Late at night on the hill, Samimi moved stiffly like a zombie, touching the wound at her side and brooding alone.
Even though she had been on guard, her spirit unbroken, the fact remained, her body had been cut, her pride wounded.
For the first time, the transmigrator Samimi truly felt the presence of death.
Before this, her battles with the Sage Knight and the White-haired Witch had been nothing more than the petty scheming and mock squabbles of women sharing a dormitory. She had never truly hated them, at most slapping someone during a fight.
But that sickly Elf really wanted to kill her. This time, she couldn’t just brush it off with her usual careless attitude.
Remaining cold and detached at night was part of her persona. Fairly sparring with every heroine was her principle in life.
An eye for an eye—she must take cruel revenge.
But now, thinking about all this was pointless. What mattered was recovering during this brief break, and dealing with the aftereffects of having her power overloaded.
Right now, she was like a fish on a chopping block, at the mercy of others.
“Just hold on a bit longer, I’m counting on you, Second Company Commander Ophika.”
Samimi wasn’t sure whether Ophika was the character’s real name in the original story or, like her previous alias, just another fake identity.
It didn’t matter anymore. It seemed Qiqi had brought her into the society not to harm her. If not for the Holy Word Society background, she wouldn’t have such a comfortable Medical Room to rest in, nor such reliable vanguards to shield her from danger.
But what should she do next? That was the question.
From here on out, it was no longer up to her. She, Samimi, had completed her mission, and her information gathering was finished.
Though she and the Ten Treasures were now trapped here, she still had an ally lying low outside. Even if she fell, Qiqi could continue her mission.
The scene shifted to the grand archbishop’s hall at Jialis Cathedral.
Let’s see what those Demon-Hunting Nuns, always wishing death on others, were up to now.
“Ah… someone come!”
Archbishop Zilu was restless these past few days, his face drawn and worried, his great belly shriveled a size—clear evidence of the enormous mental pressure he was under.
Because now, everyone outside was denouncing him. He never imagined that his speech at the funeral ceremony would bring about such a powerful career crisis. Even the Court couldn’t control public opinion.
The main problem was that every resistance force within the Teaching River had risen up, and small groups supporting the Demon-Hunting Nun were sprouting up like bamboo after the rain.
Eighty percent of the Saints who once supported him had gone silent, refusing all contact.
He could only count on a few loyal cronies he’d raised over the years. Fortunately, as Hongyi Grand Archbishop, he’d gathered a large pack of loyal dogs—these desperate, money-hungry apprentices were all he could still order around.
The new archbishop realized his time was almost up, for any believer with the faintest loyalty had already defected. He could only resort to ruthless measures and gamble everything.
But the problem was, the Demon-Expelling Nun had been detained by the Holy Knight Order, whose authority equaled his own. He had no way to get the nun from their hands.
Within the Church, authority was layered—equals could do nothing to each other.
He had to circumvent the system if he wanted to learn what was happening within the Holy Knight Order and extract any information about the Demon-Expelling Nun. Otherwise, he’d be buried by public opinion.
“Archbishop, your guest has arrived.” Suddenly, a church official entered his study to announce the visitor.
“Quickly, bring them to the meeting room.” Zilu’s face lit up with hope—his savior had arrived.
Several maids helped him put on the heavy red robe of the Hongyi Grand Archbishop before he entered the meeting room.
Inside, a woman dressed in a full-length, enveloping robe stood quietly. Her clothing was not of the Church’s style—more subdued, more refined, less showy.
“Court Mage, your arrival is timely indeed. Please, you must guide me,” Zilu pleaded humbly.
This robed mage had also appeared during the late emperor’s funeral. Her face was hard to forget.
She was the Court Mage sent by the Royal Family to help maintain the Church’s order.
“Archbishop, I know your request. We are long-time allies. The Majesty is committed to assisting you,” the Court Mage replied.
“Thank you, Court Mage. I cannot interfere with the Holy Knight Order’s affairs, but if the Majesty requests it, they cannot refuse. Please help me extract some information, I am truly grateful,” Zilu said sincerely.
“Leave it to us. We are allies,” the Court Mage said.
With that, she left Jialis Cathedral and headed two streets over to the Sage Knight Order Second Company’s quarters.
At the entrance, she presented her mage insignia to the guarding Holy Knights, speaking calmly, “I am the Court Mage sent by His Majesty. I wish to see the status of the two criminal nuns. Compile everything you know into a written report and submit it. This is a royal order.”
