Leaving the prosperous Royal City and its surrounding satellite cities, Samimi and Ten Treasures decided to head toward the southern border.
However, the Southern Liao of the mainland belonged to the Human Race’s territory, so it wasn’t as desolate as one might imagine. Almost every stretch of road led to towns and villages. The local customs were simple, the climate was pleasant, and there were many opportunities to make a fortune.
In fact, the Royal City, located at the center of the continental plate, was not the main area of activity for the Human Race. That was the destination for the Human Race, a gathering place and retirement home for dignitaries and the elderly.
Young people generally chose to go south to take a risk, hoping to turn their iron scraps into gold.
This was because the southern part of the continent was a vast, endless sea of trees known as the [Forest of Devouring All Things].
From ancient times to the present, countless adventurers have been lost within the Forest of Devouring All Things.
The profession of Adventurer also rose because of this sea of trees and has remained popular for thousands of years. Even now, countless young people still want to become adventurers.
However, because that name was too long and clunky, general adventurers simply called it the [Sea of Ten Thousand Forests].
The Human Race has been exploring that sea of trees since its inception. The infinite Magic Forest, which existed even before the birth of the Human Race, shrouded many of the continent’s secrets within it.
The secret of the [Abyss] was hidden deep within the Sea of Ten Thousand Forests. Abyss Beasts continuously emerged from within, and they could even infect ordinary wild animals.
To be honest, if the Human Race stopped exploring the Sea of Ten Thousand Forests, they could suppress the spread of the Deep Flood. Magic beasts would only thrive within the sea of trees.
This was because the Abyss Virus did not naturally infect humans, but adventurers would carry the Abyss Virus out with them.
But no one had ever proposed such a scandalous theory.
Telling someone not to go on an adventure was the same as telling them to go die.
That was Samimi’s next destination.
The plot suddenly returned to the orthodox Otherworld tropes: magic, swords, and adventure.
But for now, the plot was about girls camping.
To avoid leaking their whereabouts, Samimi and Niubao did not stay in inns or enter any villages or towns. They continued to take the backroads, camping on the spot when they were tired.
“Holy Flame.” Samimi used the Holy Flame to start a fire; it was truly a waste of talent.
Surely the legendary Skill [Angel’s Blessing] never imagined that one day it would be used to light a fire in the wild?
Niubao was left to hunt for food on the spot. With Niubao’s current combat power, any ordinary wild animal encountering her would mean the whole family ascending to heaven together, with no way to fight back.
The Holy Knight sword and the Golden Great Axe also never imagined they would one day become skinning knives and bone-cleaving knives.
Even the Holy Flame had its complaints! It never expected to become a meat grill used to cook meat patties.
“Niubao’s cooking is getting better and better,” Samimi praised.
“Pastoralist, if you keep calling me that, I won’t cook for you anymore,” Niubao said with an unyielding expression.
Who would have thought that the mighty Cow would have a temper? But since she was called the mighty Cow, she certainly had a temper—that was all nonsense anyway.
Niubao had also reached her rebellious phase and started to go against Samimi. Of course, this sort of thing was definitely the Miworm’s fault; the cute Cow was not at fault. Anyone who was called by such a stupid name every day would go crazy.
“Pastoralist, since you became an Archbishop, why did we have to leave?” Niubao asked as she handed a roasted chicken leg to Samimi.
Niubao had actually started to use her brain to think and would ask Samimi questions to resolve the doubts in her heart.
“The structure of the Church as an organization is very interesting. A massive organization that has been maintained for a thousand years uses a multi-layered balancing act. Multiple forces keep each other in check to prevent any single one from becoming too dominant, and that is how it has survived for a thousand years. But my appearance, Samimi’s appearance, broke this balance. Although I look infinitely glorious, this state is actually very unhealthy and dangerous.”
“The new Holy See is my junior, another Archbishop is my former Master, the Second Company Commander of the Holy Knight Order is my former subordinate, and I am the rising star of the Holy Word Society. Even you, Niubao, are the first-ever Half-Beastman Holy Knight promoted as an exception. Then there is the Demon Hunt Bureau and the Doctor’s Association—all are institutions that I fostered. The Church is full of my people everywhere. You could say my influence already controls the entire Church.”
“The reputation of the Pig Demon Nun has already resounded throughout the country. Once I am placed on that pedestal, I won’t be able to come down. So I have to run away quickly, because if I continued to stay in the Church, this massive monster called the Church would definitely spiral out of control.”
Hearing Niubao’s question, Samimi began to explain seriously. She was very happy that Niubao was so eager to learn.
Niubao tilted her head and shook it back and forth, pretending to understand, but in reality, she didn’t understand at all.
“Niubao, I’m sorry. Before, it was really too busy. Now we can finally settle down and learn. I can teach Niubao some knowledge,” Samimi said with a light laugh.
But as soon as Niubao heard she had to study, she suddenly stood up, holding half a roasted chicken, and bolted.
She was so fast that Samimi couldn’t even react before Niubao vanished into the Magic Forest.
“This Cow…” Samimi didn’t know whether to laugh or cry as she scratched her head.
However, Samimi wasn’t worried about Niubao’s safety at all. It was better to worry about the safety of the local wildlife. But since Samimi had told Niubao not to kill indiscriminately, there was no need to worry about her going on a rampage.
The two of them didn’t need to worry about being ambushed while camping in the wild.
Because Samimi meditated at night, and even if she took off the Sinner’s Blindfold, she would activate the Clear Vision Technique. This low-level Magic Ritual, which acted like radar, had already become a part of her life.
Niubao was even more reliable. She had the natural instincts of a beast. No matter how deeply she slept, she would be on alert the moment anything unusual happened in the surroundings.
