I easily shook off Carol.
I felt somewhat uncomfortable facing that woman whose attitude had suddenly changed from hostile to recruitment. But I had a more pressing reason for leaving: my dozen or so wives who were running away.
I didn't want them to leave.
But now that the Archbishop of Lust, Capella, hadn't appeared, and my "hired actors" had been wiped out, my only remaining option was to catch up and physically stop them.
"What bad luck," I muttered, my face showing displeasure.
The image of Carol—who had ruined my plans and bruised my arm—flashed through my mind. The more I thought about it, the angrier I got.
'I absolutely must get my revenge on her. I need to teach her a lesson she won't forget.'
While I was plotting my petty revenge, I spotted a dragon carriage speeding towards me from the opposite direction.
From a distance, the driver looked terrified. His face was pale, and he was whipping the dragons frantically. It looked like a desperate escape.
Raising an eyebrow, I stood directly in the middle of the road.
"Hey! Move aside! MOVE ASIDE!"
The driver shouted, trying his best to slow down the rampant Earth Dragons. The carriage screeched to a halt less than five meters from me.
"Do you want to die?!" he roared, his fear turning into anger. "Get out of the way!"
I didn't care about his temper.
"What happened up ahead?" I asked calmly.
"You!"
BOOM!
I stomped my foot.
The paved road collapsed under the force, sending a spiderweb of cracks toward the carriage. The man's jaw dropped.
"Gulp~" He swallowed hard.
He realized he wasn't dealing with a normal pedestrian. Someone who could crack the earth like an egg wasn't someone to yell at.
"My lord! I'm so sorry, I was blind! I..."
"Enough nonsense. Answer my question."
"A-actually, a lot of monsters appeared! They're attacking a group of women who look like noble ladies..."
Before he could finish speaking, I vanished.
Whoosh!
A gust of wind rushed past him as I sprinted toward the chaos.
The man blinked, staring at the empty space where I had just been standing. He looked at the crater in the road and shivered.
'I just escaped with my life!'
If he hadn't stopped...
"May the Great Dragon protect you," he prayed sincerely, then spurred his carriage forward again.
Five minutes later.
Another figure appeared on the road, blocking the carriage's path.
The driver, now thoroughly traumatized, braked immediately. He looked at the woman standing there. She was stained with blood and radiated an aura even more intimidating than the white-haired man from earlier.
It was Carol.
She looked at him.
"A monster attack has occurred ahead. If possible, Miss, please do not proceed further," the driver warned proactively, hoping to avoid another crater incident.
Carol blinked.
"Monster attack?"
"Yes! Lots of them! They're attacking a group of noble women. I barely escaped with my life."
Carol's eyes narrowed. A group of nobles? Considering what Regulus had said about escorting his wives... she was certain who was under attack.
Although she harbored resentment toward Regulus for rejecting her offer (and for being a jerk), she couldn't ignore this.
Public duty came first. She couldn't allow monsters to slaughter civilians on her watch.
"Thank you for letting me know," she replied politely.
"No need to be polite..."
Zoom!
Before he could finish, she was gone. She rushed past the carriage at blinding speed.
"Phew~" The driver slumped in his seat. "It seems the monster problem will be solved. Two monsters went to fight the monsters."
Meanwhile, I had arrived at the scene.
The battle was chaotic.
Five of the girls—who I assumed were non-combatants—were fighting desperately against a horde of beasts.
And they were fighting well.
The girls displayed unique skills—martial arts, basic magic, even swordplay. They fought a fierce, evenly matched battle to protect the carriage where the others were hiding.
'Impressive.'
I couldn't give an accurate assessment of their strength, but they definitely weren't weak. Maintaining good relationships with them was proving to be a wise investment.
However, they were exhausted. They had already slain many beasts, but the horde kept coming. If this continued, they would be torn to pieces.
'Should I go down now?'
I hesitated, observing the enemies.
The appearance of these monsters was unusual.
They were a mix of species—giant wolves, bears, mutated reptiles. Different species of Mabeasts and wild animals never worked together like this. They should be fighting each other, not cooperating.
'A Beastmaster?'
Unlikely.
This felt like Capella. Her Authority of Lust allowed her to transform living beings. Were these actually people she had mutated? Or animals she had twisted?
"AAAAAAH!"
A girl screamed.
I snapped out of my thoughts.
A giant wolf had broken through the defense line. It lunged at a girl who had fallen to the ground, its jaws snapping for her throat.
'No time to think!'
I launched myself from the cliffside.
Boom!
I moved at full speed. Just as the wolf leaped into the air, I intercepted it mid-flight.
I delivered a flying kick to its neck.
CRACK!
The sound of bones shattering echoed through the clearing.
The giant wolf flew backward like a cannonball, smashing into a bear-like monster behind it. Both died instantly.
The battlefield fell silent.
However, as I landed, my brows furrowed deeply.
While saving her, I had tentatively activated Lion's Heart to test if Capella was nearby (since I can use my "wives" as proxy hearts).
The Authority activated.
But the problem was...
The target of the heart transfer wasn't Capella.
It was the girl who had just screamed.
....
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