"Hurry up! Stop dawdling!"
Caesar had no time to explain, his claws moving so fast it was like he was chaining combos.
He grabbed the corpse of Colette on the ground, first stripping off the valuable equipment, then with a thought, directly stuffed the body into the deepest part of his storage ring.
Even the bloodstains on the ground were churned over by his [Quicksand Abyss], covering them completely.
"Hurry!" Caesar growled.
The sound of footsteps in the distance was now only two hundred meters away, the metallic clanking of armor clearly audible.
"Coming, coming!"
Cecilia was flustered and panicked.
She closed her eyes, desperately trying to recall the appearance of that unlucky soul from earlier.
Silver hair... white dress... and then hanging the 'tear of light' around her neck?
[Transform]!
As the light faded, a silver-haired girl stood in place.
Although her face was identical to the corpse from earlier, her demeanor...
Caesar looked at this 'Saintess' before him—her eyes clear yet tinged with a hint of foolishness, her hands nervously clutching her skirt, even trembling slightly from tension—and couldn't help but cover his face.
Too stiff.
Cecilia stood there like a cheap doll, her eyes darting around, unsure where to put her hands and feet.
"Caesar... I'm scared..."
"Remember to speak less! Act aloof! If asked, just say you don't know!"
Caesar gave a few final instructions on what to say, then directly activated [Quicksand Abyss], burrowing deep underground and blending perfectly into the environment.
Almost at the same second.
"Boom!"
A loud crash.
Several burly men in silver-white armor, wielding heavy shields, smashed through the rocks at the cave entrance and charged in.
"Saintess!"
"Protect the Saintess!"
A dozen strong flashlights—no, light orbs from illumination spells—instantly lit up the dim cave as bright as day.
At the center of the light was a girl in a tattered white robe.
She had golden hair that was originally smooth but had become disheveled from the impact, now with her back to everyone, her hands tightly covering her chest, her shoulders still trembling slightly.
That was from fright.
Cecilia was now panicking like crazy.
She had transformed too hastily earlier, only remembering that human's face and general build, even her clothes were simulated using scales.
The most critical thing was—
She hadn't retracted her tail!
That silver-white Dragon Tail was now hidden under the long white robe, unconsciously swishing back and forth due to nervousness.
If she turned around and the skirt was lifted... it would all be over!
"Saintess?"
The leading High Paladin was a middle-aged man with a stubbly face. Seeing 'Colette' still standing, he immediately let out a huge sigh of relief, lowering the heavy sword he was holding.
Good, she's not dead.
If a Saintess Candidate had an accident in his jurisdiction, his head wouldn't need to stay on his shoulders—he might as well take it off and kick it like a ball.
"Saintess!"
The High Paladin rushed over in a flash, his face filled with relief after a narrow escape.
"You're unharmed! Thank the god of light for his protection!"
The other Paladins also collectively sighed in relief, kneeling on one knee.
Hearing the footsteps, Cecilia now felt like she wanted to die.
The reason she chose to face away from everyone was because she had no confidence in her 'face-sculpting skills,' afraid that if she turned around, they'd see this body had a different core.
But just as she turned her back to everyone, she suddenly realized an extremely terrifying fact—
She's a dragon! A dragon's tail grows from its rear!
This is bad!
To prevent that damn silver tail from pushing up the holy white robe into a shameful shape, Cecilia had to desperately contract her muscles, clamping her two hind legs like iron tongs around that restless tail, trying to force it into the gap between her legs.
Thus, when the Knight Commander approached, the Saintess he saw not only had a lonely back but also an extremely bizarre posture—her entire body was taut like a string about to snap, her legs turned inward, her buttocks muscles tightly contracted, even trembling slightly with chills.
But in the Knight Commander's eyes, this 'body trembling from desperately clamping the tail' was automatically interpreted as 'psychological trauma from encountering a heretic attack.'
"Thank the god of light!" the Knight Commander said, kneeling on one knee. "That terrifying suction force earlier... what exactly happened?"
Cecilia took a deep breath, reaching up to touch the purple gemstone necklace around her neck that was still tightly choking her.
This thing was really hurting her; she didn't need to act, her expression naturally carried a hint of pain.
"It was... the Plasma Cult."
Cecilia recited her lines according to the script. "They tried to steal my 'tear of light,' but, but I drove them off."
"The Plasma Cult?!"
The Knight Commander and Siniel exclaimed simultaneously.
The two men from these forces exchanged a glance, both seeing shock in each other's eyes.
It's those lunatics again!
Siniel recalled the base that had been destroyed earlier in Osterburg; those people were indeed collecting various rare Materials and treasures.
Stealing the holy relic 'tear of light'—this completely matched the style of those lunatics!
"Damn it! Those heretics dare to show their faces again!"
The Knight Commander angrily slammed his shield, producing a loud 'clang' that made Ceciliajump.
However, although this Knight Commander was furious, his professionalism remained. He believed in the Saintess's strength, but from the residual energy fluctuations at the scene, the intensity of the battle here was extremely high, not like a simple one-sided repulsion of enemies.
He took a step forward, respectfully saying, "Saintess, please forgive my rudeness, but could you let me inspect the 'tear of light'? I need to confirm the holy relic is safe."
Cecilia's heart instantly leaped into her throat.
Inspect? How can this be inspected? This thing is currently bound to her body!
But just as the Knight Commander's hand was about to touch that amethyst, a sudden change occurred.
"Hum—!"
That 'tear of light' seemed to sense a threat, suddenly erupting with an unprecedented, purest light energy!
This energy wasn't harmful but carried an undeniable majesty, like an invisible wall, gently pushing the Knight Commander away.
The Knight Commander stepped back twice before steadying himself. His face showed not confusion but an expression of ecstatic joy.
"Divine protection, it's divine protection!"
The Knight Commander was so excited he became incoherent. "It seems the 'tear of light' sensed the Divine Power in a critical moment and actively protected you!"
With this, all doubts vanished.
Who else but a true Saintess Candidate could trigger the holy relic to actively protect its master?
"Excellent, it's good you're unharmed." The Knight Commander completely relaxed. "This place isn't safe to stay; we must leave immediately... Since you're not injured, let's first reach Osterburgand plan from there."
The crisis seemed resolved.
But the clever Siniel still felt something was off.
The Cult forces in Osterburg had been cleared out—he saw it with his own eyes, and the Systemmission was settled. Why did a group of Cult members attack the Saintess here, of all places?