Chapter 99: The Falling Pearl

“Let go of her—she is just an innocent passerby!”

Nolan’s fingers were like iron, his knuckles turning white from the exertion as he locked into a test of strength with the elf’s tensed arm.

Rotating his wrist slightly, he managed to pry open a precious sliver of space between the slender neck and the elf’s fingers, allowing the unconscious maid to draw in a faint breath of air.

“She has already lost consciousness,” Nolan squeezed the words out through his teeth, blue veins throbbing at his temples.

“We’ve searched this area; the elven elder you’re looking for isn’t here, so why cause unnecessary trouble?”

“This is a secret operation, and she saw us,” the elf sneered at his words.

His cold gaze remained locked onto the maid’s pale face as he applied pressure again, intending to completely snuff out that faint respiration.

However, this time he was startled to find that his wrist felt as if it were cast in stone; he couldn’t push down even a fraction of an inch further.

Lifting his eyes sharply, he saw the muscles of Nolan’s forearms bulging beneath his rolled-up sleeves.

Blue-green veins spread like a web beneath the skin, and in the dim light, that taut skin actually reflected a non-human, cold, alloy-like sheen.

“We had an agreement—you are here to assist my operation!” the elf whispered, his anger laced with a trace of imperceptible alarm.

Nolan’s arm acted like a perfectly stable machine, lifting the elf’s hand away with irresistible force.

His other hand reached out just in time to catch the maid’s limp body, letting her lean against his shoulder.

“The things I promised did not include the slaughter of the innocent,” Nolan’s voice was low but carried an unquestionable resolve.

“Hmph!”

The elf let out a cold snort from his nose and was the first to withdraw his strength.

Nolan followed suit and released his grip, though his eyes remained alertly locked onto his companion as he carefully settled the unconscious maid against a wall, leaving her in a sitting position.

“Enough. We leave her here and depart. She hasn’t actually lost anything; even when she wakes up, she’ll just think she ran into some petty thieves. You’re the one who’s so obsessed with killing.”

Perhaps Nolan’s persuasion worked, or perhaps it was due to the disparity in strength, but the elf ultimately did not argue, offering only a slight nod.

Feeling slightly more at ease, Nolan turned to leave.

***

However, just as the two were about to let the matter rest, the elf’s elegantly shaped pointed ears twitched imperceptibly.

An elf’s long ears represented hearing far more acute than that of a normal human, especially for a trained warrior; any minute sound would find it difficult to escape their capture.

The elf came to a sudden halt, his figure freezing in place.

This change immediately caught Nolan’s attention; he looked back to see the elf’s brow locked in a tight frown, his face masked in a layer of frost.

“No—that’s not right,” the elf’s voice was pitched extremely low, carrying a bone-chilling coldness. “Just now, the breathing rhythm of that human changed, and her eyelids are fluttering.”

“Wait, you’re being too suspicious. We can just leave now.”

“No! She’s faking it!”

The elf violently pushed aside Nolan and, with a clang, drew the short sword from his waist and strode toward the maid by the wall.

By now, even Nolan could clearly hear it—the irrepressible, rhythmic chattering of teeth and a sob of terror caught deep in the throat.

“You really are awake!”

The elf’s fury was ignited by the deception, and he lunged forward.

The moment her disguise was seen through, Sally’s psychological defenses crumbled completely, and she let out a heart-wrenching scream:

“Help! Assassins—!”

The poor maid dragged her cumbersome skirt, scrambling up from the ground on all fours, and turned to run desperately toward the flickering lights of the camp in the distance.

“Don’t!”

Nolan’s warning came a step too late.

Moreover, while the elven warrior’s strength was inferior to his, the elf’s speed was superior; in an instant, the short sword in the elf’s hand glowed with a ghostly blue magical light.

His figure swept out like a whirlwind, and in a few bounds, he had closed the distance behind the maid.

The blade cut through the air with a lethal cold glint, thrusting straight toward her heart!

“No! Please! Nooo!”

The maid, Sally, wailed in extreme terror, stumbling forward as the shadow of death completely enveloped her.

At this critical moment—

Swoosh! Clang!

A sharp bolt shot from nowhere, tearing through the darkness with a shrill whistle and accurately targeting the elf’s face, forcing him to pull back his sword to block it!

The string of the hand crossbow was still vibrating slightly.

Yet Kritiya did not relax; she steadily leveled the silver-white metallic hand crossbow and pulled the trigger without hesitation, firing a second bolt.

I quickly scanned our surroundings.

Currently, we were hidden atop a tower of a side building of the Governor’s Mansion; most of the confrontation and whispering between Nolan and the elf had already reached our ears.

Below, the maid Sally was staggering and running for her life.

The first bolt was intended to knock the lethal blade from the elf’s hand, while the second follow-up shot was aimed directly at the opponent’s chest.

Although it didn’t hit, it successfully forced the elf to dodge to the side, leaving him no time to pursue Sally further.

‘One bolt left,’ I counted in my mind.

It had to be said that Kritiya possessed an extraordinary talent for shooting.

Her own strength was insufficient to draw a heavy bow, but when operating this sophisticated crossbow, she displayed incredible accuracy.

This compact hand crossbow was a gift from the Duke; it was forged from “Star Iron,” and its mechanism could fire three bolts in succession.

Equipped with specialized bolts, its power was not to be underestimated if used as a surprise attack.

Returning my attention to the present, Sally’s piercing scream had clearly alerted the guards in the camp.

Soldiers holding weapons had already rushed out of the tents to investigate and had spotted Sally.

Nolan had also caught up with the elf; seeing the appearing soldiers and grabbing the elf’s arm, it was clear he was going to force a retreat.

Seeing this, my mind eased slightly. Sally was out of danger, so they should surely retreat now, right?

However, in that moment of relaxation, the elf suddenly whipped his head around.

Following that, I clearly saw his hazy, gray eye pierce through the darkness and accurately lock onto the direction of the tower where Kritiya was stationed!

“He found us!” I cried out in a low voice.

The distance determined that the tower where I was hidden wasn’t far from the battlefield.

Kritiya merely bit her lower lip and continued to hold the crossbow steadily, meeting that cold gaze with an indifferent look.

Thump-thump!

My heart suddenly pounded wildly—it was the warning of the Seed of the Evil God.

I suddenly realized that making eye contact was not merely a contest of courage.

However, it was already too late.

The moment their eyes met, a bizarre light erupted from the elf’s gray pupil, casting an ominous gray-black shadow over the girl’s deep green eyes.

In an instant, my mind went into a daze.

Kritiya’s body stiffened completely in that second.

She swayed violently and then, like a puppet whose strings had been cut, she slumped forward weakly.

Then, she tumbled lifelessly over the edge of the tower!

***

“What are you doing? Move, fast! The guards have spotted us!”

Nolan rushed forward a dozen steps and suddenly looked back, only to find the elf lagging behind.

“I just dealt with a nuisance hiding in the shadows,” the elf said in a flat tone, rubbing his eyes as if feeling some discomfort before quickening his pace to keep up.

Though Nolan felt suspicious, he didn’t probe further.

He knew well that the elven tribes often possessed secret, inherited arts unknown to others.

These arts might not be known for their raw power, but they could produce unexpected effects.

“Don’t delay, let’s go!” Nolan suppressed a flicker of unease in his heart and urged again.