Chapter 673

Chapter 58: Going in Opposite Directions – Part One

“At that time, I had almost confirmed in my heart that what he said was the place we had been looking for.”

The man leaned back against the chair, switching his crossed left leg to his right: “I had the coward mark the location of the town on the map. To make sure he wasn’t lying to me, I showed his marked map to others, including the leader. From their reactions, it was clear that the next step would be to find this place, and we wouldn’t go wrong.”

“Due to our hasty departure, we didn’t have time to deal with those people. After finally receiving the news and making some progress, I and Lea rushed back to the previous town day and night at the fastest speed, meeting up with the teacher and the others. After a brief discussion, we wasted no time packing up and immediately set out south of the desert towards the small town…”

“However, we did not expect that during our journey across the Bahama Plateau Desert, while passing through the Wind Erosion Valley, we suddenly encountered a continuous sandstorm. We were stopped by the fierce wind and sand, trapped in West Town, here, for nearly two months. It wasn’t until June that the wind and sand finally subsided…”

“That same night, we immediately set off, following the direction marked on the map, continuing our journey bit by bit. After many days, we finally caught a glimpse of… the true face of Messer Town.”

At this point, Carlos gave me an odd look.

He then smiled meaningfully, which made me feel uncomfortable. As he smiled, the man’s gaze briefly drifted to the door of the earthen building. That seemingly casual glance seemed to imply that he had already noticed the identity of the little girl at the door.

…What?

Could he not say it directly?

Just by looking once, what does it mean…

I was quite displeased.

But my small emotions did not show on my face.

“The town was almost entirely inhabited by people like me, with white hair and blue eyes.”

Carlos withdrew his gaze, as if hinting at something, the strange smile still hanging on his face. He paused for a moment and continued, “To avoid drawing attention, only the teacher and Lea initially entered the town to investigate. In terms of appearance, they were less likely to arouse suspicion. As Lea put it, Granny Appelfield speaks too harshly and always scares people. And I… naturally look like a thief, clearly not someone good.”

Carlos pointed to his face, his expression rather innocent: “Do I really look like a thief and not like a good person?”

“…”

I did not respond.

But the man did not seem to mind much.

“The investigation was conducted under the pretense of visiting, without revealing our identities. After talking with them, we found no clues. When we mentioned being knights, it was meant to test their reaction, but the result was completely different from what we expected. The townspeople did not seem to react strongly; at least, there was nothing noticeable from the surface. They never took any action throughout.”

“Although the teacher and Lea were always on guard, the mayor of Messer Town merely toured them around the town, talked about their daily lives, which sounded very hard. However, the townspeople seemed content with their lives and expressed their unwillingness to migrate, saying that it was their land and they would rest there even after death.”

“These people… all seemed like simple villagers. Their lives were ordinary and common. The bloodline of white hair and blue eyes is actually quite common in the Eastern Continent. Thinking about it, this doesn’t seem like such an unusual thing… Although we…

“There was no point in being too relaxed, but also no point in pushing relentlessly either. It might lead to nothing and could even result in an unnecessary tragedy.”

“So, over the next half month, we found a suitable cave outside the town to serve as our temporary camp. We took turns going out to the outskirts to hide our tracks and observe the townsfolk without being detected, watching what they did every day and whether there were any unusual movements…”

“…So this is the reason you killed those lizards?”

“You took over their nest, killed them but didn’t finish them off…”

“How disgusting…”

The thought came involuntarily, though there wasn’t much resentment or insight in my heart. The key issue now clearly wasn’t about these trivial matters. The man continued, “Then, during one of the inspections, Lea saw that woman again… the same woman who had been with the caravan earlier, the one known as the ‘scarred’ woman.”

“She wasn’t scarred; her silver hair and blue eyes were very distinctive. She appeared suddenly in the night of the town, not hiding at all, carrying her bag on her back, heading toward the western exit of the town… It looked like after the knight’s visit, the woman who had been hiding in the town finally realized some impending danger. So, after a brief silence, she decided to act under the cover of darkness.”

“So, after some deliberation, we followed her.”

“Of course, not everyone followed.”

“We left Lea to keep watch near the town, originally wanting Apfel to stay as well, but fearing the woman might escape by chance. Although it would be hard for anyone to survive three strikes from the teacher’s sword, he was getting old and couldn’t match the stamina of younger people. The woman’s background was unknown, so as a precaution, Apfel and I went along.”

Carlos tapped the table rhythmically with his fingers.

He suddenly narrowed his eyes, “That night was very dark, almost no moonlight visible. The woman’s pace quickened, and I noticed her physical strength far exceeded expectations. The three of us were almost using all our power to track her, planning to encircle her from behind.”

“At first, we didn’t want to be discovered. We wanted to use the cover of darkness to see where she was headed, but she ran faster and faster, making it difficult for us to keep up. We had to give up on hiding our tracks. She probably had already noticed us long ago, perhaps even before leaving the town. Realizing this, we changed our plan and decided to catch her first.”

“Afterwards…”

Carlos paused, “During the chase, the woman was cornered, and several times we almost caught her. Finally, she couldn’t hold back anymore and used the power of Sinful Fire.”

“At that moment, using the power of Sinful Fire was expected, but we never imagined that the woman’s power was so strong, intense, and in such an inexplicable form that it far surpassed anything we had encountered, including the Great Demon and any other known heretic.”

“Hmm…”

I nodded unconsciously, agreeing with Carlos. I remembered Elma’s strength; apart from facing the divine body, she never fully exerted herself against anyone, including the clown. She always seemed to have everything under control, and the power she used was certainly not just simple Sinful Fire…

That brown, unpredictable prism…

And the Judgment Miracle.

Her strength was undeniable…