Chapter 206 Chapter 207 Aftermath (Part One)
“Jima, don’t pinch.”
Zhenna grabbed Jima’s wrist and pulled her away, “I know you’re curious, but that place is sensitive.”
Jima’s other hand joined in, justifying herself by saying, “There’s no way around it; one cannot go against their nature.”
Zhenna shook her head, “You’ve lost control.”
In the next moment, both of Jima’s wrists were tied together.
Jima barely regained her sanity and looked towards the pile of ashes, saying, “What a pity for him.”
“Jima, what do you plan to do next?” Zhenna gazed at the roof, where the brave witch hunters were battling the evil shadow assassins, with some guards stopping to watch. “I should move you to a safe place first; the witch hunters haven’t done anything illegal to me, so I can’t assist your accomplice.”
“Which accomplice?”
Zhenna calmly replied, “The Shadow.”
Jima asked in confusion, “The Shadow?”
“Hmm.”
“That thing? It’s not with me,” Jima said. “By the way, let me tell you something: the imperial troops haven’t entered the city; the messenger just now was a mirage I created.”
“Disguised?” Zhenna looked towards the iron gate of the Is residence, where the guards scattered after witnessing their master’s defeat. With a crash, the unguarded iron gate fell, and the rioters surged towards the Is residence like flies drawn to rotting meat.
“I must go open the city gates to end the chaos. Stay by my side so I can look after you.”
With that, she grabbed Jima’s wrist.
Jima shook her hand off, “Hey, you better recognize your place, woman, this is just a use to—”
Before she could finish, the last trace of Jima’s sanity forced her to cover her mouth.
She couldn’t control herself and had inadvertently spoken her genuine thoughts, treating Zhenna like a maid!
She tried to widen her golden eyes to appear more charming as she looked at Zhenna.
Saintess Zhenna gave her a curious look: “Your tone sounds like… that Demon King named Kima.”
“Ah hahaha, do I sound as imposing as a Demon King?”
“No, it’s the tone he uses when he looks at women.”
Jima blinked her large eyes, “Actually, I’m just angry.”
“Angry? I don’t think you look that way.”
Damn, how could she find a reason? This saintess really doesn’t seem that foolish anymore.
A cold sweat trickled down Jima’s forehead, and a flash of inspiration struck her: “As the main wife, I am mature, experienced; it should be I who makes the arrangements.”
Zhenna’s eyes twitched, suspecting that Jima was changing the topic, but the black-haired succubus looked so serious that she said, “I never admitted to that.”
“That’s the truth,” Jima replied, “In terms of attitude, when my own sisters are being coveted by wild men, I put in ten out of ten effort to maintain the purity of the harem. In terms of capability, I should at least take seventy percent of the credit this time.”
“It’s not a harem.” Zhenna reached out, trying to pull Jima away, “Let’s go, before the witch hunters have time to help.”
From above, the voice of a witch hunter echoed, “What a formidable opponent! Come, let’s fight until tomorrow.”
“Hey, I’m serious, Zhenna.” Jima put her hands on her hips, puffing out her chest.
Even though she was dressed in the skins of “Georges’ main wife,” making it quite cringe-worthy and a bit nauseating, she thought about how throughout history, everyone has used the name of “righteousness” to cover their personal gains well. I’ve really held up under humiliation.
“Have you considered the consequences? The entire city knows I’m one of the masterminds behind the riot; you can’t publicly protect me, at least not here in Marin City during this time, otherwise it will provoke public outrage,” Jima said. “You still need to restore order later, right? You’re not planning to move out, are you?”
“Everyone saw us fighting side by side.”
“That’s different,” Jima said. “Arresting your own good sister is one thing, but being together with a saintess and a succubus is bad, even if you just want to protect me.”
“But the witch hunters…”
“No buts.” Jima, with a flat chest facing a pair of snow peaks, exuded an equal amount of pressure towards her. “I can take care of myself. Goodbye.”
With that, she turned and walked away.
Saintess Zhenna opened her mouth, watching her retreating figure as she said, “Goodbye.”
“By the way.” Jima suddenly turned back and said, “Let’s talk another day about whether a main wife has the obligation to personally teach bed skills.”
Saintess Zhenna’s face flushed.
Jima shamelessly smiled, feeling that this “main wife” facade was quite useful.
If she were to directly tell Zhenna, I want to bed you, the outcome would be…
Jima turned her head, glancing at the ashes on the ground.
Not far away, the rioters rushed forward, while Jima’s figure disappeared into the building.
“Saintess, hello! We’ve only come looking for treasure.” A group of adventurers bowed and spoke, showing goodwill while slowly circling her from ten meters away.
Saintess Zhenna ignored them, bending down to collect Is’s extraordinary materials directly.
The rioters no longer had any concerns and overwhelmed the Is residence for a redistribution of assets.
A group of citizen soldiers escorted a person on horseback into the residence of Young Master Is.
Kaslan, riding a white horse, hurried to Saintess Zhenna and dismounted, embracing her: “My dear daughter, are you alright?”
“I’m fine, Dad. Jima is very strong.”
Kaslan’s face turned red and reeked of alcohol as he looked at Zhenna’s tattered silver robe, with sympathy he said:
“That Is, what a pervert. I never thought he would rather die than do such a thing.”
“This is the heart demon of an extraordinary person, Father.”
“I don’t understand,” Kaslan sighed and said. “Daughter, I’m sorry. There’s something I never told you; I shouldn’t have been so greedy… When you were little, Is liked to play with you, and seeing that he couldn’t bully you, I just indulged him, using you to—”
“Exchange for orders.”
