That protagonist is trash; I could do better!

When the woman saw Shinji Matou follow Felt in, her eyes softened and looked like a woman who had finally met her beloved. She licked the milk off her red lips, her emotions so high that her voice sounded like a moan: "I knew it, my premonition would come true. You really are an insider. That means there are no more worries."

She unleashed her murderous aura without restraint, causing the robust old man next to her, who had been drunk, to change his expression drastically. Due to excessive tension, he crushed the wooden wine glass in his hand.

"you···"

Sensing the terrifying murderous aura, Felt finally understood that Shinji Matou's words to her were not an exaggeration at all. This woman was dangerous, and dealing with her was like walking a tightrope; one wrong step could lead to utter ruin.

Chapter 103 The Disruptor and the Gut Hunter

Shinji Matou glanced at the dilapidated tavern, then calmly walked to the table: "No need to rush. Whether I get involved or not depends on what happens next."

Sitting opposite the woman, Shinji Matou instructed the old man beside him, "You must be the owner of this shop, Mr. Rom. Could you please pour me a glass of milk as well?"

Shinji Matou glanced at the old man out of the corner of his eye. His body frame was completely unlike that of a human, so he must also be a demi-human.

"Alright, alright!" The robust old man nodded solemnly, went back to the bar to find a cup and poured a cup of hot milk for Shinji Matou as well. He then took the opportunity to step back and give Felt a sharp wink, signaling her to leave this dangerous area.

Shinji Matou took a sip of warm milk, took out the badge Felt had given him, placed it on the table, and asked with a smile, "Is this what you wanted?"

The woman smiled and nodded: "Yes, can you give it back to me? Of course, I can also take it back from your corpse."

"Could you tell me where this badge came from?"

"what?"

The woman was taken aback. She rested her chin on her hands and scrutinized Matou Shinji from head to toe to make sure he wasn't joking. She chuckled and said, "Although this isn't the first time I've said it, young man, you're quite amusing. You get involved without even knowing what a badge is. Meddling in other people's business can lead to your death."

That's why I want to know the answer. Would you be willing to tell me?

“Of course, why not? Once I tell you the value of this badge, no matter what you plan to do next, you'll be an insider. Killing you will become my mission. It's not easy to meet such an interesting person, so I should enjoy myself.” The woman chuckled playfully, her expression gradually turning serious: “This badge is the badge of a dragon, a symbol of the candidates for the throne of this kingdom. It's a precious item that only a dragon priestess recognized by the dragon is qualified to possess. Is this answer satisfactory to you, young man?”

Shinji Matou played with the badge in his hand and smiled: "The badge of the dragon, it sounds like it's not just valuable, but it's worth getting involved in."

“I have already answered your question. This is not something I should be doing. I am an assassin, and I will do anything for a price.” The woman stood up unsteadily, her cold eyes hiding a bloodthirsty madness, and a faint smile appeared on her lips: “The reward for the question is your life.”

Hiss~

The blade tore through the air, the eerie heavy dagger drawing an arc of light, fast and ruthless, aimed straight for Shinji Matou's neck.

呲味~

Shinji Matou appeared unmoved, but his alchemy was already poised to be unleashed. His Mystic Eyes shone brightly, and with his pupils forming circles, he stared at the stone wall behind the woman. Blue arcs of light leaped, reorganizing the material structure, and suddenly cone-shaped spikes sprang from the wall, piercing towards the woman's heart.

Huh?

Sensing the wind behind her, the woman's expression changed slightly. She quickly lowered her body and jumped to the side, creating distance between herself and Matou Shinji. Noticing the strange changes in the wall, she dared not attack rashly.

呲味味~

The alchemy continued, the blue arc leaping and following the woman's body. Wherever it went, walls and wood turned into spears and spikes. If the woman hesitated even slightly, her body would be riddled with thorns.

Faced with a deadly crisis, the woman's face showed great enjoyment, and she even managed to find an opportunity to speak while dodging: "This is really interesting! I have never encountered this kind of attack before. Magic? Or an elven sorcerer? I have never encountered prey like you before."

Shinji Matou calmly replied, "It's not certain yet who the hunter is."

boom! boom! boom!

