Chapter 413 - 195: The Rooster Flew the Coop

"Run!"

Elise hadn’t even processed what was happening when she heard Sean’s sharp growl. Then she was yanked along, experiencing the sensation of flying sideways.

A cold rain drizzled down. Elise’s long hair whipped about messily in the wind. She felt a little cold, so she hugged Sean tightly. ’This doesn’t count as taking advantage of him... right?’

The sounds of pursuing soldiers soon followed from behind. Luckily, Sean knew the area well. He led Elise through several streets before they finally ducked into a derelict, half-collapsed skyscraper, managing to shake the soldiers for the time being.

The floor they were on seemed to be a supermarket. The ceiling had caved in, and chunks of dirt and dust had smashed the shelves, sending them sprawling. Snacks were scattered all over the ground. The production dates were still faintly visible on the packaging. Elise casually picked up a bag to look. By the Farm World’s calendar, it was several hundred years past its expiration date.

"And here I thought we could eat this."

Elise grumbled, tossing the snack aside. While calming her nerves, she asked Sean, "Is it always this exciting every time you guys come over?"

’We literally jumped right in front of the enemy...’

She didn’t even have a handle on the situation before people started trying to kill her.

Sean, however, was frowning. "This shouldn’t be happening."

"What shouldn’t be happening?" Elise asked.

"This is Kovri," Sean said.

He quickly explained the situation to Elise.

Elise paused, stunned. "This is Kovri?"

"Well, in that case, being hunted down makes perfect sense."

It was a restricted area designated by the Church Court, after all. Of course there would be patrols. They had just popped up out of nowhere like ghosts; anyone would have shouted "Enemy attack!"

"No, no, no, you don’t understand. Other things happened after that," Sean said, shaking his head.

The Kovri Restricted Area had always been guarded by the Florist Family. Although they were just one of many families responsible for the restricted areas, the year wasn’t over, so it wasn’t yet time for the guard rotation. Furthermore, the Florist Family had already been wiped out by Olivia and Daeli. So logically, there shouldn’t be any patrols in the Kovri Restricted Area at this time.

On top of that, as we were running, I noticed the insignia on the soldiers’ chests was the shape of a cat. That shows they aren’t from the Florist Family, which makes this even weirder.

Sean’s first thought was that the cat was out of the bag—the destruction of the Florist Family had been exposed. The Church Court had dispatched a new family to take over the territories previously administered by the Florist Family: Selona City and the Kovri Restricted Area.

If that was the case, Her Highness the Saintess was probably in a lot of trouble right now.

But...

He had just asked the Eleanor Sisters to contact Olivia a few days ago, and she hadn’t mentioned anything being wrong.

’Could it be that Olivia intentionally didn’t say anything because she didn’t want me to worry?’

"Why don’t we... head to Selona City and take a look?" Elise suggested.

Rather than guessing wildly, they might as well conduct some "field research." Just as Sean said, the annihilation of a Viscount Family was no small matter. Once it was exposed, all sorts of rumors—reliable or not—would be flying around. They could just find a few people in the city and ask around to get the story.

Sean thought in silence for a long time before finally sighing. "I suppose that’s our only option."

"Don’t worry too much," Elise comforted him. "Maybe things aren’t as bad as they seem."

But Sean shook his head. "That’s not what I’m worried about."

Elise: "Then why the sigh?"

Sean: "Because you’re too weak."

Elise: "?"

Sean explained logically, "If Elvire were here, we could just walk into the city right now. We wouldn’t have to worry about these soldiers at all."

His sister-in-law had already broken through to Tier Six. With the Blazing Angel Family’s Secret Technique, she’d have a chance to escape even if she ran into a true Grand Mage. She wouldn’t be afraid of a head-on confrontation with these soldiers in the slightest. No one could stop them.

But with Elise instead...

...it was hopeless.

He was Tier Three and she was Tier Four. They weren’t even considered "High Tier" in the Farm World, let alone in the New World’s post-Era of Polymath. At best, they were the equivalent of two elite soldiers. A direct confrontation was completely out of the question. They could only rely on trickery.

This really ticked Elise off.

’This guy’s Tier is even lower than mine,’ she fumed inwardly. ’How dare he call me weak.’

And another thing.

Sean had come to the "New World" with *her* this time. *She* was his current Dual Cultivation partner. But this guy, Sean, was thinking about Elvire...

"If you like her so much, why don’t you just log off right here and go find her."

Elise said irritably, "I’m already here anyway. I can figure out what to do next on my own. No need to trouble Mr. Author with the painstaking task of babysitting me."

Sean: "..."

’That’s not right, is it?’

He sniffed the air and said, "Why do I smell something sour?"

"Sour, my ass." Elise crossed her arms, turned her head away, and huffed. "Stop being so full of yourself."

This amused Sean. He clicked his tongue and teased, "Tsk, tsk. I never would have guessed, Miss Elise. You have a tsundere side?"

Elise let out a dry laugh. "So that’s your type, huh?"

"Not really," Sean said. "I like all the pretty ones."

Elise: "?"

’Wait, how can he say something like that so brazenly?’

"Pah, scumbag," Elise spat lightly.

Sean retorted, "But isn’t that what you want? For me to be a bit of a scumbag?"

Elise: "..."

’This guy... did he figure something out?’

She decided to drop the act. Looking Sean straight in the eye, she shot back, "Got the guts to say that to Elvire’s face?"

Sean grew slightly annoyed. "Why are you being like this?"

"I treat you like a good friend, and you’re trying to get me killed! So you can get half when I’m chopped in two, is that it?"

"In that case, I’ll definitely take the bottom half," Elise said.