Reliable Alice

Li Ang's head was spinning, and his legs felt weak, but he still covered his mouth and nose with one hand as he went over to untie the reins.

The moment Alice was freed, she trotted toward a nearby patch of grass, lowering her head and constantly nosing and sniffing through it.

Then, the pretty little mare seemed to find something and began chewing the grass.

As she chewed, she kept snorting loudly.

Li Ang ran over as well, pulled several unknown blades of grass from beside Alice's mouth, stuffed them into his own mouth, and chewed furiously—if a horse deliberately sought it out, it had to be useful!

He had no idea what kind of grass it was. The juice was so bitter that Li Ang rolled his eyes, and the pungent taste made him cough violently.

But the effect was obvious—once he finished coughing, his head immediately stopped spinning!

Li Ang hugged Alice around the neck and gave her a hard kiss, then grabbed two handfuls of grass and ran back to Ansen.

Ansen was currently wrapping his face in his clothes while prying open Kloze's eyelids.

"Ansen, how are they? This grass seems to counter the poison."

"They look like they merely fell unconscious... Ah, this is crosswort! So that's it... My lord, that wasn't Dragon Tear!"

Taking the grass from Li Ang, Ansen stuffed it into his mouth and chewed it up, his eyes watering from the pungent taste as well.

After chewing all of it into a pulpy mash, he stuffed the grass pulp into Kloze and the others' nostrils.

Before long, everyone woke up. One by one, they gritted their teeth and sat beside the campfire, each holding a chunk of meat over the flames.

"What exactly happened to us just now?"

Kloze asked quietly. He felt rather embarrassed. Passing out for no apparent reason was simply a warrior's disgrace. Only food could soothe the pain in his heart now.

"You were knocked out—or rather, put to sleep. That stone wasn't Dragon Tear. It should have been Snake Heart Stone!"

Ansen answered casually.

"What is Snake Heart Stone?"

Li Ang asked as he played with the small knife Risadiran had left behind.

The knife was thin, light, and sharp, with an inward curve. Its blade was less than a centimeter wide and about as long as an index finger, easily concealable almost anywhere on the body.

Li Ang was now quite interested in the stone that could put people to sleep. In his view, it truly counted as a treasure.

"This is the first time I've seen the real thing too. I read about it in an old medical book at the Theological Seminary. Snake Heart Stone is a rare crystal. It isn't really poison, but merely approaching it can make people dizzy and fall asleep—of course, if no one takes care of them, they might sleep straight into death. Because it has the same shape as a snake's heart, that book named it Snake Heart Stone."

Ansen explained as he traced a shape with his fingers.

"How can something so terrifying not be poison?"

Kloze was still shaken. He found something that could put him to sleep without warning far too frightening.

"Because this kind of sleep is easy to break. Crosswort is a common medicinal herb with a very pungent smell. That stimulating scent can wake people quickly. And according to the book, there was once a continent where doctors could use Snake Heart Stone to put patients to sleep... Then, while they slept, they would use knives to cut away diseased limbs or internal organs and replace them with healthy organs, curing severely ill patients..."

Ansen gestured over Kloze's body as he patiently explained.

Kloze shuddered. "Nonsense! That's impossible... How could someone still live after their internal organs were cut out?"

Ansen shrugged. "I only read it in a book too... But what if it's true? That would be a blessing for everyone! It would even mean that any injury or illness could possibly be cured!"

Kloze shook his head as if he had the shakes. "No, no, no... That's impossible!"

The big man was used to chopping other people into pieces and seeing enemy body parts fly everywhere, but he still found it hard to imagine that a person's internal organs could be replaced!

Kloze even felt that the roasting meat over the fire no longer smelled appetizing.

Li Ang nodded instead. Only he could understand Ansen's dedication to saving lives and healing the wounded. It was because of people like Ansen that humanity's level of technology advanced step by step.

"So, where can we get this Snake Heart Stone?"

The lord propped up his chin and looked at the waterskin containing the Snake Heart Stone.

"Though it isn't common, people do seem to find it fairly often. Someone in my hometown, Aishikeman, obtained some before, and even more has been found in the Bacchus Empire. It's just that..."

