The last glimmers of sunlight gradually vanished behind the mountain range.
The hovercar kicked up a cloud of dust on the forest path before finally coming to a stop before a tranquil village.
Scattered wooden houses dotted half the hillside.
Wisps of cooking smoke still lingered in the air, and the scent of someone’s dinner occasionally wafted by.
The village wasn’t small, featuring the usual blacksmith and item shops common in games.
Lucoco turned off the engine, stretched with a yawn, glanced at the twilight sky, and said, “There should be a small tavern in the village. Let’s spend the night here.”
…
The four of them wore the gleaming Judgment Knight badges, which reflected the fading evening light.
The moment they stepped into the village entrance, several elderly men playing chess by the roadside looked up.
Their cloudy eyes shifted from curiosity…
To confusion, and then rapidly to shock!
Their eyes widened.
They immediately scrambled to their feet, shouting in alarm, “Judgment Knights are here!”
“Village chief, come out!”
And stumbled as they ran into the village.
Their legs were so nimble!
Lucoco frowned, thinking, ‘If one of them falls, should I help them up or not?’
Seeing the villagers’ enthusiastic reaction, the four of them weren’t in a hurry to enter.
They stopped at the village entrance, waiting in默契.
“Is the Judgment Knight identity so… uh, popular?”
Lucoco asked, one arm crossed over her chest, the other hand stroking her chin.
“Morning Light, the status of a Judgment Knight is almost equivalent to that of a Viscount, and they possess considerable authority,” Adrian explained with a chuckle, a flash of pride in his eyes.
“Are these villagers so excited because they’re preparing to welcome us!”
Amy declared, crossing her arms and puffing out her chest.
Her delicate ponytail swayed gently in the strange wind at the village entrance.
“I hope it doesn’t cause any panic…”
Are said meaningfully, her slender fingers lightly rubbing the bracelet on her right wrist.
Before long, a flurry of hurried footsteps came from within the village, mixed with chaotic shouts.
“Whoa~ Did we enter a bandit den?”
Lucoco raised an eyebrow and, without hesitation, pulled out a wand, aiming it forward.
A fiery red light gathered at its tip.
A dense crowd of villagers surged out from the village, all armed with makeshift weapons!
They charged over with fierce momentum, shouting, “Where are the Judgment Knights!”
“Wh-what are they going to do!!”
Amy instantly panicked.
She frantically awakened her Imprint, her right hand covered by a hand cannon, ready to fire at any moment!
Her eyes were wide, and her legs trembled uncontrollably.
“Amy, don’t stray far from your brother later!”
Adrian instinctively shielded Amy behind him, drawing the longsword from his waist.
Sword light flickered as he prepared for battle.
Are remained silent, simply taking out a wand identical to Lucoco’s, smiling as she watched the approaching crowd.
The dense crowd kicked up a cloud of dust, quickly closing the distance.
Amy trembled with tension, the hand cannon on her right hand glowing with blazing firelight, looking ready to fire the first shot!
Terrifying power had also gathered on the wands of Lucoco and Are.
“Shall we engage?”
Adrian gripped his sword tightly, his voice low.
Sword light condensed to its limit, ready to be unleashed.
“No… let’s wait a bit longer.”
Lucoco narrowed her eyes, a flicker of doubt crossing her face.
“These people… don’t look like seasoned mountain bandits.”
Sure enough, as soon as she finished speaking.
“Good heavens!”
The burly man at the front widened his eyes.
Upon seeing the four’s battle-ready stances, he jumped in fright and yelled back to the crowd at the top of his lungs, “Everyone, stop! We’re gonna get people killed!!”
That loud shout exploded.
The excited crowd instantly screeched to a halt, stopping in a chaotic mess where they stood.
The dust they had kicked up slowly settled.
“Oh dear~”
An old man stumbled out of the crowd, panting and sweating profusely.
He waved urgently at Lucoco and the others, his voice anxious.
“Honorable Judgment Knights! Misunderstanding! It’s a misunderstanding! Everyone thought some vile criminals had entered the village. We weren’t looking for a fight~”
“Is it credible?”
Adrian asked Lucoco with a strange expression, tilting his head slightly, the tip of his sword lowering a bit.
“It doesn’t seem fake. Look at the weapons in their hands.”
Lucoco regretfully put away her wand, the red light at its tip dissipating.
She gestured for the others to look at the “weapons” the villagers held.
The distance was close enough now to see clearly.
The villagers were holding hoes, sickles, brooms, and pieces of firewood picked up from who knows where…
Moreover, their eyes held no malice, only brimming with expectation and admiration.
Seeing the situation clearly, Adrian and Are also silently put away their weapons and magic, pretending nothing had happened.
“Whew~ That scared me to death!”
Amy’s tension drained away, and she was about to plop down on the ground.
Lucoco reacted quickly, grabbing her arm and pulling her up, smiling.
“You’re wearing a skirt, Amy. Be careful of flashing people.”
“Oh…”
Amy looked bewildered but obediently stood up straight.
The village chief finally ran up to the four of them, sweating profusely and apologizing repeatedly.
“My apologies, Honorable Judgment Knights. Our little village rarely gets outsiders. Seeing your badges… we panicked…”
Wiping his sweat, the village chief turned and glared at the villagers with exasperation.
