You are all my wings!

They might wipe and clean their equipment, chew on monster jerky, or simply practice their swordsmanship.

Maggie yawned: "Iris, you can't say that. How can you speak like a widow waiting for her husband to return?"

“Master Machiru, I... I'm not a wife yet, don't talk nonsense.”

"Not yet? Iris, don't you have any self-awareness?"

"Self-awareness? What am I self-aware of?"

"Looking at you, what else could you and Leon be but a couple deeply in love?"

Maggie said with a disdainful look.

"A passionate, ardent love between lovers?"

Iris blinked, tilted her head, and pondered the meaning of the sentence.

boom!!!!

Intense heat shot out from above Iris's head like boiling water from a kettle.

From her long, straight neck to her fair cheeks, long, white ear tips, and smooth forehead, everything was stained with a deep red.

"Haha, Iris, your face is so red, you're so innocent."

Maggie patted her stomach and laughed so hard she almost fell over.

Iris didn't say anything, and blushed to herself.

Nearby, Milo and Mark chewed on monster jerky and began to discuss.

Milo: "I didn't expect Miss Iris to be so shy."

Mark: "What I didn't expect was that she didn't realize that her relationship with Your Excellency had become very much like that."

Milo: "Ah, I'm so envious. Every time I see Miss Iris like this, I'm so envious of you, sir."

“I could tell you were twisted with jealousy before, Milo.”

Bovary walked over and joined the conversation.

Over this period of time, he has gradually felt that he can keep up with the pace of conversation of his teammates, has become more cheerful, and is no longer so low-key.

Of course, he was very grateful to Lyon for this.

"Yes, I admit that. I have reflected on why I was like that. After thinking about it carefully, I realized that I initially placed Your Excellency in a lower position than myself, so I always felt that he was unworthy of his achievements and the lady's affection."

"Oh, it's rare that you've said something that makes sense."

Mark gave a thumbs up:

"So, what are your thoughts now?"

"I'm the one who doesn't deserve it."

Milo clenched his fist, a flame igniting in his eyes:

"From today onward, I will bid farewell to all my past laziness and train with greater dedication and focus to become stronger and worthy of the title of Paladin! Once I reach that point, I believe the ladies will see my charm!"

Marc and Bovary exchanged a glance, sensing that there was something subtly wrong with Miro's change of direction.

"Never mind, whatever makes you happy."

"That's right, the key now is how to get through this."

Bovary said.

"Aren't we safe enough now? What do you mean by 'getting through this'?"

Milo found it strange.

"Didn't you notice that some of the people carried back are already completely dead?"

Bovary shook his head:

“I have already estimated that the casualty rate for each mission is at least 20%, and the mortality rate is 7%. That means that out of three seriously wounded, one will succumb to the curse and die.”

Upon hearing this number, Mark and Milo were both startled.

"That's really exaggerated?"

"If even these teams, led by at least fourth or fifth rank, are like this, it means the intensity of the battles is increasing. We should prepare more."

The expressions of the group all turned serious.

At this moment, Iris, who had been blushing from what Machiru said, finally broke free from her feverish state.

She asked Maggie hesitantly:

"Master Machiru, since you find it funny, what about you? Do you have someone you like?"

By saying this, she was implicitly admitting to something.

"Like it? Humph!"

Maggie said disdainfully:

"As a witch, a powerful figure who possesses both alchemy and magic spellcasting abilities, my only true love is myself! To love someone else is simply impossible!"

“Master Machiru, I feel that you clearly have it.”

"Miss Iris! Don't try to understand a master like me with your naive mind!"

Maggie puffed out her chest and looked down at Iris, who was half a head taller than her.

Iris blinked and said, "Okay, I'll remember what you said."

"Remember it!"

"Remember what?"

Lyon's voice came through.

Iris turned her head in surprise and found that Maggie had also turned in the same direction at the same speed. The two exchanged a subtle glance.

Ahead, Lyon and Britta walked side by side.

"It's nothing, there's nothing there!"

Maggie denied it repeatedly, while giving Iris a meaningful look.

Iris smiled and said:

“I’m learning some alchemy from Master Magiru. She’s been teaching me some very effective incantations.”

"Oh? Iris, why are you suddenly interested in alchemy?"

"It's always good to have more knowledge, after all, you'll face all sorts of difficulties in the future. If you know more, you can help yourself more."

Iris moved closer to Leon and grabbed his arm in a somewhat coquettish manner.

Lyon's heart skipped a beat. Why was this girl suddenly being so proactive again?

He didn't think much of it; Elise had been taking the initiative from time to time lately, and he was getting used to it.

