Dragon Tribulation of All Realms

Chapter 339 - Adventure Reputation Increased

The feeling of disharmony was suppressed, and the interest that had gradually dissipated earlier silently resurfaced from the depths of his mind at this moment. Wu Chen raised his head and looked at the female thief in front of him who clearly had a rank. Memories in his mind surged, wanting to show him a certain detail, but he simply suppressed this surging image as well.

“Dust,” Wu Chen said calmly—then continued to look at her, waiting for her to act or respond.

“A name I’ve never heard of… I don’t think there’s anyone like you among the adventurers of Lisas.”

"I come from somewhere else."

"...A newbie from the Free City?" The female thief's gaze swept over the burly man who had fallen behind Wu Chen. A complex mix of emotions flickered in her eyes. "To be able to defeat Ukaka in one strike, someone like you can no longer be called a newbie. Even I, your older sister, probably couldn't last more than two hits against you."

She didn't look any older or taller than Wu Chen. But judging from her words, she seemed to have given up on fighting.

Wu Chen continued to look at her.

She paused.

"Sister, my name is Nekai, and I'm the vice-captain here. Little brother, you never seem to have taken the initiative to attack before being attacked, so I think there might be some misunderstanding between us. If there's anything I can do, I'd be happy to help."

"I'm looking for a missing girl." Wu Chen remembered... He tried hard to suppress this insignificant 'remember'.

"Unfortunately, we don't have any kidnapped girls here," Nekai said, seemingly relieved and somewhat cheerful. "Our leader did plan to invite a few pretty girls over recently. However, he just left with his men today and hasn't returned yet—"

She suddenly covered her mouth.

This is a reminder, or rather a signal.

However, before she could finish speaking or even make a move, Wu Chen suddenly swung the Black Night Sword backward. Accompanied by a series of coughing sounds, a tall, thin body convulsed and fell to the ground.

Wu Chen turned around and looked behind him.

He saw a man in a tight-fitting suit, wielding two swords, writhing on the ground, clutching his severed throat. Behind him, several more menacing-looking bandits, clearly better equipped, with the last one carrying a sack that was shaking incessantly, stared dumbfounded at this unexpected turn of events that shattered their worldview.

"The commander was actually..."

"With just one strike, he defeated that Reinhard..."

"He's an adventurer... a seasoned adventurer!"

It turned out to be the case.

It was the increased reputation gained from the kills that changed the status of the novice adventurer. Climbing the ranks through killing was indeed an effective way to accelerate growth. Meanwhile, the armed thieves who should have picked up weapons and fought Wu Chen to the death were now screaming and fleeing in terror.

"Run!" they shouted.

They abandoned their weapons and spoils and fled back the way they came. However, unlike before, Wu Chen gave them a different answer this time.

"Arrow of Flame".

The elemental sphere floated up, and locally unique, highly penetrating fire arrows were generated, rapidly shooting towards the fleeing bandits. In an instant, the last two were pierced through, while the blazing fire arrows in the middle exploded violently.

The cave shook slightly.

The fleeing thieves were already charred and mangled in the explosion of the fire arrows. Only then did Wu Chen turn his gaze back, his eyes sweeping over the sack that had stopped struggling and swaying. Reaching out, he used his telekinetic power to pull the heavy sack to his side.

The rope disintegrated silently.

The contents of the sack came into view under Wu Chen's observation.

She was a young woman with long, light blue hair, dressed in a bartender's uniform, and possessing a remarkably beautiful figure and face. She seemed to have been startled during the earlier battle, briefly fainting, and it would take her a while to regain her senses.

It's not Xiao Guang—of course it's not.

The memories suppressed by Wu Chen surged forth like a spring, revealing concrete information—the girl before her was named Papton Sweetheart, the daughter of a tavern owner in Lisas. In the main storyline of Lance One, she was an unfortunate bystander caught up in an unexpected turn of events. Her whereabouts were unrelated to Xiao Guang's; she was simply captured by bandits.

She's not very lucky.

In the original timeline, when Lance found her in the cave, she had already been severely abused by the bandit leader Reinhard, subjected to all sorts of physical assault. Even after killing the bandit leader, Lance didn't choose to rescue her directly; instead, he did this and that to her before doing so.

Regret.

However, in the current timeline, Lance has become Miss Lance. Before she was defiled, she was rescued by a more refined individual. And coincidentally, she fainted at the right moment.

Wu Chen heard the soft sound of Nekai letting out a sigh of relief.

"She almost saw my face..." The vice-captain of the thieves' gang breathed a sigh of relief, his eyes now filled with fear as he looked at Wu Chen. "Little brother, can we... continue our previous conversation?"

She gently tugged at her already rather open collar, her tone carrying a hint of allure.

"If you're not satisfied, little brother, I have some other good things I can give you. Don't let my appearance fool you, I've always kept myself pure and proper here."

That's not entirely untrue.

At least in the original timeline, there is a corresponding dialogue.

Wu Chen thought for a moment, then took out Xiao Guang's photo. Using telekinesis, he propelled it to Nekai's face. A few seconds later, he precisely captured the bewildered look in Nekai's eyes.

she does not know.

Of course she doesn't know.

The one who kidnapped Hikari was Princess Lyria of Lysas. This thief probably hadn't even made contact with Hikari's family. And because of this, the confusion and anxiety in her eyes gradually turned into fear and panic.

“You don’t know,” Wu Chen stated—he had originally hoped for some unexpected variable to appear.

"I..." She opened her mouth, seemingly wanting to argue something. But in the end, whether it was the will to survive or a mental check, she only gave a dejected answer.

"I don't know... but I can help you look it up! I know a lot of people, and I'm very well-informed!"

Wu Chen nodded, but did not give her a clear response—his gaze passed over her and landed in a distant direction behind her.

"Is there someone trapped inside the walls deep within this cave?"

(End of this chapter)