In the pitch-black environment, Yu Jingqiu felt very special at this moment.
First, under the pressure of the divine envoy, she had given up and was ready to face death! But then Dongbo Xueying, who had always been ordinary and unremarkable, stepped out and displayed a power that stunned her, directly killing the divine envoy in a frontal attack! At this moment, Lu Huiru chose to go down in a frenzy, and she was used by Si Berong as a shield, once again falling into a nearly fatal situation.
She was saved again.
In the darkness, buried under countless rocks, Yu Jingqiu had a myriad of feelings.
"Boom!" A loud noise echoed as Dongbo Xueying used his single arm to lift the countless rocks pressing down on the shield, sending them flying.
"Let's go."
Dongbo Xueying immediately wrapped his arm around Yu Jingqiu's waist and leaped up. At the same time, the shield rapidly struck the falling rocks, sending them flying in an instant.
Holding a beautiful female mage by the waist seemed very romantic, but in reality, because Yu Jingqiu was always protected by an ice armor, the feeling was quite ordinary, very hard and cold, and not at all comfortable.
"Thud." Landing on a pile of rocks, Dongbo Xueying put Yu Jingqiu down.
"Be careful. The entire hall could have some large rocks fall at any time, or even collapse again. Don't remove your ice armor." Dongbo Xueying said, his gaze sweeping the surroundings. Many areas had completely collapsed, and some pillars and walls from the inner castle's first and second floors had fallen, supporting some of the stone slabs above.
The supporting pillars and walls were either tilted or had already fallen, with occasional rocks still dropping.
These falling rocks posed no threat to more powerful knights, but for the physically weak mages, they were fatal. Therefore, protective spells needed to be maintained.
"Okay." Yu Jingqiu nodded, "You..."
"Whoosh." Dongbo Xueying had already darted away, reaching a distance where he quickly used his spear to clear the area, sending stones flying. Clearly, he was searching for the bodies.
However, the explosion was so intense that even the divine envoy's body was completely shattered. The explosion's power was enough to kill a Silver Moon Knight, and without protective aura, whether it was Tang Xiong, the divine envoy, or Lu Huiru, their bodies were completely shattered and unrecognizable. Si Berong also had no intact body left.
"Their remains have been found, let's go." Dongbo Xueying walked to Yu Jingqiu's side.
"Okay." Yu Jingqiu nodded and walked out with Dongbo Xueying. The walls of the hall had exploded, and even the upper level had fallen, making it easy to walk out.
Even if there was no path, Dongbo Xueying, with his title-level strength, could easily clear a way.
"Thank you, Dongbo Xueying." Yu Jingqiu's voice was filled with gratitude, "Thank you for saving my life. If it weren't for you, I would have died."
In that situation, it would have been very normal for Dongbo Xueying not to save her.
"It's nothing, a small matter for me, but a matter of life and death for you." Dongbo Xueying's eyes had a hint of coldness, "I just didn't expect Si Berong to be so despicable."
A knight using a mage as a shield?
Dongbo Xueying had seen it all.
"I didn't expect him to do such a thing either." Yu Jingqiu's hatred and resentment towards Si Berong had dissipated, as he was already dead, "Dongbo Xueying, rest assured, I won't say much about Si Berong, or anything that happened inside."
Yu Jingqiu felt that since Dongbo Xueying had hidden his strength until the critical moment, there was no need for her to help expose it.
Dongbo Xueying smiled and glanced at her.
"Ah, your leg is bleeding." Yu Jingqiu suddenly noticed blood on Dongbo Xueying's leg, from the earlier explosion.
"Haha, it stopped bleeding long ago. The blood has dried, just a minor injury." Dongbo Xueying said. As his body became stronger, his recovery ability also became more astonishing. That minor flesh wound had completely healed, with no scars left on the skin.
The two walked side by side.
The man in black, the woman in a blue robe, fully wrapped in ice armor.
"It's Liang Yong." After walking for a while, they saw Liang Yong's body. The inner castle covered an area of about one to two miles, and the explosion had only destroyed the underground palace, causing partial collapse of the first and second floors. The inner castle still had a general shape, and at least the corridor where Liang Yong was located was still mostly intact.
"He managed to leave a complete body." Dongbo Xueying said.
...
