Qian Li felt the strength supporting her waist. To keep her balance, she instinctively wrapped both arms around the young man’s neck.
“Handsome, I don’t think we know each other?”
The young man glanced at her dusty face and the streaks of blood on it with his beautiful platinum white eyes. His voice was calm. “Can you walk by yourself?”
It seemed she couldn’t.
She had quite a few abrasions, and she had also twisted her ankle.
Qian Li blinked, shifted her body, and simply settled into a more comfortable position in his arms.
He was so handsome that she wasn’t losing out either!
When she rested her face against his chest, she clearly felt his body stiffen for a moment.
Suppressing a laugh, Qian Li deliberately rubbed her cheek against his chest. When she looked up, she saw that the tips of his ears had turned pink.
Hmm… He seemed a little more human now.
For some reason, she simply felt like teasing him.
Qian Li gazed at the young man’s jade-like chin with admiration. “Handsome boy, I still don’t know your name.”
The young man glanced at her but had no time to speak before Qian Li heard a series of noisy footsteps.
She turned her head and saw a burly man dressed in red among the newcomers. He was staring at her with deeply furrowed brows, as though he wanted to burn a hole right through her.
“Your Eminence, I know you care deeply for the people, but you can’t personally attend to every Tom, Dick, and Harry…”
Qian Li curled her lips and pointed toward the fountain nearby, interrupting him. “You stink! Please, you really need to wash your mouth.”
“You!” The man’s eyebrows shot up, and his face twisted into a fierce scowl.
Ellros ignored him. He merely adjusted his hold on the girl in his arms before turning to another, somewhat slimmer man in red.
“Have the surrounding threats been dealt with?”
“Yes, Your Eminence.” The man nodded.
Qian Li turned her head and noticed that he was looking at her too. He was also taking off his red robe.
As he tried to drape it over Qian Li, he urged, “Your Eminence, we shouldn’t stay here. The area where the mutations are most severe is only a little over a hundred meters away. Why don’t we treat this young lady’s injuries first, then find a safe place nearby for her to shelter while waiting for rescue… Your Eminence?”
Ellros acted as though he hadn’t heard a word. He strode toward the fountain and carefully set Qian Li down on its edge. His eyes lowered to the thick layers of her skirt, and his earlobes turned a vivid red.
How adorable.
Qian Li immediately saw his dilemma and simply grabbed the hem of her skirt.
Riiip!
The fabric tore, revealing the girl’s beautiful, fair lower leg.
Ellros pressed his lips together and averted his gaze. He covered Qian Li’s eyes with one hand while loosely placing the palm of his other hand over her injured leg.
A tingling sensation spread through her body. After a few dozen seconds, Qian Li felt her wounds heal, and even the exhaustion weighing on her body disappeared.
Once Ellros moved his hand away from her eyes, Qian Li rotated her ankle and jumped down from the fountain ledge.
Ellros discreetly withdrew the hand he had been about to use to support her, smoothly positioning his body to block the slimmer man’s outstretched red robe.
The burly man scowled as he fiddled with the optical brain on his wrist. He interrupted them, saying, “Your Eminence Ellros, things aren’t looking good.
High level mutated creatures are leading lower level ones straight toward us.”
As he spoke, he raised his wrist. Qian Li watched as a holographic display appeared above it, resembling a radar scan. Crowded green dots formed a continuous mass, surging toward them like a tidal wave.
Qian Li glanced at Ellros, her expression growing serious.
This was far too strange. The power of the God of Light was the natural nemesis of mutated creatures. With the Holy Son of Light, who stood at the pinnacle of combat strength, stationed here, the creatures should not have willingly come to their deaths.
“Rushing water…”
The sound of a surging tide rang out once more.
The retreating red wave came rushing back. Within the densely packed swarm of red, threadlike worms, strange golden filaments could be seen.
The burly man and the slimmer man raised their energy guns together.
Hmm? As red robed clergy of the cardinal level, they didn’t possess the corresponding divine power? Instead, they used energy guns as weapons?
Qian Li suddenly remembered a rumor the original owner had heard in a café.
Apparently, the God of Light had not bestowed a divine revelation or shown favor to mortals for several hundred years…
Her thoughts lasted only an instant. The next second, she had no time to think any further.
