Meanwhile, above the Underworld, Ileya’s consciousness sat cross-legged, watching everything reflected in the black clouds before her.
According to the Lady’s initial plan, the main ability of the new Transcendents she created, the Revival Priests, was to summon Undead.
However, unlike Necromancers who could summon a calamitous army of the dead, these priests would summon and gradually nurture their own personal “Reanimated.”
These Undead were bound to the Revival Priest’s soul upon summoning.
If they died, a portion of the owner’s Soul Essence would be forcibly stripped away and returned to the Underworld.
This was essentially buying life insurance for these Undead, with the compensation paid by the summoner.
The benefits from that insurance, of course, went to Ileya.
You summon them, you raise them, you equip them—but if they die, you pay me.
On the surface, these people became the safest Transcendents in the world under extremely favorable conditions.
But who ultimately benefited… well, that was another matter.
Ahem…
Actually, this wasn’t just about fleecing them.
It was meant to encourage Revival Priests who summoned Undead not to treat them as cannon fodder, but to foster mutual feelings and rapport.
After all, even Skeleton Soldiers had some development potential—at least reaching the level of a Third-Rank Undead, right?
And once these Revival Priests grew stronger, Ileya would naturally unlock more summoning slots and provide some magic. But that was later.
For now, knowing this method worked, all she needed was for the Holy See to spread this doctrine… and she would be able to continuously receive such labor—ahem, followers.
Looking at the image reflected through the Faith Thread, Fukadi’s excited expression and his even more devout, solid Faith Thread, Ileya nodded with considerable satisfaction.
“Lady… Lady!”
And just then, a sudden call and extremely noisy commotion rang in Ileya’s ears.
In the next second, Ileya’s consciousness withdrew from the Underworld.
Her crimson eyes slowly opened, looking at Holly beside her, who was calling out.
Having just returned from the Underworld, the slightly dazed Lady didn’t notice the slight evasion in Holly’s eyes.
“Lady… we just caught three little thieves trying to sneak onto the rear carriage to steal.”
Thieves?
Ileya was slightly startled.
After reaching the Third Rank, her Soul Perception could cover a radius of about thirty meters.
But… she hadn’t noticed just now?
The Lady unconsciously touched her chin.
It seemed that when her consciousness was immersed in the Underworld, this Soul Perception was inactive.
That was… a vulnerability discovered.
As Ileya thought this, the commotion outside grew louder and louder.
With her consciousness back, her reactivated Soul Perception detected many weak life forms gathering around.
Probably those refugees.
But what made Ileya raise an eyebrow slightly was that the refugees weren’t just gathering nearby—they were forming an irregular circle around their carriages.
“What’s going on?”
The Lady clearly didn’t show any panic or displeasure at having her carriage surrounded by a mob of refugees.
She simply propped her chin on one hand and raised an eyebrow at Holly beside her.
Now she noticed that Holly looked guilty—clearly, this had something to do with her.
“Ahem… well, Lady… I just…”
Holly bit her lip, then spoke, sounding both guilty and wronged as she explained what she had done.
The carriage order was: Amisa drove the Lady’s carriage at the front, followed by Arthur driving the food-laden carriage, and finally several carriages carrying Jililiste’s products and the gifts from the City Lord.
These carriages were usually pulled by Mierpasi and Reliel.
Holly, meanwhile, moved around the convoy—it was a training task assigned by Amisa.
Just now, while jogging, the Holy Sword Bearer saw a woman holding a child under a tree by the roadside.
The child’s lips were cracked, wrapped only in a tattered cloth, his chest exposed and skeletal.
The woman seemed to be crying, her panicked eyes searching for something. The aura of despair was so strong that even Amisa, seeing this scene, felt suffocating.
So Holly had taken pity on them.
She ran over and gave the woman some food and water.
Of course, she received endless gratitude, but this scene…
…was also seen by the other refugees around.
At first, only some pitiful-looking people or children came begging for food. Holly had no choice but to give them some too.
But later, some refugees who clearly weren’t short of food also came complaining and asking for rations.
That was when the Holy Sword Bearer realized she had violated the rule of “don’t flaunt your wealth.”
So Holly started refusing those who clearly didn’t need food, which naturally drew some…
“You have plenty of food, you big shots—what’s a little to us?”
“Tch, fake generosity. Can’t afford it? Then why act like a big shot?”
“Why give to them but not me?! You looking down on us?”
These sour, blood-pressure-raising comments.
Holly took a deep breath and endured it.
And perhaps because the Holy Sword Bearer’s apparent “weakness” had stirred evil intentions in some of these refugees, a few men gathered together, quietly approached the rear carriage, and tried to steal something from it.
