While Lan was back at home after a long absence, engaging in what she deemed necessary activities, on the other side, Violet, located in the underground black market of the Universal Emporiums, learned the truth about the so-called Radiant Forest and the so-called Radiant Source Crystal from that [Charmers] maid.
In a way, it’s a bit funny and somewhat nostalgic, huh? Who would have thought that even after they had voluntarily withdrawn, the residual effects of the 10th-tier magic could still cause such earth-shattering changes locally, with its influence even reaching the Demon Suppression City in the north of the kingdom.
This was Violet’s first time using Barrier-type 10th-tier magic in the real world, so she wasn’t aware that it would have such an impact. Truly deserving of being called forbidden magic, even by deities like Sethlin.
Oh, wait.
Come to think of it, didn’t she also use it once in the Sky City before? The range was even larger, directly covering the entire Sky Island... Could it be...?
“Aaahhh! Headache! I don’t know, I don’t know! I don’t want to know what’s going on there!!!”
Intentionally burying her head in the sand and not considering what was happening there, Violet quickly left this outrageous thing that was priced at a whopping 3 million gold coins to shift her attention.
But after looking around, aside from the Radiant Source Crystal she had just seen, there wasn’t anything else that particularly caught the attention of the priestess.
She definitely wouldn’t buy things like banned drugs or poisons, nor did she think there would ever be a need for such things. If she had to say, she was somewhat interested in the production methods of these things, which was the so-called pharmacology, but unfortunately, almost nothing like formulas and principles of medicines was sold in the black market, as these were the lifelines of pharmacists.
As for others selling her energy crystals, it didn’t matter to her. After all, the ore was there, and people could mine it as they pleased. Violet wouldn’t lose anything because of it.
Just as the priestess was about to wander around a bit more before leaving the Universal Emporium.
“Boom!!!”
Suddenly, there came a thunderous roar from outside!
“Ah!”
Many customers and maids in the shops, including the little imp standing beside Violet and Xiao Guang, were knocked down by the loud noise and vibration, their faces full of fear. Many of them immediately reacted, rushing towards the door, wanting to find out what had happened.
“Hmm?”
This slight commotion naturally didn’t scare Miss Priestess, who was used to storms and waves. She just glanced at the little dragon girl with a hint of curiosity, casually pulling up the imp on the ground before turning around.
“Let’s go out and take a look too.”
Although Violet said this to Xiao Guang, it’s unclear if the little imp maid, who seemed to have mistaken the previous gesture as a signal from Miss Priestess to follow, also followed them, seemingly hopeful to accompany the priestess who bought her.
Though she noticed this, Violet wasn’t heartless enough to stop the young girl even from such matters. If she wanted to come along, let her for now.
Arriving at the entrance of Universal Emporium, Violet found chaos outside as well. Everywhere were vendors packing up and preparing to flee, and pedestrians were running in panic. Not far away, a particularly tall stone building had been split in half.
A smooth cut diagonally split the entire building, with the upper half, over ten meters high, crashing down, stirring up countless dust and cries. The huge roar just now evidently came from the impact of the building with the ground.
“Huh? Who’s this now, coming to join the fun?”
Although muttering to herself, Violet was secretly assessing the strength of the attacker who made this strike.
Preliminary assessment suggested they were at least at the level of legends or higher, and the cutting marks resembled those made by a blade or sword.
Of course, ordinary means definitely wouldn’t be able to cause such massive destructive power in an instant. The other party must have used techniques like sword qi, or something similar to the ability in games called “dimensional slicing”.
Violet didn’t have a systematic understanding of such martial arts. The reason she judged it to be at the legendary-level was because she knew someone like Miss Lan, who was also a sky-level practitioner skilled in swordsmanship, wouldn’t be able to split such a tall building in one strike.
And...
Miss Priestess hadn’t forgotten that bald Seventh Lord had mentioned this place was the territory of the Ghost Thief Group. Although the gang had seemingly withdrawn, they still maintained control over the area in secret. Anyone causing such a commotion here was most likely targeting them.
“Xiao Guang, let’s get closer and see.”
“Okay, Master.”
Just as they took a few steps, Violet seemed to realize something and turned back to glance at the obediently following young imp girl with a substantial chest.
“Do you really want to follow me that much?”
“Huh? I... I...”
The girl was startled by the question, seeming to instinctively want to deny it, yet also unwilling to give up the opportunity. She nodded hesitantly, appearing quite hesitant and timid, evoking sympathy.
Ha... Truly fitting for an imp.
Although it felt like it would be troublesome, recalling the pitiful sight of those monster slaves she saw on the road, and considering the imp’s proactive attitude, Violet decided to give her a chance.
“Alright, there’s no need to put on that act... Let’s prepare to leave here, right now. If you really wish to follow me so badly, then come along. We’ll talk about the rest later. How does that sound?”
Instantly, an uncontrollable excitement appeared on the imp girl’s face.
“Re-really! You’re willing to buy...”
Violet raised a hand, interrupting the exuberant servant.
