Chapter 46: Awakening and Assembly

When the sun rose, and its rays filtered through the curtains into the room, Xiluo’er opened her eyes, confirming her suspicions.

Having been forced into service as a human pillow all night, her sleep quality had indeed been far from ideal.

“Good morning, Xiluo’er.”

“Mmm… morning, Sister Eve.”

Rubbing her sleepy eyes, Xiluo’er sat up.

“Sister Eve, I’m going back to my room to change first.”

“Don’t we need to meet up with the City Lord’s people early today?”

Eve nodded. “Go ahead.”

Yet, as she watched Xiluo’er, wrapped in a bath towel, leave her room, Eve couldn’t help but frown.

‘How strange,’ she mused. ‘Why do I feel so utterly drained?’

‘I didn’t do anything yesterday, just slept while holding Xiluo’er. So why do I feel so exhausted?’

‘It’s peculiar. It feels as if I did something strenuous, even though I didn’t.’

Eve simply felt that she had expended something last night. Though she wasn’t sure what it was, she could affirm it certainly wasn’t physical energy.

Indeed, she hadn’t engaged in any activities requiring physical exertion last night.

****

Meanwhile, Xiluo’er, having changed her clothes, concealed the items she had prepared on her person.

‘Hmm, two small bottles each of Fire-Crocodile Tree sap and Corrosive Glowgrass powder. Then, my weapons…’

Even though she hadn’t rested well last night, Xiluo’er knew she had only one chance today. She was now poised, an arrow on the string, with no choice but to let it fly.

Just as she was tidying her belongings, Xiluo’er suddenly heard a triumphant laugh.

‘Who’s there?’

Xiluo’er instantly grew alert, and the dagger she had just hidden appeared in her hand in a flash.

‘Someone snuck into my room? Who is it? Did they see me preparing my things?’

However, after scanning the room, Xiluo’er saw nothing. Just then, the laughter rang out once more.

It was five parts smug and slightly arrogant, two parts happy, two parts mocking, and one part childish.

In that moment, Xiluo’er understood why the laugh sounded so familiar. Wasn’t this the quintessential ‘bratty loli’ laugh?

“You did well, you did so well!”

The familiar voice resounded again. This time, Xiluo’er recognized it clearly: it was Freya’s voice.

“Freya? Is that you?”

“Of course it’s this great one!”

Xiluo’er put away her dagger, realizing that the voice wasn’t coming from within the room, but directly from inside her head.

“Alright, you’re quite impressive, finding a source of magic for this great one so quickly! This great one had a glorious feast last night and has finally recovered a good deal.”

Freya’s words filled Xiluo’er with delight.

“Does that mean you can transform now?”

If so, wouldn’t her ‘cheat’ ability finally be online?

“Ahem,” Freya coughed awkwardly. “While that’s true, no, I can’t.”

“This great one has only just awakened from ‘hibernation,’ and it seems I won’t be awake for long. I’ll have to go offline soon.”

Xiluo’er’s lips twitched. She inexplicably sensed a ‘minors can only play games for half an hour a day’ vibe from Freya.

It certainly fit the bratty loli persona.

“Oh, don’t be impatient. This great one already told you, I am a god, after all! It would be truly baffling if the meager magic of the mortal realm could fully replenish my reserves in one go.”

“Keep up the good work; one day, my reserves will be nearly full.”

“However…” Freya’s voice took on a hint of curiosity. “Speaking of which, where did you find that source of magic?”

“This great one absorbed magic exceptionally smoothly last night. How close were you to that source of magic to achieve such an effect?”

Freya’s question brought a flush to Xiluo’er’s face.

“None of your business!”

“Hmph, fine, don’t tell me. Why are you getting so flustered, though?”

However, Xiluo’er realized her guess had been correct. The closer the proximity, the better the absorption effect.

Yesterday, she and Eve had been in zero-distance contact. So, if they were in negative-distance contact, would the effect be even better?

*Cough, cough*… Forget it. Such thoughts were merely fleeting fantasies; it was impossible.

Xiluo’er felt that if she dared to do such a thing to Eve, Eve would simply bypass all procedures and cut her down.

Because when she played the game, the relationship between Eve and ‘Xiluo’ had never been particularly close.

“Xiluo’er, have you changed? If you’re ready, we’ll prepare to depart.”

Speak of the devil and they shall appear. Eve’s knocking sounded from outside the door.

“Ah, Sister Eve, I’ll be ready right away!”

****

Just as the sun had climbed slightly higher in the sky, before it had a chance to unleash its full power upon the land, City Lord Serol and her forces had already assembled outside the South Gate of Cana City.

Clad in armor and mounted on horseback, Serol stood at the very front of the crowd. Compared to her usual amiable demeanor, she now exuded an undeniable heroic spirit.

Xiluo’er stood beside Eve, allowing Eve to hold her hand.

It had to be said, the scale of the Autumn Encirclement was quite substantial, at least judging by the numerous people standing around Xiluo’er.

“Eve! You’re here!”

“Oh, Xiluo’er, you’re here too?”

Rona’s voice rang out, and then Xiluo’er watched as Rona squeezed through the crowd.

This was the first time Xiluo’er had seen her since their confrontation in the City Lord’s mansion garden last time.

“Mmm, Sister Rona… hello.”

Xiluo’er managed a strained greeting, then averted her gaze from Rona.

The ‘window paper’ had been torn last time. Meeting again now, she didn’t know if Rona harbored ill intentions, but Xiluo’er certainly did.

“Eve, why did you bring Xiluo’er along?”

“I brought her out to observe. It’s fine; it won’t affect the encirclement’s progress.”

“Haha, I’m not worried about that, given your strength, Eve.”

Xiluo’er stood by, listening in, her gaze not straying to the side.

However, their conversation didn’t last long, as City Lord Serol began to speak from the front of the crowd—likely a motivational address.

Xiluo’er had no interest in listening, but Rona beside her stood ramrod straight, listening intently.

Only when the speech was nearing its end did Xiluo’er clearly catch a concluding remark, something akin to, “I hope no accidents occur during this Autumn Encirclement.”

Due to her short stature, Xiluo’er could only just glimpse Serol’s serious expression through gaps in the crowd. Even so, she felt a pang of guilt.

She was definitely going to disrupt and cause trouble during the encirclement. Thinking this, she felt a little sorry for Serol, who had been so good to her.

However… this was something that had to be done. By exposing Rona’s issues, Serol would have a chance to survive.

With this thought, Xiluo’er felt much better.

Furthermore, this plan concerned not only Serol but also her own safety.