Chapter 156: Poker Face vs. Poker Face

Chapter 156 -152: Poker Face vs. Poker Face

The stars and moon hung heavy in the sky, and the night wind was biting.

The battle, which had raged on and off for three hours, had finally subsided, replaced by a near-deathly silence.

The battlefield, centered around the general store, now resembled a harvested field.

Except the “crops” were the densely packed corpses of goblins and kobolds. A quick glance suggested there were at least two hundred of them.

The overpowering stench of blood mixed with the foul odor of entrails, creating an indescribable reek. It was as if one were standing in some kind of “Hell Blood Pool.”

The dozen or so bonfires that had once blazed brightly had now mostly died down. Only a few still flickered with weak tongues of flame, illuminating a corner of the gruesome panorama.

“SPLASH— SPLASH—”

The sound of rushing water was clearly audible. Although Lu Wei and the others had tried their best to contain the fighting, the wooden walls of the general store were still splattered with viscous, dark red and deep green blood.

Anna and Zovir were now repeatedly fetching water from the irrigation channel with wooden buckets, splashing it against the walls in an attempt to wash away the stains.

The dark red water streamed down the cracks between the wooden planks. Some of it seeped into the muddy, trampled earth, while the rest flowed toward two figures in the distance—

Furen sat panting on a pile of kobold corpses, his Tessares Steel Longsword stabbed into the ground beside him. The blade was covered in shallow claw marks, dents, and dried blood.

Bai Ya was sitting directly on the ground, looking utterly wretched with disheveled hair and a body caked in blood and grime. She looked like she could step right onto the set of a horror movie.

Something like *The Walking Dead* or *Return from Hell*.

In short, she looked terrifying.

However, it also proved she hadn’t held Furen and Lu Wei back.

Even though she was so exhausted she didn’t want to move a muscle, she had still completed her task well.

From this perspective, Bai Ya was actually a trustworthy teammate.

‘She’s slow, has low emotional intelligence, and isn’t the sharpest tool in the shed, but at least she’s not some cowardly lizard.’

Even when she couldn’t stomach the bloody and brutal scenes and had to dry-heave a few times, she always managed to pull herself together and force herself to keep fighting.

This point alone made Lu Wei see her in a new light.

After all, [Perception] was an Attribute strongly correlated with “Spiritual Tenacity Strength,” so Bai Ya should have been someone with extremely poor mental fortitude.

Her ability to act so tough now was undoubtedly thanks to her conviction of “not wanting to hold everyone back.”

‘She really seems terrified of getting fired.’

‘Maybe not a competent teammate, but definitely an outstanding employee.’

‘You don’t see many workhorses like her anymore, the kind who truly treat the company as their home.’

Lu Wei stood in the center of the battlefield, muttering a few things to himself before tearing his gaze away from Bai Ya.

All around, the corpses of goblins and kobolds were piled in layers. Broken stone spears, crude wooden clubs, and rusted short swords lay scattered everywhere.

The ground was long-since soaked in blood, turning it a deep, almost blackish-red. Stepping on it felt as viscous and slippery as a swamp.

Although he hadn’t done a detailed count, Lu Wei quickly estimated a rough number.

Around 220.

Three-quarters were goblins, one-quarter kobolds.

Plus one bear goblin and two Elite Greenskins.

To have attracted so many monsters in just three short hours showed just how extraordinarily alluring the [Divine Blessing] was.

Once the cork was popped, it was like a celebrity suddenly taking off their mask in public.

In an instant, countless fans would swarm them, so fast that you’d have to suspect they were a well-trained rapid deployment force.

Or perhaps NPCs that spawned as soon as certain conditions were met.

This had been bothering Lu Wei ever since he personally experienced it in a shopping mall in his previous life, getting trapped in place for a full half-hour.

But that wasn’t important.

What was important was that these monsters were definitely not the endlessly respawning mobs from a game.

The fact that they could be lured here meant they all lived near the Dome Pillar.

To be honest, Lu Wei hadn’t expected there to be so many.

He originally thought there would be 100 at most.

After all, as the most popular check-in spot in the Northern Forest after the “Tree of Origin,” the Dome Pillar saw a considerable amount of foot traffic every day.

With so many people coming and going, these goblins and kobolds should have all been wiped out long ago.

But who knew there would be more than double that.

This just went to show that monsters in the forest were like cockroaches at home.

When you see one, it means there are hundreds or even thousands more in places you can’t see.

‘They’re too good at hiding.’

‘If the general store had been empty, they definitely would’ve looted it clean.’

‘Good thing I had the foresight…’

Nodding slightly, Lu Wei felt very satisfied with his decision and the results of tonight’s battle.

But there were still two major projects to complete.

First, collecting the loot.

Second, disposing of the bodies.

Considering the sheer number, both tasks were undoubtedly troublesome.

Bai Ya was already paralyzed with exhaustion, and Furen looked completely drained. He was the only one left with a decent amount of stamina.

But where was the logic in having the boss work while the employees rested?

“Anna, Zovir!”

At this thought, Lu Wei immediately turned and gave orders to his two young slaves.

“Stop washing the walls! Come help Furen and Bai Ya clean up the battlefield!”

“Be thorough! Come and get me when you’re done!”

“I need to rest for a bit!”

“Oh, right, make me a cup of tea first!”

…

…

「Meanwhile, at the Silver Moon Corridor Inn.」

“May I leave now?”

The candlelight was bright. Mirana stood in the center of the room with a blank expression, while Gante and the Female Holy Knight named Cersei stood behind her and Freya, respectively.

One was to prevent her from escaping, the other to protect Freya.

In the past ten minutes, Mirana had only answered a single question—

“As of noon today, Furen was not dead.”

Beyond that, she refused to answer anything else, such as “Where is he?”, “Is he safe?”, or “When will he be back?”.

Gante was naturally furious about this, believing she was showing a complete lack of basic respect for two Professionals and a noble lady.

But Freya remained calm, merely giving Mirana a casual, unconcerned glance.

“I am his sister. I believe I have the right to know these things.”

“Perhaps, but that has nothing to do with me.”

“You seem to hold some animosity toward me.”

“You’re mistaken. I simply cannot answer your questions.”

Poker face to poker face, Mirana didn’t lose out in terms of presence. She looked Freya directly in the eye and asked again:

“May I leave now?”

“Of course.”

Freya gave a slight nod and sat back down at her desk, unconcerned. “Cersei, see our guest out.”

“Yes, milady.”

The Female Holy Knight in silver Light Armor immediately responded respectfully, then walked up to Mirana and, with a stern face, gestured for her to get lost.

Mirana met her gaze for a moment, then turned and left. ℯℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

After taking two steps, however, she suddenly stopped, looked back over Cersei’s shoulder, and gazed at Freya, whose back was turned to her.

“Furen is a true Hero. Your Ladyship should respect his choice.”

“…”

The candlelight flickered gently. Freya opened a thick manuscript without even turning her head.

“Perhaps. But it has nothing to do with you.”