Is she blaming me for this? Lina muttered to herself inwardly, but she didn’t say anything out loud.
“All right, I’ve finished asking what I wanted. Now, would you please let us pass, Kamila?”
Lina spread her hands, her face devoid of extra expression, clearly indicating she had nothing else to ask.
“You promised to break the Soul Contract…” Kamila said anxiously, her tone full of urgency.
“Don’t worry, I keep my word. Once we’re far enough away, I’ll release you.” Lina waved her hand, looking utterly unconcerned.
Though Kamila still held a simmering anger in her heart, she suppressed it and turned to wave at the Dragonkin behind her. “Let them pass.”
The Dragonkin all wore long faces, clearly unwilling. But with the chief’s order, who among them dared defy it?
Tarik shed his half-dragon form, returned Anya’s fur coat to her, then shrank back behind Kamila, his face flushed red with frustration and unwillingness.
Seeing the Dragonkin open a path, Lina shot a glance at the Holy Knights, signaling for everyone to move out.
This battle had truly caught the Holy Knights off guard.
Fortunately, Anya’s ice magic had saved the day; otherwise, the casualties would have been far worse by now.
At this moment, more than a dozen Holy Knights were gravely wounded, being half-supported and half-carried forward by their companions.
Their faces were ghastly pale, on the verge of collapse.
Still, compared to the Dragonkin, the Holy Knights were lucky. Though many were injured, there were few dead among them.
The Dragonkin, on the other hand, suffered far worse. Many had died from excessive blood loss.
The armor on the Holy Knights truly saved their lives this time, blocking many fatal attacks.
This fact did not escape the Dragonkin’s eyes, and they coveted it inwardly.
Here in the depths of these mountains, there was no one to forge proper armor for them.
Day to day, they survived only by hunting Magic Beasts in the Northern Snow Mountains.
After confirming that the Dragonkin were truly letting them pass, Lina said in a low voice, “Take our fallen brothers with us. This isn’t the place for them to stay.”
“Yes!”
Murray was still unconscious, so it naturally fell to the lower-ranking Holy Knights to handle the arrangements.
The Holy Knights first offered a moment of silent prayer for their fallen, then, without a word, lifted their comrades onto their backs and quietly followed after the main group.
Under the watchful gaze of the Dragonkin, the group slowly departed, their figures gradually disappearing into the misty veil of the snowy mountains.
……
“Lady Kamila.” Once the group was far away, Tarik couldn’t hold back any longer. “You’re just letting them go like this? These humans barged in, trampled our territory, and got so many of our brothers killed!”
“What’s the use of saying all that?” Kamila shot him a glance. “I signed a Soul Contract with that woman. I can’t break my promise.”
“But… there’s something you haven’t told them, right?” Tarik lowered his voice and added, “Bitan has already led people to ambush them at that snow mountain. They’re waiting to catch them off guard.”
“Heh…” Kamila chuckled lowly. “She didn’t ask, so why should I volunteer the information?”
Tarik was momentarily stunned, unable to read Kamila’s intentions.
“Let them fight it out,” Kamila shrugged. “There’s probably some secret hidden in that snow mountain, but I don’t want to get involved. Our tribe will just live our lives in peace. If Bitan manages to eliminate Lina, so much the better. If he gets killed by that woman, it won’t hurt us either.”
Hearing this, Tarik’s eyes widened in admiration. “Such wisdom, my lady! We’ll just sit and watch the tigers fight and wait to reap the rewards like the fisherman. What a brilliant plan!”
“Let’s see if those humans have what it takes to fight Bitan.” Kamila sneered. “They’ve just exhausted themselves battling us. By the time they reach that snow mountain, they probably won’t even have the strength to fight back.”
“But you never know,” a trace of apprehension flashed across Kamila’s face. “If Lina uses that move from before, Bitan might not even have a soul left.”
“Should we send someone to follow them?” Tarik asked.
“No need.” Kamila shook her head. “If we send our people to track them, they’ll be discovered sooner or later, which will just cause more trouble. We’ll just wait for the news.”
She then ordered, “Give our fallen brothers a proper burial, then return to the tribe.”
……
Anya walked in the middle of the group, looking at the severely injured comrades the Holy Knights were carrying on their backs, and couldn’t help but feel a surge of sorrow.
On the road, a few Holy Knights came up to talk to her, but Anya only gave simple responses.
Many of those badly injured had been hurt protecting her, Murray included.
The Northern Snow Mountains were a harsh place. With such severe injuries, it was almost a death sentence. Without proper treatment, they would only slowly die in the freezing wind.
“Let’s rest here for a while.” Lina pointed at the entrance to a cave.
The Holy Knights all looked weary; the earlier battle had drained too much of their strength.
They quickly built a simple campfire. Lina had the wounded moved close to the flames, then boiled some snow water, feeding it to them bit by bit.
“How’s Murray?” Lina walked over to the Holy Knight taking care of Murray and asked softly.
“Not good.” The Holy Knight shook his head, voice heavy. “Sir Murray has been severely wounded. There’s serious internal bleeding, and several ribs are broken. If this keeps up, he might not last much longer. The best course is to return immediately—there might still be a sliver of hope.”
“Healing Technique doesn’t work?” Lina pressed.
“It can barely stop the bleeding, so he’ll last a day or two at best. After that… it’s hard to say.” The Holy Knight sounded helpless.
Lina rubbed her temples, brows tightly knit. They definitely couldn’t take the wounded forward anymore—they would only be a burden.
Iris looked at the devastation around her, a hint of regret showing on her face.
Such was the cruelty of war. People from opposing sides fought to the death, and in the end, both sides suffered. This seemed to be the norm.
After an hour’s rest, Lina finally made a decision. “Half of you, come with me to investigate that snow mountain. The rest stay and look after the wounded.”
“Yes!”
The Holy Knights responded and quickly split into two teams: one followed Lina, while the other stayed behind to tend the injured.
“Anya, thank you for your hard work.” Lina’s tone held a trace of apology. “The road ahead will be even more dangerous. We’re going to face another Dragonkin tribe.”
“It’s all right, Sister Lina.” Anya replied with a smile, patting the greatsword on her back. “Don’t forget, I’m a First Swordmaster too.”
Lina nodded, saying nothing more.
At this moment, she was the leader of an army. The usual lightness was long gone; her face was solemn as she led the Holy Knights onward.
The group continued toward their destination.
At some point, the sky had become overcast with heavy clouds, as if foretelling what was to come.