From the wooden floor to the walls, alchemy turned half the house into ruins. The woman's figure was swift and light, like a professional dancer. Her movements were graceful and elegant as she landed on a piercing stone cone and looked down at Shinji Matou. Her face flushed, and her expression and gaze became increasingly morbid and insane.

Shinji Matou saw her weapon clearly; it was similar to a Nepalese kukri, though different in shape. The design concept was the same: the blade was curved and slightly heavy, making it very suitable for slashing and other offensive attacks.

The setting sun streamed into the room through the broken window, and the strange, curved dagger reflected a blood-red light, creating a stagnant atmosphere.

"how so."

The little girl Felt clenched her hands, watching the scene with anxious concern. Hadn't Matou Shinji guessed exactly what was going on? She felt terrible that a stranger had saved her from a deadly attack.

If Shinji Matou knew this would happen, then his previous actions were entirely well-intentioned.

However, she was also very self-aware and knew very well that she could not win against her. Remembering Shinji Matou's instructions before entering the room, she quickly pulled the robust old man away: "Grandpa Rom, let's go, let's leave here first."

“Ferut, isn’t he your friend?” the old man asked hesitantly.

"He only came here for that badge. Hmph, let them fight like dogs." Felt pretended to be gloating to hide the worry in her eyes. Born in the slums, she was well aware of the ways of survival. If she showed too much intimacy with Matou Shinji here, she might become a target for other women and drag Matou Shinji down.

Before leaving the house, she lowered her head, bit her lip, and muttered to herself, "I hope I don't die here, you busybody."

The woman ignored Felt, her narrow eyes never leaving Shinji Matou's body for a moment, and said in a magnetic, husky voice, "My name is Elsa Gransilt, but I prefer to be called by my nickname, 'The Bowel Hunter.' Boy, state your name and let me know who died by my hand."

"In this country, I am just a nobody. My name is Matou Shinji."

“How interesting, your name is just as strange as you.” As she spoke, she suddenly swung the heavy dagger in her hand, the blade reflecting the setting sun, a glint of light suddenly piercing Matou Shinji’s eyes. Almost simultaneously, she launched a surprise attack on Matou Shinji without hesitation, like a venomous snake hunting its prey, the speed and timing were perfectly controlled.

"Is that all?"

Even experienced warriors will reflexively close their eyes when faced with a sudden reflection of light, and by the time they react, it will be too late. Elsa the Bowel Hunter can seize even less than half a second to kill her enemy.

Unfortunately, her opponent was Shinji Matou, who far surpassed her, an assassin, in both strength and experience, and also possessed the Mystic Eyes, making him unafraid of her tricks.

Elsa the Bowel Hunter.

In Shinji Matou's memory, a similar enemy was President King Bradley. They had different weapons, but both were close-combat specialists, extremely fast, and adept at exploiting weaknesses.

However, Shinji Matou believed that Elsa the Bowel Hunter was not even half as strong as President King Bradley.

"You're worthy of your identity as an assassin, all you do is resort to petty tricks."

Shinji Matou gripped the milk cup in his right hand and swung it at the oncoming gut hunter. The milk that spilled from the cup instantly froze into an ice blade, which was then enhanced by alchemy.

Clang!

The recurve dagger clashed with the solid ice, producing a piercing sound. Shinji Matou forced back the Gut Hunter Elsa with a single sword strike. Beneath his feet, matter was transformed and refined, forming stone cones of different shapes that pursued him.

boom!boom!boom!boom!

The gut hunter swung his knife to shatter the incoming stone spikes, but his arm was cut by the rubble, and he was forced to retreat repeatedly. His rhythm was disrupted, and his dodging movements were no longer as composed as they had been at the beginning.

Shinji Matou used his Mystic Eyes to track her figure, continuously performing alchemy with his pupils as the center.

Feet, calves, thighs, stomach, chest, heart, neck, head—alchemically transformed material weapons lock onto the vital points of the Gut Hunter's entire body.

Rumble!

The interior furnishings, including the wooden bar, tables, and load-bearing pillars, were all destroyed by stone spikes. Hundreds of stone spikes pierced through the house, making it look like a hedgehog from the outside.

"It's really intriguing. You're not that old, so how many hells have you traversed to stand here? The stronger you are and the more combat experience you have, the higher your value as a prey!"

Elsa the Bowel Hunter leaped back and forth in the cramped space of the house like a shadow, her supple body making incredible movements that allowed her to move freely through the dense cluster of stone pillars.

