Ryu felt pain, not from the pain he just received, but from the pain from Cecily’s suffering. Due to the overwhelming emotions that were new to him, his body finally gave way, and he slumped on the ground.

“This is all your fault!”

Cecily kicked Ryu hard on the stomach, causing the man to vomit another mouthful of blood mixed with his saliva. He flew from the impact before he crushed on the ground, rolling before stopping.

Cecily was not satisfied. Her anger and hatred for her loss urged her for more blood.

“You bastard! It’s because of you! You useless beast!”

Cecily zoomed towards Ryu and looked down at him. She raised her sword, the tip glinting at Ryu’s battered body.

Ryu’s amber eyes narrowed, and he curled for impact.

STAB!

Cecily’s sword stabbed Ryu’s flesh. Its sharp blades pierced his tough skin and bones as blood spurted in every thrust.

Ryu gritted his teeth, didn’t utter a word nor groan in pain. If he could offer his life to ease Cecily’s suffering, then . . . it will be worth it.

Cecily was life itself. His light in the never-ending darkness. For her, he would gladly offer his life with a smile.

“You monster! It’s because you’re useless that this happened! It’s because of you! It’s all your fault!”

STAB!

“Useless!”

STAB!

“Just die already!”

STAB!

Cecily stabbed in a frenzy without stopping. Even with Ryu’s blood splattered on her face, she didn’t stop to wipe it off.

Murok couldn’t help but sighed and shook his head. He knew Cecily’s personality quite well. Cecily might be quiet, indifferent, and aloof, but when she’s angry, all hell will break.

“This is all your fault! This is all your fault! Because of you! Because of you . . . D-Dozla . . . Dozla died! It should have been you!”

Cecily screamed. Her azure eyes glimmered in a terrifying light. She watched Ryu curled in a pool of blood as numerous stabbing wounds loitered all over his body. His clothes were torn, as well as some of his skin. But even so . . . Ryu was still breathing.

Cecily fumed in rage. She imbued a spell on her sword. This time, determined to end Ryu in one last stab. She was so consumed in outrage that she forgot that if she wanted to kill the halfbreed, she could have done so by directly shattering his soul through a soul scourge.

Cecily raised her sword for the final strike, but then a blurry black appeared out of nowhere, rendering everyone stunned.

“Who are you?!” Cecily hissed when an unfamiliar red scarlet eye locked against her.

“Don’t hurt him!”

The voice was clearly of a child.

There stood between Cecily and Ryu was a girl dress in a dirty white thin robe that was bigger than her size. Her muddy arms extended on each side, protecting Ryu with her tiny frame.

Cecily glared at the girl. Because of her sudden appearance, Cecily momentarily lost a bit of her anger while she sized the girl.

One word.

Ugly.

Even from a distance, Cecily knew that the girl was a halfbreed. Just based on the colors of its eyes and the mud-like color of her skin.

However, that was not the reason that caught everyone’s attention. It was the ugly scars loitering all over the girl’s body. Some were already healed, while some were still fresh. Most even have the nasty aftermath of stitches.

The girl’s head and right face were haphazardly bandaged, leaving only one eye, while her left cheek had a gruesome scar that stretched from the cover of her bandage down to her nose and rested to the side of her jaw.

If the scars weren’t enough to scare the delights out of everyone, then the burned scabs were sure to terrify their soul out from their body.

On the right face of the girl, slightly hidden by the bandages, there were dried lines of murky flesh that seemed to have been burned as well as some parts of her head that the bandages didn’t cover. Patches of burn wounds scattered randomly across her head, leaving only tiny strands of her hair left while white flakes and dried skins stuck on her hair and dressings.

Ugly and disgusting!

Cecily repeated in her head.

If it weren’t that she was angry at the moment, she would have vomited her inside at the sight of the girl. She had a rotting smell emanating from her and the smell of burning flesh. Though the girl’s burned scars were healed, yet the scent of burning flesh seemed to be deeply rooted in her.

Where did this girl come from?

Cecily eyed the carriage on the enemy’s side. It was now opened, and behind it was numerous slaves hiding, trembling in fear as they watched Cecily’s group.

So, she’s one of the slaves. That explained the black collar on her neck.

“Out of my way!” Cecily barked, with a flicked of her hand, her rapier’s position changed, and the blade was now directed towards the girl.

