Erii: A Journey Through the Heavens Begins with Frilian

The mountain lord's corpse, like a dissipating veil of smoke, stained the snow-covered sky as dark as ink.

Suddenly, the black and white "curtain" was torn apart by a sharp buzzing sound, and clusters of black dots gleaming with a cold light fell from the sky.

Arrow rain!

Philen shielded everyone behind her, raising her hand to create a huge magical shield that effortlessly caught all the crossbow bolts.

"What is that?" Shutark narrowed his eyes and shouted.

Following his guidance, Erii saw a metal sphere resembling a sea urchin fall down, its surface shimmering with a deep, lightning-like luster.

"A one-time attack type magical device," the knowledgeable Frilian explained.

boom--

The magical artifact touched the magic shield, instantly unleashing a burst of dazzling lightning magic, and the violent attack blasted the shield into cracks.

Philon increased his magic output, intending to stabilize the shield.

Whoosh!

The explosion came from the entrance to the valley to the side, and a crossbow bolt as thick as an arm roared as it approached.

Shutark swung his axe and chopped, and with a clang, the crossbow bolt was knocked away.

Almost simultaneously, several agile figures leaped down from above, swiftly and fiercely bypassing the blind spots of the magic shield, and launched a close-range attack on Philon and Frilian.

Puff puff!

The trial has begun.

The sinister expressions on their faces suddenly cleared, and they saw each other's heads slowly sliding off their necks.

"It's them!" the pink-haired loli whispered, covering her mouth.

Without her prompting, Erii and the others recognized the newcomers as the temporary caravan they had encountered in the village earlier.

"Were you already lying in ambush here?" Frilian glanced at Hugh Tarrk with a sly look. "Did you offend some important person before?"

"Huh? How did you blame me! How could I, such an honest, timid, and pitiful person, possibly cause trouble!" Hugh Tarkton retorted, feeling wronged and on the verge of tears.

"Philan has been following me all along, so she has no chance to do anything wrong. Erii is also out of the question; if you offend her, you'll die on the spot, and there's no chance to settle scores later." Frilian pondered seriously.

An invisible black line appeared on Philon's forehead. "Ms. Frillian, is it possible that it was you?"

"Impossible, I'm harmless," Frilian said earnestly.

Shutark scratched his head, thinking that if he had to say, all three girls in his team seemed harmless, at least on the surface—but in reality, each one was ruthless and cold-blooded.

Whoohoo!

In the blink of an eye, more than ten people appeared above and at the exit.

"Grandpa Nock, what are you doing!" the pink-haired loli shouted, hands on her hips.

The old man at the head of the caravan was over sixty years old and was the leader of the caravan.

"It's none of your business. We're just doing this for a fee. We don't want to cause any trouble, especially with a hero like Frilian involved." Old Man Nock said nicely, but his eyes were filled with ruthlessness.

He didn't look sixty at all; he held a pair of curved knives, and his lean and muscular body was revealed beneath his half-open coarse linen clothes.

"Are you bounty hunters from the underground black market?" Shutalk was actually quite knowledgeable and experienced, and he could tell at a glance which faction or school the other party belonged to in terms of their behavior.

"Attack! Quickly finish this, don't give them a chance to chant!" Old Master Nock was no novice and knew the weaknesses of mages well.

A dozen or so people leaped out at once, exuding a ruthless and murderous aura, as if they were licking blood from the edge of a knife.

puff--

They all crashed into a huge, invisible blade, like cattle and sheep in a slaughterhouse, their body parts falling apart in unison. The bloody scene terrified the pink-haired little girl, who covered her eyes.

"Evil, demon~"

In an instant, only the stunned old man Knock remained. He swallowed hard, then took off running.

Hugh Talke leaped up and delivered a flying kick that sent old man Knox sprawling face-first into the dirt, knocking out several of his teeth.

"Confess honestly, and I might consider sparing your life!" Hugh Tarek threatened, stepping on the back of the other man's head.

"I'll talk, I'll talk!" Knowing that the situation was hopeless, Old Man Nock was not going to be ungrateful.

After Erii and the others came up, he then explained the whole story.

It turned out that not long ago, the arrogant boss he had worked with before contacted him through a secret letter, entrusting him with a new bounty, the reward of which was so generous that it made him feel excited as if he had regained the vigor of his eighteen-year-old self.

The bounty states: Regardless of the means used, the most important thing is to capture the red-haired girl alive; if she can kill the elf magician Frilian, the reward will be doubled.

Philon and Shutark exchanged a shocked glance. They hadn't expected that these guys' target was the innocent Erii, and that even the dignified Frilian was just a side project.

"I have a bounty on my head?"

Erii wrinkled her pretty nose, wondering what she had done to deserve this.

But she knew that her originally wonderful trip was gradually being stained with blood by villains.

This fantastical otherworld is also gradually revealing its dark side, whether it's the demons or human nature.

Erii doesn't like it.

"Who is the boss?" Frilian asked, as if looking at a corpse.

"I don't know. How could I possibly be qualified to come into contact with that kind of society? But one thing I am very clear about is that the client is definitely not a single person. It could be an organization or a group." Old Master Nock was afraid that if he spoke too slowly, he would be killed by Frilian with a wand.

"Are there any magicians among you? Have you attacked us before?" Frilian pressed, referring to the mysterious deaths of Marco and Mada.

Grandpa Nock hurriedly shook his head. "Absolutely not. However, I'm certain of one thing: they've commissioned more than just our group, because all the bounty hunters in this area are swarming out like vultures that have smelled blood!"

The thought of the waves of attacks to come sent a shiver down his spine.

"Ms. Frilian, things are more serious than we thought. You and Miss Erii are in great danger now," Philon said worriedly.

"I'm not afraid, let them come," Erii said softly.

"This danger is nothing compared to entering the Demon King's Castle back then," Frillian said calmly.

As expected of a seasoned veteran with an impressive resume, he silenced Philon with his very first words.

……

Old Master Nock was released by Frillian. As for how he was released...

But Erii saw from afar that Frilian kicked old man Nock off the cliff, and then fired a magic bullet that triggered an avalanche, faithfully giving him a chance to live.

After returning to the land of swords, everyone rested, exhausted.

It was late at night.

"Philan, Phyllan, no, please don't do this, I'm so shy... Ahhh, Phyllan, please stop, please!"

Alone in his room, Hugh Tarek lay sprawled on his bed, muttering incoherently in his sleep in a soft, whimpering tone, a mixture of shyness, anger, grievance, and pity.

In the darkness, a slender, snow-white hand caressed his cheek, the fingertips moving slowly downwards, tracing his handsome jawline to his muscular chest.

Then, the hand gently and intimately lifted his clothes, touching his warm skin.

"Phew~~ Ouch~~"

In the darkness, the sound of a woman's suppressed gasps could be heard.