[Vol. 9] Chapter 76: The Beginning of the Impact
With her special ability, the [Yin-Yang Eyes], the priestess could easily tell whether Tina was lying or not.
Although this girl had led her subordinates and two other gangs to attack them, strictly speaking, she wasn’t completely their enemy either.
How to deal with this matter depended on Veranica, the person directly involved, and the priestess had no interest in interfering more than necessary.
Rubbing the smooth handle of her staff, the black-haired girl swept her silver-blue eyes across the ruined battlefield. After thinking for a moment, she turned to the still-dazed leader.
“I promised to protect you and the people important to you. The [Scavenger Gang] counts among them. From the way things look now, your base will probably be attacked very soon. Those mercenaries might help, but relying only on them won’t be enough.”
“...?”
Veranica took a deep breath, suppressing the flood of emotions inside her. Unlike the priestess, she wasn’t a powerful being who could easily tell truth from lies.
And as the one directly involved, it was naturally hard for her to judge how much of what Tina said was real.
The pain of being betrayed by someone close, the worry for the thousands of members of the [Scavenger Gang], and the many changes caused by gaining the divine weapon. All of it made her mind a mess.
Forcing herself to calm down, she once again showed the calmness expected of a leader and said in a steady voice.
“You mean the [Black Dogs] and [Blood Claws] suffered heavy losses this time, so they might hold a grudge and attack us to take revenge?”
The priestess shook her head.
“If it were that simple, I wouldn’t bother caring. The situation is far more serious. What I mean is, you’d better start preparing to leave Icefang Island as soon as possible. This place probably won’t stay livable for long.”
Those words made the other three girls look at her in surprise. But Veranica, being a woman capable of building an entire faction from nothing, could tell from Violet’s tone that she wasn’t joking. So instead of questioning her, she quickly responded.
“Yiyi has already returned to our base. When I left, I told her to take over the group’s affairs and start preparing supplies for migration, just in case something like this happened. If she hasn’t betrayed us, she should already have gathered as many members as possible by now. It’s just… with so little time…”
Her brows furrowed tightly.
“The [Scavenger Gang]’s base is located near the center of Icefang Island, farthest from the [Endless Corridor] among the four major factions. We don’t rely on outside resources to survive, and our location near the coast makes it easier to fish...”
“...That helps us avoid outside threats, but it also makes it much harder to cross the heavily guarded [Endless Corridor] if we try to leave. I’ve been secretly preparing an escape route for years, but it’s not ready yet. If we start migrating now…”
Understanding what the girl was implying, the priestess nodded slightly.
“No need to rush that much. Just hold off the first wave of attacks, and then deal with the situation slowly. It’s not like we’re planning to send thousands of prisoners flooding into the outside world all at once. Use this chance to pick out the people you truly trust.”
Hearing the two women talk in riddles, Tina, who was completely lost, finally couldn’t help but interrupt.
“Uh… so what are you two even talking about? If it’s not those two gangs, then who’s going to attack the [Scavenger Gang]?”
“I never said it wasn’t them. It’s just that… oh, it’s starting.”
As if to confirm Violet’s calm words—
“BOOM——!!!”
A deep, thunderous roar suddenly erupted from somewhere far across the island!
Then came a second, a third…
Not explosions, but something even heavier, like giant gates being smashed open again and again, and countless detonations mixing together into one terrifying shockwave that shook the whole land!
The loud noise pierced through the freezing wind, carrying a sense of madness and hysteria. It reached the ears of the three women and the big golden dog clearly.
With a sharp whoosh, the golden dog stood up instantly. Its blade-like eyes filled with cold alertness, staring straight into the distance. Veranica and Moraya’s faces also changed slightly at the same time.
“This kind of sound… could it be…?”
They didn’t need to guess, the priestess already gave the answer as if she had foreseen it.
“Someone is attacking the gate of the [Endless Corridor] by force. They’re trying to break through Gore Fortress, rush inside, and even enter the outside world. You all understand what that means, right~?”
“That’s impossible…”
Who could possibly do something like this?
Who on Icefang Island even had the power to pull this off?
Then, a familiar heat wave suddenly surged in again. Her sharp intuition realized a terrible power had returned. Before Tina could speak, her face instantly turned pale as snow, and her voice trembled uncontrollably.
“I-It—it’s it! It really came back again! We’re finished, I knew it wasn’t that simple… What do we do? What should we do now? It suffered such a big loss, it’s definitely going to go crazy!”
“Can’t you have some courage and dignity? How did you even become a mercenary like this…”
Apparently not surprised by this reaction, the priestess sighed helplessly, brushing some dust off her clothes before turning to look at the group leader. After their earlier talk, Veranica should already understand what she meant.
Sure enough, Veranica nodded firmly without hesitation.
“I’ll return to the base immediately!”
If the being behind that black flame was coming for revenge, then Veranica and her Scavenger Gang would definitely be the first targets. And the few members still guarding the base probably couldn’t withstand such a terrifying and strange power on their own.
“Mm… then go with Tina and handle it. I’ll have Little Fang go with you to help out. Hold off the first wave of attacks, sort out all the internal grudges and problems, and then pick the people you trust most to come find us at the [Endless Corridor].”
Giving her orders clearly, Violet paused for a moment, then casually summoned a golden magic circle. From it jumped out a small wooden doll, only the size of a hand.
It landed softly in her palm and sat there in midair, rubbing its cheek affectionately against her hand. Its tiny legs swung happily back and forth as if it were showing how much it had missed her, like a small puppy that hadn’t seen its owner for a long time.
The black-haired girl smiled and gently patted the little thing’s head, then handed it to Veranica.
“This is Dumb-Dumb. You can think of it as my pet or partner. Take it with you, it’ll be an extra layer of protection.”
Through their magical bond, Violet didn’t even need to speak, the little doll already understood her intentions.
It immediately nodded obediently, then jumped onto the tall ice demon girl’s shoulder and sat down without hesitation.
With its tiny arms crossed like a boss, it gave Veranica a confident “Don’t worry” gesture, clearly trying to show that it would look after them.
With that tiny bean-sized body, the sight was honestly… kind of adorable.
“Uh…?”