The Exiled Lord: My Maid is a Battle Goddess

Chapter 330: The harsh reality

"Don’t try to provoke me. It won’t work."

Phield remained completely unfazed. If the person was truly a newcomer as Jamie claimed, there was no way she would look down on him. After all, he was a lord who possessed a third tier Divine Chosen.

Jamie was simply trying to make him prove his strength so she could figure out a way to escape.

"Let’s go take a look at the achievements you’ve made in Ram Territory. Ophelia, have the corpse horde remain dormant here."

Taking out several black robes and handing one to each person, Phield led the group toward Ram Territory.

Avoiding rebel patrols along the way, they reached the border of Ram Territory by evening.

The Ram Territory plains had once been a prosperous and peaceful land. Now they were filled with screams and bloodshed. Corpses lay scattered everywhere like discarded rags.

Approach any area, and a flock of crows would erupt into the sky.

The minimap was packed with hostile skull markers, causing Phield to tighten his grip on the sword at his waist.

"That’s way too many skull markers."

"Tax Officer, run! The monster is right behind you!"

"Pull me up! I can’t keep going... huff... huff..."

"Didn’t you people from the Shadow World Sect say all I had to do was enjoy life? Is this what you call enjoyment?!"

Seven or eight figures sprinted forward like madmen, their faces flushed red as they reached the limits of their endurance. Chasing them was a pack of gray black creatures with smooth, hairless skin that looked like leather. They relentlessly pursued their prey.

"What’s going on? Why are Night Demons everywhere?"

To Phield’s surprise, it was Jamie who asked the question.

She stared into the distance.

"Could it be a monster tide?"

Ophelia flicked her tail and asked curiously, "Wasn’t this your doing? I was just about to compliment your artistic sense."

"Of course not. I told you before, a Slaughter Divine Chosen isn’t a Calamity. Unless it’s for sacrifices or entertainment, there’s no reason to turn a territory into hell. When I left, everything was still fine."

"Those people are about to get caught."

Phield continued watching the scene.

"Maybe we should find out what’s happening."

Accompanied by excited howls, a Night Demon with a hairless ratlike head leaped forward and tackled the slowest survivor, a tax officer.

"Help! I’m an Imperial official! If I die, none of you will survive either!"

Just as the tax officer was about to be eaten alive, one of the warriors in the group gritted his teeth and hurled the spiked hammer in his hand.

"Get away from him!"

The hammer smashed into the Night Demon’s face.

Hiding behind his shield, the warrior charged forward with both hands gripping it. Amid the clash of flesh and steel, he slammed into the Night Demon and knocked it to the ground.

"Well done, Egge. Your child can attend Canary Magic Academy."

With those words, the tax officer scrambled to his feet and ran faster than ever.

Egge wrestled with the Night Demon, smashing its beak repeatedly with the edge of his shield until blood covered its mouth. But with only a shield, he had no way to kill the monster.

"Someone get my hammer! No, any weapon will do!"

His hands dug desperately into the grass as he used every ounce of strength to pin the Night Demon down.

Turning his head to call for help, he was horrified to discover that every person he had saved had already fled.

"Heh. So I really can’t escape death after all. I should’ve died alongside my comrades."

Despair flooded his heart.

When the Shadow World Sect seized Ram Territory, most of his comrades had chosen to fight to the end.

But his desire to survive had overwhelmed him, and he had surrendered in disgrace.

"This must be my punishment."

Before Egge could close his eyes, Phield flashed past.

His sword sliced through the monster’s ugly head.

At the same time, Ophelia swung her dragon claws and shredded the pursuing Night Demons.

The headless Night Demon sprayed foul blood like a fountain, splattering Egge’s face.

Looking at the stunned man, Phield sheathed his sword.

"You’re wearing the uniform of the Imperial local army, right?"

The emblem on his armor was half Griffin and half Ram, making his origin obvious.

"Where’s the army garrison? The armory? You know where the military supplies and grain stores are too, don’t you?"

Phield made no effort to hide his intentions.

The only reason he had saved Egge was to obtain reliable information and possibly gain control of the local military forces.

"I... I was once an Imperial soldier named Egge, but now I don’t deserve that title."

Egge laughed bitterly, forcing out a smile that looked worse than crying.

"The garrison stationed here is finished. All of them."

Jamie frowned.

"What happened in Ram Territory? I only left for a couple of days."

"Shut up, woman. Nobody asked for your opinion."

Ophelia kicked her without hesitation.

When it came to bullying people, Ophelia treated everyone equally.

"Roar! Roar!"

The shrieks of Night Demons echoed again in the distance.

Scanning the minimap, Phield saw wave after wave of Night Demons flooding toward them. Among them were even higher tier Night Demons, their bodies radiating dark energy.

Rosalia pointed toward the setting sun.

"Night Demons are dangerous monsters. Once night falls, they enter a berserk state. They’re not our real enemies. There’s no reason to waste effort on them."

"You’re right. This isn’t the place to talk."

"Wait, those officials are back."

Egge pointed into the distance.

The Imperial officials who had fled earlier were being chased back by the Night Demons.

"Help! I’m a tax officer appointed by the Empire! You have to save me!"

The figures began shouting from far away.

The moment the tax officer spotted Phield, he looked as if he had seen his own father.

Phield glanced at them and ignored them completely.

After all, people like that would call you grandfather before you helped them, then betray you the moment you did.

The lone Night Demon noticed the pile of corpses and, apparently intimidated by Phield’s group, retreated and abandoned the chase.

"What terrible luck. Trouble always seems to find its way to me."

Phield muttered under his breath.

"Hey, Egge. You were way too slow. I nearly died."

The tax officer wiped away his sweat and casually cursed at him, not even sparing him a proper glance.

Striding toward Phield, he shouted:

"You useless lackey, I told you people to come save..."

"Oh! By the grace of the Goddess of Fortune, an honorable and benevolent noble, Sir Phield!"

The moment he recognized Phield, the tax officer changed his attitude at lightning speed.

His gaze swept greedily across the Divine Chosen standing beside Phield.

Although Rosalia and the others wore black robes, their attractive figures made it obvious they were women.

In a place this dangerous, the appearance of beautiful women surrounded by Night Demon corpses could only mean one thing.

They were very likely Divine Chosen.

Phield thought to himself that this was probably the arrangement of the Goddess of Misfortune.