Chapter 137: The Death Fog Cavern (4)

Aside from the reinforced elites which were somewhat troublesome, ordinary monsters and standard elites on the second floor were nothing to be feared.

However, before entering the third floor, Zhao Tianhe had one more thing to do: finish off the reinforced elite that Cedar had captured.

Had Cedar not already tortured the monster to within an inch of its life, eliminating it would have truly been a troublesome task for Zhao Tianhe.

After killing it, the attributes of the Cage of Evil transformed.

Grade A Reinforced Elite Troll: Base Defense +3, Constitution Attribute +5, Strength Attribute +5.

"This..." Zhao Tianhe looked at these attributes, feeling rather dumbfounded.

"It seems the monsters in this dungeon really aren't very suitable for you," Cedar said, rubbing his chin. "Never mind, later I'll contact some other teams and ask which Grade B dungeon has a Mage-type boss."

"Right, preferably one related to mana regeneration speed," Zhao Tianhe instructed.

"No problem," Cedar said with a smile. "We might not have much else in the Ink Sea Archipelago, but when it comes to boss types, we've got the whole spectrum!"

"Hahaha! Has this young lady changed her outfit? This one is also very gorgeous! To be honest, a beauty like you looks stunning in anything," Moore said, walking up with a smile to chat as he looked at Artoria.

Artoria looked at Moore, then frowned at Zhao Tianhe, as if silently asking whether she should take action.

"Hey," Zhao Tianhe said, looking at Cedar. "It's fine if I beat him up, right?"

"Huh?" Cedar glanced at Moore and Artoria, then said with a smile, "Suit yourself."

"Huh?" Moore heard Zhao Tianhe's words and froze for a moment. "Wait, this is your summon..."

Bang!

A pseudo-Pure Yang sword planted itself firmly in front of Moore.

Dozens of pseudo-Pure Yang swords, accompanied by crackling red electric arcs, materialized above Zhao Tianhe's head...

He looked at Moore expressionlessly, causing the latter to swallow hard.

Artoria, standing nearby, instinctively wanted to reach out and stop him, but after a second thought, she lowered her hand. A slight smile tugged at the corner of her lips, her expression suggesting she had let go of something.

"Alright, alright! Cut it out! Let's keep moving! There's a boss on the third floor today, right?" The old mage Ralph pulled Moore away and said to Zhao Tianhe, "Don't worry, this fellow wouldn't dare try that again. He just has a bad brain, he's not an idiot!"

A Grade A dungeon in the Ink Sea Archipelago was no joke. The exotic life energy here was bursting at the seams; a Grade A dungeon spawned a boss at the very bottom every single day, and occasionally, one would spawn on the third floor as well. The frequency was quite high, roughly once every two days.

Zhao Tianhe nodded, and the pseudo-Pure Yang swords behind him shot out as streaks of crimson light.

There was no help for it—once conjured, this technique could not be simply dismissed, and aside from firing them off, they had no other function.

As Zhao Tianhe and Artoria walked along, they unconsciously drifted to the very back of the group.

"Ah-He, were you angry just now?" Artoria asked, looking at Zhao Tianhe with narrowed eyes.

Her tone was very gentle, seemingly carrying a trace of joy, and her gaze revealed a confidence as if she saw through everything.

It felt as though everything was completely within her grasp.

"Yeah, that guy was too obnoxious, I couldn't help it," Zhao Tianhe replied in a flat tone.

"Indeed, but was it really necessary? Besides, you know that if he had truly dared to go too far, I naturally would have stepped in to teach him a lesson," Artoria continued.

Looking into Artoria's slightly narrowed, beautiful eyes, for some reason, the image of a kitten toying with a dying mouse flashed through Zhao Tianhe's mind...

"We've been fighting alongside each other all this time, how could I just stand by and watch?" Zhao Tianhe said with a smile. "See, gentlemanly demeanor, right?"

"Oh, gentlemanly demeanor," Artoria smiled. "Then, is that all? We're just comrades-in-arms?"

"O... Of course..." Zhao Tianhe hesitated. "Though, the closest kind! I do have dragon blood in me after all!"

"No, the dragon's blood within you has completely dissipated, leaving only a tiny fragment of its structure behind," Artoria shook her head. "You are a pure-blooded human, so you couldn't possibly defend me for such a reason. You... still don't want to say it?"

"You need to make up your mind quickly." "The most important thing is courage..."

"No, not just comrades-in-arms," Zhao Tianhe shook his head on a sudden impulse. He scratched his hair, his face turning completely red as he gritted his teeth and said, "Fine, fine, I'll say it. I like you. I like Artoria."

"Is that so?" Artoria's cheeks flushed slightly, and she smiled with pleasant surprise, keeping her hands clasped behind her back.

Ahead of them, Li Mei and Zelgadis twitched their ears slightly, while Moore walked backward, biting his fingers with an expression of pure jealousy.

As they walked, Zhao Tianhe felt his arm being grabbed by something, while his elbow brushed against a very hard metallic object.

Artoria had actually taken the initiative to hug Zhao Tianhe's right arm!

"Huh? Th... This..." Zhao Tianhe felt as though his heart was about to leap out of his chest, his face burning red and his body so stiff that he was even stepping with the same side's foot and arm...

"Couples on television act like this, right? Guinevere used to do this too," Artoria said, linking one arm through Zhao Tianhe's wrist and looking up at him with a very natural, stunningly beautiful smile.

An image flashed through Zhao Tianhe's mind of a gorgeously dressed beauty holding Artoria's arm as they walked down a red carpet, while the latter maintained a solemn expression, playing the part of a majestic monarch.

As his emotions calmed slightly, fear followed right behind.

Yes, fear.

Because Zhao Tianhe had already confessed to Ereshkigal earlier!

The moment he thought about summoning Ereshkigal shortly, Zhao Tianhe felt entirely unwell!

*Is a Shura field about to descend upon me?* Zhao Tianhe felt a tightness in his chest, making it slightly difficult to breathe...

And right at that moment, the system prompt rang out.

"You have confirmed a romantic relationship with Artoria Pendragon."

"The summoning duration for Artoria Pendragon's combat soldier mode has been extended by one hour."

"Artoria Pendragon's favorability level +3 (currently Lv.14)."

"Hidden mode can now be unlocked..."

*Huh?!* Zhao Tianhe was stunned. When he confessed to Ereshkigal previously, there had been no such prompt...

*Does this mean Ereshkigal actually rejected me back then?* Zhao Tianhe suddenly calmed down.

Since Ereshkigal had handed him a rejection card, his current confession to Artoria was completely justified and proper!

The Shura field crisis had been resolved!

"Hahaha~~" Zhao Tianhe burst out laughing. Only now did he finally feel this wave of joy washing over him.

Having been single his entire life, he finally had a girlfriend!