After a somewhat challenging one-sided exchange, Miss Edwina, with her slightly longer reaction time, finally gained a rough understanding of the situation from the woman who introduced herself as Natalie.

 

This place is an organization called the “Eternal Throne,” a secret experimental ground established in the Courage City under the guise of darkness.

 

They seem to be utilizing the abundant resources in this metropolis to test and research various unimaginably vicious drugs and forbidden magic. The citizens of the capital naturally become a never-ending supply of prime test subjects.

 

Natalie, twenty-seven years old, is a resident Sky-level adventurer of the Courage City. Although not as renowned as those legendary figures, she is quite famous locally.

 

Due to Natalie’s youth, beauty, bravery, and proficiency in combat, coupled with her identity as a Holy Knight who worships the goddess, she often wears a full-body white knight armor during missions. This earned her the nickname “Pure White Lioness” from well-wishers.

 

About a month ago, Natalie and her adventurer party accepted a somewhat peculiar commission from the Adventurer’s Guild, requesting help in finding a missing son.

 

Although this commission was classified as C-rank in terms of reward and difficulty, it attracted the attention of this Sky-level adventurer. As a local, Natalie had encountered quite a few similar commissions recently at the guild, and the frequency seemed unusually high.

 

The disappearance of children is not uncommon in the vast and populous Courage City, and individuals involved in human trafficking have been caught by Miss Pure White Lioness more than once.

 

But this time… it felt a bit different.

 

The descriptions of these missing cases were too similar, and the modus operandi was clearly the work of the same group. Moreover, with such a high frequency of disappearances, someone should have reported it to the authorities, and law enforcement should have started an investigation long ago.

 

But no, Natalie, who had been quietly keeping an eye on this matter, found that the Law Enforcement Division of the capital seemed to turn a blind eye to these cases of missing persons. They completely ignored them, and even the search commissions issued would be canceled by the parties involved shortly after due to the intervention of some external force.

 

Natalie had secretly investigated, but families who had lost their children either remained tight-lipped and ignorant or simply vanished from the Courage City. When she inquired with their neighbors, the Holy Knight Lady received explanations like “moved away”?

 

Children go missing, and instead of looking for them, the families just move away from the capital?

 

The more Natalie delved into the investigation, the more she felt the deep undercurrents beneath this matter. There were even some forces noticing her actions, beginning to interfere with her investigation, and even directly threatening and warning her not to meddle too much.

 

But who is Miss Natalie? A Holy Knight, yes, the most typical characteristic of a Holy Knight is being headstrong, refusing to bow down to dark forces. Even though she is just an outsider affiliated with the Temple, not directly associated with the Temple of Courage in the Courage City.

 

Therefore, after careful consideration, Natalie decided to take on this commission with her team, officially intervening in the investigation. To be safe, she also wrote a letter, informing the High Bishop of the Temple of Courage in the Courage City about the recent anomalies and explaining the situation.

 

In the letter, Natalie was straightforward, stating that if she were to go missing during the investigation, it would indicate that the situation had inevitably involved someone of high status or a powerful presence. She urged the official disclosure of this matter to the royal family and sought the assistance of Princess Lilya Melchior, the fifth princess known for her recent prominence and upright conduct.

 

Although Natalie didn’t personally know Princess Lilya, her friend, the legendary adventurer Scarlet Flame, had a close relationship with her. Natalie believed Scarlet Flame to be a person of integrity with an accurate judgment.

 

Originally, Natalie intended to inform Scarlet Flame directly, but since the latter returned from the western regions, not only had her strength significantly increased, but she also became quite busy, often disappearing for several days at a time.

 

So she had to settle for the next best option, choosing the equally trustworthy and devout follower of the goddess, High Bishop Wade Heywood.

 

After thorough preparation, Natalie officially began delving into the darkness, uncovering the secrets behind this matter.

 

Unexpectedly, the investigation went smoothly, and all the resistance inexplicably disappeared. After a period of surveillance, they finally found the Iris Orphanage in the west of the city, the likely final location of the thieves’ den.

 

The name “Eternal Throne” was also learned by Natalie during the investigation.

