Reliable Alice

Li Ang felt a bit dizzy, his legs weak, but he still held his nose and mouth with one hand and went to untie the horse's reins.

As soon as Alice was freed, she trotted over to a nearby patch of grass, lowering her head and sniffing around.

Then, the beautiful mare seemed to find something and began to nibble at the grass on the ground.

While eating, she also snorted "puchi puchi."

Li Ang ran over, pulled a few unknown blades of grass from Alice's mouth, and stuffed them into his own, chewing fiercely—grass that a horse specifically seeks out must be useful!

He didn't know what the grass was, but its juice was so bitter it made Li Ang roll his eyes, and the strong taste made him cough desperately.

But the effect was very noticeable—right after coughing, his head stopped feeling dizzy!

Li Ang hugged Alice's neck and gave her a big kiss, then grabbed a couple of handfuls of grass and ran back to Ansen.

Ansen was currently covering his face with his clothes and checking Kloze's eyelids.

"Ansen, how are they? This grass seems to be an antidote."

"They just seem to have fallen asleep... Ah, this is Crosswort! So that's it... Lord, that's not some Dragon Tear!"

Taking the grass from Li Ang's hand, Ansen chewed it and was also brought to tears by the strong smell.

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

Before long, everyone woke up, sitting by the campfire with gritted teeth, each roasting a piece of meat.

"What happened to us just now?"

Kloze asked in a low voice, feeling a bit ashamed. To faint so inexplicably was a disgrace to a warrior. Only food could alleviate his inner pain.

"You were drugged—or rather, put to sleep. That stone isn't a Dragon Tear; it must be a Snake Heart Stone!"

Ansen replied casually.

"What's a Snake Heart Stone?"

Li Ang asked while playing with the small knife left by Risadiran.

The knife was thin and sharp, with an inward curve, its blade less than a centimeter wide and about the length of an index finger, easily concealable in most places on one's body.

Li Ang was now quite interested in the stone that could make people dizzy; in his opinion, it was indeed a treasure.

"This is my first time seeing 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's not actually a poison, but getting close to it makes people dizzy and fall asleep—of course, if left untreated, they might just fall asleep permanently. Because it's the same shape as a snake's heart, the book named it Snake Heart Stone."

Ansen drew a shape with his finger as he explained.

"Something so terrifying, how can it not be a poison?"

Kloze shivered, finding the idea of being put to sleep so inexplicably terrifying.

"Because this sleep is easily dispelled. Crosswort is a common herb with a strong, pungent smell that can quickly awaken people. Also, the book said that on a certain continent, doctors could use Snake Heart Stone to put patients to sleep... and then, while they were asleep, use a knife to cut off diseased limbs or organs and replace them with healthy ones, thus curing seriously ill patients..."

Ansen gestured on Kloze's body, patiently explaining.

Kloze shuddered: "Nonsense! That's impossible... How could someone survive having their internal organs cut out!"

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

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

The big man was accustomed to cutting others into pieces and seeing enemy limbs fly everywhere, but he still found it hard to imagine that human organs could be replaced!

Kloze even felt like the roasted meat on the fire no longer smelled appetizing.

Li Ang, however, nodded. Only he could understand Ansen's dedication to saving lives and healing the injured. It was because of people like Ansen that humanity's technological level had advanced step by step.

"Then, where can one obtain this Snake Heart Stone?"

The Lord propped his chin on his hand, looking at the waterskin containing the Snake Heart Stone.

"Although it's not common, people seem to find it often. In my hometown, Aishikeman, someone obtained it. The Bacchus Empire has discovered more. However..."

Ansen frowned and pondered for a moment.

"What is it?"

"Lord, they all found it at the altars of the Snake Worship Cult..."

Li Ang raised an eyebrow: "I heard the Snake Worship Cult can bewitch people and lure them into joining?"

Ansen nodded, agreeing with Li Ang's assessment: "It's very likely that the Snake Worship Cult uses Snake Heart Stone to make people unconscious and then tricks them into becoming followers. The Bacchus Empire has besieged them many times and obtained quite a few Snake Heart Stones, but without exception, these stones gradually disappear on their own within a few days..."

Disappear?

Li Ang picked up the leather waterskin and shook it. He understood why Risadiran had used a waterskin to store the Snake Heart Stone.

This kind of thing was probably a highly volatile mineral, and the reason it caused people to faint was likely due to inhaling the volatilized gas.

In this era, it was difficult to find effective ways to preserve such highly volatile substances. Storing it in water was already the most suitable method.

Li Ang carefully put away the waterskin, wrapping it in several layers of tent cloth for extra security. He planned to have Lesley store it in a sealed ceramic jar, believing it would be very useful.

"Lord... My heavy armor was also pierced by an arrow! Who do you think sent this assassin? That arrow is too powerful!"

Kloze took out his armor from the tent and pointed to the small hole pierced through the thickest part of the chest plate.

"I'm also wondering who it was. To use a divine archer like Risadiran, they really think highly of me..."

Li Ang also found it strange. He initially thought Duke Alma or Foucher had hired an assassin to target Risadiran, but upon closer inspection, that wasn't the case.

Since Risadiran shot the wrong person, it clearly meant he hadn't been tracking the caravan the entire time.

When Risadiran saw his face in the woods that afternoon, he'd let out a surprised "Huh?" and then, that very night, he shot through the armor in his tent. This indicated that his employer recognized him and had described his appearance in detail to Risadiran, possibly even mentioning his golden-maned horse.

And the fact that Risadiran, who wasn't tracking the caravan, managed to find him within a day meant that Risadiran's employer likely knew his general whereabouts.

After all, he had just left the border camp and had been marching and constantly moving all day.

The Crimson Brotherhood definitely wouldn't know where he was.

Grand Duke Alma, who had just taken Long River Town, shouldn't know his current location either.

The only person who could possibly know his route was the Horn Summon Ranger Corps.

It was Ralph who had given him the advice to go to that abandoned village after Gatu's attack.

But the problem was, Ralph had no reason to assassinate him. If he truly wanted to kill him, he could have just ordered his men to swarm him back at the camp – he had hundreds, even thousands, of rangers with him then.

What was going on?

Li Ang remembered the eerie female voice again.

The same words, twice.

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

Who was warning him?

Did this mean the arrow shot from behind, or something else?

In Lion City, after seeing the statue of the Goddess of Order, Eunomia, he had encountered a heretical Fallen One...

And now, after hearing that voice, he had encountered a top-tier assassin like Risadiran...

No way...

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

"Damn it, I need to quickly establish a base and set up defenses, and I also need to capture that dangerous element, Risadiran!"

There was one more thing the Lord didn't say – he needed to find a suitable person to be responsible for defending against sneak attacks!

Li Ang lost his appetite for roast meat. He picked up the sword Risadiran had dropped and sat down next to Alice, leaning against a horse post.

Only Alice was reliable. She had always been helpful and had never caused any trouble.

The mare nudged Li Ang's back with her head, flicking her tail restlessly, seemingly displeased that the Lord had occupied her spot.

But Li Ang wasn't planning on moving. He felt safer next to Alice.

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

Alice had a good temper. Seeing Li Ang wouldn't leave, she gently nuzzled his face with her head and took a step back, allowing the Lord to claim her resting spot.