Chapter Seventeen: The Dedication Rune

He no longer had time to ponder how Lilith had broken free from her restraints; a lethal dagger, gleaming with a crystalline cold light, was already thrusting toward him.

Acting on pure reflex, Huey raised his hand to grab her wrist.

Lilith took advantage of the momentum, slicing her dagger horizontally through the air. The tip carved across Huey’s palm, leaving a deep, bleeding gash. Huey let out a muffled grunt and pulled back, but Lilith pressed the attack, driving a vicious knee strike toward him.

Standard close-quarters combat tactics.

The force of the knee slamming into his abdomen nearly sent him flying, but Lilith’s left hand hooked onto his shoulder, preventing him from falling backward, and she unleashed another violent knee strike.

Huey’s right leg snapped upward, meeting her knee head-on. The tremendous impact sent a jolt of agony through both their joints. Yet, Lilith was relentless; undeterred by the pain, her right hand swept the small dagger in a brilliant arc, aiming sharply for Huey’s throat.

A flash of intensity crossed Huey’s eyes. He suddenly ducked, turning her downward thrust into a strike aimed at his mouth. He bit down hard on the dagger, a move that clearly stunned even Lilith. Then, Huey curled the middle finger of his right hand and smashed it violently into Lilith’s knee.

The blow, infused with battle energy, drew a pained grunt from her.

Lilith’s wild offensive faltered for a heartbeat.

Huey seized the opportunity, his left hand lunging forward to grab the hand she had locked onto his shoulder, twisting her arm in a counter-maneuver. Lilith had not expected such agility and precision in close combat from him. But the woman was fierce; seeing half her body compromised, she lifted her left leg, attempting to kick him. Huey brought his knee up, slamming it into her joint, numbing her entire leg with pain.

Only then did Huey pull her into his embrace, pinning her arm with one hand while gripping her throat with the other. He raised his right foot and brought it down hard, crushing her instep.

"Ugh." Lilith finally let out a cry of pain.

Huey, however, was faring no better.

The dagger had slashed his mouth and even cut his tongue. Now, his mouth was filled with blood, which dripped onto Lilith’s neck.

"Pah." Huey spat out the dagger.

"I was careless. Every jungle hunter possesses exceptional escape techniques. This is the first time I’ve been nearly turned around in a situation like this, but I guarantee it will be the last."

As he spoke, the blood trickling down his throat carried a searing warmth. A grim, murderous intent replaced the gentle expression on the young man’s face.

Lilith felt a jolt of terror in her heart.

He had his training on Purgatory Island to thank for this. Both Lancelot and Padgett had once told him the same thing: the growth of battle energy is a long, arduous process that cannot be cheated, but combat technique and experience depend on talent. Swift reaction and rapid decision-making are always the absolute priority in close-quarters combat.

Huey could not elevate his battle energy to the standard of a high-level warrior in a short time, but that did not prevent him from learning the combat techniques and experience of high-level warriors. His grasp of the underlying principles even exceeded his growth in energy; thus, in terms of pure technique, few could best him.

Lilith had clearly made a mistake. She had overestimated her own close-quarters combat ability while underestimating her opponent—she had defined his strength solely by his pets and alchemy.

As he bound Lilith once more, Huey glanced at the floor.

The special rope used to tie Lilith was severed into several pieces, scattered about.

This rope was an alchemical product; it was difficult to break with battle energy alone, meaning Lilith had cut it using her dagger combined with her strength.

What surprised Huey was: where had Lilith’s dagger come from?

He thought for a moment, then flipped Lilith over.

Lilith struggled violently, so Huey landed a sharp smack on her ample rear.

That slap made Lilith go quiet.

He tore open the clothing on her back, and amidst the woman’s screams, Huey was astonished to see several paper-thin daggers attached to her back. Each weapon’s handle featured a tiny loop, strung together by wire and connected to her belt.

When Huey had tied Lilith’s hands behind her back, she only needed to gently pull the wire with her fingers for a weapon to drop into her hand.

