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"For example, that night Ms. Judith sold her soul to me."

Judith laughed again, mocking the other woman loudly: "That's a complete, 100% lie. When did I lose my soul..."

Suddenly, a terrifying possibility occurred to her, and panic gripped her throat like an invisible hand. Judith murmured to herself, "The most precious treasure..."

"Hmm, you remember now? According to the agreement we made that night, I can take away one of your most precious treasures." The succubus straightened her back in the cage. This was her favorite part of the Q&A session. "As you said, I am a witch who only cares about profit."

The poet seemed to have thought of something. She jumped up as if she had grasped the last straw and said anxiously, "No, our contract does not stipulate that I must pay you. As long as I do not violate the confidentiality principle, you cannot take my things."

Hopper's face was gloomy and uncertain. Finally, she looked at the poet with an idiotic look and said, "Dear Judith, I'm surprised you can remember this clause."

Judith felt she had caught her mistake. She strained her lips and said with a mocking smile, "Whatever you say, witch. I've traveled extensively since I was a child, and I've heard many similar stories. Don't try to trick me."

"That's right," Edimu suddenly interrupted. Similar experiences in the past made him feel a little uneasy. He needed to stabilize the results of the battle. "As long as the terms of the contract are not met, you cannot take her soul."

Yes, that's it. I love a good dramatic twist. Hopper smiled at her own arrangement. This was what she had been waiting for.

"No, you did violate the terms. Stupid and arrogant Judith Green Harbor." The succubus restrained all smiles, his face calm and serious.

She extended her hand to signal the poet, who was eager to explain, and turned to the knight. "Now, please use your rusty brains to recall carefully. Not long ago, in the warm little house in the village of Chuiyan, who was it that kept questioning the untrustworthy Judith, and who was it that said without hesitation that she could be free from my constraints?"

"No!" This time it was Edim who reacted. He thought hard and finally found a breakthrough. "You had already leaked the secret long before Judith did. You told Aaron at the banquet in Verinster."

Hopper stood up, bowed to him, and smiled widely. Her actions and smile evoked a very ominous association deep in the knight's memory.

"Let me share some information. The so-called confidentiality clause means that both parties are obligated to protect each other's information. In our contract, it refers to my and Judith's identities. Knight Yaron asked if I provided any help. This is a question about me, not about Judith."

Looking at the knight pondering and Judith, who looked as if she had been struck by lightning, Hopper felt relieved and decided to add another blow. "Speaking of which, it's all thanks to you, respected knight. If you hadn't been urging Judith to explain the debt between us, she wouldn't have revealed the entire contract and my identity."

"Then what are you waiting for?" Judith's severed finger twitched slightly, scratching the cage unconsciously. She said in despair, "Take my soul, why are you pretending to rescue me?"

The succubus didn't even look at Judith. The soul was already in her pocket, so she was not in a hurry at all.

Edim understood her look, and a bitter taste rose in his mouth. "My sister once told me that the devil cannot kill its contractor. Was I right, little devil Hap?"

"Long time no see, dear Edimu. I missed you so much," Hopper said with great joy. She bent her legs when she laughed, and she looked inexplicably like some kind of furry creature curled up in a ball.

The anger of being deceived, the shame of being misplaced, the guilt of having implicated others—complex emotions roiled the knight's soul. Hopper looked at the knight, whose face was filled with pain and who was speechless for a moment, and his mouth was about to flow.

"But your soul will belong to me after you die," Hopper decided to push the course of events forward. She said to Judith, "unless you sincerely repent and seek redemption."

Judith did not respond. She sat dejected in the dirty cage, without any hope of being rescued.

"Let's make a deal, little devil," the knight said with difficulty.

Hopper nearly fainted with joy. Finally, I'd gotten it! A Paladin soul that belonged to me, a Stigmata Knight! Promotion! Promotion! Promotion! Here I come!

"Or rather, let's make a bet." Now that the knight had spoken, the next words were not so difficult to say. "I'm betting my soul. The bet is that I can save Judith's soul before she dies of old age."

Hearing this, Judith looked up in disbelief, wanting to believe but also afraid that her last hope would be dashed. She stared at the knight as if she were looking at the sun in the sky.

"Sir Knight, your soul is indeed coveted by me," Hopper said slowly, "but it is not worth so much as to warrant your asking price."

"The point of your bet isn't about saving her, but about 'before she dies of old age.' If she doesn't die of old age, then you don't have to pay anything, but I still have to pay the time cost."

Hopper concluded with a laugh, "Don't you think it's a bit smart-ass to play such a trick on a devil? No, I don't agree to the bet."

There was no embarrassment on Edim's face at having his secret thoughts exposed. He looked at Judith's cage. The poet's face was a mixture of hope and despair. She leaned over the edge of the cage and stared at the two of them intently.

