Chapter 75: A Clash in the Shadows

“What idiot are you talking about?”
“Who else? Him, of course!” The figure hidden among the trees pointed directly at Luo Yong and declared as if it were self-evident, “To use such a rare tactical scroll just to blast away those little spiders—what a waste! If that’s not idiocy, what is?”
“But come to think of it, anyone who comes to a place like the Valley of Fear to farm monsters must have something wrong in the head!”
“Maybe he’s the son of a mine owner,” the elven lady concealed beneath her cloak replied with impassive indifference, then asked, “So, what are you doing here?”
“Uh… well, actually, I’m a bounty hunter. I just came to the Highcliff Encampment to pick up a job, and happened to be passing by.”
“Speak the truth.”
The elven lady pressed the tip of her longsword closer to his throat; the blade had already cut through his cloak and touched his skin.
“Aah! I’ll tell the truth!”
The man’s body tensed, and he stammered hastily, “It’s like this—I overheard you asking about the ‘Necromancer’ at the tavern, but then you wouldn’t say more. I got curious, so I secretly followed you.”
“Lies!” The elven lady snorted coldly. “You think someone like you could track me?”
“Er… I am a bounty hunter. Naturally, I have my own tracking methods.”
“Still lying! If you don’t speak honestly, don’t blame me for what happens next!”
As she spoke, the elven lady’s longsword began to gleam with holy radiance against his throat.
“Light of Judgment?! You’re Yan Bao’er, the ‘Elven Inquisitor’ from the Mage’s Guild?!” The bounty hunter cried out, instinctively reaching for the rifle at his waist.
“Don’t move!”
She pressed the blade to his cheek, her voice icy. “You’ve done your research well—even know my name. Seems I’m your true target after all.”
“No! That’s not it!” The bounty hunter felt the power of judgment suffusing the sword and slowly raised his hands. “Your reputation is well-known to all. As a bounty hunter, of course I know about you, but I swear, you’re not my target…”
“And besides, who would dare post a bounty for you—no, who would be so mad as to even consider it, targeting a righteous Elven Inquisitor…”
“Hmph. I’ve heard that in the underground bounty lists, my head fetches a handsome price,” the elven lady sneered. “You’d better be honest. Speak the truth, or I’ll have to carry out justice right here and now.”
“You bounty hunters walk the gray line. Who knows how much blood stains your hands, how many dirty deeds you’ve done. I wonder—how long will you last under the judgment of this sword of justice?”
“Please… I’ll talk! Just let me explain!” the bounty hunter wailed, and, like a string of firecrackers, spilled out all his secrets.
“In truth, I’m Ivan’s sworn brother. My name’s Erwen, though everyone calls me ‘Second Ivan.’ When I visited him, he made me promise to teach a certain necromancer from Highcliff Encampment a lesson!”
“There just happened to be a bounty nearby, so I came. But I’ve been waiting here forever, and there’s been no sign of that necromancer. I thought, if he doesn’t show up soon, I’m giving up…”
“I never expected to hear you asking questions in the tavern and then actually meet you here. I didn’t recognize you at first, and I couldn’t keep up anyway…”
“Go on. How did you track me here?” the elven lady questioned.
“M-my mission is… to kill Catherine in the Valley of Fear and bring her venom bread back. I never thought I’d run into you here…” stammered the bounty hunter.
“Lies again. You’ve been following me this whole way—you think I don’t know?” At the thought, the elven lady grew angry. All the messy business between herself and Luo Yong had been witnessed by this fellow. Who knew if he was a gossip, ready to spread tales outside?
Though she had always been the very embodiment of justice, always strictly professional, never so much as stepping out of line, the world was still full of rumors about her.
She’d once been troubled by them, though she’d never found a solution.
But as time passed, she gradually let it go.
She chose not to care.
Still, that didn’t mean the pain was gone.
“Ahem, actually, I was also curious about that guy…” Here, bounty hunter Erwen pointed at Luo Yong, who was bombarding the canyon below. “To see if he was a necromancer—since you asked about one in the tavern.”
The elven lady was speechless.
Damn it, she thought. So it was her own carelessness. She hadn’t expected the bounty hunter’s ears to be so sharp; he’d overheard her even though she’d whispered.
