Chapter 2452: The Mysterious Princess

A fierce-looking man next to the woman tightened his fist with an audible crack. “Heh, I was just getting sick of looking at this deadbeat.”

He raised his hand toward Zu An. Even though there was a great distance between the two of them, and his legs didn’t move in the slightest, his hands extended straight toward Zu An. His sharp, black fingernails reflected a cold gleam as they shot straight toward Zu An’s eyeballs. Even the toughest boulder would shatter against those fingernails, let alone a human’s frail eyeballs.

A cry of agony followed, and a spurt of blood followed. However, it came not from Zu An, but the man named Pi Lu.

“My hand!” He clutched his hand in pain. It had reverted to its original length, but it was bleeding profusely. Two fingers were missing from it.

The group was stunned. “He’s an expert!”

They didn’t even see how Zu An hadmade his move before Pi Lu’s fingers were severed.

“There is such a powerful expert among the humans?” The woman frowned.

Pi Lu growled in anger, “I was planning to only take your eyes, but since you dared to retaliate, I’ll take your life instead!”

Not expecting to be embarrassed in front of the princess and their comrades, he felt a surge of shame and unleashed his full prowess. His fingers grew back out, and two more arms sprouted from beneath his armpits, each of them brandishing a weapon. He sent attacks at the male human’s vitals, but the latter remained rooted to the spot.

Pi Lu was both surprised and angered.

How arrogant can he get? I’ll smash a thousand holes into him!

You have trolled Pi Lu for +444... +444... +444...

He thought the other party was looking down on him, so his attacks were more vicious than ever.

Dong! Dong! Dong!

Pi Lu was stunned. His six hands had swung six sharp blades down on Zu An’s vitals, but for some reason, none of them landed on the latter. Instead, they rebounded before he could even get close, as if deflected by an invisible barrier. He took a closer look and saw a faint golden bell shrouding the human.

“A defensive artifact? I enjoy nothing more than wearing down those so-called defense experts who can’t fight back!” Pi Lu sneered as he rained a barrage of attacks down on the bell.

All defensive artifacts had their weaknesses. As long as he found this artifact's weakness, he would be able to turn the tables on the other party. So, he jumped up and down, unleashing all of his ultimate skills to attack the golden bell.

However, the only responses he got were ‘dong’ sounds. He initially didn’t think much about it, but as time passed, his hideous face started to turn red. He realized that no matter how he attacked, he was unable to breach the other party’s defense.

This artifact didn’t have any weaknesses! The bell chimes almost seemed to be mocking his incompetence.

His comrades couldn’t hold themselves back anymore and jeered, “Pi Lu, why are you striking a bell when you’re supposed to teach him a lesson?”

Pi Lu’s face reddened further. He wished there was a hole underground for him to dive into. He let out a deafening howl as if he was about to use some kind of forbidden art to raise his fighting prowess.

“Enough. Come back, Pi Lu. You aren’t a match for him,” the beautiful woman said.

Pi Lu’s face stiffened. He was reluctant to let things go, but he dared not disobey her. Thus, he meekly gave up on his assault and returned to her side. In the meantime, however, his comrades didn’t forget to mock him.

Pi Lu was so irritated that he growled, “Why don’t you give it a try then?”

“Sure, I’ll challenge him, lest that guy thinks we're just here to scratch his back!” A man with a body that was twice as big as Pi Lu's harrumphed as he marched forward, only for the princess to stop him right away.

“Stop!”

“Yes, my princess.” The man bowed before stepping back again.

Zu An’s mind whirred into action.

She's a princess? I wonder what race she’s from.

The beautiful woman assessed Zu An. “No wonder you dare to stare at me blatantly. You have the strength to back your guts.”

Zu An dissipated the Tranquility Bell. “I apologize for my brashness. I lost myself for a moment because you resemble a friend of mine. I seek your understanding for that.”

The beautiful woman nodded. “I doubt an expert of your caliber would bother with such a crude lie. Earlier, you remained on the defensive to not harm my subordinate, so I’ll trust you for now.”

“Thank you, miss.” Zu An was curious about their identities, as they seemed to be at odds with the Shaman races.

While he was wondering how to probe for more information, the beautiful woman suddenly asked, “So, who is more beautiful? Me or your friend?”

Zu An was speechless.

Why do women always ask such meaningless questions?

Still, he knew this question could define his relationship with her, so he prudently answered, “All flowers have their unique charms. Miss, you command a valiance my friend lacks.”

“Oh? Are you claiming your friend is more beautiful than me?” The beautiful woman’s expression turned cold as she sneered.

Sensing the change in her emotions, the six men around her glared at Zu An. They were ready to pounce and rip him to shreds at her command.

Zu An was rendered speechless. “You misunderstand me, miss. I have no such meaning.”

“Hypocrite,” the beautiful woman scoffed. “But your reluctance to put down your friend even in a situation like this makes me curious to know if she’s truly that beautiful.”

Zu An was briefly stunned.

“She’s as beautiful as you. I heard them addressing you as 'princess' earlier. May I know which race you come from? Do you have a grudge with the Shaman races?” Not wanting to dwell on this topic, Zu An decided to take the initiative in this conversation.

“You’re an interesting one. You came here despite not knowing who we are?” The beautiful woman burst into laughter. “How about this? Draw your friend for me. I’ll pardon your brashness and answer your question if she’s that beautiful.”

At this point, she suddenly changed her tone. “But if she isn’t as beautiful as you make her out to be, it’ll mean that you’re lying to me. I have no mercy for people who lie to me. That broken bell of yours won’t be able to save you.”

The six men suddenly scattered in different directions, as if to seal off his path of escape.

Zu An was baffled. He couldn’t understand why she was caught up over such a trivial issue.

Still, even though he didn’t fear her, he didn’t want to cause an unnecessary conflict, especially when he didn’t know her background. After some thought, he replied, “Why don’t I bring her out? You’ll know once you meet her.”

The beautiful woman was bewildered. She couldn’t understand what Zu An meant, since she didn’t sense anyone else in the vicinity.

Suddenly, there was a flash of bright light, and a beautiful woman appeared out of thin air. Everyone was stunned to see her.