After choosing to leave, they regretted it.

Before they separated last time, Aize had made it very clear that he would no longer help her in this regard.

Heidi was stunned by the question.

Before leaving, she imagined the scene of their conversation.

She imagined that Aize would be furious about what happened in the past, cursing at her and even going crazy.

She had imagined how she would beg and make amends in order to gain Aize's forgiveness, and even kneel on the ground and cry for his forgiveness if necessary.

I just didn't expect the conversation to develop like this.

There is no emotional outburst or exchange of interests.

Instead, he directly denied Heidi with a simple but fatal question.

It negated her efforts and the value of everything she had done in the past few days.

It even directly denied Heidi's foundation and tore her mask of self-deception into pieces in an instant.

There is no possibility of repair.

"me……"

Heidi's mind fell into a real blank like never before.

She just shook her head subconsciously, as if she wanted to deny something.

But even she herself didn't know what it was.

As for Aize, he wasn't too anxious.

The answer to this question essentially lies in how Heidi views her throne.

If she continues to numb herself with responsibilities and honors as she did before, she will never be able to give a good answer to this question in her lifetime.

It's normal for her to need some time to deal with this kind of issue involving self-awareness.

On the other hand, Aize's advance preparations to deal with the blood plague have not yet been completed, and it may take a few more days.

So... let her think about it again.

So, Aize stood up, stretched gently, then shook his head, put on a relaxed expression, and said with a smile:

"Well, let's not talk about that for now. You must be very tired after running all the way from Tafia to here. Why don't you take a nap in the carriage first? If you need to eat, there are dry food here."

"...Well, thank you."

Heidi nodded almost mechanically.

And Aize jumped off the carriage, turned around and said:

"I'm going to check on the hybrid. If everything goes well, I should be able to return to the city soon. If you have anything to say, we can talk later."

Chapter 38 An unexpected gain

Aize jumped off the carriage, took a deep breath of the slightly cold night air, and then walked towards the ruins where the half-bloods were imprisoned.

"Done?"

Before he had taken two steps, Villian, who was hiding nearby, suddenly appeared.

During the conversation between the two just now, she had been using her familiar to observe the progress of the matter so that she could intervene when Heidi went crazy and the conversation entered garbage time.

While laning, you can also replace Aze and do something more meaningful.

Of course, because Heidi's attitude was so different from before, things didn't develop to this point.

It's considered good luck.

Aize nodded:

"Yeah, it's quite surprising that he didn't get sick like before. Was it because of something he experienced in the capital after leaving? Or did he encounter something on the road?"

Two years hadn't made her realize anything at all. What had prompted her to change like this?

It's a bit hard to imagine.

Villian glanced in the direction of the carriage, and after confirming that Heidi hadn't followed, she asked:

"What are you going to do next?"

"Um?"

"About the blood plague, are you going to help her?"

Ai Ze looked at Villian helplessly, sighed softly, and shook his head:

"Does participating in the blood plague have to be tied to helping her or not? Without her, what needs to be done won't be done? That's not the way it should be, is it?"

Just like when I was with Heidi.

At that time, Aize was able to tolerate Heidi's misbehavior. Even though he knew everything, he still pretended to be an engaged couple with her for such a long time.

This actually has nothing to do with Heidi herself, it’s just that Aize also needs this layer of decoration.

It's the same this time.

This concerns the survival of a city and the possible existence of the thirteen leaders. Aize must take action no matter what - this has nothing to do with her attitude.

"Well, depending on her attitude, the actions I take will also be different. It all depends on her own luck."

Villian nodded gently, then revealed a hint of worry.

"But having said that, things like the blood plague should be resolved as quickly as possible, right? If it's delayed, won't the situation get worse?"

From the perspective of the plague, the longer the time, the more casualties there will be, and the more difficult the situation will be to control.

From the perspective of the vampires, such a large number of victims will cause their strength to grow rapidly, making them more difficult to deal with than before.

Of course, Aize is well aware of this.

But he still shook his head:

"That's true, but there's no point in rushing now. Dealing with the blood plague requires many specific items, such as consecrated medicines and holy water. Before these things are in place, there's no point in rushing into the capital blindly."

A few days ago, when the church delegation came to Tafia, Aize sent a letter to his companions in the church through Wade of the Wind Shadow Team.

So that we can obtain the necessary supplies through some "special channels" in case of emergency.

Judging from the time, it may take a few days to reach Tafea, and there is nothing we can do before then.

