After choosing to leave, they regretted it.

"After losing two leaders in a row, the demons must be in chaos. There won't be any activity for a while. Just wait and see. We should be able to come to a conclusion soon."

"This is clearly a good opportunity to expedition to the demon territory, but I can only stay here... Tsk——"

Leah was still thinking about that incident.

But anyway, it's just talk, nagging like a nagging woman, there is no value in it.

Rosalyn pretended not to hear to avoid trouble.

After a moment of silence, Leah sighed and changed the subject.

"By the way, how's that Heidi doing now? Any news since she got home?"

Rosalyn shook her head.

"No, I guess things over there are more difficult."

----------

Alster, this city is located in the southern part of the continent.

In addition to its real name, it is more often called the royal capital.

The capital of the Kingdom of Arte, and also the only valuable territory left by the royal family of Arte after the catastrophe.

Unlike the decline of the royal family, this strong, vast and prosperous city still retains the prosperity that has lasted for thousands of years.

And in the center of this prosperous scene stands a magnificent palace, which is the capital of this country.

This is also where Heidi Yalter is today.

Sitting in the study, she was reading a series of documents brought to her by her attendants with a serious expression.

"The orc army suffered an epic defeat in Tafia, and the chieftain also fell in the battle... Haha, worthy of being Azer, he created another miracle."

When saying this, Heidi's expression was unusually calm, and her emotions did not fluctuate at all.

Because she had already anticipated this result.

From the beginning, there was almost nothing that Aize couldn't accomplish as long as he wanted to do it. This time was just another fulfillment of this law, no big deal.

——That’s how it should be.

But the fact is, every word on this document is extremely eye-catching to Heidi at this moment.

So, she didn't waste time and energy to look at it carefully. After flipping through it briefly, she threw the thing aside.

Because right now, there are more important tasks that need to be completed.

She raised her head, looked at the attendant in front of her and asked:

"How is Duke Brian doing now?"

"Your Highness, Duke Brian has not yet returned to the territory and may still be held captive by Aize. The specific situation remains unclear."

Heidi frowned unhappily.

"Not clear? Why don't you send more people to clarify the matter?"

"Your Highness, the people we sent out have reported back the other day that Tafia is still under martial law and cannot be infiltrated into the city. The spies in the city are unable to pass on any information."

Heidi was stunned by the attendant's answer.

At this point, Duke Brian’s value to Aize is very limited. What is he thinking?

After a brief hesitation, she shook her head.

After all, this is the situation, and there is no point in thinking about it now.

Let’s do something useful first.

"Has the information regarding Duke Brian's treason been conveyed to the nobles?"

"Your Highness, I have conveyed it."

Brian is finished, but the more troublesome and powerful Duke Alliance remains.

If they could really work together and kill themselves first without any hesitation, Heidi would have little chance of turning the tables.

But right now, Brian's crime gave her an opportunity.

Brian himself and his family will definitely be ruined because of this incident.

His territory, property, rights, etc. therefore became fat meat in the eyes of all nobles.

Although he was the weakest among the dukes, that was only relative to the other dukes. The resources he held were still enough to disrupt the current power structure of the kingdom.

Moreover, compared to the hot potato of the throne, adding land is easier to get.

This will inevitably shift the Duke Alliance's attention to the big cake of Brian, giving Heidi some breathing space and room to maneuver.

As long as Heidi is still the leader of the royal family, matters such as territory transfer and rights assignment will still have to go through her hands.

And there were also those minor nobles who had once been attached to Brian.

Apart from Sean Edgar of Tafea, some of the others are potential targets for recruitment.

If all goes well, Heidi can use this opportunity to alienate the other party's alliance, and at the same time win over some of her own forces, thereby achieving a turnaround in the chaos.

The chances are slim, but you have to try.

"After the news spread, did the three great dukes react?"

The attendant shook his head:

"not yet."

Heidi sneered contemptuously and shook her head.

"That means we're still observing the situation. It doesn't matter, the fox's tail will eventually show. Keep an eye on it, and let me know immediately if there's any news."

"Yes!"

"That's it, then. Leave now. I still need to write letters to some Brian nobles in the south."

After saying that, she picked up the letter paper and started working.