“You understand? Well, that’s good.” Kaslan walked towards the horse alongside his biological daughter. “Everyone says I built a family by selling my daughter. In fact, I started selling even when I was little; I would feel ashamed to say so.”
“Dad, let’s not talk too much. Time is tight right now.” Zhenna looked at the citizen soldiers and said, “Actually, you’re just laying the groundwork for bragging, aren’t you? If I’m not mistaken, you got the Mayor’s council sorted out and sought help from the imperial army, right?”
Kaslan’s face showed a flustered expression as he said, “I finally managed to scare that group of smartasses to the point of pissing themselves. Well, it’s also thanks to your reputation.”
Zhenna mounted a horse that had been prepared for her.
Kaslan watched her retreating figure, sighed, and shook his head, feeling that his daughter was becoming increasingly estranged from him.
On another side.
The imperial army.
A hundred-man squad stood firm with a black shield wall, blocking the incoming stones and crossbow bolts. In the streets, the rioters, pushed to a dead-end, brandished their knives and swords, charging towards the hundred-man squad, which had only a fraction of their numbers.
“Surrender and you won’t be killed!” the soldiers shouted in unison, using their shields to block the tide while striking out with their clubs.
Although the rioters were many, they lacked discipline, and the armored soldiers were no match; soon, the first wave was broken apart.
“Surrender and you won’t be killed!”
More stones crashed against the pure skull emblem on the shields.
“Draw swords!”
They dropped their clubs, held up their shields, and confronted the rioters.
Among the ranks, a new recruit—Henry—felt a blankness in his head. He had heard that joining the imperial army meant practicing swordsmanship, and to achieve his dream of becoming a Sword Saint, he resolutely enlisted.
But this morning, he was still a blacksmith’s son, and by night he had been commanded to stand in the front line with a sword to kill.
“Ah ah ah yah yah yah!”
The rioters surged against the shield wall like a mudslide, surrounded by comrades covering their flanks. Henry only faced one rioter; his shield jolted, and he realized he was blocking the opponent’s attack, instinctively thrusting his sword lightly towards the opponent’s chest.
The human body is far more fragile before a blade than he had imagined. The opponent clutched their chest, and he pulled out his sword, dazed as he watched the person fall.
It wasn’t until a comrade kicked him from behind that he realized he was lagging behind and hurriedly raised his shield to move forward.
The mob scattered, and those who couldn’t escape became corpses after the hundred-man squad passed.
“Stop!”
Henry snapped back to reality and looked down at his sword, which was still dripping with blood. The hundred-man squad stopped before a bridge entrance, and he recognized the large houses in the upper district.
“Make way, make way, the general is coming.”
A path opened up in the hundred-man squad, and Imperial General Dai, wearing a Summerelle helmet with three black, white, and red feathers waving cheerfully, was followed by a giant swordsman, the tip of his sword bearing a dripping bloody head.
“Everyone look, everyone look.” The imperial general shouted in his signature hoarse voice, “Hanging on this sword is a shameless deserter who actually abandoned his duty to steal and pilfer! Anyone who dares to disregard military discipline shall die!”
The imperial general suddenly reined in his reins and stopped before Henry, shouting:
“New recruit, did you kill that person in front?”
Did I only kill one?
Henry then noticed a body in front of him and stammered, “Y-yes.”
“Scared, huh? It’s normal for a new recruit to be nervous when killing for the first time; after you get used to killing greenskins, it won’t be so troublesome.” The imperial general examined Henry’s sword, which only had blood on the front half, “Not bad for a rookie to know how to stab; unlike many new recruits, who no matter how much they practice, they freeze up like little girls on the battlefield and can only slash aimlessly.”
He turned his head and bellowed at the giant swordsman behind him: “You’d better teach this kid; he’s one of my most formidable recruits.”
“Is he the only one who enlisted?”
At that moment, a girl dressed in tattered silver robes imbued with a soft glow, riding a white horse, approached.
“Captain… or should I call you General, I’m Rookie Zhenna reporting to you.”
The imperial general laughed heartily, the three feathers on his helmet shaking: “Look, the first strong recruit is reporting. If you don’t want to be accidentally hit by magic, you boys better show some respect.”
“Things have changed, and I want to discuss my enlistment deal with you.” Zhenna said bluntly, “My family still needs to establish a foothold in Marin City.”
“Rest assured, the emperor has your back.” The imperial general glanced towards the Is residence, where the crowd was emptying the building, “Those who go against the emperor won’t last long. Some mistakenly think the emperor’s forbearance is a sign of their own victory and thus feel important themselves, hehe.”
With that, he ordered, “Senior centurion, take three squads of a hundred men to protect the remaining residences, as for this one…”
The imperial general spat on the ground: “I’ll lead the team personally.”
“Yes!”
That night, the imperial general led his soldiers to witness the rioters redistributing the wealth from the Is residence throughout the night.
Kaslan couldn’t help but feel a sense of sympathy for the rabbit mourning the fox’s death and said, “So it turns out, it wasn’t me who acted well enough to deceive that group of people, but my daughter who was already standing on the emperor’s side while they were merely reeds in the wind.”
With that, he felt a few years older.
“Dad.” Zhenna’s voice came from behind, and she halted her horse, “I’ve heard you went to find Is after drinking to fetch me back.”
“Yeah, he wouldn’t even pay me any attention.”
“You’re really something.” Zhenna marveled, “Otherwise, we might not have won today.”
Kaslan stood up straight, saying, “You have no idea how surprised that little brat Is was after I exposed his answers; his arrogant face was so shocked that he dropped his mask.”
Zhenna wore a light smile as she patiently listened to her father boast excitedly.
