Chapter 46 The Argo (4) When a dog feels guilty, it will pretend to be...
After dealing with the ambush team, Xia Ying and her group arrived at the potion garden as quickly as possible.
Following Medea's instructions, she dug out a long box, about half a person's height, in the overgrown potion garden... It looked a bit like a weapon case, and she felt it might contain swords or something.
Xia Ying stroked the box and whispered, "How do I open it now?"
Along the way, everyone had gotten used to her communicating with unseen things from time to time, like a sorceress. So none of the abyssal creatures made a sound, but just watched Xia Ying's unfathomable actions with awe.
The spirit behind the witch remained silent in the face of her questions, while her companions swarmed in, actively pooling their wisdom and efforts.
...
Last to appear is the succubus!
It had absolutely no effect.
Medea then gave a subtle hint: Blood.
"Blood? Whose blood?" Xia Ying pointed to herself. "Mine?"
Medea returned to silence, but Xia Ying decided to give it a try.
She gently pricked her fingertip, smeared the blood on the box, and held her breath, waiting for the change to happen.
In the distance, the battle between Hercules and the dragon finally came to an end. The demigod smashed the dragon's head open with his lion-skin club, while the dragon tore open the demigod's chest with its claws.
The battle ended in an extremely savage and bloody manner, with Hercules and the dragon falling to one side, each meeting their death after a fierce fight.
Xia Ying gazed at the battlefield in a daze for a while, her fingers inadvertently touching the box. The cold and rough feeling brought her back to her attention.
The box remained unopened.
However, the battle that ended in mutual destruction just now gave Xia Ying new inspiration.
“Perhaps Medea was referring to Cer’s blood?” she said. “Or perhaps, to my blood and Cer’s blood…”
The witch's ghost smiled faintly and finally disappeared.
Looks like I guessed right.
Xia Ying quickly summoned the [Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi] that had just stabbed Cerberus, but the blade was clean and there was no trace of blood left.
The bear-man raised his hand and said, "I know."
The leopard-man wagged his tail: "There shouldn't be anyone who doesn't know Cerberus, right?"
Xia Ying glanced around, and even the clay giants nodded, all of them wearing expressions of lingering fear.
...Okay, now you can probably guess what Kel'Thuzad's reputation is like in the Demon Realm.
She patted the box in her arms.
Xia Ying looked at her companion with a serious expression.
Please help me.
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As Hercules and the poisonous dragon fell, Cerberus, who was tracking Xia Ying, glanced over instinctively.
After that brief moment, he withdrew his gaze, not even glancing at the dust kicked up behind him by the giant's collapse, and continued running toward his destination.
He quickly arrived at the potion garden, and the tracking magic indicated that Xia Ying and her... companions were deep within this desolate forest.
Cerberus stepped into the potion garden without hesitation. At that moment, the ground covered with withered leaves beneath his feet suddenly turned into a swamp. As his body sank in, water vines wrapped around his ankles.
The demon hound casually unleashed black flames, and the water vines burst open the moment they touched the flames, spewing out a large number of spores that temporarily obscured Cerberus's vision.
At this moment, Xia Ying flew out of the bushes and raised the [Ama-no-Murakumo-no-Tsurugi] behind Cerberus.
However, the sword wind generated by the slashing motion failed to hit the demon hound. At the critical moment, he raised his giant scythe, turned around suddenly, and Xia Ying was about to raise her sword to block it when Cerberus passed by her and ran towards some place in the forest.
Xia Ying was caught off guard for a moment, but quickly realized the other party's purpose.
She whirled around, but the demon hound's scythe had already fallen. The spore camouflage that the earth colossus used to conceal its tracks was suddenly shattered, and its solid body was severed in half by this blow, exposing its fragile life core.
Cerberus dug out the core with his bare hands, dodging Xia Ying's stab, and then crushed the core.
The clay colossus's body instantly turned into dust, but this was merely the prelude to Cerberus's massacre.
Medea's forces were not unprepared for the demon hound's initiative. When Cerberus attacked, the abyssal creatures, already familiar with group combat, quickly launched a coordinated counterattack based on their respective roles.
Facing the infamous Cerberus, no abyssal creature dared to be careless. The ranged squad simultaneously unleashed pre-prepared poison needles, acid rain, and magic beams, a dazzling array of attack spells overlapping to ensure there were no blind spots.
