---

Chapter 17: Until an Arrow Hits My Knee

After subduing that disgusting spherical object, Miss Vilyric didn’t directly cut all the tendrils extending from it in one go this time, but instead chose a thinner one for Leila to sever.

*Puff!*

The vine snapped and fell downward.

But this time, there was no gray mist escaping.

“?”

Miss Vilyric was momentarily stunned, then realized it and her lips curled up slightly.

“How interesting…”

This thing, after having its residing tendril severed, proactively transferred itself to another branch. Its intelligence is likely much higher than expected.

This is definitely an unknown magical beast with intelligence.

In the following time, the Priestess conducted quite a bit of research on this peculiar gray-mist-like creature through those two unfortunate souls that were infected.

This thing has an extremely aggressive nature, almost like an instinctive reaction, or rather, a consciousness seeking a host.

It likely cannot survive long in the air; as soon as it breaks free from that spherical shell, it immediately looks for another host.

And it’s cunning, knowing how to seek advantages and avoid dangers, ambushing its targets, which is absurd enough on its own.

After all, it’s just a puff of formless mist.

However, faced with someone even more unreasonable like Miss Vilyric, no matter how strange this thing was, it couldn’t stir up any waves. After the research was completed, the Priestess casually annihilated it.

By the way, she also healed those two volunteers who had been such a big help.

Meanwhile, the priests, seemingly brought by Edgar, had also finished purifying the air of the *Disaster*.

Although all the spotlight had been stolen by Miss Vilyric, they looked as if they had come merely to tag along, but the temple cultists showed no signs of dissatisfaction. Instead, their gazes towards the black-haired girl were filled with respect.

After all, the pure Holy Light displayed by Miss Vilyric was probably something they had never seen in their lives, and they must have thought of her as an esteemed figure wandering through their temple. Miss Vilyric couldn’t be bothered to explain; she had seen so much like it before.

Just as things were wrapping up, Edwina, who had been outside helping the disaster victims, finally calmed the chaos and came over, satisfied. Given her current strength, such small scenes were naturally no trouble for her.

Miss Vilyric stood up and flicked the specially-made crystal bottle in her hand that contained a wisp of gray mist, something she had purposely saved as a sample.

This gray mist creature was quite interesting; even though most had been purified, this tiny bit still retained the parasitic instinct and some intelligence. It piqued Miss Vilyric’s curiosity about how they distinguished the concept of “individual.”

Or was there actually a unified consciousness?

Ignoring the various gazes from adventurers and priests, the Priestess stretched.

“Well, although things strayed somewhat from the scheduled plan, we still obtained some decent leads. It’s getting late, so let’s find an inn in town to rest for the night, and tomorrow we…”

“Please wait a moment.”

The half-beastman president of the Yanilo City Adventurers’ Guild, Edgar, suddenly spoke up, and with what seemed like a specially meaningful gaze, he met the silver-blue eyes of the Priestess.

“Miss Vilyric, and several others, since you’ve helped so much today, would you allow me to treat you all to dinner?”

This was just a surface excuse.

Miss Vilyric saw right through it.

Whether he witnessed the strength of Miss Vilyric and her companions or not, this half-beast tiger man’s attitude—or rather, his aura—had undergone an indescribable change.

This corroborated Miss Vilyric’s initial suspicion.

He surely knew some insider information.

“Sure, it’s getting late anyway, but we have quite particular tastes ~”

Edgar blinked, then broke into a wry smile.

“Don’t worry, I’ll surely meet everyone’s needs.”

The half-beastman called over the still somewhat bewildered Cat Daughter.

“Mier, give orders to prepare a grand dinner with top-quality ingredients immediately.”

“Uh? Okay! Edgar big brother, I’m on it!”

Though she didn’t understand their encrypted conversation, Mier knew what to do at that moment and hurried out.

After briefly handling some matters at the guild and asking the priests who had come to assist to start treating the infected, Edgar dismissed the idle bystanders and led Miss Vilyric and the others up to a private room.

He opened the door, and they entered in succession.

“This small establishment lacks conditions, so please forgive me, but the food should be out shortly, so have a seat.”

Though Edgar said that, this private room was probably the best in the entire guild.

Spanning over a hundred square meters, it was elegantly furnished with complete amenities, and even someone had already prepared a gentle incense and brewed hot tea.

The young ladies took their seats, and Edgar sat down directly opposite Miss Vilyric.

No attending servants were visible in the private room—aside from Miss Vilyric and her companions, the only person there was Edgar himself, who kindly closed the door after entering.

It was clear he had some secrets to discuss.

“So… I’ll confirm once again, you all are here to hunt the *Southern Disaster Phantom Cloud*, correct?”

Edgar cut to the chase without any formalities.

“Hmm, I believe I’ve said this before, there’s no need to repeat it, right?”

Although Miss Vilyric’s tone wasn’t very polite, even a little blunt, it didn’t warrant any anger after Edgar’s earlier sneer; after all, he had provoked her first.

The man nodded firmly in agreement.

“If you can truly eliminate the *Southern Disaster*, it would be a great benefit to the entire Wasteland to the far south, and even the world; I don’t care where you come from or why you’re undertaking this grand endeavor…but may I ask how much you know about the *Phantom Cloud*? Do you have means to deal with its three major characteristics?”

“The three major characteristics?”

The Priestess tilted her head, while Little Dragon Daughter and the others also looked puzzled. They had never heard of this concept before.

“You don’t… know at all?”

The expression of the half-beastman shifted from anticipation to disappointment.

Noticing the other party’s emotion, Miss Vilyric decided to speak frankly.

“We truly haven’t heard of those three major characteristics—is that strange? If I’m not mistaken, Mr. Edgar, you also learned about these secrets only after fighting the *Phantom Cloud*, right?”

“How do you…?”

Almost instinctively, a look of visible turmoil and astonishment appeared on the man’s face, clearly signifying that Miss Vilyric’s words had struck at the deepest secret within him.

Seeing Edgar’s reaction was merely a way to tease him, the Priestess confirmed the intuition drawn from some clues.

This guy has indeed fought against the *Phantom Cloud*.

In fact, when Miss Vilyric first saw Edgar in the guild hall, she had already noticed.

This half-beastman had injuries—hidden injuries.

Or rather, something within him was continuously clashing against Edgar, absorbing his power. This caused Edgar, who should have possessed legendary-level strength, to only display something equivalent to the upper levels of sky and earth.

Ordinary folks might not see this, but someone like Miss Vilyric, who was observant, would never let that slip by.

Legendary beings are exceptionally rare even in the United Kingdom, a major world power; it’s even more so in a small nation like Kwei, right?

This Edgar’s identity must be unusual, and coupled with his deep apprehension towards the *Southern Disaster Phantom Cloud*, Miss Vilyric quickly drew a certain inference.

Wasn’t there a general from the Kwei Kingdom who mentioned that in this extreme south wasteland, there once was a legendary figure leading an assault against the *Phantom Cloud*, only to have their entire army wiped out, and the legendary figure completely disappeared?

Could it be that he never died?