A saintess? She's just a bad woman.

Page 88

If the commander hadn't been right next to him, he might have already lost his life.

As for other weapons, there were some suitable ones on the ground. He also knew some swordsmanship, as nobles usually learned some common noble swordsmanship. However, in order to run faster, he didn't have the stamina to carry such a heavy sword. He had to abandon the more reasonable self-defense weapon and just grabbed a soldier's short knife. He then followed Aaron and Curtis and ran straight away.

This short knife was used by soldiers for hunting, not for capturing prey. It was a simple tool used to skin the prey after it was caught, then separate the meat from the bones and use it to grill for picnics.

Therefore, although this short knife is frequently sharpened and remains very sharp, it has many marks on it, making it look tattered, and there are also some large and small chips on the blade.

"I won't come near you, that's fine. I'm not interested in that broken stick of yours. By the way, you humans call these steel or alloy artifacts weapons for protecting your allies or attacking enemies, right?"

Aaron had just called out casually, but to his surprise, the woman actually listened and didn't come to him. Instead, she went to Reagan's side first.

Although he knew the woman's forgiveness was only temporary, Aaron couldn't help but feel a sense of relief.

Of course, this was all just his inner monologue; Aaron didn't dare show it on his face at all, keeping a straight expression.

"In fact, in our opinion, this ridiculous weapon is fragile and easily destroyed. This seemingly sturdy thing is just for show and is not even as good as that kid's wooden stick over there."

165. Aaron's Backstab

"Tangible things will eventually decay. Just like this seemingly sturdy knife, in reality... it will break with the slightest touch."

The woman's slender, long, and white fingers gently touched the tip of Reagan's short knife. Her equally dark eyes looked at the boy, and as her languid and mature voice fell, flower buds sprouted from the originally sturdy blade. Then, bright red flowers bloomed, and the short knife, as if it had been drained of nutrients, directly weathered and turned into sand, transforming into silver-gray metallic particles in the air and disappearing.

"you you!"

Reagan was dumbfounded; he couldn't believe that his weapon was gone just like that.

Moreover, the woman's words sounded very abnormal, and he would never dare to resist her.

"Fireball! Get out of the way!"

Aaron was equally shocked by the woman's strength, but he would never sit idly by and wait to die; he would struggle no matter what.

Once he realized the woman was hostile, he understood that further words were pointless; she was simply toying with them like a cat playing with a mouse.

Hunters eventually get tired of things, so almost as soon as the woman began to move, he started preparing his magic, reciting spells in his mind.

Unfortunately, the difference in strength between the two was too great, and Aaron was afraid of hurting Regan, who was very close to the woman, so he warned her. The woman's senses were already very sharp, and this warning made the sneak attack even more likely to be discovered. At most, he only managed to gain the initiative in the attack.

The woman reacted even faster than Aaron had imagined. She immediately backhanded him, and the twisted plants on the ground formed a vine shield in front of her. The plants possessed a certain magic, directly trapping Aaron's fire magic.

The magic struck the plant-woven web, encountering immense resistance and being prematurely detonated.

"Boom."

However, the power of the explosion seemed to have been absorbed by the plants, making it almost a dud.

The fire waves were tiny, barely sparks, and did not match the original power of the magic at all.

However, Aaron did not give up. Instead, he crushed the crystals sealed with magic and threw them towards Regan and the woman. This time, he was not afraid of hurting his companions at all, because his forehead was covered in sweat, which showed that he was very nervous and on high alert.

Faced with a life-or-death crisis, Aaron naturally prioritized his own life, while Reagan, that good-for-nothing, although he subconsciously took a few steps back when he was reminded, then just stood there dumbfounded.

Aaron cursed inwardly, thinking she was a complete liability. He wished she could at least offer some assistance, even just to distract the woman. After all, mages don't rely solely on wands to cast spells; wands merely provide support, such as enhancing spell power, speeding up casting, or amplifying certain aspects of magic.

However, compared to the beginning, this time when the woman realized what was happening, the magic turned into various colored elemental particles and disappeared as it approached the area around her, which was about two meters in radius.

His magic crystals were practically turned into tiny fireworks by the woman, their brilliance only fleeting.

Even the magic crystals thrown behind it showed signs of grayish-brown erosion. The substance rapidly transformed the magic crystals from transparent crystals into dull, lifeless crystals that could not transmit any luster. With a "crack," they vanished halfway through, becoming ordinary stones that had completely lost their magic power and magical circuits.

Furthermore, this pebble is rapidly disappearing at a visible rate, turning into stone particles, weathering, and vanishing.

Aaron's pupils dilated in shock. Although he had anticipated that his attack would be ineffective and unable to cause much harm to the woman, he still couldn't believe that it would have no effect at all and that the woman would resolve the situation so easily.