Even so, Cerberus's strength and agility still exceeded the expectations of the monsters. Using black flames and shadows as his means of movement, he could quickly and freely move through the narrowest gaps, and in the blink of an eye, he could cross the defensive wall and break into the center of the group.
The first to fall was the leopard-man, who launched a surprise attack on the elemental lich who was preparing his next beam attack as Cerberus raised his scythe. But the demon hound was a more skilled assassin, and the shadow pierced the leopard-man's body instantly, ending its life cleanly.
In the brief respite gained by the leopard-men, a fierce wind swept up abyssal creatures, scattering them everywhere. Ice walls and rock walls rose up alternately, surrounding Cerberus in the center, layer upon layer.
Xia Ying's shadow swept past the ice mirror in front of Cerberus. He turned around to catch the attack and smiled provocatively at her, "Why let those guys leave? Don't you want to try again?"
Xia Ying didn't answer his question, but looked into his eyes and asked him word by word, "Why are you angry, Ke'er?"
Cerberus paused, lowered his head to avoid her gaze, and suddenly burst forth with infernal flames around himself.
The ice walls and rock walls could not stop the black sea of fire from spreading rapidly in the Potions Garden, and Cerberus's figure vanished from his spot.
The flames didn't get any closer to Xia Ying, but they also wouldn't let her leave.
What skills could be used? Xia Ying observed the situation while pondering. Tidal Resonance? No, the water-attribute magic energy here is limited; it probably won't be enough to extinguish the flames.
After only a few seconds of hesitation, screams erupted from the area engulfed in flames, and several more of Cerberus's companions lost their lives.
We can't delay any longer.
Let's choose this one!
Xia Ying immediately unleashed the Destruction Dragon Flame. The domineering flame, just like that of a dragon, instantly devoured most of the fire-attribute magic in the space. As one thing diminished while the other increased, the black flame that Cerberus had not paid attention to dimmed down.
Xia Ying stepped out of the fire circle and quickly switched her mind links with her companions, finally finding Cerberus in the bear-man's sight.
She rushed towards the bear-man as fast as she could, erected rock walls around it, and crushed several defensive consumable items in succession, covering it with layer after layer of protective shields.
However, all these efforts seemed futile in the face of the demon hound. Just as Xia Ying arrived, the giant scythe shattered all obstacles, tore through the bear-man's fur, and blood splattered, slowly flowing down the rock wall.
At this moment, Cerberus had become a killing machine that only pursued death itself. Without pausing, he quickly ran towards the next target, passing by her once again.
How many of their companions are still alive? Ten? Seven?
Perhaps even fewer than five.
At that moment, a mesmerizing, clear cry rang out from the sky. Xia Ying looked up and saw the harpy flying toward the battlefield.
"Harpie!"
Under the harpy's mental attack, Cerberus's already drowsy head throbbed with even more pain. After dealing with the abyssal creature in front of him, he chose the harpy as his next target.
Black flames rose into the air, igniting the banshee's wings, and Harpy bravely swooped down like a burning meteor to meet Cerberus's scythe light.
The next instant, the demon dog did not see the expected blood.
Why can't I move?
His gaze moved downwards, and he saw several vines growing from the ground grabbing his hands and feet.
No, it should be that vines growing from his flesh and blood took deep root in the soil.
Cerberus suddenly remembered the water vine that burst forth with spores when he first entered the potions garden, and muttered to himself, "Was it planted at that time?"
"That's right."
The person who answered him was not Harpy.
The harpy flapped her wings and took flight, revealing a girl holding a sword behind her.
Cerberus couldn't take his eyes off Xia Ying's face, so much so that he forgot to feel the pain of the blade cutting into his body.
“You are truly a formidable opponent, Cerberus.” The wind caught a drop of blood flowing from the demon hound's body and delivered it to Xia Ying’s hand. “We have made so many sacrifices to finally buy time until the seed sprouts…”
She smeared Cerberus's blood on the box, layering it with her own dried blood.
"Fortunately, I won in the end."
Xia Ying took out a magical artifact, and the bow and arrow transformed into a pistol according to its master's will.
She raised the gun and pressed it against Cerberus's forehead.
Xia Ying pulled the trigger, and the golden bullet pierced Cerberus's skull.
Jason's ghost was deflected by the bullet and ejected from Cerberus's body. Cerberus felt a lightness in his head, and then heard Xia Ying's voice.
