"No, it's too dangerous! Miss Edith, you're an outsider. There's no need for you to go to such lengths for us. I'll ask Upton to gather the town guards. You'd better stay in the church!"
Hardly had Edith finished speaking when an old man with a grizzled and bushy beard rushed into the church in a hurry.
He was Mr. George, the mayor of Cole Town. He had rushed here as soon as he heard that Ian's and Matthew's carriage convoy had been attacked. And the Upton he mentioned was the captain of the town garrison.
"Mr. George, thank you for your kindness, but I can't bear to stand by when others are suffering," Edith quickly sketched several dark blue runes in the air with her fingers. There was a faint noise coming from the side hall on the second floor immediately. "If Mr. Upton is willing to send troops, then come with me. Every second of delay means less hope for Mr. Matthew and the others to survive."
As the runes on her fingertips dissipated and the magicrise and fall spread out, Edith reached up with her hand. A gilded staff wrapped in a dark red cloak then shot out from the corridor, spun around, and landed in her hand.
The girl swiftly put the cloak on, picked up the box containing gauze and ointment with her left hand, and tightly grasped the staff with her right hand. Obviously, she was already ready to set off at any time.
Now no one could stop Edith from rushing to the scene. Once she had made up her mind, it was hard to change it, not even if Bertram came in person.
Daphne knew that she couldn't persuade her, so she just frowned and looked at Edith.
As if noticing Daphne's gaze, Edith also glanced at Daphne. "Stay in the church obediently, don't run around. Wait for me to come back," she said in a low voice with a smile as she walked closer to Daphne.
"Why?" Daphne subconsciously reached out and grabbed Edith's cloak, trying to hold her back. "Are you really that kind-hearted? Those people are probably beyond saving. Why..."
Edith was stunned for a moment, and her face darkened slightly. "I'm happy to. I just enjoy the feeling of being praised by others, so I do so many good deeds. Are you satisfied with this answer?" Then she chuckled again. Although her tone was gentle, it made Daphne's heart tremble. "Not only did you address me wrongly, but you also dared to question my decision. It's just that I don't have time now. You'll be in trouble when I come back!"
"Ugh... I'm sorry, Sister Edith..." Daphne cowered.
"Humph, be good. Don't worry about me," Edith smiled and stroked Daphne's cheek. "I'm not weak at all. What Sister Grevia can do, I can do too."
Daphne estimated that Edith's level was around 20, slightly inferior to Grevia's. Her strength wasn't weak, but she lacked combat experience.
She wasn't worried that Edith's strength wasn't enough. She was just worried that Edith had no sense of crisis and was prone to unexpected accidents.
Seeing that Daphne didn't respond, a trace of loneliness or sadness flashed in Edith's eyes.
But it was only for a moment. She turned around, flung her cloak, and said, "I'm setting off. Don't worry, everyone. Mr. Matthew and the others will be fine."
Several little nuns wanted to persuade her but hesitated. All the wounded who had been helped by Edith in the hall were voicing their objections, but they still couldn't stop Edith from walking out.
"Miss Edith!" Ian was so anxious that he tried to get up.
Daphne saw this and quickly took over from Edith, knelt down, and pressed his shoulders to push him back. "Don't move around until you're healed, Mr. Ian."
Seeing that it was the new chief chanter, Ian was too embarrassed to resist and could only lie back obediently.
Many people chased after Edith to see her off. George sighed and had no choice but to chase after them to find Upton and arrange for the guards to accompany Edith.
Daphne didn't follow. She took advantage of the chaos in the church and quietly walked up to the second floor through the corridor. Through the window, she could see the scene outside the church.
A clear whistle sounded, and a snow-white horse from the El Plains galloped over from the direction of the Templar's station. The horse had long and sturdy limbs, was draped with a water-blue blanket and saddle, and its hard horseshoes clanged on the ground as it ran.
This was Heidi, Edith's favorite mount. When Daphne had brought it to her as a gift before, Heidi was just a foal. Now it was already five years old.
Daphne watched as Edith resolutely grasped the reins and mounted the horse despite the many townspeople's attempts to hold her back. She watched Edith ride the horse and gallop away along the south road.
Enjoy the feeling of being praised by others... So that's why she does good deeds?
Suddenly, she thought that her adopted daughter was somewhat adorably naive.
In fact, no one would care what kind of mentality those saints in history had when they did good deeds. People always judged their merits and demerits only by what they had done.
Edith might still be an angel.
An angel can also have flaws.
...
Of course, Daphne wasn't going to just stand by and watch, letting Edith take risks like this.
If it was just a small team of lesser horned beasts roaming around, Edith alone could easily deal with them, not to mention that there were Upton and other Cole Town guards accompanying her.
However, the section of the road from Rockham to Oliver and then to Cole was the patrol area of the great beast horde. They might encounter all kinds of enemies.
The great beast horde was a collection of multiple beast herds, led by a beast horde lord.
The beast horde lord was stronger and taller than the average war-horned beast leader, more strategic and far-sighted than the average war-horned beast leader, and also hated humans and civilized creations more than the average war-horned beast leader.
And the beast horde lord of this great beast horde was named "Trampler" Miordicus Blackhoof. He had unreasonably reached a temporary agreement with the great lich Brumfield and cooperated from the inside and outside to launch an attack on the Northshire. It was one of the most important factors for the future total fall of the Northshire.
Not to mention that Edith might be in danger, Daphne was in urgent need of some miscellaneous enemies to fill her experience pool. She had to join in this excitement.
However, she didn't plan to barge into the battle in the guise of Elenna, but to show up in her original form as a half-blood.
Daphne went back to her room. She took off the dress and high heels that Edith had forced her to wear, turned her back to the window and faced her own shadow, and reached out to draw runes in the air.
Purple-black runes filled with mist emerged on her fingertips and then dissipated. The shadow under her feet began to spread and expand, and frost spread on the floor surface at a visible speed. A snow-silver fur cloak slowly rose from the shadow.
Inside that cloak were Daphne's previous travel dress, shoulder bag, and small leather shoes. The "Shadow Walk" ability granted by the Shadow Path not only allowed her to merge into the shadows and move quickly, but also enabled her to store some items in her own shadow under normal circumstances. It was a rather practical skill.
Daphne changed back into her original dress, put on the cloak again, and put on her rings.
When she had first come in, the girl had hair as white as a waterfall. But when she passed by the mirror again, the long hair floating behind her had already been dyed a deep and lustrous dark red.
"Shadow Walk" could definitely support Daphne to catch up with Edith, who had set off on horseback earlier. She didn't have to worry about not being able to make it in time.
The only thing worth paying attention to was actually Grevia. The cremation ceremony wouldn't last too long. She might even already be on her way back to Cole from Oliver in the north.
It shouldn't be... that coincidental, right?