Chapter 5: The Accident in the West Suburbs
Several days later, a team of heavily armored knights rode out from the Inner City. Their destination was the West Suburbs of the Baisen Territory.
Leading them was a charming and lovely young girl. She had an arrogant expression and paid no mind to the commoners who doffed their hats in greeting.
The girl's hair was eye-catching. It was originally red, but the red became lighter towards the tips until it turned silver.
This beautiful gradient hair color was rare and made the girl's temperament even more outstanding.
Doomsday Witch Alice (Youth)
This was the second daughter of Duke Byson, Alice Baisen. At the same time, she was also the recognized heir to the title.
As a renowned magic genius, Alice became a Level 20 Mage at the young age of 20, and her academic performance at the Royal Capital Magic Academy was first place year after year.
Many people said that Alice was expected to become the most powerful Mage in the history of the Baisen Territory, and Duke Byson was also deeply convinced of this.
Her exceptionally high magic talent made Alice consider herself superior. She looked down on everyone, even the teachers lecturing at the Academy.
Not long after, the team passed the outer suburban street where Dick lived. Alice noticed a large patch of bloodstains in front of a brick house, which had already dried.
"What's going on?" Alice's delicate brows furrowed slightly, and she couldn't help but ask.
In the past few months, Duke Byson had been away on business, and the territory's affairs were handled by Alice. She did not want any mistakes to occur.
The knight captain beside her immediately explained, "Three days ago, a murder occurred here. The victim was a low-level Healer..."
"Then, have you found the killer?"
Facing Alice's interrogation, the knight captain broke out in a cold sweat and whispered, "Not, not yet. The constables suspect it was a professional Swordsman."
"Suspect?"
Alice snorted coldly and said in an unquestionable tone, "In two days, this case must be solved. Otherwise..."
"Yes, yes, Your Command. In two days, you will definitely get a satisfactory answer!"
Looking at the terrified knight captain, Alice pursed her lips and no longer paid attention to the case.
Alice knew that those constables were all good-for-nothings who only oppressed commoners on a daily basis, and there would definitely be no progress in two days.
But generally speaking, as long as she issued a death order, the constables would find a scapegoat and then neatly close the case.
As for who the real culprit was, Alice didn't care at all. Andor was just an insignificant person.
And with the case solved, the territory would be peaceful under Alice's governance. This was the result she truly wanted.
...
Not long after, the knight team left the outer city and headed towards the West Suburbs forest. Alice still rode at the very front.
The Beasts in the forest were dangerous, but that was only for ordinary people. Alice was a Level 20 Mage, enough to walk sideways through the forest.
Moreover, she was followed by a team of a hundred knights. Almost no Beast could threaten her.
Beside a pine tree not far away, a man in a white robe blended into the surrounding snowscape.
His expression was gloomy. He was staring at Alice at the front of the team, and not long after, he let out a cold laugh.
The man's name was Entis. He was a famous bounty hunter in the underground black market of the Aimiya Empire, with an excellent reputation and no negative reviews.
"Heh heh, what a beauty. It's just a pity that she might not even have a complete corpse later. Those frenzied Beasts don't know how to be gentle with women."
Having said that, the man began to chant a spell. The magic array beneath his feet gradually lit up, and then, the roar of Beasts came from afar.
On the white horse, Alice also heard the Beast roars, but she didn't panic. Instead, she smiled and took out a longbow from behind her, preparing to hunt.
"Alright, that saves me the trouble of searching for prey. Stand by!"
But soon, everyone noticed something was wrong, because the Beast roars were quite dense, and the ground was even shaking.
The knights' warhorses neighed uneasily. The knight captain was experienced and immediately shouted, "Miss, it's a Beast tide, let's leave quickly!"
Alice did not hesitate and immediately ordered the accompanying knights to turn their horses around and flee towards the west city gate.
"Damn it, isn't it deep winter now? How could there be a Beast tide..."
"It's over, it's over. All those Beasts have gone mad, their speed is extremely fast..."
"I'm afraid we'll be caught up before we reach the city gate!"
At this time, there was still a considerable distance to the city gate. The speed of the warhorses was far less than that of the frenzied Beasts, and the team would be swallowed by the Beast tide sooner or later.
Alice looked back at the Beast tide and found that most of them were Level 20 or higher Beasts, with a number close to a thousand, making them difficult to handle.
A Beast tide of this scale suddenly appearing and happening to coincide with her going out hunting was truly too coincidental.
Alice smelled a strong scent of conspiracy, and she even had several suspects in her mind.
But the top priority now was to survive. Only by surviving could she settle the score!
"Scatter and flee!"
Alice roared, ordering the knights to scatter. Fleeing together would surely lead to death.
However, an awkward situation occurred. Although the hundred knights scattered and fled, the Beasts surprisingly only targeted Alice, their objective clear.
As expected, it was a conspiracy. The Beast tide was coming for her!
Alice clenched her fists in indignation, vowing to tear the mastermind behind this into ten thousand pieces upon her return.
At this point, it was a desperate situation. At the speed of the white horse, she would be torn apart by the Beast tide before reaching the city gate. She had to find another way out.
After looking around for a moment, Alice decisively changed direction and fled towards the dense forest in the West Suburbs.
Beasts are large in size, and the dense forest could effectively slow them down. Perhaps she could find a glimmer of hope by utilizing the complex terrain!
However, ideals are beautiful, but reality is cruel.
Some smaller Beasts caught up to Alice, and the defenseless white horse was killed first.
As the second young lady of the Bison Family, Alice still had many life-saving trump cards. After several struggles, she managed to kill most of the Beasts with difficulty.
However, she was outnumbered. Alice's magic power was quickly depleted, and she was frequently injured in close combat. Finally, she couldn't even lift her sword.
In despair, Alice discovered a hidden cave. The entrance was narrow, just enough to hide from the Beasts.
"I, I knew it, today is not the day I die!"
Alice was covered in blood, her robe torn. She limped through the dark cave.
"It must have been Anne who planned this, that damned bitch. When I get back, she'll be the first one I kill... Pfft!"
Spitting out a large mouthful of blood, Alice weakly fell to the ground. She had broken five ribs, and the sharp broken bones had cut her internal organs, causing internal bleeding.
By chance, Alice, who was lying on the ground, heard the sound of water. She immediately struggled to stand up, rekindling her hope of survival.
"Haha, this is a karst cave connected to an underground river. As expected, I can escape with my life!"
Alice walked by leaning on the wall. The massive loss of blood made her consciousness blurry. She just moved forward by feeling her way.
"I am the chosen one, I am the future hope of the Bison Family. I will definitely survive... Definitely!"
Perhaps it was the favor of the heavens. Alice wandered aimlessly through the complex cave and groggily arrived at the Witch's tombstone.
Originally, Alice would have found the Witch's silver ring, activated the Crimson Lotus Tempering Magic, and healed her injuries.
But now, Dick had gotten here first, and the Doomsday inheritance was gone!
"Am I... going to die?"
In a daze, a pair of strong hands supported Alice. She struggled to look up and saw a somewhat handsome brown-haired young man.
"Alice Baisen, sign a soul contract with me and willingly be enslaved by me, otherwise, die!"