The more they oppose, the more it shows that I am doing the right thing

It was still dark when Miss Alice and her squad set out.

Today, they were going to visit the Count of the neighboring town, His Excellency held a company of thirty second-order personal guards. If they could secure his help, the likelihood of eradicating the Painful Esoteric Sect would increase significantly.

Riding in the carriage to the pale green plains outside of Seden Town, the biting autumn wind filled the collars of every team member as a pale fish-belly white slowly rose from the horizon.

First, they passed through the lookout, ascending along the hillside, and after being scrutinized by several coarse soldiers and paying a few Gold Coins, they finally saw the Count's fortress.

After letting the maidservant send word, they faced a long wait in the hall.

Alice had originally thought that requesting military aid would be simple.

A light and natural matter, of course.

However, what surprised and astonished Alice was that they had waited in the hall for a full hour and the Count had still not appeared.

It was just a Count in a remote area, after all.

What airs he was putting on.

As a noble from the imperial capital, Alice had never been treated with such cold disregard; wherever she went, she was greeted with respect.

Though she was not as arrogantly talented as her cousin, Alice still possessed the pampered temperament of a noble.

But considering her current status was merely that of a Viscount under Count Seden, she had no choice but to swallow this cold treatment.

So long as she could request troops...

She would endure it for the time being.

This time, she was determined to earn the top spot in the exam and fiercely slap the face of that borderlander named An Su Moningsta.

The thing Alice could least tolerate was that her cousin, whom she had always adored, Ai Xueli, had actually succumbed to that borderlander.

Before the exam, Ai Xueli had even told her, "If you encounter An Su, you can choose to surrender directly. I won't blame you, cousin."

A mere lowly borderlander, showing off with a few tricks, what's there to be proud of?

Where had the pride of the imperial nobility gone?

These fellows hadn't even passed the personality verification test and were just losers who had been defeated by cultists.

Being trampled underfoot by such people was truly infuriating.

But now everything was about to change.

With a faint smile on her lips, Alice was ready to use her years of experience negotiating in noble circles to secure military assistance at the fastest speed. Even taking the first kill would be a feather in her cap.

And those borderlanders could only watch her enviously.

"Miss Alice, the Count doesn't seem to have come out yet... Do you think this is worthwhile?"

After a long wait, an Alchemist couldn't help but speak up.

They had set out early in the morning, braved the cold wind for two hours on a mountain road, and were now weary, cold, and hungry. Seeing that the Count kept delaying, complaints inevitably arose.

"Mr. John Cyst, I recall, your father is also a Viscount in a remote area, is he not? Really..."

Alice elegantly lifted her lovely eyes, and her lips parted lightly.

"You should know that with the social skills and eloquence of the upper-class nobility, even an army can be persuaded."

With a venom that had shades of Ai Xueli, Alice elegantly stated:

"For nobles of the Count's level, time is the least valuable thing. If you're dissatisfied, you're free to follow that borderland Mr. An Su..."

"Ah, I forgot, they apparently haven't even entered Nether."

No sooner had she spoken this than she received nods of agreement from several supporters.

At that moment,

Just after Ai Xueli had finished speaking,

The ethereal, crystal-clear voice of the Celestial Messenger rang out:

[First Kill]

At the first line, all the saints were shocked; their weariness vanished in an instant.

All doubted their own ears.

First kill?

They had been in Nether World for less than a week; how could the first kill have happened so quickly?

Was it done by the almost Third Order knight, Sir Rosen?

But according to the original plan, Sir Rosen should be recruiting soldiers in Seden Town...

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Who completed that?

Which saint, which team, could actually be faster than His Grace Rosen?

They exchanged glances, each looking for answers in the other's eyes only to find confusion.

[Serpent of Pain, second squad leader, Second Order Magician, Assyria Xius forfeits his qualification....]

Another wave of shock.

They might not know what the Serpent of Pain was, but the word 'squad leader' was undeniably significant.

A squad leader, also known as a soldier chief in the Painful Esoteric Sect, was truly the elite of the elite.

The teams from the Alchemical Church couldn't even enter the sect's stronghold, yet a team had managed to kill a soldier chief.

Everyone was curious about the identity of this killer.

Miss Alice had a subtle expression on her face, her eyes widened as she listened intently, eager to know who had stolen her first kill.

Was it Shana from the Druid Court?

Or...?

Several names flashed through her mind, but when she heard the next sentence from the Celestial Messenger, Alice felt the world was absurd and bizarre, and even wondered if she hadn't woken up properly.

[Contributors: An Su Moningsta (50％), Lisiter Muen (40％), Arthur Sunny (10％)]

[For the first kill bonus, An Su earns five points, Lisiter four points, and Arthur one point]

"Hmm...aha?"

Alice was so baffled she couldn't speak; her head tilted, eyes blinking rapidly, as if the words she heard were familiar but their combination made no sense to her.

"An Su?"

"Is it that An Su Moningsta? And those two from the borderlands?"

"How did he do it...."n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

The saints were equally astonished and lost, a cacophony of voices rose and fell, as they kept confirming with their companions, all doubting their own ears.

According to Rosen and Alice, weren't those three from the borderlands eliminated right from the start? Enjoy new chapters from empire

Did they collectively win a comeback round?

Even if they had won, how did they manage to assassinate someone without making a sound?

With the Painful Esoteric Sect's tight and perfect management, they hadn't managed to step inside even after a whole week, let alone assassinate a Second Order cultist...

What kind of brilliant method was it?

Societal assassination, is the most silent assassination.

But no...they finally realized something.

According to the Celestial Messenger, the soldier chief had chosen to withdraw voluntarily.

That could only mean suicide.

Though it was suicide, it was judged as a contribution from those of the borderlands.

Could it be they were so terrifyingly powerful that they scared a cultist into suicide—some saints passed this unrealistic thought.

Alice found it the most unacceptable.

She felt a burning blush on her face, "How...could it be possible?"

What made Alice's face turn even uglier was,

a middle-aged man in the attire of a butler walked into the hall, first, he bowed, then spoke deliberately:

"Dear Viscount, Your clamor is too loud, losing the dignity of nobility... Please, go back."

Because of the surprise from An Su's first kill, their discussions had indeed been too loud, disturbing the count, who deemed them rude and issued an eviction order.

They were being driven away.

...Alice finally felt a glimmer of her cousin's sentiments.

What on earth was all this...

"With the social skills and eloquence of an uncouth nobleman, even a soldier chief can be coerced to death."

John, the saint she had just mocked, clapped his hands and showed an expression of sudden realization.

----"Is it too late to join An Su now?"

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