"My dear and respectable master, so what were you talking about for so long? And why did you all come back together?"

Maggieru's gaze darted between Britta and Lyon, her eyes scrutinizing.

Britta ignored Maggielu and smiled slightly:

"Since everyone is here, I have a few things to say."

Although Maggie and Iris have unknowingly become very close, there is still a subtle barrier between Maggie and Britta.

The reasons for this estrangement are complex, but both of them implicitly acknowledge that they are not very good at dealing with each other, so they tacitly ignore each other.

Therefore, when Ophelia asked Britta to borrow Magiru, Britta's first thought was to ask Leon.

"First, let's talk about the next steps."

Britta said:

"I will continue to go to the wounded and sick areas to cast spells to heal those cursed by the shadows. Karl, you four, starting today, you will be added to the third squad of the Royal Knights to participate in the suppression and cleanup of monsters."

Iris raised her hand and said, "Oh, what about me and Leon?"

“You are free agents. If you’re willing, Iris, you can come and help me. Haven’t you been practicing your intermediate-level Light Healing and Light Purification spells lately? There are plenty of wounded people here for you to practice on.”

"Brietta said."

"A free man?"

Iris blinked: "Why are Leon and I free agents?"

Lyon laughed and said, "Iris, we're just unofficial staff anyway, so it's best if we don't have anything to do. Of course, if you want to practice, I think that's fine too. Her Highness the Princess has already paid the Saintess for the service."

This was the result of discussions between Lyon and Britta.

Because Orpheus will soon launch a major campaign to eradicate monsters, and considering that she has withheld some information, Leon's mission is to stay in the camp and rest, and take any opportunity to go out and gather intelligence, so as to find out more of Orpheus's secrets as soon as possible.

When playing on the opponent's home turf, intelligence is naturally the top priority.

Therefore, only Leon, who possesses the rare profession of Shadowwalker, could accomplish this intelligence gathering.

As for Keron and Keku, who had been caught red-handed, Leon naturally assigned them different tasks.

"Alright, then I'll go practice with Britta."

Iris originally wanted to stay with Leon, but after thinking about it, she realized that Hamra was still waiting for her to save her life, so she had to give up this tempting option.

Chapter 160 Leon's Eavesdropping

late at night.

A blurry figure darted across the ground.

It was Leon who initiated the Shadow Leap.

His goal this time was to observe Ophimasso's actions and find the core intelligence of her plan.

The 41st floor is dark all day long and seems unchanged, but that's not the case. There are eight hours of absolute darkness every day.

During this period of absolute darkness, the Legion's operations will be rapidly scaled back, and it will be in a state of overall reorganization.

If Ophimasso needed to handle matters related to the plan, this would be the time.

Soon after, Lyon arrived at Orpheus's personal tent.

Compared to the busyness of other times, the tent curtains were now closed, with only a candlelight illuminating the scene. Through the white curtain, one could see the graceful silhouette of Ophimasso sitting alone, reading a document.

"What is she reading at this hour, all alone?"

Lyon's figure leaped up from the ground and landed silently.

After observing Ophimasso through the white curtain of the tent for a moment, he felt something was amiss.

It wasn't meditation, nor was it breathing exercises; judging from the body posture, it seemed to be reading something.

But this is an underground city, not a palace where I need to handle government documents.

Leon maintained his Shadow Breathing state, lying prone on the ground, making him extremely well concealed.

Shadow Breathing is a fundamental skill for Shadow Walkers. It doesn't consume much magic power, but it does require a lot of concentration.

Moreover, this breathing technique is much more difficult than the Knight's Breathing Technique. Lyon can only maintain it for a maximum of 20 minutes at a time.

Therefore, his observation time this time will be within 20 minutes.

Once this time limit is exceeded, he must retreat, or use Shadow Leap to leave and hide in another location.

After waiting for five or six minutes, Lyon heard the sound.

"Your Highness, Lady Timia, Grand Magician Tangde, Sword King Moron, Spear King Saide, and Assassin King Xuertuo pay their respects."

"Let them come in directly, without waiting, so as not to be seen by others."

Huh? What a coincidence, I just arrived a few minutes ago and I've run into all these experts gathering here.

These names were all very familiar to Lyon; they were a group of sixth-tier experts recruited by Ophelia.

Among them, Timiya and Tangde are both strong fifth-tier, which is roughly equivalent to sixth-tier warrior-class experts.

The three titles that follow, Sword King, Spear King, and Assassin King, are commonly used to refer to warrior-type classes after they reach the sixth rank, and are honorifics with the word "King".