Volume 10, Chapter 10 – The Journey to Wilfred

When the sun was about to set, with Laxy’s help, the Imperial soldiers finally finished cleaning up the camp.

“Thank you so much, travelers from afar. If you hadn’t taken on some of the demons for us, we would not have escaped with our lives today.”

The commander, his clothes in tatters, gave Yisi an Imperial salute. Both his tone and his movements showed his sincerity. Just like the soldiers before who were willing to die to protect the carriage, the integrity of the Imperial soldiers made Yisi feel quite emotional.

“We only did what we should have.”

Yisi revealed a sweet smile, like that of a noble lady.

The commander was stunned for a moment by Yisi’s elegant demeanor. Then, as if feeling ashamed of his own roughness, he looked away from Yisi, rubbed his hands, and said embarrassedly.

“How can that be ‘what you should have’? According to Imperial law, those who assist the army in killing demons must be rewarded. Eleven large demons plus all those annoying bees… that’s enough for the Empire to offer a reward of several dozen gold coins.”

The rugged, bearded man paused, his gaze lingering on Mary and Tiffany, the youngest. Although the battle had been too intense to be distracted, the sight of Mary, Tiffany, and Camilla fighting had still left a deep impression on him. Just three of them had finished off two large demons and countless smaller ones. In his mind, this was something only the great figures of the Empire could accomplish.

“I didn’t expect that your companions, Miss, despite looking underaged, would possess such strength. It truly makes us old-timers ashamed. If our army had powerhouses like your companions, dealing with those demons earlier would have certainly been much easier. Mhm… young ladies over there, are you interested in joining the Imperial army? The benefits and salary are all excellent, and the army will also provide you with female-only tents and various magic items. If you wish to achieve greater mastery in magic and combat skills, joining the Imperial army is definitely a good choice. The Empire has an Imperial Mage Association dedicated to training mages. As long as you have enough talent, you won’t have to worry about not having the gold to buy magic books.”

“He’s trying to poach them right in front of me.” Yisi’s expression turned strange.

If it were an ordinary person, they might feel very dissatisfied right now, but Yisi knew without asking that Mary and Tiffany would definitely refuse. Therefore, Yisi only felt pity for the commander.

Sure enough, things developed just as Yisi had imagined. Mary and Tiffany each refused the man, one with a troubled smile, the other with an emotionless expression.

“I am Master’s property, so I’m sorry, Mr. Officer, I cannot join the Imperial army.”

“Not enough incentive.”

“Is that so… hahaha, what loyal children.” The man awkwardly scratched the back of his head.

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“More importantly, Mr. Officer, I’d like to know what that man meant when he said, ‘make Adonis pay the price for his betrayal.’ Did you set up this checkpoint to guard against people like him?”

Yisi’s words made the man hesitate.

“Would you like some water first?” Mary, at her side, suggested this to the hesitating commander. The commander, whose throat was parched from the battle, took the water cup, thanked Mary gratefully, and slowly revealed the truth.

“It’s fine to say it; it’s not a secret in the Empire anyway. During the time of the previous Emperor, His Majesty’s grandfather’s era, our Norta Empire was not as strong as it is today. It was on the verge of collapse. Several great nobles even openly proposed to the previous Emperor that they would separate their territories from the Empire and become independent countries.

“Normally, the royal family would immediately summon other nobles to unite and annihilate these rebels. But the previous Emperor’s power was weak, and the other nobles were unwilling to help. When he had no other options, a group of powerful individuals came to his side, claiming they would provide military aid as long as the Emperor allowed them to establish temples in the Empire.

“The previous Emperor believed them, and later, those great nobles were indeed assassinated one after another. However, the previous Emperor did not know at the time that the people helping him were actually the minions of a Demon Lord. After the temples were built throughout the Empire and had gathered a group of followers, the previous Emperor gradually discovered their true nature. But due to his own lack of strength, he did not dare to expel them directly. He could only devise a plan, accumulate power, and leave the opportunity to His Majesty’s father’s generation.

