Seeing the scorching aura radiating wildly from Anna’s body as she faced the Goblin Shaman, the hairs on Evan’s body stood on end. The back of his neck felt cold, and his instincts screamed at him.
"??????????... ???????? ?????????????? ???????????? ???? ???????????????????? ????????????! ???? ?? ???????? ????????, ?? ?????????? ?????? ?????????? ???? ???????? ??????!" Evan thought in panic.
Without wasting any time, Evan turned around and ordered the confused village women, "Come on, run! Don’t get caught in the backlash of her attacks!"
On the battlefield, Anna coldly looked down at the Goblin Shaman. She raised her palm, creating layers of magic circles engraved with ancient symbols that glowed a blazing red.
"Lowly, rotten creatures like you... will never be worthy of looking my Husband in the eyes, let alone defeating me!" Anna declared in a chilling voice.
From the center of the enormous magic circle, a massive deep-red fireball burst forth, scorching the oxygen around it!
The Goblin Shaman’s eyes widened until they nearly popped out of their sockets, his body trembling violently as he was overwhelmed by unparalleled fear. "K-kekeke... S-such immense power...? Mana this dense..."
Forbidden memories from hundreds of years ago suddenly flashed through the Goblin Shaman’s mind as the massive fireball descended like a meteor.
"N-no way... There’s only... ONE witch... in this world... who possesses power this great... The Witch Quee—"
WUUUSSS! BLAARRRRR!
Before the Shaman could finish his scream, the massive fireball slammed into the ground! A devastating explosion erupted, devouring the Goblin Shaman and his dozen or so elite warriors, reducing them to ashes without a trace. The blast’s heat wave even flattened the surrounding building ruins.
Anna slowly landed on the blackened ground. She clutched her chest, which felt unbearably tight.
"Khh... Cough! Cough!"
Fresh, dark-red blood suddenly burst from Anna’s mouth, dripping onto and staining her dress. Her beautiful face instantly turned pale.
"Tch... It’s getting harder and harder to control this much mana lately..." Anna muttered as she wiped the blood from her lips with the back of her hand. "Because of that damn battle with that bastard years ago... this body has become so susceptible to the side effects..."
Anna turned toward the distance, looking at Evan as he led the village women farther away. Her gaze dimmed, hiding a deep pain.
Without disturbing Evan, Anna turned around and mysteriously disappeared into the dense darkness of the forest.
Meanwhile, Evan helped a village woman with a sprained ankle climb onto a wooden cart. "Come on, get up! We need to leave this place immediately!"
Evan understood the laws of nature in this world very well. A large-scale magical explosion like the one before would inevitably attract the attention of powerful beings, whether other monsters, bounty hunters, or Imperial soldiers.
They quickly left the village, which had been burned to the ground. Along the way, a middle-aged woman asked between ragged breaths, "W-where are we going? Why do we have to run so fast? Didn’t that witch save us?"
Evan answered firmly without taking his eyes off the dirt road. "Just focus on putting one foot in front of the other. Ask questions once we’re safe!"
After traveling through the forest for several hours, the condition of the village women grew increasingly dire. Some of them were severely exhausted, and their wounds were beginning to become infected. With no other choice, Evan stopped his cart beside a clear stream.
"We’ll rest here for ten minutes. Those who are injured, wash your wounds with clean water," Evan ordered as he took several emergency herbal remedies from his bag.
Evan walked to the riverbank, knelt down, and splashed the cool water onto his soot-covered face. He stared at his reflection on the surface of the water, a man with fairly handsome features.
"?????? ?????????? ???? ???????? ?????????? ???? ?????????? ????????????..." Evan thought as he let out a long sigh. "???? ?????????????????? ???? ?????? ???????????? ???? ???????? ??????????’?? ?????????? ???? ?????????? ?????? ?????? ??????????????."
Evan fell silent for a moment, his gaze sweeping across his reflection in the water. "??????... ?????????? ?????? ???????? ????? ?????? ?????? ?????? ???????????????? ?????????????????? ???? ?????????????? ??????????????????? ???????? ???? ???????? ?????????? ???????????????? ?????????????????"
