No matter how harsh the words spoken were, a quarrel was still just a quarrel.
Though the verbal clash was intense, perhaps in the midst of the argument, a way to resolve the current predicament could be found.
But once a weapon was drawn, the nature of the matter changed completely.
Even if the one who unsheathed the sword hadn’t realized it yet, the situation had already become extremely difficult to settle.
Maggie’s eyes shifted from shock at seeing the sword pointed at her to anger, yet the remnant reason in her mind kept urging her to stay calm.
However, the fire in her chest and her experience leading troops told her that if she didn’t deal with this trouble now, her orders would only be increasingly ignored in the future, which would mean even more sacrifices.
In the eyes of the candidate who had drawn the sword, Maggie’s contemplation instead looked like fear.
The candidate glared fiercely, stepping forward a few more paces with the sword still pointed at Maggie.
Many people shared the same thought: Something was about to happen.
Judging by the other’s stance, bloodshed was inevitable today.
Just as the tension reached a breaking point, Cecilia’s voice suddenly rang out.
“Stop. This is not the time for human infighting. The matter is still under discussion; no clear conclusion has been reached yet.”
The highly tense candidate was first startled by the sudden command, trembling slightly.
Then, he turned his sword and pointed it in Cecilia’s direction.
This action made many people gasp in shock.
Even if it was only a reflex, and even though Cecilia, the Cursed Princess, was often underestimated, simply pointing a sword at the princess was enough to convict him.
He seemed to realize his misstep, but under so many watchful eyes, the sinister fire in his heart refused to let him back down.
If he gave in here, many people could end up dying because of it!
Since his sword was already drawn, he couldn’t just let things end without a fight!
Cecilia only narrowed her eyes slightly at his behavior.
“Put your sword away. The offense of insulting the princess in this situation is completely forgivable; otherwise, no one would want to see bloodshed again.”
Cecilia had already given him a way out, but to the hot-blooded candidate, her words fell on deaf ears.
“You! Are you threatening me?”
“Ah.” Cecilia sighed, and several people sighed along with her.
“Rita.”
Cecilia called out.
“Yes.”
“I’ll count to three. After that, only one will remain on his body—either his sword or his head.” Cecilia spoke, then sighed again. “Understand? That is what a threat means.”
“You! I am—I can…” The candidate stammered, his pride as a contender unable to even cause a ripple before the princess.
Rita did not move but fixed her gaze on the candidate.
“Wait!”
Rita still didn’t move but had already placed her hand on the hilt of her sword.
With a clatter, the candidate threw his sword to the ground and slunk back into the crowd.
“I’m saying, did Her Highness the Princess even consider what would happen if this guy didn’t back down?” Momoka muttered quietly.
“Last night, you all saw how Rita mercilessly hunted those beetles. How many did she kill? Who dares to face Rita’s sword without fearing death? Besides you and me, Promi, who else could stand a direct hit from Rita?” Albert retorted, then explained.
“Actually, it’s the opposite. When someone openly challenges authority, someone must stand up. After what just happened, General Maggie has lost her authority to speak. If no one stands up now, the entire team will collapse, and without a backbone, there will only be more casualties.”
“Alright, can we now calmly discuss this?” Cecilia smoothly took back control, scanning the crowd with her gaze.
No one dared to speak. They could freely oppose a general, but before the princess, they had no such arrogance.
Even if this discussion concerned their very lives, even though they were in a remote wilderness beyond the reach of any authority.
But as Albert said, everyone had witnessed Rita’s actions. Even those unaware now knew Rita was the princess’s ally.
There were very few who could match Rita’s strength.
No, the few who could match her were on good terms with her, often sitting together drinking in the evenings. No one expected them to oppose Rita.
Moreover, without Rita’s warning, many of them wouldn’t be alive to stand here now. Rita was undoubtedly their savior.
Though Cecilia’s methods were somewhat extreme, those who had faced life-or-death threats knew how to choose. Both reason and emotion left only one sensible option.
“Good.” No one spoke. Cecilia nodded with satisfaction. “Examiner Maggie, directly tell everyone our current status, what options lie before us, and lay out your thoughts from beginning to end.”
