Chapter 431: The True Knight’s Fee
Phield’s eyes widened as he stared at the shocking scene before him.
"Hehehe..."
Strange goddess marks blossomed across the bodies of the female slaves, glowing ominously as they laughed in an unsettling manner.
The scene was so bizarre that Phield almost wished he could put a censor over his own vision.
As the unspoken ritual continued, the retainers gradually became weaker. Their faces grew pale, their bodies lost their strength, and they were barely conscious.
Meanwhile, the female slaves rapidly regained their vitality.
"Those are Goddess Marks!"
Relycca whispered in shock.
"Divine Chosen are controlling them. Oh gods, Goddess of Holy Light, please show us your mercy and save us!"
"Stop praying and help everyone!"
Phield cursed and immediately moved.
His slender sword shot forward like a striking serpent, piercing straight through one of the female slaves.
A flash of cold steel.
Blood sprayed through the air.
The slave clutched her chest and collapsed to the ground, her condition horrifying as an unpleasant stench spread through the area.
"Ugh!"
Phield nearly vomited.
"Oh, we forgot about you, handsome."
"Come here. Let’s have some fun."
The female slaves giggled as they rushed toward Phield with strange, seductive smiles.
The retainers had been caught off guard because they had little experience dealing with such abilities, allowing themselves to be affected during the battle.
Phield, however, had absolutely no interest in the weakened slaves.
Instead, he was far more interested in the Goddess Marks that had appeared on their bodies.
"You filthy creatures, stay away from me."
"Every evil will eventually face justice!"
As a Third Tier Mana Knight, Phield had nothing to fear from these low level creatures.
His slender sword swept through the air like a river of stars, and sword flashes rapidly enveloped five or six of the slaves.
The sound of wind tore through the air.
One strike after another landed.
Blood splattered as Phield rapidly cut down several of them.
Seeing that their attempts to influence him were useless, the remaining slaves screamed in hatred and turned to flee.
"Trying to escape?"
Phield quickly pursued them, cutting them down one after another.
"Die!"
"Swish, swish, swish!"
Ashina did not want to reveal her identity as a Divine Chosen, so she chose to use a bow and arrows instead.
One by one, she shot down the fleeing slaves.
Just as they were about to be completely wiped out, Phield quickly stopped her.
"Leave one alive."
"Mhm."
Ashina understood immediately.
She lowered her bow and vanished in a flash.
In an instant, she caught up with one of the fleeing slaves, kicked her legs out from under her, and dragged her back to Phield like someone carrying a small animal.
She casually dropped the slave onto the ground.
"What exactly are you?"
Phield questioned her sternly.
He was curious about why the slaves possessed Goddess Marks.
Although these were clearly simplified versions, they were still unmistakably related to Divine Chosen power.
"Are you Divine Guards?"
"You shouldn’t be this weak."
"I advise you not to be curious."
The female slave gave him an eerie smile.
"One wrong step and you’ll fall into the abyss. The consequences are beyond what you can bear."
"What are you smiling about?"
Phield frowned.
"Still trying to speak in riddles? Who gave you the courage?"
He stepped forward and slapped her twice, sending her stumbling around.
"Are you done acting crazy?"
The slave covered her swollen face and immediately fell silent.
"What exactly happened to you?"
"How did you become like this?"
"It was a witch in the ruins."
The female slave slowly explained.
"She gave us potions that granted us freedom and power."
They had originally been slaves purchased to help develop Bull Domain.
Two nights earlier, a strangely dressed witch had entered the slave quarters.
She had captured the male slaves and drained their life force.
While the female slaves were terrified, the witch took them away as well and forced them to repeat the same terrible acts, gathering life energy for her own purposes.
"Tsk. So it really was a witch."
"I thought witches were supposed to be cute and gentle girls, or unfortunate people falsely accused by villagers."
Phield shuddered.
In this world, even men could apparently be forced into humiliating situations.
"If that’s the case, then you must know where this evil witch lives."
"I know."
"But the witch’s strength is far beyond anything you can fight."
After experiencing supernatural power for herself, the slave had become arrogant.
She no longer cared about nobles or ordinary soldiers and shouted defiantly.
"I’m now the witch’s slave."
"I advise you to let me go."
"You gained a tiny bit of ridiculous supernatural power and suddenly forgot who you are?"
Phield chuckled.
Mana erupted from his body.
As a Third Tier Mana Knight, his strength was far beyond hers.
He grabbed the slave and struck her several times until she finally stopped resisting.
"Behave yourself."
Phield tossed the slave aside and shook his hand.
He was about to order her to lead the way when he suddenly stopped.
Instead, he glanced toward Relycca behind him.
Phield thought to himself:
Since I’ve already gotten the information I needed, why should I keep doing free work for Relycca?
I’m actually curious about what kind of existence this witch is, but I’m not going to work for Relycca for nothing.
That’s way too much of a loss.
Seeing Phield looking at her, Relycca recovered and stubbornly raised her chin.
"Actually, I could have defeated them easily."
"I was simply caught off guard by their surprise attack."
"That’s wonderful."
Phield pointed toward the surviving slave and smiled.
"Then I’ll give you the last one as payment for the information."
"There is a dangerous witch behind them. Tell your brother and father to be careful. They probably won’t be able to handle her."
"Fortunately, I’m strong enough to avoid being overwhelmed."
"What?"
Relycca’s expression changed dramatically.
"No. I have to eliminate the witch."
"Otherwise, Bull Domain will never be safe."
She looked around in confusion.
Although none of her retainers had died, every one of them was pale and exhausted, having completely lost their ability to fight.
If Phield had arrived even a little later, some of them might not have survived.
"Please demonstrate the spirit of a true knight and help me hunt down this evil witch!"
Relycca made the request without hesitation.
Phield immediately became unhappy.
She wasn’t a bad person, but why did she always speak as though some knight was supposed to rush over and solve every problem for her?
He didn’t owe her anything.
"Didn’t you say you could deal with them easily?"
"Then you should handle it."
"I don’t want to steal someone else’s glory."
Phield crossed his arms.
Ashina covered her mouth and quietly laughed from the side.
She already knew her lord was about to start bargaining.
"M My soldiers are injured."
"So you should be the one to deal with it."
"Bull Domain has nothing to do with me."
"For the safety of the Empire, and since I’m asking you as a woman, I need a gentleman’s help."
Relycca clearly wasn’t accustomed to acting coquettishly.
There wasn’t even the slightest hint of a deliberately sweet voice in her request.
"Helping a beautiful noble lady is the duty of every knight."
"And I, Phield, am a true knight."
Phield rubbed his fingers together.
"But there is one thing."
"Someone has to pay for the wear and tear on my weapons."
"Let’s make it simple."
"You don’t have to do anything. I’ll deal with this matter myself."
"Five hundred gold coins."
"If the enemy proves to be beyond my abilities, I’ll retreat immediately and won’t charge you a single coin."
"Five hundred gold coins?"
Relycca nearly stared at him in disbelief.
"You call that weapon maintenance?"
"Are you even qualified to call yourself a knight?"
For an unmarried noble lady, five hundred gold coins was an enormous sum.
It was enough to hire professional monster hunters.