“After the previous Emperor passed away, His Majesty’s father, following the Emperor’s will, united with the Divine Religion of that time to drive the Demon Lord’s minions out of the Empire. But once something like faith appears, it is very difficult to eliminate. Furthermore, after the nobles learned that the royal family intended to abolish their noble status, they all raised banners of rebellion. His Majesty then had no time to deal with the remnants of the Demon Lord’s minions. So, this group of people continues to roam the Empire, creating disturbances, trying to overthrow His Majesty’s rule.”

“So, you actually knew all along that those demons would appear?”

The commander’s face held a bitter smile. “No, to be honest, this is the first time I’ve seen a demon. We were originally just here to filter out the noble remnants who intend to harm His Majesty. If we had known from the start that demons would appear here, we wouldn’t have posted only this many men. Although demons have been appearing frequently, the Empire is vast. Spread out, very few people have actually seen one. I never expected a demon to be such a terrifying monster. I really wish the Goddess would be more diligent and sweep the Demon Lords from the world, hahaha… Little lady, could you give me another cup of water?”

Looking as though he hadn’t had his fill, the army commander wiped the water from the corner of his mouth and returned the cup to Mary. This action made the surrounding soldiers crane their necks, their expressions full of longing.

These soldiers had just finished fighting and were probably very thirsty. She had better not keep holding them up in conversation. Yisi smiled and suggested.

“I see. You have all just been through a hard fight, so I won’t bother you any longer. You should go rest in the camp, General. It’s getting late, and we need to return to the city.”

“Ah, please wait!” As Yisi turned to get back on the carriage, the man suddenly called out to her. “Miss, you forgot your reward!”

“Reward?” Yisi tilted her head in confusion. The man, in turn, looked at Yisi as if she were a strange person.

“The reward I promised earlier. According to Imperial law, the Empire will reward those who help the army exterminate demons and bandits. The reward for eleven large demons and a large number of small demons is no small sum. You only need to wait here a while, Miss. After more troops are dispatched from above, I can accompany you to the nearest city to vouch for you, and have the local administrator pay you the gold.”

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“How long will we need to wait?” Camilla, beside Yisi, asked in a serious tone.

“A week at most.”

A week… That’s too long. Yisi politely refused.

“While I appreciate your kindness, we cannot stay here for a week.”

“But the reward is at least several dozen gold coins! Even though you look like a noble from the Hels Kingdom, Miss, I’ve heard that not all nobles are wealthy.”

“Ah, we’re in a hurry and must get to Wilfred as soon as possible.”

“I see.” Regretting that he couldn’t help Yisi, the man lowered his head. A soldier standing next to him suggested in a low voice.

“Sir, you could use the special transit pass…”

“Right! The pass!” Realizing, the man frantically pulled a stack of papers from his pocket and hurriedly handed several to Yisi. “This is a special transit pass. It’s normally issued to supply convoys, but they get them before they even depart, and no one is stupid enough to lose one. So, the ones we have on hand are basically useless. As long as you have this, Miss, you can drive your carriage to Wilfred. For people in a hurry, this is just what you need, right?”

“But won’t giving a pass to strangers like us get you in trouble?”

“First of all, as long as you don’t cause any trouble on the road, Miss, no one will know. But most importantly, you are a hero who saved hundreds of Imperial soldiers in a time of crisis. Plus, you have a divine being like Lady Angel in your group. An angel is the Goddess’s messenger and the sworn enemy of demons. To be called ‘Master’ by Lady Angel… your character is clear at a glance, Miss. If I didn’t give you the pass, my superiors would think I was inflexible. With demons appearing so often in the Empire, we need all the help we can get, like yours.”

“There’s that to consider, too?” Yisi couldn’t help but glance back at Laxy. Being praised, Laxy was radiating joy and pride, her large white wings beating gently.

“Alright, thank you for the pass.”

“You’re too kind, Miss. I’m the one who should be thanking you for saving my life.”

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After some more conversation, Yisi finally drove the carriage through the ravaged checkpoint.

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Nightfall.

The nights in the Norta Empire were exceptionally cold in deep winter. When camping, if one went to sleep without proper heating measures, they would certainly be a frozen corpse by the next day. For most caravans, the best method was to build a bonfire next to the carriage and take turns on night watch to ensure no one lost their warmth in their sleep. However, for Yisi’s group, this was not a problem.