Just the title “Examiner Maggie” elevated Maggie’s status to be on par with Cecilia. With Cecilia vouching for her, no one dared speak against her.
Maggie also understood that Cecilia had just saved her, so she slowed her tone considerably.
“My idea is to continue forward, investigate the situation ahead and even the outpost. Ideally, we reclaim the entire outpost.”
She had expressed this idea before, but it had been rejected by the group’s attitude. Since Cecilia asked, Maggie answered honestly.
“That won’t work. Last night’s losses pained us all deeply. I understand everyone’s anger and fear, but continuing only weakens us further, and may even break our unity. Our primary task now is to ensure everyone survives, not to blindly press on.”
After Cecilia’s refusal, Maggie offered another plan, one she was reluctant about but had prepared.
“We could retreat immediately, return to a safe zone. But then our mission would fail, and the exam results would be hard to justify. It would be difficult to explain to the kingdom as well.”
The Sacred Knight’s initial trial content was determined along with the test site. Passing was the candidates’ responsibility, but the assigned tasks required the city’s full cooperation. Failure would not harm the candidates directly, but those in Solus City would bear the brunt.
Especially with many unexpected incidents already occurring in Solus City, one more failure would be a devastating blow.
“If we do that, what harm will it bring us?” Cecilia prompted Maggie.
“In that case, the candidates might not suffer much harm, but the gathered insect swarm could pose a threat to Solus City or even the entire kingdom. The swarm advances rapidly. Since we encountered them, if we don’t gather more intelligence, we might be at a disadvantage in future battles.”
“Explain in detail.”
“Like Rita last night. She informed us of the insect swarm’s approach, allowing us to prepare in time. Now that we’re here, if we can gather more intelligence, the entire city can be ready. That’s the logic.”
“But gathering intelligence might cause more casualties.”
“I understand. To be honest, even without others’ help, I want to lead troops to scout. But my task is to stay with you all; I can’t do that alone…”
“Enough.” Cecilia interrupted before Maggie could say more potentially detrimental words. “We don’t know the situation ahead yet. Advancing recklessly is unrealistic, but if we don’t investigate, General Maggie won’t be able to rest easy. However, now is not the time to debate.”
Cecilia paused, then glanced meaningfully at the camp, already half destroyed.
“The insect swarm could return at any moment. Whatever we decide next, we must withdraw temporarily while it’s still early, find a safe spot to set camp again. This will give everyone enough time to think about where we go from here.”
After a brief reorganization, the group set out again, traveling light and with possible threats looming.
They retraced their steps, and in half a day, they had put a good distance between themselves and the previous site.
Though safety wasn’t guaranteed, the chance of being harassed by the insect swarm again had dropped significantly.
By the time they made camp, there were far fewer tents than before, and some patched ones were tattered and no longer windproof.
Still, even without tents, there were sleeping bags for the night.
Midway through the march, Johnson finally shook off Rita’s enchanting aura and was utterly shocked at what had happened the night before.
Johnson, who had attacked allies, should have faced stricter interrogation and control. But as the key figure, Rita voluntarily took on this responsibility, allowing Johnson to sit safely by the campfire.
This fire was set farther away from the main camp, and the usual few gathered around it, except now everyone kept their weapons close.
Notably, the usually lone wolf Promi was present, showing how seriously they regarded Johnson.
If Johnson made any sudden moves, the group would collectively subdue or eliminate him with minimal cost. They made no attempt to hide this intent.
Compared to regular soldiers, these elite preparatory knights were far more capable of handling such a task.
Though Johnson’s cooperative attitude and his odd behavior days ago had cleared some suspicion, they still couldn’t let their guard down.
“Johnson, I asked you a few days ago, and you brushed me off. But this time it’s serious. If this were anyone else, you’d have smashed their head by now. Now you have to explain yourself.”
Albert spoke first, being the only one of the same gender and the closest to Johnson, making him the most suitable to start.
The others remained silent but pressured Johnson with their eyes.
Johnson frowned deeply, veins bulging on his clenched hands, though he didn’t seem ready to attack.
After a long pause, Johnson slammed his fist into the ground and countered with a question.
“Do you… know about the curse?”