446 Chapter 446: The Five Year Promise
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"Oh, so you're actually a princess." Upon hearing this, Zeng Yi gave a polite smile.
Mios Kingdom?
Honestly, Zeng Yi didn't remember that there was such a Kingdom in the Douluo Continent. He only knew about the Heaven Dou Empire and the Star Luo Empire.
But Zeng Yi also knew that within these two dominant empires, there were many other Kingdoms in the Douluo Continent.
However, these kingdoms were mostly vassal states of the two empires, somewhat similar to the feudal states in ancient times.
Under the rule of the Heaven Dou Empire, there were many kingdoms, including four major kingdoms and more than a dozen duchies.
"I'm extremely grateful for your life-saving grace under the Tempestuous Edge Douluo. I really don't know how to repay you!" Luo Xue performed a noble etiquette towards Zeng Yi, expressing her gratitude.
As a Titled Douluo powerhouse, someone like him deserved respect even from the emperor. Yet she was just a princess from a small kingdom, with almost nothing valuable to repay him for his kindness.
Could it be that she had to repay him with her body?
This thought unconsciously arose in her mind, and she secretly raised her eyes to steal a glance at the Titled Douluo.
He was young, handsome, and looked only a few years older than herself. If she hadn't witnessed his terrifying strength, no one would believe that he was a Titled Douluo.
He was completely different from those powerful spirit masters who were strong but already aged in appearance.
As a princess, she held a noble status and had confidence in her own appearance, as she could attract noble disciples from all walks of life.
But he was a legendary Titled Douluo!
If he could take an interest in her, she would be willing to follow him, even if it meant becoming nothing more than a maid.
Luo Xue knew that her princess status was insignificant to powerful spirit masters. Even if she were a princess of the empire, it would be a high climb to be able to follow a Titled Douluo powerhouse.
Zeng Yi smiled and said, "There's no need to repay me. If you don't mind, let me accompany you for a while."
"Accompany us?"
Hearing Zeng Yi's words, everyone was extremely surprised.
Seeing their surprised expressions, Zeng Yi was puzzled and asked, "Is something wrong with that?"
"No, no, no. It's great! We welcome it!" Zhang Ruonan quickly replied.
A Titled Douluo wanted to accompany them. Where else could they find such a great opportunity?
Their group was already in a fragile state. If they encountered any unforeseen circumstances, their current physical condition would definitely not withstand it.
But with such a powerful spirit master accompanying them, they felt much more assured.
They weren't afraid that he had ulterior motives. After all, his strength was formidable, and if he wanted to harm them, he could have done so straightforwardly. There was no need for any deception.
Moreover, how could someone who was so handsome and kind-looking be a bad person? Right? Right?
After resting for a while, Zhang Ruonan and her companions left the frozen forest with the bodies of their comrades.
Zeng Yi also accompanied them.
Zhang Ruonan led the team, walking at the forefront.
She vaguely remembered the original route and continued in that direction.
"It's over there!" Zhang Ruonan spotted what she was looking for and immediately rushed towards it.
In the distance, there was a thick layer of snow covering the place. But upon closer inspection, one could discern the outline of some armor.
"Father! Father!"
Zhang Ruonan rushed over to this spot, tears of sorrow welling up in her eyes. She knelt in the snow, frantically brushing away the accumulated snow.
But when she uncovered the body wrapped in armor, her eyes widened in shock, and her pupils shrank as if she had seen something extremely horrifying.
"How could this be?"
When she saw the appearance of her father's lifeless body, Zhang Ruonan was stunned. She instinctively covered her mouth with her hands, unable to believe what she was seeing.
In fact, she had long been mentally prepared. She knew that her father could not have returned from that moment when he sacrificed himself to buy them time.
But even so, she couldn't accept it.
What hurt her the most was that even in death, her father's body had been desecrated and humiliated.
Not even in death could he find peace.
Uncontrollable hatred surged within her, and she clutched her father's armor tightly to her chest, burying her head against it as she wailed in agony.
"How despicable, how despicable..."
Zeng Yi and the others arrived at the scene and stood behind Zhang Ruonan, watching her mournful tears.
Luo Xue also came forward, squatting down and teary-eyed as she looked at the lifeless body of Zhang's uncle. Tears flowed uncontrollably from her eyes.
"This is our Head Knight and Ruonan's father. Head Knight sacrificed himself to hold off those evil spirit masters, giving us time to escape." A knight standing next to Zeng Yi quietly explained to him, his voice choked with sobs.
Zeng Yi gazed at the shriveled face within the armor, similar to the evil spirit masters he had seen before. After killing someone, they would plunder their flesh and consume their essence, desecrating the spirits of the deceased.
Seeing this scene, Zeng Yi couldn't help but clench his teeth and tighten his fists.
Zeng Yi silently stood behind the two women, watching them weep. He personally experienced the pain of losing loved ones, and it was quite distressing.
After a good cry to release their emotions, they would feel much better.
Once Zhang Ruonan recovered, she took her father's body and the team set off again.
During the journey, Zeng Yi learned more about the situation.
Mios, the kingdom they were in, was currently at war.
The entire continent seemed to be in the grip of the Heaven Dou and Star Luo Empires, appearing peaceful on the surface. However, there were frequent clashes among the small countries under their rule.
The Empires rarely intervened in the conflicts of these small countries, especially the Heaven Dou Empire.
Although it seemed like the two empires each occupied half of the continent, there were many areas that the empire's reach did not cover. Additionally, the empire did not have much energy or manpower to manage them.
Therefore, those small countries subservient to the empires had to govern their own territories, as long as they paid tribute to the empire on time each year.
Many small countries also engaged in wars due to resource issues.
Mios Kingdom was one of them.
However, while exploring, Zhang Ruonan and her companions discovered that there were evil spirit masters behind this war.
Because of this, they were targeted by the evil spirit masters.
By delivering this information, not only the empire but also the Spirit Hall would take action.
Naturally, Princess Luo Xue, who disliked war, wanted to see this scene. But the evil spirit masters would never allow it, so they marked her and her companions for death.
Fortunately, they encountered Zeng Yi, who was lost in the forest, allowing them to survive.
After about ten days, Zeng Yi accompanied them to the capital of Mios Kingdom.
He declined Princess Luo Xue's invitation to visit the palace and safely escorted them to their doorstep before bidding farewell to the group.
And so, Zeng Yi set off on his journey to travel across the continent once again.
...
"It's almost five years, huh~"
In a restaurant, Ning Rongrong sat at a table by the window, her beautiful eyes gazing at the bustling street outside, softly sighing.
"Yes"
A cold voice sounded, giving a rather perfunctory response to Ning Rongrong.
"By the way, don't we have a five year promise?"
"Yes."
At these words, Ning Rongrong's forehead bulged with veins, she turned her head, and stared daggers at the figure sitting across from her, eating quietly. Then she slammed the table.
"Stop with all the 'Yesss'. Can't you say a few more words, Qinqing?"
Zhu Qingqing put down her fork, raised her eyes, looked at Ning Rongrong, and pondered for a moment.
"It seems we do have something like that, a five year promise."
