I Understand. (Continued)

Upon hearing the familiar name, the Doctor, after a brief silence, also straightened up, his gaze sharp.

"You mean, He did this?"

The Doctor was clearly unaware of Maria's previous struggles and battles with Gordan, nor did he know why Gordan had appeared on the ground.

"It's highly likely."

Maria rubbed her temples.

From the moment she came into this world, she had been constantly trying to fight Gordan.

The two sides have clashed time and time again, right up to the present day.

She was gradually finding a way to deal with Gordan, while Gordan was also gradually trying to capture Maria completely.

Now that Maria has gathered the necessary conditions, she is starting to consider how to safely kill him.

Gordan also successfully channeled some of his thoughts and power into Terra.

Both sides are making progress, and both sides are cautiously trying to kill the other.

Both sides do indeed possess the ability to kill each other.

So what are you planning to do?

Upon hearing Maria's reply, the Doctor's expression changed drastically.

After hesitating for a few moments, she suddenly clenched her fist.

Without any hesitation, she immediately asked Maria the question.

"Go get it checked out..."

Maria shook her head slightly.

"Although his memory faded quickly, I still managed to glean some useful information... For example, I now know exactly where their camp is, and perhaps I can go there and investigate something..."

Maria knew that Gordan's arrival was inevitable, and that Gordan might even have organized some mysterious organization hidden beneath civilization—after all, Gordan didn't seem to be an incommunicable monster; He had communicated with Maria before.

This means there's a good chance He will actively borrow the power of the Terra.

"If they're just a bunch of people who happened to hear Gordan's shouts by chance, then I'll kill them all... But if they really obtained Gordan's positive resources..."

Maria paused for a moment after speaking, then her gaze sharpened.

The Doctor also frowned.

"Go and interrogate them?"

"... Then I'll steal all their memories and then kill them!"

Maria spoke, using the calmest tone to utter the most bloodthirsty words.

The Doctor hesitated for a few moments during this pause.

She suddenly realized that Kal'tsit's reminders and warnings to her were meaningful.

After all, Maria's tendency to kill at the slightest provocation is indeed a bit creepy.

More importantly, Maria wasn't saying this to threaten or anything... she genuinely intended to kill!

"This is really..."

The Doctor rubbed his temples, feeling a bit of a headache, but didn't stop the other person.

Because she also knew that when facing Gordan, a terrifying being far beyond what an individual could contend with, any caution and even killing were necessary.

The night passed quickly.

The Doctor and Maria took the initiative to approach the village chief. After a brief exchange, Maria left the Doctor in the village and then went out alone.

Before long, she found her target in a more distant location.

It was a small camp... it looked like there were only twenty or thirty people.

In the middle of the tattered tent stood a cold, towering altar, upon which lay the disemboweled corpses of several children...

At that very moment, an old man dressed in a deep red robe was kneeling on a spot beside the altar, holding a dagger with a fanatical expression. Further away, everyone was excitedly worshipping him.

Maria didn't waste any words and slowly stepped inside.

"Who goes there?!"

Noticing someone had barged in, everyone turned around, looking at them with unfriendly expressions.

They temporarily halted the ceremony, brandishing various weapons and glaring menacingly at the scene.

Didn't they say so?

Seeing these people's reactions, Maria's hand paused slightly.

After these people dared to react so aggressively to her, Maria knew that Gordan probably hadn't mentioned his... to them.

This seems to suggest that these people were not the puppets that Gordan had contacted, but simply a group of crazy individuals.

But this isn't certain... After all, Gordan wasn't sure if Maria would attack on her own initiative, so he didn't say anything.

After thinking for a moment, Maria also shook her head slightly.

She placed her palm on the long sword and spoke silently.

"So... before I make my move, who among you is planning to surrender?"

"... Arrogant! You can't stop us!"

These fanatical believers, for reasons unknown, roared with excited expressions.

The believers around him also became agitated by his words, their eyes turning fierce.

But Maria only sighed silently, then raised her longsword.

"Sulfone--!"

The Blades struck directly, without the slightest mercy!

"There's nothing more to say..."

