“Saintess Amelia, do you need any more tea?”
“No! Thanks, Adeline.”
Amelia said to her maid. While she was a maid, Adeline was more than that. She was also like her personal bodyguard. While she might seem weak and fragile, she was a Rank-A+ Rapier user. She could be regarded as one of the strongest in the current group that she was leading.
Even so, Adeline didn’t forget her duties as a maid and would make sure that Saintess Amelia was comfortable.
And also unlike the holy knight, she was extremely cautious when proceeding toward where the Devils were. She had an uneasy feeling ever since they departed from the church like some kind of danger was lurking around.
However, the orders were from the pope and Saintess Amelia couldn’t refuse the order, much less a maid like her.
However, because of her feelings and also because they were going to a dangerous area, she stayed close to Saintess Amelia, just in case of any attack. Others also didn’t have a problem with Adeline taking the position of Saintess’ personal bodyguard as she was stronger than them.
“How many more days before we reach Misty Grove?”
Saintess Amelia asked.
“It might take two or three days depending on the road condition. If we have no problem, we should be able to reach there in two days.”
Adeline replied.
“Thanks!”
*******
“Hehe… I have gotten the message that Saintess has passed through Emberwood. They should be here in two hours.”
Kaito said. He is one of the assassins sent to kill the Saintess. He was a Rank-A Devil Contractor and was responsible for communication with various people surveying the area.
“Kekeke… Finally! I have waited for ages.”
“The opportunity to kill one of the so-called messengers of the goddess. What a thrill!” …
Other Devil Contractors were excited to hear the news. They were all kinds of people who hated humanity. For power, wealth, and fame, they sold their souls and became the Devil’s slaves. They had no compassion nor regret when doing something that could lead to human destruction.
It was rather that they were looking forward to seeing human beings wiped out.
“Keep the excitement for later! We need to execute this mission perfectly or else Lord Aamon would spare no one.”
The S-Rank Devil Contractor said. He was the leader of this operation and also one of the rare Rank-S Devil Contractors that is valued by Devil prince or Rank-SS Devil. He was even respected by some of the Devils, and his position was very high for a Devil Contractor.
One of the reasons why he is valued is also because he could be a key person that could eliminate Saintess. Therefore, he has also been provided with many resources in addition to being given a good position.
If he manages to complete his mission today, his position will only increase further. However, he also didn’t want to mess up and get killed by his master.
Although he thought like that, he was also excited thinking about the promised reward that Lord Aamon promised him. He had big ambitions and just getting to Rank-S was not enough. He wanted to be the strongest there is.
” ” YES!” “
All the devil contractors replied. They know that their leader is stronger than them and also that he is valued by Devils unlike most of them. Not to mention that Lord Aamon was a scary demon who would kill anyone who failed his assignment. There was no mercy and they didn’t want to be the next.
Despite that though, they didn’t think that they would fail with their mission. There were 50 or so Devil Contractors with most being in Rank-A and they had their leader, Kurtis, a Rank-S Devil Contractor.
According to the intel that they had, they were pretty sure that Saintess and her group had only 50 Holy Knights with most being in Rank-B and Rank-A. There was no one who had reached Rank S.
With Kurtis by their side, they knew that victory was inevitable.
******
Two hours had gone by and Saintess and her team were reaching where Devil Contractors was waiting for them.
“STOP!”
ραпdα nᴏνa| сom
“What is the problem, Saintess?”
Captain of the Holy Knight, Zain asked. Zain had not noticed anything abnormal though he did become more cautious after the Saintess told him to stop.
“I sensed some powerful mana up ahead. I think they are waiting to ambush us.”
Saintess Amelia said. She had always been sensitive to mana and could sense mana even if one tried to conceal it. That was one of the reasons that she discovered Zero’s powerful dark energy even though it would normally be impossible to find out.
She was resting in her carriage when he sensed the powerful mana. There were also signs of them being many which could be a problem.
“Attention! Everybody get ready for combat. It seems that some people are waiting to ambush us.”
Zain commanded immediately. He knew better than to doubt the Saintess’ words. As someone serving Saintess for so long, he knew that he could believe in her words. Although it was very shameful that he could not sense anything despite being very powerful.
Their captain warned them of danger, which caused the Holy knights to become tense.
-WHOOSH!
“Kekehe… I didn’t expect the Saintess to detect us.”
Immediately Dark Contractors made their appearance one after another. Actually, their plan was to sneak in and finish their job. However, they didn’t expect that they would be discovered so easily.
Therefore, before they call for reinforcement, they want to finish the job. Which is why they showed themselves.
“It seems that she does have some ability though she would still be dead today.”
Even though Devil Contractors were discovered, they were very casual about their behavior. Their ambush failed, however, they didn’t need to ambush them in the first place.
*GULP!
Many Holy Knights were scared. Although the experienced ones didn’t let their fear show, young people were frightened.
In front of them, the Devil’s Contractor had stopped concealing their mana and had instead displayed it. That meant that Holy Knight sensed their Rank-A aura which is terrifying considering the number.
There were also some Holy Knights of Rank-A, but not as many as Devil Contractors.
“Surrender yourself! You would suffer less that way!”
Kurtis, who appeared at last said. His words were very dominant.
Zain, who is the leader of the Holy Knight, had also become scared. It was okay if there was more Rank-A, even if they were all Rank-A Devil Contractors, he thought that they could take care of them.
Holy Knights are selected very carefully. Only the most talented would be selected. If the other side had more Rank-A than them, they had high hopes of winning, especially with him leading the knights.
However, that all changed when Kurtis appeared. No matter how talented they were, they could not possibly handle a Rank-S. And he had experienced this personally when Mia Frostine barged into the church.
It might have been possible if Kurtis was alone, however, there are many Rank-A accompanying him which made it impossible for Zain to think about their victory.
“Adeline! Escape with the Saintess. We would buy time.”
Zain said. He knew that the chance of winning was very slim. Even so, he knew his priority and was willing to sacrifice his life for Saintess.
With war being waged between humans and devils, it is not hard to see that Saintess were their biggest weakness. For humanity, for his duties, he had to take the risk.
“No! I will not run. The chance of winning would increase if I helped you.”
Santess Amelia rejected Zain’s plan. She was also in Rank-A. While battling directly was difficult for her, she could heal and support the Holy Knight. She was, after all, the best healer in the world.
She was thankful that the Holy Knight captain was thinking about her. However, she could not leave the knights just so that she could escape to safety.
“But-“
“No buts! Prepare to fight.”
She ordered.
Zain had many things to say but he could not possibly change Saintess’ mind. He was also her subordinate and could not just order her.
Adeline, who is by Saintess’ side, was also worried about her safety. If possible, she would have preferred to follow Zain’s plan. However, she also knew how stubborn Saintess Amelia was. So, she took out her rapier and got ready to protect Saintess Amelia.
“Hehehe… Seems like the Saintess wants to act like a hero. She is not running as we had expected. I guess it was useless to prepare Team B who are waiting for the Saintess.”
“Call them back!”
Kurtis asked the one responsible for communication. Actually, they had already thought of many scenarios including where the Saintess escaped leaving the Holy Knight behind. Of course, with Kurtis there, the chances were very low. However, they could not fail and it was always good to be cautious.
In order not to fail the mission, another team was already sent to the escape route. However, it seems that Saintess Amelia had no intention of running away.
If so, then it was better to call back Team B and strengthen their power.