"Kill them." The bandit leader waved his hand, and the bandits charged forward.
Clang, clang, clang...
The five knights immediately stepped in front of Bishop Parkin, trading blows with the bandits. Although the knights were highly skilled and well-equipped, they were simply too heavily outnumbered.
"Ah..." A miserable shriek rang out as one knight was simultaneously cut down by three bandits.
The remaining four knights all suffered varying degrees of injuries. Despair showed on their faces, yet they didn't take a single step back.
"Ah!" Another knight followed in the footsteps of death.
"Could it be that today is the day I go to serve the Divine Lord?" Bishop Parkin's face was deathly pale, his hands and feet trembling uncontrollably.
Thump, thump, thump... The ground shook and dust flew into the air, throwing the bandits into a panic.
"What's going on? Is someone coming to save them?" The bandit leader asked in alarm.
He turned his head and saw a squad of knights galloping rapidly toward them. His sharp eyes noticed that they were actually beastkin.
"Boss, it's beastkin! It's beastkin!" A bandit screamed in terror.
"Retreat! Retreat, now!" The bandit leader shouted in a panic. This many beastkin was not something they could handle.
"Don't let a single one go! Capture them all!" Obi roared.
"Yes, sir!"
...
In just a few minutes, the bandits were entirely subdued. Those who dared to flee were cut down with a single stroke of a sword.
"Move. Take them all back," Obi said coldly. He glanced at the black-robed old man who had just survived the ordeal. Talking wasn't his strong suit; it was better left for Nancy to handle.
And so, Bishop Parkin, his remaining three knights, and all the bandits were escorted toward the woods up ahead.
"What happened?" Nancy asked upon seeing the dozen or so humans being escorted over.
"Bandits. And those few over there should be nobles," Obi said, curling his lip.
"Take the bandits down and use them for hard labor." Nancy didn't care about the bandits; she had seen too many of them along the way. She was, however, interested in the nobles. "Bring them over. I have a few questions to ask."
Soon, Parkin and the three knights were brought over. He was as nervous as anyone could possibly be; he knew full well the hatred beastkin harbored toward humans.
After all, the Yadian Kingdom also had beastkin, but most of them worked as slaves and weren't treated very well by humans. He thought to himself: If I had known this day would come, I wouldn't have joined the Archbishop in obstructing the Queen's reforms. We could have pardoned a portion of the beastkin; that way, at the very least, they wouldn't hate us so fiercely.
"Beautiful lady, I am Bishop Parkin, a missionary from the Yadian Kingdom." Parkin kept his posture very low and was exceedingly polite.
"Yadian Kingdom?" Nancy was momentarily stunned. She hadn't expected this old man to actually be from another kingdom.
"It is a neighboring country of the Siacan Kingdom. I have come with good intentions to preach," Parkin hurriedly crossed an arm over his chest and said gratefully, "I am deeply thankful to Your Excellencies for saving our lives."
"Oh? Then how did you end up here? You should know this place is extremely remote," Nancy said, narrowing her eyes.
They had entered the Siacan Kingdom from the Chaotic Lands specifically to go to Sedona City, which was why they were taking this remote route. But for the other party to cross the entire Siacan Kingdom from the other side to get here, or to take such a massive detour, was clearly abnormal.
"We got lost," Parkin said with a bitter face.
"Is that so?" The corners of Nancy's mouth turned up. She knew he wasn't telling the truth.
If it weren't for their cooperative relationship with Lucas, given her natural disgust toward humans, she probably would have resorted to severe torture to force an answer out of him.
"Ayesha, how should we handle this?" Nancy turned to look at the cow-horned girl.
"Take them with us to Sedona City," Ayesha said after a moment's thought. "Once we're there, they can leave if they want to."
The cow-horned girl didn't think too much of it. It was just a noble, no big deal; there were plenty of nobles in Sedona City anyway.
"Then we'll decide it like that," Nancy nodded, then said to Parkin, "You will follow us for now. Once we reach Sedona City, you may leave."
"Thank you. The Divine Lord will bless you," Parkin hurriedly expressed his gratitude.
"Let's hope so," Nancy said flatly.
"You should treat their wounds," Ayesha said, glancing at the three knights.
"Please do not worry. I have a divine medicine blessed by the Divine Lord," Parkin said softly.
"Divine medicine?" Ayesha rolled her eyes. She had heard Lucas say before that divine medicine simply didn't exist.
Parkin pulled a flat, palm-sized ceramic bottle from his robes and said to the three injured knights, "Take a sip, each of you. It will ease your pain."
The three knights stared at the flat ceramic bottle with fanatical eyes. Each took a sip, respectfully returned the bottle to Parkin, and then began tending to their respective wounds.
"That's it?" Nancy stared blankly as the three knights treated their wounds.
"Just so. This divine medicine has been blessed by the Divine Lord; it can drive away the demons in their hearts," Parkin stated firmly.
"..." Nancy narrowed her eyes, then inconspicuously shot a look at Obi.
Obi nodded subtly and said to Parkin, "To think it can actually drive away demons in the heart. Some of my knights have also been injured. Could you let my knights have a drink?"
"This..." Parkin was just about to refuse, but seeing Obi slowly sliding his longsword in and out of its sheath, he forced a smile and said, "Of course you may."
"I'll return it to you shortly." Obi reached out, snatched the ceramic bottle, and walked away.
Nancy and Ayesha also left, leaving behind a bitter-faced Parkin and the three knights bandaging their wounds.
"How is it? Is there anything special about it?" Nancy found Obi just as he took a swig of the divine medicine.
"Pah! What damn divine medicine? This is clearly just ordinary water." Obi spat the liquid out in a single mouthful. The water tasted no different from what he usually drank.
"Ordinary water?" Nancy was slightly taken aback.
"Just playing god and putting on an act," Ayesha curled her lip. She had guessed as much from the very beginning.
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You can read advance chapters and view R-18 images of the characters on pat reon page.
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200 power stones.
Top 100. All time.