Chapter 378: Chapter 378 - A Castle Silhouetted Against the Night Sky
Chapter 378: - A Castle Silhouetted Against the Night Sky
"Tell me, how did you get here, and how do we get these people out of here?" Broken asked the question firmly while the elf smirked slightly at his inquiry.
"How could you expect me to share such information so easily?" she replied.
"Well..." Broken responded, "I didn't think you'd still choose the hard way when we all have the same goal here."
"How can I trust you? I don't even know you."
"The same goes for me," he said.
Marlene chimed in, "Tell us your conditions, and let's move on with our plan."
"I want to make sure my friends and family are safe, and I promise that after that, I'll help get these humans out of here too. That's the deal."
Broken sighed at her words. "You came here intending to save them on your own, but now you're hoping for our help? I thought you were strong enough to handle this by yourself." "You're seriously testing my patience, human- player!" Elowen snapped.
Broken understood the situation they both found themselves in. While they needed each other, the elf girl's actions made sense. She knew she was at a disadvantage, and instead of trying to fight the players, she focused on leveraging the one thing she had-something valuable enough to give her bargaining power.
In the end, realizing their mutual need, Broken agreed to the deal. They would continue their journey that night, aiming to rescue any remaining slaves at the destination. The elf promised to lead them all out of Hell once the mission was complete.
At the same time, Broken was prepared to kill them all if the elf tried to deceive him with this agreement. But the fact that he even considered such a thought showed that neither side fully trusted the other, which was understandable.
After all, the elf had too many secrets, including her ability to sense when he attempted to inspect her status a few days ago and her talent for telepathy-an ability that intrigued him. After finalizing their plan for the night, the other members of the Shadow Wolves arrived. They divided the tasks-two of them would take the rescued humans to a safe location, while the rest would join the upcoming mission, which was sure to involve a major battle.
They all donned the armor left behind by the demons, using it to disguise themselves and avoid drawing attention to the fact that the demon convoy had been sabotaged. Of course, the carriages were now empty, with no slaves inside.
Elowen and the beast-kin, a bunny girl, would also join the night's mission. Both of them had put on the demon armor as well, blending in with the group. As they prepared for the journey, they shared details about their roles in the upcoming battle, ensuring everyone was on the same page.
[Name: Mira]
[Level: 175]
[Strength: ??? | Agility: 650 | Intelligence: 320 | Constitution: ??? | Stamina: ???]
[Name: Elowen]
[Level: ???]
[Strength: ??? | Agility: 577 | Intelligence: 657 | Constitution: ??? | Stamina: 325]
Mira, the Bunny girl, was an assassin, which wasn't surprising given her high Agility stat. Meanwhile, Elowen, the elf, was a magic sword fighter, blending swordsmanship with magic -a fitting role given her high Intelligence stat.
However, it was clear that their levels were not as high as needed to face the powerful demons they were about to encounter. But they had no other choice; they had to join the expedition. Both were determined to rescue their friends and family, no matter the risks.
Broken, Marlene and the two of them found themselves inside the same carriage as their journey continued.
"That demon said it'll take about two hours to reach our destination, so we have enough time to prepare," Marlene said. She was sitting in the corner, one leg crossed over the other, relaxing with a drink in hand. After that, she seemed to lose interest in the conversation, focusing on herself and not bothering with the others.
Mira, the bunny girl, had short white hair and a pair of rabbit ears-the only visible sign that she was a Beast-kin, as the rest of her appearance was quite human-like. Elowen, on the other hand, was a typical forest elf, much like Princess Alora, with an average human height and short blond hair.
The journey was filled with silence, a clear sign that they still weren't entirely comfortable with one another due to the misunderstandings that had occurred. But then, Broken himself wasn't one for long conversations, so he found the quiet rather convenient.
"Mr. Broken..." Mira eventually broke the silence.
He snapped out of his thoughts and looked over at her. "Yes?"
"For some reason, are you from Dissidia Kingdom?" she asked, her voice soft, matching her youthful appearance. The bunny girl looked to be under 20, maybe around 18-the same age as Lily.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om
"Hell has a world setting similar to Yunatea, and since we're now in a region connected to Dissidia Kingdom, is that why you're asking, Mira?" he responded, turning the question back
on her.
Mira nodded slowly, her gaze shifting downward as if hesitant to meet his eyes. "I'm sorry, I asked something too personal," she said before falling silent again.
Broken gave her a small smile and nodded. "No worries, I was just confirming some common information about Hell and Yunatea."
Mira then lifted her gaze and looked at him.
"Yes, I'm from Dissidia Kingdom," he responded. "What about you?"
"Have you ever been to the West Continent, Mr. Broken?"
"No, not yet."
Mira nodded once more. "In the West Continent, there are many kingdoms ruled by Beast- kin. And..." she continued, "I'm from there."
'Interesting,' Broken thought. How did this Beast-kin girl end up in the South Continent and, even more, within Hell? It seemed that this slavery issue might truly extend across all of
Yunatea.
But then, he chose not to delve further into their identities, as he didn't want to get too involved with them.
Still, as Broken slowly considered the condition of the two individuals before him, he began to understand just how stressed and desperate they must be. Their levels were relatively high, but in a place like this, where many demons were level 200 and above, they would struggle to accomplish much. They had willingly surrendered themselves to be taken to the location where their friends were held, but how could they possibly carry out a rescue in such dire circumstances?
Still, he couldn't help but admire their bravery. They had ventured into this place-a completely foreign world compared to Yunatea-where they couldn't rely on anyone but themselves. It was as if they had willingly jumped into the jaws of a crocodile. Broken was convinced that they were on what seemed like a suicide mission. Just how desperate must they have been to take such a dangerous and risky course of action?
The journey continued, and although two hours wasn't a particularly long time, sitting idly in
the carriage made it feel quite boring. To pass the time, Broken took out some food from his inventory. It was a stash prepared by Ivana, and since there was so much of it, he had only managed to eat about a third so far.
He pulled out a few long loaves of bread, not missing the way the two girls across from him
stole glances as he did so.
"Take it," he said, offering the food.
Mira looked up, startled, while Elowen seemed to pretend she hadn't heard him.
Broken handed the bread to Mira, and she accepted it hesitantly. She seemed captivated by the
simple offering.
"Go ahead and eat. I've got plenty," Broken reassured her.
"Is it really okay?" Mira asked hesitantly.
Broken simply nodded.
Mira then split the bread in half and took a bite. Her face instantly brightened, and she shook
her head in delight. "It's so delicious..." she said, clearly enjoying it.
"Elowen, take some," she offered the other half to the elf.
Elowen accepted it and took a bite as well. Her expression softened slightly, but she didn't say anything-not even a word of thanks.
After some time, Marlene signaled for them to look out the window. In the distance, they saw a castle silhouetted against the night sky, with two tall towers flanking its sides. "Looks like the kind of place a main antagonist would live in," Broken commented, glancing
over at Marlene.
She sighed, "We've come this far. I hope we find more than just slaves to rescue."
Broken nodded, curious about what awaited them inside the foreboding structure.