Chapter 238: The Two Parties in Search

The blonde girl didn’t directly answer Miss Demon Lady’s question; she just smiled.

“Why do you think the ‘Judging Holy Sword’ was unearthed in the Province of Sanos?”

“Tsk…”

Suppressing the increasing discomfort and nausea from being completely dominated in the conversation, Clisia decided to jump straight to the crucial part.

“So, what’s the ask? What do we have to do to find the Holy Sword and hand it to you?”

“No, you just need to search for it and try to contend for it; whether you can get it or not doesn’t matter. How about this: such an endeavor could trade for a descendant of Iroen—sounds like a good deal, right?”

Hearing this somewhat strange condition, Miss Demon Lady weighed it in her heart and quickly responded.

“Alright, within the Province of Sanos, we will do our utmost to search. But I must say it upfront: putting aside the ‘impurity’ for now, ‘killing’ in this world absolutely has its own plans and purposes. That madman could do things that even Father can’t predict one hundred percent, so…”

“Ah, I understand. You want to say that trade is trade; on the battlefield, we’re still enemies, right? That’s how it should be. As for the ‘killing’ plans, I have my suspicions about that; there’s no need for you to worry about our ‘corruption’ lineage.”

“Hmph…”

Clisia seemed particularly irritated by the Saintess’s calm and confident demeanor. Though having witnessed the terrifying calculations beneath the surface, Miss Demon Lady opened her mouth but couldn’t come up with any sarcastic remarks.

Demons and clergy are natural enemies, especially this so-called Saintess in front of her, which should’ve made Clisia take her seriously, yet she couldn’t help but feel the urge to subdue her, just like back in the battlefield with the Judging Saintess Fleidetrika.

But with Yuna Summerfield, Clisia couldn’t summon even a trace of that sentiment.

In the end, she merely waved her hand as if shooing a plague.

“The deal is set; you may leave. But remember, if Chloé is missing even a single hair during the formal handover, we will never let this go. You should understand this is not a threat.”

“Ha~”

As if she didn’t take the other party’s harsh words to heart, the blonde girl glanced again at the distant flames rising in City of Saint Sanos, shook her head slightly, then rolled up the scroll in her hand and turned to leave.

“By the way… Yuna Summerfield.”

Having not taken more than a few steps, a voice suddenly rang out behind her, causing the Saintess to pause momentarily.

Yuna did not respond but turned her head slightly towards the pink-haired Demon Lady who called her.

After a bit of hesitation, Clisia’s sleek long tail twisted and entangled for a while, and ultimately she spoke up.

“To be honest, since coming to this world, you’re the first being I find utterly incomprehensible… May I ask from my own standpoint why you, as a Saintess of the Church of the Goddess, secretly communicate with and assist your father in launching this war?”

“?”

For the first time, a look of surprise named “unexpected” appeared on the Saintess’s face.

But the next second, she gathered her seemingly unmelting gentle smile into a serious expression.

“Miss Clisia, what do you think… is the greatest crisis facing our Holy Empire now?”

“Uh, the invasion of demons?”

Yuna shook her head, seemingly unafraid to disclose information regarding this to the enemy, the Demon Lady.

“The Goddess’s people have never feared war. You, mere external enemies suppressed and limited by the world’s power, aren’t enough to lead to the destruction of a thousand-year-old Holy Kingdom. It’s a crisis but not a fatal one.”

“If it weren’t for my covert assistance, you would find it hard to breach the Holy Fortress, wouldn’t you?”

“Tsk…”

She spared no mercy, almost directly insulting it as “just a trifle,” making Miss Demon Lady, also a target of that mockery, puff up her cheeks with indignation and ask out of discontent.

“So what is the fatal crisis? An external enemy stronger than us demons, or those other countries in your world that are eyeing you closely?”

This conversation undoubtedly touched on the core of Yuna’s true intentions, and she certainly wouldn’t easily share this with Clisia, an outsider.

Thus, the Saintess turned around, leaving behind one last sigh.

