The weapons I forge are absolutely flawless.

Summoners are an extremely resource-intensive profession, and Ain alone could not cultivate to the level of an eighth-tier emblem master.

"Preserve his body and bring it back. Let's see if we can find anything out," Xiumeiya decided.

It is rare for a force to be able to command a high-ranking Herald to serve it, especially one responsible for such forbidden experiments.

“Yes, Mother.” Lisette put the ice coffin away.

"Then I will report to you all on the location of the stronghold that we have discovered so far."

The head maid appeared in the projection, holding a parchment scroll in her hands.

"Mia Town, Shup Town, Westin Town..."

-----------------

Xiubu Town.

"Hurry up and destroy all these documents and equipment!"

The researcher who had previously reported to Ain was now urging his subordinates to hurry up.

He lost contact with Ian two days ago, and the elite troops Ian brought with him also went silent.

Furthermore, the Cordelian Knights, who should have suffered heavy losses, only had to make minor sacrifices to wipe out all the magical beasts they had bred from failed experimental subjects.

Even the slowest person should realize that the tide has turned.

The researchers knew that there was a deeper force supporting the organization, but that force only communicated with Ain through a single channel.

When Ain got into trouble, they were like kites with broken strings.

In any case, the research could not continue.

The only thing to do now is to erase these traces to avoid trouble.

"Lord Parsons, what should we do with those children?" a researcher asked.

This is their final achievement.

"Do you really think you can evade Cordelia's search with these brats?" Parson said irritably. "Don't forget, they've all seen what we look like."

"My subordinate understands!"

The researcher immediately pulled a scalpel from his pocket and walked towards the observation room.

Human experimentation is intolerable to the world; once exposed, the least one can do is die.

He didn't want to die, so he could only suffer in silence.

"boom!!!"

A dazzling sword light burst through the wall, creating a large hole in the top of the stronghold.

The falling bricks struck the unsuspecting researcher on the head, causing him to lose consciousness instantly.

As he collapsed, the scalpel in his hand pierced his chest, thus ending his life.

Felix stepped into the stronghold through the broken bricks scattered on the ground. Moonlight was leaking through the cracks in the dome, shining on the small bodies of the children curled up in the hospital beds.

The children had all sorts of tubes inserted into their bodies, and their faces were completely bloodless.

"Those bastards..."

Felix showed a rare display of anger.

"who!"

Such a commotion naturally did not escape the notice of others.

Parsons, along with several other guards, surrounded Felix.

"Come and wipe out all of you scum and degenerates."

Felix twisted the hilt of his sword, the cold light reflecting in his suddenly icy pupils.

"Ah ah!"

The immense pressure caused one of the guards to make a move, only to be cut in two by Felix's sword.

The sword, swung in a crescent moon arc, mercilessly claimed the lives of the guards.

“I know a lot of things!” Parsons said, afraid of being too slow.

"Snapped!"

At the last second, Felix switched the blade to the spine and slammed Parsons away.

When the other knights climbed down the ropes, they only saw four corpses and a prisoner who had been knocked unconscious by the hilt of a sword lying by the wall.

Felix, who was pacing back and forth in front of the hospital bed, saw the group and hurriedly said, "These children are still alive, let's get them out of here first!"

Meanwhile, at the top of the clock tower in Mia Town.

Viner pointed his gun at the leg of a fleeing man in black robes, showing no pity whatsoever.

"boom!"

The Flame Blade Gun emitted a muffled, suppressed sound.

The black-robed man, who was halfway through his escape, had his lower body instantly explode into pieces.

"All the children here have been rescued."

Lisette stepped out of the room, where the four children floating beside her were snoring evenly.

She reached out and waved to the top of the clock tower.

"Westin is the only town left."

Wiener looked up and gazed into the distance.

As if in response to his whisper, a plume of smoke suddenly rose from the southwest.

Fadevi flicked away the sticky purple blood clots from the Iron Fang and watched as the "altar" built from countless corpses crumbled in the flames.

"...May the departed rest in peace." Fadvi mourned before the altar engulfed in flames.

Those skeletons, clearly belonging to humans, turned to ashes in the firelight.

Chapter 509 Felix: I Left Hope

"Let's take a little rest."

Xiumeia entered the study, reached out and touched the teacup, poured out the already cold tea, and brewed a new cup, placing it in front of Fadvi.

“Felix has been asking me these past few days if I’m very busy, since I haven’t been showing my face much since I came back.”

"We'll have to wait until this busy period is over." Fadvi pinched the tip of his nose, the quill pen tip trembling slightly as it hovered above the list of fallen soldiers' compensation recipients.

Although the shadow that had shrouded Cordelia has been lifted, the aftermath remains a series of tasks.

