“Look out!”

 

Seeing the thief Marlen’s body hurtling towards them like a projectile, a sturdy man named Barrett, who was a Obsidian Steel-tier warrior, immediately raised his shield in place, forming a barricade to intercept Marlen’s approach, protecting Francis.

 

His stature was extremely robust, standing over two meters tall, with a burly and muscular build that could easily rival some beastmen. With his massive and heavy steel shield, he exuded a strong sense of security.

 

With Barrett protecting him, Francis felt somewhat at ease. His initial thoughts of how to eliminate or severely injure the two women disguised as magical creatures had quickly turned into contemplating how to retreat from them.

 

The golden-haired girl who had mysteriously incapacitated the giant stone beast had already made him cautious. He had initially thought that the seemingly priest-like and delicate-looking Violet was an easy target. 

 

He had planned to launch a surprise attack on her, hoping to kill her or inflict severe injuries, and then see if they could team up against the other woman.

 

If that failed, he could make his escape.

 

Since the other party was determined to claim the reward for the mission all for themselves, he needed to create some obstacles for these two women, no matter what. 

 

Even if the female knight who had joined them halfway saw what happened, it didn’t matter. She was naive and didn’t have much of a guard, and he could always kill her to silence her, or at the very least, he could make a run for it.

 

After all, the world was vast, and there were plenty of places for Francis to hide. In fact, he had come to Flame Dragon City after committing some crimes in other places, seeking refuge from retribution. He was a repeat offender.

 

However, he didn’t expect Violet to be even more absurd. She had not only broken a steel dagger with her fingers but had also taken a direct hit from his fourth-tier Flame Burst spell unharmed!

 

In reality, Francis had a precious spatial teleportation scroll on him, which could instantly transport him to a location ten kilometers away. This was his biggest reliance for daring to act. If others died, it didn’t matter, as long as he survived. But he wasn’t in such dire straits just yet. It might be better to try a normal retreat…

 

Thunk!

 

The towering figure came crashing forward, shattering Francis’ rapidly spinning schemes. The tremendous force sent him tumbling across the ground in a somersault, and his bones screamed in pain. He was on the verge of passing out from the excruciating agony.

 

“Gu… What… How…”

 

After twitching like a fish shocked by electricity and suffering from multiple bruises, dozens of scrapes, and a torn mage’s robe, the man finally managed to pull his head out of the mud. His eyes were filled with fear and disbelief.

 

Not far from him lay a burly man named Barrett with twisted arms and a massive depression in the center of his shield. Fresh blood oozed from his ruptured internal organs, and he lay motionless, breathing in and out less and less.

 

As for the thief Marlen, he had exploded into countless pieces upon impact, with various gruesome and unsightly remains strewn all over.

 

Footsteps, step by step, sounded from afar, gradually approaching Francis. They grew louder in his muddled mind, mixed with shock and despair, like a funeral bell tolled by the grim reaper.

 

Francis desperately tried to reach into his pocket for the teleportation scroll, but his arms were immobilized, having been broken in the collision.

 

“So, who doesn’t know their place?”

 

The black-haired girl looked down at the disheveled man. Her silver-blue eyes held no satisfaction or arrogance. They were so cold, devoid of humanity, as if she were looking at a dead man.

 

“Originally, I couldn’t be bothered to deal with you all, time and time again. Did you really think… I wouldn’t dare to kill?”

 

The emotionless, icy voice of the black-haired girl echoed in Francis’ ears, and overwhelming remorse and bitterness nearly consumed his heart.

 

“Bastard…”

 

Francis, aware of his impending doom, was about to spew some harsh words to taunt the woman before him. But to his surprise, she was neither hesitant nor slow. Without giving him half a chance to speak, she raised her sacred priestess staff.

 

“Stop!”

 

From another direction, there came the enraged shouts of a girl, and the sound of rapid, clashing armor as she sprinted forward. However, Violet seemed as if she hadn’t heard any of it and swiftly brought down her judgment, her hands holding the weapon.

 

“Dammit… you…”

 

Splatter!

 

Alongside the explosion of a watermelon, Francis’s venomous curses came to an abrupt halt before they even began.

