Courting recognition.

Peggy's subtle expression was clearly an attempt to court praise from Aske.

Despite her smile being proud and sweet, with a girlish naivety that was seductive and charming, the Golden Sparrow mercenaries immediately diverted their gaze, daring not to make eye contact with her.

Monster.

This outwardly charming girl was not only a member of the Blood Clan, but also a monstrously powerful one at that. She could take down all the Free Wind mercenaries in just half a minute, and could just as easily use an additional half minute to wipe out their Golden Sparrow Mercenary Group.

Unless those elite mercenaries from headquarters were here, no one present could match her.

As Aske's eyes swept over the people lying on the ground, he could clearly see that these mercenaries were not dead, merely drained of their Life Force so severely that it would be a while before they could engage in strenuous activities.

"Ah, well done," Aske sighed and patted Peggy on the head.

The mercenaries around them opened their mouths but said nothing.

It was well known that various Bloodlines in the Undead System had negative effects on the Transcendent's Sanity. For example, Transcendents of the Blood Clan were often arrogant, malevolent, and cruel. Individuals like Agrippina and other members of the Pure Blood Monastery treated human life as worthless, which was typical of Blood Clan Transcendents' attitude.

Yet this Squad Leader of The Azure Longsword not only recruited a Blood Clan member into his group but also affectionately touched her hair, which somewhat terrified the Golden Sparrow mercenaries.

Could he also be an Undead Spirit?

"Ahem." Seeing everyone's unusual expressions, Aske cleared his throat and said, "Peggy is my comrade. She is not from the Undead Kingdom but became a Blood Clan member due to an unfortunate mishap. You need not doubt her identity or reliability."

"Oh, oh, oh, oh," everyone nodded hastily, immediately believing Aske's words. Even those who still harbored doubts pretended firmly on the surface to trust him.

"Let's take these people away," Aske continued, "We can't just leave them here to die. Also, we need to investigate why they chose to provoke a conflict with us."

It wasn't us they were provoking, clearly it was with your comrade! That Crystal Ball monitoring Undead Spirits lit up like a light bulb, and your comrade brutally attacked, did you expect the Free Wind people to just stand there and be killed?

While inwardly grumbling, everyone obediently agreed and lifted the paralyzed and unconscious mercenaries.

Hey, they still seem to be breathing. Perhaps that Blood Clan girl didn't strike too harshly?

......

Free Wind's South-Western Squad Leader, Gaston, slowly regained consciousness.

He found himself in a cell, his arms tied behind him to the chair he was sitting on, and what was worse, he felt utterly drained of strength as if he had just had a severe bout of diarrhea, unable to muster any strength in his muscles.

"Awake?" A voice sounded next to him.

Gaston turned his head and saw Eric, the sub-leader of the Golden Bird Mercenary Group, standing next to him, eating a plate of thinly sliced ham with a fork.

His stomach suddenly growled with hunger, and then Gaston remembered he hadn't eaten since the morning.

Seeing Gaston's somewhat embarrassed expression, Eric felt a rush of schadenfreude. Just a few days ago, while the Golden Sparrow Mercenary Group and the Undead Spirits were locked in battle for hours, exhausted and famished to the extreme, some man in front of them ate barbecue and drank beer, which nearly drove them mad with rage.

Eric was now playing the part of the scoundrel, and seeing Gaston's eyes turn red with anger, he couldn't help but reveal a satisfied expression.

"Do you want some?" Eric deliberately pushed the plate toward him.

Gaston's throat moved slightly; he was starving by now, but his sanity told him that Eric would never fulfill his wishes—after all, the Free Wind Mercenary Group had taken the initiative against the Golden Sparrow and ended up completely annihilated. If there was a good outcome awaiting them, it'd be a miracle.

"Tell me," Eric said coldly, "why did you attack that lord?"

That lord? Gaston sneered inwardly. So you don't even know who he is?

"Personal grudge," he turned his head away and said.

Even under covert commands, a mercenary should not betray their employer—it was a matter of professional ethics!

"Personal grudge?" Eric brought the plate closer to himself and continued to eat the ham inside, deliberately smacking his lips to make Gaston both drool and feel disgusted. "I asked that lord, and he doesn't know you at all."

"Come on, Gaston." He set the plate on the nearby table and picked up a slice of ham as thin as a cicada's wing, waving it in front of Gaston, "You were given a covert command, huh? No signed contract—what can't you talk about? Say a word, and this slice of meat is yours."

"I don't understand what you are saying," Gaston swallowed his saliva quietly and said sternly, "Just kill me. Our headquarters know about our detachment coming to Segovia. Since it's only our two groups in the vicinity of Segovia, headquarters will likely be more than happy to visit your branch in the Aquitaine Region to look into our disappearance."

"Kill you? Is that necessary?" Eric scoffed, throwing the slice of ham into his mouth. "I'm actually saving you, you know?"

"Saving me?" Gaston retorted with a cold laugh.

"Quite simple." Eric brushed off the crumbs from his hand, chewing and speaking ambiguously, "I'm just the first person responsible for interrogating you."

"If you refuse to confess, the next one to make you speak will be that young lady from the Blood Clan."

Gaston's face instantly changed. The previous encounter, where his face was smeared with a pungent, thick, foul blood and he couldn't breathe, still profoundly haunted him.

"You… you're actually colluding with the undead!" He pulled fiercely at the ropes binding his arms, making the chair creak and roar, "Scum! Traitors betraying humanity!"

"You mustn't speak recklessly." Facing Gaston's accusations, Eric casually ate another slice of ham and leisurely said, "The young lady doesn't hail from the Undead Kingdom… She's from the Pure Blood Monastery, understand?"

The Pure Blood Monastery! Still struggling, Gaston froze on the spot, his face turning deathly pale.

This transcendent sect, infamous since the Fourth Epoch, had a reputation even more ferocious than the Undead Kingdom. The latter, after all, was just a military regime in the South Continent, concerned with its own reputation; the former was a notorious mad dog organization—if you offended a lesser member, a senior one came immediately. Defeat a demigod, and next time, two would come; defeat two, and next, three will come…

Unless someone could wipe out the whole Pure Blood Monastery, one had to endure their incessant harassment and assassination bids, so all large mercenary groups had similar rules: never provoke anyone from the Pure Blood Monastery.

Precisely speaking, keep far away if you see them. Don't take on tasks they issue or tasks involving them, just act as if they don't exist.

Within moments, Gaston realized that they had actually attacked a Transcendent from the Pure Blood Monastery!

Recalling that overwhelming foul blood, his sweat dripped down instantly.

"Are you done?" Peggy's icy voice came from outside.

"My lord," Eric immediately opened the door for her, and with a smile, said, "This guy still refuses to confess…"

"I confess! I confess!" Gaston immediately lost all his shame, and frantically started wailing in panic.

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