"In Wilderness Quest #63, the effect of [Eros's Prank] is to change one member's faction."
The witch emerged from Xia Ying with a maniacal laugh, her figure growing larger and larger. She easily seized the hero's spirit as it tried to escape, and gracefully and cruelly began to torture him eternally amidst his screams.
"Beep! The Spirit of Jason has lost its possessor; the Spirit of Medea has achieved final victory!"
"Beep! Wilderness Mission #63: [Argo] is complete!"
A flash of white light, and the monsters were teleported to the Wilderness Hall.
Xia Ying had just left the mission area when her companions swarmed around her like a tide.
"I almost thought we were all going to be wiped out!" Harpy was the first to reach her side, and she hugged the succubus girl while shedding tears of emotion. "It's so good that we won, waaaaah!"
Nestled in the warm, fluffy feathers, surrounded by her happy companions, Xia Ying suddenly felt a strange sensation.
She blurted out without thinking, "Mom."
"What did you say?" The harpy looked at her face, her expression turning slightly worried. "You cried, Xia Ying. Are you feeling unwell?"
"Did I cry?" Xia Ying touched her cheek and found it was indeed a little damp. "I don't know, but it must be because I was happy."
Cerberus was also teleported to the Wilderness Hall.
Fortunately, the experienced Xia Ying noticed Cerberus's resentful gaze in time, so she left her companions' encirclement, walked to the demon hound's side, and took his hand.
"Now let me introduce you. This is Cerberus, a very important friend of mine!" Then she turned to the demon hound, "Alright, Cerberus, it's your turn to apologize to everyone. Keep it simple."
Cerberus, who had just been feeling a little smug, immediately jumped up to protest: "Huh?! Why should I apologize! You can't blame me just because I killed you, so what if I'm that strong?!"
“While you’re right,” Detective Xia Ying said, resting her chin on her hand, “I still feel that there’s a lot of unnecessary malice in Kerri’s methods of killing demons.”
"..." The demonic hound, having its weakness exposed, did not argue with Xia Ying. Instead, it glared fiercely at the surrounding abyssal creatures, instantly scaring away a large number of them.
"Don't threaten others!"
"Woof!! Don't hit me on the back of the head!"
At this moment, among the trembling abyssal creatures, the lovable, taciturn, and also the first to be killed in the Potions Garden, the Mud Giant bravely stepped forward!
The clay giant said, "Gurgle, gurgle."
"Huh? Is that so?" Hearing its words, Xia Ying felt a pang of guilt due to a sense of shared responsibility. "You were actually killed by Kernel three times? How could this be..."
The clay giant said, "Gurgle, gurgle."
Xia Ying immediately turned around and implemented precise accountability.
"What's going on, Kelp?! Why are you even killing freshmen?!"
"This...this can't all be my fault, can it?" Cerberus looked away again, glancing at the air beside him. "Sometimes, when you get carried away killing, it's inevitable..."
“...Every time you feel guilty, you give me this look that avoids looking me in the eye.” Xia Ying was about to continue her attack when she heard the clay giant say.
"Gurgle, gurgle."
"Huh? You're saying you deeply admire Kel because of this, and want to become a powerful abyssal creature like him?!" Xia Ying was shocked again. "That's incredibly magnanimous!"
Cerberus, who witnessed all of this, was also shocked: How could Xia Ying understand what this thing was saying?
Just as he was about to speak, dozens of identical electronic notification sounds rang out.
"Ding! Congratulations on completing your [Environmental Internship]!"
Cerberus took out his Student Handbook and saw that the [Circle Internship] task in the task bar was completed, and the various restrictions imposed on him by the King of the Tomb Keepers also disappeared.
The demonic hound nodded in satisfaction, then asked Xia Ying for confirmation, "So, you've completed your [Circular Domain Internship], right?"
Xia Ying paused for a moment, then looked up and smiled: "Of course."
She hid her phone behind her back.
On the phone screen, under the entry for Xia Ying's [Circular Domain Internship], the conditions for passing the level were still blank.
In the task progress section, the word "In Progress" is faintly glowing.
Xia Ying subtly pressed the button.
The phone screen flickered slightly before silently fading into darkness.
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Author's Note: How did the holiday end so soon...? The author is in so much pain... I wish time could turn back...
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