[Vol. 8] Chapter 41: Leaving Without Saying Goodbye Is Actually Kinda Cool
When she heard this somewhat strange news, even the usually calm and mature Leila raised her eyebrows slightly.
Since Violet had personally ordered them to bring that undead woman named Lorga, Leila had also been quietly keeping an eye on her.
To be honest, although Leila had now become a noble being, an angel, a symbol of holiness, she and her sister were born on Sky Island in the Azure Sky Kingdom. Because of that, they didn’t hold strong prejudice against undead or demons. As long as the creature wasn’t truly evil or had done too many bad things, she could treat them fairly.
It was true that Lorga had led an army of undead to attack them before, but Lady Violet had explained that it was only because Lorga had been following orders from her master. As a revived undead, Lorga had no choice. If she truly wanted to change and no longer hurt the living, Leila didn’t mind interacting with her.
However, most members of the team, or rather most people from the Holy Empire, clearly didn’t feel the same way.
Even though Lady Violet had only said to bring Lorga along temporarily, and hadn’t given any detailed instructions about how to treat her, the holy knights and clerics naturally assumed she was a prisoner. They locked her inside a magic-sealed carriage, took turns guarding her, and even watched her closely when she just wanted to get some fresh air.
This wasn’t meant as a personal attack. In the Holy Empire, undead and demons were seen as enemies of the Goddess Church. Similar things had even happened to little Eudora before. Although things had improved a lot since Lady Violet wielded the divine sword to correct the history, and Miss Edwina published the Revelation to promote true equality, the prejudice built up over a thousand years couldn’t just disappear overnight.
Lorga didn’t really belong in this team, and she certainly couldn’t walk freely into the Holy Empire, which was bathed in holy light. Leila didn’t quite understand why Lady Violet had made such a decision. But because she trusted Violet completely, she never questioned it out loud.
Now that Lorga had suddenly disappeared without a trace, it almost felt like this strange event confirmed that Lady Violet had expected it all along. Maybe this was part of her plan from the start.
With that thought in mind, Leila turned to the Judgment Saintess.
“Miss Frederica, what should we do now? Do we send people to look for her?”
Frederica hesitated for a moment, but in the end, firmly shook her head.
“No, we can’t waste any more time. We’re too close to the fortress. If we get caught in a fight with the tribal army here, the risk will rise sharply. I can’t risk everyone’s lives just for the sake of one undead prisoner.”
“Here’s what we’ll do. Leila, go tell Miss Violet about this right away. If she doesn’t give clear orders, then in five minutes we’ll start—”
BOOMMMMMMMMMMMM…!!!
Before Frederica could finish giving orders, a loud rumble came from the eastern gate of Iron Ridge Fortress. It slowly opened, and from within, a massive tide of warriors poured out!
They were from all kinds of tribes, with all sorts of different weapons and armor. But they were organized and charged forward like a giant wave!
“Your Holiness, it’s the barbarian tribe army!”
Everyone’s faces changed instantly. Even Raymond, who hadn’t left yet, drew his weapon immediately. All of them stood ready for battle, tense and prepared for a fight.
“…Wait. Hold on.”
Only the Saintess remained calm. As if she had noticed something strange, she raised her hand to stop the others from moving. Then she quietly walked to the edge of the camp, crouched down, and looked out to observe what was really happening.
They were currently camped on a small hill just a few kilometers from the eastern wall of Iron Ridge Fortress, at most a ten-minute walk. The forest helped hide them, so it was somewhat secret, but it couldn’t compare to the carefully chosen hiding spot they had before. If the tribal army moved into this area, they would definitely be spotted right away.
However...
“Don’t panic. It doesn’t look like they’re coming for us,” someone said. “Look, they’ve already sent out tens of thousands of soldiers, but once they left the fortress, they split up and spread out in all directions. It doesn’t look like they’re preparing for a big battle. It’s more like they’re going on raids or scouting missions.”
“Even if we run into them, small groups like that won’t be able to hurt us.”
The experienced Judgment Saintess, who knew all about war and tactics, immediately saw their true goal. She paused, thinking aloud.
“That’s strange... The Imperial army is about to arrive. The tribal alliance should be focusing all their strength to get ready for a major battle. Why would they split up their forces now? That’s basically asking to lose.”
“...Well, either way, this is good for us. The more they split up, the weaker the defense inside the fortress becomes. Holy Knight Commander Leonard, send the order, our plan stays the same. Once all of those troops are far enough away, we’ll begin our move.”
“Yes, Your Holiness!”
As she watched Leonard leave quickly to deliver the command, Rene went off to report Lorga’s disappearance to one of the clerics. Frederica stayed silent for a moment, pushing down the uneasy feeling in her chest, and let out a small sigh.
“Sigh... Let’s hope everything goes smoothly.”
But before she could keep hoping for long, an angel girl suddenly ran back in a panic.
“This is bad! Really bad! Lady Violet is gone too!!!”
“...What?!”
Meanwhile…
“Master, are we really just leaving without telling anyone? And… did we really need to come here to do the summoning?”
Inside the fortress of Iron Ridge, which now felt like a ghost town, the dragon girl tilted her head, asking with some confusion.
The fortress was never meant to be a place where people lived. Now, most of the guards and non-fighting staff had already been turned into zombies, used as sacrifices for [Wild]. Even though it was daytime, the whole place was eerily quiet and empty.
A black-haired girl was drawing a magic circle on the ground. She looked up at Xiao Guang with a slight smile and said,
“What, you wanted me to wave goodbye to Frederica, tell her we’re off to fight an evil god, then have a big send-off with gongs and drums, and say some teary farewells?”
“Uh…”
“As for why we’re doing the summoning here. Well, it’s on purpose. I want certain people to notice what we’re doing. I want them to know exactly who did it. That’s how you scare them.”
“You probably noticed too, right? There are four different forces involved in this area right now. The Austre Empire, the tribal alliance led by [Wild], the Holy Empire’s envoy group, and that undead force connected to Lorga and the bone dragon. Remember, the ones that attacked us in the Forest of Death.”
The dragon girl blinked in surprise.
“Wait, what? I thought [Wild] was the one behind the undead group. Didn’t they send people to turn others into zombie-like creatures? I thought they were all working together…”