Ansen frowned and pondered for a moment.

"What?"

"My lord, they were all found at altars of the Snake Worship Cult..."

Li Ang raised his eyebrows. "I heard the Snake Worship Cult confuses people, then tricks them into joining the cult?"

Ansen nodded, agreeing with Li Ang's judgment. "It's very likely that the Snake Worship Cult uses Snake Heart Stone to render people unconscious, then deceives them into becoming believers. The Bacchus Empire has suppressed them many times and obtained quite a few Snake Heart Stones, but without exception, these things gradually disappear on their own after only a few days..."

Disappear?

Li Ang lifted the leather waterskin and shook it. He understood why Risadiran had kept the Snake Heart Stone in a waterskin.

This thing was probably some kind of highly volatile mineral. What caused people to lose consciousness should have been the gas it released.

In this era, it was difficult to find an effective way to preserve such highly volatile substances. Keeping it in water was already the most suitable storage method.

Li Ang carefully put away the waterskin. To be safe, he wrapped it in several more layers of tent cloth, intending to have Lesley store it in a sealed clay jar. He felt that this thing would be extremely useful.

"My lord... My heavy armor was pierced through by a single arrow too! Who do you think sent that assassin? That arrow was far too powerful!"

Kloze took his armor from the tent and pointed to the small hole pierced through the thickest part of the layered plates over his chest.

"I've been wondering the same thing. To employ an archer as extraordinary as Risadiran, they really think highly of me..."

Li Ang had also found it strange all along. At first, he had assumed Duke Alma or Foucher had paid to hire Risadiran as an assassin, but upon careful thought, that did not seem right.

Since Risadiran had shot the wrong person, that clearly meant he had not been following the convoy the entire time.

When Li Ang chased into the forest that afternoon, Risadiran had uttered a surprised "Huh?" upon seeing his face. Then that night, he had pierced the armor inside Li Ang's tent with another arrow—meaning his employer knew Li Ang and had described his appearance to Risadiran in detail, perhaps even mentioning his golden-maned horse.

And yet Risadiran had not followed the convoy, but had still found him within a single day. That meant Risadiran's employer probably knew his approximate location.

After all, he had just left Border Camp, and he had been marching all day, constantly on the move.

The Crimson Brotherhood certainly did not know where he was.

Grand Duke Alma, who had just taken Long River Town, probably did not know his current location either.

The only people who might clearly know his route were the Horn Summon Ranger Corps.

It was Ralph who had advised him to go to that abandoned village attacked by the Gatu.

But the problem was, Ralph had no reason to assassinate him. If he truly wanted Li Ang dead, he could simply have sent everyone to swarm him at the camp—he had brought hundreds, even thousands, of mounted rangers with him then.

So what was going on?

Li Ang thought again of that strange female voice.

The same words, twice.

"...Watch your back, child..."

Who was warning him?

Did those words refer to the arrow shot from behind, or something else?

When he was in Lion City, after seeing the statue of Eunomia, Goddess of Order, he encountered the Fallen One heretics...

And now, after hearing that voice, he had encountered an assassin of Risadiran's caliber...

No way...

Li Ang felt that life was so difficult. Why did so many unknown enemies want to harm him?

"Damn it, I need to secure a base and strengthen the defenses as soon as possible. And I need to catch that dangerous Risadiran!"

There was something else the lord did not say—he also needed to find someone suitable to defend against surprise arrows!

Li Ang had no appetite for roasted meat anymore. He picked up the sword Risadiran had left behind, sat beside Alice, and leaned against the hitching post.

Only Alice was truly reliable. She had always helped him, and she had never caused any trouble.

The little mare nudged Li Ang's back with her head and swished her tail back and forth, seemingly dissatisfied that the lord had occupied her spot.

But Li Ang had no intention of leaving. He felt safer beside Alice.

Fortunately, horses slept standing up, so she could sleep anywhere.

Alice had a good temper. Seeing that Li Ang would not leave, she gently rubbed her head against his face, took a step back, and accepted the lord's occupation of her sleeping spot.