“Y-yes, I… I can testify for Iana,” Lillian said weakly.
Veronica withdrew her sharp gaze, and after receiving Lillian’s assurance, her guard relaxed slightly.
Then she changed the subject, “Did you just see a flying dragon girl?”
Iana’s heart immediately jumped into her throat, and she stammered, “N-no… I didn’t.”
“There’s no dragon girl here; you must be hallucinating.”
“I… I was knocked unconscious just now and only just woke up,” Lillian said.
Although Veronica had been unconscious earlier and was unclear about everything that had happened here, she couldn’t be fooled by that familiar aura during her unconsciousness.
Could it be Ethelrina who came?
Then why didn’t she show herself?
Veronica pondered silently.
It was like this when she was a child too—after being saved, Ethelrina would immediately disappear, and her memories of her became very fragmented.
Only in the past year had she begun to vaguely recall some things that happened in the orphanage.
But why did Ethelrina always avoid her after saving her?
Could it be that she was indirectly saying she didn’t like her and to stop being delusional?
Yet if she didn’t like her, then why save her?
Veronica’s expression was like the weather—sometimes sunny, sometimes rainy—with a complexity that was rare in Iana’s life.
After collecting herself, Veronica’s expression returned to the serious look she wore earlier.
“Ahem, just pretend you didn’t see anything, understood?” Veronica ordered.
“Understood,” Iana replied.
“Alright, now follow me to check out the exit here and see where we can get out.”
“By the way, how did you two get here?” Iana asked the question she was most curious about.
For two Misses of the Saintess Family to come to such a cursed place together, Iana didn’t believe there was no ulterior motive.
“How did we get here? Would you believe me if I said it was the power from the deepest part of our bloodline that brought me here?” Veronica said.
“I… I feel the same way,” Lillian agreed.
“A summons from the deepest part of your bloodline?” Iana pondered their words.
“Does that mean this place is connected to your Saintess Family?”
“By the way, Lillian, where did you find that Soulstone of yours?”
“J-just in the basement above… I saw it as soon as I fell down.”
The more Iana heard Lillian’s words, the more she thought this place might indeed be connected to the Saintess Family.
Could it be that a predecessor of the Saintess Family left some kind of inheritance here?
But it was hard to explain why a Saintess Family predecessor would leave such a chance during a trial.
Iana shook her head, feeling that her guess was quite likely.
While Iana was still thinking, Veronica had already found the exit passage and shouted to Iana and Lillian, “This seems to be the way out. Come quickly.”
Although Iana wanted Lillian to stay here and find the Saintess predecessor’s inheritance, it was only speculation without any solid evidence, so she had to give up.
The immediate priority was to get out.
Iana held Lillian’s hand and headed toward Veronica, then followed her into the passage.
[Current number: 25/36]
“???”
Iana was puzzled by the words suddenly appearing in her mind.
She looked around and realized she had been transported to a forest, with many people around her.
Among them were several familiar faces: Lu Fei and Beiqi, and beside them was a girl with a dragon’s tail and horns.
“Where is this?” Iana asked.
“I don’t know either,” Veronica replied.
“I’ll ask around.”
After Veronica talked to others, they learned that everyone here had fallen into a certain palace basement in the central area and entered through a passage.
What irritated Iana was that they hadn’t encountered those humanoid clay statues here.
According to their description, this was a large gathering place for Demons, and only when the number of people here reached 36 would the invisible barrier separating humans and Demons disappear.
“So, we can farm points here,” Iana felt excited.
She had been worried about how to get points, and now they were sent directly to a Demon gathering place.
“Also… we might get killed,” Lillian’s dispirited words sounded beside her.
“Tch.”
“You’re really a downer. When the barrier disappears, just follow me, alright?”
“I’ll protect you.”
Lillian nodded.
Besides being with Iana, she didn’t know anyone else here.
Although Veronica was her sister, the two of them weren’t on the same team; being led by her was awkward and unseemly.
A few hours later, several more people entered.
[Current number: 36/36]
As the last person stepped into this space, an invisible ripple passed through the air.
The transparent barrier separating humans and Demons burst like a bubble, and a heavy aura of Demons surged forward.
“The barrier is gone!” someone shouted.
Almost simultaneously, the Demons let out harsh roars, while the participants quickly formed teams, ready to hunt the Demons.
“Lillian, stick close to me,” Iana grabbed Lillian’s wrist and swiftly moved toward the edge of the Demon territory.
She didn’t want to get caught in the chaos of the center and planned to look for isolated Demons on the outskirts.
The Demons on the edge were usually weaker, and right now, Iana could only handle the weaker ones.
The light was dim in the Demon outskirts, and between tree trunks, glowing red Demon eyes occasionally flashed.
Iana tightened her grip on her short sword, scanning her surroundings vigilantly.
“I-Iana, over there!” Lillian suddenly pointed to the left.
A Demon that resembled a wolf was hiding behind the bushes, its fangs dripping with thick saliva.
“Good opportunity!” A flicker of excitement appeared in Iana’s eyes.
She swung her longsword swiftly and struck precisely at the Demon wolf’s neck.
This time, unlike facing the humanoid clay statues earlier where she only caused minor wounds, she beheaded the wolf-like creature outright.
[Points +0.5]
“Only 0.5 points?” Iana muttered in slight disbelief.
Even a fly is meat, and though killing one Demon gave just 0.5 points, Iana wasn’t about to let any of them go.
“Looks like I need to work harder and get points faster,” Iana looked at Lillian standing nearby, an idea forming in her mind.
Why not let Lillian hunt Demons too?
It would both train Lillian’s courage and earn points—killing two birds with one stone.