When Edwina woke up, she found herself in a dimly lit prison cell.

 

“Ugh… I’m not dead. Where is this…?”

 

Beneath her was a cold, hard wooden bed, casually covered with some straw emitting a strange, musty smell, and it was slightly damp, likely due to prolonged exposure to humidity.

 

The Holy Knight girl looked around as she raised her head. The surroundings consisted of a dirty and damp stone floor with an area of just over ten square meters. Three sides were walls, and only the front had dark metal bars.

 

There were no windows in the cell, and a nearly burnt-out candle on the wall emitted a dim light that barely covered a few meters around.

 

Apart from the makeshift bed she woke up on and the chamber pot in the corner, there were no other items in the room.

 

“Why did that woman not kill me but chose to imprison me? Why…?”

 

The naive Miss Holy Knight, in her first reaction, thought the woman didn’t want to kill. However, upon reflection, she found that reason too far-fetched, and she herself didn’t believe it.

 

Although Edwina was somewhat naive and old-fashioned, she wasn’t foolish. It was clear that the blue-haired woman was associated with the peculiar undead she had driven away before. Considering the uncontrollable evil and chaotic aura emanating from the woman, there was no way she hadn’t killed before.

 

So, there must be some special purpose for sparing her life.

 

Up to now, Edwina still hadn’t figured out what kind of being that blue-haired woman was. Unlike the strange individuals with the stench of decay she encountered before, the woman didn’t seem like a normal living person. There was a sense that many strange things were mixed within her.

 

However, now was not the time to carefully study those details.

 

She had to escape.

 

Edwina quickly checked her physical condition. Although her waist still ached faintly, it seemed that due to the long period of unconsciousness and the fact that the kick didn’t result in a genuine fracture, she could now move with some effort.

 

However…

 

Her sword, shield, armor, storage ring, holy emblem, and holy seal had all been taken. She had no usable weapons on her, only wearing a white inner garment.

 

Fortunately, her inner clothing seemed untouched, indicating that nothing strange had happened while she was unconscious.

 

Although some of the holy knight’s exclusive faith-based magic could be invoked without relying on external objects, without accompanying sacred artifacts and weapons, its effectiveness would undoubtedly be greatly reduced. Combined with the fact that her injuries were not fully healed, her Sky-level strength was probably difficult to unleash even by a third.

 

Human strength had its limits, so external items were needed to enhance oneself. Whether it was mithril, obsidian-steel, earth and sky, or even legendary-level experts, losing their accustomed weapons would make them vulnerable, like a tiger without its claws.

 

Edwina approached the bars, cautiously peeking her head out to observe. The outside seemed empty, and there didn’t appear to be any guards.

 

Although visibility was limited, her cell was not the only one in this dimly lit corridor. It extended for quite a distance, and about several dozen meters away, she could see another iron door connected by short steps at a higher elevation.

 

Were there others imprisoned here?

 

Yes, when she encountered the hooded figure earlier, the person was carrying an unconscious young girl. This indicated that these people had been secretly abducting innocent civilians from the capital and bringing them here.

 

“Is anyone there? Can anyone hear me?”

 

Seeing no one guarding around, the young knight lady plucked up the courage to discreetly raise her voice a bit and leaned against the stone wall to inquire to the other side.

 

However, even after Edwina repeated herself three times, the adjacent cells only initially emitted faint sounds of someone moving, then returned to silence, with no one responding to her.

 

“?”

 

The girl found it strange. There was definitely someone nearby, as evidenced by the continuous sound of breathing until now and the initial reaction when she raised her voice.

 

But why were they ignoring her? Clearly, everyone here was a victim trapped in captivity, and they should be communicating more, helping and encouraging each other, shouldn’t they?

 

Edwina couldn’t understand. She was about to say something else when suddenly a loud, grating sound echoed from the outside. The heavy iron door connecting to the outside was forcefully pushed open from the other side.

 

Several figures in black robes, completely concealing their faces and figures, unidentified individuals, swarmed in from outside.

 

They seemed to be checking something in their hands and quickly arrived at another cell not far from Edwina. With keys, they unlocked the cell door and entered.

 

Soon after, the silent prison was pierced by a woman’s piercing scream.

 

“Ah!! No, don’t choose me again! I don’t want to fight anymore, I don’t want to turn into that again. I really can’t take it this time! Spare me, please spare me! I won’t investigate anything again, really!!”

 

Judging by the voice, this woman didn’t seem to be very old, perhaps in her twenties at most. However, her tone, heightened and sharp due to extreme fear, had an incredibly penetrating quality that reminded Edwina of the vengeful spirit witch she had once encountered in the 【Forgotten Land】.

 

However, this indirectly proved the opponent’s formidable strength and physical prowess. An ordinary girl wouldn’t be able to produce such a vigorous cry. She probably had at least Earth-tier or higher-level abilities.

 

Yet, what was strange was that no matter how the terrified girl cried, begged, or pleaded, the individuals shrouded in black robes showed no response. They remained silent, quietly pulling her out of the cell, forcefully dragging her away.

 

“No, no, no, no! Spare me, please spare me… Gugugugugug…”

 

Seemingly annoyed by the girl’s desperate struggles, one of them suddenly pulled out a syringe gleaming with a cold light when they were halfway, and with a sharp hiss, stabbed it into her neck. They didn’t seem to care about any accidental deaths, injecting the liquid inside without mercy.

 

It was unclear what was inside the syringe, but its effects were instantaneous and outrageous. In just a few seconds, the girl, who had at least Earth-tier strength and was dressed as an adventurer with short hair, foamed at the mouth, convulsed, and fell to the ground without a sound.

 

This scene happened to occur right in front of the Holy Knight’s cell, witnessed by her from start to finish.

 

“Stop! What do you want to do with her… no, you should stop the bleeding first! Recklessly stabbing like that can be dangerous if you accidentally pierce a major artery! Hey, hey, can you hear me talking!”

 

Edwina fiercely pounded on the metal bars, creating a loud clang, but the individuals in black robes acted as if they hadn’t seen her, completely ignoring her. They continued dragging the convulsing adventurer girl, lying on the ground like mud and foaming at the mouth, along the dim corridor and left through the main gate.

 

Bang! The heavy iron door was forcefully closed again, suppressing Edwina’s angry roars back into the dark prison.

 

“Damn it! These lawless people, even when dealing with prisoners, should adhere to the most basic humanity. The Goddess will surely bring down divine punishment on you!”

 

The Holy Knight Lady leaned on the bars, cursing with the most venomous words she knew.

 

“…Didn’t expect you to be a temple follower too? Save your energy. They won’t respond to you at all. They are just mindless puppets. Not just them, sooner or later, you and I will end up the same way or simply die in their experiments.”

 

From the neighboring cell came a low, hoarse, yet still pleasant female voice, instantly lifting Edwina’s spirits despite her frustration.

 

“Oh!! Finally willing to talk to me?! Senior, hello, I’m Edwina, a Holy Knight from the Angel City. How long have you been imprisoned here, and how did you get in? Do you know who those people are, or how can we escape? The things happening here are so inhumane, we must inform the kingdom officials!”

 

“…?”

 

The voice from the adjacent cell fell silent for a moment, seemingly rendered speechless by the unique thought process of the Knight Lady.

 

After a while, she suppressed some frustration and helplessly retorted, “I mean, do you even understand your situation?!”