บท 71: Why was she here?
It took only a minute for Alfred to catch up with the Sylph, as he activated his "Wind Boost" skill and "Acceleration" unique ability. He now stood in front of her and asked, "Who are you?"
Upon seeing him catch up to her, the Sylph became frightened and activated her wind element ability to attack him.
Alfred easily dodged it, as she was only in an early proficient stage and her power was weaker than others in the same stage. But her speed was surprising, it was already comparable to that of enhanced or even early expert stage.
Just as he was about to capture her, he heard a loud scream. "Ah!"
The voice sounded familiar, but he couldn't place it. He quickly grabbed the tiny girl in his hands and rushed towards the sound. However, a few seconds later, the tiny girl struggled to escape and he had no choice but to release her.
Alfred quickly assessed the situation as he arrived on the scene. He saw a pink-haired woman in a red and white uniform, who appeared to be in a disheveled state, battling against two opponents with her weapon.
The woman had been knocked down to the ground by the power of her attackers. Despite her proficiency as a Middle Stage Expert, she appeared to be struggling to fend off the two Late and Middle-Stage Experts who were attacking her.
These two? Scorpio! And the woman was
It was Astrid! He thought to himself, confused. What was she doing here? Where were her teammates? Didn't she know it was dangerous here?
But he didn't have time to dwell on it and decided to save the confusion for later and focused on helping her first. He knew that if he didn't act quickly, Astrid could be in grave danger.
Alfred quickly noticed that her opponents were a Late Stage Expert and a Middle Stage Expert, he looked at his ring and shouted "Master, help me this time!"
The ring shone, and Alfred disappeared and then struck the Late Stage expert with his dagger. The expert was caught off guard and was taken aback by Alfred's sudden appearance.
"Kuh!"
The other middle-stage expert heard the sound and turned around, only to see Alfred already activating his Wind Boost and appearing behind him, delivering a fatal blow with a backstab to his neck.
"Ahh!"
The Late Stage Expert was still alive struggling to move away and run but Alfred will not let him as he rushed toward him and deliver the final blow.
"Huh, huh," Alfred pulled out the dagger and sat down, feeling his body go weak from the exertion of his quick actions. He knew that if the Late Stage expert hadn't been caught off guard, or if he hadn't had the help of his master's power, he wouldn't have been able to succeed.
"You... Alfred, is it you?" Astrid looked at her savior, surprised to see that it was Alfred. She felt a blush rise on her cheeks and couldn't help but think that his fast action was impressive. The only thing she could say was "Handsome!" but she didn't dare to voice it out loud.
"Are you okay? Where are your teammates? Why are you here? Don't you know how dangerous it is?" Alfred walked towards her and asked, confusion etched on his face. He couldn't understand why Astrid had put herself in such a perilous situation. He couldn't shake off the feeling of worry, imagining what might have happened to her previous classmate if he hadn't been there to intervene.
"Ah, uh, y-you, why are you here?" Astrid stammered, unable to meet his gaze. She couldn't help the flush that spread across her neck, cheeks, and ears at his proximity. Seeing him so close to her made her feel embarrassed, she didn't know what to say and just return his question to him.
"This... " Alfred was taken aback by Astrid's reaction, but he quickly regained his composure and reminded himself to focus on the task at hand and not let distractions cloud his judgment.
"Are you able to stand up?" Alfred asked Astrid, as he noticed she was still on the ground.
"Uhm, ah, yeah," Astrid stammered, as she forced herself to stand up. Her legs were shaking, and she gritted her teeth to steady them. As she stood, her legs weakened and she became unbalanced. "Ah!"
Pug
"Ouch!" she shouted, feeling pain in her butt and her leg. It was obvious that she had a strain injury on her right leg. She bit her lips to suppress it.
(AN: Hahahaha, are you expecting something?)
"Your leg was injured, right? Ahm, do you need help? Should I carry you?" Alfred asked hesitantly.
BOOM!
They heard an explosion nearby, and without waiting for her answer, Alfred picked her up in a princess carry and was about to hide.
"Ah, no, no, you must not," Astrid struggled to break away, you can see her face was already red in shame.
"I'm sorry this time, but I have no choice, otherwise we will be in danger," Alfred explained to her, trying to avoid any misunderstandings about his intentions.
"No, no, that's not it," Astrid said.
"Eh, then what is it?" Alfred asked.
"Th-the-the…"
"Da?"
"The hug, the hug"
"Hug?" Alfred asked, then looking at her as he carried her, trying to see if there was something wrong. He could even see that her face was red, from her face all the way to her neck. What's wrong with you? he thought, then he suddenly remembered what he had done more than six months ago, and his own face became redder.
