In the Arlam Village square, villagers were lining up in an orderly fashion to board the earth dragon carriages for evacuation. The earth dragons uneasily flicked their tails, only barely remaining calm under the soothing hands of their handlers. The convoy split into two groups, one heading towards the Royal Capital and the other towards the Sanctuary.
Rem and Ram stood within the lines, maintaining order.
On the other side, on a high slope in the forest on the outskirts of the village, a middle-aged man dressed in coarse cloth clothes was grimly looking down at everything. A moment later, he slowly pulled out a strange object from his pocket, which looked like a mirror but glowed with an ominous light.
"Hey, uncle, what are you doing? Why aren't you evacuating?"
A clear female voice suddenly rang out from behind him, startling the man. He turned around in a hurry, almost dropping the object in his hand. Standing behind him was a black-haired girl, her pupils faintly visible among the tree shadows.
"Ah! It's, it's Subaru!" The man forced out an exaggerated smile, fine beads of sweat appearing on his forehead. "Sorry, I didn't know about the evacuation yet. I just came out of the forest after gathering some wild produce, and when I saw such a commotion in the village, I came to take a look..."
Subaru narrowed her eyes slightly, her gaze sweeping over the man's empty hands. "Wild produce?" Her voice carried obvious suspicion.
The man's Adam's apple tensed and bobbed. "I put the wild produce under a tree in the forest! It's not far!" He hastily pointed into the depths of the dense forest. "You see, it's right next to that crooked pine tree! I was originally going to get it after checking out the situation..."
Subaru nodded thoughtfully. "I see..." She suddenly showed a friendly smile. "Then I'll go with you to get it. You know, the forest isn't safe right now; it's said that Witch Cultists are lurking there."
"That would truly be... troubling for you." The man lowered his head, his voice trembling strangely.
The moment Subaru turned, the humble expression on the man's face instantly twisted. The corners of his mouth stretched to his ears, revealing a sinister smile. The hand behind his back slowly drew a short sword.
"Don't move."
Suddenly, a cold voice sounded behind him. The man froze, feeling the chill of metal on his neck. Carlisle's blade was already pressed against his skin, a slight flick would be enough to decapitate him.
"Yay! He really fell for it!" Mimi's cheerful voice came from the woods. The orange-haired beast-girl skipped out from behind a tree, her fluffy ears twitching excitedly. "Big Sister, how did you know there was a Witch Cult spy here?"
Hetaro and Julius also walked out slowly, forming a circle to surround the man.
"Wait a minute! Is there some misunderstanding here!?" The man suddenly shouted, his voice full of grievance and injustice. "I'm just an ordinary villager!"
But his Fingers moved imperceptibly.
"Bang!"
Carlisle's movements were as fast as lightning. Before the man could react, he was heavily pressed to the ground, his cheek pressed against the damp earth. The knight's knee was on his back, with such force that he could barely breathe. The short sword was easily snatched away, arcing through the air before clanging onto the ground in the distance.
"Ugh... you can't do this!" The man struggled to shout, his voice muffled by his face being pressed to the ground. "I'm really not a spy!"
Subaru crossed her arms, looking down at him. "Alright, whether you are or not isn't up to you. Do you guys really have to see the coffin before you shed tears? That mirror clearly looks like a magic tool, doesn't it? Every time you get caught, you have to put on this act."
Mimi had already skipped over and began eagerly searching the man's clothes. "Let Mimi find some evidence~"
"Stop! You're invading my privacy!" The man twisted futilely, but was quickly pressed down even harder by Carlisle.
"Big Sister! I found this in his clothes' lining!" Mimi suddenly held up a neatly folded parchment, her tail wagging happily. "It was hidden really well!"
"Great job, Mimi!" Subaru's eyes lit up, and she ruffled the beast-girl's head as she took the map.
As the map slowly unfolded, Subaru's breathing quickened. "This is great, we hit the jackpot!"
She pointed to the densely packed markings on it. "Look! The locations of these markings... they're very likely the hiding places of Sloth's 'Fingers'! Even their strongholds are clearly marked!"
Carlisle leaned in to examine it. "Indeed... this is much more detailed information than we expected."
"Damn it!!" The spy on the ground suddenly roared, his voice filled with hysterical despair. "You don't understand what you're fighting against!"
Subaru gave him a cold glance. "Oh? So you're finally dropping the act?" She squatted down, her golden eyes looking directly into the man's bloodshot ones. "You guys are truly persistent. It must have been hard for you to suppress that madness and lie in wait for so long..."
The man opened his mouth as if to say something else, when suddenly.
"Thud!"
Carlisle delivered a precise chop to the back of his neck. The man's eyes instantly rolled back, and he slumped limply to the ground.
"We caught a captive!" Mimi cheered excitedly. "I hope this guy can hold out for a while~"
"Sister! Don't say such scary things!" Hetaro helplessly rubbed his forehead.
Subaru carefully put away the yellowed parchment map. She looked up at Carlisle, finding the knight already ready to go.
"Alright," Subaru handed over the map, their Fingers briefly touching at the edge of the parchment. "I'll leave these guys to you."
Carlisle took the map with swift, clean movements. His gaze quickly swept over the markings. "Understood. It won't take too long."
There was no more conversation between the two. At this moment, any words would be superfluous; they both knew that every single second now was a race against Sloth's conspiracy.
— — — — — —
"Found it! Felix-sama!"
A hurried shout broke the silence of the forest. A soldier leaped out of a dragon carriage parked by the roadside, his armor clanking crisply with his movements. He held up a bulging burlap sack, his face full of excitement.
Felix's cat ears perked up sharply, and he rushed over in three strides. "Let me see~" He took the bag, and when he saw its contents, his amber cat eyes widened instantly.
"Wow..." He gasped, the fire magic stones neatly stacked in the bag glinting with a dangerous red light under the sun. "Amazing... How did Subaru know the Witch Cult would hide fire magic stones in the dragon carriages?"
He carefully took one out; the fire magic stone emitted an unnatural warmth in his palm. If these were detonated, they would be enough to reduce the entire dragon carriage to ashes. Felix's tail involuntarily bristled as he thought with trepidation, *If we hadn't found them in time...* Just then, hurried footsteps came from the woods. An Iron Fang mercenary ran over, out of breath.
"Felix-sama!" The mercenary's voice was slightly hoarse from running. "The Witch Cult's location has been confirmed! It's been confirmed as a hiding place for 'Fingers'!"
Felix's eyes lit up, his cat ears twitching excitedly. "Oh! As expected of them, that fast?" He snapped his fingers at the soldier beside him. "Alright, go call Ricardo and Old Man Will~"
Saying that, he had already begun to stretch his wrists, "It's our turn to act, Nyaa~"
...
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guilt_free_daoist
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