Chapter 229: The Robbery

Rolo was never a soft-hearted man. Even in his pride, he would only show mercy to those weak opponents as insignificant as ants. When facing enemies, he had always been ruthless.

But now, before this maiden, he felt an inexplicable closeness that bewildered him. In an instant, he decided to first intimidate this little one and then find out her origins and why she appeared here.

Rolo had already rushed up to the girl, pushing his arm shield forward and ramming into her. His right-hand axe instinctively swung out, but halfway through, he abruptly realized and redirected it, striking with the back of the axe instead.

In that moment, Rolo suddenly recalled that he hadn’t yet identified the race of the little creature before him, which was rather unbelievable.

With a loud clang, Rolo felt as though he had just collided with a mountain!

The ancient forest broke its silence; centuries-old trees fell, large clumps of earth, along with the trees, were thrown skyward, and numerous birds and beasts fled in terror from the source of the calamity.

Amidst the disaster, two figures emerged, one chasing the other.

The figure in the lead was a bedraggled Rolo. His once-glorious battle robe was now in tatters, resembling a scavenger’s garb. His armor was scattered and broken, with the backplate completely torn off. Rolo, disheveled and bruised, disregarded his appearance as he ran for his life.

Behind him, Xiao Zhuji relentlessly pursued. She held a shield in her left hand and an axe in her right, wearing a golden war helmet—these items originally belonged to Rolo.

Her speed had significantly increased, surpassing Rolo’s, and in no time, she caught up to him. With shield and axe, she quickly brought him to the ground.

While resisting, Rolo shouted, “Wait! Stop, I have something to say! Ah, don’t hit my face!”

Xiao Zhuji paid no heed and proceeded to pummel Rolo.

Seeing no other choice, Rolo’s body suddenly emitted a burst of golden light, instantly pushing Xiao Zhuji away. He scrambled to his feet, shouting, “You’re one of us! Can we not talk civilly?”

Xiao Zhuji rolled her eyes, “Who said I’m part of your ugly tribe?”

“Nonsense! How am I ugly…” Before Rolo could finish, a shield flung by Xiao Zhuji hit his face, making everything go dark. He was again pushed down, receiving another beating.

This scene had repeated itself several times. They were in a constant state of “listen to me, listen to me” versus “I won’t, I won’t.”

Rolo tried to protect his face, disregarding other vital areas. As long as he didn’t resist too violently, Xiao Zhuji would be somewhat lenient. However, she started to strip Rolo of his accessories, collecting them.

“Is this… robbery?” Rolo was momentarily bewildered.

In his eyes, Xiao Zhuji, despite having just passed the infant stage, could subdue him with mere physical strength, marking her as a once-in-a-millennium prodigy of the Arachne. Furthermore, she clearly hadn’t learned any profound arcane arts, including the most top-tier ones of the Arachne. Yet, her strength nearly matched Rolo, which was incredible.

Since discovering that Xiao Zhuji was also an Arachne, Rolo couldn’t bring himself to harm her, let alone use any lethal secret techniques.

However, relying solely on physical strength, he was no match for her. Using origin power, he couldn’t fully suppress her, making it hard to control his force. Afraid of accidentally injuring her, Rolo ended up being beaten down by her.

Despite his miserable appearance, he wasn’t too concerned, thinking the little one would eventually tire.

After the beating, Xiao Zhuji seemed elated. She pinned Rolo down, her small mouth pouting, her gaze slightly dazed.

Instantly, Rolo felt as if ice-cold water had been poured over him, almost drowning him in the fear of death! With a shrill cry, disregarding the risk of hurting Xiao Zhuji, he explosively unleashed his origin power, breaking free and retreating a hundred meters in an instant.

Xiao Zhuji didn’t expect the person she was pummeling to escape. From her mouth, a nearly invisible line of frost spewed towards where Rolo had lain.

A small hole instantly formed, deep and unfathomable. Around it, a ring of deathly grey rapidly spread, extinguishing all life in its path, even ancient trees withered and died. In moments, Xiao Zhuji created a dead zone a hundred meters wide.

Rolo gasped. Though he possessed the noble Golden Bloodline, making him highly resistant to toxins, seeing this, he knew he’d likely die if hit by that poison.

His heart filled with both surprise and fear, breaking out in a cold sweat.

Xiao Zhuji, clearly displeased at not finishing Rolo, leaped forward, her speed increasing again, chasing after him.