But such crude thievery couldn’t fool Holly, so she caught them red-handed.
However, catching them was like poking a hornet’s nest.
First, the thieves’ families came to make a scene, and eventually, many refugees joined forces to pressure Holly…
The Holy Sword Bearer had never faced such a situation.
Though her face flushed red with anger, seeing nearly a hundred people gathered around, sensing the emotions emanating from them…
Honestly, Holly was a bit intimidated.
Her Holy Sword was the sharpest, most terrifying weapon against enemies in normal times.
But for this kind-hearted girl who had a chivalrous spirit ingrained in her bones, using the Holy Sword against commoners…
She just couldn’t do it.
Amisa, as her master, naturally saw all this happening.
But the maid had no intention of offering guidance.
Her disciple’s talent as a Transcendent was undeniable—she would definitely become someone surpassing Amisa in the future.
But cultivation wasn’t just about raw power.
As the saying goes: “Mountain cultivation, worldly temper.”
If one’s power and mental fortitude were mismatched, if one couldn’t recognize their identity as a Transcendent and could be easily threatened and manipulated by these ants…
Then no matter how strong they were, it was empty talk.
However, compared to the pleasant surprise of her cultivation talent, Holly’s current actions still disappointed Amisa.
She hadn’t thought to solve the problem herself, but instinctively sought out the Lady.
Well… that wasn’t necessarily a bad thing, either.
The biggest difference between Amisa and Arthur was that she knew she was the Lady’s maid before being Holly’s master.
If she could teach Holly to rely on the Lady, that could be considered a good thing.
“Oh! Heartless wretches!!”
But Amisa’s thoughts were interrupted the next moment by a vigorous, full-throated wail!
She coldly looked toward the source of the sound.
It was directly in front of the carriage, about twenty or thirty meters away.
A fat woman sat sprawled in the middle of the road, wailing loudly.
“You rich, heartless beasts! Not giving us food is one thing, but why take my man?! How can we live without him?! I might as well just bash my head in and die!”
And not just this fat woman—the other refugees also gathered around, pointing and whispering.
Of course, some noticed Amisa’s sweeping gaze, like she was looking at dead people, and were so scared they quickly retreated behind others.
But such self-aware ones were clearly in the minority.
The front carriage curtain slowly drew open, and then Ileya’s rather lazy voice reached the maid’s ears.
“Amisa, speed up and run them over.”
The calm, indifferent words weren’t loud, but at that moment, they echoed in everyone’s soul.
The buzzing noise around instantly vanished… even their breathing paused for a moment.
No one thought the voice from the carriage was joking.
Because before those words, the nearly tangible pressure, the vast, mountain-like majesty, was definitely not something a merchant could possess.
A noble… and a high-ranking one…
The person in the carriage was definitely not the pushover they had imagined.
Some quick-witted ones scrambled away from the crowd, even leaving the main group, intending to bypass the city and head to the next one.
But most of the refugees were trembling with fear.
The dread rising from the depths of their souls kept them from making any extra moves.
“Yes.”
With Amisa’s acknowledgment and the crisp crack of her whip, the two horses pulling the carriage—thick-limbed war steeds clearly from the military—neighed and shifted from a trot to a gallop!
“You… you…” The fat woman’s mouth gaped open.
She wanted to run, to cry out, to beg for mercy…
But her body felt pinned down, frozen as she stared at the approaching hooves and iron-reinforced wheels.
“Aaaaah!!!”
Thud… Crunch, crunch, crunch…
Inside the carriage, it was like hitting an ordinary stone on the roadside—just a slight jolt.
The grinding crack of bones and the abruptly cut-off scream snapped the other girls back to reality, except Ileya, who looked utterly bored.
Before anyone could say anything, Ileya looked at Holly and slowly spoke.
“Well? Did you learn anything?”
“Huh?” Holly’s face was pale. She looked blankly outside the carriage at the mess scattered on the ground.
“Lady, ahead.”
Just then, Amisa’s voice sounded again.
Everyone looked up and saw the refugees who had gathered to block the carriage. Whether scared by the scene or still affected by Ileya’s Soul Intimidation, they stood frozen in place, as if forgetting to flee.
“It’s wide open ahead, isn’t it? Keep speeding up.”
“Yes, Lady.”
The voice again echoed in everyone’s souls, snapping the few people in front out of their stupor. They scrambled to the side.
“Ah… help… help!!”
“Lord, Lord! I won’t do it again!!”
“Ahh!!”
A few who weren’t quick enough were grazed by the carriage and sent flying, landing in the bushes by the roadside, wailing continuously.