What an interesting opponent!

The Bowel Hunter's smile deepened. She herself felt that the timing of her attack just now was incredibly skillful, so she used all her strength to try and kill Matou Shinji directly.

Matou Shinji's reaction was within her expectations. She never imagined that such a young body of Matou Shinji contained such terrifying power. Even though she had used magic to enhance this attack, it was still suppressed.

Chapter 104 Gathering Together

"Found you, thief!"

On the outer street of the slum, the silver-haired girl Emilia stood with her hands on her hips, her eyebrows raised as she looked at Rom and Felt walking towards her.

Ferut wore a defeated and frustrated expression, repeatedly lamenting her bad luck, saying she had just escaped one danger only to fall into another.

Beside Emilia was a dashing red-haired knight who looked at Felt with surprise: "Lady Emilia, is she the thief who stole your Dragon Emblem? She seems a little young."

"I'm sure she's fast and cunning; even I can't catch her without risking her injury."

The elf Puck floated in mid-air and said to Felt with a grin, "This time, I won't let you escape."

Ferut responded irritably, "It's you again. You're really persistent."

"Tell me, what kind of mess have you gotten yourself into? Putting aside that dangerous woman, red hair, dragon claw sword, knight's attire—this old man of mine can't possibly handle the Sword Saint Rhine Lut." Grandpa Rom scratched his bald head and muttered helplessly. However, he wasn't too nervous. Compared to that dangerous woman, the situation here was much better. Although he was no match for her, there was no real danger.

“I don’t care about all that,” Ferut said nonchalantly.

Emilia stepped forward, extended her right hand to Felt, and reprimanded him sternly: "Now you should give up, return the badge to me, and I might consider not pursuing the matter further."

Ferut shrugged. "The badge is no longer on me."

Emilia pressed on urgently, "What did you say? That's something very important!"

Parker stretched out his cat paw, and a ball of cold air condensed into it: "I advise you to behave yourself."

"I'm telling the truth, I gave it to someone else."

"who is it?"

"I don't know either, I only know that his name is Matou Shinji."

Parker was taken aback: "Shinji Matou... isn't that the mage we met not long ago? He's here too. Was he the one who orchestrated this?"

Ferut shrugged: "No, although I don't like that guy, I did accept his kindness. My employer is someone else, and a rather dangerous one at that. He's fighting with my employer to protect me."

"how so."

With his body suspended in mid-air, Parker looked in another direction from the slums and said knowingly, "No wonder there was such a strong magical fluctuation in the slums."

Sword Saint Reinhard stepped forward with a smile and suggested, "This matter doesn't seem to be so easy to resolve. It's good that you came along. Leave the work of collecting the badges to me, Lady Emilia."

The young swordsman bowed to Felt and politely asked, "Miss Thief, could you please take us to the place you mentioned? I can guarantee your safety."

Felt glared at the red-haired swordsman: "Who are you calling a thief! You have no manners at all, or I'll chop you up!"

"I'm so sorry, I don't know your name yet." Sword Saint Reinhard chuckled.

"Humph!"

Felt appeared disdainful, but in reality, she secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Born in the capital, she naturally knew the famous swordsman Reinhard, who was hailed as the knight among knights and had never been defeated. Such a great figure would be a piece of cake to deal with mere assassins. Although she might be punished afterward, it was nothing compared to the danger to her life.

“I will not tell my name to the knights. Humph, they should still be there. Come with me.”

······

Felt led the swordsman Reinhardt and Emilia to Rom's loot room, where they could hear a loud noise from a short distance away.

The doors and windows of the buildings on both sides of the street were tightly locked, and the residents of the slum watched the situation unfold from the shadows, the atmosphere quiet and heavy.

"Although I was mentally prepared, this killing intent is still quite astonishing." Reinhard stared at the house, which had been mostly destroyed by alchemy, one hand habitually resting on the sword at his waist.

Puck flew to Emilia's shoulder and stood there, feeling the surging magic in the atmosphere. He whispered solemnly, "We've encountered a mage named Matou Shinji before. His magic is strange, and his strength is undeniably formidable. He's also the type who excels in combat. I'm curious who can fight him for so long without being defeated."

"Let's go, let's retrieve the badge."

"Wait, Emilia."