My Players Are So Fierce

1591: 534.

When the object of hatred has dissipated into smoke and clouds…_3

1591: 534.

When the object of hatred has dissipated into smoke and clouds…_3

I like making friends!

Especially friends with skills.

So, regardless of winning or losing, I will gift you an Iron Hammer Guard—after all, I have plenty of spare weapons to swap out.”

“Friends?

No!

We’re not friends yet.”

Meckel seemed tempted but still replied coldly:

“I don’t know how you Transia people interpret friendship, but in the Dark Valley, until we’ve bled for a common cause, the word ‘friend’ should not be thrown around casually.

Wait a while; after arranging the defenses, I’ll go down with you.

But we must return before dawn.”

—

“After my parents took you away, your mother struggled to survive one more night.

At dawn the next day, she finally passed away in agony, calling your name in delirium until her last breath.”

In a stone building in the Shadow Valley, one that could barely be called a “temple,” Adel placed a bouquet of wildflowers she had picked by the roadside in front of the stone coffin where her mother lay buried.

Her childhood friend Lisa Bella stood behind her, fiddling with a serpentine dagger.

In the flickering candlelight, she spoke in a low voice:

“I won’t even ask you about my parents’ fate.

I know they treated you like their own daughter, and their willingness to sacrifice everything for me would have extended to you as well.

They would never abandon their daughter.

If they didn’t return, it proves something terrible happened during your escape.

Ah, it was a disaster.

On the night you left, we lost one-fifth of our people.

Many were killed, and even more were taken—reportedly captured and brought into the Goat Men’s Earth Palace.

We tried to rescue them, but the Goat Men were brutal, and we were too weak at the time.

We had to painfully abandon them.

The entire valley nearly collapsed because of it.

It was only thanks to Meckel’s parents taking charge that we managed to stabilize again.

Do you still remember them?”

“Are you testing me, Lisa?”

Adel knelt before her mother’s stone coffin, wiping the inscriptions on it as she spoke in the raspy tone of a vampire:

“You suspect a vampire has taken control of me, using me as a dagger to stab into my clan’s heart.

It seems you’ve truly grown into an excellent leader.

Just as when we played as children, you always took charge among the group of kids.

You’re much stronger than I am.

Far more capable.

Yes.

I remember Uncle Manu and Aunt Yake.

Uncle Manu lost his left eye to the poisoned sting of a Dark Scorpion in the arena, yet he remained the best marksman among the Mejewa Clan’s gladiators.

He could easily hit a lark from three hundred yards away.

And Aunt Yake—like your mother—was a formidable warrior.

She could fight using dual shields.

Her specialty was attacking enemies with flying shields.

They, along with Bella and Aunt Bernice, served as my mother’s guards and were her most trusted friends.

I also remember Meckel.

He was a very shy boy, always trailing after you during our childhood.

The night before the disaster struck, he even picked flowers to confess his feelings to you.”

“Tch, in the end, that guy still managed to win me over.

What can you do?

There are only so many people in this valley.

I had to pick a ‘General’ from the short stack.

Luckily, Meckel lived up to expectations and, with Uncle Manu and Aunt Yake’s help, became our ‘Ranger General.’

Ha, it’s really just a fancy title for a squad leader.

But hey, we’ve got to maintain a sense of ceremony, right?

By the way, Uncle Manu and Aunt Yake are now elders of the valley.

They’ll be delighted to see you back.

I’ll take you to see them later.”

As Adel recounted these memories, Lisa, who had remained vigilant all this time, finally cracked a small smile.

She said in a low voice:

“To be honest, Meckel and I have always wanted a child, and I’ve already decided to name that child Adel, in honor of my closest childhood friend.

And then, destiny brought you back to me.

I really don’t want to talk politics with you right now.

I’d rather share stories about what we’ve both been through these years.

But perhaps this is also fate’s arrangement, bringing you back to us in this stormy time.

Just like the miracles your mother once created, Adel, perhaps you are the one sent by Avalon to save the Dark Valley.”

“Hm?”

Lady Adel detected a faint sense of foreboding in her childhood friend’s words.

She stood up, cautiously activating the spell on her bracelet to isolate the building from any eavesdropping before turning to face her friend.

She said:

“Something went wrong, didn’t it?

I’m guessing it’s related to those Shadow Elves?

Was your earlier hostility toward us just an act?

Or is this entire conversation a trap?

I must tell you, Lisa, before proceeding further, you need to know that Uncle Bella and Aunt Bernice did not die as you think.

In fact, they did die.

But their peace was disturbed by the Jackal Warlocks, and now they wander the earth as undead.

They miss you dearly.

Don’t disappoint them.”

“This…”

The valley leader—whose features couldn’t rival Adel’s delicateness but were nonetheless striking—widened her eyes.

Her slender, elf-like figure was far from resembling the blobby King Demon.

She looked at Adel.

Upon realizing that Adel wasn’t making a cruel joke, the Shadow Valley matriarch clenched her fists.

She hesitated for a long time before finally saying:

“We’re not in immediate danger—at least not yet.

But at the moment you and your group arrived, several elders and I were deliberating whether to truly accept those from the Mejewa Clan.

To be honest, Adel…

Meckel and I both despise them because we know the suffering our parents endured in the Eternal Abyss.

But many people in the valley don’t share our views.

Especially now that it’s confirmed the Mejewa Clan has been wiped out, many believe we should take in the refugee Shadow Elves.

They bring with them the spellcasting power we need.

And their leader is a Weaver of Destiny!

You know those Priestesses of the Lady Spider can predict fate.

We need their prophecies.”

“The Mejewa Clan was truly wiped out?

Why?

Was it some scheme of the Shadow Elves?”

Adel pressed further:

“And why would they come seeking refuge with you?

It doesn’t make sense!”

“That clan perished due to a natural disaster.”

Lisa said softly:

“We don’t know all the details, but when they first arrived over a year ago, we sent an advanced party through the Dark Mountain Range back to the Eternal Abyss to investigate.

That group was led by Elder Penny herself, and she confirmed upon her return that Mejewa City had indeed fallen.

Monsters from the Dark Territory had overrun it.

Mejewa’s Matriarch and her Warrior Chief had vanished, and the entire city had turned into hell.

As for the specifics, the refugee Shadow Elves have been tight-lipped.

The reason they sought you out is that their Weaver of Destiny made a prophecy, stating that here lies a chance for the Mejewa Clan’s rebirth.”

“A prophecy?

Sounds unreliable.”

Adel scoffed and said:

“Where is this Weaver of Destiny?

Can I meet her?”

“She’s missing.”

Lisa sighed helplessly and said:

“That’s the most troubling thing that’s happened in the valley over the past month.

To be precise, she was kidnapped.

The fool led a few Sword Singers to try to establish contact with those pesky Blood Clan Vampires near the Blackflame Mountain Pass, but on their way back, they were ambushed by the Goat Men.

Several Sword Singers were seriously injured, and the unlucky Weaver of Destiny was taken to Baphomet Canyon.

The Shadow Elves have been trying to sway my people to convince us to rescue their Prophet, and it’s been giving me a headache.

But your arrival is timely!

You said you brought warriors from Transylvania?

Perfect, I have a task for them.

I want to see if they are truly fearless…”