After witnessing the horrors in the underground chambers, Liyakade had lost any desire to toy with the remaining bandits in the stronghold.
It was better to simply execute all of them quickly, then take the victimized women and hurry back to find Alice for healing.
Thus, in less than ten minutes, the stronghold was filled with crimson rings of blood, each one impaling an empty human form.
With this, not a single bandit remained in the stronghold; all had been executed by Liyakade.
After finishing all of this, Liyakade returned to the sealed chamber and brought the women, who had tidied themselves up a bit, back outside.
Of course, Liyakade hadn’t forgotten the treasure in the treasure room.
Guan Duo’s storage ring was perfect for carrying it.
Since the storage ring now belonged to Liyakade, she intended to make full use of it.
“Let’s go. It’s night now, but we have to descend the mountain right away. We must reach the camp before dawn. You all need to hold on a little longer.”
At the stronghold’s entrance, Liyakade distributed all the cooked meat the bandits had prepared that day to the women, letting them recover a bit of their strength.
Although Alice and Field had probably already brought back the water source, the caravan wouldn’t travel at night.
They had to get back before the caravan started moving again the next day.
Otherwise, Liyakade wouldn’t be able to catch up with the caravan while escorting so many people.
Barring any accidents… if they moved at full speed, they should be able to barely reach the camp before dawn.
“Lord Fied! You’re back! Did you find the water source? Wait… where is Miss Liyakade?!”
Graham, standing at the perimeter of the caravan camp, was very anxious.
The water problem had been weighing on his mind, so he had been waiting outside.
Finally, as the sky was darkening, two figures appeared on the horizon.
Graham joyfully went to greet them, thinking they had found water so quickly.
But soon, he noticed that one person was clearly missing.
“Don’t worry. She just went to wipe out those bandits. She’ll be back later.”
Field, beneath her gold silk mask, waved her hand, signaling Graham not to worry.
She then shook the two rings on her jade-like finger—one was her own, the other was Liyakade’s.
“We’ve already found a water source. This water will be enough to get us to the next town.”
“You… you really found it! Thank you so much!”
Graham was overjoyed, nearly jumping up.
But he hesitated, finally processing the first half of what Field had said.
“Wh-what!? You mean… that Miss Liyakade, the one with the long white hair… she… went alone to wipe out the bandits!?”
“Mm, that’s right.”
Field nodded.
She could tell what Graham was thinking, so she spoke first to stop him from asking further.
“Don’t be surprised. She’s actually stronger than I am. This isn’t something you should be prying into. Now, take this water and put it in the carriage. Make sure to watch it carefully this time. We’ll depart as usual tomorrow.”
“Y-yes, Lord Field!”
Hearing Field say that, Graham decided not to ask any more questions.
This kind of thing really wasn’t his place to investigate.
However, while Graham was leading Field and Alice to fill the water containers, an undercurrent of unrest was stirring within the camp.
At that moment, Natalia was pacing in front of Liyakade and the others’ tent.
It was already this late, and Liyakade and the others hadn’t returned, which made Natalia feel uneasy.
‘Did they… actually run away!?’
No, no, no!
That was Her Highness the Princess and the Light Element Magic User!
How could they be so heartless!
Just as Natalia began to doubt Liyakade and the others, she immediately shook her head like a rattle drum, dismissing the thought.
‘Are they doing okay over there? It’s so agonizing just waiting here by the tent… Please come back soon, Princess Field…’
While Natalia was anxiously waiting, she failed to notice a purple mist rising beside the camp.
By the time Natalia sensed it, she had already inhaled a faint, sweet scent.
Realizing something was wrong, Natalia quickly covered her mouth and nose.
But the moment she smelled that sweet fragrance, she knew she had already been affected.
“What is… this…?”
Natalia suddenly felt dizzy.
The stars in the night sky seemed to be flickering rapidly, even growing brighter one by one.
She realized it was the same as the toxin in the water source, but it was already too late.
The thing Liyakade had feared had finally come to pass.
Although Liyakade had controlled those Dark Guards, implanting a subconscious command not to harm her and to obey her orders, she hadn’t implanted a command not to harm others.
This gave Vidar an opportunity.
Liyakade and the others never imagined that Vidar would be so shameless.
Attacking them was one thing, but now he was even going after their hired guard, Natalia, while they were away.
In the end, there was a flaw in their careful planning.
After all, Natalia was a sister of the Church.
Even Vidar dared to touch her?
He had simply gone mad.
Natalia’s eyes gradually lost their light, becoming unfocused.
Then, Rex, clad in a black night suit, emerged from the shadows and appeared before her.
“Not bad, not bad. Looking closely, this little sister is pretty fair-skinned.”
Rex shamelessly grabbed Natalia’s chin, tilting her face up to get a good look at her.
The purple smoke he had just released was made from purple smoke donkey grass.
By grinding it into powder and then burning it into smoke, anyone who inhaled it would quickly lose their ability to resist.
Seeing his target had been affected and was completely defenseless, Rex felt a wicked thought arise in his heart.
