Chapter 42: Alicia gave it her all
The man placed one hand on his chest and slightly bowed, saying, “I am Rodney Devon, Fifth High Priest of the Witch Church.”
Although Rodney Devon was polite, the coldness in Alicia’s eyes didn’t diminish in the slightest.
The children of the Witch Church were a bunch of brainless lunatics.
What they believed in was the creator of the Demon Clan, the Primeval Witch, Shilok.
Thus, they did not reject the demons and often collaborated with them, burning, killing, looting, and doing all sorts of evil.
They were recognized as traitors to humanity, the sworn enemy of mankind.
The sins they carried could only be cleansed by death; there was no other way.
As a hero, Alicia had dealt with these people countless times over the centuries.
From cultists, priests, high priests, to the leaders of the Witch Church, those fools who called themselves witches, Alicia had always killed them one by one, with the same treatment as demons.
Alicia took a deep breath, raised her slender sword, and said, “Since you have already admitted your identity, you should be prepared to go to hell.”
As she spoke, Alicia glanced lightly at the Ogre Chieftain beside Rodney Devon.
Its health was rapidly recovering.
Alicia clicked her tongue; the ogres were indeed known for their vitality. At this rate, if she didn’t hurry to finish it off, it wouldn’t be long before it stood up again in full strength.
There was no time for hesitation.
In an instant, golden mana surged around Alicia, and her aura skyrocketed. She raised her slender sword and instantly transformed into a bolt of golden lightning, charging forward.
Rodney Devon stood quietly in place, waiting for Alicia’s attack.
Alicia, filled with murderous intent, almost instantly reached Rodney Devon, but just as the slender sword in her hand was about to strike, she suddenly sensed an unusual aura.
The Eye of Truth activated in an instant. Alicia’s eyes widened as she immediately withdrew her sword intent and retreated, increasing the distance between herself and Rodney Devon.
“Ah, why did you run away?” Rodney Devon smiled wickedly. “I am the enemy of humanity from the Witch Church; aren’t you going to kill me?”
“You are truly a beast,” Alicia’s face darkened to the extreme. Her hand gripping the slender sword trembled slightly as her anger reached an unprecedented height.
She wanted nothing more than to cleave the man before her into pieces, but she couldn’t do that.
【Death Substitution Curse】
In that brief moment, Alicia saw through the Eye of Truth the result of the spell.
As the name implies, this spell could turn others into a substitute for oneself. At the end of one’s life, it forcibly consumed another’s life through magic to replenish its own.
Alicia retreated to the children’s side and activated the Eye of Truth again.
Sure enough, they all bore the Death Substitution Curse. If she had struck down with her sword just now, these children would have likely died on the spot.
Alicia felt like she was going insane.
This evil spell had long been classified as forbidden, and all records related to it had been destroyed. Now, the Witch Church somehow managed to restore it.
It was utterly disgusting.
Fortunately, although the effects of this forbidden spell were abnormal, resolving it was quite simple.
Alicia was proficient in both swordsmanship and magic. For a spell of this level, she could easily break it.
Flecks of light surged, and a magnificent magic formation instantly appeared beneath the children’s feet.
The spell-breaking began.
Of course, Rodney Devon would not simply watch as Alicia dispelled the Death Substitution Curse.
“What are you all standing there for?” Rodney Devon glanced at the goblins and ogres around, coldly saying, “Are you waiting for her to dispel the curse and then come and kill us?”
The demons hesitated for a moment, then.
“Kill her!”
The Ogre Mage was the first to charge, snatching up weapons and rushing forward.
“Ahhh!!!”
Hundreds of demons followed, roaring as they surged toward Alicia.
“Dragon Flame Barrier.”
Alicia thrust her slender sword violently into the ground, and golden flames formed a massive light membrane that kept the demons firmly at bay.
Rodney Devon scoffed at the sight and summoned several lightning balls.
These lightning balls did not target Alicia and the children but instead aimed at the women trapped in the corners of the square.
These women were spoils of war from the goblin clan; generally, Rodney Devon should not attack them. However, this was clearly not the time to consider such matters.
