Chapter 881: What Sort Of Killing Intent Is This?!

Cassius led Ragnora further down the tables, stopping before a compact device that resembled a small lantern.

"This is a portable water purifier. Drop it into any water source, and within minutes, it removes impurities and renders the water safe for drinking. Invaluable for long expeditions."

"Water purification?" Ragnora’s eyes shimmered with interest. "That could save countless lives in the field."

"Indeed." He paused. "But it’s not for sale to the general public yet. I’m still working out some of the kinks."

He moved to another item—a flat, circular object with a handle.

"This is a self-heating cooking pan. It absorbs ambient mana and converts it to thermal energy. You can cook an entire meal without any fire whatsoever."

"Extraordinary."

"What about this?" She asked, pointing to a cylindrical object with a lens at one end.

"A telescope," Cassius said. "For observing distant objects. You can see the stars with remarkable clarity—or watch approaching enemies from a much greater distance than the naked eye allows."

One by one, he led her through his inventory.

A set of enchanted quills that never ran out of ink.

A small box that emitted a soft, warm light when opened, perfect for reading in bed.

A tool that measured the depth of mine shafts using sound waves.

By the time he finished, Ragnora’s mind was reeling.

These inventions, if properly developed and distributed could revolutionize life not just in the Holyfield Mines, but across the entire continent.

And this man had created them all himself?

’She really is a sage." She thought. ’A genius the likes of which this world has never seen.’

—

But then her gaze fell upon a stack of books sitting at the corner of one table.

They were unremarkable at first glance—leather-bound volumes with worn spines, clearly well-read.

But the moment Ragnora read the titles, her entire body went rigid.

Her heart rate quickened.

Her fingers twitched at her sides.

For the first time all evening, she looked genuinely excited, more excited than she had been about any of Cassius’s inventions.

Cassius, ever observant, noticed immediately.

"What’s wrong, Commander?" He asked. "Is there something you’re interested in?"

Before she could respond, he snatched up a dagger lying next to the books and held it out to her.

"This is a fine piece! Forged by the master smiths of the Western Reaches. The blade is enchanted for enhanced durability, practically unbreakable! I acquired it from a collector who claimed it once belonged to a legendary mercenary captain—"

Seeing that he had misunderstood, Ragnora’s expression flickered with something that might have been disappointment.

But she quickly masked it with a polite smile.

"It’s nothing. I was simply thinking about something else."

But Cassius didn’t believe her for a moment.

Slowly, he turned his head toward the stack of books.

’Interesting.’

His mind began working, piecing together the clues before a slow, knowing smile spread across his face.

But he said nothing. Instead, he gently guided her away from the table, launching into an explanation of another device, a small musical instrument that played itself when wound up.

Ragnora followed along, nodding at the appropriate moments, but her gaze kept drifting back toward those books.

She wanted them. She wanted them desperately!

But she couldn’t bring herself to ask, not when it would reveal something she preferred to keep private.

So she shook her head, pushed the longing aside, and forced herself to focus on Cassius’s demonstration.

—

The celebration was winding down.

Husbands who had overindulged were being dragged home by their exasperated wives.

Children, exhausted from hours of dancing and playing, dozed in their parents’ arms.

The cleanup crew had already begun their work, gathering discarded plates and sweeping up the remnants of the feast.

And Cassius’s impromptu shop had been completely sold out.

Not a single item remained. Every crystal, every book, every toy, every device had found a new home among the grateful residents of Albrak.

Brenda looked positively exhausted behind her makeshift counter, but she was smiling, a small pouch of coins clutched in her massive hand.

Ragnora stood at the edge of the square, watching the final moments of the celebration. She had hoped to slip back and purchase those books before someone else claimed them, but by the time she’d returned, they were already gone.

’Of course.’ She thought ruefully. ’It was foolish to hesitate.’

But perhaps it was for the best. What would she have done with them anyway?

Hidden them in her chambers? Read them in secret like some guilty schoolgirl?

The very thought made her cringe.

No. It was better this way. The books were gone, the temptation removed. She would simply have to find another source—perhaps on her next visit to the capital.

’Yes.’ She told herself firmly. ’This is for the best.’

She sighed heavily and turned away from the square.

The town was settling into silence now, the last of the revelers in bed now.

But as she walked, she found herself thinking about Cassius. About his kindness. His generosity.

The way he had brought light and hope to her people without asking for anything in return.

’He really is something special.’ She thought. ’Just like—’

She stopped herself before the thought could fully form.

’Just like Big Sis Florence.’

The comparison had been lurking at the edge of her consciousness all night, and now it surfaced with undeniable clarity.

Cassius reminded her of her late sister—not in appearance, certainly, but in spirit. That same warmth. That same genuine care for others.

Florence had been like that. Everyone who met her had felt the sense that they mattered.

And now Cassius carried that same light.

’How strange.’ Ragnora mused. ’To find someone like that again after all these years.’

It was the second time in her life that she had trusted someone so easily.

First Florence, and now Cassius. The realization should have unsettled her, but instead, it brought her a strange sense of comfort.

’Perhaps the world still held good people after all.’

Then...it hit her.

BOOM!

An overwhelming sense of dread crashed into her body like a tidal wave, making every muscle in her frame seize up at once.

