You'll Stay with Me, Right?

They were somewhat at a loss when faced with the woman's obstruction.

But after a few moments of quiet discussion, someone walked over.

"Boss."

Upon seeing the other party's appearance, the mercenaries seemed to have found their backbone, nodding slightly and regaining their confidence.

They all stepped back, giving the man space, while they themselves stood behind him, maintaining order.

A little further away, a crowd gathered.

Some of them were bandaged and pale, while others had sallow skin and looked withered. The worst-looking group even made one wonder how they were still alive.

This group of disabled people, facing a place where conflict could erupt at any moment, did not leave, but instead tremblingly hid behind their respective tents, spying on the situation.

"Um."

When the mercenary leader appeared, he kept a straight face and didn't say much.

He is a very typical Sarkaz mercenary Infected Oripathy.

He wore little armor, and a dirty cloak, its color indistinguishable as black or gray, draped over his body. In his hand, he carried a longsword as tall as a man. Most striking of all were his bizarre features: half of his face bulged with fresh, bloody flesh...

The delicate pinkish skin was completely on a different level from the rough, dry skin of the rest of his body!

His gaze swept over everyone present.

Everyone who met his gaze felt their heart skip a beat, and they all turned their heads away, unable to meet his eyes.

Even the woman who had been scolding the mercenaries frowned at this moment.

"Patton, keep an eye on your men..."

She continued speaking, but her tone was no longer as forceful as before.

Only after hearing the woman's words did everyone realize who she was.

"Patton? That Thousand-Slash Mercenary? Didn't he say he died overseas?"

"I heard he went to war with His Highness the Regent, but something happened later... But now it seems something went wrong..."

"Did His Highness the Regent save him? Then what is he doing here?"

"Is... is this the Regent's doing? Is the Regent coming here to arrest people?"

The crowd erupted in discussion, their words filled with fear, growing increasingly apprehensive and uneasy under the gaze of those watching them.

Seeing her patient in such a state, the female doctor frowned.

While there's no definitive answer yet on whether a patient's mood affects the efficacy of medication, she genuinely hopes her patients can undergo treatment while in good health.

The man's appearance clearly disrupted her rhythm.

This made her even more irritable.

What exactly are you doing here?

"Hehe..."

The man called Patton chuckled lightly. Despite the woman's wariness and annoyance, he remained calm and continued speaking at a leisurely pace.

"His Highness discovered that there are foreign spies here, so he sent us to investigate."

The man spoke softly, but loud enough for the others nearby to hear.

Their expressions changed slightly after hearing the man's words.

Spy?

Are there spies among them?

In an instant, the group of people, who had been gathered together, all looked at each other.

Ultimately, this is simply a charitable treatment area specially approved by Her Highness Theresa, with no requirements whatsoever.

The majority of the people here came from other towns to Kazdel, but some were injured or seriously wounded because they hadn't been able to adapt to the completely changed Kazdel.

Theresa has always upheld the principle of protecting the Kazdel people, and has built many similar charitable institutions, including but not limited to literacy schools with extremely low tuition fees, medical camps where you can skip out on your bill even if you only do simple volunteer work, basic food security, and job placement agencies, among other things.

However, precisely because of this, the population mobility in such areas is extremely high, with almost no hard and fast guarantees.

If Kazdel truly has spies, they could indeed appear in places like this.

For a moment, everyone looked at each other warily.

It wasn't that they had a strong sense of belonging to Kazdel, but rather that they knew that if there were really spies here, the place would definitely be sealed off, and that such a large group of old, weak, sick, and disabled people wouldn't live long without timely and accurate treatment.

To put it another way, they became wary of each other because of their own interests.

"Spy?"

The woman naturally heard Patton's words, and she frowned, but still spoke up.

"Where's your search warrant? You should have that, right?"

"We belong to His Highness's special operations team and do not require a search warrant."

Patton chuckled and uttered his domineering words.

This action, which clearly violates regulations, could not possibly have been done by Theresa.

Clearly, the "Your Highness" they were referring to could only be Theresis.

And such an arrangement...

The woman frowned, and after a moment, she understood.

This is Theresis trying to damage Theresa's reputation!

Although many people in Kazdel are dissatisfied with their Demon Lord, the vast majority still respect the Demon Lord named Theresa.

