“You know I’m a huge headache too, right? ‘Headache’ doesn’t even cover it—I almost got killed because of you.” Ofika clutched her stomach and grumbled, then pounded Samimi’s thick arm with a surge of anger.
“It hurts, it hurts!” Samimi wailed, writhing in pain on the bed.
Hearing Samimi’s pained cries, Ofika’s heart instantly felt a bit lighter, her mind gradually calming down.
“Anyway, what’s the situation like outside now?” Samimi asked.
“It’s a disaster. All around our Second Company are the Hongyi Grand Archbishop’s henchmen—we can’t leave at all, we’re basically trapped here. I can’t even guarantee whether there’s a mole among us in the Second Company. Our internal information might already be leaking out. It’s only a matter of time before the main doors are attacked. You’d better be mentally prepared,” Ofika replied grimly.
“Not surprising,” Samimi said, expressionless.
“Forget the formalities, it’s not like you’re actually being polite with me. Why don’t you just tell me why you did all this for so long?” Ofika pressed on.
“Here’s how it happened…” Samimi recounted everything without hiding anything.
The Sword Slope Girl was a trustworthy old comrade; ever since their days in the sewers together, no bond could be closer than theirs.
So Samimi explained everything that had happened at the Red Cloister, the arrival of Mei Jiang Yaolin and the Papal Left Hand at Bagua Town to seek refuge, and her own appearance at the Church for the investigation. She summarized it all and laid it out for Ofika.
“Wow…” Ofika let out a bitter laugh after listening, silent for a long time as she tried to digest the avalanche of information.
She’d thought this was just Samimi trying to save face after losing to the Demon-Hunting Nun and holding some grievance over being slandered, but she never expected it to be a carefully planned coup.
So the ones backing Samimi were Mei Jiang Yaolin, the Pope’s Grandson, and the Papal Left Hand.
The Pope’s Grandson represented legitimacy, while the Papal Left Hand represented military might. That kind of power was definitely capable of overturning the Church’s old system.
Of course, compared to the ancient conservative faction, this new force was still too green.
But now it all made sense. Otherwise, unless her brain had fallen out, no normal person would attack two Hongyi Grand Archbishops during a ceremonial public speech, right?
So everything was just about building momentum!
She had to admit, this was a perfect, high-risk plan—one wrong move and you’d be smashed to pieces. Not something the average mind could dream up.
No, in fact, she realized that Samimi hadn’t really planned anything at all from the start.
Because there was no way Samimi could’ve known the Hongyi Grand Archbishop was going to set up a trap—everything was spur of the moment, just standing up against the injustice as it happened.
“If it’s really such a good plan, why the need to go off in public? If you’d just endured a bit longer, we could have handled the Hongyi Grand Archbishop after we left. That would have worked out better for all of us,” Ofika commented helplessly.
“You think I could have endured? How could I stand that?” Samimi scratched her head.
“You liar! You must’ve planned it all along! Otherwise, why wasn’t the Grand Archbishop killed? Why did not a single knight die? You were just controlling everything the whole time. No one was killed, not even seriously wounded. I’ve figured you out,” Ofika accused, pointing with her little hand.
“I didn’t plan that much. I’m a pacifist,” Samimi said with a sly grin.
“Pacifist? You held a sword to my neck, and you’re a pacifist?” Ofika retorted.
“You summoned a thirty-meter-long magic greatsword and still talk about pacifism? Why can’t I be a pacifist too!” Samimi shot back.
“Really? If it wasn’t for my help, how were you planning to end things? If not for me, you’d be in the Church’s darkest dungeon right now, getting whipped!” Ofika slammed the table.
“Once I recover, I’ll take care of the aftermath myself. I won’t cause trouble for the Sword Slope Girl. I’m no saint—if the Grand Archbishop won’t get down and admit fault, I’ll cut off his head and use it as a stool. There’s only one chance; after that, I won’t hold back,” Samimi said in a low, serious tone.
“And what about the others? Are you going to wipe out half the upper clergy? You maniac!” Ofika leapt to her feet, even angrier.
“Old friend, I have my companions, don’t I?” Samimi didn’t answer, just changed the subject.
Ofika took a deep breath of cold air, instantly understanding what Samimi meant.
If necessary, Samimi was truly ready to eliminate half the upper clergy—and she absolutely had the power to turn the Church into a sea of fire.
“That beastkin girl is practicing outside. She seems to know nothing and has no idea what you did,” Ofika said, glancing toward the window.
“Can I go take a look?” Samimi asked.
“You’re not in any condition to get out of bed,” Ofika replied.
“Please, just let me go take a look,” Samimi persisted.
Ofika had to give in to this iron-headed child, and could only help Samimi out of the sickbed and bring her to the window.
Samimi was gritting her teeth in pain with every step; half her body ached, but she stubbornly pushed on.
The two of them reached the window and saw Niubao bouncing around in the yard, brimming with energy, carefree and innocent, blissfully unaware of everything happening outside. She just kept training with her sword, striving to improve every day.