The two quickly walked out of the inner castle, which was completely frozen. The servants and soldiers of the Lu family castle had long fled.
Dongbo Xueying and Yu Jingqiu looked up. Although the sky was completely dark, Dongbo Xueying's terrifying vision clearly saw the flying boat hundreds of meters above.
"Come down." Dongbo Xueying shouted loudly, his voice echoing in the silent night sky.
Whoosh—
The silver flying boat, which had been monitoring from the high sky, quickly landed in front of Dongbo Xueying and Yu Jingqiu.
"Just the two of you?" Two people from Longshan Tower walked out, "What about the others? Where is Si Berong?"
"They're all dead." Dongbo Xueying said, taking out three storage treasures, "This arm ring is Liang Yong's, this arm guard is Si Berong's, and this ring is Tang Xiong's. Please deliver them to their families!"
"All dead? What happened? How did they all die?" The two people from Longshan Tower were somewhat surprised. One of the knights took the three storage treasures. Many people died while on Longshan Tower missions, and their remains were usually delivered to their families, a tradition that had been established over the years. Of course, whether some treasures were taken by companions was hard to say.
The knight glanced at Dongbo Xueying but didn't say much.
Even if some gold notes or treasures were taken, there was no evidence!
In reality—
Dongbo Xueying hadn't taken a single item from the three storage treasures. For example, Liang Yong's arm ring was found in Si Berong's storage treasure! If not for Dongbo Xueying, Liang Yong's treasures might have been embezzled by Si Berong!
"I thought Si Berong would have many treasures, but he's quite poor." Dongbo Xueying thought to himself. He had refined and examined everything, so he knew very well that Si Berong's wealth was even less than Tang Xiong's! Clearly, the large family 'Si Family' had strict control over money, and this spoiled son who was unwilling to take risks had only so much money.
He looked luxurious and extravagant in his daily life, but his pockets were quite empty, far less wealthy than Tang Xiong, who had risen through his own efforts and experienced life and death many times.
Of course, the treasures of the three combined were far less valuable than even a fraction of the divine envoy's!
"This divine envoy is really wealthy." Dongbo Xueying thought, still amazed.
He didn't know the divine envoy's rise, which even involved the death of a title-level strong person, which is why he had two large storage rings.
"I was tight on gold coins before, but now I'm probably one of the top ten richest in the entire Qinghe County." Dongbo Xueying thought, "Probably only some other title-level people can match me. Yes, when I return, I'll buy some life-saving mage tools for my brother, and I still have some powerful spell scrolls to give him."
Spell scrolls can instantly summon the power of heaven and earth to release powerful spells, but they require a mage to guide them. So knights can't use spell scrolls.
Of course... in front of a title-level person, who is in harmony with heaven and earth and masters its power, spell scrolls can't guide any of that power, so they are useless.
What can threaten a title-level person is either another title-level person or someone extraordinary!
"Strengthen my Xueshi Castle even more, and get a good staff for Youyue." Dongbo Xueying had never felt so wealthy before. The treasures of a divine envoy who had lived for many years were all in his hands, making him richer than some ordinary title-level families.
"It was Lu Huiru who made the entire underground hall explode to take us all down with him. You can see for yourselves." Yu Jingqiu didn't elaborate.
"The Longshan Tower people from Qutai City will soon take over here. We will now escort the two of you back to the county city."
"Okay."
Dongbo Xueying and Yu Jingqiu nodded and boarded the flying boat.
On the flying boat, Yu Jingqiu removed her ice armor. Her eyes sparkled as she looked at Dongbo Xueying, who was sitting cross-legged beside her: "Dongbo Xueying, when we get to the county city, are you going to return?"
"Yes." Dongbo Xueying nodded.
"Where do you live in Qinghe County?" Yu Jingqiu asked curiously.
"Xueying Manor in Yishui City. I always welcome Jingqiu Mage to visit my small manor." Dongbo Xueying said with a smile.
"Yishui City?"
Yu Jingqiu nodded lightly.
Outside the flying boat, the night sky was pitch black, with no moonlight at all. The flying boat was flying at high speed, and the wind could be faintly heard. Yu Jingqiu's heart was somewhat agitated. She gradually closed her eyes and calmed down, knowing that the events of this day would be unforgettable for the rest of her life.