I really don't want to date a girl addicted to the internet!

After a brief exchange, Eve was overwhelmed with shock. While desperately launching an attack, she shouted, "Impossible! You're neither a magic knight nor an elf, so how can you keep up with my speed?"

"So I'm good enough to be her guard, right? Can we stop now?" Cheng Fei shouted at her in the same way. Every time he fought an elf, it would turn into this. He even suspected that shouting at each other during battle was some kind of custom among the elves.

"Stop talking nonsense unless you really defeat me!" Eve's hostility intensified. She chanted the incantation again, making the light of the longsword in her hand shine brighter. The blue light blade expanded outwards, making the blade longer and wider. It was released like an attack effect in some video games. Her silver ponytail also moved without wind, swaying in the air.

The elf brandished a longsword that seemed to transform into a giant sword and attacked the boy. The blade, shrouded in light, emitted a chilling buzzing sound as it danced.

"Tsk, well then I'll have to grant your wish!" Cheng Fei focused his attention completely.

Time zero, slowed down fifty times.

The shimmering dust particles in the air suddenly froze in place, and in this strange sight, the world before the boy's eyes seemed to freeze.

With the same 50x slowdown, and thanks to the Stand's stronger body in the corridor, the boy moved even faster in the frozen world. If 8 points of Agility was enough for him to fight Rhea to a standstill, then 9 points of Agility completely surpassed the power of the elves.

As he swung his sword with all his might, it resembled a supersonic fighter jet hurtling through the air. Dense condensation clouds rolled and covered the blade, and the shrill whistling sound of the air being torn apart was deafening.

The elf in front of her barely managed to block the first sword strike with her fighting instincts. Her face slowly revealed horror, and her expression became inexplicably comical as it changed. The boy's second wave of attacks came again, with sword swings that were also incredibly fast. They even caused strange white mist to surge in the air, which she could not understand. The overwhelming force struck her sword, smashing her weapon away without giving her a chance to gather strength to defend.

The elf's longsword flew from his hand, the dazzling runes and light on its blade quickly fading, returning to its original form, and spinning as it plunged deep into the wall not far away.

The terrifying battle came and went quickly. When the elf lost her weapon, the young man casually exhaled, raised his black longsword, and pointed it at her. "Satisfied?"

“This is impossible…” The elf named Eve knelt down with a thud, staring wide-eyed at her palm.

Her companions quickly shielded her behind them, their eyes fixed on the boy with a look of fear and apprehension.

Leia quickly retrieved Eve's lost weapon, bent down and placed it in her hand, looking into her eyes, her tone not loud but firm, "Tell the Grand Elder that I will not go back."

Eve looked at her and opened her mouth.

After saying this, the elven saintess returned to Cheng Fei, whispered a thank you, and then looked at Shen Xi and Wei Nuo, "Let's go quickly."

So, with the helpless gazes of the elves, the group of four left the scene.

……

On the way back to the dock.

"These elves are really impolite, charging around recklessly," the boy remarked, putting his hands behind his head.

“After all, Riften is not Imperial territory. Elves are transcendent beings in the eyes of ordinary humans, so of course they can do whatever they want.” Shen Xi shook his head.

"By the way, Teacher Shen, don't you think I looked pretty cool just now?" The boy changed the subject, not without pride. "If you're interested, I'll show you next time. Actually, I can create a sonic boom in real life too."

Shen Xi glanced at him, a cold sneer tinged with disdain, "Trash who won't tell me their secrets shouldn't flaunt them in front of me."

"You're too rigid, Teacher Shen. You're not the kind of boring person who doesn't appreciate the magician's performance when watching magic shows and insists on figuring out the underlying principles, are you?" Cheng Fei said helplessly.

"Sorry, I'm just that kind of boring person." The aloof girl raised her chin and tossed her hair.

Leia looked at the two of them, clenched her fists, lowered her head, and said with a guilty voice, "I'm sorry, I've caused you trouble again this time."