Rolo, terrified, could only tremble when he saw the little one’s plump, quivering red lips. How could he dare to get close? He now understood the perils of facing an enemy you can’t bring yourself to hurt on the battlefield.

Without hesitation, Rolo took to the sky, tripling his speed, clearly activating some life-saving item, and vanished into the void.

Xiao Zhuji, unable to catch up, angrily shook her fist. Glancing at the ground, her anger turned to joy as she began to count her newfound treasures. Had she not been burdened, she might have caught up. But she preferred to let the enemy go rather than abandon her treasures.

As she inventoried, her smile grew brighter, like spring blossoms.

Rolo, a specially selected prodigy of the Spider Queen, had shown immense potential, advancing to Duke post-Cyclone, proving his true worth. His belongings matched his status, all of high quality.

Xiao Zhuji, although unversed, had a keen sense. She could immediately tell the amount of origin power and the intricacy of the array in each accessory. Particularly, Rolo’s golden armor, each piece of which was extraordinary, providing top-tier defense both physically and against origin power.

Driven by her combat instincts, Xiao Zhuji adored the armor and stripped most of it from Rolo. Now, she was trying to fit it on, but it didn’t quite suit her smaller, more delicate frame.

Despite the poor fit, she refused to take it off. Just then, she sensed Qian Ye’s call and responded.

Qian Ye emerged from the forest, startled to see an oddly-attired Arachne warrior, finding it comical upon closer inspection.

Xiao Zhuji was clad in golden armor, albeit missing a few pieces, holding a shield and axe, her oversized golden helmet slipping over her eyes, requiring her to tilt her head to see. Lacking storage, she had tied the loot with vines, creating a noisy jingle with every step.

Qian Ye shook his head, “Where’s your enemy?”

“He’s run away, but I got most of his stuff!” The little one was ecstatic.

Qian Ye covered his face, sighing, “Why didn’t you kill him?”

She realized, exclaiming, “I was too focused on taking his stuff, I forgot!”

Qian Ye huffed, “If you killed him, wouldn’t everything still be yours?”

“Right!” She slapped her forehead, looking regretful.

Qian Ye, discerning her intentions, remarked, “You wanted to wait for him to return so you could rob more, didn’t you?”

Xiao Zhuji jumped, clinging to Qian Ye, sweetly saying, “How did you know? Actually, I don’t really want to take things. It’s just, his stuff is so shiny and pretty!”

Qian Ye was speechless, puzzled by her sudden materialism. Was it a latent trait of the Arachne, loving all that glittered? But he’d never heard of such a thing.

Looking at her ill-fitting golden armor, Qian Ye said, “Take it off.”

“No!” She firmly refused.

“It hinders movement. We need to leave. I’ll keep it safe, promise.”

Assured, Xiao Zhuji reluctantly handed over the armor, which Qian Ye stored in Anduia’s space. Although Anduia’s space was sizable, it was already packed, each inch precious. If not for the armor’s exceptional quality, Qian Ye would have discarded it.

With supplies secured, Qian Ye chose a direction and departed with Xiao Zhuji.

In the void, several figures approached a colossal warship, entering its lavish lounge. Preittick lounged on a sofa, inscrutable, while a tall figure gazed out the window at the vast expanse of Yondar.

Minic and Pedro entered, deliberately keeping their distance.

Minic, the duke, coldly said, “As a prodigy and hero of the Arachne, expected to become Grand General, how did you lose so swiftly, not even giving me a chance to aid you?”

Pedro’s killing intent flared, growling, “Are all of you Demonkin arrogant fools? If you doubt my strength, I won’t mind a life-and-death duel to see the true power of the Demonkin’s Dark Eye.”

Minic sneered, “Everyone here knows my expertise isn’t just in combat. If you seek a duel, my clan has others willing to oblige.”

Pedro retorted, “Then stay silent if you can’t fight!”

“Unfortunately, now is the evaluation. I must voice my opinion. The final judgment, I believe, will be fair from the Grand General.”

The figure at the window, unmoved by the tension, simply said, “Rolo is on his way. Let’s wait for him.”

“Agreed.”

Minic and Pedro took their seats, the lounge turning frigid.

Rolo burst in, staggering and nearly falling. His tattered clothes and battered face shocked even Grand General Losa, who asked, “What happened? Did you encounter Qian Ye too?”