“Roar——!!!”
After nearly five minutes of continuous electric shocks, the ogre finally let out its last wail.
Its massive body could no longer hold on and collapsed with a thunderous crash, kicking up a cloud of dust.
Those two Thunder Lizards, still wary, fired off two more bolts of lightning.
Only when black smoke began to rise from the ogre’s corpse, and it stopped moving completely, did they finally stop.
The battle was over.
The entire goblin camp was a mess.
The ogre’s body lay in the center, surrounded by goblins who had been caught by the chain lightning.
The remaining goblins had long since lost their arrogance, dropped their weapons, clutched their heads, and scrambled to escape, wishing their parents had given them a few extra legs.
That goblin chieftain in iron armor had been the first to turn and run the moment the ogre fell.
But he was pinned down by the Earth Guardian’s foot, unable to move, and could only let out a despairing screech.
Leo snapped his fingers.
The three powerful elemental beings turned into motes of light and vanished into the air.
As if they had never appeared at all.
For a moment, the forest was shrouded in eerie silence.
Irina let out a long breath and plopped down on the ground.
“Oh my god, it’s finally over. I’m exhausted.”
She had been highly focused just now—buffing, dealing damage, and burning through a lot of mana.
Christine, on the other hand, just stood quietly.
She didn’t look at the ogre’s corpse, nor at the scattered goblins.
Her beautiful eyes simply stared straight at Leo, her gaze a tangled mess of emotion.
Leo felt a little uneasy under her stare.
[Big sis, why are you looking at me like that?]
[I just saved you, helped you take down the boss—don’t tell me you’re planning to cling to me now?]
[I’m not covering your medical bills!]
He cleared his throat, deciding to take the initiative and break the awkward silence.
He walked up to Christine, wearing his usual gentle smile.
“Miss Raphael, it seems we can successfully complete this commission.”
Christine didn’t respond to his words.
She was silent for a moment before asking, her voice carrying a dryness even she hadn’t noticed:
“Who… exactly are you?”
It was a question out of nowhere.
“I’m Leo.”
Leo shrugged innocently.
“Your ‘Future Ally’, your ‘Investment Target’.”
“You’re not!”
Christine’s voice suddenly sharpened.
“You’re not some deposed, useless prince! You lied about your mental exhaustion! And your strength is far beyond what you showed!”
She was clearly agitated.
Being lied to was one thing, but more importantly, the judgment and discernment she prided herself on had been shattered in front of Leo.
She felt like a self-important clown.
“Calm down, calm down, Young Lady.”
Leo raised both hands in a soothing gesture.
“Let’s find a place to sit down and talk, all right?”
He pointed to a short distance away, where the goblin chieftain had given orders from atop a “Royal Throne” made of several stacked boulders.
Christine took a deep breath, forcing herself to calm down.
She knew losing control here was not wise.
The three of them walked over and sat down by the pile of stones.
First, Leo had the goblin chieftain who’d been pinned down spill everything.
It was pretty much as they’d guessed.
The ogre originally lived deep within the Whispering Forest.
For some reason, it had become unusually violent and intelligent.
It broke out of its own territory, conquered the goblin tribe, and forced them to gather food and valuables for it.
And in the deepest part of the camp, inside the ancient Ruins, they’d found a fist-sized, faintly glowing Crystal.
The Crystal emanated a disturbing, chaotic aura—it was most likely the culprit behind the ogre’s mutation.
All mission objectives, completed.
Having taken care of everything, Leo turned back to Christine.
“All right, now we can talk.”
His smile faded, replaced by a serious expression.
“Miss Christine, I hope you can keep what happened today a secret.”
“Keep it secret?”
Christine sneered.
“After showing such power, you think a simple request for secrecy is enough? Leo, you’re hiding far too much. What exactly are you after?”
To her, Leo’s restraint and disguise must conceal some grand scheme.
Like, perhaps, seeking revenge on those brothers who had ruined him—or even… aiming for the supreme Royal Throne.
“What do I want?”
Leo seemed to find something about that funny.
“I want to live like a salted fish—wake up when I want, have money to spend, good food to eat, and live out my life in peace. Is that a lofty enough ambition?”
Irina nodded furiously at the side.
“I can vouch for him—his biggest dream is just to laze around.”
Christine obviously didn’t believe a word of that nonsense.
Leo sighed, knowing he’d have to give a “reasonable” explanation to get through this.
He lowered his voice and adopted a deliberately mysterious tone:
“All right, I’ll be honest with you.”
“The reason I could summon those creatures just now is because I used a Secret Art that forcefully drained my life force. Don’t I seem a bit weak right now?”
As he spoke, he coughed twice for effect, and even made his complexion look paler.
Irina nearly lost it beside him.
Christine looked at him, half-convinced, half-doubtful.
“As for those skeletons…”
Leo’s expression turned a bit embarrassed and regretful.
“That was a spell I picked up when I was young and ignorant. I stumbled upon a fragment of necromancy and learned a trick or two.”
“You’ve seen it—just summoning a few useless little skeletons, nothing impressive. After today, I don’t plan to use them anymore. I don’t want people thinking I’m some evil necromancer and bringing unnecessary trouble.”
He attributed his strength to a “life-draining Secret Art” and “second-rate necromancy”.
The explanation was full of holes, but it gave Christine a way out.
She was clever and instantly caught his meaning.
Leo didn’t want to be exposed.
And a hidden, terrifyingly strong ally was far more valuable than a prince exposed to all and made a target for everyone.
If she made Leo’s true strength public, those princes would stop at nothing to snuff him out before he could rise. At that point, she’d lose an ally and get herself into trouble.
On the other hand, if she kept his secret, then that “secret” would become the firmest bond between them.
Her “investment” would yield returns beyond imagination.
Once she figured this out, the sharpness and scrutiny in Christine’s eyes faded, replaced by a new, deeper gleam.
“I understand.”
She nodded, accepting his explanation.
“I won’t speak of what happened today to anyone. Your secret is my secret.”
“That’s good.” Leo breathed a sigh of relief.
“But…”
Christine’s tone shifted as she looked at him intently.
“About our cooperation, I think it’s time we renegotiated.”
“My previous proposal still stands. But I can add more investment—more gold, more talent, better channels.”
She stood, looking down at Leo, her golden hair shining in the setting sun.
“Leo, I’ve changed my mind. I’m not just investing in your potential.”
“I want to invest in everything you are.”
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