Volume 2, Chapter 4 – Hidden Danger of the Players

“Wuu… I’m so tired… my legs are going to fall off…”

After walking for about an hour, Tianyin felt like her stamina had reached its limit.

And indeed, that was exactly the case, the Status Bar displayed a faint debuff reading:

【This Loli is Severely Exhausted】

Wait… why does it say “This Loli”?

Tianyin really wanted to complain about the System’s description of her condition.

“Well, Master… just hang in there a bit longer!”

Seeing Tianyin’s pained expression, Mengyao tried to comfort her.

“No way… I can’t go on anymore… I can’t even take another centimeter forward!”

Although Tianyin complained like that, she still reluctantly lifted her foot and took another step.

“Well… Master, it’s fine if you want to stop walking, but if you fall behind, it’ll be dangerous, you know~”

That was true… judging from the direction the entire army was moving, Tianyin knew that if she got separated, her chances of running into the Undead would be very high…

And even though she had the Three-Minute Throne State from the Seven Deadly Sins, it only lasted for a short “three minutes.” If something happened after that, Tianyin really couldn’t imagine what she’d do…

“Wuu… but I really can’t go on…”

She wasn’t exaggerating. Even though her character template had been greatly strengthened after her class change, the biggest problem was that passive skill 【Light Body, Easy to Push Down】, that so-called “Sweet” passive, was way too deadly…

“I’m… really so tired…”

Tianyin could already feel the heaviness building up in her legs.

“Alright then… if that’s the case, just like back in the snowy mountains, I’ll carry Master again～”

Seeing her Master’s exhausted state, and knowing her well, Mengyao immediately thought of a solution.

But hearing that, Tianyin shook her head furiously, her voice stammering.

Though faintly, a blush rose on her small, delicate face.

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“C-c-c-carry me? No! I don’t want to be carried!”

“Eh? Why not? I already carried you before, didn’t I?”

Mengyao tilted her head with an innocent, playful look.

“S-stupid! There are so many people around now… being carried like that is way too embarrassing… And besides… besides, I’m your Master! I’m your Master, you know…”

Tianyin felt mentally drained.

Why did her little loli disciple never act like a proper loli disciple around her?

Normally, lolis were supposed to be obedient, sweet, cute, and exist purely to be adorable mascots, weren’t they?

Why did that logic not apply here?

Thinking it over, Tianyin figured the real reason was… probably because she herself was also a loli.

Damn it… why did I have to be stuck living as a loli NPC in this game world?!

While her mind raced through countless thoughts, only an instant had passed in real time.

“Master~ okay okay, no more teasing. Actually, there’s another way~”

“Wuu… what way?”

“The way is…”

“Eh, eh, Mengyao, what are you doing? Don’t come any closer—!”

“Hehehe, don’t be scared, Master. I’ll be gentle, Master~”

And so, Tianyin ended up being carried on her disciple’s back.

Yes, a regular piggyback, with Tianyin held on Mengyao’s back.

It was hard to imagine, but despite Mengyao’s petite loli frame, she somehow managed to unleash such impressive strength. Even with Tianyin on her back, her pace barely slowed at all.

Though it felt humiliating to be carried by her disciple, physical exhaustion quickly overpowered her pride. Compared to being held in Mengyao’s arms, being carried like this wasn’t too bad. In the end, Tianyin reluctantly accepted the reality.

Actually, Tianyin was even a few centimeters shorter than Mengyao.

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Being carried like this, watching her disciple’s adorable face just inches away, Tianyin found herself dazing off a little.

“So it’s true what they say about Master… you’re surprisingly light. Well, you may be light, but you should still eat more, okay~”

While Tianyin was dazing out, her loli disciple suddenly commented.

“S-Shut up! My weight is none of your business!”

Tianyin’s small face flushed red, but she still tried to sound authoritative like a proper Master.

“Pfft… Master, changing the subject won’t work on me, silly Master~”

Even though one was teasing and the other was embarrassedly protesting, their relationship seemed closer than before.