Ever since learning how to make Golem statues, Yisi had modified the carriage. By building a compartment in the floorboards of the carriage and inserting a magic circle—one with a complex magic circuit but no other function—the carriage gained a mechanism similar to floor heating. When Yisi learned this, she had even complained that magic and electricity had their similarities. As long as someone infused magic into the magic circuit she had inscribed in the carriage, the magic would flow repeatedly, being gradually consumed, with a portion converted to heat, creating the floor-heating effect.

However, currently only Yisi, Laxy, and Camilla (as a mage) could infuse a stable flow of magic into the circuit. If anyone else, even Edith, tried, they would be unable to control the amount of magic, resulting in either no heating effect or, at worst, burning out the circuit.

As quietly as possible, Yisi, who was lying between Mary and Tina, sat up. She glanced at the time—it was already 11:00 PM.

“Huu, did I get up a bit early?”

She was responsible for the second half of the night watch. Her companions had grown from the original Camilla and Mary to include Tiffany, Edith, Refina, Laxy, and Tina, making the carriage quite crowded. Even though she had figured out she could use wooden planks to divide the carriage into upper and lower sections, it still felt small. Adding to that, the warm-bodied Mary was sleeping right next to her, which, combined with the floor heating, had naturally woken her up from the heat.

Yisi couldn’t help but look helplessly at Mary, who was sleeping peacefully beside her. The latter was being held by Tiffany like a body pillow. Tiffany even had a satisfied =w= expression on her face, reminiscent of a cat lover hugging a cat and taking a deep sniff.

“It must be nice that Slime girls don’t have a concept of body heat…” Shaking her head with a wry smile, Yisi turned to look at Tina. The latter was curled up in the blankets like a cat; she could only see Tina’s two horns sticking out. After pulling the blanket back to expose Tina’s head, Yisi quietly slipped out of the carriage.

The cold wind that hit her face instantly woke Yisi up. She first tightened her collar, then walked over to Edith and Laxy, who were on night watch, sitting by the fire.

Hearing the footsteps, Edith’s eyes widened in surprise. She shuffled to the side, making room for Yisi.

“Hmm? It’s not time to change shifts yet, is it?”

“I was woken up by the heat, so I just got up.”

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“Is that so? Nothing’s going on. Want to play chess?”

“I got out of my warm blankets because I thought of something important to do. Well, if you’re bored, Pepe, you can go to sleep now.”

She was the type to stay in bed even if she couldn’t sleep. Yisi plopped down next to Edith. Perhaps because she was bored and wanted to mess with someone, Yisi felt Edith pat her with her vampire wing. Laxy, sitting opposite, saw this but said nothing, merely continuing to add firewood to the fire, sending flames and sparks dancing.

“My Lord, the important business you mentioned is…”

“I want to investigate the function of this dagger.”

A gray dagger appeared in her hand. Yisi waved it slightly toward the fire. It was still stained with the blackish-red blood of the sacrificer from that morning. Yisi took some water from her storage to rinse it clean.

Edith, recognizing the dagger, frowned, her body tensing slightly. “Is that the weapon from that sacrifice’s hand?”

“Mhm. Originally, my detection magic didn’t find any connection between the man and demons. But after the man put this dagger into his body, he summoned demons. So I’m thinking, could this dagger be a key to communicate with demons? If I can also use this dagger to summon demons—”

“My Lord could then slay demons at any time.”

“And fish out another little girl Demon Lord?”

Laxy and Edith finished Yisi’s sentence at the same time.

“What Laxy said is a little close, but what Pepe said is completely wrong.”

As for her own real thoughts, Yisi consciously kept them to herself. Ever since seeing that land-pufferfish that could produce demons, she had been thinking about how to catch a few more. According to Tina, only the Ocean Demon Lord Styx had them, and her side didn’t know Styx’s whereabouts, so the plan to raise pufferfish had to be postponed indefinitely. Now that she has this key, she might be able to follow the summoning circle to find Styx’s coordinates, then plunder all the low-rank demons inside. If Styx was in his palace, she could even teach him a lesson while she was at it.

Unfortunately, according to the [Omniscient Map], this dagger had already lost its function. Its name had changed from ‘Hatching Blade’ to ‘Used Hatching Blade’. However, Yisi held on to a glimmer of hope. After all, until she tried, no one could be sure that the sacrificial blade could only be used once.