Because of this, Aize had the time to let Heidi think it over on her own instead of taking immediate action.

"Okay, let's not worry about what's going on over there, let's deal with the problem at hand first."

"Yes~"

What Aize was talking about was about mixed-bloods.

Unlike the previous small-scale rescue, this operation involved thousands of slaves.

Just to feed so many mouths is not an easy task, and you also have to make sure they settle down and play specific roles according to the situation.

Enough to keep me busy for a few days.

Not to mention, there was an unexpected gain.

After passing the knights and half-bloods, Aize went straight to a more remote cell in the facility.

Compared to Heidi's previous place, the space here was extremely narrow and cramped.

The cracks in the ruins themselves have been perfectly repaired, and some parts of the building have even been further reinforced with metal.

The cage was so small that the person crammed inside could barely move normally.

On this basis, some prisons have further installed metal chairs fixed to the ground, which shows how dangerous the prisoners here are.

According to previous investigations, this cell was specially prepared to detain combat slaves.

When Aize arrived, most of the people inside had been released and taken out, leaving only two figures sitting in the cell guard positions.

One is Constantine, who took the lead in negotiations.

The other one, who was it? A tall, dark-skinned, short-haired, mixed-race woman—the one who had been staring at Heidi during their previous journey.

The other party noticed Aize's arrival, and his gaze was mixed with vigilance and suspicion.

Aize didn't care. He put on a relaxed look and moved a chair to sit down opposite her.

Then he smiled and greeted:

"Long time no see, Captain Hecate. The last time we chatted like this was half a year ago at the border of the empire."

Your female half-breed, Hecate, crossed her arms and looked at Aize for a few times.

Then he shook his head, smiled helplessly and said:

"Heh, betrayed by your own subordinates, backstabbed, reduced to this state, you're no longer a leader."

Hecate, a half-human, half-succubus hybrid - although she looks scary from the outside, she doesn't even have the slightest bit of the charm of a succubus.

He is the leader of the world's largest mixed-blood mercenary group - Black Cloud. The elite under his command even have a powerful combat capability that rivals the knights or guards of various countries.

In the past few years, she has been employed to fight against the demon army on various fronts and has repeatedly made remarkable achievements. It is no exaggeration to say that she is the most famous half-blood in the world.

Aize had worked with her, or rather hired her, several times in the past.

Although expensive, it is definitely worth it.

It is worth mentioning that hiring mixed-race mercenaries is somewhat difficult to accept for Heidi and Leah, who attach great importance to identity and honor.

Therefore, Aize never let those two people know about such transactions.

As for Rosalyn...it's really hard to tell whether something is good or bad after she knows it, so I just keep it a secret.

Therefore, in the Goddess Blade team, Aize is the only brave warrior who knows Hecate.

After listening to the old acquaintance's narration, Aize nodded:

"The intelligence I've obtained indicates that you disappeared over a month ago. At the time, I thought you were killed by an enemy, but it turns out you were tricked by one of your own people? Why?"

"Oh, who knows?"

Hecate sneered disdainfully.

"Either they want to take over, or someone paid them a large sum of money to do this. Mercenaries, after all, are half-bloods. How loyal can you expect them to be? If you want to blame someone, blame myself for not being careful enough."

That's not a pleasant thing to say.

But the other party seemed really calm, so whatever Aize said would only make him bored.

Let's just leave it at that.

While Aize was still thinking about how to negotiate next, Hecate asked first:

"Why are you here, Brave Aize? You can't be giving up your job as a Brave to come here and do some half-blood charity work, right?"

"Well, it's a long story..."

More than a month ago, before the Battle of Anlin Plains ended, Hecate was ambushed, collared, and made a slave.

It is naturally impossible to know all the events that have occurred in the past month.

If the siege hadn't blocked Tafia's road to the demon territory, a valuable "commodity" like Hecate might have been sold weeks earlier.

Therefore, Aize briefly explained the current situation.

Including his own departure from the team, the subsequent riots in Tafia, the orc siege, and the current situation, etc.

Hecate listened to all this quietly, without much surprise on her face.

He just smiled faintly and said:

"So, you finally left that damn team? That's really cause for celebration~"

The Goddess Blade Team's viciousness has long reached an out-of-date level.

Hecate had naturally heard about this, and like many others, she had some simple doubts about why Aize had left only now.

"really."

In response, Aize could only smile awkwardly and scratch his hair.

"Anyway, this is the situation now, and I just happened to rescue you. What are you going to do next? Do you want me to arrange for someone to take you back?"