I'll also work hard to conquer the dungeon today.

Chapter 310, 1.21-26: The Girl Imprisoned in the Tower
This is a plain covered only with loess and sparse vegetation. At first glance, it appears desolate and bleak, but undeniably, the view here is excellent, allowing a clear view of the distant mountain peaks.

The boy shielded the frail girl behind him, standing protectively against the three people opposite him.

A woman in a pale yellow aristocratic gown stood proudly opposite the two men, her beautiful face slightly obscured by a magnificent veil. Her long, cool brown hair fluttered in the breeze, and her princess-cut hairstyle made her appear even more elegant and beautiful.

Beside her stood a nobleman, his handsome face contorted with a mixture of shock and undisguised affection. He gazed intently at the girl behind the boy, muttering something under his breath, as if bewitched.

Another person stood behind the woman. The young man was respectful and seemed to be her servant, waiting for her to give orders.

"You really are a player from the same instance; I almost fell for your trick." Olycia snorted arrogantly.

"Did I fool you? Then I'm truly sorry, but unfortunately, I can't hand her over to you." Ming Jin chuckled, elegantly wiping the bloodstains from her face and clothes with a handkerchief in one hand, her demeanor still as gentle and polite as when they first met.

“I never intended for you to hand her over to me.” The smile on Olycia’s lips suddenly vanished. She closed her ornate folding fan, pointed the fan ribs at Ming Jin, and commanded without hesitation, “Qiao Lin, take her away. If necessary, you can kill Ming Jin.”

"Yes, Miss." Qiao Lin drew the short swords from both sides of his waist and charged towards Ming Jin in a dual-wielding stance.

"Qiao Lin? I'd quite like to spar with you, but wouldn't fighting be exactly what you want?" Ming Jin grabbed the girl's wrist and pulled her into her arms, easily avoiding Qiao Lin's attack.

Ming Jin, with one arm around the girl, dodged Qiao Lin's fierce attacks, casually leaving an opening on the left for Qiao Lin to grab. Just when Qiao Lin thought he could subdue him, Ming Jin kicked Qiao Lin away.

He muttered an apology under his breath, then hoisted the girl onto his shoulder and ran in another direction.

Olycia frowned and said irritably, "What a troublesome guy. Jolin, are you alright?"

Qiao Lin got up and checked the grip strength of his hands, then whispered, "I'm fine, Ming Jin showed mercy."

He lowered his eyes, a hint of something unreadable in them. Ming Jin had held back her strength; she could have broken his ribs with a kick, but now he only felt a dull ache.

Does Ming Jin still maintain the honor of being a soldier...?

He had never truly been a soldier.

"Let me make this clear first, I don't show mercy to my enemies. I'm not killing you because, in my judgment, we're not truly enemies. There's a third-party player out there; that's the one we all need to oppose." Ming Jin's voice, tinged with a hint of laughter, came from beside him.

Jolin's expression changed, and he looked up at Olycia, whose fingertips were white as she gripped the fan, as if she was enduring something.

"Miss..."

"To be honest, I've been ignoring third-party players all along, but he reminded me of it, which makes me inexplicably annoyed." Olycia pursed her pink lips, her expression slightly awkward.

"Perhaps it's because it hasn't happened before," Qiao Lin said softly as he sheathed his twin swords.

The nobleman muttered something to himself, then suddenly shouted and rushed out.

"Hey!" Olycia reached out to grab him, but grasped only air, and could only watch helplessly as he ran forward. "What a troublemaker! He always likes to do things his own way. Calling him a burden is an insult to the word!" Olycia stomped her feet a few times in anger, then lifted her skirt and chased after him, calling out as she ran, "Jolin, keep up!"

"Miss! Your skirt! Your skirt! You're going to expose yourself!!" Qiao Lin blushed and ran after her, reminding her.

"Shut up! Don't say things like that while we're running! I'm sick of hearing it." Olivia frowned in annoyance.

"Your ears won't grow calluses, Miss," Qiao Lin reminded her.

"Shut up, Jolin!" Olycia snapped angrily.

"Yes, my lady." Qiao Lin lowered her eyes, smiled as if helpless, and said.

After the noisy group left, only a dozen or so corpses remained, their blood already congealed into a dark red, indicating that a large-scale battle had taken place.

Mingxi stared coldly at the empty plain filled only with corpses, gritting her teeth as she muttered under her breath, "Too late."

He carried a massive two-handed sword and a gleaming silver bow on his back, along with a quiver of arrows adorned with various colored feathers. He'd wandered off in the wrong direction and accidentally stumbled upon a black castle, where he saw Ming Jin's bow and took it without hesitation, though he'd also casually stolen the two-handed sword.

Since the castle had already been destroyed by him, anyone could take what was unclaimed. Mingxi took it without the slightest guilt, and was particularly self-righteous.

"Based on the depth of the footprints, the direction of walking, and the speed of the wind and sand, it should be this direction." Mingxi turned around, but after only a few steps, she encountered a group of people wearing black cloaks, who appeared almost out of thin air.

"I'm getting tired of you guys even though you've been chasing me for so long. Can you please stop coming?" Mingxi sighed helplessly.

He gripped the hilt of his two-handed sword with both hands and charged toward the group of men in black cloaks.

Even a heavy two-handed sword can be wielded by Mingxi with ease.

A dozen more corpses were added to the already stiff body, but within seconds the bodies of the group of black-cloaked men turned to dust and were blown away by the wind.

"Aren't they even human? No wonder they can't see the light of day." Mingxi glanced at the two-handed sword, which was completely free of blood, and said knowingly.

"But what does it mean to chase me? I only destroyed a castle. Is that their main base? Or are they looking for something? I remember I only took a two-handed sword and Mingjin's bow and arrows... Ah!" As he thought about the next part, something flashed through Mingxi's mind, and he exclaimed in surprise.

He pulled a white, glowing bead from his pocket and stared at it intently with his lake-blue eyes.

"I thought these were beads that could be used for lighting. Could they have some other purpose?"

Mingxi tightened his grip on the bead slightly, as if he wanted to crush it, but his intuition told him that he would regret it if he did so. After thinking for a few minutes, he silently put it back.

"Let's talk about it after we find Mingjin."

(End of this chapter)