Jeanne swore that everything she said was the truth, but the Miss Mudrock standing before her didn't seem to fully believe her explanation. A lingering trace of doubt remained in those eyes. It wasn't that Jeanne couldn't understand; for these people, such matters were indeed sensitive. They had even reached a point where they had to wonder if they were simply not suited to stay here.
Because they had been betrayed so many times, they were like birds startled by the mere twang of a bow; just a few small incidents were enough to make them suspicious. Had it not been for the fact that life here truly lacked any discrimination, perhaps Jeanne wouldn't even see her standing here today—she might have already packed her things and fled the previous night.
Mudrock merely nodded, the emotions in those eyes becoming incredibly complex. After pondering for a long time, she spoke to Jeanne:
"Jeanne, I still want to know the specific reason why! It's not that we don't trust you, but if we don't know the reason behind this, we truly have no sense of certainty in our hearts..."
The reason Mudrock was able to come and find Jeanne today was that the hearts of the people under her command were wavering. Some had already begun to doubt whether the village truly accepted them. Although she personally believed that Jeanne and the others wouldn't do such a thing, as the captain of a squad, she had to give everyone an explanation. If she couldn't obtain one, then despite how satisfied she was with life here, perhaps they really would need to leave again to find a place that could truly accept the Sarkaz.
They had truly experienced too many betrayals and lies. The betrayal after following Theresis last time was still fresh in their memories. Sometimes, Mudrock would even wake up startled from nightmares of that period. The act of being betrayed by someone she believed in—she did not want to let it happen again, not even if there was only a slight possibility.
"You don't need to be so worried; it's simply because of the things I gave to the others! That stuff has a very high lethality against Sarkaz people. You've seen its power before; Patriot's arm was injured by that very thing".
Jeanne couldn't be certain whether her Baptismal Chant would also affect the members of Mudrock's squad once the fighting began with the enemy. After all, Patriot had used his killing intent to awaken the effect of the Holy Water's ability to drive away demons, and who wouldn't have such killing intent during a battle on the field? Moreover, in a chaotic multi-person melee, it was impossible to guarantee that this thing wouldn't lose its "buff" of not affecting friendly Sarkaz. One hit from that would be more than enough for them to handle.
"So that was the reason? I am truly sorry; I overthought this matter".
Upon hearing Jeanne's explanation, Mudrock understood immediately. So that kind of thing was actually a special method specifically targeting the Sarkaz? That substance could even wound the powerful Patriot to such a terrifying degree, which explained why the other party didn't want the Sarkaz to join in. Mudrock guessed that if she took a hit like that, she probably wouldn't even last until she could find Jeanne to save her life before returning to the Sarkaz soul-cluster.
"No, I should be the one apologizing to you. I should have told you about this earlier; I didn't expect to forget such an important thing all of a sudden".
At this moment, Jeanne's face was filled with guilt. To think she could forget such a thing; it seemed she had been a bit lazy in various aspects lately! Originally, she should have told Mudrock the moment it was decided, but instead, she had let the other woman worry for so long... It seemed that when she had time, she should really start a memo; otherwise, as things piled up, she wouldn't even know what she might forget.
Fortunately, this incident—which could have turned into a disaster due to her negligence—was settled properly. After Mudrock returned to the camp and repeated the explanation, the Sarkaz soldiers honestly stayed in the village to set up defenses.
It was no joke; many people had seen Patriot's condition! Even a powerful Wendigo nearly had an accident because of that Holy Water, let alone them, who were just ordinary Sarkaz! It was better to listen and stay in the village; at least that way, they avoided the risk of being caught in the crossfire. In that situation, they wouldn't have Jeanne there to pray for them.
As for the fact that this thing had special effects against Sarkaz or even targeted them, they didn't have much to say about it. After all, who on this earth didn't discriminate against or target the Sarkaz? Using this to persecute them was no different from using swords and spears to harm them.