The attendant did not leave, but remained standing there, as if hesitating about something.

"Anything else?"

Heidi asked without looking up from where she was writing a letter.

The expression on the attendant's face seemed somewhat troubled:

"Yes, actually... this morning, the knights responsible for town security sent a message that they insisted on delivering to Her Highness. I thought it was a bit alarmist, but the commander insisted on reporting it."

The red-haired princess was stunned for a moment, blinked, and said with a slightly impatient expression:

"Don't beat around the bush, just say what you want to say."

"Yes!"

The attendant nodded vigorously, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and said:

"The thing is, in recent days, every morning residents have found bodies in boxes, under bridges, and other places. The deaths were extremely tragic."

Heidi raised her eyes and looked back at the letter.

"go on."

"The number of bodies has been increasing since yesterday. There were more than a dozen yesterday, but this morning it has reached 23. I'm afraid it will continue to rise."

"Is it a security issue? Or have demons infiltrated? Wouldn't it be better to dispatch reinforcements from the Royal Knights to strengthen patrols? You still need to tell me about this?"

Heidi paused and even sneered:

"No, I should say that a problem of this magnitude has been dragged on for several days without being resolved. It even seems to me that those useless people in charge of public security don't want to do their job anymore, do they?"

The attendant nodded:

"I think so too... Actually, the Royal Knights went to check it out this morning. The leader said she found something, but..."

"But what but, what did you find? Tell me!"

"Well, after examining the bodies, the leader said she sensed the presence of the blood plague."

click-

These words caused Heidi's pen tip to break on the letter paper.

Chapter 160 Contract

As a fortress city built after the full-scale outbreak of the human-demon war, this siege was the first time that Tafia truly faced the demon army.

The result was a resounding victory, but Tafia also suffered a heavy loss.

The city walls and defense facilities suffered extensive damage, and many of the houses inside were demolished for defense or damaged by the orc shamans' attack spells.

It can be said to be a mess.

But under the command of Sheen, the lord, the reconstruction work is proceeding in an orderly manner.

By the seventh day after the battle, most functional areas had resumed operations.

I believe the remaining parts will be able to be restored to their original state within a period of time in the future.

Moreover, in this incident, Tafia proved his worth, and his status will inevitably be further enhanced with the subsequent wars.

Aize sat on the edge of the city wall, wearing thin clothes, overlooking the bustling scene of reconstruction with sleepy eyes.

For the past seven days, he had been in a state of intermittent sleep or coma, and only just now did he truly wake up.

Such a situation has never happened before.

But now, he did not feel relieved because of the victory in the battle. Instead, all kinds of thoughts made him feel even more heavy-hearted.

While I was in a daze, I heard some movement behind me.

Aize turned his head and found that Villian had come to his side at some point.

His face was full of angry expression:

"Really? You disappeared the moment I turned around. You didn't even tell me you woke up. I thought someone had kidnapped you."

As he said that, he walked forward and put the coat in his hand on Aize.

"What if you catch a cold wearing so little? The former hero has gone through so many hardships, but it's not funny to catch a cold after the battle~"

"……Thanks."

Aize looked at the clothes with confused eyes, nodded slightly, and said nothing more.

Seeing him like this, Villian sighed softly, thought for a moment, and sat down beside him.

I went over and asked:

"What's wrong? Did you sleep like a fool? Or are you thinking about something else?"

"Well, sort of."

Aize rubbed his eyes, stretched gently, and said solemnly:

"Tell me, what exactly is a so-called hero?"

Miss Witch blinked:

"Huh? Why are you talking about this all of a sudden?"

"Before the assault on the orc warchief began, Chris gave me the holy sword that had previously belonged to me. I tried to use it, and guess what happened?"

"How about it?"

Aize's eyes sank slightly and he said:

"The Holy Sword didn't respond to me. There's no way I can use it."

Villian was stunned for a moment, obviously not understanding what Aize meant:

"What does it matter? You're no longer a hero anyway, so even if you use it, it shouldn't be a big deal, right?"

"No, this isn't a problem with the Holy Sword itself."

Aize smiled bitterly:

"You know, the Holy Sword is tied to the Hero's Divine Protection. It's a safety measure to ensure that only the Hero can wield it."