Chapter 162
Sui Lihua
Martell ran towards Connie and propped her up, offering her a Pill to recover her strength. Connie took it and felt a sliver of her strength returning.
All of a sudden, Martell heard a whistling sound as something hit the ground with great speed, releasing a cold mist that lowered the temperature of the chamber in an instant. Enough to make Martell shivered slightly.
The Beastfolk boy quickly stood before the defenseless Connie with a single sword. With his Mana depleted, he could no longer use his Skill.
“Relax, Martell. That one is not an enemy,” Connie chuckled.
From within the cold mist, a tall woman appeared and walked towards them slowly, each step she made was so light they made no sound.
Though the woman wore a white blindfold made of fine silk, it could not hide the uncanny beauty she possessed. She had high and pronounced cheekbones that gave the impression of confidence, lips as red as fresh blood; as well as long, lustrous hair as dark as a moonless night. Her hair was tied to a bun with fine silver-work that would be the envy of Nobility.
A Beastfolk? He thought, when he noticed the pair of furry ears that rose high above her head, similar to that of a bat. They were adorned with a pair of blue earrings that emitted an air of coldness.
Her clothing was similar in style to Connie. However, with more refinement and elegance. Intricate drawings of white flowers were sewn into light blue robe, draped over white dress. They were held in place by two ribbons tied and twisted together at her impossibly slender waist; one of light blue color and one of dark blue.
The blindfolded woman stopped in front of Connie – who was still lying on the ground, but had managed to prop herself up with the help of Martell - and bobbed slightly with her right hand above her left; the very image of frailty and elegance. As she did so, the hem of the luxurious dress that she wore touched the ground, which made Martell let out a small hiss.
“Sui Lihua of the Cave of Frozen Mirror. Here greets the Heavenly Poison King,” she continued as she bowed deeper. “Long live! Long Live! Long Live the Heavenly Poison King!”
“…or should this one say,” Sui Lihua tilted her head coquettishly, her hand gesturing daintily at her lips. “…Queen?”
“It’s good to see you’re in good humor, Lihua,” Connie said with a grimace. “It has been quite some time.”
“It truly has,” she agreed with a warm smile. “Of course, being sent to kill something ugly upon being summoned for the first time after quite a while, does lift this one’s spirit somewhat,” the woman said with a sharp sarcasm.
“And yet you seem happy.”
“A kill is a kill,” she paused after thinking for a moment. “Er…how should this one call you now, O Heavenly Poison King?”
“Mistress will suffice. It will avoid confusion in the long run. As for my old moniker, I will revive it in due time.”
“As you wish, Mistress. Oh, now that this one think about it, that ugly thing this one killed just now left us something interesting.” She then took out a piece of Essence Crystal wrapped in baleful Energy from within her sleeve and presented it to Connie.
While Connie received the piece of Essence Crystal, Yao-Er bounced from the ground and onto Lihua’s shoulder before making a series of little screeches.
“Greetings to you too, Senior Yao. Ever so loyal, and ever so small,” the woman placed a very thin and long finger upon the Golden Silkworm’s head while giving Martell a smile.
“You’ve been looking at this one for quite some time now, little Wolf.”
“Y-you are?”
“She is Sui Lihua. One of my Contracted Beast, the second Demon I made a contract with. That one is my disciple, Martell. Try not to tease him too much.”
“Oh, this one cannot promise you that,” she said with a chuckle.
“A…Demon?” Martell took a step back, wary.
“Demons in my world are not these…barbaric maneater we find here in Grea – well, most of them at least – and they bleed red. You can say that they are closer to Beastfolk.”
The beautiful Contracted Beast gestured with her little finger at her lips. “Oh, this one is indeed a maneater, you see,” she chuckled. “But not in the way you think.”
“Alright, alright, you can get to know each other later. For now, we need to take care of the corpses.”
After mustering enough strength, Connie walked towards the giant body of Bet-Zebek and noticed that he had quite an unusual Essence Crystal. With a grin of satisfaction, she stored the Essence Crystal, body parts and all, into her Item Ring.
Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
“Now then,” she spoke, content with what she obtained today. Both treasures and information. “let’s make our way back.”
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On the Fifth Floor, in the circular room where the party parted ways to face their respective opponent, Akula sighed. She was sitting down while cleaning her Sukheri, which was dripping with green blood and fat. She was feeling rather unfulfilled after taking down the Ur-Kulak named Hanad.
The Demon could summon his creations, and he could regenerate his own wounds using Advanced Healing Spells. But that was all. He had no chance of surviving a battle against Akula, whose raw strength had grown so much during her stint with Connie’s party that she could defeat an Ur-Kulak like Jala in a competition of pure strength.
Thus, she was expecting someone stronger. Which turned out to be quite a disappointment.
“Maybe I should’ve offered to help Connie instead,” she mumbled inaudibly. “No – no. I’ve promised her and I won’t break it. That’s not the way of a Tonsulde.”
Beside her was the Dark Elf Illumca, whose gaze haven’t moved at all from the direction of the path to Bet-Zebek’s chamber.
The Demon has all been eradicated as you ordered, Illumca. Leyn wrote on his slab. We’ve also informed your friends guarding the jailroom of our current situation.
