Ansu took a moment to organize his thoughts.
He finally moved, slowly climbing down from the top of the tower until he reached the platform of the watchtower.
His gaze fell upon Freya, whose eyes held a hint of concern.
"An..."
Freya opened her mouth to speak, but she didn't dare ask aloud.
Instead, she stepped forward, cautiously grasping Ansu's hand, and slowly traced her fingertips across his palm:
"What's wrong? Your expression is very off!"
"It is nothing. I will tell you in a bit." Ansu shook his head first, then silently watched the palm she was holding.
The little Holy Maiden seemed to have grown addicted to holding hands under the guise of secrecy...
For the past two days, the two had been like conjoined twins, always holding hands just to share "whispers."
He cleared his throat. "Let go, Freya. Actually, there is no need for this anymore."
Freya blinked, understanding Ansu's meaning, and her expression looked slightly disappointed. "We will not communicate this way anymore?"
"Yes." Ansu nodded.
Because now he even suspected that any covert method of communication could be monitored.
Until he gathered sufficient intelligence, it was better to maintain silence.
"Oh..."
After a moment, Freya acted as if she did not understand.
She tightened her grip on Ansu's palm slightly.
She slowly wrote another line of text:
"But I am not doing this to talk to you right now."
Ansu was slightly taken aback.
Freya tilted her head mischievously, the corners of her lips curving into a shallow arc.
"I just want to hold your hand."
Under the cover of the night, that smile was exceptionally gentle.
Ansu opened his mouth, momentarily unsure of what to say.
"Morris, hurry up!"
Agger, who had been waiting below for a long time, gave a helpless smile, his coarse, loud voice carrying a bit of teasing.
"I know you young couples have a good relationship, but you cannot be this mushy, right? We still have a mission!"
Freya's cheeks flushed slightly.
Speaking of which... she actually quite liked it here.
Not only was this her hometown, but everyone here took it for granted that Lord Ansu and she were in a relationship.
Furthermore, Celia was not here.
Lord Ansu belonged solely to her.
Thinking of this, Freya even felt a bit reluctant to leave...
Of course, such an outrageous thought only flashed by. She was not as overbearing and unreasonable as Celia; she would not selfishly drag Lord Ansu down.
...
Ansu and Freya finally descended from the watchtower.
He gave an apologetic smile to the hulking warrior, and the three of them followed the migrating main force.
Ahead, the river of torches wound forward, illuminating the night path toward the snow mountains.
The three walked in silence for a while.
After walking some distance, Ansu suddenly brought up Leo in a casual conversation.
"By the way, Agger, how did you and Leo meet?"
Agger scratched the back of his head, the firelight reflecting on his face covered in old scars. "About two months ago, in the north."
He spoke in a low, muffled voice. "At that time, the archer in our hero party, Jack, and I were just members of an ordinary adventuring party. We took a commission to clear out a monster, but we did not expect that creature to be so cunning and travel in packs. We almost died there."
He paused, his tone carrying a bit of sentimentality. "It was Leo who saved me. At that time, he killed the monster leader with a single strike. His sword glowed with holy light, and those monsters radiating a dark aura scattered in all directions..."
Ansu's gaze shifted slightly. "He can use the power of holy light?"
"Of course." Agger looked at him with some surprise instead. "Since he is the legendary Chosen One, he must have extraordinary power!"
"In the ancient prophecies, the Chosen One bears the mission of saving the world and is recognized by the gods—the one personally selected by the Goddess of Holy Light, the head of the five righteous gods, to descend into this world."
As he spoke, a certain light ignited in his eyes as he looked toward the front of the line.
"Leo is powerful, sincere, and reliable. When he is around, it feels like there is no obstacle we cannot overcome!"
"Even people who are completely disillusioned with this world feel like there is hope after meeting him... that this world really can be saved."
Listening to this, a timely glimmer of hope flashed in Ansu's eyes.
"Can it really be saved..."
"It will be!" Agger nodded vigorously.
...
As they drew closer to the foot of the snow mountains, the surrounding temperature grew noticeably colder.
The night wind carried the scent of the mountain forest toward them, and the silhouettes of the distant snow peaks looked pale and ghastly under the moonlight.
Ansu watched the very front of the group, where the figures of Leo and the others were faint in the torchlight.
He quietly summoned the system panel.
To continue the task left unfinished from the last simulation, he needed to probe Leo further.
