“So, the two of you are the new guards eh?” A Panda spoke up when Yang Ling and Ku Wau teleported in. He was smoking his cigar, wearing a tweed cap along with a coat and had an eyepatch covering his right eye.
“And you are?” Yang Ling was unfamiliar with the Music Theatre Instance since her reports only consisted of the Goblin Forest and the Bank Heist Instance. Ku Wai wanted to stand in front of Yang Ling but she stopped him for a moment and allowed the One Eyed Panda to speak.
“Name’s Hui. I am the driver and manager of this musical group, The Enlightened. Boss Jin said that he would be bringing in a few guards once in a while as a favour for me.” The Panda looked at Yang Ling who was in a wheelchair as he continued to smoke his cigar.
“Well, if he let you in, you must be good at something.” Hui threw the cigar on the floor and asked them to follow him. It was then that Yang Ling and Ku Wai finally took in the sights, at this particular instance.
They were in the outskirts of a small village. Apparently, the travelling music group was restocking their wares and supplies for the trip to the next town for their performance. Hui, the One Eyed Panda, brought the duo to meet the Enlightened members.
“They might seem like a weird group of monsters but they are one damn good music group.” Hui introduced them to the group. Ke Mi, The Zither Mistress and her pet, the Great White Snake,solely played the zither and she was a master at it. The Fire and Ice Wyrm Ants were called Mr Hot and Ms Cold respectively and they somehow learnt how to play the drums and bass. Lastly, Hui introduced them to Ms Sandy, the Sand Witch as well as the main vocal of their group.
Jin never used the Sand Witch despite her being gifted by the system. The Music Theatre was not just a dungeon instance for the Sand Witch but it was actually her home at the same time. She was the only one that Jin had difficulty moving into the Sanctum of Worlds no matter how much he enticed her.
Ms Sandy also refused all of Jin’s gifts, including the equipping of cards to increase her equipment level. She said she would not equip any new skills or weapons until someone managed to defeat the Music Theatre. Jin was suspecting that she might be an extreme introvert who only come out when she had to work. Regardless, she did her work splendidly and never cease to amaze Jin when it was her time to shine.
Jin also guessed that it was because of her that the Music Theatre Instance was extremely hard for the cultivators. Nearly everyone who fought in that instance could not get past a certain stage.
Hence, Jin figured that he should give Yang Ling the hardest instance to try so that she might be put off and not disturb Jin in the future despite the fact that she might be a potential investor. Jin realised that he might not want to meddle with the Royal Zodiacs since they always brought their own set of troubles along with them… especially if they began negotiating partnerships. Jin already had enough on his plate at the moment and politics on top of it all would just be too much. That was also one of the reasons why Jin kept his curiosity at bay when he found out that Yang Ling’s cultivation had been crippled.
“We are leaving in a few minutes and travelling to the Grassland’s open-air music theatre for the performance. Your objective is to prevent the musical troupe from getting injured and if possible… prevent the truck from damage in the process. Boss Jin said it is be fairly sturdy but if damaged it would be hard to repair since they did not build such things in this era.” Hui said as they finished introducing themselves to the troupe.
Ku Wai was surprised to see a modern truck with an open load bed in a medieval setting. Their luggage and belongings, which he assumed were the musical instruments, were placed near the driver’s seat while the rest sat at the other end of the open load bed.
Yang Ling was given the seat at the front with Hui since her disability made her very vulnerable and a cramped space that allowed for limited mobility would serve as a hindrance. It was quite clear at the moment that Yang Ling was only serving as a hindrance. Despite this, Yang Ling still persevered, disregarding the looks she received from the monsters.
“Do not worry about it Princess, I will protect the troupe when necessary.” Ku Wai said as he closed the truck door and jumped into the open load box of the truck. “Hmmph, to be frank, the Enlightened members themselves already have a few tricks of their own too so you guys being guards were just for additional precaution… although it is starting to seem more of a hindrance rather than help.” Hui was being sarcastic towards Yang Ling but she did not respond.
She knew she could not move but she did not know that Hui said that line to almost every cultivator he met. It just so happened that his words stung more than they should have. The ride began and the monsters were happily chatting with each other… as expected of the bodyguard, Ku Wai was silent throughout the entire trip.
Needless to say, not long after they departed from the small village, they encountered some trouble. There was a Praying Mantis eating flesh at the side of the road with a destroyed caravan laying beside it.
Ku Wai saw the danger ahead and climbed out of the truck. Yang Ling also opened the side door of the truck, only to be stopped by Ku Wai. “Princess, it will be fine, I can handle this alone. Just relax and watch the show.” Ku Wai said to her as he closed the door again, which made Yang Ling quite frustrated. “I can handle it on my own too even without my cultivation.” She thought to herself.
The Praying Mantis stopped chewing the flesh on the side of the road and turned to find another caravan in the distance along with a man walking towards it. It did not care much since it was enjoyed the flesh it was eating so why should it stop? Its prey was coming towards it so it did not need to move from its eating spot.
Yang Ling had already guessed that they would end up in one of Jin’s premade dungeons. She was smart like that. Due to his princess’ deduction, he had brought his full gear along with him. Unlike the time when he used only his fists against Jin, he was far better equipped.
Temporary inscriptions of the Tiger gave him additional strength but also a boost in agility and accuracy. He had even equipped two small triangular metal plates that had strips of metals protruding from the tip, symbolising a claw.
Since his enemy was still stationary and enjoying its snack, he might as well take the initiative. He wanted to finish it in one blow before the battle got drawn out. It would be wise to save Yang Ling’s skills for a later part of the dungeon.
“Terrific Tiger Style, Sprint Strike of the Tiger.” With both metal plates, which he usually used as shields, aiming at the praying mantis, he drew back his arms and squat down, all while leaning forward. With a kick, his entire body became a deadly arrow that cut through the wind and towards the Praying Mantis.
*CLANG!*
Metal clashed with metal. The scythes on the praying mantis’ forelegs deflected the claw shields and it even tried to follow up with a slash, but Ku Wai twisted his body just in time to evade the attack.
“So this Praying Mantis knows the art of counterattacking. Interesting.” Ku Wai took a few steps back and went into his fighting stance. The praying mantis even beckoned it to come closer, taunting him.
“Boss Jin sure has some interesting monsters.” Yang Ling talked to herself as she started to take notes in the truck.
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