Then, Rein casually raised his hand, and four silver upright metal rings suddenly appeared and instantly vanished into the air with a âwhooshâ.
"Slit! Slit!"
The sound of flesh being cut echoed one after another!
The group immediately sensed danger, but before they could even cry out, the four rapidly spinning silver rings swept past them like a whirlwind, slicing vertically through their bodies!
Each one received a Sawtooth Ring.
"Thud! Thud!..."
Only after Rein and Qu Qi dashed past them without turning back did the sound of heavy objects hitting the ground begin to echo!
All four of them were split neatly in half from head to toe, and then their bodies fell to either side like the two slices of bread in a sandwich.
As for their so-called innate wizardry, it was instantly shattered under the attack of the âSawtooth Ringâ!
However, as Rein was about to leave, he suddenly stopped in his tracks!
Because he had just sensed a vague feeling of being watched.
This feeling did not feel like the gaze of a threatening enemy, but more like the eyes of a harmless, gentle little creature, like a fawn peering at him from a hidden corner.
This made Rein feel all the more peculiar.
Could there be something else hiding in this seemingly deserted Elf Town?
Rein concentrated and sensed carefully, and then he smiled slightly, heading towards an exquisitely carved wooden house by the street; although the arched spire had collapsed, the overall structure remained intact.
Rein soon arrived at an upstairs room, slowly approaching the wardrobe by the street-facing window. Earlier, he had sensed that the vague gaze seemed to come from this window.
The wardrobe before him was about two meters high, intricately carved with gentle curves and motifs of plants and animals, full of Elf Clan style, and the door was half-open, providing a clear view inside which was empty.
But Rein was certain that the faint gaze watching him originated from here.
"If it canât be seen with the naked eye, then it must be because of... some sort of concealment! "
Rein extended his hand, and with a âcreak,â pulled the wardrobe door wider, and this action seemed to immediately alarm a hidden, weak life form.
Given Reinâs strength, he could naturally detect subtle movements in the supposedly empty space before him.
He waved his hand, instantly dispelling some form of concealing witchcraft on the wardrobe, revealing a little Elf girl, about six or seven years old, staring at Rein with wide, frightened eyes.
She seemed utterly surprised that Rein actually discovered her.
"Hello." Rein didnât move closer but instead stepped back, smiling.
But the little girl still wore the same terrified expression, clutching a hula doll and shrinking back, although at the same time, her large eyes revealed a trace of confusion.
Rein immediately realized that this Elf Clan little girl probably didnât understand his common language yet; at her age, she likely had only learned her native language.
"(In Elvish) Hello, I am not an enemy; I am here to find my friend, named Anna, a Half-Elf!" Rein said in not-too-fluent Elvish.
He had learned part of his Elvish from Anna, and although unrefined, his accent was clear.
Reinâs words clearly startled the little Elf girl, but then she slightly relaxed her grip on the hula dollâs slender body, responding in Elvish:
"Hello, are you... are you really here to find Sister Anna?"
"Yes." Rein smiled and nodded.
"I believe you." The little Elf girl looked at Rein, then at Qu Qi beside Rein, and nodded.
Qu Qi approached with curiosity, sniffed the little girl, sensed her warmth, and she smiled slightly, reaching out with her pale, slender hand to pet Qu Qi.
Immediately eliciting a profoundly comfortable expression on Qu Qiâs face.
"Do you know where Anna went? Was she captured by those bad people?" Rein asked once the little girlâs emotions had somewhat settled.
"No, a sword-bearing human came and saved Sister Anna, then left with her in that direction." The little Elf girl shook her head and pointed northwest.
A sword-bearing man?
Rein showed signs of joy!
It was evident the person should be Lambert.
At the same time, he looked in the direction the little girl pointed.
But that was the way to the center of Ferdinand Forest.
This made Rein a bit puzzled, after all, Lambert was supposed to protect Anna and leave Ferdinand Forest, so why would he head towards the center of the forest where things are more complicated?
Rein was somewhat confused.
But now was not the time to consider this, he just needed to catch up with the two people.
Spiritual Greyhound Qu Qi naturally remembered Annaâs scent, so Rein immediately let Qu Qi use its incredibly sensitive nose to track Annaâs trail.
Very quickly, after circling the area twice, Qu Qi barked twice, indicating it had discovered Annaâs trail.
Rein looked at the little elf girl in front of him, hesitating for a moment, unsure of whether he should take her along.
She should have some kind of witchcraft artifact for concealment, but staying here wasnât safe either. First, once the artifactâs energy is exhausted, she wonât be able to use such witchcraft; second, if someone strong enough comes, they might still find her.
After thinking for a moment, Rein decided he couldnât leave this little elf girl alone here.
Her eyes were very similar to his sister Bo He, equally innocent.
"Letâs go find Anna together, alright?" Rein smiled as he reached out to the little girl.
"Hmm..." The little girl blinked her large eyes, looked at Rein for a while, then nodded heavily.
"Come, Iâll carry you!" Rein picked up the almost weightless little girl with one hand and leisurely followed behind the spiritual greyhound Qu Qi.
One man and one dog were once again quickly traversing the forest.
Only this time, the dog was in front, the man behind.
The dog wasnât panting heavily.
"Big brother, youâre amazing!" The little elf girl, perched on Reinâs shoulder, exclaimed as she felt the wind rushing by.
"Thank you!"
"Big brother, I heard you humans have mercenaries, people who complete tasks for payment, is that right?" She suddenly asked.
"Yes, why do you suddenly ask about that?" Rein was somewhat curious.
"Big brother, can I hire you?" The little elf girl continued.
"Hire me?" Rein was a bit surprised.
"Can I give you this pendant as payment? Mom said itâs a witch artifact that can release a witch array for concealment, it should be worth a lot. Can you help me kill those bad people?"
"Those people killed Damon, who was good to me, Uncle Severen, and Sister Erinde... even my dad, and took away..."
As she narrated, the little girlâs mood dimmed and her eyes turned red.
"Theyâre just like the people you killed earlier, with black robes covered in various snake patterns."
"Can you do it?"
For a moment, Rein didnât know what to say.
Clearly, the little elf girl had seen through the window how he used his new witchcraft âSawtooth Ringâ to instantly kill four people.
But Rein gently bowed his head, seriously looked into the girlâs expectant and reddened eyes, and immediately nodded, saying: "Alright, I agree to help you."
"However, this pendant was given to you by your mom, you should keep it safe."
"Can I exchange something else as payment?" Rein kindly said.
She was somewhat cautious, not knowing what this powerful human brother wanted from her.
Rein softly brushed the girlâs hair and took a wooden hair clip, saying: "How about using this as payment?"
"But this isnât worth much..." The little elf girl was puzzled.
"Itâs enough."
"You donât understand, hiring actually follows a principle of equivalent exchange. Since those people arenât worth much, killing them with this hair clip as payment is enough."
"Oh... thank you, brother." The little girl was a bit bewildered.
She was already somewhat sensible, although she didnât know how to rebut Reinâs words, she could feel the kindness in this human brotherâs words.
"Big brother, my name is Aisha, whatâs yours?" The little elf girl voluntarily told Rein her name, even though her mom had instructed her not to talk to strangers or tell them her name.
"My name is Rein."
...