As for the Sarkaz who were about to suffer, these people could only say they deserved it. It was a pity they couldn't personally deal with those scumbags under Theresis's command! These personal troops from Kazdel were not their friends; they were more likely to be enemies. They had been bullied by those guys quite miserably in the past.
"Do you think they'll bury the Royal Court soldiers they kill nearby? Even if I can't fight those god-awful guys, going over to spit on them would be good".
"Have some ambition! Why can't we catch a few of them alive? When that happens, we can properly report back and return the 'kindness' of these seniors!"
The person speaking almost crushed their teeth from grinding them so hard; it was clear just how much they detested those Royal Court soldiers and how much they had been bullied by those guys who "had eyes on their foreheads" in the past. There was no helping it; this was the frustration of small mercenary groups that followed Theresis. It wasn't that they didn't want to flee Theresis and join the Princess, but all those who tried were killed. Those guys were even more ruthless when hitting their own people than when hitting the folks from Babel!
The Sarkaz in the camp sat together and discussed heatedly, their voices audible from quite a distance. Mudrock sat in her own house, listening to the intense discussion outside without interfering. She also knew how many years everyone had been holding in this resentment; being able to vent it was a good thing. If Jeanne and the others truly captured those guys alive, she wouldn't mind asking Jeanne for a prisoner so that her people could settle their scores and grudges.
As for treating prisoners with leniency? Sorry, but current Terra didn't have any laws regarding that yet, and even if there were laws, they wouldn't apply to these "demon-kind" who had committed every evil imaginable!
When the sunlight faded again, several people appeared on the wasteland where Patriot had left his message. A Confessarius at the lead was holding several Originium Slugs on leashes, looking like someone who had nothing to do at night and had come out to walk their pets. But on second thought, no normal person would walk Originium Slugs in the middle of the night, and who would keep such creatures as pets without fearing Oripathy?
"It seems they have already discovered our methods. It appears your view was correct; this kind of trick cannot fool Patriot".
Upon seeing this wasteland, the Confessarius understood that their plan had fallen through. The other side had seen through the trick. Otherwise, these Originium Slugs should have led them to the vicinity of the village, not to this wasteland where no sign of a village could be seen in any direction.
Currently, one Confessarius stood somewhat nervously beside the Sanguinarch, fearing that this important figure might kill him in an instant if he was displeased. After all, the plan to use this method to find Patriot had been proposed by the Confessarius, and the Sanguinarch was extremely repulsed by these people adding insects to his Originium Art creations. If it hadn't been for their leader's outstanding eloquence, the current situation might have been the Confessarius's blood staining Ursus while the Sanguinarch returned to the Royal Court to close his doors and refuse guests.
"I have told you, do not use your stupid head to measure the wisdom of the members of the Royal Court! I can tolerate you, but that is no reason for your insolence!"
The gaze the Sanguinarch directed at the Confessarius leader was incredibly cold. Others, merely by seeing those eyes, would feel as if they had fallen into an ice cellar colder than this snowfield. After this series of events, the patience of this Sanguinarch—who was already unwilling to tolerate others—was finally about to run out completely.
"Please calm your anger, Great Lord". Seeing this, the Confessarius hurried to bow and apologize to the Sanguinarch, hoping the other would endure a bit longer for the sake of the operation. "Furthermore, we are not without gains. Patriot leaving a message for us here means this place is absolutely not far from the area where they are stationed!"
He pointed at the characters Patriot had left behind. He explained while pointing at the two dead "Sanguinarch's Touches"—the creations of the Great Lord—that had been impaled by branches. When the Sanguinarch saw his creations treated in such a manner, the expression on his face became very displeased. With a wave of his hand, he pulverized those two "Sanguinarch's Touches".
Then, he saw the characters left by Patriot. The expression on his face instantly became one of interest. He looked for a long time before saying, as if talking to himself:
"Interesting. He actually already knows we have come for him. It seems your work on keeping secrets isn't very good! Forget it. Since it's like this, I'll just wait for another two days!"