“Now, give me your answer.”
The woman could tell this was Liyakade’s final ultimatum.
She had given her two options: leave with her, or stay here to fend for herself.
Liyakade wasn’t forcing the woman to choose.
She simply presented the two options.
Whichever the woman chose, Liyakade would respect her decision.
This was Liyakade’s final mercy.
Watching everything unfold before them and listening to the conversation between Liyakade and the woman, Nili and Mila’s hearts finally settled.
So, Liyakade hadn’t actually been angry after all.
The killing intent from earlier was just a facade.
She never intended to kill the woman; she only wanted to hear the truest thoughts in her heart.
And now, Liyakade had handed the choice back to the woman herself.
This made Nili and Mila admire her even more.
Liyakade never treated the weak arbitrarily just because of differences in power or status.
Even when facing the weak, she maintained such respect.
That was what the two admired most about her.
The air fell silent for a moment.
Everyone present waited for the woman’s answer.
After a long while, those slightly cracked lips finally began to move.
“I want… to live…”
“Very well.”
Hearing the woman’s murmur, Liyakade simply nodded lightly.
She already understood the other’s answer.
Then, she looked at the other women.
Every single one of them had been tormented by Guan Chun.
Liyakade posed the question to them again, giving them the same two choices.
“What about you? Do you want to live? Or do you feel you have no reason to live and want to stay here? If you want to live, then step forward.”
As her words faded, several women stepped forward two paces, coming closer to Liyakade.
After a moment, the remaining women also took their steps.
Even those who had been wavering earlier were moved by Liyakade’s words.
Perhaps life from now on wouldn’t be too smooth, but… at least let them see the sun outside one more time.
Even if they were to die, they wanted to cherish this final moment.
Seeing that all these women had heeded her words and chosen to leave with her, Liyakade revealed a faint, pleased smile.
If even one person had been unwilling to follow and wanted to stay here to face death alone, Liyakade would have felt sad.
However, even if she felt sad, Liyakade wouldn’t have stopped them.
“Since you all want to live, it’s time I told you. Actually, these injuries on your bodies, and the diseases you’ve contracted over the long term, I have a way to cure all of you.”
“Wha… what? Y-You… are you telling the truth? You’re not joking?”
Hearing this news, the woman’s eyes widened instantly, staring at Liyakade with gleaming light.
“It’s true. I’m not joking.”
Liyakade nodded.
Of course, she wasn’t joking.
Earlier, Liyakade had already observed the injuries and illnesses on these women’s bodies.
Most of them had scars and bruises from being whipped.
These wounds had become infected and scarred because they never received timely disinfection and treatment.
Some of the women had also contracted venereal diseases from Guan Ke’s torment.
Liyakade had seen these illnesses before she transmigrated, and she hadn’t seen them rarely after transmigrating either.
From books, she knew these venereal diseases could be cured with the Light Element.
Although Liyakade was guaranteeing on Alice’s behalf that they could be cured without asking her first, Liyakade knew that once she brought these women back, the kind-hearted Alice would certainly treat them upon learning of their situation, without Liyakade even needing to say a word.
As for why Liyakade didn’t tell these women from the start that she could cure their illnesses, it was because Liyakade wanted to confirm their will to live.
If they gave up on hope for life just because of that, then they truly didn’t deserve to live.
And since they all chose survival, this was Liyakade’s reward to them.
“However, you’ll have to wait a while before you can meet the person who can treat you. Until then, you’ll follow me for now.”
“Mm… Th… Thank you…”
At this moment, the woman couldn’t help but shed tears again.
This time, it wasn’t from despair or self-abandonment, but from the excitement of this sudden reversal of fortune.
The saying ‘survive a great disaster and be blessed by fortune’ probably refers to something like this…
“So-sob…”
Just then, Guan Ke, who was lying on the ground, finally felt his breathing ease somewhat.
It turned out Liyakade had slightly relaxed her suppression on him.
“Now, it’s time to consider how to deal with this scumbag. Originally, I wanted to dismember him and use him to intimidate the other bandits, but… how about I hand him over to you to deal with? You can vent your grievances and take your revenge. Use killing this bastard as the starting point for your new lives. How about that?”
