Chapter 76: The Reckless Pursuit

The sheer magical power contained within Fafnir had already astonished Aldoran, and now, to encounter Sleipnir as well, a tremor of apprehension coursed through Aldoran’s heart.

Aldoran knew well that Fafnir alone could decimate the entire knight order; with Sleipnir added to the equation, the knights were doomed to defeat without external aid.

Even relying on Lord Odin’s power would only delay their inevitable downfall.

Aldoran’s current body could not sustain Lord Odin’s power for extended periods, as it would lead to her physical collapse.

Yet, Sleipnir seemed to harbor considerable resentment towards Fafnir, a psychological vulnerability Aldoran might exploit to her advantage.

It would not be too late to deal with Sleipnir after Fafnir had been subdued.

Observing Sleipnir, who knelt on the ground, silently cursing Fafnir, the eagle-like patterns in Aldoran’s eyes gradually faded.

She secretly formulated a plan in her mind, then turned and walked into the deepening darkness.

****

Upon returning outside, Aldoran’s first impulse was to search for Qing Yu, but after scanning the vicinity, not only was Qing Yu nowhere to be found, but Thrud had also vanished.

After a thorough search, Aldoran only managed to locate Liliya, who was peacefully sleeping on a nearby tree, and Eden, accompanied by the cloaked young woman, who had arrived belatedly due to handling matters at the inn.

“Aldoran!”

Just as Aldoran was frantically searching for them, Roalsa pushed her way through the crowd.

“I saw you looking for Qing Yu just now, so I casually asked a knight.

Qing Yu went down to look for you a while ago, and Thrud, to protect him, followed him into the cave.

They haven’t come out yet.”

“What?!”

Aldoran was aghast, astonished by Qing Yu’s audacity to venture into a known dangerous cave alone.

However, with the situation as it was, Aldoran had no time to scold him inwardly.

She could only turn back, push through the throng, and re-enter the cave.

“Roalsa! I’m relying on you for support outside!” Aldoran called out to Roalsa, then spun around and plunged into the cave.

“Everyone, maintain your guard!”

Roalsa gave a thumbs-up to Aldoran’s retreating back, then turned to issue orders to the others.

“Roalsa! What are you doing?

Who exactly is the captain here?”

Caesar stepped forward.

The captain of the Alastor Knights was Olivia, and Caesar could not tolerate Roalsa’s unauthorized assumption of command.

“It’s alright, Miss Caesar.”

Olivia placated Caesar.

“Consider it an order she issued on my behalf.

Protecting the populace is also the duty of the knight order.”

Caesar scoffed with a “Tsk.”

“I know that, of course, but Roalsa’s actions are a blatant overstepping of authority.

Such behavior should not be tolerated within the knight order; if it happens once, there’s no guarantee it won’t happen again.”

“But Roalsa wasn’t part of my knight order before.”

“Yet she is here now, within your knight order.”

Seeing Caesar’s earnest expression, Olivia could only offer a smile, lightly patting her shoulder.

“Indeed, thank you for the reminder, Miss Caesar.

I’ll discipline Roalsa once we return.”

Caesar’s demeanor finally softened somewhat.

****

Rewind an hour.

Aldoran and her companions had been inside the cave for approximately two hours, and their prolonged absence had made Qing Yu restless.

“This is so annoying.

When are Aldoran and the others coming back~?”

Qing Yu lay sprawled on the ground outside the perimeter formed by the knights, hands splayed, gazing languidly at the pitch-black night sky.

He presented a stark contrast to the alert and vigilant knights.

Hearing Qing Yu’s complaints, several knights cast him disapproving glances.

“Bringing a man along is truly bothersome.”

“That’s why I always say men are nothing but dead weight.

I really don’t know what the captain was thinking.”

“He does no work, just complains.”

The murmurs of complaint reached Qing Yu’s ears.

Qing Yu sat up from the ground, scanning his surroundings, and the voices immediately ceased, as if they had never been there.

“I’m so bored—”

Unable to find the chattering individuals, Qing Yu resigned himself to lying back down, resuming his listless grumbling.

Aldoran and her group had been in the cave for nearly two hours without emerging, and Qing Yu’s mind began to wander uncontrollably.

‘Could Aldoran and the others have encountered some danger?’

‘Could it be that Aldoran has already…’

‘If something happens to Aldoran, what will I do?’

‘Bah, bah, bah, what am I thinking?

Can’t I think of something positive?’

“Bah, bah, bah, how unlucky.”

“Aldoran will definitely be fine.”

Qing Yu sat up from the ground, unable to bear it any longer.

He pushed through the crowd, squeezing himself into the center amidst a group of tall women.

‘Since Aldoran hasn’t come out for so long, I’ll go down and find her myself.’

‘Perhaps she’ll even be touched by my efforts and praise me.’

Thinking this, Qing Yu edged closer to the cave entrance.

At that moment, Thrud was seated at the edge of the cave, idly pestering Caesar, who stood holding her sword, with a barrage of questions.

