Relief

Faced with the sharp blade so close at hand, Kold had no intention of testing Isa’s limits with his own neck.

When he saw her slit the throats of the two knights escorting them without a hint of mercy, he knew that Isa was no longer the easy-going person he remembered.

However, since Isa hadn’t just run him through with her sword, it meant that the words he had spoken held some credibility in her mind.

Kold’s brain cells worked furiously, trying to recall any distinguishing features of the woman he had seen, anything to corroborate his story.

A flash of silver from his memory.

Having found a clue in his recollections, Kold immediately shouted, “A silver chain! She had a silver chain tied to her ankle! And it had gemstones embedded in it, not some cheap street junk!”

‘A silver chain?’

Upon hearing Kold’s words, the sword in Isa’s hand remained near his neck, but it moved back slightly, losing its initial aggressive pressure.

Based on Kold’s description, the woman he encountered bore a high resemblance to the black-robed woman Her Highness Su Ran had forced out with her gun that night.

‘But what is so special about me? Why is she so fixated on me?’

“Keep talking! How did you meet that woman?”

Isa’s tone softened somewhat, but she still maintained a sufficient distance, her former gentleness completely gone.

Sensing that Isa’s emotions had calmed slightly, Kold steadied himself, recovering from his initial trembling.

“I met her once when I was out on the back mountain. It was like the woman appeared out of thin air. I don’t remember clearly what happened after that. The next thing I knew, I came to my senses, and others were telling me you were a witch. As for the gold coins, the knights only said they would give them to us afterwards. These two knights took them all, we haven’t spent a single coin!”

Although the story Kold told was not clear, and could even be said to contain no useful information, one point did align with Isa’s own memory.

The black-robed woman’s appearance had also been abrupt, as if from nowhere.

If Her Highness Su Ran hadn’t pointed her gun at the black-robed woman, Isa alone might not have been able to discover her at all.

Furthermore, she seemed to possess some means of manipulating people’s minds.

The probability that these two were the same person was steadily increasing.

As for Kold’s claim of not having spent a single gold coin, Isa didn’t care.

Not spending it now didn’t mean they wouldn’t spend it later.

However, learning from Kold that the gold was on the two knights she had killed, Isa decided she would go and search their bodies later.

Isa then continued to ask, “Aunt Elsa? And the others?”

Because the number of people being escorted by the knights was so large, and everyone had become ragged from the journey, Isa hadn’t immediately recognized them as villagers from her town.

Looking closely now, she didn’t see any other familiar faces.

“As for Elsa and the others, the people from the village were split into two groups by the knights for the escort. They should be behind us. I know I have no right to say this, but can you go and save them?”

Mentioning Elsa and the remaining villagers, Kold looked at Isa with a pleading and hopeful expression.

Originally, when the entire village was captured by the knights, Kold had given up all hope.

But now, snatching victory from the jaws of defeat, he had witnessed Isa take action and kill the knights.

Compared to facing the knights of Laita City, the Isa with whom he had once lived day in and day out was clearly more trustworthy to Kold, even if she was a witch in the eyes of the Church.

Upon hearing that Elsa was in the group behind them, the thought of going back to find her had already sparked in Isa’s mind.

By cross-referencing their two testimonies, she could confirm whether the woman they encountered was indeed the black-robed woman.

However, faced with Kold’s request, Isa did not agree immediately.

In Kold’s telling, he was under the black-robed woman’s control when he went to the Church to report that a witch was hiding in the village.

But if Isa hadn’t been out gathering herbs, chanced upon a Church emblem, and grown vigilant, choosing not to return via her usual route through the village entrance, she might have never escaped.

Once an act like reporting someone occurs, the seeds of mistrust are planted, and the relationship the two parties once had is gone forever.

Even knowing that Kold had acted under duress, Isa had no thought of returning to the village to live.

Isa did not want her help to seem so cheap.

Thus, Isa sheathed her longsword and, with a reverse grip, pulled a potion from her ring.

“This is a potion I made with my witch abilities. It contains a deadly poison. If one of you drinks it, I will go and save the others. A deal with a witch requires a price. As for the body, have someone else help drag it back to the village. The choice is in your hands.”

Hearing Isa’s words, Kold subconsciously took two steps back.

“Do we really have to drink it?”

Kold’s words caused Isa’s heart to sink a little further.

Her tone grew stiff.

“You have no choice. Your only path is to hold onto hope and accept the witch’s deal.”

Just as Isa’s patience was wearing thin, Kold stepped forward and snatched the potion from her hand.

“Since I was the one who reported you, let me be the one to drink it.”

With that, Kold drank the entire bottle of potion without any hesitation.

Seeing Kold finish it all, Isa’s tone softened.

She said to the other panicked villagers, “If you don’t want the surrounding land to be contaminated with deadly poison, find a rope, tie it to his leg, and drag the body back to the village. The sun’s exposure along the way will evaporate the toxins.”

Then, Isa paid no mind to the grimacing Kold, who was clutching his own throat with white foam spewing from his mouth.

Since he had fulfilled her request, it was time for her to fulfill her promise, and also to go and confront Aunt Elsa.

Looking at Kold collapsed on the ground, the remaining villagers stared at each other, not knowing what to do.

In the end, they decided to do as Isa said.

After all, Kold had given his life for the remaining villagers; the others had to bring him back to the village.

Since Isa had killed all the knights from Laita City, they certainly couldn’t live in this area anymore.

Their only option was to go back to the village, pack their things, and migrate elsewhere.

Isa’s pace was not slow, and she soon found the group escorting the remaining villagers.

This team was in charge of the old, the weak, the women, and the children of the village.

The soldiers assigned to them had not even entered a Sequence; they were just ordinary soldiers.

Isa didn’t even need to use potions.

Relying solely on her magic-enhanced physical abilities, she easily sent the soldiers to a reunion underground.

After consecutively facing enemies two or three Sequences higher than herself, Isa had almost forgotten how rare superhumans were in this land.