“Wrong, it’s not buying, it’s taking you away. Please understand the difference between the two.”
“What? You’re going to snatch me away?! That’s not allowed! The shop...”
Seeing the imp girl looking around anxiously, Violet couldn’t help but sigh, but still patiently explained.
“This isn’t snatching. You might not know, but slave trading is prohibited by the laws of the Human United Kingdom, and I don’t intend to force you. As for the shop, as I said, I’ll ensure your safety. Well, that’s all I have to say. I’m pressed for time, so decide quickly.”
“I...”
The surprise gradually turned into astonishment, then the maid lowered her head and fell silent.
“Is that so... Alright, I’ve received your answer.”
With a resigned chuckle, the black-haired girl turned around and walked out of the shop without looking back.
“Don’t...! Guest, would you reconsider? Actually, my price isn’t too high...!”
Subconsciously, the maid took a few steps after them, but hesitated at the doorway. Although she cast a pitiful look at the backs of the two girls, this time, Violet didn’t turn back.
Miss Priestess could see that the imp girl did indeed have a momentary temptation, but ultimately refused. She wanted to leave this place, but she preferred to do it through trade, even if it meant remaining a slave.
Perhaps it was the fear ingrained in her heart since childhood that made her recoil, or maybe she thought Violet was just bluffing, but the greater likelihood was simply that she didn’t want to take the risk. She wanted a stable life, even if it meant living as a slave.
As a slave from birth, her courage had long been worn away by years of servitude. Or perhaps, from the moment of her birth, the environment made this little imp feel like a lowly creature. Her interest in Violet was probably just seeking a good master.
In truth, whether buying or snatching, Violet didn’t care. Under normal circumstances, considering that it was Universal Emporium that raised this imp, she might have gone through the process and paid. But someone was in a hurry to join in the excitement.
Violet didn’t want a slave, she was willing to take her in only out of pity, combined with the imp girl’s repeated proactive gestures, thinking that this child might be different.
It was a bit of a pity, but not surprising. In the end, Miss Priestess didn’t even know the imp girl’s name. Perhaps being raised as a slave by humans from childhood, she never even had a name that represented her existence.
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And such a girl was just a tiny reflection of the countless monsters persecuted and enslaved by humans.
“Sigh, a bit annoying. It seems I’ll have to contact Lilya after going out and sort out this mess...”
Since she had seen it, she couldn’t just ignore it. Although the Demon Suppression City might be unreliable, Queen Miss was trustworthy. It’s just that someone might have to work overtime again.
As for the part that violence could directly solve... like a force called the Ghost Thief Group or some ignorant individuals, Violet could handle it for them.
In fact, she was doing it right now.
“How rare, Master, clearly seeing a lovely girl asking for shelter, yet still able to walk away so decisively. Has your aesthetic standard risen?”
As they moved against the fleeing crowd, Violet heard the slightly astonished voice of her pet dragon.
She turned her head, meeting the radiant golden vertical pupils of her pet, her tone somewhat helpless.
“Hey hey, when did I ever have the character setting of ‘can’t move when seeing a beauty’?”
Xiao Guang neither affirmed nor denied, only a slight curve appeared at the corner of his lips, a curvature rarely seen by outsiders, as she solemnly said,
“Isn’t it though? Since arriving in this world, more and more girls have gathered around Master in just over a year. The human queen named Lilya goes without saying, then there’s Leila, Rene, Edwina, and that Theresa. If we go a bit further, even Sethlin seems to have a particularly good relationship with you, and there are even more if we count those with a bit of flirtation, too many to count, tut tut.”
“Cough cough... This, this is just coincidental encounters, there’s no inherent connection with them all being beautiful girls. Xiao Guang, you’ve been with me the longest, how could you misunderstand like that!”
“Oops...”
Oops, her own pet was giving her strange looks.
But, how should she put it, Violet herself acknowledged that she had never let things like appearance affect her standards. Although she might have a higher initial impression of cute girls, it didn’t mean Miss Priestess would actively approach them.
After all, even though she once had memories of being male, Violet didn’t harbor any overly ambiguous thoughts towards those girls, not even towards Lilya, whom she currently only considered a very close friend.
Violet herself didn’t quite understand why the number of girls around her had inexplicably increased. She was a woman herself now and very mindful of controlling things...
While they chatted idly, their footsteps didn’t slow down at all. Passing through the frightened and chaotic crowd, they quickly arrived near the fallen high-rise.
By now, quite some time had passed since the unknown powerful individual sliced through the building and caused the huge roar. There was hardly any activity near the point of impact.
Certainly, quite a few unlucky individuals must have been affected by the sudden collapse, some even crushed into pulp directly under the fallen building, resulting in a gruesome sight near the landing point, almost unbearable to look at.
Truly a calamity from the heavens.
As a precaution, after roughly confirming that there were no acquaintances among these unfortunate souls, such as the man with the diagonal bangs or the one called Eileen, they continued forward and approached the base of the split high-rise, where the dust had gradually dispersed.