Volume 3, Chapter 101 – A Relieved Family

“Grandpa…”

Despite possessing the power to easily crush the Royal Knight Corps, Yuan’er currently acted like a timid child. Most of her body was hidden behind Afnora, with only her small head peeking out.

She looked toward Xiumu with pitiful eyes…

Facing Yuan’er’s gaze, Xiumu couldn’t help but bite his lip.

“Yuan’er…”

“Grandpa, those Abyssal Demons, I really don’t know what happened. I… when I arrived… they had already surrounded Sky Dome. I… I… I just wanted to save… save you… because I heard that the new emperor intended to kill you all…”

“…”

Seeing Xiumu fall into silence, Yuan’er hurriedly spoke again to emphasize her point.

“I… I’m not lying!”

The girl’s tone was filled with grievance.

Yuan’er knew her grandfather’s character well. If she had truly taken the initiative to bring the Abyssal Demon swarm to the capital and caused such a bloodbath, her grandfather would likely never forgive her…

At the thought of this, a wave of panic rose within Yuan’er, and she explained in a rush.

However, after she finished speaking, Xiumu remained silent.

This made the little girl increasingly uneasy. Large teardrops uncontrollably spilled from her beautiful heterochromatic eyes…

“I… I really didn’t… I kn…??! Huh??”

Just as Yuan’er was about to lose control of her emotions, Xiumu’s firm yet gentle palm lightly stroked the little girl’s head. Yuan’er was stunned and looked up in confusion at the smiling old man before her.

“There’s no need to say more, Yuan’er. Grandpa believes you. I believe those Abyssal Demons weren’t brought by you.”

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“Gra… Grandpa? You believe me?”

“Yes.”

Xiumu nodded slightly and offered a kind smile full of relief.

The reason Xiumu smiled with such relief and spoke those words was naturally not because of his wife Afnora’s murderous gaze (though he was more or less influenced by it).

Xiumu did this mainly because he noticed the differences in Yuan’er.

Her aura was different.

Compared to the Yuan’er he had seen in Windward City, the current child’s aura was incredibly calm. There was none of the tyranny and bloodlust from that day. If one didn’t sense carefully, they wouldn’t even detect the presence of Shadow Essence.

Furthermore, his wife Afnora was currently releasing a dense battle aura. The aura of such a high-level powerhouse was undoubtedly what Abyssal Demons hated most. Under normal circumstances, after sensing this power, an Abyssal Demon would undoubtedly attack the owner of that power like a madman.

Back in Windward City, Yuan’er had also shown an expression of disgust because of the aura of himself and the Blizzard Knight Order members, a disgust that even contained a faint trace of killing intent.

However, what about now?

Yuan’er, who was currently hugging Afnora’s waist at such close range, never showed any sign of disgust toward Afnora’s aura, nor was there any sign of her losing control because of it.

Her eyes…

Though they had turned into an eerie heterochromatic red and blue, they were still filled with innocence.

Just like before, exactly the same…

All signs indicated Yuan’er might truly be able to control this power instead of being eroded by the Shadow Essence and turning into a bloodthirsty beast.

As for whether Yuan’er was deceiving him?

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Xiumu naturally dismissed that notion. It wasn’t just because the girl’s habit of secretly pinching her skirt when lying didn’t happen, but more importantly, Xiumu chose to believe his granddaughter as her grandfather.

Since that was the case, facing his granddaughter who had been missing for so long, how could Xiumu have the heart to continue maintaining a stern face and saying nothing?

Thus, just as Yuan’er’s tears were about to fall uncontrollably, Xiumu reached out to rub the pink-haired girl’s head and said softly:

“I’m sorry, Yuan’er. Grandpa believes you.”

As he spoke, Xiumu slowly knelt on one knee before Yuan’er and pulled the petite child into his embrace. After pulling Yuan’er into his arms, Xiumu seemed unable to feel the aura of the Abyssal Demons anymore. The only thing he could feel was Yuan’er’s warmth. Recalling the time in Windward City when he had attacked Yuan’er, a thick sense of guilt unconsciously crept into Xiumu’s voice.

“I’m sorry, Yuan’er. Back in Windward City, Grandpa was wrong. Grandpa was too stupid and shouldn’t have treated you like that… Truly… I’m truly sorry. Can you… forgive Grandpa?”