Illumca waved him away with a nod of acknowledgment. Suddenly, Akula’s ears perked up and she drew herself up using her weapon as a prop. “Someone’s coming.”
The Dark Elves collectively drew their weapons. Their hands were trembling in cold sweat as they readied themselves for a fight. They knew that the warrior named Connie was strong, but they did not fully trust in her strength as they had seen what the skeletal monstrosity named Bet-Zebek was capable of.
A large shadow caused by the illumination of a torch loomed from the bend.
Arryn gulped; her breathing growing ragged from nervous vigilance.
Then they saw the large shadow getting smaller as the people creating it appeared. It was Connie, walking while leaning on the shoulder of a tall, beautiful stranger. They were followed by a haggard-looking Martell
“Connie!” Illumca and Akula’s voice overlapped as they quickly ran towards her.
“You are wounded!”
Connie smiled when she looked at them.
“I’ll live,” Connie waved her off. “But more importantly, did you finish what you set out to do?”
Illumca nodded firmly. “I have.”
“Good. Good.”
Bet-Zebek…is dead?! Arryn wrote on her slab with trembling hands, unable to believe what she heard.
“That bastard’s dead as a doornail. I made sure to destroy him down to his very soul.”
Connie took out the skull of the Demon, which was as big as an adult’s body, for all to see. “See for yourself. The bastard fused his Essence Crystal with that of another and turned into the monster whose head now lay before you.”
“H-how is it so big?!” Akula exclaimed in surprise. “How large is the body if the head is already so big?”
“Taller than the former mayor’s mansion, at the very least,” Martell commented. “It was a very hard fight.”
When the Dark Elves who saw the skull finally digested what they heard, some of them began to cry and they shouted in joy, not caring whether others could understand their intelligible shouts.
While everyone else was joyous, Illumca and Akula’s attention turned towards the stranger that had been keeping her silence; standing motionlessly behind Connie.
“And…who is this?” Illuma asked, her one eye narrowing suspiciously.
“She is strong,” Akula said with a grin.
“It was not this one’s intention to disturb the joyous occasion, thus this one’s silence. Nevertheless, let this one introduces oneself. This one is Sui Lihua. Loyal servant of the Heavenly Poison King. You can call this one, Madam Sui.”
Akula and Illumca’s eyes then turned towards Connie. She sighed at the aggressive look in their eyes and explained the circumstances and the identity of Sui Lihua.
“Is that so?” Illumca said, still unsatisfied with Connie’s explanation.
“Well, well. Well, well, well, well, well! What a look you are giving this one, darling. That’s a look this one knows very well,” the woman chuckled as she gestured with her fingers and turned her head slightly sideways, exuding the charm of a mature woman. “Rest assured. This one regards your paramour as family, and no more. It has been that way since she took this one down in a proper bet, witnessed by men of great repute, many years ago.”
The woman then looked at Illumca up and down. “Hmm, this one can see that you possessed of kingdom destroying beauty. Shame for the lack of charm and taste. Remember, no matter how beautiful one is, to charm one’s beloved, etiquette and manners should still be cultivated.” she then turned towards Akula, who was looking at her quizzically. “W-what are you looking at?”
“Mmm, as for you, darling. You are endowed with a gift many women would have killed to possess. Such large mountainous breasts, and nice great birthing hips. Excellent! Don’t let race stop you either. Why, this one once had a wonderful long relationship with a Giant,” she paused and thought for a few moments before continuing with her appraisal. “However, you are lacking in femininity. No matter, we can work on that.”
The two were lost in words after being so plainly assessed by the tall woman.
Akula was not easily embarrassed as she was used to talks about children and marriage from her frank family. But for some reason, it was still extremely embarrassing to be talked about by this clearly experienced woman.
“Which one is to your liking, Mistress? This one would like to see you properly wedded soon. This one preferred male to female, but let not such things get in your way. After all, Cultivators live very long lives, one could afford to experiment.”
“Whuh?” Akula took a step back in bewilderment.
Though Connie had lived a long life and been with many women, Sui Lihua’s frankness still managed to perturb her. It was like having a very nosy aunt trying to play matchmaker. Despite the clear feelings both parties have, the action still could embarrass both of them; regardless of age.
As such, when Connie spotted Caelin and Nick heading their way, she quickly changed the subject. She gestured to Martell to help her walk towards them and called out to the newcomers.
“Ah, there’s Nick and Caelin. Now we can get out of this depressing place! Gather everyone! We are returning to the surface!”
“Oh dear, there she goes again, that sensitive old coot. Makes this one wonder how her past self managed to get with Madam Fei.”
Akula and Illumca looked at the tall woman as she went to follow Connie, perplexed.
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After a good meal and a few hours of rest, Connie and everyone else prepared to go back to the surface and made plans.
Due to the number of people in jail who were still under the influence of Azure Dream and were rendered unable to walk, they had to carry them on carts. The Dark Elves had taken it upon themselves to protect the carts and leading the way out.
Without the interference of Demons, the way back was much smoother than it was when going in.
When they finally got out of the Dungeon, everyone cheered.
The sun was high in they sky and the heat of Untouchable Marshes made their skin slick with sweat. And though the air still smelled of the swamp they all breathed in as if they were breathing in the cleanest air from the top of an untouched mountain.
Finally, the long Dungeon Raid was over.