"Piece of cake." Cheng Fei waved his hand, curious. "By the way, what's your relationship with her? I always felt she got really angry when she heard I was a bodyguard."

“She… was my original personal bodyguard.” Leia remained silent.

Cheng Fei opened his mouth, "Okay, I hope she doesn't hate me too much."

"I was so scared just now. I thought you guys were going to kill someone. I don't want to get involved in any weird things." After a long silence, Weinuo patted her chest and breathed a sigh of relief, looking like she was afraid of getting into trouble.

Leaving aside the concerns about Vino, when the four returned to the dock, the other team from the Miriam also happened to return.

Nagasaki Asuna rushed up to Cheng Fei in a panic, as if grasping at a straw, "Cheng Fei, something's happened to An!"

“Little Darkness has been captured by Edward!” Miriam said, following up.

"What's going on?" Cheng Fei looked at the group.

Soon, the entire crew of the Miriam gathered in the cockpit to exchange information.

After listening to Nagasaki Asuna's explanation, Cheng Fei rubbed his chin and asked, "So Edward really did chase us all the way to Riften?"

“Shuangshuang saw it with her own eyes, it’s absolutely true.” Nagasaki Asuna nodded vigorously.

Ye Shuang sat upright to the side, seemingly understanding but not quite, her gaze meeting the boy's before she looked away.

"Teacher Shen, is this reasonable?" Cheng Fei turned his head.

Shen Xi lowered her eyes. "When we left Yongquan Town, in order to save fuel, we entered a low-speed cruising state after going not far. We may have been followed from that time on, but we didn't notice because we lacked professional sailors on the ship."

“Okay, let’s assume that Nana discovered earlier that the people tailing her were Edward’s men, and we managed to shake off the pursuers by moving to the dock. That explains why he hasn’t attacked yet.” Cheng Fei clicked his tongue.

"But Xiao An has been captured by him, what should we do now?" Nagasaki Asuna asked with a worried expression.

"Don't rush, his target is Leia. If it were me, I would definitely keep Xiao An as a hostage to force Leia to appear," the boy analyzed seriously.

"As expected of the despicable Cheng Feiyu," Shen Xi sneered.

"What does 'despicable' mean, Teacher Shen? Do you think he would pass up such an opportunity? I don't believe it. If there were such an upright person in the world, I'd treat you all to ice cream." The boy said confidently.

671. Rhea's Melancholy

"Cheng Feiyu, judging others by his own standards." Shen Xi sneered again.

"Let's not talk about this for now, Teacher Shen. I hope that when the facts are clear, you'll treat everyone to a meal. That would show that you, the Celestial Queen, have some backbone." The boy shook his head and sighed.

"Cheng Fei, Cheng Fei, I believe in you, but what should we do in this situation?" Zhou Han looked at the boy with her round eyes, showing complete trust in him.

Shen Xi stared at the map table in front of her, her eyes slightly narrowed.

Rhea, her brow furrowed, took a deep breath and looked up. "Edward wouldn't have captured Dark if it weren't for me. If all else fails, use me..."

Cheng Fei raised his hand to interrupt her, his tone leaving no room for argument, "We will not consider this plan unless absolutely necessary. The most urgent task is to prepare for battle. Edward will definitely make threats next. We will wait for him to show up and then see how the situation is before launching a rescue operation."

“But the fuel hasn’t been replenished yet, and the tailless scorpion hasn’t been repaired.” Shen Xi frowned slightly.

"So we should still prioritize solving these two issues. Also, bring more weapons from the corridor. In the worst-case scenario, we need to defeat Edward's entire fleet without relying on the Tailless Scorpion." As he said this, Cheng Fei's face became more serious.

"Wouldn't that mean killing a lot of people?" Zhou Han's eyes widened, her round pupils gradually becoming empty. "But we have no choice for Xiao An's sake. We didn't mean to, we didn't mean to..."

"Hehe, looks like it's my turn to perform again. Don't worry, everyone can hide behind me!" Miriam's eyes sparkled as she puffed out her flat chest and patted it vigorously.

