“Holy Son? You… really don’t remember me?”
“Holy Son? Ugh… my head…”
At the mention of that word, Man En’s head ached as if splitting apart.
Certain things deep in his memory had already been roughly removed, and the more he tried to recall, the more painful it became.
But what frightened him even more was that he himself didn’t know how much memory he had lost.
…Gradually losing oneself—was this the price of the skill?
And upon careful thought, the person’s tone didn’t sound like a lie. If it were true, he couldn’t afford to cause more trouble.
At this point, he could only pretend to be normal.
Thinking this, Man En felt extremely troubled.
“How are things now? Where are Mei and Lai La?”
On the other end of the communication artifact, an anxious voice came through again.
“Miss Mei and I are holding the front line, and many members of the Heretic God Sect are coming to support.”
“Lord Matthews still needs some time to return. I’ve deployed all my men, and the casualties are not optimistic…”
“What? You said the Heretic God Sect and the mercenary group are together?”
Man En was so shocked he shouted.
At this point in time, there was no combat strength worth mentioning left in the territory. The mercenary group alone was already troublesome enough, plus the Heretic God Sect taking the opportunity to attack…
But he had to be cautious and not fully believe her words.
“Where’s Lai La? I want to talk to her!”
Soon, a voice so anxious it seemed about to cry came from the artifact.
“Brother Man En, come back quickly! We can’t hold out much longer…”
“…”
“Lai La! Lai La!”
No matter how many times he tried, the communication artifact remained silent.
“Damn it!”
‘Why of all times?’
With the sound of shattering, Man En smashed the communication artifact to pieces.
“No, I have to go back immediately!”
Man En immediately set off toward the Adventurer Guild. However, this time he chose not to tell Sophien about this.
First, she was the leader of the mercenary group. Though unlikely, it couldn’t be ruled out that she had given the order.
Second, Sophien’s younger brother, Kris. It could be confirmed that he was the one impersonating Sophien.
Most likely, Kris had been replaced or controlled, thereby influencing the entire mercenary group, allowing them to act without Sophien’s knowledge. The Heretic God Sect arriving in response to the news also supported this.
From any perspective, it was better for Sophien not to show herself.
‘So this is what A Ke Lei En meant…’
“Those guys had a backup plan all along? That’s why Helgort told me not to get involved, isn’t it? After all, I’ve been close to Sophien, so it’s inevitable I’d be implicated.”
“But how can I not get involved in a situation like this?”
Man En calmed down and roughly sorted out the situation, but there was one thing he couldn’t understand no matter what.
“What exactly are they trying to achieve by attacking a city that was just rebuilt?”
Not to mention that the Matthews Territory had already lost the Evil God’s Head. If it was just to take revenge on the Empire, it was clearly meaningless and would only invite greater wrath.
“Forget it, thinking about this now is useless. No matter what, I need to find a way to bring reinforcements back quickly.”
Soon, Man En arrived at the Adventurer Guild.
However, after the Evil God Cult Incident, the guild had lost its former prosperity and looked quite desolate.
“Sorry…”
The only remaining service staff at the reception desk walked out listlessly.
“This guild is temporarily closed for reorganization… Who are you…?”
Man En didn’t speak. He simply directly showed the Mountain Copper Adventurer Token.
“I want… to post a quest!”
…
“Miss Laira! Are you alright?”
Seeing the rolling head on the ground, Lai La was so frightened she couldn’t speak.
“Quick! Everyone, come to me!”
Ge Rui En had no time to care about Lai La’s feelings. She forcefully grabbed her hand and led a group of old, weak, women, and children into an empty room to hold their ground.
“Damn it! We can’t hold much longer!”
Watching the hard-rebuilt city crumble again, her heart was filled with rage.
Because rebuilding this city had cost her a lot of effort, and most importantly, many of the fief’s people and her own subordinates had already been lost.
“Why are the Griffin Mercenary Corps people mixed up with the Heretic God Sect? Could it be that we’ve all been deceived?”
As she was thinking, a mercenary who had been lying in ambush suddenly broke through the door, his sword aimed straight at Ge Rui En’s neck.
“Watch out…!”
Ge Rui En drew her short sword, and with a flash of cold light, the man’s head rolled off.
“These guys… they deliberately scattered beforehand. The Holy Son originally told me to keep an eye on them, but this still happened…”
For now, she had to protect these people first. As for her failure to supervise, if she survived, she would go and apologize to the Holy Son.
Soon, more and more mercenaries gathered in front of the room Ge Rui En was guarding. Among them, a mercenary whose clothing was clearly different from the others slowly walked toward her.
The newcomer had a sinister expression, and his mana intensity was not inferior to her own. She probably couldn’t take him down quickly.
She tilted her head slightly, glancing at the people behind her with her peripheral vision.
‘This is bad…’
But just at this tense moment, the other party took the initiative to speak.
“Do you really think you can hold out? Even if you stop me, the others will swarm in and kill all the old, weak, and crippled behind you.”
Ge Rui En had no intention of replying. She stared intently at his every move, her killing intent spreading.
It was clearly unwise to hold any hope for them at this point. So either she didn’t strike, or she struck to kill.
If she hesitated, more people would die.
But no matter how meticulously she planned, it was meaningless in the eyes of battle-hardened mercenaries.
The leading mercenary looked at Ge Rui En and smiled contemptuously.
He neither advanced nor retreated. He simply raised his hand and said calmly:
“Release the arrows.”
In an instant, countless arrows flew toward them.
This move completely caught Ge Rui En off guard, but she had no choice but to endure the attack.
‘…You despicable bastard!’
Facing the barrage of arrows, she could only curse inwardly.
But facing such a situation alone, she was ultimately powerless.
In no time, dozens of arrows stuck into her torso and limbs, and several people behind her fell to the ground shot.
Although she barely avoided the vital points, her strength was rapidly draining.
She knelt on one knee, gasping for air, struggling to hold on.
“If you have the guts… don’t use such… dirty tricks!”
But the mercenary only sneered coldly.
He walked up to Ge Rui En nonchalantly, lifted her chin with one hand, and studied her face closely.
“Pretty little thing, do you think you have the right to choose? I don’t want to do this either, because killing you like this is such a waste.”
Then he changed his tone, becoming icy.
“But Captain Sophien has given a direct order to kill everyone in the territory. I can only say sorry!”
The sound of a sharp object piercing flesh rang out, and the intense pain nearly made her lose consciousness.
Ge Rui En looked down at her chest in horror.
It was a dagger.
A dagger that had pierced straight through her.