The sound of a dagger unsheathing echoed in Glocara's ears like ice slipping into water. It was Elin. He turned and saw Tusha, drawing his weapon and positioning himself between them. Glocara grabbed the back of Elin's shirt with her right hand, leaving half of her body exposed outside of his protection. For the past six months, she had secretly hoped that Tusha would leave Stromgarde, but she had never considered what it would be like to encounter him again, for no one could share emotions with Tushar—if he decided to shake hands or hug someone, it was merely to mock those customs. Perhaps the most appropriate approach was to casually ask where he had been and what he had been doing. But Glocara found herself instinctively hiding behind Erlin—she had no desire to approach this troll who appeared in the night carrying a corpse, even though she couldn't help but stare at his face, searching for any hint of change in those teeth he had fixed years ago. She couldn't find any, because she had never truly understood him.
She noticed that the corpse was one of the guards from the refuge. Her grip tightened on Elin's clothes.
"Miss Glocara," Tusha said, "I'm delighted to see that you've finally found a man with whom you're compatible. Back in Booty Bay, I always thought I scared off quite a few of your potential suitors, but now I needn't worry."
"You're Tusha?" Elin said.
"Yes. Although it's been several years since we last met, Mr. Elin Tias, I must confess I don't quite remember what you look like. Fortunately, I've heard enough to avoid mistaking you for someone else." Tusha nudged the corpse with his foot. "Like this man here."
"You killed him?" Glocara said.
"Of course, I killed him. Isn't it obvious? That's not like you, Miss Glocara, to ask such questions. I was just about to return him to where he was stationed, about a hundred steps from here, when I unexpectedly ran into you." He nudged the corpse again. "You'll have to wait a bit longer."
"It seems you're the culprit Niaes was looking for," Elin said.
"Elin, don't..." Glocara began.
"Don't speak," Elin said, turning slightly to Glocara before fixing his gaze back on Tusha. Glocara had never seen Elin's eyes like this before—they seemed to clearly say: you're in the wrong place. This was an irreversible mistake.
"I'll let her leave first," Elin said to Tusha. "Then we can talk. I promise she won't go calling for the guards. What do you say?"
"That's odd, Mr. Elin. You obviously want to arrest me, yet you want my help? No, that won't do. Miss Glocara stays here. Perhaps we both need witnesses. They might be witnesses, or they might be accomplices, who knows. But you seven folks love this sort of thing."
"When do you plan to stop? When Galin agrees to the exchange? "
"I'm getting tired of this task. Maybe I should just kill Niaes directly and skip the theatrics. From what I know of Galin, if you don't give him enough excitement, he likes to drag things out."
"You won't succeed."
"It's hard to say. Actually, clearing out these guards was also preparation for killing Niaes. Believe it or not. I like things with a high success rate. By the way, Mr. Elin, I want to ask, has Jorgen brother come here? Or does he have any plans to come? Don't worry, I'm not interested in personal grudges. I just want to know if I need to adjust my plans. You know...that kind of xenophobic thinking they have. They won't even use other races as experimental materials. It goes against my original intentions. I never intended for my elixirs to be effective only on humans. My current companions are more open-minded, using the bodies of outsiders is not a problem for them. It's irrelevant to the conflict between tribes and alliances, trust me."
"These words are boring to hear. We all know there are other purposes for the tribesmen who are helping you."
"Mr. Elin, does the Seventh Bureau still have the intention to assist me in this research? Because I know you're not like Galin, you're not so restrictive."
"What if I go back with you and secretly help return the Tolkar sword to Stromgarde, so you owe Galin a favor. Then you use that to get him to hand over Lawrence and the research data, and I'll work with Lawrence again at the Seventh Bureau... It sounds like a win-win situation for everyone, and I don't have to kill these irrelevant humans."
"A good plan," Elin said, "maybe it'll work. I do plan to owe Galin a favor."
At this moment, Tusha glanced at Glocara. Glocara didn't know why he suddenly did so. Since the conversation with Elin, Tusha had been ignoring her. The glance was brief, like the gaze of a stranger casually shifting to someone else's, yet it was different because Tusha's gaze was very focused and clear.
"Unfortunately, I already know what the Seventh Bureau wants from what you did to that poor prince. So I'll stick to my current method," Tusha said. "As I said earlier, to get Galin to act, there must be enough stimulation. Actually, I've been thinking, besides killing these guards and Niaes, is there any other way to ramp up the pressure... I'll do this, I'll kill you. Galin surely wouldn't want to provoke the Seventh Bureau at this time. Once you're dead, Jodzen will take my place to pressure him."
"Glocara, run," Elin didn't turn back, just pushed her back with his hand. "Try to run back to the camp. One or two guards can't protect you."
"No, no..."
"Don't argue with me!"
"Ah, I also think Miss Glocara cannot leave. She'll be a witness for me." Tusha looked at Elin as he said this. "If you force her to do so, I'll kill her first. You can try to stop me if you can."
Glocara rushed to Elin's front. "Tusha, you can't do this."