“Hyuck! You bunch of bastards dare to kill me!? I’ll—”
“Slap!”
Before Guan Ke could finish his threatening words, the woman who had been the first to speak was the first to slap him across the face.
This time, it was from the other women.
This filled Guan Ke with uncontrollable rage and an immense sense of humiliation.
These women used to be his playthings!
They were beings he had toyed with and looked down upon.
And now they dared to slap him!?
It was outrageous!
Absolutely outrageous!!!
Guan Ke wanted to release magic, use his Earth Element to strengthen his body, and teach these lowly women a lesson.
But the earlier battle with Liyakade had already drained all his magic power and stamina.
Not only could he not cast magic now, he couldn’t even stand up or raise his hand to block.
Even if these women’s slaps didn’t hurt much, to Guan Ke, it was already a tremendous disgrace.
“Hey, this won’t kill this piece of trash, you know.”
Liyakade shook the ring in her hand.
This was the storage ring she had just taken from Guan Ke, the one he had planned to use when he tried to escape.
A silver light flickered on Liyakade’s jade-like finger, and weapon after weapon and tool after tool clattered to the ground.
Among them were blunt instruments, sharp weapons, tools for battle, and tools for production.
Seeing these implements, the woman immediately grabbed a small hammer and smashed it into Guan Ke’s lower body.
“Ahhh!!!”
Earlier, when Guan Ke was about to kill Nili, Liyakade’s Wind Blade had only severed that caterpillar.
Now, where the woman’s hammer struck was the true storage place for his progeny.
“Bang!!!”
The sound of cracking!
Along with countless yellow and white fluids splattering.
Although this woman hadn’t had a proper meal in a long time, her strength at this moment was unprecedented.
A single hammer blow completely shattered that pellet.
And that shattering sound was like a charge, completely igniting the flames of revenge in all the women.
They scrambled to grab weapons and tools, beating and smashing Guan Ke as he lay on the ground.
As they smashed, they screamed and roared at Guan Ke, every single one of them in a hysterical state.
Nili didn’t join in; instead, she watched silently from the side.
Amidst Guan Ke’s agonized screams, Nili noticed a front tooth with a chunk of flesh fly to her feet.
Guan Ke’s body was already bruised and bloody, but the women’s hysterical trampling didn’t stop.
They didn’t even notice that Guan Ke had stopped struggling.
No one knew how long passed before they finally realized Guan Ke was gone.
No, Guan Ke wasn’t gone.
Guan Ke had been reduced to a pile of ground meat.
His face, once covered in brutal flesh, could no longer be recognized as human.
It was shattered into several pieces scattered everywhere.
His body was also broken into pieces.
A stench of blood and rot filled the room.
His already foul body was even more nauseating after being broken apart.
The woman looked at the hammer in her hand.
There were still shreds of Guan Ke’s skin on it, and a fair amount of blood on her arms.
Guan Ke was dead, killed at the hands of the women he had tormented.
His very corpse had been turned into a meat paste.
But the woman didn’t feel particularly exhilarated.
Perhaps, the things she had lost over the years were far beyond what a death like Guan Ke’s could compensate for or ease.
“Alright, at least this sealed chamber has some water to wash up in. Go wash the blood off yourselves, then change your clothes. We’re going to go deal with the bandits upstairs first.”
After comforting the women, Liyakade turned to look at Nili.
She handed the storage ring to Nili and told her to keep it safe.
“There are some clothes in the ring. Let them change after they’ve washed up.”
“Ah… Okay, okay!”
Hearing Liyakade’s words, Nili felt a bit flattered.
She respectfully accepted the ring Liyakade offered and nodded rapidly like a chick pecking at rice.
“Let’s go, Mila. Let’s deal with the remaining bandits.”
“Mm, Sister Liyakade.”
With that said, Liyakade turned and walked up the stairs.
Mila quickly followed in Liyakade’s footsteps.
Listening to Mila, Nili finally learned the name of the person who had shown her such grace.
Liyakade… what a beautiful name…