"Ah, I see. J-just wait," Alfred carried her as they searched for a place to hide. When he let her down, you could see the disappointment on her face. Alfred didn't notice it and just asked her, "We can't move if I can't carry you this time. Should we hide? No, no, it's still dangerous..." As he thought about possible solutions, he heard her saying something in a low voice.
He looked at her and asked, "What?"
"C-c-carry me?"
"Carry you? I just carried you ear-"
"I mean on your back," she said.
Back? Then he understood what she meant. She wanted a piggyback ride. Compared to the princess carry that had caused misunderstandings, a piggyback ride was more acceptable, although it still cannot change the fact to be misunderstood by others. Well, it was much better, Alfred thought, trying to console himself.
"Well, come on," Alfred said, as he turned his back to her and lowered his body, signaling to her with his hand to climb on.
Astrid forced herself to calm down, but it was hard. She could even hear her heart beating fast. You idiot heart, can you calm down a bit, you're embarrassing me right now. She cursed to herself silently.
"Can you move now?" Alfred couldn't see what she was doing, but she was taking too long, he thought.
"I-I will get on now," she said, as she hugged his neck and then pushed her chest against his back.
Soft!
He quickly reprimanded himself, Damn, what the hell was I thinking? Buddha, clear your mind. You cannot be affected by any distractions. Women will just affect my strength, he chanted silently, as he suppressed his urges.
(AN: Lol, there's no Budda here hahaha)
"What the hell are you thinking?" Seeing his reaction, Astrid couldn't help but wonder what he was thinking. To console her embarrassment, she pinched the back of his neck.
This Pervert!
"Ah, no, I'm sorry!" He immediately took her legs and put them around his waist.
Smooth!
Damn it, stop it! Buddha, a man should clear his mind in any distraction, woman could only affect his…
"Come on, hurry up!" Astrid shouted at him as she ordered him.
"I-I know," Alfred sighed and said.
Then they immediately set off.
They didn't know that there was a tiny girl watching them and decided to follow them.
…
Banggg
Cracck-szzzzh
Bangn!
Crackle
Somewhere on the battlefield, two people were locked in combat. One was a middle-aged man with a rugged face, gripping a dagger tightly in his hand. The other was a fair-skinned woman with cascading white hair, dark eyes, well-defined eyebrows, a sharp nose, and full lips. She held a wand in her hand, expertly wielding it as she fought.
The middle-aged man was surprisingly an Early Crown Stage warrior, while the white-haired woman was only a Late Stage Expert. But as they fought, the middle-aged man realized that the match was a draw. How could it be?
This man was one of Scorpio's underlings, and during the chaos, he happened to spot a beautiful woman and became fascinated by her. He wanted to take her for himself, he thought. But he didn't expect that this woman, who was only a Late Stage Expert, could match his own strength. He couldn't understand the logic behind her abilities.
As they fought longer, the middle-aged man finally discovered the truth: the white-haired woman possessed Advance Mastery, not just once, but twice. How could it be? How had she done it? He couldn't believe that someone her age could achieve such mastery. He wondered if she possessed some sort of treasure or object that could enhance her abilities. If so, he must acquire it for himself.
But in his current situation, he didn't know if he could truly take it. This woman was a monster. Fighting at long range, she could cast spells naturally and faster. In close combat, she might lack raw strength, but she was incredibly fast with her wand or spear as if it were a knife.
And that weapon, It must be a Spirit Weapon!
What the fuck, who the hell is she?
Damn, just give up!
The man was already done. He couldn't stand fighting her any longer. He wanted to finish it and snatch her treasure, and her. He even activated his weather skills, Typhoon, but this woman could still counter it.
She looked at him and flexibly moved her weapon while adjusting her element. With these two combined, she managed to escape to the other side and started to bombard him with her element while rushing toward him.
Do you want a fight? Hmph, who's scared? Just because you have an advantage in mastery, you're already complacent to fight me. Don't forget, I'm still a Crown!
Dang!
In the clash, the white-haired woman stepped back a bit but as the man was about to make action, the woman already moved her next action faster than him. She pointed her staff at him and activated a huge Ice blast coming toward him.
Damn it!
The middle age man dodged then activated his wind boost and appeared near her side but surprisingly, the white heard woman already predicted his appearance, her staff already activated another element.
Bang
The middle age man was hit and the white-haired woman stepped back on impact and she's already prepared her next action to bombard him with ice elements.
Damn, there's nothing he can do here. Since he can't fight, much better to stay away and find another weakling.
Escape
The middle-aged man ran backward and as he ran, he was surprised to see a white-haired woman appear in front of him.
Why was she here?
This was too far!
He shouted in his mind in confusion.
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