"Then, give me one year to redeem her soul," he gritted his teeth, "but the count starts from when everyone is out of danger."

"What a profound friendship! I'm moved by your love!" the poet murmured softly at the word "love." But Hopper ignored him and said coldly, "But I still refuse."

The light in the poet's eyes went out, and tears welled up in her eyes: "Mr. Yidim, please don't ask this devil for me. Knowing your feelings will make me die without regrets."

Hopper coughed repeatedly. Are all poets so emotional? Or are they just being sentimental? I was just joking.

Oh, that's not right. After she was punished by the city lord, Edim offered to help her find a house, offered her support, and even risked his soul for her. If you put yourself in his shoes, it really seems like he's deeply in love with Judith.

If he hadn't almost confessed his love to her, Hopper would have believed that he loved Judith.

"I thought you were just a herbalist who had gone astray." The knight's voice was low, and disappointment and powerlessness eventually took over all his emotions. "It was my fault for not noticing and even condoning the devil around me."

"Since you said you were here to save us. I don't expect you to have the mercy to save everyone, Ms. Hopper. But for the sake of our false friendship, please at least rescue these children."

Chapter 141 The Price of Kindness

"You don't have to sacrifice your life." Hopper shrugged, jumped off the ground lightly, and walked in front of Edim.

She looked at the disheartened knight, his face covered in mud and blood, his once bright eyes dulled by the pain in his heart.

Even so, Hopper could still see the light of the torch and his own figure reflected in his pupils.

"Mr. Knight, perhaps I didn't make myself clear. I'm rejecting you not because I'm dissatisfied with the terms, but because this is a joint business. You have to agree to both."

"What joint business?" Her words made the knight raise his head and frown, forcing him to listen to her attentively.

Hopper laughed. As a demon, even the feeling of superiority that came from even a small amount of power made her happy. She raised a finger and said, "Normally, if you want me to save someone, I'll ask for a soul in exchange."

Of course, Hopper had lied to him. The value of a soul wasn't usually measured by number; ten ordinary merchants' souls bundled together might not be worth as much as a single paladin's. For obvious reasons, the more steadfast and kind a soul was, the more valuable it was in Hell.

"But I'm willing to make an exception for you, dear Edimu." Hopper winked at him and turned sideways so that Judith could see his movements.

The knight looked like he was about to faint from shame and anger, his chest heaving violently. Hopper knew what he was thinking. He suspected he was being played, but his sense of responsibility and justice wouldn't allow him to abandon those innocent children. He might even have felt a hint of smug joy that he couldn't explain.

"Edim, don't listen to her!" Judith tried to ram the cage door, but fell headfirst. Even so, she continued to shout, "Every drop of saliva from this witch's tongue can poison a dragon."

Hopper didn't say anything, but just frowned, reached out to pick up the torch, and pretended to walk out.

One step, two steps. Before she took the third step, she heard Yidimu's hoarse voice: "Ms. Hopper, please tell me your conditions first."

The demon regained his smile, turned around and walked back, giving Judith a triumphant look.

"You just gambled your soul. Given the value of your soul, I agree to this bet. But if that's the case, what will you give in exchange for the lives of these children? You don't have another precious soul to use as a bargaining chip."

Yidimu frowned and said, "Name your price. What do you need? If it is not against justice, I can give it to you as long as I have it."

"How generous!" Hopper leaned closer. The bright and clean woman in armor formed a stark contrast to the dispirited knight, imprisoned and covered in mud. "But are you really willing? Reckless and kind-hearted knight, I'm curious, what if I wanted your life? Or, what if I asked you to betray a perfect person? Would you still do it?"

The knight sneered. Despite the setback, his spirit remained unbowed. He looked at Hopper with a calm, unwavering gaze. After a moment's thought, he replied, "I have dedicated my life to upholding the goodness of the world. You may take it."

"As for betraying the Perfect One. The Perfect One considers human life the most precious thing. If burning the altar of the Golden Dome Church can help you save these innocent people, I will do it, and the Perfect One will not blame me for it."

"But," his voice grew gruffer, more... masculine? "Ms. Hopper, I believe you will choose a more rational reward. After all, I still need to fulfill the bet, don't I? If I die in less than a year, you won't be able to take my soul."

The demon was speechless, unsure whether to call the knight daring or clever. When had Edim become so clever, even resorting to seduction? This contradicted his stereotype.

However, the knight was obviously too naive to play this trick in front of her. His performance was immature and stiff, and it was obvious that he had never flirted with a woman before.

The cage door opened silently, and Hopper took the initiative to walk into the cage. At such a close distance, the atmosphere instantly became ambiguous. The knight had already exposed his inexperience. If it were Knight Yaron, he would probably have put his arms around the woman's waist right now. However, Edim unconsciously retreated, almost pressing against the cage.