In common societal norms, nuns were sacred and pure beings.
If he could defile such a nun… tsk tsk tsk, just the thought of it…
Rex almost didn’t dare to imagine it.
However, Rex’s mood soured the moment the thought crossed his mind.
He suddenly remembered that his prized tool of mischief had already been confiscated.
He couldn’t even commit a crime now even if he wanted to.
But then again… defiling a nun didn’t necessarily require a tool.
He could just have a good time watching this pure nun get lost in lust.
Just as Rex’s lecherous hand was about to reach Natalia’s chest through her nun’s habit, a bright light suddenly erupted from Natalia’s chest.
Rex was blinded by the golden light.
“What!? What the hell!?”
Rex instinctively raised his hand to shield his eyes.
He didn’t see that Natalia’s gaze was gradually clearing.
It was Natalia’s cross.
Before they left, Alice had infused it with her pure Light Element, specifically to protect Natalia in case something like this happened.
“You sneaky bastard! And this strange smoke! You’re the one who poisoned the caravan’s water source, aren’t you!”
Having regained her senses, Natalia immediately channeled her magic power.
She poured a small portion into the cross, converting it into Light Element to protect herself.
The remaining magic power coalesced into a massive water pillar, which she hurled at Rex, who was still covering his face, confused.
“Ah—”
Rex had no idea that Natalia had woken up.
It wasn’t until he sensed the fluctuation in magic power that he became alert and noticed Natalia’s attack.
But by then, it was too late to defend.
Panicking, Rex frantically mobilized his magic power, trying to harden his body using the Earth Element to block Natalia’s attack.
However, before the hardening was complete, Rex was sent flying by the water pillar.
Although Rex was Level 45 and Natalia was only Level 35, with Rex completely unprepared, Natalia’s attack still posed a significant threat to him.
Rex felt as if he had been hit head-on by a speeding train.
His internal organs seemed to shift, and he spat out a mouthful of blood while flying through the air.
“Get him! He’s the poisoner!”
Natalia shouted loudly, hoping the nearby guards would join her in capturing Rex.
But looking around, she saw that the guards’ eyes were all dazed, clearly affected by the purple smoke from earlier.
Only Natalia, protected by the cross, had recovered.
“Damn it!”
Rex cursed, and instantly, stones flew everywhere.
Natalia quickly conjured a water shield to block them, stirring up clouds of dust.
When the dust settled, he was gone.
Taking advantage of the darkness and his black suit, Rex had managed to escape.
To be honest, Rex, a Level 45 Earth Element user, was barely harmed by Natalia’s attack.
After all, the Water Element’s instantaneous attack power wasn’t particularly strong.
Coupled with the large level gap and Natalia’s hasty spell release, even without a full defense, Rex could still move perfectly fine.
If they continued fighting, Rex had no fear of the Level 35 Natalia.
But this was the caravan’s camped site!
The area was patrolled by guards everywhere, so any action here was inherently risky.
If not for the purple smoke donkey grass, Rex wouldn’t have even had a chance to attack Natalia.
If he got tied up fighting Natalia now, and a nearby patrol guard noticed and came to support her, Rex would be in deep trouble even if he tried to escape.
So, if not now, then when?
“You bastard!”
Natalia glared angrily at the empty space where Rex had vanished.
It was too dark, and he was wearing a black suit.
She couldn’t even make out his face, let alone determine which direction he had fled.
“Natalia? What happened?”
Just as Natalia had driven Rex back, a familiar voice rang out from not too far away.
Natalia looked toward the sound.
It was the two people she had been waiting for all this time.
After Field and Alice followed Graham to fill the water into the designated carriage, they prepared to return to their tent.
Before going back, they instructed Graham to strengthen the guard on the carriage.
This time, Graham assigned ten guards to watch the carriage.
And, as Field had requested, they weren’t all gathered around the carriage.
Instead, they formed two layers of defense.
That way, even if one side had an issue, the other side could react immediately.
Just as they were nearing their tent, they suddenly heard Natalia calling for help.
They rushed over, only to find Natalia and a group of guards standing still, their faces blank.
“Lord Field! Lady Alice! I found the poisoner!”
Seeing it was Field and Alice, Natalia felt both joy and excitement.
But even so, she didn’t forget Field’s disguised identity.
She was happy because they hadn’t abandoned the caravan or used this chance to elope.
She was excited because she had finally seen the poisoner, and Field and Alice had arrived just in time.
Natalia quickly recounted what had just happened—the rising purple smoke, the hallucinations it caused, and the black-clad man who appeared.
“And that’s what happened. If it weren’t for the Light Element Lady Alice infused into the cross, I might have been in danger…”
As she said this, Natalia clutched the cross hanging on her chest.
She knew that what had snapped her out of it was the Light Element Alice had put into the cross before leaving, purifying her.
Now, the cross’s glow had dimmed a bit more, indicating the Light Element was depleted.
But…
Natalia felt the cross had become different somehow.
Hearing Natalia’s story, Field and Alice exchanged glances.
The thing they had feared had actually happened.