The wave of red threads formed a vortex. In the next moment, a gigantic red worm ten meters tall opened its abyssal maw. Its blood red teeth, sharp as densely packed steel spikes, rushed toward the open plaza where Qian Li and the others stood.
“It’s an S rank mutated creature!”
The slimmer man cried out in alarm, his face turning deathly pale.
The highest rank of mutated creature was only SSS. An A rank creature, if left unchecked, could easily destroy an entire planet!
On a remote planet like this, even if a sacrifice had taken place, such a high level mutated creature should not have formed in such a short time!
The burly man gritted his teeth. His hand holding the gun trembled continuously as he muttered a curse under his breath.
“Damn it! And we’ve even got a useless idiot dragging us down!”
Qian Li glanced at Ellros, then patted the burly man on the waist. Under his displeased gaze, she opened her right hand and flashed a bright smile.
“Hand me an energy gun!”
“Do you think energy guns grow on trees? You’re just a commoner. Would you even know how to use one? An energy gun can explode if handled improperly!” The burly man gritted his teeth and glared at Qian Li.
“Oh? How do you know I can’t use one? My shooting score might even be better than yours,” Qian Li retorted.
Ellros remained expressionless. He calmly gestured to the burly man.
“Give her one.”
“Your Eminence!” The burly man tried to suppress his displeasure, but his face twisted with anger.
Ellros spoke calmly.
“That is an order.”
Reluctantly, the burly man reached for the spatial weapon pouch at his waist, pulled out an energy gun, and tossed it into Qian Li’s hands.
Qian Li grinned, showing her beautiful white teeth. “Be careful. What if you accidentally make the energy gun explode?”
“You!” The burly man swallowed the words he wanted to say. His clenched fist trembled, but he still couldn’t resist snapping, “Then you’d better be careful not to die!”
“Don’t worry, don’t worry. I won’t die before you do.”
Qian Li cheerfully accepted the gun, pulled back its bolt, and squeezed the trigger. A blazing white energy projectile shot toward the mutated creature’s abyssal maw.
Her shot seemed to break the delicate balance. The slimmer man, who had not yet attacked, also pulled the trigger.
Ellros flicked his wrist. The platinum colored bow appeared in his hand, and he drew it into a full, graceful arc. A glowing white arrow shot straight into the creature’s mouth.
The giant mutated creature swayed, and all their attacks landed in the red sea instead.
Qian Li moved as the creature moved, running while occasionally firing an energy projectile. Each shot struck precisely the same spot on the creature.
Her accuracy was comparable to that of a professional.
The slimmer man repeatedly glanced at her, a flicker of hidden interest passing through his eyes.
Another energy projectile grazed the burly man’s shoulder before shooting toward the mutated creature. His face flushed red as he shouted in protest.
Why was this creature always coming after him? Did mutated creatures understand the concept of picking off their enemies one by one?
Wave after wave of explosive shockwaves sent rolling, scorching gusts of air through the plaza, making Qian Li’s small frame sway unsteadily.
Although her shooting skills were excellent, that did not change the fact that her physical constitution was terribly weak. She was practically a Lin Daiyu in terms of frailty.
Ellros had clearly realized this as well. He fired three arrows at once, then swiftly moved to Qian Li’s side. He grasped her wrist and shouted to the other two.
“You three, retreat in the aircar.”
Qian Li faintly heard a crisp click. She looked over curiously but couldn’t see anything. However, there was no doubt that a cold, ring shaped object had fastened itself around her wrist.
“Indeed…” Ellros murmured.
“What?” Qian Li hadn’t heard him clearly.
Ellros said nothing more. He simply lowered his hand, making no attempt to explain.
The burly man retreated to Ellros’s side to provide cover. He raised his gun and fired a shot that struck a low level mutated creature, which turned to ashes.
He was about to refuse when Ellros said, “You’re the only one here who can drive an aircar.”
The slimmer man hurriedly added, “Go! If we stay here, we’ll only get in Your Eminence’s way!”
“Wait!” Qian Li suddenly called out.
Before anyone could react, she grabbed the torn hem of her skirt.
Riiip!
The skirt tore open again, revealing half of Qian Li’s plump thigh, directly in front of Ellros.