The succubus reached out her hand. Unlike a noblewoman's, hers was slender and fair, but rather long and powerful, with calluses forming on her knuckles from years of gripping weapons. This warm hand pressed against the knight's dirty, cold chest, causing goosebumps to form.

"My reward is..." Hopper looked him in the eyes, in his heart cheering for the drama that was about to unfold, "your chastity."

There was dead silence in the cell.

Edim stared at Hopper in disbelief, suspecting he had misheard. But the quickened heartbeat of Hopper's subordinate and his reddened ears betrayed him.

"No!" Judith screamed miserably, her eyes bloodshot and even more excited than before. "Don't let this filthy whore control you, Knight Edim, don't agree to her!"

The knight's thick Adam's apple moved, and his entire body temperature rose.

"I'm not a woman, I don't have that kind of thing," he said. His weak tone made him look like a completely different person compared to just now.

Hopper stared at him for a moment longer, enjoying his embarrassment and uneasiness, before he said mercifully, "Alas, Mr. Edimu. What are you thinking? I'm not a succubus. I won't suck your essence."

Upon hearing this, the knight breathed a sigh of relief. However, he had clearly underestimated the devil's cunning.

Hopper smiled. Mortals often mistake Enreyes for succubi, and she didn't mind exploiting this. Succubi delight in dragging entire communities into endless pleasure, causing their targets' souls to unknowingly fall into chaos and, seeking more pleasure, further down a path of evil. Enreyes, while also fond of using emotions as a weapon, often disguises happiness as a luxury, using dogma, morality, and even ideals of health. They are the sole conduit for its distribution, forcing mortals to succumb to the resulting control.

"What I mean is that your love, your desires, and even your dreams belong to me," Hopper explained patiently. "For at least twenty years, any relationship between you and anyone, whether non-human, dead, or even an object, whether it's love or marriage, will require my permission."

"Are you playing some kind of evil joke?" Compared to the cost of several lives, this price seemed almost as light as a feather. The knight instinctively suspected there was a trap.

"If you think the love between you and Judith is more precious, I understand." The devil spread his hands, indicating indifference. "After all, you've already sacrificed your soul for her. The lives of a few unrelated children are of no concern to you."

Wait a little longer, she said to herself, a martyr is always willing to pay the price for kindness.

The knight looked up. Not far from him, cages held five or six children. They didn't speak, merely staring at him silently. The hope within them made his scalp clench. His gaze swept over Judith. Tears welled in the poet's eyes. Edim could see she didn't want to agree, but she couldn't bring herself to sacrifice these children.

Finally, his eyes fell on Hopper's face and he nodded solemnly.

Then, a sharp, stabbing pain rippled through his chest. The knight looked down and saw a long hair weaving through his skin, embroidering a line of text he didn't recognize on the lower edge of his left chest. The other end of the hair was still attached to Hopper's scalp.

"Edim Sassen, are you willing to swear by the ever-flowing Styx to sign this contract with me? During the contract period, you will not disclose the contents of the contract to any third party, and you will not seek external means to terminate the contract without my permission."

"I am willing."

Chapter 142 Escape

When classifying monsters, mainstream monster scholars usually classify all creatures that have limbs, walk on two feet, are between the size of a troll and a hound, and have a certain degree of intelligence as humanoids, such as dwarves, humans, and orcs.

However, in Hopper's eyes, orcs and humans are as different as the devil and the demon. Like all predators with night vision, orcs are always lazy during the day and only become energetic when the sun sets.

Kukkuk watched the fiery red sun rise over the eastern ridge. After a busy night, the orcs and goblins began to return to their homes. The approaching smoke in the distance indicated that the hunting party that had gone out last night had returned.

The daytime belongs to the orcs' slaves and those unlucky guys who have to work the day shift. But today, there are even fewer orcs willing to work hard under the sun - Daluk has announced that tonight will usher in the day of high night, and the most grand blood sacrifice and celebration will be held tonight.

All the orcs and goblins were looking forward to the arrival of night. What's more, many orcs had deserted their posts and started drinking and having fun in advance.

Just a few days ago, when all the orcs still didn't know the date of the celebration, Daluk told Kukkuk his plan.

"The planned implementation date is at noon on the day of the celebration. You need to lead the group of humans to the platform outside the first outpost. Someone will be there to pick you up."

Hopper didn't ask who the contact was. If Chief Kolog could collude with the nobles to provide them with dark elves, then Dalyuk must have his own channels. Several candidates flashed through her mind. It seemed that the Eagle's Nest's longevity wasn't necessarily due to the sheriffs' incompetence.

"Snotlout, is everything alright with the prisoners?" asked Cook-Cook gruffly.