"Shuangshuang, why don't you come too?" Nagasaki Asuna grabbed Ye Shuang's small hand.

"Me? Okay, if I have time." The girl with pigtails avoided her expectant gaze, a hint of guilt on her pretty face.

"Wait a minute!" An untimely voice suddenly rang out. Vino stared at the group of warmongers who had suddenly become eager to fight. "Who exactly is this Edward? What's going on with the fleet? You want to go to war with him?"

"Sorry, I forgot to explain. Edward is the commander of the Imperial Second Special Operations Fleet, and also our enemy. His appearance means that the Imperial fleet is near Riften. He has captured our comrades, and we may have to fight him to the death." Cheng Fei shrugged casually.

As soon as she finished speaking, under everyone's gaze, the baby-faced girl suddenly froze, "...?"

"I didn't activate Time Zero either?" Cheng Fei looked around.

After a few seconds, Vino slowly blinked, tilted her head like a rusty robot, clasped her hands in front of her, and walked stiffly out of the cockpit without turning her head. She said, "I didn't hear what you were saying just now. I suddenly remembered that Grandpa asked me to go back to the association. Also, remember that the dock is only lent to you. If you break anything, you will have to pay for it. If the dock is damaged, you will have to pay for it even more. Goodbye."

She disembarked at the same pace, quickly left the dock, and disappeared from everyone's sight.

“That’s true. She has no connection with us, so how could she possibly go on an adventure with us?” Nagasaki Asuna turned around and sighed softly.

"It's more accurate to say that it's already good enough that she's willing to do this," Cheng Fei shrugged.

Only Ye Shuang blinked, puzzled, "So she wasn't a maid on this ship?"

Leaving aside the issue of Ye Shuang, the group on the ship discussed it for a while and decided to log off for the time being. After all, Edward needed to give them some time to consider before threatening them with hostages.

Once everyone had entered the cabin as usual, the huge airship became silent.

Leia stared at the now empty cockpit and silently lowered her head.

The girl came to the deck alone and leaned against the ship's railing, looking up at the magic lights on the dock ceiling, feeling as if she were looking at bright stars.

Once, on the World Tree, she would often climb alone to the highest branch late at night, gazing at the pure and boundless starry sky above and imagining the world beneath it.

Communicating with the World Tree and maintaining the balance of the entire sky of Elkonis with powerful Saint-level magic should have been the inherent duty of the Elven Saintess, but she was completely unable to do so.

It was because the elves lost their power to protect peace that the world was engulfed in war, or at least that's what she believed.

Leaving the canopy for the roots was a dangerous journey, a fact she knew well before setting out. The elder repeatedly tried to stop her, but she insisted on running away anyway.

Not long after entering the Imperial airspace, she found herself in grave danger and realized that her prized magic was actually quite weak. Neither the Demon Knights nor the strange light magic techniques were something she could handle.

After briefly escaping from Yongquan Town only to be captured again, she once thought her life was over. But it was for the best. The death of a generation of saintess would allow the World Tree to choose a new generation of saintess, who might then be able to successfully comprehend saint-level magic and restore peace to the skies of Elkonis.

Unexpectedly, a group of strange people suddenly appeared and saved her, and embarked on a journey with her. Everything went so smoothly that it seemed as if the will of the World Tree was guiding her.

But now, because she is about to face even greater danger, this group of people, who could solve all their problems by simply abandoning her, have no choice but to decide without hesitation to fight the enemy to the death.

It seems like all she can do is cause trouble for those around her and for the world...

The girl's hands clenched so tightly they trembled. She stared blankly at the magic light above her head, pondered for a long time, then took a deep breath and walked towards the gangplank to disembark.

Without that ancient relic called the Tailless Scorpion, fighting against the entire special operations fleet would be far too dangerous. She had to do something, whether it was to save Shadow or to exchange herself for it, no one could die because of her.

At that moment, a figure quietly appeared behind her, so stealthy that she didn't even notice.

