Chapter Thirty-Three: The Choir of Saints’ Actions (Part Two)
“You seem quite confident in the Northern Army.”
The man replied, “This piques my curiosity. I want to confirm where your confidence comes from… Anseier is dead, right? Your subordinates told me, hmm… let me guess, the one who killed him is a little girl? She’s got long black hair, from the Frost Order… am I right?”
The Squad Leader’s expression suddenly changed.
He remembered Lord Bella’s advice from earlier that day, clearly meant to guard against those d*mn clerics.
“Unfortunate news to report…”
“Looks like I hit the nail on the head.”
However, the Cloaked Man keenly caught the sudden shift in the Squad Leader’s expression, and in his mind declared: “Don’t think you can pull a fast one on me. Your subordinates spilled everything! If I ever find out you’re not singing from the same hymn sheet, I’ll k*ll him and let you live.”
“What the hell…”
The healing light shone again, closing the wound on the thigh.
“Second question—did that massive ice mound on the wall come from that little girl… I won’t even need to say her name, will I?”
“I don’t know… Aah!”
The short sword spun in the man’s palm and chopped off the Squad Leader’s right pinky, which was resting on the ground. “By the way, my healing miracle is somewhat limited. If you lose a finger, it’s really gone… lose another one, and you’ll never hold a sword again.”
bl**d gushed from the severed digit, only to be stopped by the healing glow.
“……”
The Squad Leader remained silent for a long moment, gasping in pain.
It really hurt like a b*tch…
“What a shame, if only I had brought some torture devices…”
The Cloaked Man muttered to himself, and then continued, “Time is running out. If this drags on, I won’t be able to save your subordinate… and when that happens, I’ll definitely let you live. I don’t mind revealing my identity; the Northern Army and the Church are already enemies.”
“……”
The Squad Leader still kept his mouth shut.
“Miss Peilo is in the city right now, your subordinates informed me.”
That d*mn little punk…
The Squad Leader glared at him angrily, his eyes narrowing, “You have no idea who you’re messing with…”
“You’re angry.”
The Cloaked Man calmly met his gaze. “Looks like I guessed correctly; she really is in the city.”
!?
The Squad Leader was stunned for two seconds before realizing.
He said guessed…
“Uh ah ah—”
With a quick swipe, another finger flew away.
“Captain…”
At that moment, a young warrior seemed to regain some clarity, whispering as if swatting a mosquito, “I… didn’t say… anything… don’t… listen to him…”
“I’m sorry, but due to your lack of cooperation, you won’t save your subordinate’s life.”
The Cloaked Man stood up, his tone heavy and cold as if it came from an ice cave. He looked down at the dying young warrior, glanced at the Squad Leader, and lifted his right foot, placing it on the young warrior’s head.
Slowly applying pressure.
“d*mn clerics! You killed my people; do you think you can just walk away? You won’t survive tonight! The Princess will squash your heads like bugs—”
The Cloaked Man, Ramiel, looked at the Northern Army captain’s furious, twisted face, a slight smirk appearing before it vanished.
The Princess, huh…
He then lifted his foot, choosing not to k*ll the young warrior. Instead, he cast a healing miracle, watching as the young warrior’s color gradually returned. Ignoring the Squad Leader’s bewildered look, he turned and left quietly.
…………
Ramiel stepped out of the cave, his boots crunching in the snow, and the night wind howled like a crane. Far in the distance lay the enormous Chielis City.
He rubbed his hands together, glancing back at the snowbank where a figure was sneakily sitting, peering around.
Torches flickered outside the city, growing more numerous by the second, and noisy shouts echoed in the distance—those were the Northern Army looking for intruders. The nearest light was just a kilometer or two away.
“Hey, Emily!”
Ramiel called out, and the woman looked down, sliding down the snowbank immediately, complaining, “They’re already on alert outside, quick as a flash! In the blink of an eye, the Northern Army is everywhere… this is all your fault! How are we supposed to retreat now? I’m seriously considering taking you down and stealing your medium sphere—might just be enough.”
“Who said we’re retreating?”
Ramiel ignored her comment, saying, “Let’s find a chance to get into the city.”
“!?!”
Emily’s eyes bulged wide. “Are you out of your mind!?”
“She’s in the city.”
Ramiel tightened his cloak, stealing a glance at the distant firelight, and began walking up the slope toward Chielis City. “I need to see for myself; you can leave on your own.”
“Are you crazy? Are you looking for d*ath?!”
Emily stomped her foot in frustration from behind, yelling, “You’ve already figured it out, right? It’s definitely her! Why not k*ll those Northern Army guys? You’re really asking for it, aren’t you? If you keep this up, I’m not playing along anymore—”
“Find a way to get to Moon Mountain Gorge and wait for me there.”
“Hey!”
As she watched the man’s figure grow distant, Emily gritted her teeth, hesitated for a moment, and decided to chase after him. “Screw your crazy ideas…”
Running alongside Ramiel, she fumed, “So what if you see her? What will you do?! Bring her back to the Holy City? Do you really think you can pull that off? What’s going on in that silly head of yours? Enough already; we should head back—”
“Back?”
The man mumbled as he walked, “Back to where?”
“To the Holy City, you idiot!”
The two, using the snow hills for cover, dodged the firelight, swiftly moving toward the city. Picking up speed, Ramiel dashed into the open. Emily paused for a moment, then quickly caught up. Their shadow danced under the night, slipping past several search teams of the Northern Army unnoticed.
“Get past these average soldiers, and when we’re near the city, it won’t be so easy… Seriously, why am I going along with your madness…”
They hid in the shadows and watched silently. Ramiel ignored Emily’s frustrated ramblings and picked up their earlier conversation, “Can we really return to the Holy City?”
“What do you mean?”
In the darkness, Emily squinted at the man’s profile.
“We messed up at the Silent Fortress, disobeyed orders coming here, our names might already be written on the defector list.”
“No way…”
Emily couldn’t believe it: “The Pope knows what we’re doing; he wouldn’t allow this to happen.”
But the man fell silent, simply shaking his head.
After a moment, the two continued toward Chielis City, and all the while, Emily worried over the man’s earlier words, losing her urge to rant.
They avoided another search party, and the man suggested they circle wide and scale the walls from the outside while the hunt hadn’t fully ramped up. For both of them, it was actually easy, as long as the soldiers on the walls were just average Northern fighters, same as the ones outside.
“Besides, Skarlij won’t be on the walls. You think the Northern Army only has that special patient besides Skarlij? The rest are all useless, right?”
What could Emily do?
Since she chose to accompany him on this risky venture, she might as well go all in—she thought so, but honestly, both of them knew. Even though they endlessly chattered, the only reason they dared to take such actions was simply one.
That they both had tremendous confidence in their own abilities.