But as the two lolis were bickering, a commotion suddenly broke out ahead of the army, followed by startled shouts from NPC soldiers.

“What’s happening?”

“Something’s wrong?”

Tianyin and Mengyao both sensed that something had happened at almost the same time.

Although with just their combat power, the two of them wouldn’t be much help if something serious was going on.

“Master… should we go take a look?”

Even if they couldn’t do anything, it didn’t stop them from going to see what was happening.

But just as Tianyin was about to say “let’s go see,” a figure suddenly shot out from the front of the army like a speeding arrow.

Then…

Boom!

The figure slammed into a tree beside Tianyin. The impact was so strong that the tree itself snapped clean in half with a loud crack.

“Cough, cough…”

The one who had been sent flying coughed up blood uncontrollably. From just one glance, Tianyin could tell that their HP was nearly depleted.

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“That’s—”

Tianyin’s pupils contracted sharply as she tried to get a clearer look.

At the same time, a deep, commanding male voice rang in her ears.

“To think a mere outsider would dare collude with the Graveyard Undead… I, Karl, truly placed too much trust in your kind!”

Indeed, the speaker was none other than the leader of this army, the commander of the Holy Hand Knights, the Paladin, Karl.

As Karl approached with soldiers gathering from all sides, the player he’d called “outsider” looked up at him with a disturbingly calm expression.

“Cough, cough…”

Spitting out a few more mouthfuls of blood, the player let out a scornful laugh.

“Just wait. The Undead army has already received the signal I sent. It won’t be long before all of you become mindless Undead under our control!”

“Arrogant fool!”

With a thunderous roar, a huge shadow flashed across the scene. In an instant, a towering figure appeared before the player, swinging a massive fist straight into his face.

Boom—!

A deafening crash followed. The impact was so immense that even the large tree the player had struck earlier crumbled into ashes before Tianyin’s eyes.

Standing where the player’s body had been was a gigantic Beastman, roughly three and a half Tianyins tall.

Across the Beastman’s face ran a huge scar like a sharp blade, cutting diagonally across his features.

His towering build, broad shoulders, and that scar made his ferocity unmistakable.

“Such arrogance from an outsider… this is the first time I’ve seen one like that.”

The Beastman’s voice was deep and rough.

“So weak, yet what gave him such audacity?”

“Orgum, you were too impulsive…”

Although the suspected traitorous player had been killed, Karl’s expression remained grave.

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Tianyin and Mengyao simply stared blankly at the scene before them.

They hadn’t seen what exactly happened or how the player was killed, but Tianyin’s dazed, bewildered little face said it all.

Still, neither Karl nor Orgum paid any attention to the two lolis standing off to the side, cute as they were.

“Impulsive? If it weren’t for that bastard selling out our position, we’d have made it back to safety by now!”

“That’s exactly why I said you were impulsive!”

Karl opened his mouth as if to argue, but seeing the growing crowd of onlookers, he finally held his tongue.

“Forget it… we’ll discuss this later. It’s not the right place.”

Karl sighed helplessly. His tone made sense, after all, not only were there many NPC soldiers nearby, but also quite a few “outsiders,” the players.

Even though players were weak, during the defense of the Northern Fortress, they had played a crucial role.

And even now, among this retreating force, many of the surviving players had contributed.

So compared to Orgum, Karl had at least begun to realize the importance of players in certain aspects.

But only slightly.

Moreover, Karl faintly suspected that the one who’d betrayed their position wasn’t just the player they’d caught, it might be several of them.

If there really were multiple players leaking their position… the consequences would be unimaginable.

Just thinking about it gave Karl a headache.

Not only because the hidden enemies were in the dark, but also because he had no clue where to start.

“For now, we can only take it one step at a time…”

Sighing, Karl muttered to himself.

Just as he turned to leave, a small, familiar silhouette suddenly entered his line of sight.