The follow-up compensation for the wounded and injured soldiers, the post-disaster reconstruction of the towns—if it weren't for Xiu Meiya sharing the burden of resettling the rescued children, he probably wouldn't even have had a moment to sleep.

"Where is Felix now?" Faldwig asked curiously.

“Play with those children at the monastery.” Shoemel didn’t say it explicitly, but Fadevi immediately realized which monastery it was.

As a lord, he owed these children the most, and he had allowed what happened to Listy to repeat itself.

"Their condition was not as serious as Lisette's, and after receiving treatment, they are basically fine."

For children in more critical condition, Wiener would use his sword to treat them.

The prisoner Felix captured did indeed know a lot; he had memorized all the destroyed documents.

If he escapes, it is entirely possible that the experiment will be restarted.

He knew little about things outside of the experiment, and was even unaware that Ian had been a student at St. Freya Academy.

"If they have relatives who are willing to adopt them, they will receive a settlement allowance to ensure their livelihood. For others, a special fund will be allocated and distributed monthly to ensure that the monastery can raise them to adulthood."

Having addressed the children's concerns, Xiumeia posed another difficult question: "What about the prisoners?"

“They will all be publicly executed,” Fadevi said, slamming his pen down. “Given their crimes, every day they live is a desecration of the dead.”

Xiumeia nodded. She wouldn't interfere with her husband's decisions on important matters, except those related to Lisette.

But she and Fadvi were in complete agreement regarding this group that threatened Lisette and Cordelia.

"There's one last thing. My daughters are heading back to school tomorrow," Xiu Meiya added as she left.

"This should be the first thing we talk about!"

Ignoring the heat, Fadvi downed the hot tea on the table in one gulp and returned to his official duties.

-----------------

Suddenly, bells rang out from the direction of the monastery, startling the white doves perched on the roof.

Felix blended in seamlessly among the group of children.

The knight's medal on his chest was polished to a gleaming shine, a testament to Fadvi's valiant fighting.

The sword was forged with Venere's help, but he earned this medal through his own abilities.

Adding to that a touch of fickleness, Felix currently prefers this badge to the Demon Blade Thousand Blades.

"Brother Felix, who do you think is stronger, you or the hero?" A child looked at Felix with admiration.

He was the child who was rescued by Felix himself, and he admired him immensely.

Even though Felix repeatedly emphasized that he was by no means a hero, in the child's heart, he was already the embodiment of a hero.

During this period of time, the other children also came to regard Felix as an idol to varying degrees.

After all, the other knights all had their own lives and jobs, and they couldn't be like Felix, the king of children in the monastery.

“It’s Knight Felix,” Felix corrected, pointing to the badge on his chest.

Knight Felix has replaced the previous title of "Sir" and become his favorite title.

"As for the hero, I'd say it's a 50/50 match for him."

Felix also attributed the Sword Demon's achievements to himself.

"Nonsense!" a child immediately retorted. "The hero only fights the worst villains. Brother Felix is ​​a good person, how could he possibly fight the hero?"

However, his suspicion wasn't about a 50/50 chance, but rather that Felix couldn't possibly be a match for the hero.

“That’s a bit harder to explain,” Felix said, scratching his head.

He knew it was too early to talk to these children about demons, demon races, and the like.

“But Sir Felix would never lie!” Felix puffed out his chest again.

"So what's the difference between a knight and a hero?" the same child asked again.

“I know that!” Felix’s eyes lit up. Even when facing a group of children, it was finally his turn to give a lecture.

"The work of a knight is to lend a helping hand to those who are in trouble."

"Heroes may do the same thing, but they have a longer-term vision. If the ringleader is not killed, new people will continue to be put in danger."

"Therefore, heroes and knights complement each other, both fulfilling their responsibility to protect everyone's safety."

"So even heroes can't do whatever they want," the child said, somewhat disappointed.

"That's for sure. Even if I secretly get up to eat in the middle of the night and Vena sees me, I'll get a scolding. A hero also has his own rules."

Felix put on what he thought was a profound expression, but it quickly crumbled.

"I only did things like being scolded by my family for stealing food before I was five years old."

“I was younger; I was only disciplined for this kind of thing when I was three years old.”

"If a guy this old who still sneaks food in the middle of the night can become a knight, then becoming a knight doesn't seem so difficult after all."

Felix's smile froze.

"Becoming a knight is very tough. Not only do you need a strong will, but you also have to be prepared to sacrifice yourself at any time. Family and friends who were laughing and talking with you just a moment ago may become corpses when you meet them again," Felix warned.

He didn't want to stop these kids from becoming knights; he just didn't want them to make a decision on a whim.

The child counted on his fingers, noting down Felix's words, and then hesitated, saying, "Sir Felix, what you just said seems to apply to us."