334 Farewell, Friend (1/2)
By the end of the battle, there was hardly any time left on the Amethyst Orc's summoned duration.
As Fateless picked through the aftermath, Qin Ruo sat on the monster's shoulder, affectionately patting the arm of his faithful comrade, already dreading how much he would miss it.
Although they had only been together for a mere three hours, the Amethyst Orc had been there for him time and time again. It had repaid the cost of its Sealed Mana Core several times—nay, ten times over.
Most importantly, during the time that they had spent in each other's company, the Amethyst Orc came to be like one of Qin Ruo's own hands. They worked well together and shared a deep understanding of each other, without any words needing to be said—they were good for each other.
When their time finally ran out, and the Amethyst Orc vanished for good, he did not know how his heart would be able to cope with the loss.
Qin Ruo sighed. It was almost more than he could bear.
Although the Amethyst Orc was a summoned monster, it was a Tier 5 Miniboss who was as wise as any human. It watched Qin Ruo with gentle eyes and extended an enormous finger to poke Poochie in a teasing manner. Poochie was sitting forlornly upon Qin Ruo's shoulder, rubbing the tears in its eyes.
Cheep, cheep…
With a swish of its tail, Poochie hopped nimbly onto the Amethyst Orc's expansive hand.
The two monsters, one as huge as the other was little, seemed to be able to feel the sorrow of imminent parting. They shared a long look, as though consoling each other.
Sensing the sadness in the air, Violet Orchid and the others fell silent as they approached. The Amethyst Orc's departure would be a terrible loss for everyone. Without their Tier 5 Miniboss watching over them, the Graveyard of the Gods would become a much scarier place.
Subjugator was among many who could already feel their hearts tensing with paranoia.
A couple of minutes later, the Amethyst Orc carefully set Qin Ruo down upon the ground.
Beneath the dozens of mournful gazes, the gargantuan form of the Amethyst Orc gradually faded away into a flurry of violet dust, which was then sucked away into a dimensional vortex.
A hundred and eighty minutes, and every second of it had been precious.
***
After the Amethyst Orc was gone, everyone remained silent for a long moment. Qin Ruo, Subjugator, and the rest of their seven-man party were taking it the worst of all.
They had talked about breaking off to find their own fortune, but without the Amethyst Orc, it had become an even more daunting prospect...
Especially when they realized that they were probably the weakest group in the entire region.
However, when Violet Orchid made contact with the local forces of the Angel Faction, the circumstances were even more incredible than they had imagined. Dozens of renowned Field Commanders had banded together with several Tier 5 Supreme Champions. They were clad from head to toe in scintillating Chromatic Equipment. It left them stunned and speechless.
It was a force led by Scarlet Bauhinia, League Master of the Bauhinia League, as well as Netherclaw, League Master of the Netherspirit's Claw League. There was no denying that it was good fortune to have them so close by.
If nothing else, it minimized the likelihood of running into the Demon Faction's own top-tier Champions.
However, the group that Violet Orchid was leading produced a similar reaction from the local forces!
After all this time in the Graveyard of the Gods, pretty much everyone knew of the three Leagues and fifteen Clans in the Alliance. Most of their 100 or so Field Commanders had already been assembled on the fifth level.
Yet, they could clearly see that this group of newcomers included several Field Commander-level Champions, some of whose names were already known far and wide.
The Bandit Assassin, Fateless.
The Lone Man of Steel, Judge.
And a name that had recently been on everyone's lips—the Winter Demon, Qin Ruo!
Besides these characters, there was also a summoned Tier 5 Miniboss accompanying the group, commanded by no less than Violet Orchid, a Radiant Priestess of the Bauhinia Clan.
The members of the Bauhinia League were beside themselves. A Radiant Priestess, a Tier 5 Miniboss, and all these people? This was far beyond the sort of reinforcements they had expected to receive. With the addition of these forces, they would finally be able to break their stalemate with the Demon Faction forces!
***
The six people with Qin Ruo seemed to be the only ones keeping their cool. Upon discovering that he had been named ”Winter Demon” in the game forums, all Qin Ruo did was raise his eyebrows for a moment, but he took it all in stride. Now his gaze was fixed upon the one called ”Dark Dragon.”
The latter was also watching him indifferently, but the moment Qin Ruo looked his way, he harrumphed faintly and turned away, gazing at the sky instead. He carried himself with haughty disdain, refusing to acknowledge Qin Ruo's presence.
Qin Ruo averted his eyes as well.
He knew that Dark Dragon probably still refused to acknowledge him despite that small triumph back in the Great Tree Forest, not to mention his fortunate escape at the end.
Perhaps it was considered cheating a little to have had Poochie's aid, making it a two-on-one situation. However, in an all-out fight, not even both of them working together would prove any match for Dark Dragon.