The villagers looked at each other, sheepishly putting down their tools.
They wore embarrassed, simple smiles, scratching their heads as they stepped aside.
…
As it turned out, the usually honest and simple villagers thought some heinous criminal was hiding in the village, and the kingdom had sent knights to make an arrest!
Hearing the words “Judgment Knights,” they reflexively grabbed whatever was at hand, wanting to help capture the criminal.
Thus, this laughable yet exasperating misunderstanding was resolved.
The four were welcomed into the village chief’s home, treated with warm hospitality.
A steaming hot dinner was served, and they enjoyed a hearty meal.
Upon learning that the four were on a “patrol investigation” under royal orders, the village chief became even more excited, his eyes shining.
He had people bring over many crops harvested after the bountiful season.
Baskets of golden corn kernels and potatoes, clearly freshly harvested, were piled high.
Then, Lucoco was stunned!
She stared at those corn kernels and potatoes with wide eyes, her face full of confusion.
Are also clearly froze for a moment, the spoon in her hand stopping mid-air.
The size of these corn kernels and potatoes wasn’t normal!
While not as exaggerated as those in the Echo Territory, they were still unnaturally large.
Lucoco didn’t remember dumping any of her “juice” anywhere in Versadis except for the Royal Capital!
The crops near the Royal Capital had only recently started growing wildly.
How could places outside the capital already be enjoying them?
Moreover, wasn’t it said that all water sources connecting the Echo Territory to the outside world were blocked?
With these questions, Lucoco put down her chopsticks and asked in a casual, probing tone, “Village Chief, these crops are growing really well! Such large sizes.”
Upon hearing this, a look of piety flashed across the village chief’s face, but it quickly turned into a mysterious smile.
“Because… our deity has bestowed a blessing. So~ we finally don’t have to go hungry anymore~ Hahaha!”
Hearing this, Lucoco pressed further, wanting to know who this deity was.
But the village chief just smiled and shook his head, a hint of wariness appearing in his eyes, constantly changing the subject.
After that, he said no more, only repeatedly emphasizing the “deity’s blessing.”
As for who the deity was, he didn’t utter a word.
Unable to get more, Lucoco had to give up on that line of questioning.
Finally, after getting the answer from the village chief that “the blessing descended two years ago,” she stopped asking and chose to rest.
✦✧✦✧
Late at night, in the small house of the village chief, the four slept in separate rooms.
Lucoco lay on the simple wooden bed, took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and attempted an old trick she often played—consciousness projection.
If her “juice” had indeed contaminated this area, she should be able to materialize a form.
Her consciousness sank, then rippled out like water waves.
Lucoco’s consciousness separated from her body, drifting toward the water source outside the village.
It was a clear pond.
Moonlight spilled onto the water’s surface, creating shimmering ripples.
She tried to condense her form and succeeded!
Her consciousness materialized into a hazy figure the size of a washbasin, floating above the water.
‘There’s definitely something fishy going on!’
Lucoco thought joyfully.
She controlled this projection, moving it upstream along the flow, observing the unusually lush plants growing nearby.
Suddenly, the projection shrank to the size of a fist!
It could no longer move forward!
After several more attempts—diving deeper or trying other small tributaries—Lucoco finally confirmed: her consciousness was trapped near this water source.
She reached a temporary conclusion: someone had introduced water from the Echo Territory into the village pond.
Choosing not to investigate further, Lucoco withdrew her consciousness and went to sleep.
She had already gotten the answer she wanted, knowing the abnormal crops were indeed related to her.
✧✦✧✦
Nothing happened throughout the night. When she opened her eyes, the sky was just beginning to brighten.
The village roosters crowed.
Lucoco pushed open her door and saw Are was already up, stretching in the courtyard.
Adrian and Amy also walked out, rubbing their eyes.
The little girl yawned widely.
“Morning Light~, good morning~ Slept really well last night!”
The group washed up briefly, ate the breakfast prepared by the village chief, left a few silver coins as thanks, and prepared to set off.
After careful observation, Lucoco found the so-called deity’s statue.
It stood by the village river, carved from rough stone, about one meter tall.
It had no face, and its figure seemed somewhat familiar, though she couldn’t place it immediately.
Most importantly, the statue’s arms were tentacles!
Curved, tentacle-like arms stretched forward as if bestowing a blessing.
Lucoco was extremely displeased!
Wasn’t this clearly someone cosplaying as her?
Stealing her “juice” and then imitating her to play god and collect Power of Faith?
Why did she think that?
Of course, it was because after staying in Versadis for so long, she had never seen even a single wisp of Power of Faith belonging to her!
‘I thought it just wasn’t time yet, but it turns out someone’s been intercepting it! And here I was, diligently putting my juice in the Royal Capital’s water supply~!’
‘I mean, you could at least say hello! Would I refuse if you wanted to do good deeds?’
Lucoco couldn’t help but bite her nails, her slender fingers tapping lightly by her lips.
Waves of resentment emanated from her, and a faint black aura seemed to hover above her head.
Though they didn’t understand what was happening, Adrian, Amy, and Are all fell silent, even lightening their breaths.
The three maintained a默契 silence.
Only the low hum of the engine and the chirping of birds in the forest accompanied Lucoco’s increasingly thick aura of resentment as they drove toward their next destination.