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The Eastern Border Region of Franquia was a border area adjacent to the Holy Griffin Empire to the east and the Kingdom of Rotaringia to the south.

Given that this region was a tri-border area, the lords here were fiercely independent and stubborn, as the central authority’s influence rarely reached them. The complex web of blood relations among them meant that the territories and titles held by each lord often belonged to a mix of nationalities.

For example, a baron in the Roden region of Franquia might also serve as a vassal to the Duke of Parslo in Rotaringia, or be designated as the next heir to a count in the Holy Griffin Empire.

As a result, the influence of the council of elders often outweighed that of the lords themselves. The lords’ complex titles made it difficult for them to effectively protect and develop their territories.

However, since the council primarily represented the interests of local elites, the cities in this border region developed more along commercial lines than military ones, despite being a border area.

The Rhine River, often called the lifeline of the western continent, ran right through the heart of this region, naturally fostering a web of trade centered around the cities along its banks.

“That’s how it should be. But lately, it doesn’t seem to be the case, does it?”

Sophia was on her way to Strasbourg, the largest fortress city in the east. As she rode, she suddenly spat out the root she had been chewing and grumbled.

In her line of sight was a merchant caravan being attacked by a group of armed bandits.

“Recently, there was a succession dispute near Agnon and Baden-Baden. Are these deserters from that?”

She was already busy, but if she left them alone, she’d surely get scolded by her Paladin comrades later. Sophia herself was reluctant to ignore life-and-death situations—it left a bad taste in her mouth.

“But I really don’t want to waste time here.”

After a moment of thought, Sophia nodded decisively. Coincidentally, she knew a technique perfectly suited for mass slaughter. She began to take a deep breath, her chest expanding.

In an instant, her ethereal muscles, densely woven through the Reverse Muscle Technique, supported her real abdominal and chest muscles. Inner energy rose from her lower dantian, and Kundalini, blending with prana from her chakras, surged.

Simultaneously, her ethereal brain, refined through the Reverse Brain Method, wove a Sound Wave Amplification Spell, which manifested in front of her vocal cords.

As the air in her lungs reached its critical point, the mark of the “Anointed One” on her forehead and the traces of “Chivalry” and “Trials” etched into her meridians added their power to the reproduction of the “Sound that Shakes Heaven and Earth.”

[WAAAH——!!!]

In an instant, a tremendous sound wave erupted from six directions around the bandits attacking the merchants. The lung capacity and volume, enhanced by the Reverse Muscle Technique, exploded with the force of a Lion’s Roar, amplified by the Sound Wave Amplification Spell and the reproduction of the “Sound that Shakes Heaven and Earth,” all converging into the Six Harmonies Convergence technique.

The deafening noise was precisely focused on the bandits targeting the merchant caravan. Exposed to the violent sound, akin to a beast’s growl, the bandits froze, blood streaming from their ears. The weaker ones died on the spot from heart failure, while others fainted.

The merchants and their mercenary escorts, who had been fighting the bandits, stood dumbfounded by the sudden turn of events. They too were momentarily stunned by the chilling roar that had raised goosebumps on their backs, so it wasn’t entirely their fault.

Sophia, who had slowly ridden over, asked the merchants, “Hey! Is everyone alright?”

The dazed merchants and mercenaries, suddenly faced with a beautiful young knight, stared at her in a daze, forgetting their sense of reality.

“Hmm, no answer? Is there a leader among you?”

“Ah, yes! I’m the leader of this caravan! And this person here.”

“Yes, I’m the captain of the mercenaries escorting the caravan.”

Sophia’s question snapped the caravan leader and mercenary captain back to their senses, and they stepped forward.

“I helped out since you seemed in trouble, but I’m too busy to handle the aftermath. Is that alright?”

“Ah, yes. But what about the reward distribution…”

“Keep it. Divide it among yourselves.”

With that, Sophia hurried off. Erzsebet was a dangerous demon. Wherever she went, she created followers and lesser demons like cicadas shedding their shells. Using her innate charm, she seduced humans, elevating their desires to the realm of sin, turning them into demons.

The worst part was that these newly created demons blended seamlessly into human society, growing their influence like hidden tumors in the shadows.

Sophia intended to capture Erzsebet before she could cause trouble in Strasbourg. If she was late, things would get very troublesome. She absolutely didn’t want to deal with extra work.

She brushed off the caravan leader and mercenary captain, who seemed eager to accompany her, for that very reason.

Sure, promising to escort them and receiving payment would have been profitable, and she could have shared the reward for capturing the bandits, but that would have made her late. For Sophia, giving up a little profit was much easier than taking on extra work.

As Sophia rode off, the caravan leader and mercenary captain could only awkwardly watch her retreating figure. Her horse was so fast that it soon disappeared into a cloud of dust.

“She’s gone.”

“Yes, she’s gone.”

The caravan leader and mercenary captain exchanged words, both feeling bewildered.

The security along the Rhine River trade routes had deteriorated rapidly recently. When they were attacked by deserters from the Agnon-Baden-Baden succession dispute, they had prepared for the worst. The bandits outnumbered the merchants and mercenaries combined, and their average skill level was slightly higher, given their combat experience.

Amidst this, a deafening roar filled with overwhelming pressure and fear suddenly erupted, and the bandits were subdued as if they were clay dolls. The appearance of the beautiful knight further robbed them of their sense of reality.

But when the knight approached, she barely exchanged words, saying she was too busy, and then just left? It was hard for anyone to process such a situation.

“We only met briefly, but she was like a storm.”

“Yes, indeed. By the way, did you notice?”

“Notice what?”

“The black veil she was wearing on her head.”

The mercenary captain’s words made the caravan leader recall the knight’s appearance. Indeed, she had been wearing a nun-like veil. Now that he thought about it, there was a white part in the middle of the veil covering her forehead, with the Church’s official seal on it.

“A Paladin.”

“A Paladin? You mean, that Paladin?”

“Yes. The specialists in fighting great demons and the Church’s ultimate weapon. She must be one of them.”

“Indeed, there’s no other way to explain that monstrous performance earlier.”

The caravan leader and mercenary captain exchanged such meaningless chatter, trying to soothe their shaken sense of reality.

But they were responsible for their group. Soon, they snapped back to reality and began organizing the merchants and mercenaries, who were still wandering in a daze, to clean up the aftermath of the nun knight’s whirlwind passage.

Meanwhile, Sophia arrived in Strasbourg half a day later.

Strasbourg was a particularly prosperous fortress city among those along the Rhine River.

This historic city skillfully balanced between the Kingdom of Franquia, the Holy Griffin Empire, and the Kingdom of Rotaringia, while also standing firm against the formidable Duchy of Briconne to the north and the Duchy of Weissen to the northeast, serving as the head of the Rhine Alliance.

As such, the number of people gathered to pass through the fortress city’s walls was not small. The guards at Strasbourg’s gates were conducting inspections, lining up the crowd to prevent any dangerous criminals or unidentified infiltrators from passing through.

Faced with the long line… Sophia confidently rode her horse to the front.

 

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