Sword Among Us

The woman was Momo, who had once occupied Little North’s mind day and night. She had vanished during Happy’s fight against Lu Mingyue at the entrance of the royal mausoleum, and even though she had a Bamboo Hat over her head and her face was covered by a white veil, the familiar figure and the cold presence that was unique to her allowed Happy to recognize her within a moment.

“Why are you here?”

When he saw Momo appear alone in Black Willow Mountain Manor in all her icy glory, Happy could not help but be puzzled, and a strange look appeared in his eyes.

“I’m here on a quest. Why are you here?”

Momo was not as relaxed as Happy. She arrived in front of him like a rainbow and lifted her white veil. She cast a glance through the gap at the group of Black Willow Black Manor members who were very aggressive and fierce behind Happy.

“Did you receive the rescue quest as well?” she asked with bafflement.

“What rescue quest? I’m just grinding here…”

Happy seized the chance to glance at Momo’s face when she lifted her white veil to reveal a gap. To his surprise, he found that some of the passion and naivety had vanished from her eyes, and there was a coldness that could not be described within them. Her eyes only became slightly gentler when they were directed at him.

“You’re grinding here? There are three Moksha Realm fighters in Black Willow Mountain Manor. You’re pretty gutsy.”

When Happy heard about the quest, he immediately understood why the three old monsters would allow him to act so impudently outside the manor—there were actually some secrets hidden in the manor. But the rescue quest should be somewhat tough on Momo.

In answer to her words about the old men, he smiled faintly.

“You knew there were Moksha Realm monsters guarding this place, and you still dared to take it up?”

Even though Happy had witnessed Momo’s skills outside Wuhu’s ancient tomb and knew that her sword techniques were good as well as that she was equal in strength with Little North, that was not enough. If she wanted to complete a rescue quest in which three Moksha Realm monsters were her opponents, it would definitely be incredibly hard.

When she heard that, Momo could not help but sigh gently. “The quest originally asked me to sneak in to search, so it was fine, but now I won’t be able to do it. Those three old monsters are on guard, and they will defend the place tightly. It’s impossible for me to sneak in now.”

Happy was rendered speechless.

“Haha, I didn’t intend to do this. It was an accident.”

A quest that involved three Moksha Realm NPCs as enemies was definitely not an easy quest, and it seemed like his act of training in the area brought great trouble to Momo.

She moved in front of him in a relaxed manner, and her tone was calm. “You didn’t know, so it’s not your fault. Besides, last time, if it weren’t for you, I’d have died because of that pervert, and I wouldn’t have been able to receive this quest through a combination of coincidences. I have to thank you for it, you know… What are you looking at?”

As she spoke, she suddenly noticed that Happy was sizing her up, and his gaze was incredibly strange.

In truth, while they were talking to each other, Happy had noticed that Momo was actually keeping up with him for some time, so it was only natural for him to feel surprised. “You’re in Life and Death Realm?”

Momo nodded. “Yup, what’s wrong?”

“No wonder. Your lightness skill is really good,” Happy said in amazement.

Since Happy had Grandmaster Realm Phantasm Body Movement Skill and a third-echelon Golden Armor Set, aside from Lu Mingyue and a handful of other people, there were few players who could catch up to him, even if they activated Life and Death Realm.

Momo did not seem too fond of talking. When she heard Happy praise her, her tone changed, and she changed the topic of conversation.

“I couldn’t help in the matter regarding Beautiful Robes Faction. Are you alright now?”

“Thank you for your concern,” Happy answered politely.

The moment he said that, he felt that the atmosphere was a little strange. Momo had changed from a young and passionate swordswoman into someone who was a little too polite. He wondered whether it was because the event with Lu Mingyue had affected her too deeply.

“I’m okay now.”

They charged forward together for some time without saying anything, and the atmosphere turned a little stifling.

Happy turned around again to use the people of Black Willow Mountain Manor to train his Shadowless Knife.

When Momo noticed Happy’s actions, she seemed to notice that the atmosphere between them was a little cold, and she said, “When you attack Class One Hall, you can send a letter to me.”

Once she finished speaking, she turned around and headed toward Black Willow Mountain Manor…

“Hey! What are you—” Happy felt his heart tremble when he saw that. He quickly increased his speed and stopped Momo when she approached the wall. “WAIT!”

She stopped with a puzzled expression and turned around. “What’s wrong?”

Happy had an anxious expression on his face as he shouted at her. “Didn’t you say that I alarmed them? It’s not suitable for you to sneak into Black Willow Mountain Manor. If you go now, aren’t you just marching to your own death?”

Momo clearly hesitated for a while before she stared into Happy’s eyes and said, “I still want to try. I’ve been working on this quest for six days and six nights. I’ve completed seven quests, and Black Willow Mountain Manor is my last stop. I’ll be filled with regret if I give up now.”

“Can’t you come at another time?”

Happy was dazed. He suddenly thought of a possibility, and his heart instantly began to tumble violently.

‘Could this be a time-limited stealth mission?

‘If that’s the case, the higher the difficulty, the greater the rewards of the quest will be. Perhaps the quality of the rewards will even be among the top in the game…’

With resignment in her voice, Momo said exactly what Happy had expected. “The news of a rescue effort will be exposed before nightfall. At that time, the person will be escorted away, so I only have one chance.”

Happy was speechless. He frowned and sucked in a breath.

He did not think his training would have caused him to accidentally disrupt an important series of hidden quests for Momo. She might have been rewarded for it with an ultimate technique, a divine vessel, or a demon vessel.

When he thought of that, Happy’s gaze focused.

“Since an outside force has disrupted this quest, that outside force is allowed to join, right?”

Happy had some experience regarding the prohibitions of the many quests in the game, and he soon thought of a way to get involved and to help her with the quest.

Momo was stunned for a moment. After some time, she nodded. “I think you can, but…”

“The difficulty of the quest will correspondingly increase?” Happy quickly finished her sentence so that she could not do so herself.

Momo was stunned. She could not help but lift her white veil again, and surprise was revealed in her eyes. “You want to help me?”

If it were any other player, Momo would definitely be unwilling to let them help her, because the increase in difficulty would be beyond what she could handle, but Happy was different. He could use his own strength to fight against Ninja King with brute force, and he could retreat alive from Black Willow Mountain Manor. If he came along, he would only need to hold two of the manor masters in Black Willow Mountain Manor and buy her some time. It would be enough for her to have a good chance to finish the quest.

“I’ll feel guilty if I messed up your quest. Tell me what I need to do,” Happy’s spoke in a clear voice.

Momo was delighted, but she said hesitantly, “But the people behind you…”

Happy understood her meaning. “Those are easy. Give me twenty minutes.”

He quickly turned around and threw the throwing knives in his hands. Then, in the same motion, he brought out his tri-colored Noble Sword. Golden light shone around him, gathering together to form a golden bell. He then jumped into the air and, with the wind howling thunderously from his movements, charged into the large group of Black Willow Mountain Manor.

Boom!