Not afraid

“I’m not afraid.”

Livia looked up, the corners of her lips curling into a vibrant arc.

Her trembling was not from fear, but from some long-suppressed emotion about to erupt.

“We’re here, it’s this cave entrance.”

Livia felt her heart pounding. She dismounted from Ilya, her delicate body swaying, so excited she nearly fainted.

“Are you okay?”

After gently setting Livia down, Ilya couldn’t bring herself to completely disregard her. She looked at the pink-haired girl standing aside, covering her mouth and enjoying the show. With a dismissive ‘tsk,’ she reached out to help the white-haired loli steady herself.

“If you can’t do it, say so. Don’t make me split my focus to help you.”

“Thank you…”

Livia still felt her head swimming and her body weak, but she possessed an unshakeable conviction.

She walked step by step towards the cave entrance, tightly clutching the cloth bag in her hand as if it were the only light that could pierce the fog, obtained at the cost of everything.

Livia stared intently at the mountain cave below. The entrance faintly echoed with goblin clamor, like the whispers of demons.

“Damn it.”

The desire for revenge burned within her, as if threatening to consume her entirely.

Her mind constantly replayed that nightmarish evening—her best friend’s chest pierced by goblin arrows, blood staining her hands; the town’s cries, the crackling sound of flames devouring houses, and the goblins’ shrill laughter, all interweaving into a hellish scene.

She remembered kneeling at the city gate, watching everything being destroyed with her own eyes, yet being powerless.

“You… all of you deserve to die.”

Livia murmured softly, her voice filled with endless hatred, as cold as ice.

“Will it succeed…?” Alice asked with some concern.

“It will succeed!”

Livia gritted her teeth, “The gunpowder might be a bit lacking, but inside the cave, there are several baskets of magic gems that explode upon impact!”

Perhaps plundered.

Or perhaps ill-gotten gains.

Yet, at this moment, they became the final step to annihilation.

Shaman… will you regret this?

Regretting provoking me—!

She lit the fuse of the gunpowder bag, took a deep breath, and hurled it fiercely into the depths of the cave.

The gunpowder bag traced an arc in the air, carrying speckles of firelight.

“Everyone, cover your ears.”

Alice crouched beside the white-haired loli, placing a hand on her shoulder, covering her ears, while with the other hand, she stuck her rapier into the muddy ground, covering her own ears as well.

‘Boom—!’

A deafening explosion echoed through the cave. Immediately after, as if triggering a chain reaction, one explosion after another erupted.

Amidst the earth-shattering roar, the gunpowder packed tightly in the cloth bags exploded.

Flames soared into the sky, illuminating the entire night, and thick smoke billowed towards them.

“Aoooh!?”

Goblin screams rose one after another, like wails from hell.

Stalactites from the cave ceiling rained down, smashing fleeing green-skinned figures into minced meat. Their screams were like the bursting sound of overripe fruit, reminding her of the muffled thuds made by Elton’s residents when their ribs were crushed.

Livia stood at the cave entrance, the blast wave lifting her skirt. Her pure white hair danced wildly in the scorching storm.

The firelight reflected on her face, which held no trace of mercy, only cold satisfaction.

“Not enough, this is still not enough. I want the red-hot iron sand to drill into their eye sockets, and their intestines to hang from burnt tree branches!”

Witnessing everything firsthand, Flora, who had been smiling moments ago, froze in place. The pixels in her pink eyes reflected the magnificent mushroom cloud forming above.

Her ears were still ringing. The deafening roar of the explosion, the soaring flames, momentarily gave her the illusion that the world was about to be destroyed.

This was comparable to a sixth-tier mage, who would need half a day of chanting to unleash such an area-of-effect explosion. Yet, it only took a few hours of preparation, a simple lighting and throw, to achieve such results?

Ilya was also stunned in place.

She had thought that the little white ball in front of her would at most just set the cave ablaze like children playing house, purely to create a sense of panic.

And then—

They could block the cave entrance and stab any goblins attempting to escape to death, one by one with their swords.

But now, she realized she was wrong, terribly wrong.

The little white ball wasn’t trying to intimidate disorganized and undisciplined goblins.

She was trying to annihilate them…

The aftershocks of the explosion seemed to make the entire mountain tremble. Ilya retracted her thoughts, noticing the gravel at the cave entrance steadily falling.

“Fall back.”

Ilya stepped forward, suddenly grabbing the little white ball’s wrist, her dark silver eyes reflecting the soaring flames, “The cave entrance is about to collapse!”

“No!”

Livia threw off Ilya’s hand, watching her shadow distort on the rock wall.

The wails of those green-skinned creatures wove a beautiful requiem, and an indescribable sense of pleasure surged through her heart.

How could she leave now!

Her mind flashed with her best friend’s face once more.

Those clear, azure blue eyes gazed at her tenderly, with a hint of relief, remaining silent.

Blinking again, that ephemeral image vanished.

Alice’s genuine expression of worry appeared before her eyes.

“Viya, are you okay? You’re acting very strange today.”

“This is for all of you, Alice.”

She murmured softly, her voice trembling slightly, “And for everyone who was taken from us before.”

“Before…?”

“It’s okay, it’s all in the past now.”

Livia’s lips curled slightly upwards, revealing a smile tinged with cruelty.

However, after the fleeting pleasure, a sense of emptiness welled up in her heart.

Revenge didn’t bring her release; instead, it felt like opening a dark box and unleashing the ferocity she had suppressed all along.

Her hands trembled slightly.

In the firelight, her shadow stretched long.

“Gagaga?!”

The deafening roar of the explosion undoubtedly attracted more goblins lurking in the mountains.

The sound of rustling footsteps came from the surrounding woods.

Immediately after, a group of goblins darted out from the shadows, their eyes flashing with fierce light, encircling them.

“Be careful, there are more goblins outside, they’re coming!”

Flora and Alice immediately stepped forward, back to back, their weapons held tightly.

Flora’s staff gleamed coldly in the moonlight, while Alice’s rapier spun nimbly in her hand.

The two exchanged no words, tacitly facing the charging goblins.

Amidst the clash of blades, goblin screams rose one after another, but more goblins continued to pour in endlessly.

Livia glanced at the two fighting, a complex emotion flashing in her eyes.

This group of goblins was not something one person could handle, and even two could barely stall them.

She knew this, and Ilya knew it even better.

Moonlight condensed into frost patterns on the silver-lined grooves of the sword sheath. Ilya nudged the clasp with her thumb, the sound of leather friction softer than falling leaves.

She slowly raised her right hand, pointing the sword tip towards the sky. Moonlight shone through the blade, refracting a cold radiance.

The cracks on the blade, which Livia had almost sacrificed her life to repair, now flowed into fine starlight along the edge.

She could feel the mana emanating from the sword.

How warm, how familiar.

“I’ll kill them.”

Ilya gripped the sword hilt, taking a step forward, her blade already pointed at the nearest goblin.

“Don’t go.”

Just as she was about to swing her sword, Livia stopped her with a low voice, grabbing her wrist, “No…”