That was enough to make him suspicious and follow her.
“Like a bloody hound…” she muttered, unable to help herself.
“Eh?” The bounty hunter was startled, thinking, Is the Elven Inquisitor really calling me names?
Granted, bounty hunters often prided themselves on being good hounds, and the Hunter’s Guild emblem was a rifle and a dog.
Normally, there was nothing wrong with that, but coming from her, in that particular tone, it sounded like an insult.
But with a sword pressed to his neck, what could he do? Even if she started beating him, he’d just have to bear it and act the stoic.
“I only muttered it under my breath. Never thought someone would actually hear,” the elven lady said, withdrawing her sword and letting her gaze wander to the canyon, following Luo Yong as he advanced.
“The one who defeated Ivan is him. If you want to avenge that scoundrel, wait until your level matches his. Then, I’ll allow you a fair duel.”
“But until then, if anyone dares give him trouble, don’t blame me for being merciless!”
“And there is no necromancer here. Make sure I never hear that word again—or you know what will happen.”
At this, she turned, shooting him a sharp, icy look.
Though his cloak hid his face, the bounty hunter could feel the murderous intent radiating from her.
“Y-yes, I understand, I promise!”
Reflexively, he raised his hands in surrender, barely aware of the words tumbling from his mouth.
At last, the heavy weight on his heart lifted.
He’d heard all the rumors about the Elven Inquisitor.
Some things, he’d never really believed.
But today, seeing her walking, laughing, and bantering with a man, he found himself slowly accepting them, deep down.
No matter his thoughts, though, since she could appear silently at his back and press a blade to his throat, he no longer had any room to bargain.
Only when the elven lady departed did the bounty hunter finally breathe easy, slumping against a tree.
It was only then he realized his clothes were soaked with sweat.
“Damn, the pressure…”
He sat for a long while, recovering, until he could finally pull himself out from beneath the shadow of death the elven lady had cast.
Boom! Boom! Boom!

At that moment, the sounds of battle echoed from afar.
In the Spider Canyon, Luo Yong had already advanced far, nearing the nest of the two giant spiders spotted earlier.
Countless spiders either fled instinctively or surged toward the magical disturbance with savage fury.
In the cramped canyon, they trampled and piled over one another.
Anyone with a fear of clusters would have been sick at the sight—one glance and they’d throw up on the spot.
Luo Yong, having faced beast tides before and lacking any phobias, only felt a tinge of frustration at killing so many monsters and not earning much experience.
Sitting under the tree and witnessing this, bounty hunter Erwen at first gaped in shock, then quickly came to his senses.
Watching Luo Yong pull out scroll after scroll like a soulless killing machine, he gasped, “How does anyone have so many tactical scrolls?!”
In truth, Luo Yong hadn’t brought that many. He just had an uncanny drop rate.
Within a short time, the tactical scrolls dropped in the canyon already outnumbered those he’d used.
Now, he was simply picking up those lying nearby, using them as he went, tossing them out in a continuous cycle.
It was like hitting the jackpot at a lottery and entering an endless winning streak.
The feeling was simply exhilarating!
With a thunderous roar, a lightning scroll blasted through the battlefield, striking the two giant spiders hiding in their nest.
The two spiders let out indescribable shrieks, bursting from the cave, rampaging through the canyon like headless flies, crashing about with no clear target.
Luo Yong, who had been hiding to the side in advance, simultaneously pulled out several similar tactical scrolls.
“Radiant Lightning—!”
He had barely finished shouting when he realized he’d picked the wrong word.
Using so many scrolls at once, the effects stacked; it wasn’t just a matter of bright flashes.
“Cataclysmic Thunder!”
His cry was swallowed by a torrent of lightning. The two monstrous spiders, smothered by the storm, struggled for a moment, then collapsed, motionless, as if instantly transformed into taxidermy specimens—well-preserved, empty shells capable of remaining like that for ages.
But Luo Yong didn’t stop there. He unleashed several more waves of the same devastating spells.
Lightning flashed again and again in the canyon.
“Savage,” the bounty hunter muttered from the top of the cliff, grinning wryly.
This guy didn’t even spare the dead monsters.
Tsk, tsk…