Chapter 90: Veronica’s Secret
“Die!!!”
Even Leona, fearless as she was, felt a surge of revulsion at the sight before her. She instinctively kicked the mage’s remaining half-head, her sharp Dou Qi performing a swift decapitation. The head spun through the air and landed some distance away.
The headless body twitched a few times, then went still. Leona stood before it, her hand on her chest, trying to calm her racing heart.
“Damn it, what was that thing…”
She had never seen anything so repulsive. A headless mage was within the realm of her understanding, but a mage with only half a head? How could such a grotesque creature exist in this world?
Moreover, her instincts as a high-ranking undead told her that this wasn’t an undead creature. She couldn’t sense any trace of necromancy on it. Undead could recognize their own kind, but Leona felt no connection to this thing whatsoever.
This brought her some relief. Who would want to be associated with such a repulsive creature?
But a new question arose: if it wasn’t undead, what was it?
She decided to bring it back and let Abyss examine it when he woke up. He was knowledgeable and experienced in dealing with the dead. Surely, waking up to a headless corpse would delight him.
That being said, Leona still didn’t want to carry the mage’s body back. It was too unsettling, so unsettling that even she, invincible as she was, felt a sense of unease.
…
Leona returned to Flora and Veronica, carrying a long log with a headless corpse securely bound to it with vines, like a hunter returning from a successful hunt.
As expected, after she had dealt with the mage, the battle below had quickly ended. The dwarf mercenaries, despite their coordinated attacks and superior equipment, were no match for Veronica’s guards. Their short bodies lay scattered on the ground, while Veronica’s soldiers were busy burying the dead and tending to the wounded.
Veronica could no longer conceal her true identity. The battle had exposed too many inconsistencies—no ordinary merchant would hire such a large and well-equipped force, and no ordinary mercenaries would fight with such discipline and disregard for their own safety. And the fact that they hadn’t encountered any Ossi bandits along the way… The answer was clear.
“Here, take this. It will heal your internal injuries,” Veronica said, crouching beside a wounded soldier, placing the Fountain’s Draw around his neck.
“But… Your Highness…” the soldier muttered in Ossi, his voice weak. He seemed to be gravely injured, his internal organs damaged, but he was hesitant to accept the pendant.
“No buts. Don’t you want to live?” Veronica said, her voice firm. “Take it. The young lady with healing magic will treat you soon.”
The soldier, his eyes filled with gratitude, clutched the Fountain’s Draw tightly. Veronica stood up and turned to see Leona returning, carrying a log that seemed too large for her small frame, a headless corpse attached to it.
“What’s this…?” Veronica asked, surprised by the sight of the corpse.
“This is the mage who attacked us. I kicked his head off,” Leona said casually, gesturing towards the corpse with her eyes. “I eliminated your enemy for you. Now, can you satisfy my curiosity?”
“You killed the mage sent by our enemy, and Miss Flora saved several of my soldiers with her healing magic… I’ll remember this kindness,” Veronica said after a moment of thought, nodding. “Although we lost a few men, we need to leave quickly. We can talk on the road.”
Leona nodded. “Of course.”
She glanced at Flora, who was using Divine Arts to heal the soldiers’ wounds. Flora looked up and winked at her. It seemed she had used some trickery to make them believe she was a Healing mage, not a Divine Arts user. To maintain the illusion, she hadn’t completely healed their wounds, leaving some minor external injuries to heal naturally.
Veronica didn’t ask too many questions about why Leona had brought back a corpse. She simply instructed her men to place it in one of the cargo wagons. They were still far from the Tami Kingdom border, so they could deal with it later.
Flora cast a preservation spell on the corpse to prevent it from decomposing. After all, no one wanted to travel with a rotting, fly-infested corpse.
“I apologize for my deception,” Veronica said, bowing her head slightly to Leona and Flora. “My real name is Givia. I’m the Princess of the Ossi Kingdom… I initially assumed you were just noble girls traveling to the Eastern Empire and didn’t want to involve you in my plans, so I lied about being merchants. In truth, we are indeed disguised as a merchant caravan, heading to the Eastern Empire to acquire some special items.”
Their original wagon had been destroyed by magic, so they were now riding in a cargo wagon. It was dimly lit, but better than being exposed to the sun.
Flora and Leona exchanged glances. They had already guessed Givia’s true identity, only lacking concrete evidence to confirm their suspicions.
“You must have heard about my Restoration Army. These men, disguised as mercenaries, are actually my guards… Well, some of them are simply volunteers who came to protect me,” Givia said, her voice heavy. “Some of my guards sacrificed their lives to protect me. I won’t forget their families.”
“Disguising yourselves as Western Empire merchants to acquire special goods from the Eastern Empire is a clever plan,” Leona nodded. “Do you know who was behind the attack?”
“I don’t know for sure… But I suspect it was my brother, Prince Kevin, the current King of Ossi,” Givia said, frowning. “Our Restoration Army has the support of the people. We’re unstoppable. As long as I lead them, we will be victorious. That’s why Kevin has been trying to use underhanded methods to harm me, preventing me from focusing on leading the army…”
“Therefore, I have two goals for this trip to the Eastern Empire!”
“First, I need to acquire a batch of restricted military potions from the Eastern Empire’s underworld to enhance our soldiers’ combat capabilities when necessary.”
“Second, I need to find a way to counter the Outer God that has been plaguing me and seek a way to fight back!”
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