Chapter 176 – Enemy?

After casting three common defensive spells and Greater Haste on himself, Punk gripped the Emerald Staff and rushed toward the location where the first dark elf had been killed, with his Golem Two following closely behind.

The speed of a Formal-Level mage was truly unimaginable. Punk swept over the garbage heaps, stirring up clouds of dust and leaving only a faint shadow in the night.

In less than a minute, Punk had traversed the entire Eastern Trash Mountain and reached his destination.

The Assassin Girl was trembling as she stood waiting in place. Behind her, two unsuspecting ordinary survivors had been completely eliminated—undoubtedly the work of this wheat-skinned girl. Both bodies bore only a shallow, fatal wound at the throat, clear evidence of the Stalker’s exceptional skill.

But no amount of skill could help an Apprentice-Level Stalker face a Formal-Level spellcaster. The Assassin Girl now appeared utterly terrified, praying fervently in her heart:

“Great Dark Maiden Eilistraee (Intermediate Divine Power), please protect your faithful follower. Who knows what my foolish master is thinking? He actually sent me to negotiate with a Formal-Level mage. I bet I’ll be crushed by the mage before I even get a word out. Waaah…”

The Assassin Girl was terrified. A mage who dispatched summoned creatures to hunt starving refugees in the Slums couldn’t possibly be aligned with goodness. Many evil-aligned professionals adhered to the belief that “the only good enemy is a dead one,” and there was no shortage of madmen who would attack at the slightest provocation.

Moreover, the Assassin Girl had just killed the mage’s “subordinates.” In a way, this was equivalent to declaring war.

Heavens, declaring war on a Formal-Level mage—just the thought made her dizzy.

“The worst part is—if I disobey orders, my master will kill me. If I obey, I’ll be killed by another Formal-Level powerhouse. Doesn’t that mean I’m doomed no matter what?”

Thinking pessimistically, the Assassin Girl was on the verge of tears. She could almost picture herself being blown to pieces by a fireball from a sinisterly chuckling mage in the next second or minute.

In a way, her fears weren’t entirely unfounded. Punk’s first instinct upon arriving at the scene was to swat this dazed figure standing motionless. He was deeply irritated by the interruption of his meditation.

However, though Punk leaned toward chaos, he was far from being a destructive madman. After carefully observing the surroundings and confirming there was no immediate danger, he silently canceled the casting of Kinetic Burst.

He decided to approach this little girl who seemed to be waiting for him. Based on the information from the Divination Spell, Punk suspected that a Formal-Level powerhouse might be behind this incident.

Currently, Punk was in a phase of laying low and developing his power. Unless necessary, it wasn’t wise to rashly provoke a conflict with a peer-level powerhouse.After making up his mind, Punk stopped using the Swiftness Spell and strode openly into the alley from the front.

It must be said that Punk, clad in his black mage robe, truly embodied the aura of a sinister villain. His footsteps were quieter than those of most Apprentice-Level stalkers. His Master-level robe was adorned with crimson energy runes, while the Emerald Staff in his hand emitted an eerie green glow in the darkness. His piercing blue eyes seemed capable of peering directly into the depths of anyone’s soul.

In stark contrast to Punk’s calm composure, the Assassin Girl standing at the end of the alley was anything but composed. Her original mission had merely been to investigate the “supernatural” phenomena in this slum—a simple, low-risk task. Yet inexplicably, it had escalated into confronting a Formal-Level Evil Archmage. All she could think was, “Could this get any more ridiculous?”

However, panic wouldn’t solve anything. The Assassin Girl knew the only reason she hadn’t been incinerated by a fireball immediately was that the handsome young spellcaster across from her wanted information. She had to prove, in the shortest time possible, that “I’m more valuable to you alive than dead.” Otherwise, her fate might be worse than death.

Forcing herself to calm down, the Assassin Girl performed a subordinate’s bow to Punk as properly as she could and spoke softly:

“Honored spellcaster, my master and I offer our sincere apologies for the death of your servant. If you wish, my master hopes you will visit our residence. There, my master will surely compensate you for your losses.”

After saying this, she lowered her head and fell silent. These words weren’t her own invention—her mind had gone completely blank. Nearly all the “lines” had been prepared by her master.

Observing the trembling girl with her head bowed, Punk snorted coldly and said:

“How amusing. You trespass into my territory, attack my servants, and then speak of invitations… Rest assured, I will visit your master’s estate—without needing his invitation, and certainly without your guidance.”

As he spoke, Punk had already completed casting the Formal-Level spell “Memory Reading.” To ensure he could extract all memory information from an Apprentice-Level creature, he simultaneously activated the Metamagic – Mana Compression technique.

The moment his words ended, Punk directed the silver tendrils formed by the spell to extend toward the girl’s head.

Punk would never recklessly accept any invitation, let alone venture into an enemy base—such a dangerous move. There was no guarantee a group of Formal-Level adversaries hadn’t set a trap there to ambush him. Yet, he couldn’t ignore a Formal-Level enemy inexplicably intruding into his own backyard. Thus, from the start, he had opted for a more brutal approach: reading the memories of the enemy’s subordinate.Punk’s thinking was straightforward. Since this Assassin Girl before him could use phrases like “inviting as a guest” in the other party’s own name, she was likely a core subordinate of the enemy. At the very least, she would know considerable intelligence about the enemy. Without another word, he decisively struck.

A mass of silver, tentacle-like filaments shot toward Assassin Girl’s head with lightning speed. To her horror, she found herself completely unable to summon any shadow energy. As one tentacle was about to touch the tip of her nose, only three words flashed through her mind: “I’m done for.”

But just as the silver energy tentacles were about to make contact with the girl’s head, amid the dissipating silver radiance, five crimson flashes of light descended from above, severing all the energy tentacles before Assassin Girl’s astonished gaze. One of the crimson streaks precisely shattered the spell’s structure.

Simultaneously, a voice resembling that of an ordinary boy next door abruptly echoed through the Alley:

“Hey now, let’s not do this. She’s my newly acquired lovely maid. Using tentacles so recklessly shows no appreciation for feminine beauty.”

(End of Chapter)