The celebration left a deep impression on the townspeople, but for Maria, it was just a novelty; after the initial excitement wore off, it felt rather ordinary.
After all, this wasn't her home. Whatever happened here was merely a story to her, and she felt no strong sense of identification with it.
Nicole, Angela, and the other older women also felt a lack of connection. After this celebration, they found it somewhat uninteresting and, feeling restless, decided to wander around a bit.
"Brother, Maria wants to explore the surroundings," Maria said, her big beautiful eyes sparkling.
Ultimately, the most restless among them, Maria, suggested they go play outside.
"Sure, but don't go too far. Remember to come back before nightfall," Zhao Lun agreed.
"Are you not coming with us, brother?" Maria asked.
"Hmm, maybe in a couple of days," Zhao Lun replied.
Since he had promised to participate in their celebration, he felt it necessary to see it through. As long as conditions permitted, Zhao Lun would not go back on his word. Moreover, he still had things to do here.
"Then we'll go play on the hill!" Maria exclaimed.
"Be careful and remember to return on time," Zhao Lun reminded them one last time before letting them head out.
Maria, Angela, and Monica set off together.
The day before, they had gone out for a stroll and returned with what seemed like an increased aura of holy light. Zhao Lun deduced they must have had some fruitful experiences, so he didn't disturb them and allowed them to continue.
With the greatest monsters already defeated, Zhao Lun wasn't worried about their safety.
This time, the ladies were well-prepared for their outing. They had gone out in the morning and planned to have lunch outside. The area beyond the town was wild and sparsely populated, so they had to fend for themselves when it came to food. They didn't return until late afternoon.
As evening approached and the celebration began, they finally came back, ravenous. Upon seeing the food, they couldn't help but dive in, ignoring the sounds of dancing and cheer surrounding them.
Among the three, Maria ate the fastest and ended up choking on her food.
Zhao Lun was startled and quickly brought her some water. "Didn't you eat anything for lunch? Here, drink some water quickly, don't choke!" He had seen how well-prepared they were when they set off that morning, so it seemed unreasonable for them to be this hungry.
After drinking a cup of water, Maria shook her head, indicating she hadn't eaten. She then bent down and resumed her voracious eating.
"All finished?" Monica asked.
Today, the three of them went to the ruins of the castle where Zhao Lun had fought, and as they sat there during the brightest part of the day, they felt the gathering of holy light. They entered a meditative state, and when they awoke, they felt extremely hungry, prompting them to take out the food they had brought.
However, their appetites had suddenly surged. They devoured all the food they had brought and still felt unsatisfied, and by the time they returned, they were absolutely famished.
"Then I won't disturb you any longer," Zhao Lun said, stepping back to observe them.
The three women radiated a strong aura of holy light, which was enhancing their bodies. They seemed to lack energy, and a large quantity of food would help replenish what they needed.
Zhao Lun didn't intervene, allowing them to continue eating to replenish their energy.
At tonight's gathering, everyone thought of new games—dancing, wrestling, and drinking. However, Zhao Lun felt irritated. There were too many wolves around, and their intentions seemed to grow bolder, daring to invite his girlfriend to participate. As a man, Zhao Lun decided to confront them and show them some consequences.
This was something Nicole and the others had mentioned, and recalling their words, Zhao Lun took a deep breath and prepared for the arduous task ahead.
When Zhao Lun confronted a young man with a scruffy beard, who seemed overly confident and emboldened by alcohol, and expressed his challenge, the young man looked somewhat incredulous.
"What?"
"You want to wrestle with me?"
Zhao Lun nodded.
"No magic allowed!"
Zhao Lun nodded again.
A wizard wanted to wrestle him? And without using magic? Was he sure he hadn't drunk too much? He had heard stories about wizards and knew that their greatest strength lay in magic; he had never heard of a wizard relying solely on brute strength to fight.
"Kid! You should go back and drink some milk before coming back!" If it weren't for the fact that the young man was a wizard, he would have said exactly that. Unfortunately, he didn't dare, so he had to play it a bit more "nice."
"Hmph! Bring it on!" the scruffy young man replied, a dismissive snort escaping his lips, his presence imposing.
Just wait until I make you cry for your mother! He thought to himself as he walked toward the wrestling area.
The appearance of Zhao Lun and the bearded youth drew a momentary silence from the crowd, and then some onlookers, eager for excitement, began to whistle and cheer.
The anticipated wrestling match was set to begin, but it ended before it even got going. In just a few moments, the young wizard found himself flat on the ground—something no one had expected!
In their minds, the wizard, having forsaken his magic, should have been humiliated. Instead, the outcome was the opposite, and it was swift and clean. After one confrontation, the young man was knocked down, and after three tries, he could no longer get up, all within ten seconds.
Ten seconds was a long enough time, yet they still couldn't believe it had really happened, even doubting if Zhao Lun had used magic.
On the ground, Zhao Lun covered his nose and looked at the fallen scruffy youth. "I say, can you please clean up your hygiene next time?"
The bearded young man, unable to rise due to the pain, paused at Zhao Lun's words, momentarily stunned. Ignoring his discomfort, he looked at Zhao Lun, confusion in his eyes. "What do you mean?"
"Your smell—ugh!" Zhao Lun began, and his gesture made the young man understand.
The bearded youth felt a strong sense of humiliation, sensing a grave insult. But unable to defeat Zhao Lun, he endured the pain, got up, and left, unwilling to humiliate himself further.
Zhao Lun sighed in relief, having successfully driven away another smelly individual! But he felt slightly annoyed. People were truly strange animals! When sober, they were rational and wouldn't do anything disadvantageous to themselves, yet after drinking a little, their brains turned to mush, and they acted on impulse.
To thoroughly resolve the trouble and spare his nose from further torment, Zhao Lun decided to bully the younger ones!
"Who else wants to take me on?"
"Anyone who doesn't believe it, come forward for a challenge!"
A number of men, having drunk who knows how much, felt emboldened by the alcohol and stepped up to challenge him, ignoring the consequences.
Faced with so many challengers, Zhao Lun grew angry. He exerted more strength and threw each challenger aside with force.
These men were thrown to the ground, groaning in pain, unable to rise, and soon they ended up stacked together.
Onlookers saw a pile of drunken, disheveled men lying about, and it looked quite amusing, prompting screams of laughter from the women nearby.
Having witnessed this, none of them dared to step forward to confront Zhao Lun. Otherwise, Monica and the others would have made sure they knew they would also participate in the "exciting" game of stacking women that night. (To be continued.)