Rita thought for less than half a minute before giving her answer. "I’ll gamble with the demons."
The demon wager only restrained Lania Kaia for two years, but they would first unlock a ti skill for her. That alone was part of the paynt.
Two years... if she really could take first place in three consecutive Divine Gas and evolve her divine talent, then given two more years, she was certain she could make Lania Kaia never dare invade again.
And if she failed... the cost of losing to the demons was lighter than losing to the gods.
"I want to unlock [Waste Guide]."
The mont the gamble was sealed, crimson curtains of light appeared behind the Lania Kaia leaders. Chains lashed out, dragging them all back into Lania Kaia.
The Divine Ga would give them an explanation.
On the battlefield, every Lania Kaia alien above level 40 was pulled away by chains from the void.
As their numbers thinned, cries and cheers of survival rang out. Rita quickly relayed the situation to Shadow.Q, who passed the orders on.
The Lania Kaia army would no longer grow, but enemies below level 40 remained. The battle continued.
The players’ weariness, solemnity, and grief evaporated. The monsters were the sa, but their mindset had completely changed.
One after another, they looked radiant.
Before, it had been a desperate war for survival. Now, it was leveling ti.
Before, everyone was a comrade. Now, everyone looked like competition for monster kills.
"Party up, need a healer."
"Heroic spirit here! I’m a BlueStar heroic spirit, party first!"
"Salute! Next ti for sure."
"I’ve bled for BlueStar..."
"Top-tier DPS looking for group!"
The war was on hold. The shine of human virtue could be shelved for now.
Shadow.Q and B8017913 appeared at Rita’s side. They knew sothing was off with her and ca to support her.
Nivalis didn’t rush to resu her dragon form. As a weapon in Rita’s hand, she provided bonuses, and her icy flas helped numb pain and keep Rita’s mind clear.
No matter how hard it had been, the most dangerous mont was past.
B8017913 said, "Once you recover, you have to contract back... I’m not joking, I’m actually pissed."
But its voice unconsciously softened by several degrees.
It hovered at Rita’s side, letting her lean against its ch.
Just as Shadow.Q was about to speak to the newly crowned BlueStar Judge, a curtain of water suddenly opened in front of Rita.
Though on the verge of fainting, Rita instantly snapped into battle stance, tilting her head slightly to listen.
What Lightchaser saw as she stepped through the water curtain was this.
Her grown apprentice, half her body gray, gripping a dagger in her left hand—the exact stance she herself had taught—eyes closed, muscles taut, demanding, "Who!"
Ice flas swirled around her. Her hair, dyed by ice magic, shone pale blue, and blazing wings of light nearly rged with the sunset at her back.
Her hand trembled slightly on the dagger, a rookie mistake for an assassin. But it wasn’t fear. Her apprentice was simply at the end of her strength.
She must have fought through a long and brutal battle. The curses and debuffs on her were so thick they even obscured the person beside her. Her max HP had been sealed by seventy percent. Yet the platinum battle robe suited her, this apprentice of hers who actually looked good in light’s colors.
Lightchaser stepped forward, fully erging from the curtain.
Her apprentice answered with a warning. "State your purpose."
Maybe she sensed no hostility. Or maybe she simply had no strength left to fight again. She questioned, but didn’t strike.
Lightchaser stepped forward again, her black wolfskin boots sending ripples through the air. Her cape twisted into cords in the high-altitude wind, snapping with a muffled crack.
Her apprentice’s ears twitched.
She rembered how her apprentice always teased her about that cape—why wear one so narrow it couldn’t even cover her shoulders, and why let it make noise in strong wind, wasn’t she afraid of being discovered?
She never bothered explaining that this was assassin flair, and that once her enemies knew it was her, they’d be too afraid to admit they noticed.
Her apprentice shifted her stance again, like a startled cat.
No, not startled. There was no fear on her face. Only doubt, vigilance, killing intent, and fighting spirit.
Her friends and the ch blocked her line of sight. Rita shoved them aside, exasperated. "Don’t play dumb, hurry up and describe her. White Bear or Orchid Mantis? Death Eater? Wavy-hair lady?"
So many weird acquaintances...
Lightchaser couldn’t help the twitch at her lips.
—"An elf. She’s an elf."
—"Elf? The blood elf queen? Didn’t I already beat her back?!"
—"Well, not quite like the Lania Kaia elves. I can’t explain it."
Then her apprentice’s dagger started talking. "I got this! She’s super tall, long silver-gray hair—like the color Sanchez always wanted to dye—gray-blue eyes, leather armor, long sword on her back. Do you know her? I saw her smile at you just now. Pretty creepy smile too."
Her apprentice then muttered weakly, "I don’t know any elves... I only deal with owlbeasts and moonfoxes."
Lightchaser: "..."
In the blink of an eye, the elf appeared right in front of her apprentice. Less than half a ter apart, her shadow almost swallowed Rita whole.
Her voice was cold and slow, like a dagger sliding free of its sheath. "I ca for my apprentice."
The next second, Rita finally relaxed. Her face softened, her body went limp, and she collapsed backward, her grip on the dagger loosening as it fell.
The ch dropped to one knee in midair, catching her.
Lightchaser stood silent for a few seconds. She lifted her gaze to the sunset, inhaled deeply, and exhaled with a wry laugh.
Shadow.Q glanced at his watch, then gave the elf a polite smile. "I’ve got things to do, so I’ll head out. Since you’re the Judge’s teacher, BlueStar welcos you."
He didn’t know who she was, but she clearly ant no harm. And Rita... well, her fainting act was almost too clumsy.
B8017913, holding Rita: "..." Honestly, it wanted to leave too.
This being was powerful, clearly close to Rita, and if even Rita had to pull the fake-faint trick... this one’s temper must be hard to handle.
Nivalis wasn’t afraid. She could sense the emotions coming off the elf—worry, urgency, longing, and yes, anger.
It seed she had co to BlueStar specifically for Rita. Nivalis was curious about anyone connected to Rita, but she hadn’t seen this elf before. Did they et in that Divine Ga she and B8 couldn’t enter?
She circled the elf a few tis, eyes wide with curiosity. "You ca for your apprentice? Your apprentice is Rita?"
The na instantly stoked Lightchaser’s temper. But when her eyes fell on her apprentice, when she rembered the sight she had walked in on, she forced down her bad mood. Calmly, she answered, "Yes."
Sensing the elf’s helpless relief, Rita’s nervous but moved emotions behind her, Nivalis’ eyes glimred with mischief. She asked slyly, "So which teacher are you? A new one? I’ve never seen you before."
B8017913: ... It’s over.
Rita: ... I’m dead!!!
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