Alicia: It Turns Out Not All Enemies Are That Strong

In the conference hall.

Aurora lay on the ground, letting out a heart-wrenching, agonizing shriek that reminded Leon of the scene of slaughtering pigs for the New Year.

Meanwhile, the other members of the magic research team shrank into the corner, staring at Alicia in dumbfounded shock, their faces filled with a faint trace of terror.

Brutal! Absolutely brutal!

He said to break her legs, and she really did break her legs without a single moment of hesitation!

And... she had severed them so effortlessly!

The members of the magic research team had expected a fierce battle. After all, Aurora was a role model among the younger generation of mages.

Though she had a terrible personality, her strength and talent were truly beyond question.

Furthermore, coming from a marquis's family, she had received guidance from mid-tier and high-tier mages since childhood, allowing her magical talent to bear fruit incredibly quickly!

Yet, the result was...

“To think she was insta-killed in a single move...”

Tobias cast a distant look at Alicia. Even though he currently possessed peak Silver rank strength, he felt that if he were to face Alicia...

His fate would likely be no different from Aurora's—an instant kill in a single strike.

Meanwhile, Miles and Viscount Finn merely nodded slightly when they saw Alicia instantly defeat Aurora, showing no signs of surprise.

After all, they had witnessed Alicia slash the Mad Shark King with her dagger, leaving him screaming and crying out, “Hungry, hungry, hungry!”

After that, the two understood that Alicia, like Leon, was a monster whose strength could not be judged by standard ranks.

For geniuses like them, cutting through opponents of the same rank like vegetables was simply the norm.

“Alicia, how did you find her strength?”

Leon asked with a smile, looking at Alicia who had returned to his side.

Alicia lowered her head, thought for a moment, and then looked up to say:

“Felt... very weak... It was easy to fight her.”

She had only unleashed a fraction of her arcane power to close the distance and reach Aurora's side. Aurora had no countermeasure against it, unable to even catch a glimpse of her shadow.

This made Alicia feel a bit unaccustomed.

Because when she fought alongside Leon in the past against opponents like the Mad Shark King, Alicia had to hide in Leon's shadow and seize the briefest of moments created by Leon to make her move.

When fighting the dwarven chairman, she had to minimize her presence to the absolute limit, waiting until Leon provoked him into dropping his Battle Qi defense before she could get close.

In other battles, such as against the Kama or the merman forces, Alicia had to constantly pay attention to the battlefield to avoid being overwhelmed by the enemy's numbers.

This was the first time Alicia had ever experienced a sparring match as effortless and relaxed as the one with Aurora.

“So... not... all... enemies... are... that... strong...”

Alicia said to Leon.

Leon smiled at her words and rubbed Alicia's head, saying:

“That is because you are already strong enough now.”

“Mhm, I... am... very... sneaky.”

“...”

Leon suddenly felt a pang of regret. Why on earth had he told Alicia before that being 'sneaky' meant 'powerful'?

As a result, Alicia now constantly went around saying things like 'I am very sneaky' and 'You are very sneaky.'

“Bishop Miles, I will have to trouble you to treat her injuries.”

Leon turned his gaze and mentioned to Miles.

Then, ignoring Aurora, who was still screaming, he led Alicia straight out of the conference hall's doors.

Teaching Aurora a lesson was merely a minor interlude; he didn't take it to heart at all.

Catching the members of the Black and White Hand with his perception field was the real purpose of his attendance.

Stepping out of the conference hall, Leon raised his scepter and cast a layer of concealing Divine Arts upon himself: 【Refraction Distortion】 and 【Simulated Aura】.

Then, he walked out of the City Lord's manor and used his perception radar to scan the surroundings rapidly.

The perception radar scanned again and again, transmitting a clear picture of the world into Leon's mind.

At a roadside barbecue stall, the grilling lady swiftly swapped a goose leg displayed on the counter for a duck leg.

Inside a house, a teenage boy sat alone at his desk, staring at a drawing of a dragon maid with an obsessed expression on his face.

In front of the Coo Coo Merchant Association, children were eagerly scrambling to buy “Leon” replica lollipops...

“Advertising with my name? Have they paid my endorsement fee?”

Leon curled his lip and continued his perception scan.

After taking a stroll around the perimeter of the City Lord's manor, Leon finally located his target.

It was a small stall selling Wil-pancakes, set up not far from the entrance of the City Lord's manor.

The stall owner was a white-haired, middle-aged man whose skills were extremely clumsy. He couldn't even make a proper pancake and was currently being criticized by a customer.

Faced with the complaints, the stall owner didn't panic at all. Instead, he smiled apologetically while offering excuses.

This was clearly abnormal!

Of the merchants allowed to set up stalls near a place like the City Lord's manor, which one wasn't highly skilled and masterly?

How could someone not even know how to make a simple pancake?

Moreover, while making the pancakes, the stall owner kept monitoring the movements at the entrance of the City Lord's manor out of the corner of his eye, making him look even more suspicious.

Most importantly...

Leon couldn't fathom why these cultists would send someone with the Black and White Hand's crest tattooed on them to do surveillance work.

Was the Black and White Hand truly so short-handed, or was it because every single person who joined the cult had to be branded, meaning a 'crestless cultist' simply didn't exist?

However, Leon felt it was only natural that he couldn't understand them. After all, how could he possibly comprehend the minds of cultists?

He simply continued using his perception to scan the area around the City Lord's manor.

Once he was certain that the pancake stall owner was the only lookout, he ordered Alicia to make her move and knock him unconscious from behind.

“Ah! You—”

“Official business of the City Lord's manor. No need to panic.”

Leon casually took out the token given to him by Viscount Finn. After reassuring the startled crowd, he dragged the stall owner back to the conference hall.

...

Inside the conference hall.

“He is the Black and White Hand's lookout?”

Viscount Finn and the others stared blankly at the pancake stall owner Leon was carrying back, utterly stunned.

He locked onto a lookout of the Black and White Hand in less than ten minutes?

Even going out to grab a quick bite wouldn't be this fast!

Hearing the question, Leon reached out and ripped the lookout's shirt open, revealing the crest of the Black and White Hand on his arm.

Seeing the crest, everyone fell silent, completely speechless.

No normal person would tattoo the crest of the Black and White Hand on their arm, so this man was undoubtedly a member of the cult.

Still...

“The Black and White Hand sent someone like this as a lookout?”

Tobias, the captain of the magic research team, remained silent for a long moment before he couldn't help but ask.

“Do not hold any expectations for the intelligence of cultists. If they were smart, they wouldn't have become cultists in the first place,”

Viscount Finn let out a breath and said:

“Since we've caught the lookout, I will call in specialists to interrogate him right away...”

“No need to go through all that trouble,”

Leon spoke up.

“Though the Black and White Hand is heinous, they are highly skilled at brainwashing. Physical torture is unlikely to make these brainwashed cultists talk.”

“Let me handle it. It just so happens that I recently acquired a new ability.”

Viscount Finn's eyes lit up once more. “Then I shall leave it to you, Young Master Leon!”

It had to be said that working with Leon was truly wonderful. He didn't need to think or worry about a thing; he could get the job done perfectly just by following Leon's instructions.

This feeling of switching off his brain and simply following orders cut his worries as a City Lord by more than half.

Viscount Finn thought happily to himself.