After all the intense arguments earlier, the two felt a soothing warmth in their hearts.
“I can foresee the future. I’ve seen that in the near future, the Abyss will launch a full-scale invasion. I’ll go fight the Abyss. But if the Church—supposedly the backbone of humanity—is really like this, how could I entrust my back to such a rotten organization?” Samimi said, her voice choked.
“You…” Ofika wanted to say something snarky, but deep down, she couldn’t help but trust Samimi completely.
“My past is demon-slaying, my power is holy fire and sun flame. I’m a dual-aspect Magic User. My destined enemies are not humans but those beyond humanity. Yet now, I’m trapped here, set up by schemers, unable to move. Old friend, what should I do? How am I supposed to be at ease?” Samimi gritted her teeth.
Ofika didn’t reply, just helped Samimi back to the sickbed.
“There’s one more thing—the assassin who tried to kill you. We couldn’t catch him, he got away,” Ofika suddenly pulled out two items and placed them on the bedside table.
One was a special short arrow, tipped with a spiral rune and layered with unique fletching—one of a kind, but impossible to trace.
The second was the Rain Domain Maiden insignia, number twenty-four.
However, the image of the goddess on it had been pierced, leaving a hole. But it was this insignia that had saved Samimi’s life.
“Any clue who tried to kill you? This doesn’t seem like a Church-trained assassin; at least, I don’t know anyone with this level of skill,” Ofika asked, seeing Samimi sink into thought.
“You’re right. Qiqi Reng’s group is only mid-range archers—they couldn’t shoot this far,” Mimi couldn’t help throwing in a snarky comment.
“Even now, just thinking about it scares me. If the arrow hadn’t hit the insignia on my chest, even I wouldn’t have been able to react in time. If it had struck my heart from behind, I wouldn’t have been able to activate my magic shield fast enough. I could have just died like that. You got lucky, with that badge in your chest pocket,” Ofika analyzed.
“I know who it was,” Samimi said calmly. “It was all within my calculations.”
“Are you serious?” Ofika questioned.
“She was strong, ruthless, and the perfect, cold-blooded assassin, but she was too by-the-book. She knew I’d always keep something in front of my heart, so she aimed there first to knock away the shield,” Mimi explained.
Ofika frowned, thinking for a couple of seconds, then lifted Samimi’s lapel with a reproachful look. “If you knew this, why did you put the insignia in your pocket as a shield? Couldn’t you use something else?”
“It hurts, it hurts!” Mimi thrashed around on the sickbed like a grasshopper.
“At least we know who the killer is. Just tell me the name, and I’ll send people to hunt her down,” Ofika said.
“No need. I’ll handle her myself,” Samimi refused. “I’m tired. Let me rest for a bit.”
“Do you even realize that you’re now the prime suspect in assaulting the Hongyi Grand Archbishop? You’re a wanted woman!” Ofika stood up, laughing in disbelief.
“Then I’ll trouble you to clear my name, senior.” Samimi entered a meditative state in an instant, her whole body glowing a faint green as she began to heal herself.
Even though her healing abilities were nothing special, and self-healing with divine magic had diminishing returns, as long as it worked, it was good enough.
Ofika left the infirmary and stepped outside, taking a deep breath of fresh air, feeling like even just talking to Samimi was draining.
She looked up to see Niubao still training in the yard and suddenly thought of a way to let off some steam.
“Niubao, let me teach you a couple of moves.”
Ofika went over under the pretense of giving Niubao some pointers, but her real intent was to pummel her a bit.
Apparently, Niubao had a passive skill: every sword master who saw that silly Niubao wanted to give her a few pointers.
Ofika, at heart, was a Magic User, but she was also the undefeated Second Company Commander, a master of both magic and sword, and knew plenty about swordsmanship.
So it was easy for her to see that this half-witted girl had zero magic talent and barely any swordsmanship—her fighting was all thanks to Samimi’s buffs.
And then…
Ofika quickly realized she’d made a mistake.
Niubao could spar with you all day and night, fighting until sunset, sunrise, and noon without ever getting tired, or even needing to eat.
After all, Niubao often ate enough in one meal to last a week, storing up all her energy for these kinds of battles of attrition.
“Alright, that’s enough for today. Rest a bit. We’ll go again tomorrow.”
Even the Sword Slope Girl Ofika was dizzy after sparring with the tireless Niubao, so she went back to her room to meditate and rest.
But now she could draw one conclusion: Samimi had really raised a little monster—
That Niubao was no ordinary person. She’d seen plenty of halfwits before, but never one like this.
She was more like a human-shaped beast, or a legendary creature with endless stamina, like those mountain spirits.
“Just how many secrets are you hiding from us?”
Even as she meditated, Ofika found herself muttering in her sleep, shaken by everything that had happened lately.
Premium Chapter
Login to buy access to this Chapter.