Swordsman with a bamboo hat

Looking out from the narrow entrance, there is a space below that is unexpectedly spacious.

After narrowly escaping natural and man-made disasters, this place, which was surrounded by broken pillars and looked a bit like some kind of ancient sacrificial site, actually had several desks and chairs placed in order according to the direction of the magic circle, and they were filled with various magic instruments and drafts of books.

This standard discussion room or laboratory scene would appear perfectly in the previous magic teaching building.

But... such an orderly layout, when placed against the desolate and dilapidated background, can't help but give people a sense of inappropriateness and absurdity.

In the center of the circle formed by the desks, a stone covered with strange patterns was floating in the air surrounded by several magic circles. The eye-catching faint purple light came from it.

What is this?

Is it some kind of rare magic crystal ore?

Speculating in this way, Ximu and the other two had a brief discussion and decided to go down together to take a look.

The facilities and equipment here showed obvious signs of use, suggesting this hidden research had been going on for more than just a day or two. Ximu casually flipped through the handwritten manuscript at hand, vaguely discerning a few words from the slightly messy handwriting.

"...Gravity magic?"

Moliina and Sorens were both stunned when they heard this. The latter had a more disbelief-filled look on his face, and even his voice unconsciously rose a little.

"How could it be... is there actually someone in the academy researching this kind of heretical magic?"

In the ancient legends of the continent, the magic that is circulated today is all authority bestowed by the gods. Although many different factions have emerged with the passage of generations, when it comes down to it, one can always find the most original belief in the gods.

However, the emergence of the magic of "gravity" did not come from any god known to people, but from a mysterious tribe.

The name of this tribe has been lost in the long river of history, but legend has it that they are not human, but a group of aliens who migrated from the depths of the starry sky. They possess a peculiar mineral and use a purple spell that can make people unable to move.

Because of different ideas and the ultimate inability to reach a consensus, this mysterious nation broke out in a fierce war with the local residents, and eventually disappeared. It is unknown whether they moved to another planet again.

Because the source of magic power was unknown and difficult to analyze, and people at the time hated these purple spells, gravity magic gradually became a taboo and was not accepted by the mainstream magic community. Few people even understood it, let alone studied it in depth.

After listening to Sorens's popular science presentation, Ximu looked at the complete research facilities around him, not knowing whether he should first admire the academic spirit of these people or doubt the identities behind them.

They specifically chose such a secluded place, presumably because they knew that if this kind of unorthodox research were to be carried out in the teaching building, it would be discovered and reported in a matter of minutes...

Did someone in the academy accidentally get this ore from somewhere?

Or are these researchers the descendants of that mysterious nation, and these buried ruins the remains of that lost civilization?

In fact, none of this matters.

She was no historian, and she had nothing to get excited about the reappearance of lost magic.

At this moment, what puzzled her most was actually - where were all those people who were supposed to be conducting research here?

The sudden change had clearly affected the mines as well, otherwise the miners wouldn't have been in such terrible states. The magical instruments here were still functioning, indicating that someone must have been operating them not long ago.

But at this moment, there was no one here at all.

Of course, using the word "people" to describe it may not be accurate enough. In Ximu's opinion, the things that were still fiddling with the instruments before should be the same as those alienated people who were still doing research tirelessly in the teaching building. They were just repeating the actions they were accustomed to in their lifetime.

But now... where have they all gone?

A strange chill suddenly rose from his spine. Ximu felt something in his heart and suddenly drew his sword and swung it to the side, instantly blocking a long sword that was coming at him diagonally!

The clanging sound of collision broke the originally peaceful silence.

The sudden attacker seemed a little surprised, but he grinned widely and even took the initiative to greet him:

"Good evening, beautiful lady—even though it seems like the sun never rises in this shabby place."

The man holding the long sword before him was tall and thin, wearing a conical hat. He looked unrefined, but his eyes were bright. Although he was smiling, the ferocity within him was almost overwhelming, carrying an extremely aggressive and murderous intent.

The experience of having gone through hundreds of battles told Ximu very clearly at the fastest speed -

This person was really planning to kill her.

After confirming this, Ximu's eyes turned cold, and he released his clones without hesitation, attacking him from the front and back to force him away from his original position!

He wanted to take this opportunity to warn his teammates to keep their distance, but in the blink of an eye, Molina had already pulled Sorens away obediently. As she retreated, she made a gesture to Ximu, saying "I understand, don't worry."