"He surely can." Elin grabbed Glocara's hand, pulling her behind him again. Just then, Tusha began to approach Elin, without holding any weapon in his hand. Seeing him closing in, Glocara involuntarily stepped back until her back hit a half-person-high stone.
Elin initiated the attack. He didn't aim to capture but to kill Tusha, knowing he had no room for leniency. Tusha evaded the first two strikes, leaving a four-inch-long scar on his left arm from the third, and the fourth severed the necklace with fang-shaped ornaments around his neck. Elin couldn't swing the fifth blade as Tusha grabbed his wrist, flipping him to the ground. Glocara didn't see what Tusha did next, but she heard Elin cry out in pain. She wanted to rush over, but Tusha grabbed Elin's knife and threw it towards the ground next to Glocara.
"Don't come any closer," Tusha said, looking down at Elin. He still twisted Elin's hand and kicked his abdomen and chest before stepping towards his head close to the ground.
"No," Glocara said. She thought she would scream, but her voice came out extremely weak and trembling.
Tusha squatted down, grabbed Elin's hair with his left hand, and reached for something on the ground where the necklace had fallen. Glocara saw him pull something from the necklace and punch Elin's right head side with it.
"Mr. Elin, if you survive," Tusha stood up holding the object from the necklace, "tell Brother Jodzen that I don't blame him for leaving me as a hostage in Stromgarde, really. If it weren't for his decision, I wouldn't have had this opportunity today. As I said, I don't hold grudges."
After saying that, he left, giving Glocara no chance to react, as if there were only Elin lying on the ground and the blood splattered on the ground in her eyes.
She rushed over and knelt down, propping Elin up on her thigh. As she turned him over, she closed her eyes for half a second. What she least wanted to see was the scar near Elin's right eye.
"Elin," she said, "Elin."
"I... I'm fine, I'm still alive. Still alive."
"How could he, how could he... I'll call the doctor right away. Right now."
"Don't... wait a moment." Elin wiped his right eye with his left hand and then brought the finger, stained with something, to his left eye. "Glocara, I'm afraid I might be seeing wrong... Help me see, what color is the substance on this finger. It's purple, right?"
"Yes. But there's also red. It's your blood."
"Okay, okay. That's why my eye feels... Glocara, do me a favor. Go pick up my knife. Hurry."
Glocara gently placed Elin's head on the ground and then pulled out the knife from the muddy ground, returning to his side.
"What... what do you want me to do?"
"Listen. First, wipe off the dirt on it... Is it done? Now, use it to dig out my right eyeball."
"You're insane!"
"I'm not. There's poison on the thing he used to stab me, I know what poison it is... It's still in my eyes now. If it spreads elsewhere and I don't get it out quickly, I'll die. I'm serious. Only you can save me, Glocara. Only you."
Glocara looked at Elin's eye, then at the knife.
"I can't do it. I can't."
"I... I don't want you to do it either. I want to do it myself. But..." he raised his right hand. The thumb and forefinger were bent in an abnormal direction. "He did this when he took the knife. I can only rely on you, Glocara. You know more about the human body than I do. You can do it without hurting other areas. This eye is already ruined, whether you remove it or not, but now I want to save my life. Only you can... can help me. Help me live."
Glocara looked at Elin's right eye. Purple liquid flowed out from the tightly closed eyelid. The eyeball trembled beneath the eyelid.
"Let's do it. There's... not much time left. I know how this thing..."
"Okay. Okay. Don't talk."
Glocara wiped the knife clean on a clean part of her clothes, then wiped it again. She lifted it, bringing the blade close to Elin's right eye. A wave of unbearable dizziness crashed into her brain. She watched as the sharp knife trembled half an inch above the eye, and it seemed she could even hear it screaming, the piercing sound tearing through her earlobes, piercing her rib cage, gradually numbing her entire body. With just a trace of remaining consciousness, she forced herself to focus only on the blade and the eyeball, as if dealing with a corpse that wouldn't react; she chose to strike in the next second, because if she waited even one more second, she would completely lose control of her wrist. She acted.
After it was done, she threw away the knife and started to cry, as if enduring the intense pain herself rather than Elin. Although Elin's "Well done, you saved me" sounded faintly in her ears, she could hardly comprehend what it meant. She even immediately forgot what she had just done, only remembering Elin's right hand, with two broken fingers, trembling at the edge of her vision.
"In my pocket, there's some hemostatic stuff, and bandages," Elin said, "Just do a simple job for me. Then we'll go back. We'll be back soon, Glocara, stop crying."
These tasks were much easier. Glocara bandaged Elin, including his wounds besides the eye, but she still did it almost blankly, her sobbing not ceasing.
"Help me up, let's go back to the camp. My feet aren't injured. Just support me for a short distance."
Glocara helped Elin up, letting his left hand wrap around her neck. She wiped away her tears, feeling much clearer-headed, but still with a sense of unreality, as if she were a piece of driftwood floating on a vast sea, with foam constantly washing over her feet.
"Walk slower, Glocara. We can go back now. My eyeball is still over there, be careful not to step on it..."
"Shut up!"
"Okay, okay. I'll shut up. Shutting up."