Appearing in front of Fang Zheng was the cute and delicate astrologer girl. She was beaming with joy, clasping her hands together in an expression of delight.
"It's so good to see you're okay. I was worried something might have gone wrong... I'm really sorry, it's my lack of skill... But I'm really glad to find you here!"
"Wait, you came here specifically to wait for me?"
Hearing the girl's words, Fang Zheng couldn't help but be taken aback, while the cute girl nodded in response.
"Yes, Mr. Fang Zheng, didn't you know? The Destiny Star has the ability to designate directions. I judged that you were safe through your star, and the star's position indicated you should be heading in this direction. That's why Master Shi Dong and I came here. But... it does look quite dangerous here."
"Shi Dong? By the way, where is my teacher?"
Hearing the girl's response, Fang Zheng was secretly shocked. He had no idea his Destiny Star had such a function. No wonder this world felt like it had excellent security, this thing was scarier than DNA and fingerprint verification. At least those require some comparison, but here they can almost pinpoint someone's location just by their Destiny Star. If someone committed a crime, they wouldn't even need a city-wide search; just follow the direction of the Destiny Star and send someone to investigate. Wouldn't that solve everything?
"Master Shi Dong went down to investigate. When we arrived, we saw a lot of undead creatures, and they seemed to have captured a few paladins. Master Shi Dong felt something was off, so he decided to go down for a closer look and left me here to wait."
Perhaps seeing someone she knew made the soft-spoken girl less tense than she was initially.
"You're here alone...?"
Fang Zheng said this while eyeing the strange black panther beside the girl. It seemed that the panther had realized Fang Zheng wasn't an enemy, as it returned to the girl's side and began to look around warily. However, if Fang Zheng remembered correctly, he hadn't seen anything like this beside the girl before.
"Ah, this is my good companion—Star Spirit. I specifically summoned it to protect me. I apologize; it only sensed someone approaching earlier and didn't mean to attack you, Mr. Fang Zheng. I'm really sorry."
Noticing Fang Zheng's curious gaze, the girl hurriedly explained. It had to be said, her voice was incredibly suitable for apologizing. She would lift her head, look at you uneasily, and then softly say sorry in such an earnestly cute voice that it made you feel as though you'd be struck down if you gave her a hard time. Fang Zheng couldn't help but think that if she opened an apology company on Earth, handling apologies on behalf of others, she would surely make a fortune.
But glancing at the black panther beside the girl, Fang Zheng was once again amazed at the combat abilities of this world. After training with Shi Dong for so long, he had roughly developed the skills of an official knight. During the brief engagement with the panther, Fang Zheng realized that its strength was close to those sanctuary warriors responsible for guarding the Sanctuary. Truth be told, with such a guardian at her side, the girl should be quite safe here.
What Fang Zheng didn't expect was that this seemingly harmless and delicate girl also possessed significant combat abilities. He had originally thought that astrologers were a support class similar to alchemists, but it seemed that in this world, every class had some degree of combat power.
Fortunately, since both the girl and Shi Dong were here, Fang Zheng felt a sense of relief. He had been contemplating how to leave, but it seemed he no longer needed to worry about that.
"Tap, tap, tap..."
At this moment, Fang Zheng heard a series of footsteps behind him. He was slightly taken aback, as the footsteps sounded like they belonged to Mart and his group, but something was a bit off. Before Fang Zheng could turn around, he saw the girl's expression light up as she waved toward someone behind him.
"Ah, you're back, Miss Connie. I found my companion."
"Is that so? That's wonderful..."
Hearing the voice from behind, Fang Zheng turned to look and saw a young woman clad in silver-white armor similar to Mart's. She appeared to be in her early twenties with short blonde hair, giving her a competent look. She was smiling at first, but as soon as she got a clear view of Fang Zheng, her expression changed dramatically!
"So, you're here, Williams! Take this sword!"
Without another word, the female knight drew the longsword from her waist. Fang Zheng saw a flash of lightning before she vanished on the spot. The next moment, the howling wind from her sword appeared behind him, aiming straight at his heart!
What the hell?
Fang Zheng was initially stunned by the sudden attack. But after dying hundreds of times in the world of Dark Souls, his body instinctively reacted to the feeling of an attack. He sidestepped to avoid the strike from behind. Then, grasping the hilt of his longsword, he turned and parried the incoming strike with a swift draw, deflecting Connie's longsword with a sharp clang.
But the woman showed no signs of stopping. With an icy look, she swung her longsword imbued with lightning at Fang Zheng again. Lightning exploded from her blade, enveloping Fang Zheng in a web of electricity.
Damn it, do you really think I'm some kind of pushover?
Fang Zheng, fueled by anger at the relentless attack, swung his sword fiercely. The ground shook, and a massive crimson longsword sprang from below, lunging straight at the female knight.
Sword of Justice!
Forced to retreat by the unexpected assault, the female knight quickly withdrew. But Fang Zheng saw the opportunity and slashed through the electric web surrounding him, launching a golden beam from his sword straight at her chest.
"You want to die!"
Seeing the golden sword light approaching, the female knight roared in anger. She raised her longsword high, and a bolt of lightning struck her from above. Encased in dazzling white lightning, she lunged forward, transforming into a giant lion formed of thunder that charged straight at Fang Zheng. Fang Zheng's sword Qi was shattered by the surging lightning, dissipating totally.
But Fang Zheng wasn't about to give up that easily. Basic attacks weren't meant to kill; as holy energy surged in him, the golden swords condensed into a roaring dragon. It met the thundering lion's claw head-on!
"Boom!"
The blue thunder and golden storm collided fiercely. The next moment, the giant thunder lion was pierced by the dragon formed of light swords, but it didn't relent, its claws tearing deeply into the dragon.
"What are you doing? Stop at once!"
"Cease now, Mr. Fang Zheng!"
Two voices rang out as Mart and Shi Dong rushed up from either side. They exchanged glances, then swung their weapons together. A whirlwind mixed with flames descended like a massive blade, cleaving the entangled lion and dragon. With a deep explosion, the golden storm and thunderous lion dissipated, revealing Fang Zheng and Connie.
"Huff... huff..."
The female knight was half-kneeling on the ground, clutching her longsword and gasping for breath. Her armor was slashed and battered, oozing blood from various cuts, making her appear quite pitiful.
Compared to Connie, Fang Zheng was slightly better off. He hadn't sustained serious injuries, but Connie's lightning power had worn him out. His once clean clothes now bore scorch marks, and his right hand, gripping the longsword, emitted wisps of black smoke...
"What the hell is going on? Why are you fighting?"
Shi Dong frowned as he hurried over to Fang Zheng, asking. Fang Zheng just shrugged, not bothering to explain. How was he to know a paladin would suddenly show up and try to kill him? He never expected things to escalate, but the other party had been relentless. What else could he do? Offer his neck to be chopped?
"Connie, what are you doing!"
Mart also frowned and approached the female knight, looking at her sternly.
"What is going on?"
"Commander..."
Hearing Mart's voice, the female knight lifted her head to look at him, then turned to glare at Fang Zheng with fury.
"Commander! He is the cultist we're searching for! He is Williams!"