Qian, Namenis, Hu Que, and Sanfde stood quietly behind him.

Brand held a rough stone tablet in his hand, his gaze cutting through the layers of broken walls and remnants of the elf ruins, looking in the direction of the valley—lizardmen sporadically appeared in that direction, their short figures flitting through the gaps between the trees, those partially evolved reptiles appearing and disappearing occasionally. Brand glanced over and roughly estimated that there were at least two large squads on the other side, no fewer than three hundred heads, and possibly more behind. It seemed that Yohkel and Conrad had already joined forces, very cautious, the young man confirmed.

He raised his head; another clear day, the sky tinged with a hint of purple. The afternoon sunlight flowed silently over the forest, making the tree canopies near and far seep with a piercing green.

He squinted his eyes.

The air was filled with a faint smell of blood. Although the battlefield had been cleaned, the traces of the previous slaughter were inevitable. The stone tablet in the young man's hand was the Sage Stone Tablet, about the size of a fist, with a rune etched on its surface. The rune pronounced 'Eaam,' meaning earth in the most ancient cuneiform writing—earth which carries life and wisdom.

The stone tablet was in hand, meaning at least half of his original goal of coming here was achieved. The rest involved how to obtain Medisha's necklace—from that lizardman's hand.

But just as he thought of this, he suddenly heard a rustling sound behind him. Brand turned around and saw the Elf Princess tying up her long silver hair draped over her shoulders, dressed in armor of holy white, leading her unicorn over. The Silver Elf Royal Family's armor was so luxurious it took one's breath away, so much so that Brand almost mistook the Princess Knight's armor for a silver-leafed princess dress. Medisha glanced at him with her glass-like transparent eyes, smiled slightly, and said in his heart, "Thank you, Lord—"

"This was the agreement." Brand barely managed to look away from her as he replied.

Medisha blushed; Brand's words reminded her of everything that happened that day. She had never been so scared, to the point of crying in front of so many people, completely forgetting the royal etiquette.

She couldn't help but glance to the other side—seeing a red-haired girl named Qian standing alone a bit farther away, her eyes in the shadows under the tree canopies glowing like amber in a blaze. She leaned on her long Thunder Gun, looking outside, her entire being somewhat still. Brand had already told her everything that had happened before, about the Divine Blood, the disbandment of the Gray Wolf Mercenary Group, and ever since she had been like this.

Neither sad nor angry.

"What will happen to that sister?" Medisha turned back and softly asked.

"The Divine Blood is rooted in her body, the pollution cannot be eradicated. It can only be suppressed by willpower, but once out of control, she would eventually become a Divine Envoy. However, the term Divine Envoy is but a beautiful name, more accurately, they are monsters." Brand replied, but he had another way. That was, with Qian's consent, sealing her as a card. Because the link through the rules had already established, what remained was just a contract. But transforming a living, breathing being into a card—this seemed overly harsh for a free person, thus, unless as a last resort, Brand resolved not to reveal this method.

The Silver Elf girl frowned slightly at his words, feeling regretful. Yet, inherent quietness of her race kept her from saying more.

Brand also remained silent, his gaze resting on the mercenaries not far away. These mercenaries were hiding within the ruins built by the Silver Elven Master Builders centuries ago, their crossbows aimed at the lizardmen ahead, ensuring they wouldn't immediately discard their weapons and flee. In fact, Brand had attacked and razed the nest of these lizard bandits a few hours earlier, with the assistance of two Gold Rank powers, Qian and Medisha, along with the twenty Silver Elf Guards left with mid-tier silver strength. The mere two hundred or so lizardmen left behind, ultimately became mere experience for Brand.

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