No one knew how much time had passed before the fire in Anya’s heart finally subsided a little.
“Speak. What are you two doing here?” Anya looked down at the pair, her voice cold.
“We’re here to catch someone, just happened to pass by! Please, Miss, let us go! We’re only following orders from above,” the middle-aged man replied hurriedly, terrified that Anya would get angry and attack again.
“Let you go?” Anya snorted, eyes full of disdain. “Following orders from above? From what I see, you’re just acting recklessly on your own whim.”
“Beautiful Miss, we truly aren’t lying!” The middle-aged man shook his head quickly. “We’re after someone who stole something important from us. She must be brought back.”
“Something important?” Anya frowned.
“That’s right!” The middle-aged man noticed her expression soften and quickly added, “Judging by your attire, you’re probably not from the Northern Territory? Something was stolen from our territory recently—an Artifact. We’re chasing the thief who took it.”
Now Anya was interested, for some reason thinking of the Cloaked Girl she’d encountered not long ago.
She casually asked, “Is it a girl in a black cloak?”
“How did you know?” The middle-aged man looked a bit surprised.
“I just met her not long ago, right before you arrived.” Anya replied indifferently.
“What?!” The middle-aged man grew anxious, inching forward only to shrink back under Anya’s gaze. “Where did she go? Miss, if you tell us where she is, the Northern Territory will surely reward you handsomely!”
Seeing his reaction, Anya frowned slightly, her tone annoyed. “It seems you still don’t understand your situation. Right now, I’m asking you, not negotiating terms with you!”
At this moment, Zephyra walked over yawning, her tone lazy: “Anya, still not done?”
Then, glancing at the battered man, she tutted twice. “Anya, you’re really ruthless.”
The two men exchanged a glance, not daring to say a word.
Actually, Anya hadn’t done much—most of their injuries came from Zephyra.
Anya shrugged, not bothering to explain. “I’ll handle this. Princess Zephyra, go get some rest.”
“Forget it, I’m already awake.” Zephyra pouted and kicked a pebble by her feet. “I’ll wait for you over there. Once you’re done, let’s fetch some water—stretch our legs a bit.”
She even rubbed her shoulders, a bit of frustration lingering on her face.
A girl in an ornate Gothic dress making such gestures should have seemed adorably out of character.
But after witnessing her violence, the two men could only hang their heads, not daring even a sidelong glance.
Once Zephyra had gone, Anya turned to the two men again, her tone growing colder. “Tell me everything you know, or she’ll be back to give you another beating.”
“I’ll talk! I’ll say everything!” The middle-aged man’s legs turned to jelly, no longer daring to hide anything. “We’re actually chasing a Noblewoman from the Northern Territory. She stole the Lord’s treasure, got stripped of her title, and now she’s a Fugitive. As for why she stole it—we don’t know. We’re just following orders.”
“That’s all you know?” Anya was clearly dissatisfied.
“That’s really all! We’re nobodies, that’s all we know,” the middle-aged man wailed.
“Let me ask you this,” Anya changed tack. “What is the treasure? And, how do I get to the Northern Territory?”
The man thought for a moment and quickly answered, “It’s an Artifact, forged by the top Blacksmith of the Northern Territory using dragon bone and other rare materials. It was meant to be a gift for the Emperor. Now that it’s gone missing, the whole territory’s probably in chaos.”
“As for the Northern Territory, just head southeast from here for about a day and you’ll arrive.”
Anya pressed a few more questions, but realized they genuinely didn’t know anything more useful, so she stopped asking.
She picked up their ropes and, with a few swift motions, had them tightly bound.
Zephyra, seeing her finish, walked over curiously: “Where are you taking them, all tied up?”
“Didn’t you say you wanted to fetch water?” A sly smile played on Anya’s lips. “With them here, there’s no need for you to do anything.”
“What are you planning?” Zephyra blinked.
“You’ll see soon enough, Princess Zephyra.” Anya didn’t bother explaining, just dragged the two men forward.
The pair had already been knocked out again by Anya and had no strength left to resist.
Before long, a river came into view. But a group of Magic Beasts lived by this river—an ordinary person fetching water here would likely become their snack.
Zephyra hid in the grass, peering at the slumbering Magic Beasts, then glanced back at Anya. “So, you plan to…”
Anya didn’t answer, simply picked up the two men and, with a leap, tossed them down right beside the Magic Beast den.
They landed with a loud thud, waking the young man first.
“Leader, where are we?” The young man rubbed the back of his head, looking around in confusion.
The heavy landing roused the Magic Beasts as well, and in an instant they surrounded the two men, eyes glinting with malice.
The young man’s face went deathly pale. He hurriedly shook the middle-aged man beside him, his voice trembling: “Leader, wake up! I… we…”
Before he could finish, a Magic Beast lunged, snapping his neck in a single bite.
From a distance, Anya watched and smiled faintly. “Looks like they’ll keep the beasts occupied for a while. Let’s go.”
With that, she emerged from the grass, heading to the riverbank to wash her hands.
Touching those two had left her feeling uncomfortable; she had to clean up.
Zephyra followed, filled her canteen, then glanced at the distant carnage, smacked her lips, and said nothing.
After collecting water, the two were about to leave when Anya suddenly glimpsed a black-cloaked figure peering at them from a patch of grass not far off.
“That girl again?” Anya frowned, recalling the earlier interrogation. She couldn’t help but feel curious.
So, that Artifact had been stolen by her?
Thinking this, Anya decided to go over and question her personally.
Just as she was about to approach, the Cloaked Girl shrank back, her voice trembling in fear: “Sorry! I didn’t mean to look… I’ll leave right away!”
Perhaps she was too weak, or just too frightened—in her panic, she tipped backwards and fainted on the spot.
Seeing this, Anya was at a loss for a moment, but could only go over and lift the girl up.
Zephyra also came over, her eyes wary. “Who is she? Dressed like that—could she be an assassin?”
Anya didn’t answer. She gently lifted the edge of the girl’s cloak.
Upon seeing that face, and the few strands of white hair that had slipped free, Anya froze, her expression blank as she muttered to herself, “Impossible…”