The little girl just glared at Cecily. Her scarlet red eyes glowed in menace.

This only fueled Cecily’s anger. “If you wanted to die, then so be it!”

Cecily could care less about halfbreeds. To her, they were the same as the foreign races regardless if they were women, children, or the elderly.

Cecily gripped the hilt of her sword and pierced it towards the girl when another blurry, dark light appeared out of nowhere.

“M’Lady!”

Agatha kneeled on the ground, making sure that her eyes focused only on the dirt.

Cecily’s eyebrow twitched. She didn’t know why Agatha suddenly appeared between her and the child and was kneeling on the ground at that.

But Cecily knew that no matter how much she hated other races, she could not kill her master’s servant. And even if she wanted to, she doubted that she could kill the demoness in a fair fight.

“Agatha, what is the meaning of this?” Cecily asked, yet she didn’t loosen her grip on her weapon.

“M’Lady, I beg you to reconsider killing this child.”

Everyone was stunned yet again.

Demons were known to be vile creatures, disregarding any other beings as meat to kill. Yet Agatha not only kneeled on the ground, but she also begged.

Now, this was a very rare sight — even Murok stroke his beard in surprise.

“What do you mean?” Cecily eyed curiously at the demoness.

Agatha didn’t answer right away. She took a peek behind her where the little girl was standing, protecting Ryu with her little body.

To Agatha, it was bizarre even for her to act this way.

However, one sure way to subdue demons were strength and fear from their race, and it could only mean that . . .

“This little girl is a halfbreed. Though I presume the other side is human. However, the other half . . . is a demon.”

Cecily raised her eyebrow. It was not rare to encounter halfbreed demons. There were plenty of those across the entire realm. Since among the whole race, demons were the most promiscuous.

“And what of it?” Cecily frowned.

Agatha breathed some air before she answered, “She is strong and when she reaches maturity, horns will spurt from her head.”

Gasp!

Cecily and Murok gasped at the same time. Their eyes locked on a specific target, observing the skinny little girl.

“Her? A higher rank demon? But she’s a halfbreed!” Cecily argued, completely forgotten about her grief as this was a very rare find indeed.

“I’m not clear to it as to why a halfbreed is of a higher rank . . . but I know that she’s strong and will develop horns in the future. It will be a waste if you kill her.” Agatha’s eyes remained stuck on the ground, and she spoke no more.

“. . .”

“. . .”

The group was silent for a moment while Ryu gradually regained consciousness. His half-opened eyes shook at the back of the little girl standing in front of him. She was so thin and weak that just a small blow of the wind could topple her.

Yet Ryu didn’t know why he felt safe in her presence.

Clap!

Everyone turned to Murok.

“Alright, that’s enough.” Murok clasped his hands and eyed Agatha with no light in his eyes. “You do know the consequences if you lied.”

Agatha only bowed lower, and Murok walked towards Cecily. He placed his bony hand on top of Cecily’s shoulder, urging her to stop.

“Our priority right now is to get to the nearest town and recover our strength. Then plan what we should do from now on.” Murok eyed the falling corpses that scattered on the soil before he sighed. “I know you know that in our current predicament, every manpower is important.”

Cecily didn’t speak. She eyed her fallen people, then she watched the girl, and finally, her pupils narrowed when her sight landed on Ryu’s battered body on the ground.

HMP!

With the flipped of her hand, Cecily’s sword disappeared into her travel ring. She turned back and faced Murok, still in a blazing furry.

“What is the meaning of this, teacher?! You said that guy would be powerful, but why the hell he couldn’t heal his wounds?! And I don’t ever remember seeing him use his mana to attack! Does that mean that this guy doesn’t know how to use mana?” Cecily questioned one after the other.

Murok watched Cecily before he sighed. Judging from his student’s temper, it was better to at least satisfy her with answers rather than to do it later.

Murok shook his head as he too observed Ryu while frowning. “I don’t understand it either. As far as I know, beastmen can naturally control mana and use it to nourish their body like it is second nature to them. Could it be that he was locked up for so long with the collar on his neck that was why he doesn’t know how to use it?”

Murok answered Cecily’s question with another question that made the woman stomped her feet in anger.

“This is not the time for your discoveries, teacher! How do you plan on compensating me for this blunder?! He’s just a stupid idiot, beast! I want him dead!”