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

"Damn it! Damn it all!"

In an abandoned village a hundred miles away, a white-haired, red-eyed girl was panting heavily, crouching in the center of a closed wooden house, the faint light of the teleportation array beneath her feet not yet completely dissipated.

The cold sweat that broke out from the shock slid down her back to her skirt, and her smooth, alluring calves were slightly bent due to cramps.

"Damn it... How did I end up encountering the real thing?! That Wind Sword Princess has completely come back to life, right? She must be!!"

Lilia, who had just escaped death, was still trembling with shock, unable to recover from the bizarre experience.

This matter has clearly gone far beyond her plans—

Originally, she gritted her teeth and paid a huge sum of money, almost bankrupting herself, to obtain the corpse of Wind Sword Princess from a black market merchant. She almost managed to turn her into her own fighting force!

however!

The young, handsome guy I'd tricked and lured along actually... he really did use some kind of resurrection magic?!

Is this a permitted spell?

Is this reasonable?

Lilia didn't know, but she knew that if she didn't escape immediately, the enraged Wind Sword Princess could kill her with a single strike once the truth came out.

The title of "Empire's Strongest Female Sword Saint" is well-deserved. Even if she only has half of her peak strength, she would still be enough to deal with me, a frail new-generation mage.

"Sigh... I even used up the spell-accelerating runes my mentor gave me and the large teleportation stone I used to save my life, but not only did it fail, the woman who came back to life also remembered my face... This is terrible."

Lilia rubbed her temples, her head throbbing.

The theft of Wind Sword Maiden's coffin had already caused quite a stir, and she was already on the Aleient Empire's Class B wanted list... This time, she only managed to evade the guards on the road by casting a disguise illusion on herself...

The difficulty of continuing to operate within the Alevant Empire will likely increase significantly in the future.

"The resurrection of Fiora is definitely explosive news, and it's possible she'll suspect that her previous death was related to me... If that happens, I'll inevitably be labeled as the mastermind, which would be incredibly unfair. It seems I should stay out of the spotlight and wait until things calm down."

Lilia pondered for a moment, then walked to a wooden table in the corner of the room, plopped down in a rickety chair, and looked on with a resentful expression:

"Everything was prepared, I wanted to successfully prove my evil to my mentor... but before I even had a chance to put it into practice, my plans were disrupted!"

"Hmph, An Xiao, huh? You little brat, I'll remember this. Don't you dare get separated from me! Otherwise, if I catch you next time, I'll dissect your body thoroughly, leaving you with nothing but your underwear!"

The girl cursed and swore at the man, then pulled a crystal ball from her bosom. After calming herself, she placed it on the tabletop.

As magic was continuously poured in, the purple crystal began to sparkle.

Before long, a woman's face, shrouded in mist, gradually emerged from inside the crystal sphere—

"Why the expression? My precious disciple."

Her ethereal and melodious voice seemed to reveal the speaker's extraordinary appearance, while her languid and playful tone fully displayed her long-held high status.

The crystal sphere was shrouded in mist, and behind that mist, a holy light shone.

"Waaah...! My mentor, I was bullied by a man! I... I have nothing left!"

Lilia's words carried weight, causing the woman to pause slightly, her expression shifting from a gentle, indulgent smile to a focused, concerned look.

"What's going on? Tell me more?"

"It's like this! You sent me out to gain experience, and I obediently did so! However, the target I chose... he actually..."

……

-

At this moment, An Xiao was unaware that he was being exaggeratedly portrayed as the ultimate villain who had violated everything about the girl (including her soul, body, life, and future), because his situation was not optimistic either.

Miss Wind Sword Princess seemed extremely interested in his situation, even more so than she was in the resurrected version of herself.

The two were walking on the stone path under the setting sun, one in front of the other, bathed in the soft light of dusk.

An Xiao in front of him felt like a thorn in his back, while Xinuo behind him walked with light steps.

"...Sword Princess, so, I'm a prisoner now, right?"

An Xiao was under a lot of pressure and couldn't help but glance back at her.

To avoid being recognized by outsiders and causing a sensation, Xinuo had already "borrowed" his hooded robe without explanation and put it on himself without any hesitation, in order to cover his distinctive appearance and close-fitting light armor.

Even so, her aura and figure still attracted a high rate of attention from passersby.

Of course, this is also related to An Xiao, who was forced to show her face while walking in front.

"Don't be so absolute, sir. I simply need to conduct some in-depth analysis of your identity and the origin of your magic, but this is a task I can't handle alone. So, I'll have to 'invite' you to the palace for a discussion first. Do you understand?"

"..."

An Xiao asked, "Is taking off my clothes part of the 'invitation'?"

Upon hearing this, Xinuo's smile remained unchanged. "This is just a helpless measure under special circumstances. You can treat yourself as a guest. Once you have explained your relationship with that sorcerer, I can guarantee that you can leave the palace safely and return to your original life."

Hearing this, An Xiao felt even more insecure.

"This kind of promise feels familiar... Things that are promised like this are usually impossible to deliver, right? Rather, I'd rather believe that I'll be used as an experimental subject and exploited endlessly."

He sighed softly and shook his head.

When I say I possess divine magic, people laugh at me; but when I actually use it, they feel such heaven-defying magic shouldn't exist, and such a threat should be completely eliminated.

So, is it the fault of the divine magic, or is the very existence of the caster a fault?

Thinking about this, An Xiao felt a little tired and slowed down her pace.

The perceptive Xinuo immediately noticed his unusual behavior. Her expression froze, and she emphasized again, "The promises I made within the territory of Aleont still carry some weight, sir. If you truly have no ulterior motives, I will naturally repay you handsomely..."

Before she could finish speaking, he waved his hand, interrupting her.

Regardless of whether she still possesses the influence she once had, the mere fact that her freedom was restricted made An Xiao feel extremely uncomfortable.

Now that things have come to this, he no longer intends to hide anything and chooses to lay his cards on the table:

"As the caster who resurrected you, I must first remind you that you only have three days. If I do not use the resurrection spell on you after three days, you may experience a 'second death'."

He paused, his eyes flashing with a phosphorescent green light. "I think no one would willingly go through this kind of pain twice, not even you—"

"Sword Maiden."

……

……