The Queen of Scrolls never admits defeat

Moran showed no mercy.

For these scum whose hands are stained with the blood of innocent people and who make a living by capturing slaves, death is their only destiny.

After doing all this, Moran walked to the deepest, foul-smelling cells in the mine, unlocked everyone's shackles, distributed food and water he had found in the outpost's warehouse, and then treated their injuries.

"Get out of here, the sooner the better." With that, he left.

Black Iron City is situated at the intersection of winding mountains and vast plains, and is the most important industrial and trade hub in the northern part of the Kingdom of Loren.

The towering chimneys spewed thick, gray-black smoke day and night, turning the sky into a murky gray-yellow.

The city wall is built of huge dark rocks, and its surface is covered with traces of time and pollution.

Long queues formed at the city gate, with trucks loaded with ore, weary merchants, and ragged refugees all waiting for the guards' impatient inspection.

Moran stood on a distant hillside, gazing at the behemoth shrouded in steel and steam.

Her current appearance is that of Hans Rock, the leader of the Crying Mine stronghold.

This level 17 shield warrior is known for his composure and ruthlessness. He is said to have single-handedly withstood the onslaught of an underground behemoth and is highly respected within the Ash Claws.

On the way from the outskirts of the city to the Anvil District where the Ash Claw mercenary group was located, Moran kept adjusting the details of this identity.

Hans's habitual heavy gait, the slight forward tilt of his left shoulder due to an old injury, the thick callus on the web of his right hand from the axe, and his habit of pausing for a moment before speaking.

She even simulated the fluctuations of the earth-attribute blood energy within his body.

Although faint, it was sufficient for a general level of exploration.

When Moran, disguised as Hans, approached the stone building bearing the crimson battle axe insignia, the low-ranking mercenaries chatting idly at the entrance immediately straightened their backs.

"Captain Hans!"

"Why did you come back in person? What happened at the mine..."

Moran waved his hand and said in Hans's rough, deep voice:

"It's an emergency; I need to see the commander."

She didn't stop walking and went straight in through the door.

The noise in the lobby on the first floor quieted down for a moment when she appeared.

Many mid-level leaders who knew "Rock Hans" bowed their heads respectfully.

The bald, fat man behind the counter looked up, and after recognizing who it was, a smile spread across his face:

"Captain Hans! What brings you back? The commander and the others are having a meeting upstairs!"

Moran nodded without speaking, his heavy footsteps echoing the familiar, intimidating creak of the wooden stairs.

The oak door on the second floor was tightly closed, and Moran knocked on it.

"Who?" Baron shouted.

“Hans. Urgent report from the mine,” Moran said in a deep voice.

"Come in!"

The door was immediately pulled open.

Moran glanced around and saw that all the surviving high-ranking members of the Ash Claws, including the leader Bloodaxe Baron and the vice-leader Poisonous Tooth, were there.

"Great, everyone's here!" She closed the door behind her.

"Hans, you..."

An invisible, powerful spiritual force erupted from Moran, instantly filling the entire room.

Everyone, including Bloodaxe Baron, had completely vacant and dull eyes.

Moran's mental power, like countless fine yet resilient threads, instantly pierced their mental seas, suppressing all their self-awareness. They could still "see," "hear," and even "feel" their own existence, but their thoughts had ceased.

The room was so quiet you could hear a pin drop, with only the occasional crackling of firewood from the fireplace.

Moran let out a soft breath, not wasting any time.

First, walk up to Bloodaxe Baron.

With a light touch of his fingertip to the center of his brow, his spiritual tendrils probed deeper and more meticulously, beginning to violently and efficiently extract, copy, and peruse the memories of this leader.

Next is Venomous Dental, a mage proficient in poison magic; his memories are even darker and more fragmented.

Moran meticulously extracted and stored the memories of everyone present.

Once the last bit of useful information had been extracted, Moran's mental power instantly became sharp, tearing apart their mental sea.

Their bodies swayed slightly, then collapsed completely.

Moran waved his hand, storing the eight corpses into a {space card}.

He then went to a corner of the room and, following the method Baron remembered, activated several hidden mechanisms, taking away all the valuable items.

After doing all this, she composed herself, opened the door, and went out.

At the top of the stairs, two fully armed high-ranking guards immediately looked over. They were Baron's personal guards, and they only obeyed the orders of their commander.

Moran glanced at them, her eyes calm.

The next second, the two guards also froze in shock.

"Come here with me," Moran commanded in a flat tone.

The two guards, like the most obedient puppets, followed her downstairs to the hall below.

"Call everyone into the hall, close the door, I have something to say!"

The guards immediately sprang into action.

Once everyone had arrived, Moran used the same method again to control everyone.

The next morning, when members of the Mercenary Guild arrived, they found the place unusually quiet.

They broke down the door and found the entire Ash Claw empty, with all their valuables gone.

By noon, the news could no longer be suppressed. Everyone at the Ash Claw mercenary group headquarters had mysteriously disappeared!

There were no signs of a struggle; it was as if these people had all vanished into thin air.

The news sent shockwaves through the Black Iron City's underworld, sparking a flurry of speculation.

Revenge from an enemy? Internal strife? The intervention of a mysterious powerful figure? Or... did they offend someone they shouldn't have, and were "eliminated"?

A few days later, adventurers discovered a large number of human corpses, mutilated beyond recognition and mangled by wild beasts, deep in the abandoned "Weeping Mine" outside the city. The fragments of clothing and scattered equipment still faintly revealed the mark of the Ash Claws.

The news confirmed the rumors that "Ashclaws suffered a great calamity and all its members perished."

No one knows how these people ended up deep in the mine; they can only blame it on messing with the wrong people.

Just as the various factions in Black Iron City began to divide up the power vacuum left by Ash Claw, Moran had already arrived outside the Traveler's House in Three Rivers Town.

One of the largest inns in town, a three-story wood and stone building with spacious stables and a courtyard, looked to be doing brisk business.

Moran transformed back into her female mage form, paid for the room, and requested a quiet room facing the street.

That night, she quietly went to the hotel owner's room.

Before long, the residents and travelers of Sanchahe Town heard that the always smiling "boss" of the Traveler's Inn had suddenly announced that he was going to sell the inn.

After the town's merchants bought the inn, the "innkeeper" left the town alone, and no one knew where she went. (End of Chapter)