They never imagined Vidar would be so shameless.
Not only did he attack them, but he also went after the people around them, even a guard.
“Lord Field, I’m so sorry… If only I had been a little stronger, then I could have subdued the culprit while he was off guard.”
After reviewing the incident, Natalia was even a bit self-blaming.
She felt she wasn’t strong enough.
If she had been powerful enough, then when Rex was sure of his victory and tried to defile her, momentarily blinded by the light, that one blow from Natalia would have been enough to defeat him.
But unfortunately, he still got away.
“It’s okay. This isn’t your fault. Counterattacking under these circumstances was already very good. Don’t blame yourself.”
Field shook her head, comforting Natalia softly.
Field and Alice understood that this black-clad man was definitely one of Vidar’s Dark Guards.
Alice looked at the other guards.
They all had lost expressions, standing blankly in place, moving slowly as if they didn’t know what they were doing.
Upon closer inspection, Alice’s expression turned serious.
Their souls were now in a state of frenzy.
Alice released her Light Element and purified all the guards.
Their pupils quickly regained focus.
Seeing Field and Alice back, they were all happy—but… they couldn’t remember when they had seen the two return, nor what had just happened.
It was as if their memory was missing a piece.
Field and Alice didn’t bother explaining anything to the guards.
“Huh? Lord Fied, where is Miss Liyakade?”
After handling the immediate matters, Natalia finally noticed that someone was missing.
The urgency of the situation, coupled with the two of them acting normally, had kept Natalia from noticing Liyakade’s absence until now.
“Liyakade went to wipe out the bandits. Don’t worry, she’ll be back soon.”
“Huh? Miss Liyakade? She went alone?”
Sure enough, anyone who heard this reacted the same way.
Graham was no exception, and neither was Natalia.
And Field didn’t mind explaining it to Natalia again.
“Liyakade is very strong. She’s enough on her own. Don’t worry.”
Hearing Field’s explanation, Natalia was a bit shocked.
Liyakade looked so young, but her strength was comparable to the Princess’s?
“By the way, Natalia, you’ve worked hard. Would you like to come in and rest for a while?”
Seeing that Natalia’s steps were a bit unsteady, Alice kindly invited her to rest in the tent.
After all, part of the reason Vidar had targeted Natalia was because of them.
If they hadn’t planned to play the long game and had just directly brought Vidar to justice, Natalia wouldn’t have been put in such danger.
“N-no, thank you! I’m fine! If I need to rest, I can go to my own tent! I’ll just stay out here and keep watch!”
Hearing Alice’s invitation, Natalia felt inexplicably shy.
Being invited by someone she respected to rest in her tent—and it seemed like it wasn’t just a short visit, but to sleep there—made Natalia feel deeply honored.
“Alright, then.”
Hearing Natalia’s answer, Alice didn’t press the issue.
She reached out her hand, signaling for Natalia to hand her the cross.
“Could you give me your cross again?”
“Oh, okay.”
Natalia nodded obediently and handed the cross to Alice.
A faint light appeared in Alice’s hand, and the cross instantly regained its luster.
Alice returned the cross to Natalia, who put it back around her neck.
“Thank you, Lady Alice.”
Natalia knew that Alice had recharged her cross.
This way, if she encountered a situation like that again, she would have a way to protect herself.
“It’s nothing. Those hiding in the shadows might have targeted you because you’re my agent. You need to be careful.”
“Mm, I will, Lady Alice!”
After a few more instructions, Field and Alice entered the tent.
Once inside, Field immediately created a magic barrier to block out the sounds from outside.
“That shameless bastard… He even dared to strike at a sister of the Church?”
After taking off her gold silk mask and sitting down, Field ground her teeth in anger when she recalled Natalia’s story.
The Church wasn’t subordinate to the Kingdom of Calderra.
The Church was an organization with its own influence all over the continent.
Its relationship with the Kingdom of Calderra wasn’t one of higher and lower classes, but equal, even higher.
If a sister were to meet with misfortune within the Kingdom’s borders, the Church would definitely send other personnel to investigate.
If Vidar were found out by the Church, it wouldn’t just be a problem for him alone.
As a noble of the Kingdom, not only did he use and sell large quantities of purple thunder donkey grass, but he even tried to attack a sister of the Church.
This was undoubtedly a challenge to the Church’s authority.
And Vidar just happened to be a noble of the Kingdom of Calderra.
Although he was only a small noble, he was still a noble of the Kingdom.
The entire Kingdom’s reputation in the Church would suffer as a result.
Normally, because of the Light Element Magic User, the Church was relatively lenient towards the Kingdom.
But if a sister were to meet with misfortune, it would be a different story.
“Field, what should we do now? Should we keep letting him get away with it? Should we arrest him now, or continue waiting for him to make contact with others?”
“No rush. Let’s wait until Liyakade gets back.”
“Alright.”
The two didn’t come to a conclusion.
In the end, this kind of decision needed Liyakade to make the final call.
Meanwhile, on the other side, on a mountain path, Liyakade was leading a group of people through the night along the trail.
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