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Ouyang Feng stirred and let out a groan. His eyes opened, and he sat up, wincing as the pain from his injuries flooded his senses. He glanced around despite the wounds he had, and a frown appeared on his face. All the lords except for Jasmine were lying on the ground unconscious not far from the cursed elf’s feet, but the Wind Lord had clearly been battered as well. The Martial Lord’s frown twisted into a bitter smile, and a small laugh escaped from his mouth.
Jasmine turned her head towards the sound while Lindyss continued knitting. “Martial Lord?” Jasmine asked, raising an eyebrow. “Have you finally gone crazy from being beaten too hard?”
“No,” Ouyang Feng said and retrieved a potion from his root bracelet. “I just find it funny. It looks like the rest of you were beaten after Zoose, Darkie, and I lost. In that case, you should’ve fought together with us in the first place; we would’ve stood a better chance against her, but you selfish snobs always think about saving yourselves first.”
“We could go again,” Lindyss said, raising her head to make eye contact with the Martial Lord. A faint smile appeared on her lips. “If you’d like, I’ll wake Vur up right now and have him heal all of you. Then, the nine of you can fight me at once.”
“I refuse,” Jasmine said before Ouyang Feng could even respond. She glared at the Martial Lord. “I’m sure the Water Lord, Earth Lord, and Flame Lord would all refuse as well. Besides, what are you going to do in a rematch against her, huh? She’ll turn you into a worm again, and you’ll be stepped on just like last time.”
The Martial Lord’s face flushed red. He had indeed been turned into an earthworm, and when Lindyss threw the lords who hadn’t fought down into the pit, one of them had squished him. It was a miracle he could still even move. Then again, earthworms didn’t have any bones to break, so perhaps only his flesh had been damaged once he reverted back to a human. He wasn’t sure how damage was transferred when it came to magical morphing spells. Ouyang Feng pursed his lips. “How often can you turn someone into a worm?”
“It depends on how strong the person is,” Lindyss said. “For someone like you, well, you’re pretty much at any polymorpher’s mercy.” She gestured towards Vur with one of her knitting needles. “Vur’s a master of the spell by the way.”
Ouyang Feng scratched his head. “Is there a way to resist being turned into something against my will?”
“I’ll add some purpose to your life by avoiding that question,” Lindyss said. “If you ever feel like you’ve hit a plateau, you can always try to figure out a way to prevent yourself from being polymorphed.”
“Gee, thanks,” the Martial Lord said, a dark expression appearing on his face. He shook his head. What did he expect from someone who had ruthlessly beaten him? The elf wasn’t a friend. “Forget it.” He climbed to his feet before walking over to the Lightning Lord. With a grunt, Ouyang Feng lifted Zoose over his shoulder. The Martial Lord glanced at Lindyss. “Are we free to go?”
“If you want to leave, I won’t stop you,” Lindyss said.
Ouyang Feng went over to the Shadow Lord and picked him up as well. With one lord on each shoulder, Ouyang Feng didn’t look back as he walked away. A few seconds later, he came to a halt and turned his head towards the cursed elf. “Which way is out?” he asked and cleared his throat.
Lindyss gestured with her knitting needle. “That way.”
“You’re letting him leave?” Jasmine asked after watching the Martial Lord walk towards the wooden tablet within the residence.
“Of course. Why wouldn’t I?” Lindyss asked, turning her attention back onto the garment she was knitting.
The Wind Lord’s forehead scrunched up. “Well, he tried to leave last time, but you provoked him into a fight, so I thought you were going to take advantage of him after showing him how much more powerful you are.”
“No,” Lindyss said. “I provoked him to give him a good beating.”
Jasmine scratched her head. It didn’t seem like the elf was going to add anything to that sentence. So, the Martial Lord had been beaten for the sake of being beaten; there weren’t any underlying motives for the elf’s actions. “Then, in that case,” the Wind Lord said and scooted over towards Ashley, who was still lying face down on the ground. “I suppose we’re free to leave as well?”
“Sure,” Lindyss said. “Unless you want to stick around and become our subordinates.” She gestured towards the Flame Lord, who was lying down with his leg bent the wrong way. “That’s what he’s here for, right?”
Jasmine retrieved a potion from her root bracelet and flipped Ashley over before pouring the red liquid into the Light Lord’s mouth. Ashley swallowed, and her eyes shot open. She sat up and furrowed her brow, her root bracelet flashing amber as she summoned her weapon. Her gaze landed on Lindyss, and the Light Lord pursed her lips together. Her gun, which had solved every problem ever brought before her, failed to work against the cursed elf. Even Ashley’s trusty bazooka couldn’t break through the elf’s shadow.
“We lost?” Ashley asked, her gaze shifting onto the other defeated lords, lingering on each injury. She focused her attention back onto Lindyss. “Did we manage to hurt you at all?”
The cursed elf nodded. “Jasmine’s singing gave me a slight headache.”
The Light Lord frowned. “Was that all?”
“Yep.”
***
Mary stood in front of the woodworking shop, staring up at the sky. She had purchased everything she needed to sculpt wood the way she wanted; all she had to do was wait for Tafel to meet up with her like the two had agreed upon. Any moment now, Tafel would finish her practice at the smithy, and then they’d go and do something fun together while Vur slept. Any moment now….