Chapter 303: Demonic Cult’s Move

Silver moonlight poured across the land, its pale glow blanketing the surroundings in a quiet radiance that softened the darkness of the night.

A cold breeze drifted through the air, sharp against the skin as it rustled the leaves and carried the faint scent of the forest through the stillness.

The once-blazing bonfire had long since died out, while the lanterns hanging above had already faded into darkness.

With the area now silent, the soft whistling of crickets echoed clearly through the night.

Amid the dim surroundings, two figures walked side by side, their gazes drifting toward the people slumped unconscious across the long tables.

Those sleeping figures were none other than the caravan of the Midas Merchant Organization.

They appeared to be in such a deep sleep that loud snoring could even be heard from Killian’s group.

The two figures kept walking, as if they were inspecting goods instead of looking at people.

A part of their silhouettes was soon revealed under the cold glow of the moonlight.

One was a tall elven woman dressed in a black gown with a long slit that accentuated her curves, while the other wore a far more conservative outfit commonly seen among the elves.

However, their differences did not end there.

The first woman possessed crimson eyes with pitch-black sclera, giving her gaze an eerie and unnatural appearance, while the other had light emerald eyes framed by ordinary whites.

Nevertheless, despite their differences, they walked side by side closely, looking like long-time friends.

The elven woman with crimson eyes was the first to speak, "Have you inspected them thoroughly, Yurva?"

Had Aurelia and the others been conscious, they would have been shocked by the name the crimson-eyed elf used for the other woman.

As Yurva was about to respond, the cold moonlight shone on her face at a direct angle, revealing her features.

"Yes, Lady Merriam. From their words to their actions earlier, all signs point to them being nothing more than ordinary employees of the Midas Merchant Organization. If not, they would have detected the potions mixed into the wine and food, as well as the illusory musical spells cast by the elves."

The village chief spoke with a gentle smile, the same one she had worn earlier while conversing with Aurelia and the others.

The crimson-eyed elf called Lady Merriam nodded in satisfaction, "Very well. Lady Aziza would surely reward you generously."

"A-Ah..." Yurva teared up, her face filled with devoutness.

’It seems like there’s still no one who has accepted the Pontifex’s summons...’

Merriam thought to herself, feeling relieved, ’Although their having reinforcements will, at most, give us some extra work, I don’t like leaving room for errors...’

As she was immersed in her thoughts, she raised her hand.

In an instant, around twenty shadowy figures appeared beside every member of the caravan.

Each one pressed a blade against the neck of a different target.

Merriam had a calm look on her face as she turned her gaze towards Yurva, who was standing beside her with her head lowered.

"You may go. Just act normally while you wait for further instructions. Though, to be honest, after this, they may already suspect you..."

She did not continue, but Yurva seemed to already know what she was implying.

Nevertheless, not an ounce of fear could be seen on the village chief’s face as she smiled, "I will gladly offer my life for the Great Purification... Death is but a swifter return to the embrace of the Mother Tree..."

"Very well. I shall offer prayers for you as well."

"I am grateful..." Yurva’s voice echoed as she left the area with slow and steady steps.

After her figure disappeared, Merriam, whose hand was still raised, frowned as she felt deeply uncomfortable in her heart.

’Strange... I haven’t felt this way since I was blessed by Lady Aziza...’

Shaking her head, Merriam steeled herself as she swiftly waved her hand downwards.

In an instant, the shadowy figures holding blades against the necks of the caravan members all moved simultaneously.

However, the scene of heads flying and blood spurting that Merriam was expecting did not happen.

Instead, what greeted her was a blinding flash of yellow light, which made her cover her face inadvertently.

"What!?"

Merriam gasped audibly as she felt the threat of death before her.

Without thinking any further, she leaped backwards, which also gave her enough time to recover her sight.

Merriam opened her eyes wide and saw the decapitated heads on the ground.

The soft glow of the moonlight revealed their features— crimson eyes and long ears.

Their expressions were still neutral, which made it seem like they did not even realize that they had already died.

After the initial shock, the expression on Merriam’s face became peculiar.

"Interesting..."

She muttered under her breath as a beautiful smile bloomed on her face.

"Tsk..."

Killian clicked his tongue.

He was currently standing with his sword thrust into the area where Merriam had been standing earlier.

Sparks of yellow lightning coiled his body and sword like serpentine dragons.

"To think that you would gamble with your lives like that. Are you aware that had you been even half a second late, you’d all be dead?"

Merriam spoke casually, her voice carrying a faint, seductive undertone.

"With me here, the risk is basically zero," Killian said with a confident smile, using his sword like a cane as he leaned on it in a relaxed stance.

Merriam’s brows shot up, "What a confident young man you are... Why don’t you just come with me and we’ll have some fun together~."

"Do I look like that kind of person?"

"I don’t know... Why don’t you show me just what kind of man you are?"

Killian scoffed as he assumed a battle stance once again.

He glanced behind him and saw that Zild and the other aura users had finished carrying Aurelia and the others to a safe place.

Zild glanced at their unconscious comrades before gesturing to Hans and the others who were able to remain awake, "Guard them just in case. I’ll help Killian out."

They nodded as he hurriedly dashed towards the mysterious crimson-eyed woman.

Merriam noticed this and sighed like it was a pity, "Haa... I really wanted to spend more time alone with you, but I guess I’ll have to go now."

"As if I’ll let you go," Killian hurriedly lunged as he chanted, his breath producing yellow lightning sparks in the process.

[Lightning God’s Descent]

Bzzzt—

At the same time, Zild’s figure appeared on Merriam’s other side.

Seeing that she was being flanked from both sides, Merriam did not show even a hint of panic.

Instead, she smiled sweetly back at Killian and blew him a kiss, "Oh my, I didn’t expect you to be so clingy~. Don’t worry, we’ll meet again."

After Merriam finished speaking, her eyes briefly glowed with something unnatural before she turned to Zild and gave him a seductive wink.

Killian did not think much of her actions as he was fully focused on taking her down.

However, what he did not expect was that Zild, who was about to strike Merriam as he met her head-on, would suddenly dash past their opponent and head straight toward him.

[Piercing Thrust]

"What!?"

Killian became flustered as he heard Zild chant, noticing that the latter was striking him with the intention to kill.

Seeing Merriam’s figure disappearing in the corner of his eye, Killian had no choice but to stop in his tracks and raise his sword to defend against Zild’s attack.

CLANK—-!!!

The sound of two swords clashing reverberated throughout the area.