One Should Read More Books

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Looking at the line of mechas already far off in the distance, Lyle stared blankly at Jiang Cheng.

"They agreed to become your people that easily?"

Lyle was utterly baffled.

From their presence, that squad of mechas were clearly top-tier professionals at the pinnacle of their strength.

Although even he had been deeply shaken by that surge of aura Jiang Cheng had released, he didn't think it should have been enough to scare the opposition into offering their full allegiance on the spot.

Surely it couldn't just be some so-called kingly demeanor coming from Jiang Cheng.

"It's actually quite simple,"

Jiang Cheng replied with a sunny smile and a shrug.

"But why should I tell you?"

"Uh..."

Lyle looked a little awkward. He realized he really didn't have any reason for Jiang Cheng to explain these things to him.

Thinking about it now, the relationship between the two of them was rather awkward.

After spending so much time together, they weren't exactly strangers, but not really close either. Forget battle partners—even calling them friends seemed a bit of a stretch.

"Pft."

Suddenly Jiang Cheng burst out laughing.

"Does the hero need a reason for the Saintess to introduce things?"

"That's my job as a Saintess, after all! Ha, you're really a good guy. Well, since that's the case, I'll tell you."

Jiang Cheng said, "The logic is very simple. You are the hero, and I am the Saintess."

"So once we demonstrated powerful and trustworthy strength, of course they naturally wanted to follow us."

"That's all there is to it?"

Lyle looked doubtful; although Jiang Cheng didn't seem to be lying, she was definitely leaving out something crucial—things couldn't be so straightforward.

"Of course it's that simple,"

Jiang Cheng nodded. "If you don't believe me, you can try it yourself at the Adventurer City branch of the Temple of the Gods."

"Alright."

Lyle nodded without asking more, deciding that after everything was over, he would take a look at the Temple of the Gods himself.

"Okay."

Jiang Cheng smiled at Lyle.

"Let's go."

"Go where?"

"Obviously—to acquire our proof of victory~"

Jiang Cheng replied.

"You haven't forgotten why we came here, have you?"

"Of course not, but it's pretty obvious this hunting festival can't continue any further,"

Lyle remarked as he watched the chaos inside the hunting grounds due to the alarm.

Countless corrupted monsters, agitated by the alarm, were rampaging everywhere, attacking the panic-stricken adventurers.

"Bang!"

With a mighty throw, Lyle hurled a greatsword condensed from magical energy, blocking a corrupted monster from pouncing on a fallen adventurer.

That adventurer scrambled to their feet and sprinted away, dodging the corrupted monster's attack and escaping.

"With this situation, there's absolutely no way the hunting festival can continue."

"Indeed,"

Jiang Cheng replied cheerfully, but she kept walking forward.

Wherever she passed, every time a corrupted monster lunged at her, a mechanical arm suddenly appeared at her side and smashed the monster to pieces.

Instantly, they were surrounded by a chaos of monsters.

"But, when did I ever say the great victory required for the holy artifact had to be recognized by the Association?"

"You mean..."

Lyle hesitated.

"That's right,"

Jiang Cheng kept walking toward a predetermined spot.

"We just need a symbol of victory. The trophy, the prizes, money, a certificate—whatever, it doesn't matter."

"Then why bring me to this hunting festival at all? With your personality, shouldn't you have just stolen the trophy right away with me?"

"So this is how I appear in the hero's esteemed eyes, hmm..."

Jiang Cheng pretended to look terribly aggrieved, even wiping imaginary tears from her eyes for good measure.

"Uh..."

Lyle was speechless for a moment, unsure what to say.

If this were on the internet, he probably would have just sent her a sweating bean emoji.

"Alright, I'll stop teasing you."

In an instant, Jiang Cheng regained her usual impassive expression.

"I really don't know how you thought up such a dumb question. Of course it's to find those big guys."

Big guys? Only then did Lyle realize—she was referring to those mecha people.

So their real target was them? But how had Jiang Cheng known beforehand that they'd make a move?

"How do you know so much?"

Lyle asked absentmindedly, following behind Jiang Cheng.

"Read more books."

Jiang Cheng raised her eyebrows, offering just this single reply.

She wasn't really lying to Lyle—after all, she'd read the original story dozens of times in her past life out of love for Lyle's character.

If not for the experiences that had later changed her personality so much, she probably would have already become sworn brothers with him by now.

But...

Jiang Cheng narrowed her eyes. Now, making Lyle her chess piece didn't seem so bad after all.

Lyle was momentarily stunned by this answer. His hero's intuition told him this wasn't a lie.

So... it was true?

Lyle frowned. It seemed that when he visited the Temple of the Gods's branch some other day, he'd have to take a good look at their collection of books.

Predicting the future sounded far-fetched, but if it was the Temple of the Gods's library, perhaps even that was possible.

He couldn't go on being just a muscle-headed fighter—Lyle resolved. No wonder his teacher always told him to read more. Maybe there was real value in reading!

At this moment, Jiang Cheng hadn't realized her offhand remark had sent Lyle into a mental whirlwind.

As for herself, she had finally reached her destination: the podium where the first prize trophy had originally been placed.

She beckoned, and the trophy swiftly flew into her hand.

"Alright," she turned, smiling at Lyle.

"We finally have it. Let's go back for our holy artifact."

"Go back?"

Lyle tilted his head.

"So where is it?"

"I already told you, it's at the Mechanists' Association. Once those big guys cause enough chaos, we can fetch it,"

Jiang Cheng said with a laugh.

"How dare weaklings like you cause trouble on my turf?!"

Suddenly, the angry voice of the Association President rang out.

In the distance, a huge mechanical arm made of gilded steel materialized, slamming down at the mechas below.

The mechas' backpacks blasted out thick black smoke as they abruptly surged forward, dodging the attack and smashing through a building in the process.

"Alright, enough looking,"

Jiang Cheng's voice broke Lyle's trance.

"They're just going to make a mess for a while anyway. With only one of them, it won't last long before he's dead."

"Our priority now is to get to the Mechanists' Association as fast as possible."

"Understood."

Lyle nodded, knowing this was no time to hesitate with something so important.

He stamped his foot hard, launching himself toward the Mechanists' Association in the distance.

Watching Lyle's silhouette, Jiang Cheng smiled. Blood flowed from her body, condensing into a mechanical vehicle with a kind of primitive, savage beauty.

She got in, the engine roared, and the car conjured by divine power shot off like an arrow.

At the Mechanists' Association,

Having escaped the Association, Ferran turned back and looked up at the scene of several mechanists fighting a colossal mecha in mid-air. Question marks practically floated above his head.

So, what the hell is this thing supposed to be?

-------------= Clacky's Corner -------------=【ദ്ദി(⩌ᴗ⩌)】

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