Even after being thrown into the mud by Osik like a pig, Egard still didn't realize what had just happened.

The carriage, which was supposed to be heading towards the town, suddenly turned around for some unknown reason and rushed into the depths of the forest like a madman. The berserk beast suddenly changed direction and disappeared into the dark forest. The coachman who was driving the horse held a dagger to his throat and led him to the valley...

The colossal beast that had once blotted out the sky had vanished without a trace. In that instant, all darkness disappeared, leaving only the exceptionally green leaves washed by the rain and the muddy swamps on the ground, indicating that the heavy rain had not been a dream.

On the main road leading out of the forest, several abandoned carriages could be vaguely seen. Scattered luggage was messily laid on the ground, and expensive velvet cushions were roughly thrown into the mud. The messy ruts and hoofprints were enough to show the panic of the runaways.

Aigard struggled to lift his head, and the first thing he saw was a pair of strangely made black leather boots. A long cloak that reached the ground covered his straight and slender calves. Several decorative cat's-eye stones were inlaid on the silver leather armor made of animal hide, and the emblem on it was a bird-shaped magical beast that he had never seen before.

Standing before him was a red-haired girl draped in a cloak. She had a pair of round, cat-like eyes. Although she didn't show any expression, Aigard could feel a chilling aura emanating from her.

Behind the girl stood, in order, a pair of young red-haired mercenaries, a weak canine beastman, the half-elf horseman Gario who drove the carriage for her, and... Greer, whom she had thrown off the carriage as bait.

Everyone looked at him with disdain and contempt, as if he were a pitiful worm fallen into the water; that contempt and pity carried a hint of secret superiority.

Damn it! He'd been tricked!

"!!!"

The moment the thought crossed his mind, Aigard immediately cursed aloud:

"You! Who are you?! Damn it, you really deserve to die! And you! You lowly stable boy, how dare you betray me! You foolish pig! You pathetic traitor! Do you know what you're doing?! I am Egard Ron Campbell, I am the Griffin Lord, the symbol of wisdom and courage, the future heir of the Campbell family!!"

"Hello, don't be so irritable, my lord. Perhaps you should call me 'Slime Witch'? To be honest, I don't really like that title."

He heard the girl chuckle softly, and the little yellow bird above his head flapped its wings like a mountain breeze in the forest—but for no reason, Aigard felt as if a tide was rising from the soles of his feet, engulfing him wave after wave, until he breathed his last.

"Hehe—hehe—"

He struggled, managing only to exhale a few breaths, his thick fingers twisting into the shape of chicken claws, but it was all in vain.

"Let me go, let me go! I... I have... I have a lot of treasure... and... anything... I can give you..."

"Help...help me...help me..."

For the first time, he felt so close to death, while the girl standing before him simply turned her head to the side, as if talking to someone, or perhaps talking to herself:

"Don't worry, I won't kill Aigard. He's still somewhat useful."

“Your Excellency Qingluan, please forgive my bluntness, but keeping him alive is not a good thing. I am willing to vouch for you with the honor of the Ackerman family. Please grant him to me as spoils of war.”

The red-haired swordsman stepped forward and bowed, and the wind controlling Aigard seemed to stop.

Who did they kill?

Red hair?

The youngest son of the Ackerman family?!

"!! Why didn't you kill me?!"

Aigard felt the air in his lungs getting less and less, and he could no longer bear it. He fell into the mud again while cursing.

...

...

"He didn't have any life-saving magic arrays, any distress signals, or any self-destruct devices on him?"

Xu Milu certainly didn't intend to kill Aigard just like that.

Just the fact that he stabbed Fanny's uncle Greer and planned to use innocent orcs as bait to escape is enough to make Aigard deserve to die a thousand times over. Not to mention that he originally planned to use orc blood to lure Ugly into a berserk state in an attempt to shift the blame onto the "Slime Witch".

She was just being cautious—after all, in countless movies and TV shows, villains who are still so arrogant and domineering even when they are about to die either have some kind of self-destruct weapon or some other backup plan.

But looking at Aigard, who resembled a stray dog, Xu Milu hesitated again:

Could it be that she's overthinking things, and that Aigard is simply stupid?

"ha!"

Osik crossed his arms, giving the half-dead Greer a curious once-over, then glanced at Egard lying in the mud, before letting out a cold snort at William and his sister:

“My dear William, can you tell me why you begged Lord Qingluan to let this guy go? I waited outside the tent for three whole days to get close to him, and I even know exactly how to brew red tea. You know this guy… what he did was absolutely disgusting.”

The half-elf's face showed an expression of extreme disgust:

"Beneath the lord's castle lies a dungeon, imprisoning a large number of beautiful orcs, and perhaps even half-elves. He even plans to organize an evil feast to hunt half-elves and orcs—"

"By the goddess of the forest, I've already wanted to cut open his belly to see if he really is the embodiment of a demon... Oh, oh, William, I can't think of any reason why you wouldn't kill him except to leave him to be slowly tortured."

—The half-elf, who gives the impression of being arrogant and aloof, has finally revealed his sharp tongue.

“Osik, things aren’t as simple as you think. I, like you, wish he were dead, but—”

William gave a wry smile, turned around and bowed to Xu Milu:

"Your Excellency Qingluan, although this fellow is foolish and vicious, he is right about one thing: he is a member of the Campbell family. The Campbell family has worshipped the Dragon God for generations, and they have even made a deal with the angels who serve the Dragon God—'Whenever a direct descendant of the Campbell family dies, an angel will come to guide him to the divine kingdom, where he will be reborn.'"

In other words, if we kill this guy, not only will he not receive the punishment he deserves, but he will also be reincarnated as a member of the Campbell family. Worse still, our plan will be discovered by the Campbell family.

Reincarnation!

This means that Aigard will not truly die.

Apart from Ella, whose expression was equally solemn, everyone present took a deep breath. Although Fanny was still young, she could understand one thing.

This heinous villain will not receive the punishment he deserves.

"Lord Qingluan... how could this happen... sob sob... does this mean that Uncle Greer and everyone else who died will never be able to avenge themselves?"

The little wolf girl nestled against Xu Milu's leg, her eyes brimming with tears again:

"Ughhhhh!"

The child's innocent howl echoed through the forest for a long time. Xu Milu, with an inscrutable expression, gently patted the little girl's head.