[Vol. 8] Chapter 40: Bottom Line
"Yes, that girl is very strong. As a child of the gods, she has already officially reached the Transcendence level. On top of that, she holds one of the three Holy Artifacts, the [Judgment Holy Sword]. She can easily fight enemies stronger than her. She could probably even hold her own against the adult Behemoth that crashed into Iron Ridge earlier."
"But even so, she’s still far from being a true god. The [Judgment Holy Sword] is only one-third of the original [Sword of Origin], and its power is sealed. If she lets her sense of justice take over and rushes off to fight [Wild], she might get crushed. If she ends up badly hurt or about to die, should I save her or not? After all, she is Edwina’s sister."
"That’s true..."
Thinking of such a situation, Miss Dragon God couldn’t help but frown. Still, she couldn’t bring herself to say something cold like, “Just let her die then.” After all, Xiao Guang and Edwina were friends. In fact, aside from Violet and the newly born little Light, Edwina was probably the one closest to her in this world.
The dragon girl has now changed and matured a lot. Her perspective is no longer so narrow that it can only accommodate her master. Although she still has very few friends, she does genuinely try to consider things from others' point of view.
Violet nodded as if she agreed completely.
"Right? It’s super annoying. What I want to do, and what I’m pushed to do because of the situation and people’s expectations, those are completely different feelings. Even if I do have to deal with that wild god, it has to be because I choose to, because I want to, not because someone is forcing me. That’s my bottom line."
"Besides, I don’t think this whole situation is as simple as it looks. The Austre Empire and the wild tribes are fighting like dogs, and if we jump in to fight the evil god, aren’t we basically doing free work for the Austre Empire? They’d be laughing behind our backs."
“Using someone else’s knife… to kill?”
The dragon girl quietly repeated a phrase the priestess had once used. Thinking about all the little clues they had seen along the way, she nodded slightly, as if something finally made sense.
“So what does Master plan to do now…?”
The priestess gave a slight smile. Her silver-blue eyes sparkled in the moonlight, as if they could see through space and lock eyes with someone playing a game against her from far away.
“Hmph. I didn’t really want to get involved in a boring war. But someone has been trying to test us, pushing our limits again and again. It’s not just once or twice. If they like playing games so much, acting like some genius strategist who thinks they can move everyone around like puppets. Then this time, let’s teach them a proper lesson.”
“Let them understand, some things are forbidden. They must never be touched.”
…………………………………………
The next morning, Frederica, now fully recovered, got up early to gather and count her people. She was preparing to lead her team across the chaotic Iron Ridge fortress.
Since she hadn’t found the Behemoth chieftain Tairnak the night before, she couldn’t be sure how the united army of the sixteen tribes would treat them once they entered the fortress today.
Normally, since the tribes were currently at war with the Austre Empire, and the Holy Empire had been on bad terms with the Austre Empire for a long time, the saying “the enemy of my enemy is my friend” should apply. If the tribal leaders had any sense of the bigger picture, they should help the delegation pass through and out of the Austre Empire’s borders peacefully. At the very least, they shouldn’t treat the Holy Empire’s envoy group with hostility.
But in the end, the fact that the wild tribes are starting a war with the Austre Empire is already a very unusual situation. No one can really know what will happen until it actually begins. And now that we know there's an ancient evil god hiding behind the allied tribes, one that feeds on living beings, the worst case… we might be forced to fight our way out.
Besides that, there’s another problem that needs to be solved.
“General Raymond, as you’ve seen for yourself, the undead outbreak inside the fortress isn’t as serious as we feared. It also doesn’t seem to be spreading. However, our group’s presence here is very sensitive right now. After a discussion last night among the top members of the envoy group, we’ve decided to focus on our mission and return to the Holy Capital as soon as possible. I’m sorry… but we have to leave.”
Looking at the young commander of Iron Ridge, now dressed in clean clothes and fully healed by the group’s clerics, Frederica felt a little awkward and lowered her head slightly.
“Thank you for trusting us. Even though our two countries don’t have the best relationship, your bravery to protect the people of the Austre Empire showed me that there are good, justice-loving people in Austre Empire. If you're willing, you could disguise yourself and travel with us to the Holy Empire to stay safe for a while. After all, Iron Ridge has fallen, and as its commander…”
Understanding Frederica’s concern, Raymond smiled calmly and shook his head.
“Thank you for your kindness, Your Holiness. But you don’t need to feel bad. This situation isn’t your country’s fault. In fact, it’s our failure to hold the fortress that disrupted your plans. So it’s us who should feel sorry.”
“The fall of Iron Ridge might have had some things beyond our control, but in the end, the responsibility is still mine. My roots are here, and my family is here too. If I ran away to another country alone, what would happen to my wife and children?”
Seeing that his decision was final, Frederica gave a helpless nod.
“Then General Raymond, this is where we say goodbye. I hope we never meet again on a battlefield.”
“Haha, if that day comes, please don’t go easy on me.”
Just as the Saintess was about to part ways with this Imperial officer, whom she hadn’t known for long but had come to admire, a knight commander from the group suddenly rushed over. He whispered something quietly into Frederica’s ear.
The blonde girl’s expression changed at once.
“Are you sure? Did you check the area? How could she just disappear like that?”
The commander nodded seriously.
“There’s no mistake. I personally searched the area with my men. No footprints, no signs of struggle, even the magic barrier around her carriage is still perfectly intact. The knight on night watch said he never saw her leave. It’s like she just vanished into thin air, completely strange.”
Hearing such a confident report from her trusted commander, the Saintess furrowed her beautiful brows deeply.
“Why would something like this happen now… was it just a coincidence?”
At that moment, the two angels, who had just finished breakfast, arrived from another direction. Seeing the strange look on Frederica’s face, the curious Miss Rene asked with concern:
“What happened, Sister Frederica? Something go wrong?”
Frederica turned her head and took a deep breath.
“Lorga Blanca, the undead magic user Miss Violet caught in the Forest of Death. We’ve been keeping her locked in a carriage with magic barriers. But this morning…”
“She suddenly disappeared into thin air, right under the Holy Knights’ noses.”