"Your strength... is more than just 'psychic', right? Could it be that you are a smelter?! Oh, yes, you are a warrior... Then, then you are the legendary... 'God of the Underworld'?! By the grace of God! I actually saw a real 'God of the Underworld' warrior!"
"Woooooooo..."
Qi Ji had a look of despair as she rubbed his cheeks wildly, not knowing what to say.
"Okay, okay, you are being too offensive..."
After all, Captain Frion was calm and composed. Seeing that Lina's actions were becoming more and more outrageous, he hurriedly stepped forward and grabbed her wizard robe to try to pull it apart. At the same time, he smiled apologetically at Qi Ji:
"I'm sorry, this guy tends to lose control when he gets excited..."
"Cough cough..."
After Frion and the male mage Io pulled Lina away together, Qi Ji, who had regained his freedom, cleared his throat, his face became slightly more serious, and he repeated the original question:
"What are you going to do with these people?"
As she spoke, she gestured with her eyes to the crowd in front and behind her.
It was then that the three members of Frion's team noticed that in addition to the vicious and weak witchers, there were also a dozen or so members of the transport caravan behind them who would do anything to save their lives.
"These guys, of course, should be sent to the gallows!"
Without even thinking, Lina pointed viciously at the group of demon hunters led by the handsome man.
"As for them..."
Then he turned around and looked at the transport caravan behind him, but was suddenly in trouble.
Even though they turned against her at the critical moment and attempted to join forces with the witchers to kill her, emotionally speaking, she certainly wanted to cut these "traitors" into pieces.
But in the end, they were all subdued by Xiao Xuelun before they could even start. According to the laws of the Holy Church, the crime was not punishable by death.
Qi Ji could see her entanglement, so he smiled and suggested:
"Why don't we just leave them here and take the witcher back with us?"
Hearing this, Lina's eyes suddenly lit up:
"Yes! Let's do it this way! Let's leave it to fate whether these bastards live or die!"
The reason why the transport caravan hired adventurers to escort them is, of course, that there are many dangers in this wild forest, and they need people with certain strength to guard against them.
It could be wild beasts or alien species, or it could be robbers or bandits - in short, this forest is definitely not safe.
A group of mortals without any extraordinary people were left here alone... I'm afraid they are in great danger.
However, it is not impossible to escape. After all, they all carry weapons to some extent, and they all know the way out, so it is unlikely that they will get lost in the mountains.
But it is also possible that before you wake up, you will be torn to pieces by the danger passing by.
Anyway, whether they can survive depends entirely on their luck and strength.
The three members of Friant's team all agreed that such punishment was commensurate with the crimes they had committed and was much more appropriate than killing them on the spot or settling the grudges.
"Where are you going? Where is this?"
Seeing that the three team members had no objection to his proposal, Qi Ji looked around and asked.
Logically, they should be in Lookout City now, but such a large expanse of wild forest with rugged terrain and primitive environment... does not look like the scenery around a prosperous metropolis.
"This is the Platinum Forest in the Yili County in the southern part of the Holy Church. We were originally escorting this group of white-eyed wolves through the forest to a small town."
Perhaps because he saw that Qi Ji was "teleported" here directly and was not familiar with the environment here, Friang explained in a relatively detailed tone:
"According to the original plan, we are going to go to Lookout City after everything is over."
"Yili County... Platinum Forest..."
Qi Ji quickly reviewed the map of the Holy Templar Kingdom in his mind, and then asked:
"Weren't you originally going to Lookout City with that caravan? Why did you separate?"
Yili County is an administrative division on the southern coast of the Templar State. The "Platinum Forest" and "Lookout City" are both within this division.
However, the distance between the two is quite far, and if you start from Stio next to the Great Forest of the East to go to Lookout City, it is not on the way to the Platinum Forest.
This means that Frion's team did not follow the caravan heading to Lookout City, but left halfway.
"Oh, this is because we don't have enough money. We have to temporarily stop working with that caravan and take on some other orders to make some money. Otherwise, we'll go hungry."
As he spoke, a look of anger and resentment appeared on Friant's face:
"Those people in Stio are really greedy..."
Hearing his tone and seeing his expression, Qi Ji immediately understood what was going on.