“The Holy Kingdom was born for a reason, and its existence will also crumble when lost. I am merely… correcting certain short-sighted, foolish errors made by people three hundred years ago. This is a punishment we have rightly earned.”

A faint golden light soared like a butterfly; the blonde girl’s form gradually broke apart and dissipated into countless light points, vanishing from the spot, leaving Miss Demon Lady with a bewildered, shocked expression under the moon.

“This is… the incarnation of a soul?! How could a half-god, half-Light Tribe being not even at the lord threshold master such advanced abilities? That can only be attained by truly grasping some rules and reaching…”

Muttering to herself, Clisia’s deep purple eyes added more curiosity and… confusion.

“No wonder she acts so recklessly… Yuna Summerfield, just how many things is she hiding? Is it really okay to cooperate with her?”

…

“That should do it. Who knew I’d encounter such ridiculous matters right after arriving… Am I lucky or unlucky?”

Standing on the soft soil outside the City of Saint Sanos, Miss White Fox turned back to gaze at the night sky where flames were still rising behind the city wall, shaking her head in resignation.

“Miss Xī, what exactly happened on your end…?”

Noticing the puzzled and bewildered expression on the Soul’s face that seemed genuine, and recalling some flashing insights from earlier, Vilyric fell silent for a moment before pointing toward a shaded path leading outside the city.

“Let’s talk as we walk; there are some things I need to confirm with your Lingyin Merchant Association… in the name of Xī.”

A night without words.

After setting up a temporary campsite in the forest far from City of Saint Sanos, exchanging a few simple words, they spent a brief night before embarking once more.

In the name of Xī or, as the other party thought, the “Spiritual Fox Priestess,” the Soul had no intention of holding back any information; thus, Vilyric learned of their previous conflict with the demons in detail.

But unfortunately, just as a certain Gray-clothed Swordsman previously stated, they were simply there to activate the magic array remaining from the earlier Lingyin Merchant Association, and they really had no idea what it was meant for.

Later, Vilyric specifically used her SP form to sneak back into the city and found the imprint they described, but it was already completely damaged from use. The opponents acted very cleanly, leaving not even a trace to trace back; it was clear they were seasoned pros.

While she had some guesses about who had used that portal, regrettably, they couldn’t further verify it for now.

Setting this aside, the necessary tasks had to continue.

The mission of the Soul and the “Grim Reaper’s Scythe” team was to find the hidden “Enchantment Pearl” somewhere in Province of Sanos and bring it back to the Lingyin Merchant Association. As for the City of Saint Sanos, he’d already explored its sealed half of the pearl and found no such item present.

Vilyric intended to roam around the demon-controlled territory casually while looking for Edwina’s sister, the Judging Saintess, and her held artifact, the “Judging Holy Sword.”

If she wasn’t mistaken, certain others were likely searching for the same thing, so it would be best to find it first, seize the opportunity, and protect it.

The Province of Sanos lies within the Holy Empire’s borders, relatively poor and remote, predominantly hilly and filled with undeveloped primitive forest regions. The largest plain is near the provincial city of Saint Sanos located close to the west.

Due to geographical and economic influences, the security of this province is among the lowest in the Holy Empire.

In the rolling hills east of City of Saint Sanos, swamps, primitive jungles, and undeveloped lands are abundant, hiding many robbers and bandits who fled here, cunning magical beasts, and even secretive cultists. Traveling alone is particularly dangerous.

The incomplete eradication of evil forces and the complex environment is one of the significant reasons why demons choose to make moves in the Province of Sanos.

But crisis always coexists with opportunity.

Because many places are perilous and seldom visited, even demons find it difficult to tread there. So if one were to say where the other half of the “Enchantment Pearl” that fell within the Province of Sanos was most likely hidden, undoubtedly, it would be in the vast dangerous lands of this area.

In the same vein, if Fleidetrika Cecelia wanted to avoid demon pursuit and hide after being injured, this area would be the most probable choice.

   

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