 

Another letter was written to inform the High Bishop of the next action’s location and specific plans. With two teammates of the same Sky-level, she infiltrated the location.

 

However, they fell into an ambush.

 

The opponents were evidently well-prepared. Natalie and her companions encountered the siege of six Sky-level individuals and a Legendary-tier powerhouse. Both teammates were killed in action, and Natalie herself was severely injured and captured, ending up imprisoned here.

 

It was precisely because of this that Natalie was able to access more secrets and darkness about this place but as an experimental subject.

 

After being captured, the Holy Knight Lady, with outstanding strength and physical qualities, was forced to participate in an experiment seemingly designed to create combat puppets using a mysterious potion.

 

She didn’t quite understand the specific principles, but similar to the female adventurer who was dragged away before due to investigating the disappearance of people, after being injected with the drug, she would experience unbearable headaches, dizziness, and prolonged agony. After a long period of suffering, she would eventually lose consciousness.

 

Upon waking up, she would find herself back in the prison cell.

 

After participating in several experiments in succession, Natalie also noticed that she occasionally experienced moments of absent-mindedness and an inability to concentrate, indicating that the drug was gradually taking effect.

 

However, being a powerful Holy Knight, she seemed to have a remarkable resistance to such substances, persisting until now.

 

As for those individuals in black robes, they were originally adventurers captured and brought here. They were said to be unsuccessful “unfinished products” because continuous experiments had led to the loss of their self-awareness. They would only act like walking corpses, following fixed instructions.

 

Therefore, no matter how much Edwina shouted, it was all meaningless.

 

These powerful individuals with a certain degree of strength are used in experiments, transforming them into combat puppets similar to dolls, while ordinary people seem to serve a different purpose.

 

After such a long time, Natalie had almost resigned herself and given up hope. Therefore, she didn’t feel like dealing with Miss Edwina, who seemed not very intelligent. However, later she discovered that Edwina was also a holy knight, which sparked her interest in conversation.

 

Upon hearing this, Edwina became somewhat confused and asked the female adventurer on the other side of the thick wall.

 

“Isn’t that wrong? Miss Natalie sent a letter to High Bishop Wade already, right? After being missing for so long, he should have noticed something unusual and taken action, shouldn’t he?”

 

“The High Bishop… hmph…”

 

Miss Pure White Lioness snorted coldly, using a somewhat deep voice to impart a lesson to the young paladin who didn’t yet fully understand the dangers of the world.

 

“I was extremely cautious during my investigation. The time I came to this place was completely random. How would the enemy know that we were coming to the Iris Orphanage? Do you think so many experts would just sit idle in their lair every day? Is that possible?”

 

“Eh?! Are you suggesting that…”

 

A somewhat incredulous exclamation escaped from Edwina’s lips. Even though Edwina was slow to react, upon hearing this, she began to understand the other’s meaning.

 

“Yes, it’s almost certain that that bastard Wade betrayed me!”

 

“It’s because I felt that this matter should involve many important figures, so I was very cautious. I only told Wade, who belongs to the same sect. I didn’t expect this old bastard to go against the teachings of the goddess, secretly colluding with cultists. He’s simply insane!”

 

“How, how is that possible? High Bishop Wade has been a senior priest serving under the goddess for more than thirty years, the leader of the entire Temple of Courage with over a thousand clergy members. How could he…”

 

Bang!

 

A slightly irritated and heavy knocking sound came from the other side of the wall. Even Edwina could sense the anger and impatience of the other person.

 

“You’re asking me? Who the hell am I supposed to ask!”

 

After a while, Natalie seemed to have calmed down a bit and spoke in a low tone.

 

“Anyway, don’t count on that side. Even if Wade didn’t really betray us, he’s definitely tied up or hindered in some way, making it difficult for him to help. Otherwise, there would have been some movement after such a long time.”

 

“You’re Edwina, right? I have an idea that might help us escape, but I can’t do it alone. Instead of waiting here to die, why not take a chance and see how lucky we can get.”

 

Contemplating, the pure white lioness extended an invitation to the young knight.

 

“We’re all Sky-level holy knight. I think there’s no need to say much more. In a word, do you want to do it or not?”