âRemember this!â Menlo finally roared in frustration after a moment. Without turning back, she fled into the distance.
She was the strongest among the three of them, and one of her opponents, the Female Knight Yin Shi, was heavily injured. Still, she was fighting against two enemies. Qin Lun, hidden in the shadows, was cunning and crafty. His attacks constantly made her feel incredibly ill at ease.
None of the hits were individually serious, but the accumulated damage was becoming unbearable. After a while, she had basically reached her limit. If she didnât escape now, she really would die right there.
âCome out!â Seeing Menlo flee, Yin Shi finally could not hold on any longer. She sat down on the ground without any grace, calling out weakly.
During the latter part of this battle, although the Female Knight had awakened her Knightâs Heart, she had lost her mount, and her purple plate armor on her upper body was shattered. Unable to unleash the plate armor knightâs signature high-attack, high-defense charge attack, she had been forced passively into the role of an MT. She was utterly exhausted, her stamina depleted.
Qin Lun slowly stood up from his hiding spot. However, he did not approach the Female Knight. He just looked down, playing with the Burial of Light and Darkness in his hand, remaining silent.
âJust state your terms!â Yin Shi sighed inwardly upon seeing Qin Lunâs posture. Menlo had always assumed they were partners, but the Female Knight herself understood that this Gunslinger in front of her wouldnât help her for no reason.
âI know what youâre thinking. But killing me wonât be easy!â Seeing that Qin Lun remained silent, Yin Shi gritted her teeth. She pulled a small, crystal-clear bottle from her bosom and revealed its properties.
âThis bottle of Ocean Star is my final trump card. By sacrificing it, I can revive my mount immediately. I cannot fight anymore, but I can still escape to the territory of other powerful fighters. You wouldnât want to end up with nothing, would you?â
Sacrificing the Ocean Star had consequences. Reviving the mount on the spot came at the cost of burning its soul. After the battle ended, the mountâs spirit would dissipate and it could never be revived again. Yin Shi found using the Ocean Star truly unbearable unless driven to the very last resort. For a plate armor knight, finding a suitable mount was extremely difficult.
A flash of sharp light flickered in Qin Lunâs eyes. He pulled the Adis Short Staff, obtained from the Summoner Odo in the last selection round, from his own bosom and waved it expressionlessly.
A huge pentagram array lit up in front of him. In the center of the array, the shadowy form of an Inferno Hound appeared. Simultaneously, to the left of the array, a ball of milky-white mist coalesced. Within the mist, an Inferno Hound strikingly similar to Cerberus was also forming.
âWoofâŠ?â Cerberus, having just emerged, wagged its tail happily and pounced towards Qin Lun. However, the moment it took a step, it bared its teeth towards its left side. Both dog heads wore an expression of confusion.
Because on its left, there was another Inferno Hound looking exactly like it, as if carved from the same mold. Yet this counterpartâs eyes were vacant, showing no trace of intelligence, a mere walking corpse possessing only the outward form.
Summoning and duplicating two Inferno Hounds using the Adis Short Staff caused Qin Lunâs face to briefly turn pale. He quickly pulled out the Walnut Wine and poured the remaining liquid into his mouth.
Summoning Cerberus required nearly 385 Stamina. While the âPhantom Spiritâ ability of the Adis Short Staff removed the spirit restriction for summoned beings, it still consumed Stamina for the duplicate. Two Inferno Hounds equated to Qin Lun expending a full 770 Stamina, almost completely draining his energy reserves.
âDo you still feel confident about escaping?â It was only then that Qin Lun finally wore a warm and friendly smile again. He directed the two Inferno Hounds to block Yin Shi front and back.
The Adis Short Staff was Qin Lunâs final trump card. He had planned everything before joining this fight. Because Yin Shi had killed Menloâs two companions, these two women were unlikely to join forces to drive him out, but they might have ceased fighting simply because he showed up.
Therefore, he had to help one of them, ensuring the fight didnât stall.
Naturally, he couldnât just choose anyone to help. If he chose to help Menlo, who had the upper hand, the Female Knight would undoubtedly flee the battlefield without hesitation. No matter the outcome, Menlo wouldnât expend significant energy.
Even if the Kung Fu Girl were willing to share some spoils after the battle, she would take the lionâs share, which clearly conflicted with Qin Lunâs original plan. Moreover, if he turned hostile and attacked, even with two Inferno Hounds, he wasnât confident he could stop Menlo. Therefore, he couldnât help the Kung Fu Girl; he had to aid the disadvantaged party, the Female Knight.
Yin Shi had lost her mount earlier and had been struggling desperately under Menloâs assault. Crucially, even if Qin Lun intervened in the battle, the Female Knight, having lost her mount, was nine times out of ten unlikely to flee. She would ultimately have to choose to become the shield for the ranged attacker, blocking all of Menloâs assaults for him.
This way, even if they couldnât finish off Menlo, by the time the fight ended, the Female Knight would surely be completely exhausted, becoming the ideal quarry.
Yin Shiâs fingers tightened around the Ocean Star, and she fell silent. Her chances of escape were now less than thirty percent. Most crucially, with two Inferno Hounds, her opponent had the assurance to engage freely. Even if she determinedly broke out and escaped to the territory of other powerful fighters, she would still just be prey on someone elseâs plate.