"Humph."

However, he scoffed inwardly, thankfully he hadn't had high hopes for it in the first place.

Aaron's real target was Curtis. However, he didn't want to be a knight-errant to save the damsel in distress, nor did he want to take the princess away. He had other plans. He had already moved towards Curtis, and since the two were not far apart, his movements looked like a big bad wolf pouncing on a little white rabbit.

"what!"

Seeing Aaron rush towards her in the blink of an eye, his face fierce and even somewhat ferocious, Curtis was first shocked. She was a little confused about what was happening, and then she realized that Aaron was probably going to harm her. Almost instinctively, she picked up her magic wand to defend herself.

"Clang..."

The magic wand erected an automatic protective shield, and the power of the elements actively condensed, forming a shell-like defense around Curtis. But how could this possibly stop Aaron, who had been plotting for so long?

His attacks, which were utterly ineffective against the enemy, were like those of a born rebel when attacking friendly forces. They were unstoppable and quickly shattered the protective shield, making it look like it was made of paper and was extremely vulnerable.

The light shield rippled under pressure, then shattered into countless points of light.

"Clang..."

A sound like shattering glass rang in Curtis's ears.

Before she could even draw her sword, Aaron snatched her last weapon. Before her hand could even touch the hilt, two men's hands preemptively took the sword from her.

The weapon meant for self-defense, in Aaron's hands, had become a deadly weapon threatening her life.

Aaron held the sword to Curtis's pale neck and said coldly:

"Although I don't know your identity, your goal is her, isn't it? Now her life is in my hands. I suppose what you need is a living princess, not a dead one. If not, you don't need to go through all this trouble. You can just kill the princess and complete your mission. Don't deny it, I think that apart from the leader and Her Highness the Princess, no one else in this group has the leverage to make a woman of your strength and your equally strong companions take action."

If a woman's goal is the leader, then she wouldn't go through all the trouble of chasing after him.

Because the commander stayed behind to cover their retreat, blocking more enemies and buying time for the princess to escape. Aaron and Reagan, on the other hand, didn't have the ability to make the commander exert himself; they were just byproducts.

Originally, Aaron wanted to maintain his gentlemanly demeanor, but seeing that the enemy was hostile and that the woman was so terrifying, he knew that if he didn't do something, he would probably die here soon.

As for pursuing the princess, no matter who it is, nothing is more important than Aaron's life. If he loses his life, how can he win the princess or inherit the earldom?

Even if the princess is gone, he can still marry another woman. As long as he changes his target and starts planning again, a handsome, charming, and well-connected magical genius like him will eventually defeat his brothers and teach those who dare to covet his position a lesson.

In fact, apart from Curtis not reacting, the woman's eyes were also slightly surprised, obviously not expecting such a turn of events to occur. However, she quickly recovered and looked like she was watching a good show.

She was almost losing interest in the game when she was surprised to find that this handsome young man was actually behaving like a hypocrite, attacking the woman she was supposed to protect. It was quite intriguing.

"Aaron, you..."

Curtis was stunned for a while before he belatedly realized what had just happened.

Goosebumps appeared on her skin. It was the first time she had ever had a sword held to her neck, and she didn't even dare to breathe heavily, fearing that if she breathed too hard, the blade, which was almost touching her neck, would cut her skin, slit her throat, and kill her.

However, the more she tried to control her emotions, the more her body defied her will and began to tremble unexpectedly.

She didn't know if it was because of the desperate environment, or because of her trusted companions, or because of the betrayal of the man who was like a shadow, handsome but always sticking to her side like a leech, this backstabbing from her companions made her feel cold from the bottom of her heart to the top of her head. Her body felt as if it had fallen into a bottomless ice cave and was frozen cold.

By the way, perhaps Aaron did this on purpose. In fact, she did it to ensure their safety, which is why she didn't take a different approach.

But when she looked up at Aaron and her eyes met his, she realized that the man's gaze was devoid of any warmth. The flattery and tenderness of the past were nowhere to be found. He seemed completely indifferent to her life or death, looking at her as if she were an insignificant person, or even a dead one.

"Are you crazy! Aaron, I'm a princess!"

She was provoked by that look, and even wanted to jump up and see what was going on in this man's head.

The way he looked at her, especially the way he stared at a dead person, made her react with a strong rebuke.

However, the scolding that had always worked and made the man bow his head in the past was ineffective this time.

"Shut up, you stupid woman! If you want to live, behave yourself and don't cause me any trouble!"

Aaron's tone was equally icy, as if ice crystals could freeze over, and his tone and eyes were extremely impatient.

It's clear he's really frustrated.

