madnovel Chapter 55: Can drinking alcohol increase attack power?
Chapter 55: Can drinking alcohol increase attack power?
Chapter 55: Can drinking alcohol increase attack power?
"Could he be connected to that demon you're hunting?"
These words surprised not only Lucius, but also Rhodes and Alina.
How did she guess?
"You've been talking for so long, but you still haven't dared to mention your friend's exact address or when he was discovered missing," Milan toyed with her empty wine glass. "What? Is the address of a corpse collector something to be ashamed of?"
"Or perhaps he just happens to live in the cemetery in Misty City, and you happened to go there last night and found him missing?" Milan asked mockingly.
"————" Lucius remained silent, his expression slightly somber.
How could this woman still react after drinking so much?
Are all those wines fake?
"Ha—it's quite a coincidence," Lucius could only helplessly explain, "who knew that demon bastard would go mad and suddenly run over and destroy my friend's house."
"Why did this kind of bad luck have to happen to him?" he couldn't help but sigh sincerely.
"Hmm————" Upon hearing this, Rhodes immediately felt uneasy.
"Um----"
Even Alina, who was in the consciousness space, couldn't help but feel embarrassed for Rhode.
"Really? Your friend just happens to live there?" Milan, unaware of the details, naturally wouldn't easily believe his nonsense.
"Or is he just a 'friend' you're wishfully thinking about?"
"Think about it carefully. The room you followed us into yesterday, besides eavesdropping on our conversation, you probably also discovered some other information there, such as—the identity of that corpse collector."
'
""
Seeing that he remained silent, Milan continued her analysis: "Based on the information you obtained through the Holy Light Church, you commissioned Hero to find someone for you under the guise of looking for a friend—"
She gave a confident and proud smile, as if she had seen through everything.
"It's because you know that the corpse collector named Rhodes' disappearance is definitely related to the half-demon you're looking for."
"He would realize this with just a little investigation, and then, knowing nothing about it, he would go looking for that half-demon, thus getting himself into your conflict."
"It doesn't matter whether we find that corpse collector or not, as long as Hiro can find traces of that half-demon during the investigation, or even clash with her—"
"No matter the outcome, your Holy Light Church won't lose out either way, will it?"
, ", "
"What's wrong? You're not going to talk when you encounter a difficult question?" Milan said sarcastically.
"While what you say makes some sense—" Lucius replied with a smile, "you haven't failed to verify these unfounded speculations, have you?"
"I don't think he's that kind of person," Rod said instinctively.
"?"
Milan suddenly turned to look at Rod next to her, almost unable to hold back her words and confronted him, but could only question him with her eyes which side he was on.
Knowing that Milan was thinking of him, Rod winked at her, but could only pretend not to understand.
Unfortunately, his current identity makes it impossible for him to clear up their misunderstanding.
It seems even the Swift Ranger form has its limitations.
Lucius was also slightly surprised, not expecting that this stranger he had just met would take the initiative to protect him.
"He's easier to get along with than he seems, but it's a pity—" Lucius glanced at Rhodes, then looked at Milan seriously and said, "Thank you for your trust, Brother Hiro. I can only say that Lord Milan's imagination is indeed rich. It's a pity he's not writing librettos at the opera house."
“But you’re wrong about one thing,” Lucius paused, “Rhodes is indeed my friend.”
"As for the rest—whatever you say goes," he said in a nonchalant tone.
Although Milan's analysis was full of bias, it was logical, and Lucius had to admit that he could indeed profit from it.
He himself would have predicted a similar outcome, and would have been even more extreme than hers.
The atmosphere in the private room turned completely cold.
Lucius knew that there was no point in talking to someone he couldn't understand, and there was no point in staying any longer.
He glanced at the wandering knight sitting there, seemingly uninvolved, and sighed inwardly.
Milan has made it clear that if this wanderer is of sound mind and knows how to weigh the pros and cons, he would never risk doing such a thing.
Oh well, I was just asking on a whim anyway.
Ultimately, he and Rhodes didn't have any significant vested interests; his biggest loss was simply losing a friend.