Huey was filled with admiration:

"My martial arts mentor once taught me that the terror of female warriors lies not in their own strength, but in their ability to use various means to make you ignore their danger. They are like vipers, always lurking in the shadows, offering the sweetest smiles, only to deliver the most lethal attack. I once thought these words only applied to women who looked harmless, but clearly, I was wrong. Some women hide malice and treachery behind smiles, while others hide tricks and cruelty behind a facade of strength. You look like a woman without a brain, but you are actually quite dangerous. The price of underestimating you is that I am injured."

After drinking a healing potion, Huey’s wounds recovered, but for him, today’s lesson meant he would never again look down on any woman with martial prowess.

After disarming Lilith, he looked at her and said, "I have repeatedly reflected on where I went wrong. I finally understand: it is because I was too hung up on a gentleman’s manners. If I had caught a man just now, I would have searched him thoroughly without hesitation. But because you are a woman, I did not. However, I said I would not repeat past mistakes, so this time, I will search you clean."

Lilith’s face changed in horror: "No! You can’t do this."

"You brought this on yourself."

Huey ruthlessly flipped Lilith over again and used rough motions to peel away her outer garment. Her exposed skin was a healthy, wheat-colored tone, possessing a lethal attraction—smooth, rounded, and provocative.

Huey’s hand reached toward Lilith’s chest. Ignoring her shouts, he withdrew his hand, holding a tiny blade.

Hiding a dagger on her back and a blade against her chest—Huey could well imagine that this woman was preparing to be captured at almost every moment.

His hand continued to wander over Lilith’s body, leaving no inch of skin unexamined, completely ignoring her fiery, enraged glare.

Seeing that there were truly no more sharp objects hidden, Huey finally stopped.

"Are you finished yet?" Lilith roared.

Huey thought for a moment and shook his head: "No, I am not certain you are safe yet. It seems there is one place I haven’t searched."

Lilith’s pupils began to dilate.

Huey’s hand moved toward her private area.

Huey felt his fingers go warm and slightly damp.

He hadn’t expected the half-elf’s constitution to be so sensitive, and he smiled with a hint of malice.

His fingers probed the most intimate spot, and after confirming he had touched an insurmountable obstacle, Huey withdrew his hand. As he did, he felt the surrounding grass felt somewhat prickly.

Huey frowned and continued to explore the perimeter.

He noticed that Lilith’s look of humiliation and anger now carried a hint of panic.

The inspection finally ended. Huey held the metal wire he had retrieved from Lilith’s final "meadow" and let out an exclamation of surprise:

"I really find it hard to imagine that you would hide something like this in such a place. You may hate me for the desecration, but you must admit that it was my caution that saved me from the fate of being attacked by you again after escaping."

This metal wire was likely some small object enchanted by magic; it could become incredibly hard, piercing through any obstacle. Once it pierced a person’s throat, it would complete a perfect assassination.

Who would have thought this wire would be hidden in such a secret place?

Huey looked at the despairing Lilith, his eyes full of mockery.

"Perhaps next time you will consider how to place a useful tool behind that membrane of yours. You see, at least I still preserved a private space for you."

"I will kill you!" Lilith screamed.

"Your miserable situation stems precisely from this unrealistic fantasy."

Huey knocked Lilith unconscious with a single blow.

Huey realized he had fallen into trouble—Lilith was becoming a hot potato.

He didn’t mind killing this woman; showing mercy to a woman hostile to him was irresponsible to his own life. But at the same time, he had to consider the feelings of Buckler and his group.

His cooperation with Buckler had only just begun; the formal counterattack against the Imperial Hounds was still only on paper, and the alchemy base had just been established. Everything was in its infancy.

In this situation, losing Buckler’s support to kill a woman was undoubtedly a foolish act.

Huey did not think he could deal with Buckler as he did with Reller; many things could not be achieved by fists alone. What he valued was not Buckler’s combat strength, but his close external connections—something he couldn’t obtain even by killing Buckler. Broad interpersonal relationships were also not something he could build in a short time.

Perhaps he should have a good talk with Buckler.

He thought.

Just as he was hesitating, the communication crystal ball in his pocket suddenly rang.