Their most radical demand was simply that Theresa relinquish power and let Theresis take the lead.

Theresa has never directly addressed this point.

It was obvious to everyone that Theresa did not want to do this.

Theresis understood this even more.

But his relationship with Theresa was so special that while he was pressing Theresa to relinquish her power, he was also protecting the girl from pressure from others.

In reality, given Theresa's reputation, if Theresis were to actually attempt to purge the court of corrupt officials and seize power, aside from a few die-hard loyalists, the vast majority of Sarkaz would harbor some suspicion and resentment towards him.

They disliked Theresa's policies, but that doesn't mean they disliked Theresa.

Faced with this dilemma, the only thing Theresis could do was begin to undermine Theresa's foundation of prestige—that is, popular support.

The first to be targeted were these purely charitable organizations...

"How shameless!"

Having figured this out, the woman frowned and cursed under her breath.

But she also had to admit that Theresis's methods were indeed very clever.

Knowing he couldn't defeat them head-on, he turned to other methods and began sealing off those areas.

Ultimately, Theresa's reputation was built up from the experiences of her patients.

All they need to do is delay this place, preventing it from fulfilling its duties, and Theresa's reputation will naturally decline—ordinary people don't understand military or political power; they only know that they have no way to get treatment, and Theresa, who 'issued' the order, is reluctant to lift the lockdown.

They'll then arrange for someone to fan the flames.

Everything is going to turn against Theresa.

Thinking about this, the female doctor frowned.

Meanwhile, Patton, seeing that everyone's hesitation had built up to a point, smirked maliciously and slapped his hand dismissively.

"Seal off the scene! No one is allowed to leave until we catch the spy!"

"No!"

After realizing that this was Theresis's scheme, the female doctor brandished her scalpel, her tone cold.

She absolutely cannot allow these people's plans to proceed normally.

"No one is allowed to take over this place until we see a search warrant!"

The female doctor shouted, her tone icy.

But Patton clearly didn't want to get involved, and he snorted coldly.

"Doctor Warfarin is suspected of harboring criminals and treason. We will arrest you in accordance with His Highness's will!"

"Speak," he said, getting up and lunging towards Warfarin!

Warfarin panicked for a moment and couldn't recall how to fight back or dodge. She just stared blankly as the greatsword grew larger and larger in front of her, her pupils shrinking to pinpoints.

That's going to hurt a lot, isn't it?

Warfarin thought to herself.

But it was at this moment...

A familiar scent of incense gently enveloped her...

348

Chapter 348 You'll stay with me, right?

What does the incense smell like?

Warfarin was stunned for a moment, but she calmed down in a very short time.

She knew who had come...

Although she was a little curious as to why the other party had returned at this time, she accepted it and looked at the mercenaries who were starting to set up their ranks, crossing her arms.

"I don't repeat myself three times, and this is the second time... Get out of here, Patton."

Warfarin spoke, her tone becoming firm once again.

The man called Patton, seeing Warfarin's behavior, suddenly sensed something was amiss.

Although his title makes him seem like a complete madman, in reality, anyone who reaches his level is no fool.

He could hear the slowness and calmness in Warfarin's voice at this moment.

But...

Why?

What gives her that confidence?

Has anyone arrived?

Patton observed his surroundings discreetly, his wolf-like eyes scanning precisely everyone he could see, his cold pupils like those of a demon.

Those who met his gaze all lowered their heads in fear, pretending not to see him.

But this made him frown once again.

He didn't see any of it.

Bluff?

Patton frowned.

For a mercenary like him, the only way to survive this long is to be extremely cautious.

Therefore, faced with Warfarin's renewed warning, he did not act rashly, but instead pondered the situation.

Leaving directly is definitely not an option... I have already assured His Highness that I will definitely complete the mission this time, and the only obstacle in this medical area is Warfarin in front of me.

Warfarin and her team also investigated this.

A Blood Demon with exceptional talent in medicine, but laughable in combat. She excels in Originium Arts related to blood, but is not someone to be wary of... If there is anything special about her, it is that she is said to have met and established a good relationship with the current Demon Lord during the last Defense of Kazdel.

So...

Did the Demon King send someone to support her?

After thinking for a moment, Patton quickly rejected his idea.

No... that's impossible.