even those strong enough wouldn’t risk it here. Collins Forest is the better choice! So, compared to these worthless and difficult-to-handle beasts, people naturally prefer Collins Forest. Though it’s more dangerous there, it’s worth it. This is why few adventurers and mercenaries come here—they prefer to take risks in Collins Forest!

Sure enough, we didn’t encounter any trouble along the way until the noon break. After traveling all this time, we only ran into two insignificant magical beasts. One advanced beast was killed instantly, and the other, a bronze-tier beast, was easily dealt with after a brief fight at Rod’s initiative. We also obtained our first magic crystal. Even bronze-tier beasts have magic crystals—these are the truly valuable things. Spending a few dozen or hundreds of gold coins on them isn’t unusual at all.

For lunch, thanks to Bit’s preparation, the meat from the Toothsword Beasts filled everyone’s stomachs. I have to say, Bit is quite skilled in cooking. Of course, maybe Aida was frustrated—her magic as a great mage ended up being used as a tool to start a fire. How could she not be upset?

After eating, we didn’t rest but continued on our journey. We didn’t know where we’d end up after a day of travel. Anyway, according to the plan, we wouldn’t arrive in Blackstone City until the day after tomorrow, so there was no rush to explore. The long journey left everyone exhausted as darkness fell.

The Warcraft Forest at night is the most terrifying place. So, after finding a relatively safe spot and assigning people to take turns on watch, we could finally relax a bit and enjoy a rare rest.

……

It was Rod and Chelly’s turn to be on watch in the middle of the night. Standing in the open area, looking at the sleeping group behind us, they sighed. Gazing at the vast, pitch-black sky, they felt deep emotions. It seemed they hadn’t had any good luck since arriving in this world—why did they always have to endure such difficult circumstances? Thinking about it made them feel frustrated and angry.

With another sigh, they sat down, drew out their Dark Dragon, and gently stroked its lightweight blade before a faint smile appeared on their lips.

Glancing back at the few who were resting, his gaze settled on Lucia. This girl, who seemed like a noble lady, appeared to be no ordinary person—that was his impression of her after just one day. Her knowledge of the Magic Beast Forest surpassed even that of the experienced mercenaries Bit, Ada, and Chelly. She was also extremely familiar with the local geography and terrain, almost making everyone think she had been here many times before. As a result, she led the way throughout the day’s journey.

As night fell, the Magic Beast Forest was far from peaceful. From time to time, the howls of wild beasts could be heard, causing unease. Shaking his head to calm himself down, Rod began to study carefully the techniques and secrets that had been unlocked after his breakthrough today, as well as a brand-new sword move—Autumn Wind! The Autumn Wind Sword technique relied on sweeping the enemy away like autumn winds sweeping fallen leaves, leaving no chance for them to resist.

Standing still, he slowly demonstrated the move. After several attempts, Rod smiled wryly. It was difficult—this seemingly simple sword technique turned out to be even harder than the Shadowless Sword.

“Xuanyuan, can you explain it to me?” With a wry smile, Rod could only place his hopes on Xuanyuan, as after all, this set of sword moves was created by him. No one else was more qualified to explain them.

“Whether you choose to learn it or not, if even this confuses you, what will you do with the rest? Alright, let me explain. In sword practice, sword techniques are generally divided into ‘standing sword’ and ‘moving sword.’ ‘Standing sword’ involves quick and agile movements, with steady, sculptural stillness. ‘Moving sword,’ on the other hand, features fewer pauses, with continuous, even, and resilient movements. The Shadowless Sword you learned before belongs to the ‘standing sword’ category, while this Autumn Wind move belongs to the ‘moving sword’ category. They are different concepts, so you need to treat them separately. If you keep comparing it to the Shadowless Sword, of course you won’t be able to master it!”

In the next moment, the dissatisfied complaints of the Xuanyuan Sword Spirit came through. After complaining, it sighed and continued, “It’s the same old thing. A set of sword techniques can yield a hundred different results when practiced by a hundred people, because the techniques are fixed, but people are alive. Remember to integrate your own thoughts into them. The most important thing is to let your body guide the sword, achieving unity between the sword and the self. Only then can you unleash its full power and reach the pinnacle of swordsmanship!”

“Well, I won’t say more. You should figure it out on your own. If you can’t even grasp this, then better not bother learning this Shadow Dragon Sword technique!” With that, Xuan Yuan fell silent, leaving Rod alone in frustration.

Observing Rod quietly, Xuan Yuan sighed inwardly. Without saying a word, he realized that Rod’s comprehension was actually quite good—evident from his ability to reach a basic level in the Shadow Sword technique in such a short time. One could only imagine how terrifying its power would be if mastered to a high or even perfect level. Most people would likely take ten or eight years just to reach such a stage!

That damned Sword Spirit seemed to be growing bolder, and it was clear that its thoughts had matured significantly, becoming much more refined than before. Another lesson, unexpectedly! Sensing the disappearance of the Sword Spirit, Rod grumbled to himself.

After a long night of torment, they finally endured it. As dawn broke, everyone woke up, got themselves ready, and quickly continued onward. Throughout the rest of the night, Rod spent time thinking and studying. Hard work pays off—he hadn’t strayed from the path and had managed to grasp some basics, which lifted his spirits.

The group moved forward slowly, their good mood from the smooth progress of the previous day. So, at that moment, no one noticed that behind them, a pair of dark eyes glowing with a bloodthirsty light were fixed on them, silently following the group.