"Leya, where are you going?" Nagasaki Asuna tilted her head with her hands behind her back and blinked casually.

“Asuna? I…” The elven saintess turned her face away, her eyes flickering.

"You want to act alone?" His clear, bright eyes seemed to see right through her.

“I just…” Rhea opened her mouth.

"I sensed you were troubled earlier, so I came back to check on you," Nagasaki Asuna smiled. "Can you tell me what you're worried about?"

Looking at her gentle and healing smile, Leia felt a sudden pang in her heart. She lowered her head and said, "Asuna, let me go and exchange for Yami. I don't want to drag you down with me."

“There’s no such thing as implicating comrades.” Nagasaki Asuna walked up to her, smiling as she shook her head.

“But I… am just a burden to you, what kind of companion am I?” Leia clenched her fists and turned her face away, avoiding eye contact with her, a deep sense of self-reproach on her face.

672. Many staff members of the Corridor Research Department are in a coma.

“No, that’s not true. Leia is an important companion to us. Without Leia, we wouldn’t even be able to reach Rift City, let alone go to the Elven Sanctuary.” Nagasaki Asuna softened her tone and gently held her hand.

The elven saintess abruptly raised her head, "How could that be? You could do it so easily..."

Asuna Nagasaki gently interrupted her, "Rhea, we can't stay in this world all day long. It was all thanks to you that we were able to sail the ship to Riften. In the future, we will also need you to sail the ship to the roots of the World Tree."

“This kind of thing can be done by any sailor; it doesn’t necessarily have to be done by me.” Leia’s eyes flickered.

“I only feel at ease leaving it to you, because we’re companions who came all the way from Yongquan Town together, aren’t we? Companions are people you can trust.” Nagasaki Asuna stared at her intently.

"But now..."

“Leya, I know you’re worried. You’ve always felt like you’re a burden to us, even to the world, right?” Nagasaki Asuna looked into her eyes.

"That's exactly it. If I had mastered Saint-level magic sooner, none of these things would have happened..." The elven saintess lowered her head, clenching her teeth even tighter.

Nagasaki Asuna placed her hand on her chest and said softly, "Well, Cheng Fei often says that times create heroes. It means that times are not created by any one person. So-called heroes are just people who happen to go with the flow. That's how the world is now. The war between the Empire and the Allied Forces originated from the contradictions in people's hearts. Even if you comprehend the legendary Saint-level magic, you may be able to temporarily force people to stop fighting, but as long as the contradictions remain, the flames of war will reignite sooner or later. This is not something you can change."

Leia looked at her and opened her mouth.

“The same goes for the Miriam. No one could have escaped from Spring Town if anyone were missing from that ship, so how could Leia be a burden?” Nagasaki Asuna’s sweet voice had an indescribable magic that made people unconsciously let their guard down.

"...What should I do now?" The elven saintess looked at her blankly.

“What Leia should do now is stay on the ship and rest. Don’t act on your own. Tomorrow, continue with the plan that Cheng Fei made. Everyone trusts you and has entrusted the ship to you. You should also trust everyone and believe that we can solve the problem by working together, okay?” Nagasaki Asuna tilted her head to look at her.

Leia bit her lip and remained silent for a moment. She took a deep breath and nodded. "I understand."

Asuna Nagasaki looked at her with a smile.

……

The following day at noon, on the rooftop of the Sakura Club activity building.

"...Ruan Jingyi, I'm so sleepy." Zhou Han leaned unsteadily on her best friend's shoulder, her eyes slightly narrowed, completely devoid of energy, as if she were lost in thought.

The quiet girl next to him was focused on the practice questions in front of her, with faint dark circles under her eyes.

"I'm so sleepy too. I didn't expect to log off until after 2 a.m. last night." Miriam said listlessly, resting her chin on her hand.

Asuna Nagasaki was explaining a problem to Ye Shuang, who also seemed to be drowsy. She cautiously looked at the sweet girl beside her and said, "Nana, can I sleep for ten minutes? Just ten minutes."