The big-nosed warden bowed repeatedly. The goblins had been afraid of him ever since the centurion had beaten him up on the pretext that the prisoners had become thin from starvation.

"If anything happens to the prisoners, you'll be the one to be sacrificed on Daruk's altar in their place." The centurion snapped his fingers, and the warden and his jailers screamed in fear.

"Hurry up and bring the prisoners out. I want to take them to the altar."

The warden tumbled and crawled into the darkness. Not long after, a line of ragged, disheveled prisoners came out in a single file. Each prisoner's wrists were tied with ropes, connecting them to each other, making it impossible to resist or escape separately.

To avoid being too obvious a target, Daluk selected slaves, in addition to humans, two dark elves, two dwarves, and a rare eagleman. After being in darkness for too long, the glaring sunlight brought tears to the eyes of all the prisoners, and the dark elves even screamed and covered their faces.

Kuk Kuk stepped forward and carefully examined Judith, who stood at the front of the group. Fearing the spellcaster, she hadn't received treatment for her hand injury, which had now festered to the point where the bone was visible. Days of high fever had left her emaciated, her eyes wide and frightening on her gaunt face.

The six children after her were in slightly better condition. Although they had lost a lot of weight, they were still in good spirits.

The centurion glanced at the warden with disapproval and kicked him. The goblin screamed and rolled into the darkness, taking the jailer with him and escaping in all directions.

Kuk Kuk smiled with satisfaction, and his scarred smile frightened the two younger children to tears on the spot. He had no habit of pampering children, so he just pulled the rope hard and led all the prisoners upwards.

The prisoners, bound as they were, could not move quickly. By the time they reached the first outpost, the sun had risen high, and nearly all the orcs had retreated into the cool darkness. Daluk had already declared that blood would be offered to every god during the ceremony, so none of the orcs they encountered along the way suspected the prisoners.

Cook-Cook untied the prisoners and tied them up again, but he used some tricks when tying up the humans.

"Kuk-Kuk!" The person on duty today was still Tirula, whom he met on his first day at Eagle's Nest. He hurried over and looked at the prisoners with a worried look on his face.

"You can't leave them tied up here," Tiruula scolded. "You shouldn't stop halfway. Daluk will be unhappy."

"Look at that motherless bastard!" Kukkuk roared, pointing at the panting Judith, then at the two dark elves who were nearly blinded by their sensitivity to sunlight. "And look at these two black-eared demons. If we don't let them rest, Daluk will probably be short of several sacrifices."

Tirula swallowed. Kukkuk's words weren't convincing, but he didn't dare risk offending Daluk. Even more anxious was Hopper; she still hadn't seen any help. If she were alone, fighting her way out wouldn't be a problem, even bringing another person wouldn't be a problem.

But if that happened, the contract she had worked so hard to sign would be invalidated, not to mention harvesting the knight's soul.

As if Hopper wasn't in enough trouble already, a voice she definitely didn't want to hear spoke up from behind her.

"Tirulla, what's going on here?!"

Kukkuk turned and saw a ferocious deer-eagle beast flapping its wings violently, stirring up dust that stung his face. Atop it sat Orhan, a shirtless demon-born orc with horns atop his head, holding a short axe. After taking in the prisoners and Kukkuk, the demon-born orc opened his mouth, revealing a row of jagged fangs.

"So they are Wu Liao prisoners. That's perfect, Kuk Kuk. According to the order of the Great Chief, you just need to hand them over to me."

Could he be the one to pick him up? Hopper immediately dismissed his thoughts. Daruk had said "man," but orcs wouldn't use that pronoun to refer to their own kind.

"Orhan, these are sacrifices to the gods. I will personally bring them to the altar of Daluk." Kukkuk said coldly, his hand reaching for the sword at his waist. "Without Daluk's order, you cannot take them away."

The demonic orc did not continue to argue, but simply stroked the axe blade on the saddle with his thumb, the implication of which could not be more obvious.

Hopper ignored him, mentally considering the possibility of a fight. If a fight broke out, it would inevitably attract the attention of all the orcs, making it much more difficult to safely extract everyone. She glanced to the side. Tirula had tactfully retreated a dozen steps away from the two officers. A number of green heads popped up from the watchtower, peering over curiously.

It is worth noting that Hopper discovered that although Edim seemed to be squatting on the ground, he was actually covering the stigmata on his shoulder with his hands.

The midday sun in late summer was still very scorching. The stag eagle had begun to paw the ground impatiently, and its pointed head was swaying towards Cook Cook, as if it was ready to crash into it at any time.

A high-pitched cry broke the stalemate, and Orhan and Hopper turned their heads at the same time to look for the source of the sound.

Under the southern sky, under the cover of the dazzling sunlight, a group of black spots were growing bigger and bigger.