Chapter 369: Green Peach Grove (Part 1)

“Am I really that famous?” Samimi grumbled, annoyed.

After all, the Rebel War Commander was a local from the West Sea, so it made sense he was more famous than her. She consoled herself with that thought.

“Why are you here? Don’t tell me… the Rebel Army and the Church have joined forces? Are you Holy See members planning to team up with the rebels to purge the West Sea? That would explain why someone’s trying to assassinate you.” Veronica questioned.

“This is a bit troublesome to explain. You handle it.” Samimi said.

“I am Fabiana, but I’m not the Rebel War Commander. That Fabiana is a fake. Someone is using my identity to build the Rebel Army and pinning all the crimes on me.” Fabiana explained in a low voice.

“A fake?” Veronica was stunned.

“After the Knight Banquet, the Dilmurt family’s convoy was attacked by assassins on the way back. Everyone except Fabiana was killed, including her parents. So our journey is about revenge—finding the mastermind behind it all, then dealing with the Rebel Army.” Samimi added.

“…” Veronica fell silent for a moment.

“You want revenge. We want revenge too. But our grudge is bigger. Think it over before you follow.” Samimi said.

With that, the three of them continued on their way, walking past Veronica.

Veronica hesitated for barely a second before following, seamlessly joining the team.

Samimi pretended not to care on the surface, but inwardly she was thrilled to lock someone into the party.

Although Veronica’s direct combat ability was average—Minuo could take her down in a few rounds—a team needed more than just a main damage dealer.

An assassin’s value was never in head-on fighting.

She had Silent Step and top-tier stealth capabilities, allowing her to infiltrate enemy lines and gather intel.

Samimi wasn’t about to make the same mistake as the former Hero Party by kicking out the support role.

An assassin’s stealth wasn’t just simple sneaking around.

True stealth meant that even if they were hiding right beside you, you wouldn’t notice them.

Just like the Guardian of Black Street—if their stealth was strong enough, you couldn’t detect them even if they stood right in front of you.

Back in the Hero Party, someone had once awakened top-tier stealth abilities—

That was Close, the “Dream Sword” who had already reclassified as a Magic Archer.

She infused magic into her arrows, and her strength could even rival Qiqi Duo, the hidden protagonist.

It just showed how unfair this world was.

Still, even so, her abilities couldn’t compare to the Hero of the Storm’s Swordless Aura, let alone Fabiana’s Human Emperor’s Power.

But now, Close wasn’t in the team.

And back then, Close had been hung up and beaten by Samimi, leaving a deep grudge between them.

Re-cooperating would be difficult.

Anyway, having an assassin in the team greatly improved intelligence-gathering and allowed for special missions.

Assassins weren’t just for assassinations.

In fact, the one who loved backstabbing the most was often Samimi, the Divine Official.

A true assassin valued “spatial awareness” more.

They had to quickly assess routes and plan infiltration and escape paths.

Killing someone wasn’t impressive—what mattered was leaving safely afterward.

Samimi wasn’t great at that.

She was famously bad with directions, couldn’t remember place names, and had no sense of terrain.

If it weren’t for her support skills, she might even get lost during a fight.

Anyway, getting sidetracked.

In short, an assassin’s role in a team was more like an “information position,” or a scout.

And so, a new Revenge Squad was officially formed.

They would cross half of the West Sea again, heading southwest—to Count Perry’s territory.

At night, they stopped to rest.

Veronica started playing her role as the “information position.”

“That bastard Count Perry has built a massive number of weapon factories in the forested areas of his territory. He mass-produces shoddy weapons and sells them across the kingdom.”

“He also secretly trains assassins, dead men, and mercenaries. To sell more weapons, he even stirs up chaos.”

“Didn’t you say he kept a low profile?” Samimi immediately complained.

“That’s because the information was blocked. In reality, his territory is full of exploitation. All the men are forced to work as blacksmiths for the nobles without pay.” Veronica said.

“Don’t blacksmiths just press a button to make weapons?” Samimi asked.

“Have you lost your mind? What kind of blacksmith is that? It’s high-intensity manual labor, working the forge for over a dozen hours a day.” Veronica was exasperated.

Samimi felt wronged.

She had actually seen someone “press a button to make weapons” before…

“Count Perry has trained a lot of dead men. He doesn’t use them lightly—they’re for taking out competitors. Did you guys provoke him?” Veronica asked.

“We just came from the South to travel and relax. We don’t even know any nobles around here.” Samimi said.

“What about you, Fabiana? Why would someone steal your identity?” Veronica pressed.

“It might be because our Dilmurt family has close ties with the Third Prince and the Church. My grandfather, the Knight King, once helped her become the Archbishop.”

“The great nobles of the West Sea feared our rise, so they united to target us. That’s the most reasonable theory for now.” Fabiana said.

“I see. Turning the Knight King’s granddaughter into the Rebel War Commander—that’s a ruthless move.” Veronica nodded.

“So we suspect the Rebel Army is a puppet show orchestrated by the nobles. And since the assassin came from Count Perry, the mastermind must be closely connected to him.” Fabiana continued.

“The Rebel Army is holed up in Mountain God Ridge. The terrain is complex, easy to defend, hard to attack. Plus, there are plenty of half-beasts with strong combat power.”

“If it’s an act… it’s almost too real.” Veronica raised a doubt.

“Marquis Edward once led an army to attack them and got utterly defeated.” Samimi commented.

“But the fake Fabiana might have already slipped out of control and crowned herself.” Samimi analyzed.

“Then wouldn’t she become a real rebel?” Fabiana frowned.

“Don’t think too hard about it. Just catch someone and beat the answers out of them.”

Samimi yawned and went into her tent to meditate.

Fabiana sat by the campfire, meditating with her god.

Moonlight gathered around her, making her whole body glow like a lamp.

This magical energy was even absorbed by Samimi next to her, accelerating her growth.

“Cow, come on, let’s patrol.” Veronica called out to Minuo.

They reached an open space.

“One more fight.” Veronica said coldly.

“Okay.” Minuo didn’t hesitate.

“Last time the terrain was bad. I don’t accept it.”

“Then this time, if you lose, you have to call me Minuo, not ‘Cow.'”

“Deal.”

The moment the words fell—

Veronica instantly moved, her figure dashing forward like a ghost.

Silent Step deployed, a straight-line kill strike.

Twin daggers thrust straight in.

“Bam! Bam!”

Minuo drew two short knives from her waist, easily blocking.

“Wait! Pause! This isn’t fair!”

Veronica stopped instantly.

“What’s wrong?”

“Why do you have twin blades too?! Aren’t you supposed to use a sword?!”

“I stole them from you.” Minuo replied honestly.

She had taken Veronica’s weapons for herself and hung them at her waist as spares.