In all likelihood, they were blackmailed by the low-level clergy of Stio or the lackeys of the nobles... and would not be allowed to leave unless they paid the "release fee".
In the social environment of the feudal period, this was a common practice that was welcomed and seen.
"My deepest sympathies."
Qi Ji nodded seriously and said:
"I just happen to want to go to Lookout City as well. How about we go together?"
"No problem at all!"
Lina agreed on her own initiative before Captain Friang could.
Friang smiled bitterly, shook his head helplessly, and said nothing, tacitly agreeing to Lina's decision.
"But," said Io, a male mage who spoke little and had little presence, pointing at the demon hunters on the ground, "There are so many of them, how can we lead them out?"
"It's easy."
Qi Ji responded, his eyes lightly sweeping over the dozen or so people who had lost consciousness. Then a large area of star-like colorful light emerged from the ground, quickly wrapped around the bodies of those people, and then gradually faded away.
When the starlight completely disappeared in the night of the forest, the dozen or so figures also disappeared one by one.
"Thanks to Miss Sharon."
Friant smiled and thanked him, looking up at the sky.
"It's completely dark now. Let's leave the forest quickly while the moonlight is still bright. Otherwise, the alien species and wild beasts that appear will cause trouble."
"Ah."
Qi Ji nodded. Although she was not afraid of any exotic beasts, it was really annoying if strange things always came to her house to cause trouble.
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It’s a new week, remember to give a like before you go out~!
Chapter 393: Long-lost Companion (Part )
Captain Friong is an experienced adventurer and a skilled hunter himself. He can easily distinguish directions and situations in the mountains and forests and avoid possible dangers in advance.
So on the way out of the "Platinum Forest", Qi Ji was of no use. He just walked casually behind the team, chatting with Lina about random things as he walked.
It can be seen that this female mage is very curious about her own experiences.
She really wanted to know how Qi Ji faced the strange and terrifying "black cloud", and she also wanted to know where Qi Ji went and what he did after that.
I also want to know the origins of this mysterious, beautiful and extremely powerful black-haired girl.
But perhaps it was because he knew that the answers to these questions might involve some secret and sensitive areas. Since Qi Ji did not take the initiative to explain, it would not be appropriate for him to get to the bottom of it.
So out of basic respect, Lina never tried to probe or ask about Qi Ji's deeds during the more than half a month of "disappearance" along the way. She just kept sharing what her team had seen and heard during this period.
Most of the time, Qi Ji just smiled and remained silent, occasionally responding with an interjection. Her attitude seemed a little cold and perfunctory, but in Lina's eyes, she played the role of a competent listener and did not make people feel neglected at all.
Thanks to Friant's familiarity with the mountain environment, the group trekked through the rugged, winding, muddy primeval forest for less than an hour and arrived at a relatively flat and dry area without encountering any danger on the road.
Looking at the gradually sparse trees and vegetation around him, Qi Ji knew that they only had ten minutes left to leave the forest, so he asked Friang who was in the front:
"You are going to Lookout Castle later, right? Do you plan to take a carriage or a magic train?"
"Ms. Sharon, what are you saying? Where do we get the money to hire a carriage? As for the magic train..."
Friant turned his head slightly and said with a self-deprecating smile:
"Not to mention us, even the nobles can't sit here whenever they want."
Qi Ji was slightly stunned when he heard this, before he realized that the national conditions of the Templar Empire were different from those of the Glorious Plantagenet Empire.
Wage labor is not that developed here, and most coachmen are self-employed individuals. For short distances, the difference is not big, but for long-distance fares, the fares are much higher than those in the Empire.
Frion's team was so poor that they had to leave the caravan to earn extra money. How could they have enough money to hire a driver to take four people to a city hundreds of kilometers away?
As for the magic train... forget it.
The industrial technology of the Templar Empire is far inferior to that of the Glorious Plantagenet Empire. Although the gap in extraordinary technology is not big, it does have a means of transportation such as the magic train that is driven by spiritual power.
However, their number is much smaller, so the conditions for riding are more stringent. It is almost an exclusive privilege of the clergy of the Holy Church of Grace, and only priests are qualified to ride.
Others, even nobles, could not enjoy such convenience without the cumbersome and inefficient approval of local clergy.
