“Master, I’ve wrapped it up.”

After a brief moment, Aifei had finally cleared out all the Demonkins.

“Not bad. Your combat instincts are solid—no wonder you’re the Knights’ captain,” I said with a faint, satisfied nod.

“I still have room to improve,” Aifei replied thoughtfully, her expression tinged with dissatisfaction. “For instance, I shouldn’t have fallen into that pit. I missed spotting attacks from certain angles during the fight.”

“Take it slow. You did well. Leave the bodies here. Let’s rejoin the squad.” I turned toward Aide’s troops, and Aifei obediently followed.

“How was it, daughter? Any trouble?” Aide asked promptly upon seeing her emerge.

“I encountered some ambushed Demonkins, but I handled them all. Rest easy, Father.”

“Demonkin???”

A collective shock rippled through everyone who heard the word.

“Are you certain you faced Demonkins, miss?” the guard asked, voice laced with doubt.

“Yes. Not many—just about forty.”

“You took down forty Demonkins alone… Oh~~ right, Mister Boka was there too. I mean…” Aide murmured in awe.

Demonkins possessed far greater individual strength and group coordination than other races—the very foundation of their invasions.

“Not my doing. She handled it all herself. I just watched,” I said, waving a hand dismissively.

“Let’s go see for ourselves,” Aide said calmly, masking his turmoil. He needed to verify the corpses.

The entire squad advanced.

“Heavens~~ They really are Demonkins.”

After moving a short distance, the troops spotted the Demonkin corpses sprawled on the ground. A wave of stunned silence washed over them.

*Aifei wiped out all these Demonkins solo? That’s insane.*

*No wonder she’s hailed as the strongest magic warrior.*

“Phew~~ Good thing you were cautious, daughter. Otherwise, I might’ve met my end here,” Aide muttered, face darkening.

“Actually, Master told me to check first, right, Master?” Aifei smiled, gently nudging me. She refused to claim sole credit—and knew Ling Xie, tasked with protecting Aide, needed visible results.

“Thank you, Mister Boka.”

“No need. Just doing my job.”

I didn’t refuse her kindness. I gave a slight nod—though truthfully, I wanted to finish this damn task ASAP.

I’ve always hated constraints. Though the world calls me the Dreadwyrm, I know the truth: I act freely, indifferent to right or wrong, good or bad. Maybe I’m simply a dragon who craves freedom.

“If Demonkins ambushed us now… they must know about our deal with the Tianduo Republic. But… how? This was confidential,” the guard muttered, unease tightening his voice.

“There’s a traitor. And he’s likely among us,” Aide stated coldly. As a prince, his instincts were sharp.

“Your Highness is right. But even if he’s here, we can’t find him. Those forest Demonkins concealed their magic perfectly—they’ve mastered something deeply troubling. For now, we’re powerless.”

“Master~~ Won’t you root out the traitors?” Aifei whispered beside me. What just happened had cemented her trust in me completely.

“No rush. Exposing them too soon would be boring. I’ll lure them out… slowly,” I replied with a gentle smile.

Aifei’s forehead beaded with cold sweat.

She knew that smile all too well. During training, she’d seen it countless times. Whenever Master wore it—tricky schemes were already brewing.