“Bastard!”
Seeing this, Alicia couldn’t help but curse loudly. She formed hand seals and summoned an energy shield in front of the cage.
Seeing his attack blocked, Rodney Devon didn’t react any further but continued to summon lightning balls to strike the cage.
He glanced at the Ogre Chieftain beside him, realizing that all he had to do was buy time.
On the other side, as time passed, Alicia’s complexion gradually grew pale.
While dispelling the curse, she also had to control two mana shields simultaneously, and with the previous use of Golden Roar, Alicia’s mana and mental strength were reaching their limits.
The shields began to show cracks as if they were about to break apart.
But at that moment.
“Go for it!”
Looking at the hero in front of her, who was risking her life to protect them, Milia, despite feeling terrified, suddenly stood up and cheered, “Sister, go for it! Don’t lose to them!”
Seeing this, the village’s children and women hurriedly stood up and shouted with all their might.
“Go for it!”
“Don’t lose!”
“It’s all up to you!”
“…”
The hopeful shouts echoed through the cave, even faintly drowning out the roars of the demons.
Hearing the villagers cheer her on, Alicia felt as though she had regained her strength; golden light radiated from her, the cracks in the shield instantly repaired, and the spell-breaking beneath her feet accelerated significantly.
One minute later, the Death Substitution Curse on dozens of children from Linshire Village was lifted.
And at that moment.
“Uwaah!!!”
A huge roar shot up into the sky as the Ogre Chieftain suddenly leaped to its feet.
The terrifying pressure of the Saint Tier descended, causing the villagers to collapse to the ground, and they didn’t dare make a sound.
“Damn woman,” the Ogre Chieftain swung its massive hammer, roaring at the demons around Alicia, “Step back! That’s my prey!”
The goblins and ogres, upon hearing this, quickly retreated, not daring to defy the Ogre Chieftain’s orders.
With the demons withdrawn, Alicia quickly pulled back her mana shield; the power of dragon blood was about to be exhausted, and every bit of strength was now invaluable. She had to cherish it.
The Ogre Chieftain hefted its massive hammer and slowly approached. “Woman, let’s have a one-on-one fight.”
In the ogre clan, being defeated by a woman was extremely shameful, especially for one who was the leader of the tribe; it was even more unacceptable.
It had to wash away this humiliation through battle.
Alicia’s eyes sharpened; she understood the Ogre Chieftain’s meaning and instantly recognized this as an opportunity.
“I refuse,” Alicia replied softly.
“What? You refuse!” The Ogre Chieftain widened its eyes and roared, “You can’t refuse.”
“Then I refuse,” Alicia sheathed her slender sword and glared sideways at the Ogre Chieftain, “You’ve already been defeated by me; why should I fight you again?”
“You…” The Ogre Chieftain gritted its teeth in anger.
Now Alicia had no defenses; it could smash her to a pulp with a single swing of its hammer.
But it couldn’t do that. As long as the opponent didn’t fight with all their strength, even if it killed her, it would have no meaning; the shame of being defeated by a human woman would still be branded on it.
“Woman, what do you want?” the Ogre Chieftain sneered, “What do I have to do for you to agree to fight me again?”
“Very simple,” Alicia smiled slightly and said, “Release all the villagers here, and I will fight you.”
“This…” The Ogre Chieftain hesitated for a moment.
Before coming here, they had already divided things very clearly.
The women belonged to the goblins for breeding, the children to the Witch Church for experiments, and the village men were for them to eat.
In theory, it had no right to dispose of the children and women in the cave.
But at this moment, it was the strongest in the cave; its clan stood right here, waiting for its orders. It could do whatever it wanted, and no one could stop it.
This might cause some trouble later…
Seeing the Ogre Chieftain lost in thought, Alicia hesitated for a moment before unleashing her trump card.
She slowly removed her hood and took off her Cloak of Invisibility.
In that moment, everyone in the cave turned their gaze toward her.
“She’s… so beautiful.”
Such voices echoed in the minds of everyone present.
