After mastering the resurrection technique, they begged me to extend their lives.

Walk along the path, close to the high wooden wall, heading in a certain direction.

Along the way, two or three groups of militiamen spotted An Xiao's squad and rushed over alertly, demanding to see their identification.

After all, An Xiao carrying the Iron Maiden was too conspicuous, and the disguised princess and Chris were quite unfamiliar, so it was hard not to attract the attention of the militiamen.

At this point, Xingmi would step forward to show his merchant's pass and, when appropriate, take out some silver coins to bribe the merchants.

Those who could get away with it were fine, but when they reached the secret door and faced the two very wary old militiamen, all their rhetoric became ineffective.

"Halt. This place is locked year-round and cannot be opened at the moment. If you want to leave town, you can take the main road through the gate and not linger here."

The two veterans were both quite strong, one at LV16 and the other at LV17. If they were any stronger, they could have applied to be gatekeepers in the main city. There was clearly a reason why Chris had placed them here.

Chris, show me your proof.

An Xiao calmly looked around to make sure no one else was following them, and quickly gave the order.

Located in the westernmost corner of Ningye Town, this place is an extremely dark and eerie alleyway. Underneath the tightly enclosed wooden high wall, no one can notice it at all.

There is a small iron gate directly in front of you.

If you can go out through the iron gate, after walking for a while, you can theoretically enter a low-lying forest called "Radel" and reach the Stardust Harbor transition zone after crossing it.

Although it is on the edge of the border mountains, once we arrive at Stardust Harbor, it would be a good option to discuss things further in that neutral port.

"roar."

A hoarse response came from Chris's throat. He stepped forward and pulled out his captain's certificate to his two former "underlings".

「!?」

"What? It's the captain!"

"Why...are you dressed like this? Captain, you weren't here this morning, we were just about to go look for you! By the way, are these people, including that demi-human, all friends of yours?"

Chris's identification surprised the two veterans, because in this town, the only person authorized to open the door was Chris himself.

Seeing that Chris didn't reply and just stood there silently, one of the two instinctively reached out to open the door, but the other, a more senior militiaman, stopped him and frowned.

"wrong."

"What's wrong?"

"Can you smell it? There's blood on the captain," he said alertly.

"ah…"

The moment these words were spoken, the atmosphere in the air froze.

"Captain Chris, please answer me, why weren't you on time for the morning assembly this morning? Where were you yesterday and what were you doing this morning?"

Veteran Gar narrowed his small eyes, staring at the veteran like a cheetah.

Things haven't been peaceful in the town lately, and messengers from above have even arrived.

The wanted criminal's case led to martial law being declared in the entire town, and everyone's daily life was greatly affected.

Although Captain Chris is a decent person in general, everyone knows that he is greedy and lustful. He has spent all the money he has accumulated over the years on a prostitute, while his own life is in turmoil.

Now that we have such a good opportunity, what if he wants to make a big profit... and we become his "stepping stones"? Wouldn't that make us a laughing stock?

"Please remove your helmet immediately so I can assess your condition."

Garr stopped dawdling and immediately issued the reverse instruction; he needed to follow the rules.

On one side, another militiaman, Hunter, also noticed the abnormality and began to slowly move to the left and back.

Having stood guard here for many years, the two were certain that Captain Chris would not associate with any demi-humans or the mysterious masked man carrying a coffin.

If it were the old him, he would have already taken off his mask, laughing and joking, and started cursing at the two of them for making such a fuss.

But now?

Gar gave Hunter a look, signaling him to turn around and head towards the city gate to find Vice Captain Ryan if he saw anything amiss.

Once you run about 10 breaths away, everything here will be resolved.

Call for reinforcements, capture everyone, fire a signal flare to summon the dragoons—and finally collect your reward.

"Tsk."

Seeing this, An Xiao shook her head.

It's quite a pity.

I never intended to resort to such a desperate measure.

But perhaps this is the obstacle I'm facing?

He can neither accept the Iron Maiden nor abandon Princess Airi, so it seems that he has no choice but to take things seriously now.

"Chris, execute."

"roar!!!"

Upon receiving the order, the militia captain, who had been silent all along, sprang out like a catapult!

His forward-leaning body and hoarse growl resembled those of a bloodthirsty beast.

He raised his spear high with one hand, and in the blink of an eye, before Hunter could even react, he rushed in front of him and thrust it with all his might in a precise direction!

They cut a large hole directly in his left abdomen.

confused……

"what!"

"Chris! How dare you betray the Empire!"

Screams and cries of alarm rang out simultaneously. Garr reacted immediately and drew his sword to unleash his combat technique.

