The Path to Lordship Begins in the North

Caroline was completely stunned because Isa had lost her holy light, so Caroline, as a professional, led the soldiers to the place where the nuns and refugees were.

No amount of scouts could describe the shock Caroline felt from seeing it with her own eyes.

A hellish scene, even more terrifying than Cordick's description, was unfolding before Caroline's eyes, but she felt no joy whatsoever; she even wished it were all just a nightmare.

"Lady Flora!"

Seeing Flora covered in curses, Isa showed no disgust; instead, she was excited and wanted to hug Flora.

As long as they are alive, that's enough for Isa. She is already happy as long as the people in the Basilica of Our Lady of Salvation are still alive.

When Flora saw the human soldiers arrive, her first reaction was worry, fearing that the plague around her would infect them. But when she saw Isa, a look of surprise appeared on Flora's face.

"Little Issa!"

Flora excitedly stood up, wanting to hug Isa as she used to, but she immediately backed away, shouting a warning, "Don't come any closer!"

Isa stood there, stunned. The stench assaulted her nostrils, instantly reminding her of the refugee camp that had once been a living hell.

The soldiers stood guard outside the white lines drawn with alchemical powder to prevent infection with the plague, while also keeping an eye on the battle situation in the distance to prevent the demon soldiers from returning.

Upon witnessing the plight of the nuns and refugees, the soldiers even felt a pang of regret that they weren't the ones fighting the demons from afar.

Caroline took out two silk scarves and handed one to Isa.

The silk scarf was covered in alchemical powder and medicinal herbs, all used for epidemic prevention.

Not far away, carriages carrying medical equipment, hot water equipment, and holy water were also arriving one after another.

"Little Isa, is it really you?"

Flora still couldn't quite believe what she was seeing. Two teams of human soldiers had suddenly appeared, their order and division of labor meticulous and orderly. One team was protecting the refugees, while the other was fighting against the demons. Moreover, Isa had also appeared in front of her, and it seemed that medicine was being delivered continuously from afar.

For Flora, who had experienced despair, this was simply too dreamlike; she even felt that it was a goddess giving her end-of-life care.

"Lady Flora, how is the situation now? What curses and plagues have the demons planted? I'll go prepare medicine!"

Seeing Isa's anxiety, Flora also realized what was happening, but said sadly, "It's no use, little Isa. No medicine will work. We're all about to die. In fact, many of our brothers and sisters were on the verge of collapse on the way. The demons forced me to prolong everyone's lives, but we're also reaching our limit."

"Thank you, little Isa, but perhaps for us, being burned to death in a fire is the best outcome, and it would be best to bury us with lime afterwards. That would be enough."

Just as Flora and Isa were talking, a nun ran to Flora's side and cried out, "Your Holiness, something terrible has happened! A sister is about to drown!"

Drowning? Caroline, who had her head wrapped in a scarf, was completely bewildered. Wasn't there no water source nearby? How could someone have drowned?

Flora and Isa rushed over and found a nun with yellowish-green liquid constantly oozing from her mouth and nose. Only then did Caroline realize what drowning meant.

For a moment, Caroline even felt an urge to vomit. It wasn't because she was disgusted by the nun who was about to drown in her pus, but because she wondered what she had been doing in the past. How could she have been cheering for the demons alongside Cordick?

Isa reacted immediately, and without hesitation, she helped the nun up from the ground, put her fingers into the nun's mouth, and forcefully dug out the pus from the nun's throat and nasal cavity.

The nun was lying on the ground, vomiting in pain, and Isa could only pat her back with heartache.

"Why did you save me?"

The nun, now back to life, cried out to Isa in despair, "I was about to die! If I had just died, I wouldn't have had to suffer anymore. Why did you save me?"

While Isa was at a loss, Flora stepped past Isa and gently embraced the nun.

“Sister, we must never treat our saviors like this under any circumstances.”

"I'm sorry, Lady Flora, I just..."

The nun broke down in tears.

"Lady Flora, the lord of the Grey Collar has prepared a potion for you. Once the potion arrives, it will at least alleviate your pain, if not cure you completely."

Isa tried to hug Flora's hand, but Flora quickly pulled it away.

"Thank you, kind lord, but unless the goddess bestows a miracle and brings endless holy water, we are probably doomed. Any measures we take will only be delaying tactics. So please, Isa, at least don't let our sins worsen, okay?"

While they were talking, Lind and Lena had already arrived at the refugees' location.

The Scarlet Saintess Flora doesn't have much screen time in the original work, and Lind doesn't know her very well. However, Lind has great respect for someone who heals the sick and saves lives on the frontier and can comfort her companions in such a desperate situation.

No wonder she's Isa's mentor in this timeline.

Just looking at these nuns and refugees would send chills down your spine; it's hard to imagine how Flora got here.

Lena's knights even pulled her back, fearing she might have contracted the plague.

"Lord Lord!"

Caroline was the first to see Lind and bowed to him.

Isabella introduced Lind to Flora: "This is Viscount Lind Roll, the lord of the Grey and White Collar, and his fiancée, Ms. Lena Lars."

Flora was taken aback when she heard Lena's surname, but quickly recovered.

Flora, her body weak, bowed respectfully to Lind: "Thank you for your kindness, my lord. Your wisdom and courage are evident to all."

Linde accepted the greeting readily and returned it with the same level of courtesy, saying, "Your Holiness, you are the strongest person I have ever met. I wish you all a speedy recovery."

"Unless the goddess herself performs a miracle." Flora gave a helpless, bitter smile.

“There will be a miracle.” Lind turned his head and looked at the carriage that was approaching in the distance.

At this moment, Laurie arrived with her soldiers, dragging twenty scattered demon corpses.

Linde glanced at the corpses. These demons had all died indirectly because of him, but Linde felt no guilt whatsoever, not even the disgust a protagonist in a novel feels when killing for the first time.

Linde felt a bit nauseous, but he knew it wasn't because it was the first time he had indirectly killed someone.

"Let's make it into a mound of skulls."

Lind said to Laurie.

"A mound of bones?"

"It's just piling up the corpses of these demons."

Upon hearing Lind's explanation, Laurie glanced at the nun and the refugees again and burst into laughter.

"Alright! Leave it to me, I'll definitely make these look beautiful."

Following behind Laurie, Dalcy, who was fighting the demons for the first time, shuddered when he heard Lind's explanation. He thought to himself, "The lord is too cruel. Is the lord such a terrifying and brutal person?"

But when Darcy stepped forward and saw the pitiful state of the nuns and refugees, Darcy, who almost vomited, thought about it. If his own sister had been tortured like that... Darcy shook his head and sighed that the lord was still too kind.