Clang!
The door was thrown open, and a faint sliver of light spilled into the room. Maeve's body couldn't stop trembling, her heart consumed by fear and despair.
Two shifty-eyed, filthy-looking men walked in, casting predatory, wolf-like gazes upon Maeve.
“Mmmph! Mmmph!”
Maeve struggled violently, but her hands and feet were tightly bound with hemp ropes, and her mouth was gagged with a strip of cloth.
She couldn't even struggle to her feet to run, let alone cry out for help.
Watching the cultists of the Black and White Hand approach her step by step, utter despair flashed in Maeve's eyes—
“What the hell is that?!”
Outside, a sudden commotion broke out, accompanied by the shouting of the members of the Black and White Hand.
“What's going on?”
“What's happening outside?”
The two cultists who were about to lay their hands on Maeve froze. They stopped in their tracks and pricked up their ears to listen to the commotion outside.
However, in the next second...
Boom!!!
A terrifying roar resounded from the ceiling!
Before the two cultists of the Black and White Hand in the room could even raise their heads, they were instantly crushed to death by the collapsing roof of the manor and an invisible descending attack!
A massive hole blasted open in the ceiling of the room.
Bright light poured down from the sky, illuminating the dark room and rekindling hope in Maeve's despairing heart.
With large teardrops pooling in her eyes, Maeve stared blankly at the massive hole.
She saw him.
High up in the sky, a black-haired, black-eyed youth stood tall, his golden priest robes fluttering fiercely in the high-altitude wind.
Behind the youth, a blue-gold giant materialized in midair, holding a massive longbow wrapped in gold and silver, its majestic aura spreading out like a rising tide.
Hovering quietly above the youth was a warm orb of light, shedding a gentle and serene glow that enveloped Maeve like a misty veil.
The warm light gently penetrated her skin, its warmth flowing quietly to soothe her heart, which had been tense with fear for an entire day and night.
“Alicia, get her out of the battlefield.”
High in the sky, the youth spoke calmly, his voice carrying a firm strength.
“Un... derstood.”
As soon as those words fell, a figure abruptly appeared in front of Maeve.
It was a girl with emerald-green eyes and long pink hair, looking both cute and adorably dazed.
“Don't... be afraid,”
the girl said to Maeve, quickly untying the ropes binding her and removing the gag from her mouth.
“Who are you...”
Maeve asked, utterly dazed.
The girl replied, “We... are... good people.”
With that, the girl scooped up the weakened Maeve, unleashed her transcendent power, and leapt out of the blasted hole in the ceiling, carrying her away.
Snuggled in the pink-haired girl's arms, Maeve felt an overwhelming sense of peace.
Turning her gaze back, she saw the youth in the sky lightly tap his finger. The blue-gold giant drew the magnificent gold and silver longbow and suddenly released it—
Swoosh!
The terrifying vibration of the bowstring reverberated through the air.
At the same time, the manor below seemed to be struck by lightning, shattering into pieces under the invisible attack!
Stone walls, wooden planks, and all kinds of structures were blasted to smithereens in an instant!
Inside the manor, the cultists of the Black and White Hand, who had been on high alert just moments ago, were now completely obliterated by the invisible strike!
Only one person remained, whom Maeve recognized—it was the leader of the Black and White Hand who had led her abduction.
A fierce-looking, ruthless thug.
And this thug was now lying in the ruins of the manor, taking his last breaths.
The youth descended from the sky, landing in front of the dying thug.
Brilliant Sacred Light surged from the youth, gathering on his priest's scepter.
The youth's fingertips also pinched the Sacred Light, strumming the strings formed by the Sacred Light and the scepter as if playing a melody.
A compassionate and soul-stirring hymn melody resounded, dreamlike and ethereal.
Having been brought to the protection of the Blue Fox Warband by the pink-haired girl, Maeve only now snapped out of the shock of the rapid turn of events.
“They... will... protect... you. Don't... be afraid.”
Alicia set down the thoroughly frightened noble girl and offered a word of comfort.
With that, she turned to leave.
“Wait!”
Maeve called out to Alicia, scrambling up from the ground to ask earnestly:
“Th-thank you! I... I still don't know your names!”
“Alicia,” Alicia said.
When she spoke her own name, she didn't stutter.
“Then... what about him?” Maeve hesitated for a second, unable to help but ask.
“You... mean... Priest... Leon?” Alicia asked, turning her head.
“Yes! The priest... who saved me.” Maeve tightly pinched the edges of her red deacon dress and said.
“Priest... Leon,” Alicia said.
“His name... is... Leon Douglas.”
“Leon...” Maeve pursed her lips. She had some impression of this name, feeling as if she had heard it somewhere before.
“Leon Douglas...!”
Maeve remembered.
Leon Douglas, the peerless genius who had saved Soleneum, defeated the Mad Shark King, and executed the traitorous nobles.
So he is such a hero...
Maeve clasped her hands before her chest, but her mind suddenly recalled those golden robes fluttering fiercely in the wind.
...
On the other side...
At the manor on Ilya Street.
“To think there are so many members of the Black and White Hand...”
Leon frowned slightly.
According to the information obtained from the leader of this Black and White Hand stronghold, the cult had deployed a massive amount of manpower for this operation, even recruiting many casual believers who joined solely for profit.
Under instructions from the upper echelon of the Black and White Hand, these casual believers had gone to various villages and towns surrounding Stormveil City to abduct living people who met their criteria for sacrifices.
“I focused too much on the events inside Stormveil City, which caused me to overlook what was happening in the surrounding areas...”
Leon gave himself a silent warning.
When facing an enemy, one's gaze must not remain fixed on a single localized area, but must focus on the bigger picture.
The Black and White Hand's abductions of living people for sacrifices certainly hadn't just started in the last day or two; such incidents must have been occurring for a while.
However, both Leon and Viscount Finn had been distracted by the traces of the Black and White Hand inside the city, thereby overlooking the missing persons cases in the surrounding areas.
“Did... you... get... the... information?”
Alicia asked after returning, looking at Leon, who was lost in thought.
Leon nodded and said:
“Get into my shadow first.”
Once Alicia used 【Shadow Watch】 to merge into his shadow, Leon lightly waved his scepter and executed the stronghold leader who was under the influence of the Memory-Weaving Stringed Scepter.
Even though the Memory-Weaving Stringed Scepter could guide this Black and White Hand stronghold leader toward goodness,
for a scoundrel who had slaughtered countless citizens of the Heron Empire, actions like locking away his memories to guide him toward redemption and washing away his sins were things he simply did not deserve!
Possessing the mana recovery trait, Leon had no need to worry about the consumption of his mental power. He flew back into the sky to continue his journey and said:
“According to the information revealed by that stronghold leader, there are still several other strongholds inside Stormveil City.”
“In those strongholds, many people have been captured alive as sacrifices. We must rush to those locations quickly to save them.”
“And while we're at it, exact revenge for the people who died in Soleneum...”
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