Even Heroes Have Their Moments of Folly

Chaos Era, Year 1818.

"Ah... let me go, Musen! Release me!"

Musen stood behind Moke, his arms hooked under Moke's armpits, lifting him off the ground.

No matter how agile Moke was, once Musen had him in this grip, there was no breaking free.

Compared to Moke, Musen was towering—like an executioner's scaffold built just for him.

"Where do you think you're going, Moke?" Musen rumbled in his deep voice.

Moke turned his head away, but Musen kept marching forward with him in tow.

"Alright! Fine, I get it! I won’t run again, Musen. Just put me down... and don’t let Xia Lun find out about this—"

"Hm. Go on, keep talking," Xia Lun’s voice floated softly from behind Musen.

"Xia Lun sent me to catch you," Musen whispered into Moke’s ear.

Moke let out a resigned sigh.

He could tell—Xia Lun was clearly furious right now.

Liyana watched from the side, grinning with schadenfreude, ready to enjoy the show.

Aina stood beside Xia Lun, maintaining a careful distance. Only a few strands of her snow-white hair peeked out from under her hood, her face hidden in shadow.

"Moke." Xia Lun’s voice was low. "I believe I made it clear—I don’t approve of you leaving the team."

"Hah... Since when does an adventuring guild restrict personal freedom?" Moke’s retort lacked conviction. "I’ve made up my mind. I’m leaving Dawn’s Wings and going somewhere more suited for me..."

"If you want to leave the guild, you’ll need to file a resignation at the Adventurers' Association... Otherwise, you’ll always remain a member of Dawn’s Wings." Xia Lun spoke with absolute seriousness. "I’m the captain. You follow my orders."

Moke gritted his teeth. "Then... take me to the nearest Adventurers' Association—"

Xia Lun: "Bad luck. It’s closed today."

"What?"

"I said the Adventurers' Association is closed. No paperwork today."

"That’s impossible! I’ve never heard of such a thing!" Moke stared in disbelief. "The Adventurers' Association doesn’t just close! I don’t believe you—take me there!"

"Denied. Captain’s orders." Xia Lun shook his head.

Moke hadn’t expected Xia Lun to resort to such a childish trick to keep him.

"Then tomorrow!"

Xia Lun: "Might be closed tomorrow too. Liyana checked."

"Yep!" Liyana eagerly nodded, thrilled to have a role in this charade. "Give it up, Moke."

Moke took a deep breath.

"Xia Lun... Let’s be honest. I don’t want to drag you all down with me." Moke forced a bitter smile. "Mo Yi is strong. He commands the entire Assassins' Guild... I know you and Aina are powerful, but those guys don’t fight fair. They specialize in assassination. One slip-up, and any of you could die... So just let me go. I’ll keep running alone."

Xia Lun remained silent.

"As captain, shouldn’t you prioritize your comrades’ lives? Even if you and Aina can handle anything, what if Liyana or Musen gets targeted? Who knows what could happen—"

"Excuse me? Moke, what the hell are you saying? Say that again, and I’ll shove an arrow so far up your—I’m the one in danger? Get this straight—you’re the weakest link here!" Liyana snapped.

Xia Lun raised a hand, and Liyana promptly shut up.

"Moke. Are you done?" Xia Lun asked.

Moke paused, then gave a small nod.

"Then, as captain, I must uphold fairness... So let’s vote. Majority rules." Xia Lun raised his hand first. "All in favor of Moke staying, raise your hand."

Liyana followed immediately. After a brief hesitation, Aina raised hers. Then Musen—still holding Moke’s wrist—forced his hand up too.

Moke shot Musen a helpless look. Musen just grinned back, simple and earnest.

"Result’s in. Moke, you’re staying. That’s final."

Moke tensed. "Xia Lun... Mo Yi is dangerous—"

Xia Lun’s gaze was steady. "Enough. You’ve had your say."

Musen finally set Moke down, then cracked his knuckles—a silent reassurance.

Xia Lun drew his sword. A blur later, a lock of Moke’s crimson hair fluttered to the ground.

"You think so little of us? We’re Dawn’s Wings, Moke. Don’t underestimate your team."

Another flicker of steel—Xia Lun now held the severed strand.

"Uh... Xia Lun, what’s this for?"

Moke hadn’t even noticed when he’d stopped calling him "Captain."

Xia Lun twirled the red lock between his fingers. "Forgotten? We’ve got an extra teammate. Our reliable witch."

Aina’s brow furrowed slightly beneath her hood.

Moke blinked. "What does Miss Ankula have to do with this?"

Xia Lun: "From what I know, the Assassins' Guild takes any contract, no matter the target. Even philanthropists have fallen to them, yes?"

Moke: "Yeah... That’s true."

"And you—aren’t you the guild’s young master?" Xia Lun smirked.

"...I am."

"Then you’re tied to them. So—" Xia Lun’s tone turned strategic, "—we’ll have Miss Ankula use your hair to scry the guild’s headquarters... and raze it to the ground. First, we return to Olie City—"

"Wait."

Moke cut in.

"Do we have to go back to Olie City?"

Xia Lun: "Of course. The guild’s hideout is too well-hidden. We need Ankula’s divination."

"Uh... What if I already know where it is?" Moke scratched his head. "I did escape from there."

Xia Lun: "..."

Silence.