Caesar, however, clearly had no inclination for conversation, offering only perfunctory one or two-word replies to Thrud’s every query.

From start to finish, Caesar maintained the same posture, barely moving.

“Miss Caesar, you’re amazing.

You stand for so long without getting tired.

If it were me, I’d probably be done after half an hour.”

“Hmm, then practice more.”

Caesar replied simply, without even a flicker of her eyelids, clearly indicating her impatience.

Thrud, however, remained undeterred.

There was nothing else to do, and who knew, perhaps Caesar might eventually relent and answer her questions?

“Ah, Master Qing Yu, what are you doing here?

Is it too cold?

Do you need me to warm you with magic?”

At that moment, seeing Qing Yu furtively peeking at the cave entrance, Thrud momentarily forgot about Caesar.

She rushed forward, grabbed Qing Yu, and began to pull him away.

“If you need it, I can weave you a blanket right here.

Any pattern you desire on it is fine too.”

“No, Thrud, I’m not cold.

I just came to see what you were doing,” Qing Yu said, knowing Thrud wouldn’t dare be too rough with him.

With a slight pull, he easily broke free from her grasp.

“If Master Aldoran returns, I will inform you immediately, so please don’t go too close to the cave.

It’s very dangerous.”

Thrud, of course, understood Qing Yu’s urgency, but Aldoran had specifically instructed her to look after him, and she dared not let her guard down.

With this thought, Thrud attempted to grab Qing Yu’s hand again, but he was as slippery as an eel, always slipping away whenever she tried to get a hold of him.

Despite her best efforts, Thrud couldn’t catch him.

Eventually, she was left panting as she followed Qing Yu back to the cave’s edge.

“It’s fine, it’s fine, as long as you keep a good eye on me, Thrud.”

Qing Yu craned his neck, straining to peer into the cave, while Thrud stealthily approached from behind, intending to seize him.

However, Qing Yu had already noticed her subtle movements and, with a light dodge, left Thrud grasping at empty air.

“Master Qing Yu, if anything were to happen to you, I wouldn’t know how to explain it to Master Aldoran.”

Seeing that she couldn’t catch him, Thrud resorted to a plea, explaining the difficulty of protecting him.

But Qing Yu was impervious to her tactics, continuing to crane his neck and peer into the cave.

“Thrud, with your strength, you should be able to protect me, right?”

Qing Yu asked Thrud while still peering into the depths.

“Yes, that’s… that’s correct.”

“And Thrud, tell me, with all this straw laid out below, would anything happen if I fell from here?”

“Eh?”

Though unsure why Qing Yu was asking, Thrud still glanced down into the abyss.

“Hmm, from my experience, if you were to fall, it would probably only be superficial injuries, but there’s a chance you might twist an ankle.”

“Oh, so it’s quite safe then.”

Qing Yu patted his chest, emboldened, and edged a little closer to the entrance, which startled Thrud.

“Master Qing Yu, even superficial injuries would be hard for me to explain to Master Aldoran.”

“It’s fine.

Aren’t there medical knights?

With them around, there won’t be any problems.”

“Hey, you, haven’t you caused enough trouble?”

At this moment, Caesar stepped forward, grabbed Qing Yu, and sternly reprimanded him.

“The knight order is currently on a mission.

Please do not interfere.”

Looking at Caesar’s serious expression, Qing Yu was instantly cowed by her dangerous aura.

Thrud had been polite to him because she was a servant, but Caesar was different.

She had no relation to Qing Yu and no reason to be courteous to him.

He stammered a few times but couldn’t utter a word, yet he didn’t want to leave either.

“The knight order is currently on a mission.

Please wait outside,” Caesar reminded him again, seeing that Qing Yu remained motionless.

“This is my second reminder.

I do not wish to say it a third time.”

This time, Caesar narrowed her eyes, scrutinizing Qing Yu.

A sense of unstated authority weighed heavily on Qing Yu’s heart, causing him to instinctively shrink back.

‘This woman is so serious,’ Qing Yu thought, lowering his head.

“Is that so?

It seems you are unwilling to cooperate with our work.”

After waiting a few seconds and seeing no reaction from Qing Yu, Caesar called over two knights, pointing at him.

“Please escort this gentleman away.”

The two knights acknowledged her, stepping forward to pull Qing Yu away.

“Wait, wait, I’ll take him to wait properly for you all.

Let me do it,” Thrud interjected anxiously, stepping in front of everyone with an apologetic smile, worried the knights might be too rough.

Thrud turned to pull Qing Yu away, but Qing Yu, without ceremony or hesitation, simply leaped.

He landed directly onto the thick pile of straw below.

No one had anticipated Qing Yu’s audacious move, save for Thrud, who reacted instantly and leaped after him.

“Master Qing Yu! Don’t be rash!”

“It’s fine, it’s fine,” Qing Yu exclaimed, bouncing up from the straw pile.

He was incredibly lucky, sustaining almost no injuries.

Seeing Thrud about to catch him, Qing Yu swiftly dodged her with a sidestep, then, without a backward glance, plunged deeper into the cave…