Maria silently raised her head, her gray eyes unchanged.

In an instant, he burst into the crowd!

Amidst the flashing swords and clashing blades, Maria did not pause for even a moment.

For her, the art of killing was effortless, requiring no thought; everything happened so naturally...

In just a few breaths, more than a dozen people were reduced to corpses scattered all over the ground!

After completing the cut, Maria finally let out a long breath, turned her head, and looked at the crowd who were not completely dead, whose flesh was still twitching, and whose bodies were still moving. Her eyes narrowed slightly...

Hunting Ground!

Maria instantly pulled them into the memory of Yharnam.

Unfortunately, the result was similar to that of the previous man.

The moment Maria extended her tentative memory, the souls of all these people were consumed by flames.

Maria could only vaguely sense another direction...

Should we continue searching?

Maria frowned slightly, her eyes flickering.

These people were just a marginal group... She could sense that in the memories of the leader, there were others who were of a higher rank than him.

However, Maria cannot yet determine whether this is an organization established by Gordan or whether these people are fanatical followers like the Mountain and Shanhai Assembly...

"I hope it's the latter..."

Maria exhaled a breath of stale air, shook her head slightly, and then composed herself.

After turning his head to confirm that there were no more survivors at the scene, he turned to look at the children who had been used as sacrifices.

After pausing for a few moments, she spent some time taking the body away and burying it before quietly returning to the village.

After a brief farewell to everyone, Maria wasted no time and immediately turned around to lead the Doctor in pursuit.

The pursuit, naturally, could not continue in the same manner as the initial operation with Priestess.

Fortunately, the Doctor understood and supported Maria's choice.

The two of them deviated from their original route and began a pursuit...

On the other side, in the border city of Kazdel.

Inside the Kazdel Military Committee.

Another meeting was held, and Theresis, as always, sat at the very top of the table.

However, the number of Royal Court representatives on both sides was much smaller... Only about a third of them were familiar faces, while the majority of the others were newcomers who had been dispatched... There were even a few Royal Court who hadn't come at all.

This has been happening ever since he left Kazdel... but thankfully, things have finally stabilized a bit recently.

But this isn't all bad.

At least, Theresis could now determine who her trusted supporters were...

"Your Highness..."

As usual, Sarkaz, who was in charge of finances, began to read out the financial income of everyone over the past few days. The sheriff continued to explain the various conflicts and challenges that had arisen on the border, and most importantly... the whereabouts of that group of crazy people who came from who-knows-where.

After hearing all this, Theresis silently lowered her head.

Seeing this, the others exchanged glances, their expressions somewhat uneasy.

Back in Kazdel, because of their status, they received various resources from the royal Royal Court... But now that they've moved to the border, such support has decreased...

This wasn't because the Royal Court stopped providing aid; rather, it was simply that their environment was extremely unstable, with various attackers constantly emerging... This directly resulted in the Royal Court needing to spend far more money to transport the same support teams.

This directly resulted in fewer items falling into their hands.

It was only at this point that everyone realized the true purpose of Theresa's demand for the construction of a real road in Kazdel.

It's only because they did it back then, otherwise the resources they have now would be even less impressive.

Even so, they are now finding it difficult to continue.

Many people could understand Theresis's dilemma, but unfortunately, they couldn't come up with any good solutions...

Instead, it was the woman sitting next to Theresis, dressed in a strange black robe, who slowly spoke at this moment.

"Can't they afford to support them anymore?"

"..."

Theresis didn't reply, but simply turned his somewhat indifferent face to look at the woman.

"..."

"It's a very simple problem to solve."

The woman chuckled softly, her demeanor calm.

The people around also turned their heads, seemingly wondering what other brilliant ideas the woman might have.

"Wouldn't it be simpler to disband the excess troops?"

The woman spoke, and her words initially disappointed everyone.

That's it?

Is this all women can do?

So, what made her worthy of such respect from His Highness, even being allowed to sit beside him?

Although no one spoke, the looks they gave each other clearly conveyed the same meaning.

This led to a slight sense of disdain from others towards him.

Theresis noticed this as well.

He wouldn't have cared about these things in the past, but not now.