In fact, Samimi could even release magic power to drive away poisonous insects and wild beasts, so there was no need for precautions at all.
The two of them were simply natural-born experts at camping.
***
After a week, Samimi and Ten Treasures had moved far away from the Royal City and arrived at the southern part of the United Kingdom.
The further south they went, the more towns appeared—large in scale but simple in construction.
Near the Royal City, everything was made of luxurious stone, but the towns here were all wooden houses. They prioritized simplicity, practicality, and affordability.
“The southern part of the sea of trees has a pioneering style.”
It was just like a small town in the American West, built to quickly expand a base.
The only difference was that the atmosphere of a Western town was yellow sand and setting suns, while this place was full of beautiful small towns that only existed in fantasy.
But once you looked inside, the core was still that of a Western town.
This was because the streets of these southern towns were filled with all kinds of adventurers, looking just like bounty hunters in a Western cowboy movie.
Samimi and Ten Treasures had been camping for so long and traveling for such a distance that they finally entered a town.
“Have you heard the legend of the Demon-Expelling Nun?”
“She’s way too strong. She suppressed the entire Church by herself.”
“I feel like it’s a rumor.”
“But the Demon-Hunting Nun has disappeared.”
“Why? She was clearly about to be inaugurated as a Cardinal, an Archbishop at only eighteen years old.”
Samimi hadn’t walked many steps into the town when she heard people by the roadside discussing the Demon-Hunting Nun. It scared her so much that her legs went stiff.
But when she looked up, it was just a few young adventurers gathered together boasting loudly; they hadn’t discovered her.
The legend of the Demon-Expelling Nun has already spread to a place like this? Is it traveling much faster than her own journey?
Samimi and Ten Treasures first walked around the town to investigate how far the legend of the Demon Nun had spread and what the specific information was.
The two made a circuit of the town and first arrived at an adventurer’s inn to check in and drop off their luggage.
Samimi sat down at the desk and took out a notebook to record the information.
The situation was much better than she had imagined. Everyone only knew the name of the Demon-Hunting Nun, and most people didn’t know what she actually looked like. They only knew some vague characteristics.
For example: the Sinner’s Blindfold, black nun robes, viscous magic, the Axe Demon Sword, the Holy Flame, and so on.
Samimi recorded all these characteristics. As long as she didn’t reveal them, no one would suspect she was the Demon-Expelling Nun.
However, the news of her disappearance had also spread. If she dressed up as a Pastoralist, she might still be suspected, so she couldn’t let her guard down.
There was no need to worry about the Sinner’s Blindfold and the black nun robes; she had already changed her clothes.
Special magic rituals weren’t a concern either; she just wouldn’t use them.
The only problem was the New Demon Sword. Fortunately, the world only knew the Demon-Hunting Nun had the New Demon Sword, but they didn’t know what style of sword the Axe Demon Sword was. Just like how everyone didn’t know what the Demon-Hunting Nun looked like.
It was better to handle it. Samimi used a black cloth to wrap up the New Demon Sword. Although it felt a bit like self-deception, it was impossible for her to discard the New Demon Sword.
Anyway, as long as she flatly denied it, no one could make her unwrap it to see.
“Niubao, let’s go out for a walk,” Samimi called out to Niubao.
“Don’t call me Niubao outside,” Niubao warned with a serious face.
But her puffed-up little fat cheeks were only cute; she really couldn’t pull off being serious.
Leaving behind the heavy luggage, the two of them wandered more casually, planning to eat a special adventurer’s feast.
Previously, they had been camping in the wild, eating dried meat and soup for every meal. Now they could finally eat something different.
As it grew dark, the two of them eventually went to an adventurer’s general store in town and bought two professional travel backpacks.
Samimi helped Niubao carry some of the luggage. If she let Niubao carry everything alone, others would think she was mistreating a Half-Beastman.
But the bulk of the luggage was still carried by Niubao. She herself was just a Divine Official with a weak body and no strength. Her backpack only contained travel funds and seasonings.
However, her main purpose was so she could strap the fabric-wrapped New Demon Sword onto her travel backpack, making it look less conspicuous.
“When I finish my task, we won’t have to travel with all these big and small bags anymore.”
After walking all day, Samimi stood by the window of the inn room, looking at the night view outside. she took a sip of tea, crossed her legs, and envisioned a beautiful future.
With things mostly prepared, she sat on the small sofa to meditate and rest. Tomorrow, official work would begin.
***
A strand of information suddenly interjected.
At night, two mysterious cloaked girls, who had similarly chosen to hide their names, stood before the bulletin board at the entrance of the town.
They stood still for a long time in front of the public notice regarding the legend of the Demon-Hunting Nun.
The bulletin board was covered with news and legends about the Demon-Hunting Nun.
“This Miworm actually became an Archbishop?” the White-haired Mage Girl questioned.
But her tone wasn’t too shocked, because this was very much in line with the Miworm’s style. If she could challenge the Continental Magic Academy, what else couldn’t she do?
However, the other Gray-haired Girl standing beside her was stunned into a daze.
“What’s wrong?” the White-haired Mage Girl asked.
“It’s nothing. Let’s go.” The Gray-haired Girl shook her head and forced a smile.
They were also leveling up in the Southern Liao of the mainland. They were also pretending to be weak to prey on the strong, but the little tiger had discovered the big tiger.
The two of them left the town, just missing the others.
The fame of the Demon-Hunting Nun Samimi was already widespread; everyone was talking about her.
No one talked about the Hero anymore. The name of the Hero had become a peripheral figure, a figurehead used for marketing that no one really discussed.
Even if a Hero revealed their identity, not many people would care.
You just killed a flying dragon, that’s all. People might think you were bragging about killing a Mage King or something.