Chapter 35: Locals of the World

Chapter 35: Locals of the World "Excalibur?" Xu Tao muttered, recognizing Arthur’s sword. "What’s wrong?" he asked. Of course, a sword had no way of transmitting thought. It might be sentient, but it couldn’t speak. Thus, it could only gesture toward the forest where Arthur went, and wave around in panic. "Huh?" Even the others were confused about what it wanted to relay. Its movements were erratic, as if it was in a panic. "I don’t know what’s happening, but," Xu Tao raised a hand, stopping the sword. "You’re telling me that Arthur’s in danger, is that right?" At this question, the sword tipped its end down, as if nodding. "Alright." Xu Tao sighed. "Then, I’ll go. Jehanne, you stay and protect this place with the rest. Pepe... come with me, just in case." "Pui~!" The little pumpkin jumped up in celebration before riding on top of Xu Tao’s head. It was visibly excited for another "outing." "Are you sure?" But Jehanne, on the other hand, was worried. "Shouldn’t I go instead?" "It’s fine." Xu Tao decided on this mainly because Arthur was now in "danger" based on Excalibur’s actions. And Arthur was on par with Jehanne in terms of strength, meaning letting Jehanne go might just increase the casualties, if any. Thus, the most logical choice was for Xu Tao to go himself. If there was an enemy powerful enough to subdue Arthur, then Xu Tao could at least ensure he could run to safety, no matter what happened. At worst, he could use forbidden techniques to eliminate the threat, but that was just a backup plan for the backup plan. "Lead the way!" With Xu Tao urging the sword, it began to fly through the air, going in a straight line. Without missing a beat, Xu Tao let Qi fill his legs as he activated another movement technique—Cloud Steps—allowing him to "run" through air. The sword flew fast, as fast as a speeding car, heading straight toward the forest that remained unexplored, in the direction of the visible mountain. The same forest Arthur had entered earlier. Xu Tao could barely keep up, running through treetops while following it. And then, about 30 minutes later, they finally came to a stop. "Arthur!" Xu Tao shouted as he landed nearby, taking a few steps to step out of the shrubberies and into a wide, open space. "Hmm? Ah, Sir Xu Tao." And in the middle of the clearing stood Arthur, top half of his attire missing, with his pants loosely hanging. His skin was glistening under the light filtered through the forest canopy, showing that he was sweating profusely. "..." Around him, several bodies lay dead—no, unconscious. "You..." Xu Tao, seeing the state of the few figures, couldn’t help but frown. "What did you do?" The ones lying on the ground looked like humans, but their ears were sharp, and their skin color was the same as Jehanne’s bunny suit leotard—chocolate brown. They were barely clothed, only a strap of roughly processed fur around their chest and waist, hiding their sensitive places. But none of the fainted creatures looked injured. Rather, their expressions were twisted in a mix of agony and... ecstasy. "Ah, this?" Arthur scratched his head, eyeing the aftermath of what he did. "Well... they suddenly came to me when I was in the middle of calming down. They offered to help, and... this happened." "Alright, that’s enough..." Even without hearing the full story, Xu Tao could already guess what happened. He looked over at Excalibur, who was floating beside him, looking like it had its back turned toward Arthur and was sobbing. ’So Arthur wasn’t in danger, but this sword got jealous after its owner embraced a few other women...’ Right, the seven sharp-eared, chocolate-skinned, skimpy-dressed figures lying on the ground... all of them were identifiable as women at a glance! As he was gazing at one for too long, the System responded as usual, popping up a new notification. Their names were, however, in a weird color—green. [Dark Elf Irithel – Lv. 109] "..." Xu Tao checked all of them, and they all had the words "Dark Elf" attached to their names. Without much guessing, he figured it must be their race name, and the next word after that being their individual names. ’But level 100s? They’re quite strong...’ They were about as high-level as the current Xu Tao. But well, compared to Arthur or Jehanne, they were still far off. "So..." he asked, eyeing Arthur who was starting to get dressed. "What are you going to do next? Kill them?" To Xu Tao, anything alive in this place other than him or those called by the system—gacha or not—were enemies. Thus, he wouldn’t hesitate to take their lives, even if they looked human enough. Even Excalibur beside Xu Tao seemingly agreed, nodding many times to this suggestion. "No, actually." Arthur explained. "We had a bet before we started. They said if I managed to beat all of them in one go, then they’ll willingly become mine—slaves or whatever." "...Huh?" "So, I was about to get your permission." He continued. "They seem to be locals, so I think we would benefit from their help, no?" Xu Tao pondered for a moment. It was true that they knew literally nothing about this world, including what sort of dangers it possessed. But still, he felt a little averse to bringing in women who’d embrace someone they met randomly in a forest. Well, Arthur was to blame for that too, but it went both ways. He thought long and hard, before letting out a sigh. "Let’s hear what the others say first. We’re not the only ones in this circle, after all." "Sounds fair enough." Arthur nodded. "Then, I’ll carry them with me." Xu Tao raised a brow, feeling Arthur was pampering them too much. "What? Can’t you just wake them up—" "Even if I did, I doubt they could walk normally right now..." But Arthur’s words made him shut up. Xu Tao had long forgotten the pleasures of the flesh, as he had lived over several thousand years without doing the act. That’s excluding the long time he spent in seclusion too. Thus, he forgot that women usually became bedridden after he was done with them. "Right... Just say if you need help." Xu Tao nodded with understanding. "Ah, then please carry two of them." Arthur, of course, didn’t hold back since help was offered. "I don’t think I can carry all seven at once." "..." Xu Tao sighed, waving his hand. As he did, four of the seven bodies floated mid-air, before getting "dragged" along as he walked back. Arthur carried the remaining three all over his body—two slumped on either shoulder, and one carried in his arms—the strongest one of them all, Irithel. But as they continued walking, Xu Tao suddenly shivered. "For some reason, I’m getting chills..." His instincts were telling him that, as soon as he got back... more chaos would unfold. The most uptodate novels are published on fr(e)ewebnov(e)l.com