“Waaaaah…”

Facing Xiumu’s embrace, Yuan’er said nothing. She only silently buried her head in her grandfather’s chest, not caring at all about his tattered clothes or the dirt and blood on his body…

After a moment, the little girl whispered softly into Xiumu’s ear:

“Stinky Grandpa, bad Grandpa… old man who deserves a beating…”

“Haha, yes, yes, yes.”

Listening to Yuan’er’s muttering, Xiumu chuckled with relief and gently patted Yuan’er’s back.

“Yes, yes, yes. Grandpa is stinky, Grandpa is bad, Grandpa is an old man who deserves a beating… Yuan’er is right about everything…”

“Umu… it’s good that you know…”

“Yes, Grandpa knows.”

…

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Silently watching the scene of Xiumu coaxing Yuan’er and feeling the rare warm atmosphere, Afnora couldn’t help but reveal a touched smile, even if it was somewhat ill-timed.

The Abyssal Demons lingering nearby also seemed guided by some force, completely ignoring the two powerful saint tier powerhouses within the prison grounds, and very consciously flew away from the area. As if to leave private space for the Duke Family grandfather and granddaughter…

Meanwhile, elsewhere, a certain white-haired girl who had used magic to conceal her aura and evading detection by the nearby Abyssal Demon horde to reach this place, couldn’t help but show a look of surprise.

‘She, is that the Abyssal Demon?’

‘To think she’s actually transformed from a human…’

Although she had heard many things about this young lady of the Duke Family before, when she truly saw this demon king tier little girl with such a dense aura of Shadow Essence within her, the white-haired girl, Bai Yanluo, still couldn’t help but show an expression of disbelief.

According to the duty of an Apostle, she must eliminate Abyssal Demons, especially terrifying demon king tier existences. The little girl not far away was undoubtedly also her target.

However, seeing the other party display such human-like expressions, Bai Yanluo still hesitated somewhat.

‘She,

is just a child…’

But soon, Bai Yanluo shook her head wildly, rejecting the thought in her mind.

‘What are you thinking?! Bai Xiaozou!’

No matter how cute she may look on the outside, that girl is still a demon king tier existence.

Madness and bloodlust are their nature! Even if she seems harmless now, once her true nature is revealed, she will still cause devastating damage to human society! Even if she doesn’t lose control, the Shadow Essence aura around her will still pollute this world… Moreover, this girl might be the culprit behind this Abyssal Demon horde invasion. To stop the Abyssal Demons’ continued attacks, she must be dealt with or controlled…

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Thinking this, a resolute look gradually emerged in Miss Bai Yanluo’s eyes. Dense, pure white holy magic began to surge rapidly within Bai Yanluo’s body, gradually overflowing from her surface. Her exclusive sword, empowered by the pure white energy, emitted waves of dangerous aura. The surrounding space began to distort accordingly.

Bai Yanluo was charging her attack.

Facing a demon king tier existence, this Heavenly Apostle planned to launch a sneak attack with a charged strike to achieve victory in one blow, controlling the scale of destruction as much as possible. Though somewhat underhanded, it was a necessary move…

‘Brilliant Thrust – Radiance…’

Muttering the name of her strongest sword technique in her heart, Bai Yanluo’s eyes suddenly narrowed.

However, just as this Heavenly Apostle was about to dispel her concealment magic and launch an attack toward Yuan’er, a voice as gentle and soothing as an orchid in a secluded valley, a voice that could soften hearts, slowly reached Bai Yanluo’s ears, causing the latter to shudder all over, her eyes widening in shock.

“Ummm, could you please not disturb that child’s reunion with her family?”

‘Who?!’

‘Who’s behind me?’

Though the words were gentle and pleasant to hear, they made Bai Yanluo feel an indescribable sense of pressure, causing the white-haired girl’s body to tremble slightly. However, while feeling this intense tremor, Bai Yanluo also couldn’t help but frown.

‘Why does it feel… this aura… a bit familiar?!’

Feeling the intense threat and the blood-red butterflies that had somehow appeared around her, Bai Yanluo had to ignore this doubt. Gritting her teeth, she hastily abandoned her plan to attack Yuan’er, adopting a defensive stance. She recalled all the holy magic originally intended for the attack, reinforcing her defenses instead. She then whirled around, wanting to ascertain the identity of the person behind her.

However, before Bai Yanluo could clearly see the newcomer’s identity, a hand chop suddenly loomed large in her vision.

‘Huh?!’

The next instant, a tremendous explosion erupted over the ruins…