"How dare you insult me! And say I'm troublesome!"

Curtis had intended to retort, but seeing Aaron's nonchalant gaze and his expression that seemed to indicate he was truly at his breaking point, she remained silent, swallowing her bitterness.

For some reason, at this moment of extreme grievance and frustration, Curtis suddenly saw the smiling face of a white-haired, blue-eyed woman. She used to hate the country bumpkin and wished she would never see him again, but now she desperately wanted to see Saint Karina, to tell her about her grievances, and to throw herself into her arms for comfort.

166. Playing around

"Heh heh heh, kid, you're threatening me?"

The woman took in their interaction and spoke with a dangerous tone.

With a flick of her wrist, a thorny vine shot toward Aaron at incredible speed. Aaron, however, simply pushed Curtis's body forward as a human shield, showing no mercy whatsoever.

"ah!"

Curtis screamed as he saw the sharp, black, venomous barbs hurtling his face and body, then closed his eyes.

She was now utterly despondent, knowing that Aaron didn't care whether she lived or died. At the same time, she couldn't imagine the consequences of her beautiful face being ruined, so she could only escape reality.

However, after the "snap" sound, the thorny vines did not strike her. Instead, they seemed to turn a corner and struck the ground, cracking the floor and creating a long, narrow hole in the soil.

“Interesting, quite interesting... I never expected you to actually not care whether this beautiful princess lives or dies…”

The woman wasn't angry because her attack failed; instead, she smiled even more knowingly.

She looked Aaron up and down, seemingly pondering how someone could be so heartless.

"However, kid, I still suspect you're just playing the victim. I won't believe such a clumsy and cunning trick unless you take some real action..."

The woman continued to sow discord; she actually believed in Aaron, this selfish man, and it wasn't just an act.

"You really think I'm acting? Of course not. If I kill her, you'll be in trouble."

Aaron ignored the last glimmer of hope in Curtis's eyes, turning a blind eye to it; his tone was so cold it was almost freezing.

"Great, how about this? Now?"

With a slight twist of his wrist, he pressed the horizontal blade inward toward Curtis's neck, and a clear, striking cut appeared, revealing a bloody gash on the neck.

Although it was just a bloodstain, without severing the throat or releasing the aorta, the real pain made the woman's eyes even more eager for prey, while Curtis felt as if he had fallen into an ice cave.

She had already begun to believe in this man's selfishness and his willingness to betray his companions in order to survive. Now, she had gone from believing him a little to believing him most of the time. As for the remaining part, she would have to wait and see what Aaron did next.

"Kid, you want to make a deal with me?"

"That's right, I just want to live."

Aaron nodded immediately and stated his needs directly.

He had no other demands, he just wanted to survive, and he didn't think he had done anything wrong.

"Alright, kid, I admire people like you. Here's what we'll do: if you want to live, I'll give you a chance. Kill the other person, hand the princess over to me, and then come with me."

Li Gen was originally observing everything, feeling powerless about the princess's plight and quite indignant, but now he found that the fire had suddenly spread to him, which made him panic.

"Hey, Aaron, you can't!"

Reagan was no match for Aaron in school, let alone now that he was injured.

"No, I can."

In Aaron's eyes, Reagan was already a dead man.

He can be ruthless to women, so of course he can stab his brothers in the back.

He didn't even give Reagan a chance to speak, instead conjuring a bolt of lightning that formed the shape of a spear, the tip of which shot out directly toward Reagan's head.

"what!"

Reagan screamed in agony; he didn't even have the strength to raise a defensive spell.

Besides his injuries, he also had toxins in his body, which the woman had given him. This made his already weakened body even worse, making it very difficult for him to use any magic.

The numbing sensation from being struck by lightning left him with his eyes wide open, unable to utter a word, as his body fell straight down.

When the purple current that had formed the spear dissipated, Reagan's body was still warm, but a deep gash remained on his forehead, a deep hole that had pierced through his skull.

"Gurgling."

From the dark hole, a large amount of blood gushed out, turning into a pool of foul-smelling blood around Reagan's body.

He probably never imagined that his close friend and classmate would kill him without hesitation.

"Aaron! You're insane! You've really gone mad! You'll do anything to survive! Do you have any humanity left?"

Curtis's sharp tone rose as Reagan's ordeal deeply wounded her heart.

Her eyes were red, because the death of her companion had made her fully realize the reality.

Yes, she's finished... From now on, she will be used by that woman and the organization behind her. Once they've squeezed out the last bit of value from her, her fate will probably be no better than Reagan's.

"Shut up! Stop talking!"

Aaron's eyes were bloodshot; if he could, he wouldn't want to either.

Associating with such an organization would clearly do him more harm than good.