Huey activated the crystal ball, and Buckler’s image appeared.

"Buckler, what is it?"

Buckler seemed anxious: "Lilith is missing. I suspect she went to find you. She has always been dissatisfied with the deal between us. I had to inform you immediately so you can be careful. Perhaps her arrival will cause you some trouble; I do not want it to ruin the agreement between us."

Huey thought for a moment and said: "Thank you for the notification, Buckler. You may not be a good person, but at least you keep your word."

"Even the worst people should have virtues; otherwise, they would have no right to stand in dangerous places," Buckler replied. "Huey Glais, I hope you can promise me that if Lilith finds you, you won’t hurt her. She doesn’t know you have the strength to take down a Rat, and she has always been prideful."

"That depends on her performance. I won’t promise not to teach her a lesson, but I can promise you I won’t kill her."

"Very well, then," Buckler said helplessly. "It is time she suffered some hardship."

After turning off the communication crystal, Huey looked at Lilith again.

He was thinking about how to deal with this woman when his golem assistant, Number Six, who had been silent until now, suddenly spoke:

"Great new master, are you contemplating how to handle this woman who tried to attack you?"

"She didn’t try to attack me," Huey replied. "She already did. But for the sake of the big picture, I must spare her life. The problem is I cannot ensure how to keep her from bothering me again."

"Alchemists have sufficient methods to control others."

"Perhaps for those who fear death, but not for some. I don’t think using some poison on her will make her obedient. My inspection of her can be said to be a form of desecration and insult. You must know that when a person’s hatred reaches a certain level, they often won’t hesitate to sacrifice their life for revenge. If anyone thinks that by controlling another person’s life they have the power to manipulate them, they are sorely mistaken."

The golem assistant tilted its head and thought: "My previous master seemed to have encountered a similar problem."

Huey paused and looked at the golem: "You mean?"

The golem replied: "My previous master liked beautiful girls very much, but he never seemed to be dedicated to any single one. He always made some girls sad, and some would seek him out to pester him in various ways. My master was tired of the harassment but didn’t want to hurt them, so he later invented some magic runes, hoping to use the power of magic runes to solve this problem."

"Magic runes? Are you saying Electra used magic runes to get rid of people he didn’t want to deal with?"

The golem nodded: "To be precise, it was different magic runes invented for different people. For example, for a girl who wouldn’t let him go, he would use an Oblivion Rune. Compared to oblivion potions, the Oblivion Rune has stronger specificity. The girls would forget the existence of my previous master and everything related to him, but would not forget other things."

"That is indeed a good method, but it doesn’t seem useful for my goal. Even if I make her forget me now, once she returns to Briar Town, she will know my name again, and after she comes into contact with the Frankish people, she will again develop the intention to kill me. Her thinking habits dictate that she loves Briar Town and will not allow anyone who might bring danger to this place to exist. I don’t want this to become an endless cycle."

"I cannot understand this, my new master, but I think you are telling me you intend to give up on this method."

"Yes. So, are there any other magic runes that can solve this problem?"

The golem thought for a moment and said: "In my memory, there is another magic rune that might be suitable for your current situation."

"What is it?"

"A type of buffing magic rune called the Devotion Rune."

"Devotion Rune?"

"Yes, the Devotion Rune is a dual-purpose rune for power transfer. It can transfer one side’s power to the other. Master, you can engrave a Harvest Rune on yourself and a Pay-it-Forward Rune on this assassin. Once the runes are complete, as long as the owner of the Pay-it-Forward Rune is within a thousand meters of you, they will become your source of power. Whenever she becomes emotionally agitated, half of the power surging in her body will flow into yours and be multiplied here. If she tries to harm you, the trouble she causes will not be greater than the contribution she makes. In the golem army built by my previous master, there was a squad specifically responsible for offering their own power to increase the strength of other golems."

Huey’s eyes lit up: "It can even be used on golems... a very interesting and practical magic rune. I didn’t see any records of this in Electra’s notes. Do you know how to prepare the magic potion?"

"That is one of the few memories I have left," the golem replied.

"Then... it’s decided," Huey said.