The Princess And The Lord

Chapter 1228 Devious Stratagem

After they finished their meal, Lory and Zhao Li Xin immediately left the Diner and drove to their intended destination. After fifteen minutes of driving she pulled the car over to the stop sign. Zhao Li Xin got out and slung his backpack over his shoulder, Lory locked the car first before they crossed the road fence and entered the forest.

Lory followed the directions shown on the digital map on her cell phone and as time went by they got deeper into the forest and the cold air began to seep into their jackets.

Lory blew her cheeks and thin white smoke came out of her mouth, she looked around [It's still a bit far, I think we have to use our power if we want to get there faster]

[En, let's go!] Zhao nodded in agreement.

Lory didn't use her wings because it was difficult to fly between dense trees so she used strengthening spells on her body then shot at rapid speed she bounced between trees, while Zhao followed her from behind.

On their way, they met several Beasts like a pack of wild Hounds, and a lizard-like animal called Zalpein. It's a Beast that lives in the forest and can camouflage like a chameleon. This creature can climb trees and is very agile despite its size. This animal usually ensnares its prey with a long tongue covered in poisonous saliva.

Even though these wild beasts are not dangerous for someone at Lory and Zhao Li Xin's level, the appearance of these wild beasts is still quite annoying for Lory and Zhao Li Xin who are in a hurry.

In the middle of the fight with Zalpein's group, they were shocked by a low-flying aircraft passing above them which made the ground where they were standing shake, then not long after they were shocked again by the sound of a loud explosion.

Lory and Zhao exchanged a glance, with a tacit understanding between them, they ignored the beast and sped towards the source of the sound, and in ten minutes they arrived at the cliff. Gray smoke rose from the bottom of the cliff, Lory poked her head at the bottom of the cliff.

[Let's jump down] Zhao Li Xin said.

Lory nodded in agreement, immediately she took off her jacket, and the white wings on her back spread out beautifully after that Lory flew down while Zhao Li Xin used his body lightening skill to jump down and nimbly bounced between the rocks until he landed gracefully on the ground.

Arriving below, Lory retracted her wings and put her jacket back on. Her face became tight when she saw that the front of the cave was already covered with rocks and rubbles.

Zhao Li Xin smelled a strong chemical smell and reflexively covered his nose with the back of his hand.

[Someone deliberately blew up this cave] said Zhao Li Xin.

[Remember the report Lloyd gave when we discussed at the Beast's Slayer Guild...] Lory's expression darkens.

Zhao Li Xin remembers clearly because it was very important information, Zhao Li Xin pinched his chin [About many experienced hunters who died when facing high-level beasts but there is no clear evidence of how they were killed]

Lory nodded [Yes, the inspection time found irregularities in their battle marks, and in some cases, There was a strange explosion at the former battle site as if someone was trying to cover it up] Lory felt that this must have been done by the same person who meant Luxemborough and S.A.I.N.T. organization behind this incident.

Lory furrowed her forehead in confusion [I don't understand why they keep doing this, what do they want?] she muttered.

Zhao Li Xin pondered for a few seconds before he spoke [I've been thinking about this for a while and I only got one conclusion...]

Lory turns her curious gaze at Zhao Li Xin [What is it?]

[I suspect they are conducting a test, they are testing the creature's abilities, and what better way to test the creature's abilities than pitting it against an experienced hunter? That would also explain why they erased traces of the fight after the fight over because they didn't want anyone to know what happened] Zhao Li Xin's words chilled her.

[Can they treat human life like a toy?] Lory didn't want to believe it.

Zhao Li Xin knew very well that despite everything Lory had seen and witnessed, there was a part of her that continued to hope and believe the goodness in human hearts, but Zhao Li Xin did not have the same belief because he had witnessed the level of cruelty and depravity of humanity were especially when they were driven by greed and ambition.

[I think what we should worry about is the wellbeing of the surviving hunters because, Lloyd said there was no one survived to tell the story, and if you remember the four of us also almost died if it wasn't for your Lucient barrier so...] His dark eyes sparkled because of that warning.

Lory's eyes widened in shock, "Oh my God, they will kill them!" Lory screamed in horror, without wasting any more time she flew away while Zhao Li Xin followed behind her. It didn't take long for them to exit the woods, and immediately they ran towards the car.

Lory started the car, then stepped on the gas pedal and made a hard U-turn, leaving a screeching sound and marks on the asphalt. The car immediately accelerated at high speed. Lory clenched the wheel tightly with an anxious look plastered on her face, she hoped her prediction was wrong. However, as they got closer to the res-stop, gray smoke rose into the sky, and soon after her heart sank to her stomach.

As they arrived there, the Diner had been blown up completely leaving only the ruins as the whole building had burned to the ground, Lory jumped out of the car and then ran toward the crumbling building to check if there were any survivors but Zhao Li Xin saw a sudden spark near the gas station. 

His instinct sent an alarm, he immediately held Lory in his embrace, and as expected another explosion happened. Luckily, Zhao Li Xin Qi's barrier blocked the hot flames and debris that shot toward them.

[We have to get out of here, someone might come because of this!] Zhao Li Xin insisted, he carried Lory and then rushed towards the car, he shoved Lory in the passenger seat and sat in the driver's seat. Zhao Li Xin started the car and then left the rest area as quickly as they came.

Lory was still in shock, she subconsciously turned her head to the scene behind her, [They...killed them] her voice quivered from shock and disbelief.

[Hm...] Zhao Li Xin holds her hands to comfort her.

Lory looked away and then weakly leaned her head against the car seat while sighing heavily. it had been a long time since she had seen innocent people killed before her, Lory thought after what she had been through she would have grown numb to the death of other people, but she realized that even after all these years she never got used to it.

Lory stared at the road blankly then realized something was wrong, she turned to Zhao Li Xin and frowned in admiration [Li Xin you can drive?]

Zhao Li Xin looked at him and shrugged [I think so]

[Huh,] Lory didn't say anything else.

Driving a car is not difficult, even a fifteen-year-old child can do it, so why not Zhao Li Xin? Besides, it's an automatic car so it's not difficult at all.

They continued their journey while forgetting about the incident at least for now. Lory slept while Zhao Li Xin drove using a digital map to show him the direction. A moment later raindrops hit the car window and Lory woke up, he taught her how to turn on the car wipers and turn on the lights after that Lory went back to sleep again.

Zhao Li Xin felt that driving a car was very interesting, not only did this vehicle go fast but it also didn't shake like the horse-drawn carriage he usually rode in, apart from that the car seat was more comfortable and could even be adjusted for sleeping and with large windows around the car he could enjoy travel even when it rains heavily like this.

It suddenly occurred to him that if Wu San Bo were here, as a fellow Armament Master if he saw this vehicle Wu San Bo would feel the same way as him, just like him, Wu San Bo definitely couldn't wait to dismantle this vehicle to see how it worked, even Zhao Li Xin could imagine the lengthy discussion that took place between them discussing how this vehicle worked.

Meanwhile for the others? Jin Hao probably only cared about how to make this vehicle comfortable for him while Bei Li Yan most likely cared more about the appearance of this car, and Jiang Jin Wei...he probably asked for a bigger vehicle to match his large body while Mong Ki and Mong Yi? well if it them, they probably only cared about how to make the car accommodate his need and taste.

Zhao Li Xin didn't realize a faint smile was tugging at the corner of his lips, unbeknown to anyone a small wish flashed across his head, if only he could show Lory's world to all his subordinates. Well, they are not just subordinates, at the end of their time together Zhao Li Xin finally realized they were more like a friend, a brother, and also the closest thing he knew about a family.