Chapter 211 – Greenvine City

In the great battle against Vick Swordsaint, the greatsword “Wind-Bathing Punisher” was destroyed!

Originally, Boss Lady’s three portions of “Melta-Acid” potion alone wouldn’t have been enough to damage the “Wind-Bathing Punisher,” but her timing in throwing the potion was too precise.

At that moment, the Wind-Bathing Punisher was in its activated state under the Master-Level Conjuration spell—”Annihilation.” The spell energy released by the activated magic circle was suddenly invaded by external energy. Since the magic circle wasn’t high-level enough to isolate external energy, while the exterior of the “Wind-Bathing Punisher” was being corroded by the “Melta-Acid,” the internal Annihilation spell also exploded. Ultimately, the combined energy from both internal and external explosions completely destroyed this Master-Level greatsword.

“Wind-Bathing Punisher is scrapped,” making the gains from this battle extremely limited. Among the four pre-planned spoils, only “Tears of the Spring” met the expected returns. As for the other equipment… it’s not even worth mentioning.

Although it was frustrating to work hard to defeat a boss and not obtain divine equipment, Punk didn’t feel much disappointment.

This is reality, not an online game. How could a boss have a full set of excellent equipment and not use it, leaving it for you as loot? Moreover, most enemies would rather destroy their treasures than let them fall into the hands of their foes. Therefore, the chance of gaining assets by defeating an enemy generally doesn’t exceed fifty percent. Suffering losses from time to time is entirely normal.

Using trump cards in battle to eliminate an enemy, especially one-time trump cards, is, in a sense, like investing in a business. How could there be a principle of only profiting without losses?

Thus, Punk had no regrets about this battle. If given another chance, he would still participate without hesitation.

As a spellcaster on the path to becoming a powerhouse, Punk had his own criteria for making decisions regarding “adventures.” He had always looked down upon those who were timid and indecisive.

Progressing on the path of a powerhouse requires vast cultivation resources. Countless powerful enemies seek these limited resources, and the resources themselves won’t simply come to you. Therefore, to obtain resources, one must strive to seize opportunities and bear the risks of battle.

How could there be such a good deal in the world where one gains rewards without taking risks?

So, as long as the rewards were proportional to the danger and the chance of success reached seventy percent, Punk would never let the opportunity slip.

“However, no matter what, I’m not someone who willingly accepts losses. If the Green Vine Family fails to show sincerity… Well, with the shielding of the ‘Haitzita Magic Box,’ let’s see who ends up suffering in the end.”

At this thought, a cold glint flashed in Punk’s eyes.

————————Break————————

In fact, when Punk, Iron Tower, and Bloodclaw brought Princess Trelinka—dressed beautifully and spotlessly clean (it wouldn’t be appropriate to appear disheveled from the battle)—to Greenvine City, the main city of the Green Vine Family’s territory, and demanded three pieces of Master-Level equipment, their concerns about the Green Vine Family reneging did not materialize.

On the majestic city walls, a middle-aged man, feigning composure but with trembling hands, loudly declared things such as:When Punk heard the words “Don’t harm Her Highness the Princess, I’ll give you anything you want” and “Three treasures will be delivered immediately, please don’t harm Her Highness the Princess,” he realized he had been overthinking things.

Having spent so much time dealing with evil-aligned individuals lately, he had unconsciously started assuming everyone was as reckless and unhinged as Bloodclaw and Iron Tower—desperate outlaws who cared for nothing. But upon reflection, it was obvious the Green Vine Family wouldn’t simply abandon the princess to her fate.

Even if they weren’t particularly loyal subjects, they had publicly sworn allegiance to Princess Trelinka before hundreds of thousands of Glory Army soldiers, under the witness of the Nobility God “Resplendent Maiden” during the Glory Army uprising.

Now that Princess Trelinka had failed—not only bringing no benefits to the family but continuing to cost them resources—the Green Vine Family couldn’t just discard her and walk away. Such convenience wasn’t an option. The hundreds of thousands of Glory Army soldiers wouldn’t allow it, and the Nobility God Church would never permit it.

While the Green Vine Family could flee to other nations under the pretext of “political asylum” after their defeat, they couldn’t openly betray their oath while Princess Trelinka still lived and the Glory Army revolution continued. Otherwise, they would forfeit their noble status entirely—the Lawful-aligned Nobility God would never permit a blatantly treacherous “evil noble” to retain aristocratic standing.

Thus, the current Family Head Dolan Greenvine, though inwardly bleeding with every decision, had no choice but to trade the three ancestral Master-Level treasures for Princess Trelinka’s life if he wished to avoid being hunted down by the Nobility God Church.

The only thing Dolan Greenvine couldn’t comprehend was how these three “bandits” knew with such certainty that his family possessed exactly three Master-Level items.

Outside Greenvine City’s gates, a squad composed entirely of Apprentice-Level professionals emerged under the leadership of a Formal-Level warrior. The grim-faced elderly lead warrior retrieved three silk-wrapped items from his Storage Ring and declared loudly:

“Our Green Vine Family has demonstrated utmost sincerity. Shouldn’t you return Her Highness Princess Trelinka now?”

“Hey now, we’re your princess’s saviors! Is this how you treat benefactors? Does the Green Vine Family lack even basic manners?”

Bloodclaw kept his arm firmly wrapped around Princess Trelinka, even as her face flushed crimson with humiliation.

No one would be foolish enough to proceed directly with a “hostage exchange”—both sides were currently verifying the authenticity of the exchange targets.

While Bloodclaw stalled, Punk rapidly analyzed the Master-Level aura emanating from the three silk bundles, carefully confirming they weren’t some specialized disguise.

The elderly noble across from them understood Bloodclaw’s taunts were mere delay tactics, but hearing the words “basic manners” still provoked uncontrollable rage. Surging Battle Aura even condensed and danced around his clenched fists.

Ultimately, however, the old noble warrior suppressed his fury. He shot Bloodclaw a venomous glare before slowly unpacking the three items from their silk wrappings, one by one.The first item was a scroll, the second an ancient piece of parchment, and the third a quill glowing with a soft, warm luster.

Though they couldn’t yet determine whether these three Master-Level items were as useless as “Dawnshine 214,” according to Punk’s Divination Spell, the Green Vine Family—lacking even a Formal-Level mage—truly possessed only these three Master-Level artifacts. Thus, the three men didn’t push their greed further.

Soon, Punk verified that all three Master-Level items in the other party’s possession were genuine. At the very least, he had exhausted every inspection method currently available to him. After concluding that “there were no issues,” Punk nodded to Bloodclaw and Iron Tower.

“Good. It seems the Green Vine Family knows its place and hasn’t tried any tricks. We’ll return Princess Trelinka to you. If you get captured again, feel free to hire us for rescue.”

Bloodclaw teased as he released his firm grip around Princess Trelinka, making sure to snatch the “Tears of the Spring” necklace from her slender neck before letting go.

(End of Chapter)