 

Meanwhile, Edwina, the reflexive but slow-to-react Holy Knight, just managed to reach Violet’s side, almost too late to prevent the black-haired girl from killing her former teammate.

 

“What a waste of time…”

 

Violet disdainfully waved her divine artifact, the 【Eternal Scepter of the World’s Heart】, retracting the priestess staff that remained untainted. She casually dispelled the barrier she’d summoned to block the splattering blood.

 

With an expressionless face, Violet turned around to face the bewildered Holy Knight girl who had aimed her sword at the two of them.

 

“Miss Edwina, do you also wish to be my enemy?”

 

The young Holy Knight trembled uncontrollably, as if she had transformed into a completely different person.

 

It was as if, within the blink of an eye, everyone had died at the hands of this black-haired priestess, despite her previous interactions and conversations. Edwina had been laughing and listening to tales of adventure just moments ago, but now she hadn’t even had a chance to help her own teammates.

 

Ruthless, decisive, and without the slightest burden or hesitation in taking lives.

 

Edwina could sense that it was only because she hadn’t reacted in time, hadn’t intervened in the battle, that she had managed to survive. Otherwise, she believed the priestess would have killed her without a second thought, just as one would squash an insect.

 

But a Holy Knight, a knight devoted to serving the gods, did not fear death. Even if it was dangerous, she had to speak up.

 

“Miss Violet, why… did you have to kill them?”

 

“?”

 

The priestess suddenly smiled, and the icy demeanor in her eyes dissipated. She disdainfully pointed to the lifeless body of Barrett, who had just gasped his last breath, and the headless corpse of Francis lying nearby.

 

“They wanted to kill me, so I turned the tables and killed them. Isn’t that logical?”

 

“But…”

 

Edwina shouted excitedly, “Even if it was indeed Mr. Francis and their fault, it should not be up to Miss Violet to take their lives. I believe they should be sent to Flame Dragon City and judged by God… by the law!”

 

“Tsk, so naive and close-minded…”

 

Violet started to become impatient.

 

“So, if I were just an ordinary priest and was killed by their sneak attack, what could you have done at that time? Let the so-called God or the law punish them?”

 

“I… “

 

Edwina’s momentum suddenly dropped.

 

“I, I would try…”

 

“Then wait until you’ve tried before you come and preach to me, Miss Edwina. Talk less and practice more.”

 

Violet pointed to the weapon in her hand, showing her disinterest in further argument, and left the scene with her little dragon companion.

 

Edwina didn’t stop them, but kept her head low, her face rather pale, looking like she had taken a great blow.

 

In truth, Violet had no objections to the principle followed by the Holy Knight, which was not to use arbitrary punishment but to let specialized institutions determine guilt.

 

On Earth, many rule-of-law countries indeed follow such regulations, and it helps maintain social stability.

 

However, this is a different world.

 

In this world, the strong can transcend the law, as Violet mentioned earlier. If Francis had really killed her and Xiao Guang, would he have ultimately faced the law or divine punishment?

 

The answer is, of course not.

 

Francis is a high-level adventurer with two loyal companions by his side. With Edwina alone, there’s no way to catch them, and given her mindset, it’s already a success if she can escape and testify to the incident in Flame Dragon City.

 

Even if she could manage that, what then?

 

Francis acted without hesitation, indicating that he had killed before. Even if he were caught, he would surely have foreseen it and escaped Flame Dragon City, changing his identity and starting a new life.

 

As the saying goes, with strong power, it’s easy to accomplish many things and lead a comfortable life. Unless one causes a catastrophic disaster, the kingdom’s laws won’t be able to touch them.

 

Edwina’s stance, in this situation, is nothing but impractical idealism. Dealing with people like Francis effectively requires responding to force with force.

 

Violet didn’t know what her homeland, the Holy Empire, was like, and whether they could achieve equality under divine law. But at least in the Human United Kingdom, where the legal system and enforcement are not robust, that approach won’t work.

 

Anyway, there’s not much chance of meeting her again in the future, so she won’t dwell on these matters.

 

Now, it’s time to focus on the task at hand. Hopefully, there won’t be any more unexpected incidents.