A beautifully carved, gleaming soft sword pierced the hero's broken sword, grinding out a shower of sparks.
This was their third clash. Each time, the enemy would strike from Siegfried's blind spot, aiming for his vital points with a cunning angle.
If it weren't for the effect of "Heavenly Wind Dance" on Siegfried, he would have already become fertilizer for the creatures of this other world.
The "Heavenly Wind Dance" cast by Darren was indeed remarkably effective. This fourth-order spell not only increased the caster's movement speed but also enhanced their reaction speed, directly boosting their agility.
The spell's effect gradually weakened over time. Siegfried's agility had soared to A+ when he set out, but it had now dropped to B, and in a few minutes, it would likely revert to its original state.
At that point, he would be a level C, good-for-nothing weakling, and his death would be imminent.
(What should I do? What should I do? This is going to be bad. I need to think of a way out.)
As he pondered, he narrowly dodged another soft sword attack from his rear flank.
But this time, the sword's edge sliced through Siegfried's outer garment, leaving a shallow cut on his waist. Even now, he hadn't even seen the attacker's face.
(It's over, I really can't hold on any longer!)
On the brink of death, Siegfried finally devised a solution.
"Shannon! Shannon! Save me!"
Help from the historian mother!
Shannon's system's mechanical, flat, emotionless voice echoed in Siegfried's mind.
[Searching for escape routes.]
Thank heavens above, Siegfried had never heard a more beautiful sound in his life.
[Search complete. No escape routes found.]
"Damn it!"
Siegfried couldn't help but let out a string of curses.
[But you don't need to escape. Removing your hood and revealing your true appearance will resolve this crisis.]
Shannon's voice was affected, somehow irritating.
Siegfried's eyes lit up.
(That's right, in this world, my appearance can be used to intimidate people.)
In the Kirand continent, black hair and black eyes are the hallmarks of the hero's family—common knowledge. At least, so far, no one outside the Mulan family has exhibited such genetic characteristics.
Both Catalina and Roland were taken aback by Siegfried's appearance, falling into severe cognitive dissonance. In reality, a single blow would have been enough to fell this mysterious and powerful "Lord Mulan."
Siegfried immediately removed his hood, revealing his face.
The next second, the needle-like pressure surrounding him vanished, and even his breathing became easier.
(Yes! I intimidated them!)
Siegfried cheered inwardly.
The midday sun pierced the dense foliage, casting dappled shadows on the ground. Two warblers flew overhead, and an eerie silence fell over the forest.
After a long while, a cold voice echoed. Though the speaker tried to disguise it, Siegfried still detected surprise in their tone.
"How could it be you?"
Siegfried took a deep breath to calm himself, carefully choosing his words. Every sentence could save his life or cost it.
He snorted coldly and said, "Not bad. There aren't many who can injure me."
Mental skill [Deceitful Speech], full power!
The cold voice was silent for a moment before speaking again.
"Why are you here?"
"Do you need to know? You have two choices: one, drop your weapon, and I'll spare your life. Two, keep fighting, but I won't hold back."
Siegfried snapped his fingers, and the Wanderer's Handbook appeared in his left hand. He assumed a fighting stance, signaling that he was now getting serious.
"Your concealment skills are truly superb, the best I've ever seen. But…"
"I'll count to five. If you don't come out, I'll destroy this entire forest."
Siegfried slowly raised his short sword, as if gathering strength.
"One!"
"Two!"
There was still no movement around him.
"Three!"
(Please, please come out! Please! (ಥ_ಥ)
Siegfried was close to tears, but his face remained serious, his voice deep and resonant.
"Four!"
Still no reaction. Siegfried's breathing began to become labored.
"Four… four and a half…"
Just as those pathetic words were about to escape his lips…
A figure leaped down from a tree to his right.
The newcomer wore a black mask, a black scarf, a black bodysuit covered by chainmail resembling stockings, brass armor on their hands and feet, a folding fan with only the ribs remaining, and a bright red plum blossom embroidered on their right shoulder.
Siegfried was stunned.
(What kind of attire is this? A national-style female ninja??)
But he quickly recovered his composure. After all, this was another world; all kinds of strange people existed. This woman probably had unconventional tastes.
Since he had already intimidated the opponent, Siegfried decided to take advantage of the situation. Would it be fair to his wounded waist if he didn't extract some information?
A playful smile curved his lips as he lowered his raised broken sword and said in a low voice:
"You're quite obedient. Introduce yourself, assassin. Judging by your appearance, you must have quite a few stories to share."
This was the first sentence he usually used when interviewing candidates at his company's HR department.
However,
The reply left Siegfried's mind blank.
"Qi Gong? Is that you?"
"..."
(Qi Gong? What Qi Gong? Is there Qi Gong in this world?)
(Wait, why is she speaking Chinese?)
An extremely bad feeling arose from the bottom of his heart.
He examined the national-style female ninja from head to toe.
The first thing that caught his eye was a pair of long, full, and white thighs that almost gleamed.
These beautiful legs were so familiar; he seemed to have seen them more than once before.
Yes, those were the legs he would see behind him every day on his way to work and would unconsciously glance at on his way home…
The national-style female ninja removed her black mask, revealing a cold and striking face, with a particularly beautiful nose.
"Yang… Yang Jing?"
.........
The villagers were all shocked because Siegfried had rushed out for a while and returned with a strangely dressed, stunningly beautiful woman. According to Siegfried, she was his childhood sweetheart.
Naturally, nobody believed this nonsense. Where would a country youth from a small village get such a beautiful childhood sweetheart?
However, under the influence of the [Deceitful Speech] effect, the villagers reluctantly accepted this setting.
In Siegfried's room.
"Shannon, why didn't you tell me she was Yang Jing?"
Siegfried suppressed his anger and asked politely.
[I said removing your hood would resolve the crisis; you were the one who insisted on pretending.]
"Why didn't you tell me she was Yang Jing!"
Siegfried's temples throbbed, on the verge of an outburst.
[You didn't ask.]
"You're just making fun of me, aren't you, you dog!"
[Wanderer, we historians have received professional training; we would never betray any wanderer…]
[Unless we can't help it.]
Siegfried's expression contorted uncontrollably.
Hello? Space Agency? Do you have any plans to colonize Mars?
Yes, I'm willing to settle on Mars!