"You guys...want to walk there?"
Qi Ji raised his eyebrows slightly.
"Of course," Friant said with an apologetic smile, "We will go to the nearest town first and hand over the demon hunters to the local security team in exchange for some bounty, and then use the money to travel to Overlook City on foot."
The fact that demon hunters can slaughter extraordinary people at will is definitely related to the tacit approval of local law enforcement forces - or at least the deliberate failure to supervise them.
After all, for those extraordinary people who have not and are unlikely to become "prey", they are quite happy to see some extraordinary materials that are easy to absorb, of excellent quality and highly functional circulate in the market.
These extraordinary people are often in high positions and have the ability to order their subordinates to turn a blind eye to the evil deeds of demon hunters. As for the grassroots security teams, most of them will not object to such a request that can reduce their workload.
Therefore, if only two or three demon hunters were captured and handed over to the security team, as long as their boss gave a little benefit, they could be easily redeemed from the cell.
However, if the demon hunter team was wiped out and collectively sent to the security team, no one would be able to use profit means to redeem them...
Then, the security team and its managers will not refuse this gift to seek credit from their superiors for performance.
In short, those demon hunters are basically going to be sent to the gallows, and Frion's team also has the means to gain some benefits in the meantime.
"It will take at least a month, right?"
There are no national highways or expressways in the human civilization of this world. The areas between cities are truly primitive areas, and the only supplies on the road are intermittent post stations.
Even if they didn't encounter robbers or alien monsters, it was normal for travelers to die of illness or starvation due to the long journey.
To cover nearly 200 kilometers by foot alone, a month would be the most optimistic estimate.
"Almost," Friant said after thinking for a few seconds while gazing at the moon. "If nothing unexpected happens, we should be able to reach Lookout City before the Mage Conference."
"Mage Conference?"
This word made Qi Ji feel familiar inexplicably. She immediately thought of something and asked:
"By the way, what are you going to do in Lookout City?"
She went to Lookout City herself to investigate with the Order of Saint Hydra, trying to find a way to enter the Gray Forest, or at least figure out where in the world the "distorted land" was.
But what about Frion's team? Qi Ji originally thought that it was just because the caravan was going to Lookout City, and as the commissioned adventurers, the team must go with them.
But now the two have separated, and Frion's team is still going to Lookout City, which means they have their own purpose in going to that developed port city on the southern coast.
"Of course, we go find our mentor!"
Lina smiled and explained for her captain:
"This year's Mage Conference is being held on Jielian Island! It just so happens that Io and I are almost at the point of updating our level assessment, so we'll go to the conference to find our mentor~!"
Hearing her words, Qi Ji suddenly realized why he was familiar with the term "Mage Conference" just now.
A year ago, the "Moon Viewing Valley Demon Fighter" who rushed into a large group of high-level mages and magicians and made a lot of noise alone, disrupted a mage gathering called a "Mage Conference"!
Although there is no unified organization of all wizards in this world like the "Magic Association" or "Mage Association" in Japanese fantasy, perhaps because the wizard group has a certain degree of academic research attributes, their cohesion is indeed much higher than that of warriors and clergy.
Every once in a while, the best, most prestigious, and most famous mages would gather together to hold meetings to exchange their research results on the magic system or to support those qualified and talented younger generations.
This also includes the "mentors" assessing the levels of their students in order to update the levels and resumes recorded in their "official files".
By then, most of the mages with rich academic achievements and high strength in the world will be present, which can be said to be a gathering of heroes.
"Yes, if you want to go to Jielian Island, the safest, most time-saving and convenient way is to take a boat from the port of Lookout City." Friang said with a smile.
Qi Ji had explained to everyone in the team before that he was not the "Moon Valley Magic Fighter" who caused a scene at the last Mage Conference. He said that in Stio just to fool the Church Knights.
Therefore, everyone did not shy away from this topic...but Qi Ji could see that Frion didn't really believe what he said, but he just didn't want to go against his will, so he pretended to believe it.
But it doesn't matter. There is no need to clarify this misunderstanding at the moment. Even if he is sure that he is the "Moon Valley Demon Fighter", it doesn't matter. Qi Ji doesn't care.