As Evan was about to dip his leather pouch into the water to fill it for drinking, his survival instincts suddenly rang an alarm. Someone was watching him from behind, with an extremely unusual gaze.
Evan slowly turned around. There stood a young woman in her mid-twenties who had been rescued by Anna earlier. The woman had wavy black hair and remarkably beautiful features, but her eyes were sharp and filled with something strange.
Evan calmly approached her and held out his water pouch. "Are you thirsty? Your face looks awfully pale."
The woman did not take the water pouch. She stared at Evan with her eyes wide open, as though she were peeling away every secret hidden inside the man before her.
"I’m fine... By the way, that witch from earlier... is she your companion? Is an ordinary human like you really friends with a dark mage?"
Evan froze for a moment. His mind immediately began racing. If he answered ’yes,’ he could be dragged into serious danger if this woman had ulterior motives. But if he answered ’no,’ it would be an obvious lie.
"It’s a little difficult to explain," Evan replied calmly as he lowered the water pouch. "But one thing is certain... she’s not a bad person. She saved your lives."
"I see..."
SREET!
Just as Evan turned around to return to the cart, the woman pulled a hidden dagger from beneath her dirty clothes and thrust it toward the back of Evan’s neck!
WUSH!
Fortunately, Evan’s reflexes, honed by a harsh life, allowed him to instinctively leap to the side! The tip of the dagger only managed to slice through a small part of his collar.
Evan leaped backward, drawing his own dagger as he assumed a fighting stance. "Tch! Who are you really?!"
The beautiful woman’s expression completely changed, becoming cold, wild, and filled with greed.
"Me? I’m just an ordinary mercenary who had some rotten luck!" the woman shouted as she skillfully twirled her dagger. "Because of that damn Goblin Shaman, I was captured on the road! Forced to rot in a cell and give birth to their disgusting green monsters! But now I’m free... and if I can bring your head back and give the Empire the location of that rogue witch, I’ll be showered with gold coins until I’m filthy rich!"
The woman lunged forward at an astonishing speed! Her movements were highly trained and precise, far beyond the fighting ability of Evan, who was merely a street con artist.
CRASH! CLANG!
Evan struggled to withstand the woman’s barrage of slashes. His dagger was knocked from his grip by the force of the collision!
"???????? ????! ???? ???????? ???????????? ???? ???????? ???? ?????? ????????!" Evan cursed inwardly as he desperately tried to evade her attacks.
THUD!
A powerful kick landed squarely in Evan’s stomach, sending him flying and rolling across the muddy ground. Evan grimaced in pain, coughing as he crawled, trying to get back up.
The female mercenary approached with a sly, victorious smile. She stepped on Evan’s back, pinning his head against the ground.
"How can a weak, pathetic man like you have a connection to such a powerful witch, huh?" the woman mocked as she raised her dagger high. "Before I slit your throat... remember the name of the person sending you to hell, you worthless bastard... I am Evelyn Law!"
Just as Evelyn swung her dagger downward to stab Evan in the neck—
FUSH!
From extremely close range, Evan quickly twisted his body and THREW A HANDFUL OF WET SOIL AND BURR SEEDS that he had tightly clenched in his palm while crawling earlier, straight into Evelyn’s face!
"ARRRGHHHH! MY EYES! YOU BASTARD!"
Evelyn screamed hysterically, losing her balance as she clutched at her eyes, which were pierced by thorns and filled with wet dirt.
A sly smile spread across Evan’s face. Without wasting the slightest opportunity, Evan lunged forward, snatched up his dagger lying on the ground, and killed Evelyn with a single swift motion.
SREEEETTT!
The sharp dagger sliced cleanly across Evelyn Law’s throat!
Fresh blood sprayed violently. Evelyn slapped at her bleeding neck with wide, disbelieving eyes before finally collapsing and dying tragically in the mud.
The village women who witnessed the scene screamed in terror, trembling as they clung to one another at the sight of how coldly Evan had killed the woman.
Evan stood up and wiped the blood from his dagger onto Evelyn’s corpse’s clothes.
"Playing dirty?" Evan muttered coldly as he looked down at the corpse. "Hah... that’s my main survival skill."
However, before Evan could even catch his breath...
