Chapter 195: Roger: What does this have to do with me?

Sigh, subscriptions and comments have dropped again these past few days, just like when Britain started.

Did I write something wrong again? Waaaah!

Or is everyone just stockpiling chapters?

—

Mia rang the bell, and three Spirit Wolves appeared. After circling Mia affectionately a few times, they followed her lead.

“We’ll play together later, now go help Wilden!”

Saying it like that made her sound a bit like a black-hearted boss.

In Britain, these three wolves had never come out, and even after returning to The Lands Between, Mia hadn’t released them immediately.

Now, the first thing she did upon ringing the bell was to send them to help Wilden.

But the Spirit Wolves had no complaints.

They immediately followed Wilden and darted into the alley.

Next, Mia had another matter to handle.

The Troll.

The Troll’s ankle had been halfway severed by an axe, and its forehead was nearly split in two.

Mia knew that it was very difficult for people in The Lands Between to truly die.

This certainly included Trolls.

Otherwise, no creature with a normal physiological state could move so freely after having its abdomen hollowed out.

Mia reached out her hand toward the Troll.

Godrick wanted to say something; he extended a few fingers, hesitating for a moment, wanting to stop Mia’s actions.

Trolls were descendants of the Fire Giants.

The cavities in their abdomens were once organs capable of spewing flames—the kind of flame that could burn the Erdtree.

Therefore, Giants and Trolls possessed an unaccepted original sin.

Even if the Troll’s fire-spewing organ was removed, they could only serve as slaves and servants.

They were one of the few races rejected by the Erdtree.

This was why Godrick wanted to stop Mia from using Erdtree Prayers to heal the Troll.

“Aunt,” Godrick called out.

“What is it?”

“That’s a Troll. Even if you leave him alone, he’ll recover on his own.”

“Um…” Mia frowned, Godrick’s words making her pause in thought.

“Do you think Trolls are unworthy of the Erdtree’s grace?”

Mia, of course, knew the history of the Trolls.

“They are descendants of the guilty.”

Hearing Godrick’s answer, Mia smiled.

“No darkness exists where the Erdtree shines, Godrick.”

“Wherever the light of the Erdtree shines is blessed land, and all who live upon it are the chosen people of the Erdtree. I suspect this was your father’s ideal, and it is mine as well.”

When Mia said this, invoking the banner of Godwyn, Godrick’s slight rebellious streak vanished without a trace.

“I think the carriage he pulls is quite steady, isn’t it?”

Mia said with another smile.

She didn’t show any intention of elevating the Troll’s status too much.

She let Godrick know that even if she wanted to use Erdtree Prayers to heal the Troll, the Troll’s duty was still that of a coachman.

In the eyes of most people in The Lands Between, Trolls were nothing more than lowly slaves and laborers.

Mia had no intention of forcibly changing Godrick’s mindset; after all, he had already voiced objections just to the Troll receiving healing grace. If Mia immediately announced that Trolls were equals, Godrick might become even more dissatisfied.

He was, by nature, someone who cared deeply about status.

Golden light healed the fallen Troll.

The Troll Bob opened his eyes. The golden light had not yet dissipated, and he felt confused.

“Stand up quickly, you ungrateful wretch.” The driver, appearing from nowhere, brandished his whip.

The Troll only remembered being cut down by the Soldier who had lunged out from the dust.

“Her Majesty used the power of the Erdtree to heal you.” The driver, somewhat jealous, lashed the whip against the Troll’s body.

To the Troll, it was naturally like an itch, and long-term enslavement had already left a brand on his none-too-bright mind.

No matter how he was whipped, Bob did not resist.

He also knew what the grace of the Erdtree meant.

It was an existence that a slave race like theirs could not look upon, could not touch.

Fear showed on his face.

“Your Majesty—”

He knelt toward Godrick, prostrating himself.

“It’s the other Majesty, you idiot!”

The driver’s whip cracked again.

The massive Troll immediately changed the direction of his prostration.

Even though the grace of the Erdtree had healed him, his expression was as terrified as a victim’s.

Mia could even see that Bob’s enormous body was trembling.

“You are very afraid of me? Why?” Mia raised an eyebrow.

“I… I am not worthy.” Bob desperately lowered his raspy, heavy voice.

“I am the one who healed you; I summoned the power of the Erdtree. Are you questioning my decision?”

Mia deliberately thumped her staff on the ground with a thud.

The Troll looked up slightly, glancing at Mia with his pupil-less, grayish-white eyes.

He didn’t need much movement to do this, because Mia was truly small compared to him.

“No—” he stammered, “I don’t, I have no such thoughts.”

“Good,” Mia nodded. “The grace I gave you is not without a price.”

“What, what do you want me to do?” the Troll asked.

Mia replied, “Pull the carriage well, just as you did before.”

After Bob agreed, he kept his head pressed tightly against the ground, motionless, until Mia told him to get up.

