The Bandit Chief looked at the two people in front of him, his expression shifting from contempt to gravity.
He wasn’t stupid.
He understood that once Dongfang Jiang recovered, he would be able to chop him into mincemeat in no time.
“Two people about to die, and you’re still putting on a tragic love scene?”
He raised his giant axe above his head.
Lightning-attribute energy crazily surged into the blade.
The purple light was almost blinding.
The air reeked of burning.
“Both of you, die together—”
“You don’t have a chance.”
Pandana raised her right hand.
The dark green ring burst with a dazzling light.
The ground beneath their feet suddenly turned into a swamp.
Pandana transformed the entire stronghold’s ground into a swamp.
From the Bandit Chief’s feet all the way to the distant walls, everything became churning mud.
The Bandit Chief was shocked.
He tried to jump up, only to find his feet already sunk into the mud.
The more he struggled, the faster he sank.
“Swamp Prison.”
Pandana’s voice was very soft, but every word struck the Bandit Chief’s heart like a heavy hammer.
Mud squeezed in from all directions, like living things coiling around his limbs, torso, and neck.
“You… just who are you?!”
The Bandit Chief’s face turned purple.
Lightning-attribute energy exploded inside the mud, but each explosion was filled in by new mud.
His ring desperately flashed, but the light grew dimmer, weaker.
“I am Mister Dongfang’s Guardian.”
After saying this, Pandana swayed and nearly fell.
Dongfang Jiang caught her.
“That’s enough. Leave the rest to me.”
Dongfang Jiang raised his right hand.
The Earth Ring glowed with an icy blue light.
Glacier Energy surged from within him, spreading along the ground to the Bandit Chief’s feet.
The mud began to freeze.
From the outside in, layer by layer, it solidified.
The Bandit Chief’s struggles grew slower, smaller.
Finally, he was completely frozen inside a massive piece of amber-colored ice, maintaining his struggling posture, motionless.
The stronghold fell silent.
In the distant grass, the Rich Merchant’s Daughter poked her head out.
Seeing this scene, she got scared and shrank back.
Dongfang Jiang and Pandana exchanged glances.
Then they both smiled.
“Look at you. Why did you come back?”
“Then why didn’t you run just now?”
“Ahaha, if I said I didn’t have time to run, would you believe me?”
“Nope~”
Pandana playfully stuck her tongue out at Dongfang Jiang.
Dongfang Jiang quietly patted her head.
“So…”
Pandana leaned against his shoulder, her voice growing softer.
“As your Guardian, there’s no reason for me to run away alone…”
Dongfang Jiang felt the weight on his shoulder grow heavier.
He looked down.
Pandana had already closed her eyes, breathing steadily and evenly.
[She’s just asleep.]
The System promptly answered Dongfang Jiang.
At that moment, he didn’t hate the System as much.
‘I see…’
Dongfang Jiang breathed a sigh of relief.
Carefully, he picked her up and walked out of the stronghold they had destroyed together.
Sunlight shone on the two of them, casting a long shadow on the ground.
Nothing else mattered now.
“Hey, wait! You’re leaving just like that?”
The Young Lady saw that Dongfang Jiang and Pandana were about to leave.
Forgetting her dignity, she shouted while running toward them.
The rescued villagers first looked at each other in disbelief, then erupted in cheers of survival.
The bandits who usually swaggered around, seeing their chief frozen into an ice block, were utterly dejected and were quickly captured.
The subsequent process was very simple.
Dongfang Jiang and Yue Ge explained the situation of the stronghold.
Led by the Jones Family, to which the Young Lady belonged, the town quickly swept through it.
Meanwhile, in the hotel room, Dongfang Jiang patted Pandana’s head.
He gathered the medicinal herbs she had collected.
“Going out?”
Pandana looked at Dongfang Jiang, who was preparing to leave, with some concern.
Dongfang Jiang patted his chest.
“Yeah, I need to turn in the herbs required for the mission. Delaying too long… wouldn’t be good.”
“Then come back early.”
“Sure. Just leave the mission submission to me. You get some good rest.”
Dongfang Jiang bid farewell to Pandana and went to the Adventurer’s Guild.
He handed over the herbs.
Just as he was about to leave, he heard someone greeting him.
He looked over.
Yue Ge and Xiao Chong were waving at him.
Dongfang Jiang walked over and sat down beside them.
Xiao Chong poured him a drink.
Dongfang Jiang downed it in one gulp, then asked the two.
“Something up?”
“Yeah, the Jones Family invited you over as a guest.”
“Jones Family?”
“The family that Young Lady belongs to. Kid, you’re about to hit the jackpot. According to the Young Lady’s description, pretty much all the bounties the Jones Family put up are going to be taken by you.”
Yue Ge finished speaking and looked at Dongfang Jiang.
He hadn’t expected that this guy, after arriving in town, would have done so many big things in such a short time.
“Is that so? Then I made a profit…”
Dongfang Jiang laughed like a child.
Then Yue Ge pulled a box from his pocket and slid it over.
“What’s this?”
“The Bandit Chief’s ring. According to Kingdom law, the ownership of this ring should go to you. I happen to know you, so I brought it over.”
“Oh, oh. Then let me treat you to this meal.”
Dongfang Jiang genuinely didn’t know about this.
Pandana might have, but she had already passed out from exhaustion at the time.
“Then thanks.”
During the meal, Yue Ge asked Dongfang Jiang if he could drink alcohol.
Dongfang Jiang said he could handle a little, so Yue Ge bought a bottle.
Thus, by the time Dongfang Jiang returned to the hotel, Pandana had already gone to sleep.
Dongfang Jiang checked her status through the System.
After confirming there were no major issues, he returned to his own room.
He lay flat on his bed, browsing through the information provided by the System.
‘Because my relationship with Pandana increased, I gained two years of lifespan… Looks like the System encourages me to develop relationships with my Guardians…’
[Yes, Host.]
‘Please don’t casually read my thoughts.’
Dongfang Jiang closed his eyes and emptied his mind.
His thoughts were filled with the image of Pandana protecting him in the stronghold.
The corners of his mouth involuntarily curled up.
‘You seem happy?’
‘Yeah.’
‘I see… Then you probably aren’t thinking about dying anymore, are you?’
Hearing the System’s question, Dongfang Jiang stretched.
He replied in his mind.
‘Tomorrow morning I’m having breakfast with Pandana. Stop bothering me.’
[Understood, Host.]