In an instant, a silver light rose around him, and the halo kept solidifying, clearly indicating that he was charging up his power, and it seemed that he was focusing his attention on the enchantment of his weapon.

An Xiao, not far away, sneered and silently commanded Ai Li in her heart:

"Enhance creation."

Just like a puppeteer, An Xiao can convey all her instructions to the "creation" in her mind.

Similar to transmitting thoughts through sound.

「!?」

Feeling something, Love opened her little mouth, paused slightly, and didn't react for a moment.

However, as she watched Gard slash at Chris, she quickly realized that her master wanted her to strengthen "another creation" and enhance its combat capabilities.

"clear."

The girl readily complied, immediately pulling out the magic book and tearing off a page with her slender white fingers—

He uttered softly, "Blessing of Power."

hum!

A blazing red light burst forth beneath Chris's feet.

Under the effect of the second-circle amplification spell, in the next instant, his muscles bulged exaggeratedly, his breathing became slightly heavier, and his whole body seemed to be filled with power.

With a clang!

He raised his gun to withstand Gal's "slash," and after dissipating the recoil, he turned and dodged, avoiding the fatal blow that followed.

The situation on the field is constantly changing, and the veteran is fighting against his own creation.

An Xiao, standing behind, nodded to herself, very satisfied with the princess's abilities.

He knew perfectly well that casting such blessing spells on himself was meaningless.

After all, he was a warlock, not a melee class, so the Blessing of Might had no effect on him except in certain... specific situations.

Now, after receiving the buff, Chris is evenly matched with Gar, while Hunter on the other side is seriously injured and on the verge of death.

[Airi, executing the fallen with a magic scroll.]

"...Am I going to kill someone too?"

The princess's face tightened.

"Um."

When faced with a red-named creature, An Xiao was extremely decisive.

[Chris, eliminate target.]

"roar."

Issue the final instruction.

Without turning his head, he pulled out a key and tossed it to Hoshimi, who had remained silent.

"Take this and go open the door."

At this moment, the little fox was completely stunned.

Of course, she had seen battles before. After all, it was only natural for merchants to encounter bandits and robbers when they were out and about.

But now, it seems that An Xiao is controlling two "talking creations" to "kill the Imperial militia"...

If the little fox hadn't seen it with his own eyes, he would have thought the name of the fugitive on the wanted poster was fake...

"What's wrong? Are your legs going weak?"

Sensing the little fox's unease, An Xiao smiled calmly and said:

"Don't be afraid, I'm not a good person. But I know that if you don't cooperate with me to push open the iron gate, you'll probably be charged with 'assisting a wanted criminal in his escape' by the militia who have arrived here soon, and then be arrested on the spot and taken to the royal city."

If I'm not mistaken, the Empire will most likely convict you of treason for assisting a wanted criminal. They'll first send troops to attack your family, confiscate all your property, then hand you over to underground merchants to be auctioned off to nobles interested in fox girls. After they've had their fill of you, the nobles will resell you. Eventually, when you're past your prime and have lost your charm, you'll be sent to the frontier to be treated like a laborer, disposed of silently.

"..."

Xingmi took a deep breath and was completely convinced.

"So that's why you insisted on dragging me here, you wanted to pull me down with you..."

She frowned, somewhat regretful.

It feels like a huge loss to be wanted by the entire empire for just 500 gold coins.

"Even if I don't pull you in, you'll still go down into the water. But I need a safeguard to ensure you truly walk with me."

An Xiao completely disregarded her feelings and simply treated her as a tool.

As for the dishonest, money-grubbing little fox, I'll just let her be used by me.

"Hmm... alright. What can I possibly do against you now? I'm just a weak and delicate fox-person; I can't possibly outwit an evil human like you."

"."

An Xiao remained noncommittal.

Crack, crack.

Watching her insert the key into the lock, her head hanging low like a hostage, and seeing her small hands trembling as she fumbled around for a long time without being able to get the key right, it was clear she was very emotionally affected—

An Xiao couldn't help but narrow her eyes slightly.

【panel.】

In this perspective, the "gaze of creation" silently begins.

"Threat level, highlighted for alert."

Ta-da!

Threat level: High.

[Red Mark: Xingmi has preliminarily identified Airi as Princess through the "Blessing" spell, her voice, and the color of the fabric at the hem of her skirt. Currently, Xingmi feels a deep fear of you, the sorcerer capable of resurrecting the dead. She plans to tell her father about you upon returning to Stardust Harbor, and her father will send the leader of the Defias Brotherhood (LV48) with pirates to capture you.]

……

……