Then—

"PFFT—HAHAHA!" Liyana burst out laughing. "Xia Lun, you idiot! ‘I’ll raze the guild to the ground’—so dramatic!"

Even Aina’s lips twitched.

Ahem. "My oversight." Xia Lun cleared his throat. "If you know, this simplifies things."

Steel flashed again—

Moke slowly lowered his gaze, finding a strand of his own hair lying quietly in his palm.

Recommend Series

I Feed Myself to the Demons in the Demon Suppression Bureau

I Feed Myself to the Demons in the Demon Suppression Bureau

pression Bureau] Transported to a fantasy world overrun by demons and monsters, Gu Qingfeng becomes a jailer in the Demon Suppression Prison of the Great Yan Dynasty's Demon Suppression Bureau. From this point on, bizarre cases frequently occur in the Demon Suppression Prison, once known as hell on earth and infamous for its gloomy, terrifying atmosphere! Why do the demons and monsters in the prison wail miserably every night? Why has the corpse demon, capable of transforming into various beauties, donned black stockings and switched careers to become a foot massage therapist? Why has the eye demon, expert in soul-snatching and illusions, turned into a VR headset? Why is the fox spirit performing otaku dances? Are all these occurrences a twisted expression of demonic nature, or a descent into moral depravity? After peeling away layer upon layer of mystery, all clues ultimately point to a jailer named Gu Qingfeng. Gu Qingfeng: "Hehehe... My dear demons and monsters, whose card shall we flip today?"

Regretting After Being Forced into Marriage by a Yandere Tycoon

Regretting After Being Forced into Marriage by a Yandere Tycoon

ng to die together with you." Lin Xuan is dead, his body thrown into the river by his scumbag lover and her accomplice. She, the president of the Su Group, is decisive, ruthless, and ice-cold. For three days and three nights, she had his body fished out of the river, and without hesitation, she kissed the bloated corpse of Lin Xuan. She laid down beside him in a cold coffin, their fingers intertwined, a smile lingering on her lips as she closed her eyes. The noble and cold-hearted woman, only bending for one man—Lin Xuan. Lin Xuan, with his golden finger, is reborn and returns to the day of his wedding to the treacherous woman. Su Qiang comes to steal the bride. Lin Xuan's eyes light up, eager to pledge his loyalty on the spot, but instead, her kiss transfers a glass of drugged wine into his mouth, causing him to pass out... 【Male Protagonist with Single Female Lead】【Yandere Tycoon】【Action-Packed】【True vs. Fake Heir】

Poor Talent? I Bought a Year of Cultivation for One Dollar!

Poor Talent? I Bought a Year of Cultivation for One Dollar!

ut it can buy an entire year of absolutely perfect training results! Su Yu stared at his empty wallet and decisively opened up various online loan platforms. “Borrow a thousand bucks! Recharge my vitality!” Boom! His vitality broke a hundred points, shattering the limits of the human body! “Borrow ten thousand bucks! Recharge my combat skills!” Boom! A basic punching technique so common it was everywhere instantly maxed out, revealing the ultimate assassination technique of Five Elements Unity—Inner Force! When a rich kid hired assassins for a midnight ambush, aiming to break both of his legs, they instead ran headfirst into a monster—a human-shaped tyrannosaur, brimming with dragon-like vitality. With just two fingers, Su Yu snapped a steel staff reinforced with alloy. Staring at the killer’s stash of stolen cash—a staggering quarter-million dollars—he showed a corporate-sincere smile: “Thanks for the pre-exam gift pack, Mr. Zhao! I’m gonna go re-invest this!” Three days later, at the National Martial Arts College Entrance Exam, while everyone else struggled just to reach the passing line, Su Yu threw a single punch—and more than a thousand vitality points literally detonated the entire arena!

Every Sect Member Gives Me One Year of Cultivation Every Day

Every Sect Member Gives Me One Year of Cultivation Every Day

transmigrates into the world as the sect master of the Heavenly Yan Sect, which is on the verge of being wiped out. He binds a system that grants him cultivation power based on the number of disciples he has: for each disciple, he automatically gains a year's worth of cultivation every single day! Take one disciple: every day he gains 1 year of cultivation power. While others struggle through a year of bitter training, he gets the same just by sleeping through a single night. Take ten disciples: every day he gains 10 years of cultivation power. Foundation Establishment, Core Formation, Nascent Soul—he breezes through all bottlenecks without lifting a finger. Take one hundred disciples: every day he gains 100 years of cultivation power. Even a Soul Transformation Venerable before him can’t survive a single blow. Take ten thousand disciples: every day he gains 10,000 years of cultivation power! With a wave of his hand, he topples empires. With a single step, he crushes the sacred grounds of the universe. ... While others fight tooth and nail for secret techniques, Lin Yan casually hands out Nascent Soul-level cultivation manuals as beginner textbooks. While others strain to find talented recruits, Lin Yan opens his doors to anyone—so long as they’re human. In just three short years, the Heavenly Yan Sect went from a backwater sect made up of three crumbling huts to a sacred land that every cultivator under heaven would kill to enter. ... One day, otherworldly demon gods invade, with a million demon soldiers pressing down upon the realm. Lin Yan, yawning, rises from his lounge chair and glances at the system panel: [Current Disciples: 1.28 million] [Daily Cultivation Increase: 1.28 million years] He waves his hand casually, and the countless demon soldiers are reduced to ashes in an instant. “So noisy… interrupting my fishing.”