A friend with whom there is no conflict of interest.
Lucius stood up, straightened his knight's uniform, and gave a polite knightly salute to everyone.
"In that case, I won't disturb your discussion of important guild matters any longer. Farewell, everyone."
After saying that, he turned around and walked towards the door of the private room.
Just as he raised his hand to push open the wooden door, the wandering knight's deep, calm voice suddenly came from behind him.
"I've accepted your request."
"Huh?" Lucius paused, looking incredulously at the man sitting on the sofa behind him, unable to understand why he would get involved in this mess.
"Just like we agreed before," Rhodes said calmly, meeting Lucius's astonished gaze, "I will bring your friend Rhodes back."
"Yeah?"
Hearing his confident words, Lucius was momentarily lost in thought, then instinctively activated his [True Word Vision].
A glimmer of hope flashed across his eyes, but the answer it brought not only failed to resolve his doubts, but instead made him even more confused.
He wasn't lying?
Does this guy really think he can bring back a stranger whose fate is unknown?
Phantom.
"Then thank you, Brother Hiro," he nodded slightly and bowed to him. "As agreed beforehand, I will provide you with a reward that will satisfy you."
After saying that, he didn't linger and walked straight out.
The door clicked shut, and Lucius's footsteps faded into the distance.
A brief silence fell over the private room.
Milan stared at the closed door and let out a cold laugh.
"Don't be fooled by his gentle and polite appearance. That guy is very cunning. It's best to stay away from him," Milan said, turning her gaze to Rod.
"?" Rod turned his head to look at her.
"You don't think he's some good-for-nothing noble's second son who's just wasting his life in a small place like this, do you?" Milan leaned forward slightly, toying with the empty wine glass in her hand as she asked. "You're underestimating him."
Upon hearing this, Rhodes couldn't help but mutter to himself, "So that's not true after all?"
"Are you really friends?" Alina couldn't help but ask in the consciousness space. "Why do you seem to not know your friend very well?"
"Normally, people don't check each other's family history when making friends—" Rod said helplessly.
He couldn't even explain his own background clearly, so naturally he wouldn't bother to inquire about the other party for fear of giving himself away.
Not to mention that Lucius didn't seem to want to talk about his background, so he naturally wouldn't pry into his past.
"—Yes, that's just your personality." Alina sighed.
After all, Rhodes had never asked about his background or why he had encountered her, who was seriously injured, in the Misty Forest.
The exchange in the space of consciousness was fleeting. Seeing that Rod remained silent, Milan stopped keeping him in suspense.
"He once attempted to assassinate his own father and brothers in order to secure the family inheritance, but he failed. He was protected by the Holy Light Church and exiled here," she said succinctly.
"?!"
Upon hearing this, Rod was stunned.
Lucius usually seems like a carefree and unreliable guy, but he actually did something so important?
"A guy who would even lay a hand on his own father, be careful not to get too close to him and get stabbed in the back one day," Milan warned with considerable apprehension.
"I'll keep that in mind." Rhodes nodded slightly.
Rod could sense Milan's goodwill, but he wouldn't change his opinion based on her one-sided account.
Many things still need to be seen with your own eyes.
"Hmph—don't blame me for nagging, Hiro."
As Milan said this, she suddenly leaned closer, the warm scent of alcohol hitting Rhodes' ear, and said in a voice only the two of them could hear, "I advise you to stay away from that half-demon and don't get involved with her."
Upon hearing this, both Rod and Alina perked up.
"What does she mean by that?" Alina asked hurriedly in the consciousness space. "You encountered her when you were with that demon?"
"No," Rod simply told her the whole story.
She had never met Milan while she was with Aphrodite, so Milan shouldn't have known.
After much thought, Rhodes realized that the only time he and Aphrodite were together in the sewers was when they were closest to each other.
Could it be that Milan noticed that time?
Then why not arrest Aphrodite?
Moreover, he wasn't in his Wind Ranger form at that time—so why was he mistaken for "Hero"?
"You said she used tracking magic back then, so how did you guys, hiding in the pipes, manage to evade the search?" Alina seized on the loophole and asked.
