Chapter 76: The Unlucky Shadow and Eve’s Wrath

Xiluo’er was huddled in the corner of the garden, whimpering pitifully, yet she was secretly gloating.

‘Hahahahaha, her plan was truly perfect!’

Although her eyes were tightly blindfolded, Xiluo’er could tell Eve’s current state just by listening to her voice.

‘This time, I guessed right!’

Xiluo’er had conceived this plan when she recalled Eve’s ‘darkened’ state during the autumn encirclement.

Originally, this scheme was merely meant to provide a safety net for Eve at the Lord’s Manor.

Shadow, on the other hand, could only be described as… unlucky. The plan had coincidentally been put into action against him.

“So, don’t you think you’re being a little too arrogant?”

“To openly abduct someone from the Adventurers’ Guild, and even leave a note telling me to find you in the Lord’s Manor?”

“Do you truly believe your strength is enough to face me and the entire Lord’s Manor’s defenses?”

Eve’s tone was so chilling, it would make anyone shiver upon hearing it.

Yet, Shadow felt no coldness; he only felt… confused.

‘What are you talking about?’

‘I don’t understand!’

What note? What Lord’s Manor? He hadn’t even grasped what Eve was trying to convey.

“Hmph, Cat Tail, the powerful backer you’ve found doesn’t seem all that impressive…”

Xiluo’er: “Wuwuwu!”

Shadow fell silent, or more accurately, he felt utterly speechless.

Seeing no reaction from Shadow, Eve slowly tilted her head. A harmonious, amiable, and friendly smile spread across her ‘darkened’ face.

“If you don’t wish to answer, that’s perfectly fine.”

“Since you’re so confident in your own strength, I don’t mind letting you try it out.”

‘Originally, I could have tortured you little by little, letting you experience the maximum pain a human can endure before death.’

‘But since Xiluo’er is still tied up nearby, I can grant you a particularly agonizing death.’

Shadow had given up on thinking.

He truly hadn’t understood a single word Eve said, constantly feeling as though they were discussing entirely different matters.

However, it didn’t matter. The current situation was already simple and clear.

Wasn’t it just Cat Tail defecting to the Hero Eve and bringing people to deal with him?

Shadow sneered. Even facing Eve, he showed no fear.

If the plan was truly this simple, then Cat Tail’s calculations would prove utterly fruitless.

He knew a good deal about the Hero Eve, some information even provided by Xiluo’er herself.

Of course, Xiluo’er had only shared some trivial information about Eve, compelled by her disguise.

For instance, Shadow was well aware that Eve possessed Fifth-Tier strength. While reaching the Fifth-Tier at such a young age was indeed a sign of extraordinary talent, it was nothing more than that.

After consuming the medicine, Shadow’s current strength had also reached the mid-Fifth-Tier, complemented by his unique abilities. He was confident that even if he clashed with Eve, he would have a decent chance of victory.

If Cat Tail had informed Eve of his abilities and coordinated an attack with her, it might have been troublesome. However, for some unknown reason, Cat Tail had tied herself up and hadn’t exchanged intelligence about their opponent with Eve, which was truly foolish.

Therefore, facing only the Hero Eve, there was absolutely nothing to fear!

“The Hero Eve, is it? While confronting you now wasn’t part of the Chaos Cult’s plan, I’m quite happy to dull your edge right here.”

“What is a ‘Hero’ worth mentioning in the face of the Chaos Cult’s grand scheme?”

Shadow seemed to grow excited. His writhing shadow tentacles began to flail wildly. Without holding back in the slightest, Shadow intended to unleash his strongest attack upon Eve, delivering a crushing blow to this Hero.

However, as Shadow made his move, Eve’s gaze held only a hint of disappointment.

‘Is that all?’

‘A mid-Fifth-Tier dares to challenge the Hero and the entire Lord’s Manor?’

Although Eve didn’t know about the Lord’s Manor’s defenses, such as why Rona hadn’t come to help, she alone was more than enough to deal with this opponent.

A Sixth-Tier early-stage, having crossed from the middle to the high tiers, could surely defeat a mid-Fifth-Tier with ease, couldn’t they?

What made Eve even more certain she could crush Shadow was… she was angry. She was furious, furious enough that she didn’t mind unleashing a devastating blow on Shadow, sending him to hell to apologize to Xiluo’er.

“Come on, let me test your strength, Hero!”

Shadow let out a sharp laugh, utterly oblivious to the fact that he was currently in a situation akin to, ‘You’ve been buffed, now go get yourself killed.’

Shadow simply felt that the night of the confrontation was quiet, and there were no Lord’s Manor guards in the garden. As long as he defeated Eve, the path ahead would continue to stretch out…

In short, the advantage was his!

Then, Shadow watched as Eve raised her staff high, beginning to murmur something under her breath.

Xiluo’er also stopped her whimpering, for she felt her scalp tingle… literally! Her long black hair began to stand on end, strand by strand, reaching towards the sky.

It wasn’t just her; Eve’s hair did the same. Crackling sounds began to fill the air.

Although Xiluo’er thought Eve would likely avoid her when unleashing another powerful attack, a tiny bit of fear still gnawed at her.

‘She wouldn’t blast me, would she? Surely not?’

However, Eve showed no hint of a smile, only a cold gaze directed at Shadow.

‘But Eve when she’s angry is truly terrifying. This must be what they call, ‘darkened state strengthens you threefold, purification weakens you by half,’ right?’

Shadow, who had been brimming with confidence and preparing to strike just a second ago, now frowned.

‘This… something isn’t right, is it?’

‘The magic Eve is using now… it shouldn’t, probably, no longer belong to the Fifth-Tier category, right?’

Shadow felt only a surge of pressure, Sixth-Tier or even higher, assaulting him.

But this was wrong! Wasn’t Eve only at the Fifth-Tier level? How could she cast Sixth-Tier or higher magic?

This wasn’t just Xiluo’er’s information; the Chaos Cult had investigated Eve before. When she came to Kana City from the capital, she was indeed Fifth-Tier… probably.

Shadow didn’t understand the current situation, but the sense of crisis instinctively made him switch from an offensive to a defensive stance.

Eve, meanwhile, merely stared at Shadow with icy eyes.

“Don’t worry, you’ll die very quickly.”

In stark contrast to her cold gaze, Eve offered a benevolent smile.

She gently pointed her magic staff forward—

Shadow immediately felt that something was amiss.

‘Can your Fifth-Tier mage cast magic of this caliber?’

Purple, violent electric serpents almost entirely filled the space. Centered around Eve, Shadow, the Lord’s Manor garden, and even a small portion of the manor itself, were enveloped by raging electrical arcs.

The electric serpents hissed, saturating the area. Shadow strained with all his might to defend himself with shadows… but to little effect.

Eve’s attack was clearly a wide-range Area of Effect ability. Neither simple defense nor attempting to evade the attacks by shifting positions with shadows, as he had before, proved effective.

This was the brutal suppression of pure output over technique!