(Outer Regions- Unnamed Forest)
The sun shone brightly in the sky above and the sounds of birds chirping could be heard echoing through the forest.
One could faintly hear the sounds of roars and fighting in the distance as monsters fought for territory or prey.
There was a figure sitting down comfortably on one of the branches of a particularly tall tree that towered over most of its peers.
The figure wore a simple green cloak and a longsword with attached to her hip.
Her hood was temporarily pulled down, so her short cropped blonde hair was exposed.
Claire continued to watch her surroundings patiently as she enjoyed the natural beauty of the forest.
It felt good to feel a cool breeze gently caress her face and to finally get away from the unpleasant smells of sewage and filth that filled the air in the city.
This tree was directly in the path of the hunting group sent to capture foreign race slaves for the duke.
To set an ambush required preparation so Claire had left the city one day earlier than the hunters.
Elisa was currently using illusion magic to make it appear as though she had never left the church in order to provide an alibi.
About three kilometers north of her position was an enormous lake with crystal clear water that sparkled under the sunlight.
Next to the lake was a small village composed of large makeshift tents whose residents slowly moved around the grasslands looking for food.
These residents were tall muscular humanoid creatures with greenish skin.
The males wore loincloths made from animal skins while the females wore coats made from a special white thread.
They were orcs.
Members of a foreign race who had been driven out to the edges of the continent.
Orcs were a nomadic race who despite their intimidating features such as their large, tusked teeth and monstrous strength were relatively peaceful.
They would only attack if someone invaded their land.
Claire's golden eyes shone as her vision was suddenly enhanced several times over.
She could observe small orc children playing happily in the water and splashing each other using their palms to create waves.
The male orcs watched over them to make sure that no one wandered too far into the deeper parts of the lake.
Despite having been in this world for several months now, it was moments like this that made Sui Li truly grateful to be chosen as an agent.
Even if she failed the task and ended up returning to the void, at least she had made memories that she would never forget.
Claire stroked the hilt of her longsword as her ears suddenly pricked up.
The faint golden threads wrapping around her body went crazy as they sensed sinners moving towards her location.
Found you…
A twisted smile spread across the female knight's face as Claire gently touched one of the golden threads.
The face of a grizzled old man surfaced in her mind. His name was Nathan Serpena, and he was the leader of the hunting expedition.
This was not his first foray into the outer regions and Claire peered into his memories of burning down a dark elf village.
She continued to touch the other golden threads and soon the faces of every member of the party became clear to her.
These were not good people.
There was no one forced here against their will but rather the primary motivation in their hearts was greed.
Claire's golden eyes shone with purity and righteousness, and one could see two faint translucent wings briefly appear behind her back.
Sinners… sinners… sinners…
The female knight resisted the urge to jump down from the tree and immediately hunt down the sinners.
This was a test of her willpower.
Claire wanted to remain in control during the fight and not let her instincts run wild.
She gritted her teeth and used her fingernails to pierce the fleshy underside of her palms.
Blood slowly dripped down, and Claire used the pain to clear the mental fog that was slowly taking over her mind.
.
.
.
.
"Men keep moving! The location is just a short distance away!"
"Leader are you sure that map is correct? We've been walking for hours now with no sign of any orcs!"
"Boy… don't you dare question me… I've been doing this kind of work since you were wee lad sucking on your mom's tits!"
Laughter filled the air as the hunters joked and made conversation with each other.
Nathan the leader of the group kept checking the map as he led the group towards a certain direction.
Despite the friendly atmosphere, every hunter in the group had their weapons out and were ready to use them at a moment's notice.
Some held crossbows and javelins while others held swords or spears.
The two weakest members of the group were the ones who held the nets to capture the younger orcs in the tribe.
Sir Gideon was at the back of the hunting party, and he casually yawned as they wandered through the forest.
As a tier two knight he could easily hold back a small orc tribe and it should be a straightforward operation to kidnap at least a few of their children.
In fact, the only thing on his mind right now were those ridiculous rumors flying around the city.
The representative from the Scarlet Rose guild was not the only one who told them stories about the mysterious paladin currently residing in the church.
Of course… those stories were all complete nonsense.
Golden eyes? Wings? Was she supposed to be some kind of God?
Sir Gideon chuckled softly as he felt sorry for those pathetic low born commoners who had clearly never seen a real tier one knight.
Tier one knights did not outwardly look any different from normal humans but their bodies were now enhanced by mana.
Ordinary weapons would never penetrate their flesh and their aging would slow down to a mere crawl.
It was realm that Sir Gideon knew that he would never reach but it did not stop him from dreaming about the possibility.
Leader Nathan glanced at the piece of parchment paper and saw a landmark clearly marked that was only a short distance away.
It was a particularly large tree that towered over its surroundings.
It would be the perfect spot to briefly rest and prepare for the upcoming attack.
"Men… we will take a brief rest at the bottom of that tree. Luke and Branden will take the first watch!" Nathan commanded loudly as he gestured forward.
Sir Gideon yawned sleepily and followed behind the party as they soon arrived at the base of the tree.
"Now… as I was saying… ARGHH!" Nathan's voice turned into a shriek of pain as a beam of golden light slammed into his body.
His right arm fell to the ground and the grizzled old man had no time to react before another beam of golden light cut off his head.
A cloaked figure jumped down from a branch of the tree and landed on the ground with a heavy thud.
Holy runes floated gently around her body and the sounds of trumpets could be heard blaring out from some unknown location.
Two large gorgeous translucent wings sprouted out from behind her back.
The men reacted quickly and readied their weapons, but their enemy did not even give them a chance.
She vanished from the spot and reappeared in the middle of the group of hunters. Like a wolf amongst a flock of sheep, she slaughtered them easily.
Every time her blade flashed, another body would fall motionless to the ground. Soon there was only one person remaining.
Sir Gideon clutched his longsword in a panic since for the first time in his life, he felt the shadow of death loom upon him.
"Wait… the… stay back! I'm a tier two knight!" Sir Gideon shouted in horror as his hands started to tremble uncontrollably.
"Two years ago… did you feel good?" the cloaked figure coldly spoke.
"Wha… what?" Sir Gideon stuttered as he began to back away slowly while keeping a careful eye on his opponent.
"When you killed that family of commoners for looking at you wrong… did you give them mercy?" the voice whispered darkly.
"Or did you allow them to beg and then slaughtered them anyway?"
Sir Gideon's legs gave out and he stumbled twice before falling to the ground. He held the longsword in his shivering hands as the figure slowly walked over.
The brutal knight ended up begging and pleading just as his victims did, but the cloaked figure afforded him the same mercy that he showed to his victims.
Slash!
Claire's longsword severed his neck from his body and the headless corpse collapsed on the ground never to rise again.
The holy knight's eyes began to itch as she forcibly withdrew her power.
The two translucent wings on her back disappeared and the golden threads returned to their slumber.
Claire stared at the scene of carnage with a cold expression and then slowly left the clearing.
The scent of blood would attract the nearby monsters and she had done enough killing for the day.