THUD! THUD! THUD! THUD!
The thunderous sound of dozens of armored warhorses shook the surface of the forest floor!
From behind the trees emerged dozens of mounted knights clad in gleaming silver armor. Engraved upon their chests was the symbol of the Empire’s majesty—a Golden Sword Wrapped by a Black Winged Dragon.
Without warning or mercy, the knights in the front ranks immediately drew their swords and slaughtered the terrified village women! Their screams of terror erupted instantly before falling silent in pools of blood. Only one woman was left kneeling and trembling.
At the very front, a knight clad in pure golden armor rode a massive black horse. At his waist hung a holy sword with a golden hilt, its blade engraved with magical runes that radiated an incredibly dazzling golden glow.
The golden knight looked down at Evan from atop his horse with cold blue eyes. "So you’re not the witch... Then why did this Holy Sword lead me directly to you?"
Seeing the knight, every cell in Evan’s body screamed danger. The man on the horse was Luis Draven, a High-Ranking Holy Knight of the Empire’s Dark Hunter Order, a man known for executing dozens of dark mages without mercy.
Luis pointed his holy sword directly at Evan’s chest. "Where is the dark witch?! If this Holy Sword led me to you, then it means her magical soul stigmata is firmly attached to your body!"
Evan swallowed with difficulty. His heart pounded violently. "???????? ????! ?????? ???????????????? ???????????? ???? ???? ????????! ?????? ???????? ???????? ?????????? ???????? ?????????????????? ??????????????????... ???????? ?????????? ?????? ?????????? ????!"
The only surviving village woman pointed at Evan with a trembling hand, screaming hysterically at Luis, "H-Holy Knight! Please help me! That man... That man is allied with the dark witch who destroyed our village! He’s a demon!"
Luis slowly turned his gaze toward the woman. Without changing his expression, Luis calmly swung his sword.
CRACK!
The woman’s head was severed from her neck and fell to the ground.
"Commoners who have been tainted by dark magical aura... have no right to breathe upon Imperial soil," Luis said coldly, without the slightest trace of remorse.
Now, Evan was the only one left, surrounded by dozens of heavily armored mounted soldiers.
Evan quickly reached into his robe pocket. He grabbed the last homemade sulfur smoke bomb and threw it onto the ground!
BOOOOM!
Thick white smoke billowed high into the air, blinding the knights! Without wasting a second, Evan turned around and leaped into the raging river, swimming with all his strength to cross it and reach the opposite bank!
WUSH!
Luis Draven swung his holy sword through the air. A gust of wind infused with holy energy tore through the thick smoke in an instant, dispersing it without a trace!
Luis saw Evan struggling to climb up the riverbank on the opposite side. The Holy Knight raised his golden sword, preparing to throw it and pierce Evan’s heart from afar.
However, just before the sword left his hand—
BOOOOOOOOOOMMMM!
A pure, tremendous, and ancient dark magical energy suddenly exploded in the distance, originating from the peak of a mountain in the north.
The pressure of the dark mana was so dense that the Imperial warhorses neighed in terror and dropped to their knees.
The Holy Sword in Luis’s hand trembled violently, glowing a brilliant red as a warning of the highest level of danger.
Luis Draven’s blue eyes widened in utter shock.
"This aura... This forbidden magical energy?!" Luis whispered in a trembling voice. "Elizabeth... The Dark Witch Queen who was defeated by the Legendary Hero many years ago... has successfully risen again?!"
Luis abandoned his intention to kill Evan. He pulled on his horse’s reins, turning his troops away from the river.
"Ignore that little rat swimming in the river!" Luis ordered his troops firmly. "The Witch Queen has returned! However... she has lost her immortal body! Without her immortality, this time the Empire can finally kill that monster down to the very root!"
"Withdraw the troops! We’re heading to the Northern Peak right now!"
HYAA!
The Holy Knight Order sped away from the river at full speed, chasing the coordinates of Elizabeth’s magical aura, Anna’s true name.
On the opposite riverbank, Evan gasped for breath as he clutched his soaked chest, staring at the departing knights in disbelief.
"Luck and misfortune always seem to strike my life at the same time."