After that, Godrick commanded the soldiers remaining on the scene to clear the wreckage of the carriage.

A long horn blast sounded again in the distance.

—

A squad of soldiers was the first to find traces of Neffeli.

As they moved through the mottled-walled alleys, they easily discovered the damaged streets.

The alley had originally been filled with boxes and debris, which were now a pile of splinters.

It seemed the assassin who called herself a warrior had no idea how to keep a low profile.

The giant eagle circling overhead was also screeching, pointing out the location to the pursuers.

The soldiers split into multiple paths, each squad having only two or three people, but one among them always carried a horn.

After the alarm of Godrick’s attack spread, the Banished Knights and Banished Knights responsible for city defense also joined the pursuit.

Neffeli felt a bit confused.

Based on the intelligence she had gathered from observing the city for so many days.

There shouldn’t have been such a strong Soldier near Godrick.

Why was that guy, who was dressed no differently from an ordinary soldier, so strong?

And why was that Tarnished on the same side as Godrick?

This all left Neffeli feeling perplexed.

If everything had gone according to plan—a plan that only formed in Neffeli’s mind when she saw Godrick’s carriage emerge from the palace—she could have taken Godrick out on a less populated street.

But now it seemed the plan had failed.

“Damn it—” Neffeli grit her teeth.

She had never made a plan in her life!

Although the plan to assassinate Godrick was merely: find a stretch of road with few people, jump down, fight like a warrior, and kill Godrick.

But at least that was a plan!

The failure of the plan left her feeling a total sense of frustration.

She directly smashed through a pile of debris blocking her way.

She had been in the city for a long time; as for her familiarity with the streets, they were certainly not foreign to her.

The giant eagle overhead kept reporting her position to the pursuers; Neffeli had to find a way to deal with that eagle.

Neffeli suddenly heard the strange sound of tiles on the roof.

Spirit Wolves, glowing pure white, pounced down from the roof, surrounding Neffeli in the center.

“Move!”

Neffeli shouted, swinging her twin axes, flexibly dodging and weaving under the lunges.

The Spirit Wolves did not engage Neffeli in direct combat but instead interfered with her movement trajectory. Whenever Neffeli attacked them, the Spirit Wolves would dodge, and if Neffeli tried to leave the three wolves behind, they would feint an attack.

Soldiers also caught up, blowing their horns the moment they saw Neffeli.

Neffeli glanced back.

When she looked forward again, Wilden, holding twin swords, appeared.

Her heart immediately skipped a beat.

Ducking low to dodge Lappland, who had suddenly pounced from behind, Neffeli turned with the momentum, swinging her axes left and right to force back the other two Spirit Wolves, and charged toward the three soldiers who looked like they were facing a great enemy.

How could ordinary soldiers be a match for Neffeli?

In just one exchange, all three were knocked to the ground by the whistling greataxes.

Neffeli changed direction, ducking into a small path, with Wilden and the three Spirit Wolves catching up extremely quickly.

The sound of horns attracted more soldiers, who began to intercept Neffeli in the alleys.

She picked up a brick and threw it at Wilden behind her.

Then she turned randomly through the alleys.

When the view ahead suddenly opened up, she found herself standing on a high wall.

Both sides were clearly ancient residential houses, but just by turning a corner, she had come to a cliff with a massive drop.

Stormveil was a mountain city; even if most of the roads were level, there were still steep fault lines.

Neffeli steadied herself. The buildings of the Lower District stretched out beneath her feet. Looking back, she could only see the Spirit Wolves running.

Steeling her heart, Neffeli leaped down.

With a drop of over ten meters, Neffeli landed on a church below. The wind cushioned her slightly in mid-air as she crushed a pile of tiles.

Looking up, the Spirit Wolves skidded to a halt at the edge of the cliff.

“Can’t get down, can you?” Neffeli looked at them triumphantly.

A Giant Eagle dove down. Neffeli dodged its sharp talons, and when she looked back, she saw the Spirit Wolves leaping from the high cliff.

Wilden and the Soldiers also appeared; Godrick Soldiers wearing surcoats with the Great Tree and Lion were drawing their crossbows.

Neffeli immediately lunged to the side, smashing through the church’s glass and jumping into the building below.

Sharp glass left tiny red marks on the female warrior’s skin. She rolled across the church floor to dissipate the impact.

Immediately after, she heard the sound of the Spirit Wolves landing on the church roof.

Knowing she hadn’t escaped the pursuit yet, Neffeli rushed toward the church’s main doors.

Then, with a loud thud.

The church doors shook.

Neffeli clearly hadn’t noticed that the doors were locked tight.

Dazed, she retreated a few steps, shook her head, and was about to pick up her axes.

Neffeli discovered someone beside the church altar.

A Tarnished sorcerer wearing a tall hat and colorful clothes stared at her with wide eyes.