After leaving the team, the adventurer ladies regretted it deeply

This Fire Fighting Qi was unlike anything Luden had ever seen; it was scorching, mysterious, and carried a trace of high-level attributes.

Normally, Fire Series would get a 50% power boost against Grass System or Wood Series, but a higher-tier Fire Series could reach 70%, or even 100%.

It could indeed be called the killer of Grass and Wood Series Magical Creatures.

If Lia could transform all her ordinary Battle Qi into that kind, her potential rating might even surpass Lin Da's, potentially reaching the very rare Nine Stars.

And the higher the potential rating, the more benefits they would receive after joining the Ice Abyss Training Camp in the future.

Luden rubbed his chin, his gaze fixed intently on the Arena.

...

The sun was setting in the west, and the square was quiet.

But as the signal flare shot into the sky, this silence was shattered with a bang.

"Flame Dragon Slash!"

Lia shouted explosively, the Phoenix Feather Sword in her hand one and a half meters long and as wide as a palm, now wrapped in a spiral airflow, turning into towering flames.

The shape of the flames vaguely resembled a giant dragon.

As the Great Sword slashed upward, the flame dragon collided with Lin Da's Wooden Giant Dragon.

In an instant, the wooden dragon's branches and leaves turned to ash, swallowed whole by the flame dragon.

Lin Da felt an intense heat in front of him, his eyebrows singeing and curling up.
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'Energy Charging combined with Flame Dragon Slash, the power is indeed remarkable,' Lin Da thought to himself.

Lin Da, injured and not intending to take the hit head-on, fluttered his Black Eagle Wings slightly and flew dozens of meters up into the sky.

The Flame Dragon Slash struck the ground with a bang, turning into a spreading sea of flames.

"Always running away, aren't you? It's the same every time!"

Lia said angrily with her eyebrows inverted:

"The Snow Goose team never shows up for group activities; if you're not cooped up in the library, you're making strategies… We're not so stupid that we need you to command every step we take. Why can't you trust us more? Aside from running away, what else can you do?"

Lia's Phoenix Feather Sword slammed heavily into the ground, and using the recoil force along with the erupting Battle Qi, she shot up into the air like a rocket.

Clenching her teeth in resentment, she swung her sword fiercely at the surprised Lin Da: "Trust us a bit more! You never have, how do you know we can't do it?"

Lia truly believed that as long as the Snow Goose team worked together, they could overcome any danger that came their way.

This sword carried some personal grudges; although Lia didn't use Dragon's Might, she did use "Mouth Cannon," causing Lin Da to be momentarily distracted. By the time he reacted, he saw Lia's Great Sword slashing horizontally toward him.

Wherever the Great Sword passed, it formed a circular arc like a fiery wheel.

That was the "Flame Waltz"!

Lin Da's pale green Life Barrier vibrated violently, and in the realm of his spirit, the core—the adventurer's second heart—felt as if it was a passenger shaken around in a carriage going over a big pothole.

After drawing several S-shapes in the sky with his Black Eagle Wings, Lin Da finally stabilized his form.

He stood there in mid-air, pensive; Lia's question had indeed stumped him.

Just like Lia had said, he had never truly trusted the Snow Goose team members, always feeling that something would go wrong.

Especially after the debacle on the third layer, when Lia was nearly killed by the Snake-man Soldiers, weeping and begging him to lead the entire Snow Goose team safely to the top.

Following that incident, Lin Da insisted on creating strategies that could perfectly handle all situations.

In each Minor Secret Realm, there were at least three "maps," and each "map" required different strategies. Lin Da's strategy-making process during the Snow Goose Era was slow—first, because he aimed for comprehensive coverage, and second, because he had to work on three strategies at a time.

After establishing the Luanwei, he had teammates like Monica whom he had relied on in games, and the trust was already high. Plus, with Kafni—the Scrap Deity—as an external aid, Lin Da found strategy-making much easier.

Looking back now, I realize Lia was right all along.

He had never truly trusted the members of Snow Goose.

'Go to the commercial street for cake together?'

'How come you haven't bought your yukata for the fireworks festival?'

'The conquest is over, take a day off?'

Those fleeting moments, once brushed off as trivial as filler scenes in comic books, flashed abruptly before Lin Da's eyes.

A jolt of surprise struck his heart as it seemed all of Lia's invitations were rejected by him. His mind had been entirely occupied with strategy making and learning the knowledge of this world.

After suffering repeated rejections, Lia stopped inviting him. As the levels in the strategy became higher and the strength of the Magical Creatures increased, the carefree days were gone. Lia spent most of her time practicing with the sword, and the communication among team members grew scarce, limited to meal times and during adventures.

If someone had compromised back then, Lin Da might have stayed with Snow Goose, and the Phoenix Tail Flower and Snow Goose would have merged into one.

By then, with Lia's Fire Series, Aiko's Light Series, and Klrona's outstanding potential as a tough frontliner... this combined team would have undoubtedly become the strongest in White Dove City.

"So are you saying it was my fault for not trusting you all during the Snow Goose era?"

Lin Da looked down expressionlessly at Lia on the Arena, clutching her side wound.

The bandage was slowly turning red, clearly from exerting herself too much with that jump, causing her wound to reopen.

"Isn't it, though? That day, during the ninth layer's conquest of the World Tree, we could have made it through without the strategy if only you had been willing to trust us, but you just wouldn't!"

Lia's face was pale as she bit down on her teeth, tightening the bandage, using her great sword as a cane to steady herself upright.

Lin Da almost laughed at the absurdity, pointing with disdain at Lia:

"Why should I trust you all? A leader who just charges forward with a war cry, a capricious brat who forgets the strategy in the midst of play, and a lazy Mage who yawns all the time, using at best sixty percent of their strength when they have a hundred percent...

The only ones I could trust were Oru and Klyne.

What did you three have that could make me trust you?

Was it like that time on the third level when we were nearly decapitated by the Serpent People, and you went back to the rental crying with a Defense Break?"

Lin Da's sharp words struck like a sword into the hearts of Lia and the other two back in the players' resting area.

Klrona licked the chip grease from her fingers and turned to look at Aiko behind the sofa, "The brat Lin Da is talking about isn't me, is it?"

You seem pretty self-aware, aren't you?

Aiko sarcastically thought to herself.

But at this moment, she was not in the mood to respond to Klrona—so Lin Da knew that she wasn't putting in the effort on their adventures!

Could it be that her deliberate teasing of Lin Da had also come to light?

And those shorts under the bed... Did Lin Da know about them too?

Was it because of these things that he had rejected her so mercilessly?

Aiko's mind was a mess, and she felt completely numb.

On the stage, the match had reached a fever pitch.

The host Kami, her face flushed with excitement, furiously scribbled notes in her little book—Lin Da and Lia were tearing into each other, revealing their grievances in public. This was the kind of news that would sell like hotcakes!

Lia accused Lin Da of being a coward, afraid to enter the World Tree without a strategy, and of never trusting his teammates, of the occasionally found off-smelling tissues in the room, of peeping at Aiko's teddy bear;

Lin Da furiously berated Lia's trio as utterly useless, leaving him on tenterhooks, feeling like someone could die if he didn't work on the strategy more, also of being frequently underpaid, of them using the hot water first, and of parading around the living room wrapped in a towel with no sense of danger, as there was no difference in decency whether they wore a towel or not...

For such a leader, it would be a disrespect to the role of a "commander" if he had shown even a hint of trust.