Killing intent!

Pure, undiluted murderous intent, pressing down on her from all directions at once.

Ragnora had spent her entire life on battlefields. She knew what killing intent felt like—had felt it from countless enemies, from monsters, from those who wished her dead.

Her senses had been honed to a razor’s edge over decades of combat, allowing her to detect even the faintest traces of hostile emotion.

But this was different.

This was something that made her feel terrified.

But before she could even react, it vanished.

Gone as suddenly as it had appeared, leaving only the lingering echo of dread in her chest.

But Ragnora was on her feet instantly, as she hopped on top of a building. Her eyes swept across the town of Albrak, searching for any sign of the threat.

But the streets were quiet, the last remnants of the celebration having faded hours ago.

Nothing seemed out of place.

But she knew what she had felt.

The only other time she had experienced such a sensation was years ago, during a visit to the capital.

She had been meeting with the Empress when an inexplicable wave of killing intent had washed over her, appearing out of nowhere and vanishing just as quickly.

She had searched for its source, using every resource at her disposal, but found nothing. For two weeks, she had investigated, and for two weeks, she had failed.

Eventually, she had been forced to let the matter go. But the memory had stayed with her, a splinter in her mind that she couldn’t remove.

And now it had returned.

It was intense enough to chill her blood, yet faint enough that only someone with her level of instinct could detect it.

Whoever or whatever was producing this killing intent was operating at a level beyond anything she had encountered.

Ragnora’s hand moved to the hilt of her sword, gripping it tightly as she scanned the darkness.

’Where are you?’ She thought. ’Show yourself.’

As if answering her silent demand, the sensation returned.

BOOM!

Chills ran down her spine like ice water. Her muscles tensed, ready for combat. And this time, she managed to pinpoint the direction.

’North. Beyond the town walls. In the forest that bordered the mining territory.’

Relief and concern warred within her. Relief, because the threat wasn’t inside Albrak—whatever this entity was, if it had been within the walls, the casualties could have been catastrophic.

Concern, because the forest was still dangerously close to her people.

She couldn’t allow this threat to go unchallenged.

Without alerting the guards, Ragnora moved through the quiet streets like a shadow, her massive form somehow avoiding detection as she made her way to the town’s northern edge.

Then she leaped.

A single powerful bound carried her over the wall, her body arcing through the night air before landing silently in the grass beyond.

The forest loomed before her, dark and forbidding, its trees casting twisted shadows in the moonlight.

Ragnora pressed forward.

The forest grew denser as she advanced, the trees closing in around her like silent sentinels. Her senses remained on high alert, every nerve in her body screaming warnings.

’This is an opponent I must take seriously.’ She reminded herself. ’Whatever it is, it’s powerful enough to make even me hesitate.’

She moved deeper and deeper, navigating through the underbrush with practiced silence.

The trees began to thin, giving way to a small clearing bathed in silvery moonlight.

And then she heard it.

"Ahhh!...Ahhhhh!...Haaah!..."

Ragnora froze, her body going rigid as she listened.

It sounded like a woman was moaning in pain!

And immedietly, Ragnora’s blood ran cold.

Some monster had come to her territory, crept into the night, stolen one of the women from the town—and was now committing unspeakable acts upon her!

Her golden eyes blazed with killing intent of their own. She crept forward, silent as death, her sword sliding from its sheath with a whisper of steel.

The moans were growing louder, more urgent. She could hear words now, though they were too soft to make out clearly.

She positioned herself behind a thick bush, muscles coiled like springs, ready to launch herself at the enemy and tear them apart with her bare hands if necessary.

Then she saw them.

And her entire body froze.

—

Because there was no enemy.

There was no villain.

There was only Cassius and Isabelle.

And they were completely, utterly, shamelessly naked.

Ragnora’s mind struggled to process what she was seeing.

Cassius lay on his back on the grassy floor, his well-toned body exposed to the night air. She hadn’t expected him to be so...built.

He was a mana researcher, not a warrior, yet the muscles visible beneath his skin suggested years of physical training.

But that observation was secondary to the fact that he was completely nude.

And riding him was Isabelle.

The same polite, adorable, starry-eyed Isabelle who had chased after her with endless questions.

The same woman who had blushed at Cassius’s public displays of affection.

She was bouncing on his cock like a woman possessed.

"Ahhh!...Yes! Yes! Yes!....Just like that! Ahhhhh!"

Her plump, perky breasts bounced with every movement, pale in the moonlight.

Her ass slapped against his thighs with each powerful thrust of her hips.

And between her legs, Ragnora could see her glistening, sopping-wet pussy being pierced by a shaft that seemed almost impossibly large.

’Oh gods.’

’OH GODS!’

Ragnora’s mind went blank. She had come here to fight a monster, not to witness...this.

"Too fast...Isabelle, you’re going too fast..." Cassius’s voice was strained, pleading. "I’m going to...if you keep that up, I’m going to—"

Isabelle only moaned louder. "But it feels so good! Your cock is going so deep inside me...I can feel every inch...Ah! Right there! Right there!"

The words hit Ragnora like a slap to the face.

’This is Isabelle!?’ She thought, her face growing hot. ’This is the woman who was gushing about my battle strategies this afternoon?!’