"Aphrodite activated the Ring of Nature on my hand back then—" At this point, Rhodes paused slightly, subconsciously glancing at the ring on his hand, and instantly understood.
Because the Ring of Nature was Milan's payment to Hero.
"You reacted quickly," Milan smiled at him, noticing his gaze. "Don't worry, I didn't tamper with the ring. I'm just too familiar with this prop, so I happened to discover your little secret."
"As for your little secret, I'm not really that concerned," Milan whispered in his ear. "After all, I'm not one of those extreme racists from the Holy Light Church, so don't worry about me reporting you."
"I have no prejudice against demons, and as for warlocks—humph, while I don't like illiterate people, I hate hypocritical guys like Lucius even more."
"In short, you'd better stay out of the mess that the Holy Light Church is in; those people are very concerned about their reputation." Milan seemed to remember something as she said this, and added mockingly, "That half-demon was supposedly the child of some priest of the Holy Light Church, and in the end, wasn't he used as a stain to be erased?"
"Huh?" Rhodes was taken aback upon hearing this. "Is this why the Holy Light Church has issued a warrant for her arrest?"
It wasn't because of murder or theft of forbidden techniques?
What a strange reason.
"Otherwise what?" Milan shrugged. "These charlatans who keep chanting about human supremacy and maintaining pure bloodlines are sometimes more extreme than the illiterate members of sorcerer families."
Just as the two were talking, there was a knock—
There was a sudden knock at the door, and Milan then distanced himself from Rodríguez and gestured for the person outside to come in.
The vice president pushed open the door and entered the room with a big smile on his face. He was carrying a thick parchment scroll and a stack of documents, and a receptionist behind him was holding a black wooden box on the table.
He first handed the parchment scroll to Milan, and after she nodded to confirm it was correct, he opened the lid of the wooden box, revealing three vials of potions that shimmered with a pale golden light.
"Lord Hiro, this is the guild's top-tier Dawn Elixir, which can greatly restore energy and nourish the body. Consider it a deposit for your operation."
After the deposit was handed over, the vice president's expression turned serious.
He quickly spread the documents in his hand on the table, revealing a map of the Misty Forest marked with various symbols, and then began to explain the current situation to them.
"According to the latest intelligence compiled by the guild," the vice guild leader pointed to several circled areas, "the number of monsters in these areas is showing an abnormal growth trend. The number of low-level monsters such as ordinary goblins has surged, and monster attacks are frequently occurring in the surrounding villages —"
"It's said that another village is still out of contact, and their situation remains unknown —"
Milan, who had been lounging on the sofa, straightened up, her relaxed posture quickly disappearing, and her expression becoming serious.
"Stop." Milan raised her hand to signal the vice president to pause.
She held the purple staff and swayed it slightly. A cool magical ripple quickly spread out, and a faint light enveloped her entire body, instantly dispelling the strong smell of alcohol.
Her eyes, which had been somewhat languid and hazy from drinking, instantly became clear and cold, and even her aloof arrogance faded considerably.
This skillful sobering-up maneuver left everyone in the room, except for Don Quixote, stunned.
"Why are you looking at me? Keep going," Milan waved her hand, signaling the vice president to continue explaining. "When you're working hard, you still need to keep a clear head."
"Uh—" The vice president looked at the bottles scattered on the ground, recalling her earlier appearance, and hesitated to speak.
So why did you drink so much alcohol earlier?
"It's too much of a hassle to communicate with you shrewd people," Milan seemed to see through his confusion. "A little drink will help me perform better."
"What are you going to do?" the vice president couldn't help but ask.
"A natural aggression." Milan glanced at him indifferently.
"————" The vice president instantly made a face as if he had swallowed a fly.
Upon hearing this, Rhodes fell into deep thought.
Drinking alcohol can increase attack power?
I'll try it next time.
"Don't learn everything!" Alina couldn't help but complain in her consciousness space.
Rod's conversational style is already quite aggressive; if he were to pick up Milan's quirks as well—
Alina shuddered at the thought.
She was genuinely worried that Rod would get beaten to death because of his foul mouth.