âI have five fragments of the Treasure Map in total. Let me go, and I will give them all to you. Howâs that?â Yin Shi pulled several pieces of map fragments from her bosom and said coolly. âOtherwise, even if you can get my Invitation Letter, I will destroy these Treasure Map Fragments!â
Yin Shi didnât have many Invitation Letters herself, but her luck was good. One of the Apostles she killed had possessed three fragments, which she had gained as a windfall.
âTreasure Map Fragments?â Qin Lun raised an eyebrow, but a flicker of mockery passed through his eyes. What use did he have for Treasure Map Fragments? That whole setup was his own trap.
âNo need. With my strength, obtaining other Treasure Map Fragments would be very difficult. Getting your Invitation Letter is more practical.â However, Qin Lun continued slowly, âBut, if you voluntarily hand over the Invitation Letter, Iâm willing to sign a contract with you. I will hide these fragments at a location you specify, allowing you to retrieve them after the war.â
âYou donât want the Treasure Map Fragments, just my Invitation Letter?â Yin Shi lightly furrowed her slender eyebrows, giving Qin Lun a puzzled look.
âYou better decide quickly. I wonât give you much time to recover,â Qin Lun said expressionlessly, calmly. âBesides, you managed to grasp the Knightâs Heart through this battle. Even if you gain nothing else, you havenât lost out. Why risk further conflict just for a few Shattered Crystals!â
âAlright, I agree. But you must answer one last question!â Yin Shi forced herself to stand up, staring at Qin Lun as she asked, âDid you deliberately lure that Female Martial Artist here? And how did you hide within our shared perception range, concealing yourself in this area?â
Qin Lun hesitated slightly, then nodded. âI did lure them here. However, I wasnât hidden here beforehand, nor did I have any Magic Scroll powerful enough to maintain stealth for that long. I waited for you to weaken each other, staying outside your detection ranges. As for how I got close enoughâŠâ
Qin Lun pointed with a smile towards a manhole cover in the park.
âUnderground?â Yin Shi raised her eyebrows in surprise, shaking her head with a bitter smile. âI checked the tunnel system once, but I never imagined you could navigate that complex three-dimensional maze to find the exact location. Such formidable marksmanship, combined with powerful summoning creatures⊠you must be a Hunter!â
Qin Lun nodded faintly, feeling a complex emotion inside. The Female Knight assumed he relied on the Hunterâs tracking abilities to locate them within the vast tunnel network. She completely ruled out the existence of a native little girl who had lived in those tunnels for over two years.
âAn Apostleâs abilities are myriad and strange. Though your pure fighting power is less than ours, you won this battle. You deserve to have my Invitation Letter.â Yin Shi let out a soft sigh. A flash shone in her eyes, and a Soul Contract appeared before each of them.
A short while later, Qin Lun waved the Adis Short Staff in his hand. He recalled Cerberus into the summoning space and dispelled the duplicate Inferno Hound. The Female Knight had already voluntarily withdrawn her Invitation Letter and left the Domination War zone.
Only her Invitation Letter and the five Treasure Map Fragments remained on the ground. The Invitation Letter belonged to Qin Lun. He only needed to hide the Treasure Map Fragments at the location Yin Shi had specified, waiting for her to retrieve them after the war concluded.
Qin Lun grasped the Invitation Letter Yin Shi left behind, a flicker of joy passing through his mind. The Female Knight had fused five Invitation Letters, plus her own original one, adding the three Letters obtained earlier from Menloâs companions, totaling nine Invitation Letters. Combined with the one Qin Lun got from killing the one-eyed sniper, he now possessed exactly ten Invitation Letters. His planâs objective was fulfilled.
These ten Invitation Letters contained some Shattered Crystals; others held equipment or items pledged by other Apostles. Their total value unquestionably exceeded a million Shattered Crystals. It was indeed a bountiful harvest.
Though Qin Lun hadnât found any Legendary Items left behind by the Atlantean Apostles within the Domination War area, judging from what he saw at the Celestial Wheel branch and the Underground Research Facility, there might not have been any team demiplanes or legendary items in this war zone at all.
After all, the technology embedded in that Apostle Mech and the mission rewards associated with the Space-Time Converter were also highly valuable, easily matching that of a single legendary item. Or perhaps this areaâs demiplane coordinates and legendary item had already been acquired by some fortunate individual who simply hadnât reappeared later.
After fusing the Invitation Letters, Qin Lun swiftly retreated into the underground passageway, heading towards the monitoring room.
âHm?â He had only taken a few steps through the tunnel when Qin Lun halted, alertly staring down one of the sewer pipes.
A head of carrot-like hair slowly poked out from the pipe opening. A pair of large eyes, clear as distinct pools of black and white, gazed silently at him.
âChitter chitter!â A Little Squirrel clung to the Little Muteâs long, black hair, scooting out from beside her neck. It called out to Qin Lun twice, almost like a greeting.
âDidnât I tell you to wait in the monitoring room?â Qin Lun sighed helplessly. âAnd⊠donât crawl through such narrow pipes anymore! That stench is really hard to wash off!â
âYaa!â The Little Mute puffed out her cheeks, waving a small, indignant fist at Qin Lun.
âI donât need you to worry about me⊠I told you I would return, so I definitely would!â Qin Lun replied gruffly as he pulled the Little Mute out of the pipe. A faint smile finally touched his lips.