He would probe him directly with violence.
Since the time was much closer now, he should be able to see more intelligence.
【Future: 10 hours later】
【Starting simulation...】
【Remaining points: 375】
Darkness quickly enveloped his vision as the countdown gradually faded.
When he opened his eyes again, it was already daylight.
Ansu quickly surveyed his surroundings—they were on a high mountain slope, with gravel and low shrubs beneath his feet.
Freya stood beside him, and the other five members of the hero party were also gathered on this slope.
The migrating group had already set up camp in the valley below, with cooking smoke rising in curls.
Ansu immediately pulled out his journal and quickly read the information recorded in the simulation.
【Arrived at a suitable resting place. The migrating group paused here to rest and prepare to establish a temporary camp.】
【Leo proposed that the hero party scout the surrounding mountains to ensure safety.】
【This is a good opportunity.】
Because the simulation time was short, the intelligence recorded was limited, but these three sentences were enough.
Ansu closed his journal, his gaze falling on the back of Leo's head as he walked in front, his eyes narrowing slightly.
He instinctively glanced at Freya beside him.
Freya noticed his gaze and looked over. When she saw his hand reaching for his gun, she immediately understood what he wanted to do.
Her eyes shook slightly, perhaps feeling that acting now was a bit risky.
However, she still gave a light nod.
"We must carefully scout the surrounding environment."
Leo, walking in front, stopped and stood on a protruding rock, looking ahead.
"We need to ensure there are no nests of undead creatures or monsters. The safety of the Staya people rests on us!"
The others nodded in agreement, their eyes filled with trust for this "Chosen One."
But just then—
Leo suddenly felt a cold killing intent coming from behind.
He turned around sharply, his eyes widening in shock.
Their new teammate, the mage Morris, had somehow pulled out a strangely shaped alchemical firearm, and that dark muzzle was pointed straight at him.
"Morris, you..."
Boom!
Because the distance was very short and the target was completely unguarded, Leo's left leg below the knee was instantly blown off.
Flesh and blood splattered, and bones shattered. He let out a shrill scream of agony as he collapsed to the ground.
This sudden change caused everyone to freeze instantly.
"Morris! What are you doing!!"
Agger's roar almost shook the entire slope, his face filled with unbelievable rage.
"Are you crazy!"
The archer quickly nocked an arrow, and the assassin's figure vanished like a ghost, reappearing behind Ansu a second later.
But immediately after, the pure power of holy light suddenly erupted.
Freya raised the holy seal in her hand expressionlessly, and that blinding power instantly blasted back everyone who had approached.
The assassin let out a muffled groan as he was forcibly knocked out of the shadows, staggering backward.
Following that, two pale gold halos enveloped Ansu and Freya. Freya's 【Holy Shield】 was enough to block most attacks.
Ansu gave them no chance to react, raising his left hand and pressing his palm downward.
A thick, tangible mana fluctuation suddenly expanded, sweeping through the surroundings with him as the center. The gravel on the slope vibrated slightly, and the air seemed to become incredibly heavy.
【Gravity Magic】
Agger's footsteps came to a sudden halt, as if pressed down by an invisible giant hand. The archer's arrow hadn't even left the string before his arm was forced down by gravity.
The cleric in the party, who had the weakest constitution, was pressed down to one knee, almost pinned to the ground.
"You... are you a Wolfgar! No! Are you a spy sent by the demons?"
Leo struggled to crawl up in the pool of blood, his face as pale as paper, yet he still propped himself up with his arms.
He looked at Ansu, his voice hoarse and angry. "You betrayed our trust! I will not let you demon minions have your way!!"
Ansu frowned.
Still acting even at this stage?
He immediately raised his muzzle and pointed it at the nearest target, Agger.
He pulled the trigger.
Boom!
Agger's headless corpse collapsed to the ground, and Leo let out a roar.
Ansu did not pause, turning the muzzle toward the next one.
With every gunshot, a figure fell.
The warrior, the archer, the assassin, and the cleric were completely unable to dodge under the gravity suppression. The large-caliber alchemical bullets precisely pierced their skulls.
Blood blossomed in the morning light until, finally, only Leo remained lying in a pool of blood.
Those eyes were staring fixedly at Ansu, filled with bone-chilling hatred.
Ansu lowered the muzzle and slowly walked toward him.
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