[Vol. 7] Chapter 113: Reinforcements
Enrique sighed and shook his head.
"At first, I didn’t think too much about it either. I never even considered that we might have a traitor in our ranks, until Miss Violet approached me privately one day. She told me she wanted my help with an investigation and outright stated that there might be a spy among us. That’s when I started noticing the subtle inconsistencies."
"At the time, it was just a vague suspicion. We couldn’t be sure who was leaking information, but her concern was completely valid. So, from that moment on, we began secretly observing everyone in the group, trying to rule out any potential security risks."
"But [Tree Branch] is an incredibly cautious scholar. He always stayed with the group, and aside from subtly influencing our formation back in Adelaide Village 192 to help Marcelo, he never made direct contact with the ‘Church of Truth.’ For a while, we even thought we might have been wrong about the whole thing…"
"That is, until we arrived at this manor and encountered those two high-ranking vampires."
"Huh? Vampires? What do they have to do with the traitor?"
Miss Le Qiaoqiao was still clueless, but the swordswoman beside her suddenly widened her eyes in realization.
"I see now! If that’s the case, then the strange and contradictory behavior of those two vampires finally makes sense!"
Smiling and slightly nodding, the priestess turned her gaze to [Tree Wall], who was also deep in thought and silent.
"That’s right, Sophie. You were the first one to fight them. Do you remember when Enrique later pulled you aside to ask you something?"
"Yeah… Brother asked me who the vampire duke attacked first. And now that I think about it. It was Dionysis, the [Tree Branch]."
"Normally, vampires consider themselves refined aristocrats. Aside from hunting for food or special circumstances, they rarely attack intelligent beings without reason. That’s why I found it so strange at the time…"
Continuing from the girl's grim murmuring, Violet nodded and revealed the truth.
"It’s simple. [Tree Branch] deliberately provoked her into attacking. And the reason was clear, to stir up conflict between us and the vampires hiding in the manor. By making both sides fight each other, he diverted attention away from the real enemy, the Church of Truth, giving them more time to complete their ritual."
"As for how he did it, I suspect that when he noticed the vampire duchess observing us, he intentionally let her catch a glimpse of some kind of insignia, something that symbolized the ‘Church of Truth’ or a related faction. He made it look accidental, but in reality, he wanted her to mistake us for church subordinates."
"It was meant to be a sacrificial ploy, but it backfired spectacularly, exposing his true identity instead. What he didn’t know was that I had met those two vampires before and understood their personalities. They would never attack without a valid reason. Once you think about it carefully, the truth becomes obvious, doesn’t it?"
Listening to the black-haired girl’s clear and logical explanation, Sophie frowned, still struggling to accept it.
"That does sound suspicious, but if this is the only evidence we have against Dionysis..."
"No… No, Vice Captain. There’s actually one more crucial and undeniable piece of evidence."
The usually quiet [Tree Rampart] suddenly spoke in a low, firm voice. His heavy armor clanked as he raised his hand, the metallic sound especially sharp in the tense silence. He pointed straight toward the manor ahead.
The meaning was clear without words.
Yes, they had successfully stopped the ritual and rescued many of the missing young ones. But with their current numbers alone, there was no way they could handle the overwhelming aftermath or completely wipe out the remaining Church of Truth followers.
They had been waiting for reinforcements all this time. Yet even after so long, no one had arrived.
Several members of the team realized it at the same time, their expressions shifting slightly.
"Wait! Why haven't the reinforcements from the nearby cities arrived yet? Could that guy have blocked them from getting through?"
Hongyan shook her head, dismissing the thief girl’s flawed assumption and correcting her.
"If we assume that [Tree Branch] is the traitor, then maybe… the so-called reinforcements never existed in the first place. Qiaoqiao, have you forgotten? Who was the one responsible for sending out the call for help when we first arrived at the manor? And what exactly was written in that message? More importantly… who did he actually send it to?"
"Hiss…!"
Realizing the implications, the group collectively took a sharp breath.
If this was true, then it was undeniable proof of [Tree Branch]’s betrayal. Not only did it confirm his role as a traitor, but it also meant they were completely alone, deep in enemy territory, with no reinforcements coming.
No matter how strong they were, brute force alone couldn't solve everything. There were thousands of young ones gathered here, all in poor physical and mental condition, with many still scattered throughout the manor, trapped in enemy hands. If the Church of Truth followers went into a frenzy and launched a desperate attack…
But just at that moment—
"BOOM!!!!!"
A sudden, earth-shaking explosion echoed in the distance! Several bright white flares shot up into the sky all at once, illuminating the dark, shadowy realm as if it were broad daylight!
Countless battle cries echoed from the distant earth, accompanied by the heavy rumbling of approaching footsteps. Explosions and flames erupted one after another, instantly lifting the spirits of the group, who had been weighed down by the grim situation.
"Wait… this is… the artillery used by the Austre Empire during their charges?! What’s going on? Weren’t we just saying that no reinforcements were coming? Could it be that Dionysis didn’t actually—"
Before the excited Sophie could finish her sentence, several streaks of light shot through the sky from afar. As if expecting their arrival, Enrique immediately raised his hand and fired a magic arrow into the air, marking their exact location.
The glowing green arrow soared high, and the figures in the distance swiftly adjusted their direction, soon arriving at the outskirts of the ritual site the adventurers had been guarding.
They were a group of powerful individuals clad in various colors of magic robes, wielding staffs or enchanted weapons. Though they were of different races, each one radiated immense power. Most notably, the figure at the front, without a doubt, had already reached the peak of legendary rank!
"Huh? Isn’t that the same person we ran into at sea before…?"
Le Qiaoqiao immediately recognized the red-haired woman leading the group. She wore a large wizard’s hat, and though her long robe was meant to conceal her figure, it did little to hide her striking curves. The moment she spotted Enrique and the others waving from the forest, she led her companions down in a swift descent.
"Oh, my dear Priscilla! You arrived at just the right time, what a lifesaver!"
[Tree Bow] clearly had a familiar, perhaps even close, relationship with the woman. With a hearty laugh, he stepped forward and embraced her just firmly enough to show warmth without overstepping. The tall, elegant Priscilla returned a small, relaxed smile, casually shaking the finely crafted long staff in her hand.
"You went as far as having Qionghua use a precious [Starlink Summon] to call for my help. I thought you were all facing some life-or-death crisis…But you lot… look perfectly fine to me."