“Very clever indeed, Leila.”
Although it felt a bit strange, Miss Priestess still went along with the girl’s expectation, reaching out to stroke her snowy white hair. The latter let out a pleased purr and squinted her eyes.
Indeed, Violet had intentionally clashed with those soldiers.
Partly because she disliked them, but also because the sudden large-scale hunt for demons by the Demon Suppression City today had caught Miss Priestess’s attention.
Where there’s smoke, there’s fire. The Demon Suppression City couldn’t possibly suddenly target a group of unidentified demons without reason. They even released these questionable poachers. Their actions indicated that these demons must have posed a significant threat to certain targets or interests.
As newcomers to the Demon Suppression City like Violet and her group, with limited information and resources, it was practically impossible for them to intervene.
In that case, instead of slowly investigating by following breadcrumbs, why not stir up trouble and actively attract the attention of those lurking in the shadows?
Violet currently didn’t have a detailed plan, but as chaos ensued, opportunities and clues would inevitably surface.
As for seeking Lester’s help, it wasn’t really about expecting him to provide shelter or escort them out of the city. Before the situation escalated, Violet needed to find a place to stay and pretend to hide.
As Leila mentioned, it was also about testing the trustworthiness of this captain, the first human they encountered after Violet’s crossing. She wanted to see if he was truly reliable.
Most of what she had said earlier was intentionally provocative. After all, although they had some history, their relationship wasn’t that deep. Anyone could talk big, but whether they could act on it, that needed to be tested.
After briefly explaining her intentions to the girls, regardless of whether some of them understood or not, Violet calmly took out her novel and started reading.
It was now morning, and whether it was Lester’s plan to escort them out of the city at night or the official response from the Demon Suppression City authorities starting a search, it would still take time. So, all they could do was wait.
As time passed slowly, Lester hadn’t appeared since then. It was said that even lunch had been arranged to be delivered by his subordinates before he left.
As dusk approached, Edwina got up and lit the magic lamps in the reception room. After adding some tea for Violet, who was engrossed in reading her thick novel, and the other four girls playing cards at the table, the noise outside gradually grew louder and more chaotic.
“Oh, here they come.”
Miss Priestess’s ears twitched slightly as she put her book back into her backpack. Among the other girls who were enjoying themselves, even the little dragon girl seemed to sense something and turned her gaze toward the door.
Many people were approaching their direction.
The number of people clearly exceeded the standard of mercenaries in the residence and couldn’t possibly be the people Lester had hired. After all, he had mentioned escaping at night rather than attacking the Demon Suppression City, making such a big commotion so that others wouldn’t know was the point.
It seemed like it was the army sent by the Demon Suppression City to capture them.
“......”
Although it was normal for the authorities to respond after such a long time and follow the deliberately left traces to find them, it was completely within Miss Priestess’s expectations. But... Lester still hadn’t returned...
Had he betrayed them? Could it be that humans really...
Although she didn’t care much, to be honest, if that were the case, Miss Priestess would still feel a bit uncomfortable. After all, he was one of the first humans she had encountered after coming to this world, perhaps holding a special sentiment towards him.
Just then, the side door of the reception room was quietly pushed open, and a man with a slanted fringe, who looked to be in his twenties, rushed in with a large sword on his back.
“Hey, what the heck did you guys do? A bunch of Demon Suppression City soldiers suddenly surrounded the residence, saying they’re going to search for human fugitives!”
The man with the slanted fringe was still wearing the light armor he had on when they first met this morning, his face filled with anxiety. Beside him were several sets of black robes, perfect for blending into the night, and without hesitation, he handed them to the nearest girl, Theresa.
“Hurry, put these on. I’ll take you out through the back door. The captain is buying us time. There’s a weak spot in the defense of the residence. As long as you’re careful, you should be able to escape!”
“Hehe...”
For some reason, Violet, who initially thought she wouldn’t care much if Lester didn’t betray them or report them, couldn’t help but feel a slight relief.
Somehow, she hadn’t misjudged him.
“You’re still laughing! Can you believe it? We’re in big trouble! Those guys are from the Internal Security Bureau’s Special Support Unit. They didn’t even show us, the Black Knights, any face. Hurry up and change your clothes if you don’t want to die!”
It was evident that the man with the slanted fringe was genuinely worried about their lives, which surprised Miss Priestess a little. It was like she hadn’t expected Lester to trust this guy so much and choose to send him to relay the message at such a crucial moment.
Theresa was at a loss, holding a pile of black robes, unsure of what to do. After all, Violet had previously told her that they didn’t actually plan or need to escape.
“Argh, forget it!”
Seeing Miss Priestess standing there with a silly smile on her face, not moving for half an age, the man with the slanted fringe didn’t care about gender differences. He hurriedly reached out to grab her, but Violet casually sidestepped him, effortlessly avoiding his grasp. Then, she lifted her head to look out the window, where the noise and footsteps outside were growing clearer.
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Ignoring the expression of surprise on his face, as if he couldn’t believe that she, a seemingly fragile girl, could move so quickly, the black-haired girl lazily stretched her somewhat stiff body from sitting for too long and waved to her companions.
“Don’t make it difficult for the old man. Let’s go. We’ll go meet those who were attracted here. Hopefully, they’re big fish.”
“Hey! Are you guys insane...?!”
Once again ignoring the poor Mr. Side-Swept Bangs, Violet pushed the door and headed straight towards the direction where the voices were coming from, which was the main path leading to the exit of the residence. Little Dragon and the others naturally followed behind.
However, what surprised Miss Priestess a little was that despite the fact that the Side-Swept Bangs guy had seemed on the verge of exploding earlier, he quickly caught up after that and didn’t continue to nag them to leave. Instead, he seemed somewhat resigned?
This guy... though a bit impulsive, still had some backbone, huh? To dare to face the army with them in this situation?
It should be noted that doing so was basically equivalent to standing on the same side as “fugitives” like Violet and the others. Once the two sides really clashed, even if the army summarily executed Side-Swept Bangs on the spot under the charge of treason, it would be completely legal and reasonable.
The residence of the Black Knights Mercenary Group was not large, and the distance between the two sides was not far. After walking a few steps, Lester’s anxious and helpless voice came over.
“They did come here indeed, but they left very early. Even if we search, it’s only...”
Well-equipped soldiers of the Kingdom were marching along the road in perfect formation. The magic hats and staffs faintly visible in the middle were firmly guarded by spear and shield soldiers.
The cavalrymen in heavy armor, riding unicorn-like magical beasts, protected the flanks, and at the rear, though not visible, was most likely a bow and crossbow unit made up of skilled marksmen.
This was the standard highest-scale formation of the Human United Kingdom, specifically designed to deal with individual or small groups of strong opponents. Violet had read descriptions of such formations in books before.
Judging from their aura, the quality of these soldiers was quite good, at least level 10 or above, while the heavy cavalry and the dozen or so mages were even stronger, each at level 20, which was beyond the gold-tier range.
Any one of them would give Mr. Side-Swept Bangs quite a hard time in a fight.
With such a formation composed of powerful individuals, even if a strong opponent from the earth or sky were surrounded within, it would be difficult to break out, and even legendary figures might not be able to resist.
It seemed that the Demon Suppression City had indeed come prepared, probably inferring from the intelligence provided by Alvin that Violet and the others were formidable.
Truly deserving of being the pivotal fortress against the demonic mountains in the north, the largest city in the Northern Territories. Although a bit rundown, it indeed possessed real strength.