Punk, holding the unconscious archer girl in his hand, avoided the charred meats and scattered stone fragments in the ground and walked back to the broken stone wall, where he and McNeesey rested in the beginning.
"Boom!"
Punk threw the archer girl on the ground and performed a salute to McNeesey, and said:
"Lord McNeesey, If you need vitality to recover quickly, you can use this enemy archer."
Although Punk lowered his head, he concentrated all his perception on McNeesey. His whole body was in a state of alertness like a taut bowstring. This was another test by Punk to McNeesey. If McNeesey could really absorb other's vitality to heal quickly, in that case, Punk must seriously consider whether or not to take a risk and attack this half-crippled official mage after finding the secret tunnel. As letting himself be around a mage who had the ability to absorb vitality for a long time was like putting your head in a lion's mouth while sleeping. Punk wasn't comfortable with such a dangerous situation at all!
McNeesey completely disregarded the girl who had started to show signs of waking up on the ground. Instead, he gazed intently at Punk with an inscrutable expression, as if Punk were an enigmatic creature that needed to be thoroughly understood as soon as possible.
After a long pause, McNeesey spoke in a hoarse voice, "My focus in life element cultivation is creation rather than healing. Her vitality holds no significance for me."
"Ah, I see! My actions were unnecessary," Punk replied with a "respectful" tone. Although he didn't entirely believe McNeesey's words, he could, for the time being, continue to cooperate. So, he calmly raised his head and helped the girl who had awakened.
The archer girl, being lifted in the air by Punk, realized something terrible was about to happen. She began to struggle desperately, shouting abuses and curses.
"Pervert, let me down, you can't... ...…"
However, neither Punk nor McNeesey paid any attention to the curses of this immature girl. Punk went to the edge of the stone wall and pulled off the ruby necklace from the girl's neck. Due to his rough movements, A bruise mark appeared immediately on the girl's spotless fair neck. At the same time, Punk cast a spell in a low voice, and a Purple-colored mage hand appeared in front of the girl's head.
Punk completely ignored the tearful and pleading gaze of the archer girl, and without any hesitation, controlled the mage's hand to use more force...
"Ci..."
A large splash of blood dyed the entire stone wall red, and then Punk kicked something with his foot, and a round object bounced on the ground twice before sinking into a crack in the ruin.
"We need to hurry up. The hotel is just ahead!"
After watching Punk indifferently as he was putting the magic necklace into his pocket, McNeesey reminded him unhurriedly.
"Yes, Lord McNeesey."
The secret stronghold was actually hidden in the Cellar of the Laurock Hotel. The Cellar that was originally only large enough to hold a few sacks of potatoes had now been magically expanded to the size of a basketball court.
Walking into this dark and oppressive cellar, Punk noticed that the walls were adorned with numerous magical runes, which appeared to provide a significant reinforcement effect. Punk had to acknowledge that high-level mages possessed many enigmatic techniques. They could even use semi-permanent enchantments to create such a spacious area. While the rooms made with enchantments looked crude, they were actually much sturdier than those flashy and luxurious castles.
However, the lighting was quite dim. There were only two light fixtures attached to the ceiling, which, oddly enough, gave the large cellar the feel of a "secret base."
An alchemy puppet was doing some cleaning work in the Cellar; it was actually the same alchemy puppet that Punk saw in the Mage Union.
When the little guy saw McNeesey and Punk walking into the Cellar, It froze for a moment and then started to yell out loudly with a somewhat annoying voice:
"Someone is coming! Someone is coming"!
The guards' reaction speed was not too slow, and soon two apprentice-level Knights ran to the door and clenched their hand to their chest to welcome them. But when they saw McNeesey's horrible injury, they were left in shock.
McNeesey, who had just used a levitating technique on himself, seeing his guards behaving like this, obviously became a little unhappy. Witnessing McNeesey's demeanor, Punk couldn't help but quirk an eyebrow. Did he even consider how others might feel when they saw a half-bodied figure floating in the air like a ghost?
But obviously, the soldier's respect would not become less just because only half of their boss had returned, so they quickly escorted McNeesey and spread the news of his return.
All the remaining loyal elite guards gathered in a room that could barely be called a living room. Her Royal Highness, princess Nesa was now holding McNeesey's hand tightly and refused to let go. Her heroic appearance, like when she gave her speech in the square, was completely gone, and now she looked like a kitten who was afraid of being abandoned.
Seeing the princess crying while holding the wounded McNeesey, the eyes of the surrounding soldiers also became a little wet, but Punk just wanted to ask Mage McNeesey to open the secret tunnel and escape quickly; after that, It would not be too late for the princess to cry when they escaped. But when he saw an old mage next to him crying like a child, Punk decided to stay silent.
"Sir, you..."
The princess tried to stop the "half left" McNeesey from getting up and moving, but McNeesey, who became a little annoyed by this sad environment, gently pushed away from the princess's arm.
"Soldiers..."
McNeesey glanced at the few soldiers with burning eyes.
"...This battle, we have failed, but! Our princess is still here, and the spirit of our Camos Kingdom is still here! are you?"
McNeesey's words were sonorous and powerful.
"Are you willing to follow me and protect her Royal Highness until the end of your life?"
"Willing! Willing!Willing!"
All the soldiers stood upright and expressed willingness with their most powerful voice while also performing a standard military salute to represent their loyalty. The old mage near Punk even broke his voice.
"Good... Very good! Now! Let's leave Konola City first. One day, we will come again back here, to this Konola City and regain our glory!"
Due to the lack of time, McNeesey could only conduct a very short swearing-in ceremony. After finishing these "chicken soup for the soul"(Idiom), McNeesey flexibly carried himself around the roaring soldiers with the help of the floating technique and stopped near a seemingly unremarkable wall. The soldier followed calmly and confidently.
...
There was no shining brilliance, no rumbling roar and no magical password, a pitch-black hole suddenly and silently appeared on the wall in front of McNeesey, but most importantly...no one, including the Punk with the help of the system, could notice any sign of magic or traces of spellcasting as if this hole appeared there naturally!
While entering the entrance of the cave, unlike the passionate soldiers, Punk was deeply afraid of Mage McNeesey's method. And he again reminded himself that an official-level powerhouse, even in an embarrassing near-death state, should not be underestimated!