The Holy Knights looked at each other, not knowing what to do.
Their orders were to allow no one entry to the Second Company, but this visitor was a royal envoy. While church personnel could be refused, the King’s order could not be disobeyed.
The Court Mage entered the Second Company’s chapel without resistance.
Soon, Sage Knight Order Second Company Commander Ophika was woken by her subordinates—only someone of her rank could handle this.
“Court Mage? You want to see the Demon-Expelling Nun? Very well… Follow me.”
Even so, the Second Company Commander Ophika’s authority had no effect on the Court Mage, so she simply brought her to the Medical Room where the Demon Nun was imprisoned.
“You really locked up the nun who held off the capital’s coalition army here? These doors and windows are paper-thin. I could kick them down with one foot,” the Court Mage said as she glanced around.
“Yes, this is a special cell custom-made by the Second Company of the Holy Knight Order,” Ophika replied casually, taking out the Key to unlock the door. At least there was still a locked door.
Yet, the Court Mage saw that the Demon-Hunting Nun was just lying on a flower-patterned mat beside the bed, recovering her strength. Was this really an imprisonment?
Ophika led the Court Mage into the Medical Room.
They saw the Demon-Hunting Nun, propped up in bed, covered in ointment and struggling to peel fruit.
“Huh? Who’s there?” Samimi set down her fork, feeling a sense of nervousness as she looked up.
“This is the Court Mage Moden Dabi. She was also present at the late emperor’s funeral. She was the one who maintained the Church’s Ice Altar,” Ophika introduced her, as if this was not their first meeting.
“Moden Dabi?” Samimi muttered.
“Seems you still don’t know who your real enemy is—still joking around here,” the Court Mage pulled back her heavy hood.
In an instant, the dignified master’s aura transformed into the playful cunning of a trickster mage.
But this time, Samimi was no longer surprised. One shock was enough; she wouldn’t be startled a second time.
Because this mysterious Court Mage was none other than another Holy Word Society examiner—the Rain Domain Maiden.
“Aren’t you the Water Magician? Why are you maintaining the Ice Altar? Are we from the Teaching River even allowed to roam so freely in the Majesty’s territory?” Samimi asked.
“Everyone in the Holy Word Society has their own life outside. How much can one person do? We all rely on our own abilities,” the Rain Domain Maiden settled herself at the side, making herself at home in the Medical Room, sipping tea comfortably.
“Why are you here? This will arouse suspicion from others,” Ophika said, closing the door and drawing the curtains, starting a secret internal meeting of the Holy Word Society.
“I came at the Archbishop’s request. No one will doubt me—just think of it as taking a day off,” Moden Dabi answered softly.
“Speak plainly. This isn’t a place for idle talk,” Ophika said sternly. “Can’t you see our situation? I’m busy patching up this little troublemaker. If you’re not here to help, you should go.”
“Alright, alright. Of course, I came to share information. Why else would I come? But our unbeatable Second Company Commander just can’t help being on guard,” Moden Dabi covered her mouth with a giggle.
“Get to the point,” Ophika complained.
“You’ve been targeting the wrong enemy all along. That fat archbishop is only a messenger, not the real mastermind. He only asked me to investigate you—almost had me fooled, it’s hilarious,” Moden Dabi laughed.
“So who’s the real mastermind?” Samimi asked.
“Everything was orchestrated by a Hongyi Grand Archbishop from outside, who acted quickly and disappeared even more thoroughly. That fat archbishop is just a scapegoat—even if you deal with him, nothing will be resolved,” Moden Dabi explained.
“No wonder only that fat rat was shouting accusations at me. The real archbishop vanished as soon as the fighting began,” Ophika mused, sinking into thought.
“Yeah…” Samimi recalled things and felt something was off.
That other Hongyi Grand Archbishop was that tall, burly, square-jawed priest whose name nobody knew.
After he was sent flying by her double goddess statues, he completely vanished without a trace. No one knew where he went. It was suspicious—Samimi had always found that archbishop problematic.
“Any news about him?” Samimi asked.
“He’s probably hiding at the Church’s secret base outside the capital, issuing orders from some remote parish. If anything irreversible happens, all the blame will be pushed onto the fat archbishop. The real mastermind will have nothing to do with it,” Moden Dabi explained.
“Just like certain others, lying low until the storm passes before showing their face,” Ophika mocked. “If we don’t drag down that nameless archbishop, none of us will ever know peace.”