Chapter 23: The Stalker

A few girls quickly passed through the tavern door, disappearing into the dimming streets, when suddenly, Sasha tapped the table with her fingers and shot Xavier a meaningful glance.

“Hey, President, look over there…”

Mr. Merchant and the young Captain of the Guards had been working together for over a year, so with just a slight motion, he instantly understood her meaning and couldn’t help but furrow his brow.

He clearly saw tall figures, who had originally been sitting in the corner, rise quickly after the girls left, stealthily following behind them.

Sasha grinned.

“Hey, looks like some people are going to be in trouble… The public safety in Holy Star City isn’t as good as you said, President.”

Xavier turned to look at the girl carrying a longbow.

“So, when you say ‘some people,’ who are you referring to?”

“Hehe, who knows? Whoever you think it is, that’s who it is. So what should we do now? Dash in and intervene, or just pretend we saw nothing and walk away?”

After a brief contemplation, this excellent merchant, who had built an association of nearly a thousand people by just past his forties, made his decision.

“Of course, we can’t turn a blind eye. Though I think ordinary enemies might not be a bother for that lady, it’s better to be safe than sorry. We don’t need to show our faces… Let’s go find the Temple Knights.”

…

Miss Vilyric was being followed.

Perhaps her pursuer thought their stealth skills were exceptional, undetectable by ordinary folks, but to be honest… they weren’t that great. Even without the cheating artifact known as SP, just relying on the sharp intuition and keen senses of the Little Dragon Daughter, it was easy to spot these suspicious individuals.

In other words, those lurking figures in the darkness were as obvious to Vilyric and her companions as if they were illuminated by floodlights, even Tilysha could sense something was off.

In fact, Vilyric oddly felt that the pursuers hadn’t even intended to hide… it felt quite brazen.

“Miss Xī, is someone behind us…?”

“Shh…”

The Priestess, wearing a white fox mask and with the half-artifact effect of the Mask of the God Fox, gained a fresh image and identity as she gently squeezed the palm of the blue-haired girl and subtly shook her head.

Seeing this, Tilysha quickly closed her mouth and put on a façade as if nothing had happened, having followed Vilyric long enough to understand this lady’s occasionally mischievous nature.

Such actions… as Miss Vilyric would describe, should be called “fishing,” right?

Noticing that Tilysha quickly understood her meaning, the Priestess silently nodded in satisfaction and signaled the other three girls with her eyes. They gradually left the bustling night market in favor of a relatively quiet alley.

To be honest, being tracked or followed wasn’t a first for Vilyric. During their travels in the United Kingdom, she and the Little Dragon Daughter often encountered similar unsavory characters in some smaller towns with poorer security.

Their motives were fairly simple and straightforward, typically lusting after wealth or beauty. So the Priestess usually just brushed them off with a mild reprimand; as long as they weren’t those hard-headed, unyielding villains, she wouldn’t take their lives.

But the situation was different here in the Holy Empire. It had been about half a month since they entered, and truthfully, this was Vilyric’s first encounter with such a situation in this country that revered light and freedom. At least… this blatant kind.

First of all, unlike before, the “Priestess’s travel group” had now expanded to five. With the presence of Leila and Renée—both looking not at all easy to mess with—the discerning folks around should have no cause for attention on them.

Moreover, though the Holy Empire was freer and more open, its security was actually more robust compared to the United Kingdom or Kingdom of Azure that Vilyric had experienced.

There was no official government structure here; instead, they had organizations called the Temple and the Temple Knights.

As the name suggests, the Temple Knights were naturally composed of Temple Knights. Of course, not all knights here were Holy Knights like Edwina; it was a relatively general term, akin to the armed forces under the Temple’s command.

Among them could be genuine professional Holy Knights, or those more adept in physical purging, like Arbiters, or even Priests and Holy Mages—essentially, any holy practitioners could be called Temple Knights.

In simpler terms, the knights here were akin to “police” back on Blue Star.

Perhaps due to their faith-based education, Vilyric had to admit that most of the Temple Knights she had interacted with thus far were quite diligent and possessed a strong sense of justice.

Unlike the United Kingdom, where although they were official forces, they rarely adopted a superior attitude toward the populace, at least within their capabilities—even for trivial matters like a lost kitten or puppy, they would sincerely mobilize efforts for a search and approached criminals with exceptional courage and resolve, nearly self-sacrificing.

Indeed, a group worthy of the name “knights.”

Thanks to them, even in the poorest villages or towns within the Holy Empire, safety was generally quite good, and no petty thug would dare cause trouble in the Holy Nation. It was no wonder Edwina always spoke proudly of her home.

So, Vilyric was curious why there would be fools in a large city like Holy Star City daringly following several delicate girls.

They were either idiots or shameless repeat offenders.

As the surrounding pedestrians gradually thinned out, Vilyric deliberately led her stalkers to a secluded spot, yet they seemed utterly unconcerned, sticking closely behind her.

Until they stepped into a dark dead-end, where no passersby were in sight, the masked Fox Miss suddenly turned around, waving her hand!

“Getting too bold, huh! Let’s get to it!”

“Understood!”

Almost simultaneously, the blue-haired girl raised her palm upward, and several vine plants as thick as barrels suddenly shot up, completely blocking the only exit of the alley, while the two girls with white wings swiftly leapt out from either side, charging at the tall figures who seemed momentarily confused by the sudden turn of events.

As a Sky Guardian, Leila had already cultivated to the peak of legend. In an instant, she moved to the side of the foremost enemy, her spear becoming an afterimage as she unceremoniously struck toward the leg’s vital point. The identity of the opponent was unknown, and though she didn’t intend to kill immediately, she at least needed to incapacitate them from resisting or escaping.

“Wow!”

But surprisingly, the opponent didn’t lag either. With a panicked shout, they jumped up from their spot, though in a clumsy manner, they managed to evade Leila’s certain attack, followed by an agile backflip, landing again and frantically shouting out.

“Don’t attack, don’t attack! Young lady! It’s me!”

   

---