Chapter 44: A Day for Setting Fires

"Thank you for helping me..."

Luna walked to Loren's side, tears glistening at the corners of her eyes. She hadn't expected Loren to stand by her so firmly.

"It's fine. Remember, no matter what happens, I will always be your support. I will always believe in you."

Loren placed his hand on Luna's head, looking down into her eyes as he spoke earnestly. Luna's face grew redder and redder, so much so that she didn't even react when Loren finally left.

"It's all your fault!"

It wasn't until she heard Sylvia's furious roar that Luna snapped back to reality.

The moment Loren left, Sylvia began chasing and tearing into her, as if everything that had happened was Luna's fault and had nothing to do with her.

Seeing Sylvia turn on her, Luna felt a bit at a loss. After a moment of stunned silence, her gaze grew firm.

"Get lost!"

After silencing Sylvia, Luna looked at her own hand, hardly believing she had done such a thing. While feeling excited, fear also enveloped her.

After all, she wasn't Loren; she didn't have his high status. Sylvia was a real princess.

"What happened?"

The commotion drew Loren back. As soon as he returned, he saw Sylvia's pitiful state.

Several of Sylvia's lackeys immediately began slinging mud at Luna. Loren listened quietly while Luna hung her head, awaiting his criticism.

"Well done."

To her surprise, Loren not only didn't criticize her but instead highly praised her actions.

"Your Highness the Princess..."

With Loren watching, none of them dared to help Sylvia up. It wasn't until Loren took Luna's hand and left that they gathered around Sylvia.

She had already fainted, blood seeping from the corner of her mouth. It was unclear whether she was knocked out or fainted from rage.

"Sit."

Under Loren's command, Luna obediently sat on the chair. She didn't dare to look up at Loren's face. Even though Loren had just said she did well, Luna was still somewhat afraid.

If Loren were to dislike her because of this, she would truly despair.

"Do you know where you went wrong?"

Loren sat down in front of Luna, his expression calm. The calmer he was, the more uncertain Luna felt.

"I shouldn't have hit Sylvia..."

After some internal struggle, Luna finally spoke.

As soon as the words left her mouth, Loren cupped Luna's face. Her face deformed under his pinching and squeezing, her lips puckering up.

Luna instantly felt her heartbeat accelerate, and her face grew hot. The distance was too close, so close that Luna could see the black eye beneath Loren's hair. This was the first time she had looked so carefully at Loren's eyes; usually, she didn't dare to look directly. Was Master Mentor's eye really this beautiful?

"Wrong. Your mistake was hitting her too late. Some people just don't understand human language. If you had taken advantage of my presence and beaten her up earlier, she wouldn't have dared treat you like this.

"Even if you didn't act before, if you had been a bit more firm in your attitude, you wouldn't have been bullied to this extent.

"Repay kindness with kindness, repay resentment with straightforwardness. That's what's normal. Never delude yourself into thinking that evil people will repent because of your kindness."

As he spoke, Loren held Luna's face, staring directly into her eyes.

After saying this, Loren suddenly revealed a smile, and Luna immediately breathed a sigh of relief.

Although Luna didn't fully understand Loren's words, she grasped the general idea. She still nodded, knowing that Loren would never harm her.

The fact that Luna dared to act today showed that Loren's previous teachings had had some effect.

"This is for you. It's a protective talisman. I hope you can carry it with you at all times. It will protect you. I don't want you to encounter any danger."

Loren grabbed Luna's hand and placed the Abyssal Gaze Eye in her palm. Feeling the residual warmth of Loren's body heat on the Abyssal Gaze Eye, Luna clenched it tightly, pressing it against her chest.

"Thank you..."

"Alright, that's enough. From now on, if you encounter any difficulties, come find me. Don't have any reservations. But you still need to be careful in your actions."

With these words, Loren was reminding Luna to be cautious while being a superhero at night, to stay alert at all times. It was just unclear if she would realize it.

"Don't worry about Sylvia. With me here, no one in the entire kingdom dares lay a finger on you."

"Mhm."

Luna showed a smile. She felt like a ship on the vast sea that had finally found a harbor. From now on, she wouldn't need to worry about storms and waves.

After saying this, Loren intended to leave. Now was the critical period.

He had to take action against that group of Plague Believers now. During this time, Loren had also used Gwen to observe their situation. They weren't just indulging in debauchery; they were also researching plagues. Just yesterday, their research had yielded results. If he didn't act now, it would truly be too late.

If they really succeeded, even if it didn't affect Loren's plans, the Royal Capital would suffer immense casualties. That wasn't something Loren wanted to see.

No wonder the God of Plague was the first to fall. Its methods and those of its followers were utterly inhumane. Not only did the God of Bountiful Harvest try to kill it, but the surrounding circle of gods didn't spare it either.

"Goodbye, Master Mentor."

After Loren left, Luna stared blankly in the direction he had gone, the Abyssal Gaze Eye tightly clutched in her hand. It was a long time before she snapped out of her daze and put the Abyssal Gaze Eye around her neck.

There were many more guards on the road today. At regular intervals, members of the Guard Force stood watch. They all held signal flares; once they encountered any situation, they would set them off, and the surrounding Scarecrows would rush over.

These ordinary people couldn't handle the Blackened at all; they could only let the Scarecrows deal with them. So recently, the Scarecrows in the Royal Capital had been exceptionally busy, and some had even been transferred from other places.

Sporadic Blackened had also appeared in cities around the Royal Capital. Although the numbers weren't as high as in the capital, they couldn't be underestimated. Even so, most Scarecrows had come to the Royal Capital.

The Church also tried to contain the situation, but it had little effect. After all, the Outer Gods' corruption only required a name to spread. Ultimately, the Church could only remind the populace not to casually read words written on various objects, to minimize communication with others as much as possible, and not to utter any words that might resemble names.

During the investigation, many Church members and nobles inevitably learned the name Ligoss. However, they didn't harbor much hatred, so the problem wasn't too significant. The Outer Gods weren't that dangerous; it wasn't like hearing the name would cause immediate trouble.

Compared to ordinary people, their lives were too comfortable, so naturally, they didn't generate much hatred.

"Scarlett!"

"Here! Master!"

Hearing Loren call her name, Scarlett immediately came running over, eager to please. Although she hadn't fulfilled many maid duties, Scarlett was growing increasingly attached to her identity as a maid.

"We act tonight. Get ready."

"Wh-what action?"

Hearing that action was required, Scarlett immediately felt a bit cowardly and began playing dumb.

"The weather is great today. High winds are good for setting fires, and moonless nights are good for killing. If you don't want to go, that's fine. Stay home honestly and wait for me to return."

If Loren forced Scarlett to go, she might have resisted. But having freeloaded for so long, with Loren giving her the freedom to choose, and her task being relatively safer, Scarlett felt that if she didn't go, she'd feel a bit guilty about the cake she'd just secretly eaten.

"I'll go! I'm going!"

"Good. We set off at nightfall. Find a place to hide then. Come in after I finish killing."

After settling Scarlett, Loren returned to his room to prepare the things he would need to use later.