Ximu understood and didn't give the other party a chance to get closer. He immediately rushed forward to engage in close combat with him, using a dazzling array of attacks to push him as far away as possible.

If Ruixia was here at this moment, she might choose to keep a distance and communicate with the other party first, at least asking questions like "Why did you suddenly attack us" to confirm the other party's motives, and then choose whether to negotiate or defeat the other party first.

But Ximu couldn't think of so much.

The premise for her to treat others peacefully is that they are not a threat to her. For someone like this who comes up and tries to chop her neck, the only thing she can do is to kill him before he succeeds.

However... after exchanging several waves of attack and defense in an instant, they both read a hint of surprise in each other's eyes.

In the battle of cold weapons, an inch longer is an inch stronger. The swordsman's long sword has a great advantage in attack range, and he thought he could easily restrain the girl holding the short sword.

But he didn't expect that this girl was like a loach, and she could use all kinds of incredible displacements at will. She used the spells of clone and teleportation to constantly switch positions, and kept drilling into his blind spots, making it impossible to defend against her.

After failing to eliminate the enemy in front of him for a long time, Ximu couldn't help but start to face this presumptuous man.

His sense of danger is too keen.

It was clearly an unavoidable attack, but he seemed to have eyes on his back. Although his posture was strange, he was able to fight back from the dead end again and again.

This man's strong mind and quick reaction ability are the result of countless actual combat training. He ranks among the best among the targets she has killed in the past.

It seems that he can't be considered brave but foolish for daring to actively attack the strongest person in the team.

This intense swordplay was but a blink of an eye in the eyes of others. Perhaps to buy Ximu an opportunity, Molina deliberately shouted from a distance: "Hey! Who are you! - You come up and chop people without saying a word, you robber!"

"Haha... maybe I'm the robber?"

Unexpectedly, the man actually responded from a distance, but even though he spoke, his attention was still on Xi Mu in front of him.

After once again blocking Xi Mu's cunning sneak attack, he used his physical advantage to press the long sword towards the girl and looked at her with ill intent.

"Miss...you look like you are very rich."

Xi Mu stared at him coldly, and with a little skill, he pushed his knife aside, got a little closer, and wanted to rush directly into his arms and attack him in the heart, but was knocked away by the other party who turned sideways.

rich?

After briefly recalling his outfit from head to toe, Ximu curled up the corners of his mouth and immediately adjusted his body shape and rushed forward.

Isn’t it?

Her entire outfit, from the hair crown to the clothes, was basically prepared by Ruixia - with his fancy and exquisite aesthetic style, he really just missed writing the words "My family has plenty of money" on the clothes.

So, the other party is greedy for money and wants to kill and rob?

It's not impossible.

Ruixia's family is so wealthy that they have to save as much as possible along the way, for fear that they will run out of supplies and be dragged to death by endless monsters.

Although it is not certain how long this person has been here, and whether he is familiar with the situation in this strange place... but judging from his behavior of being able to kill a stranger so easily, if he is really a robber, then everything instantly makes sense.

Now that I think about it, those monsters that were originally lurking here should have been cleared out by him, right?

She was careless.

If something that should be there is gone, you should consider whether there is something else hiding in the dark... She will remember this lesson.

At this moment, a faint golden light suddenly appeared around Ximu. Although it was fleeting, it quickly took away most of the fatigue in the body.

It should be that Morina saw that they were unable to win the battle for a long time and was worried that Ximu, who had been fighting at a high intensity and speed, would not be able to keep up with the physical strength, so she hurried to provide support.

This was a normal response and a correct judgment. The only downside might be that she made their opponents suddenly realize that a team with the blessing of a priest could prolong the battle indefinitely.

And before their resources are exhausted, I, who already have few supplies, will die faster than them.

The moment the swordsman's gaze shifted, Xi Mu sensed his intention and immediately stepped forward to stop him. However, the man actually used his left hand to block her attack. The hardness that didn't seem like flesh and blood startled her slightly.

In just the blink of an eye, he found a gap and kicked Ximu away, then turned on his heel and rushed towards where Molina was!

Seeing the face with a ferocious smile coming towards her, Morina was shocked and turned around to run, throwing out a scroll in her hand, apparently wanting to use some kind of offensive magic to stop him.

But before the light of the scroll could be lit, it was shattered by a sharp knife that came straight at it!

Morina had no time to chant any spells, and could only watch helplessly as the sharp blade came straight towards her!