The world's problems have always varied from person to person. If Karina had threatenedLeoric, it would have been clear that she had lost her mind.Leoric was neither a villain nor a paragon of virtue. Asking him to sacrifice himself for a group of unrelated people would have been a colossal joke.

  Although nominally the chief of the Bedai tribe now, it was merely a temporary expedient. They were all strangers thrown together in the desert, cooperating to escape their predicament. There was hardly any real friendship among them. Besides, even if there were genuine friendship,Leoric wasn't foolish enough to trust a Sphinx. Such a clichéd plot had been seen countless times in TV dramas.

  So Karina had no intention of threateningLeoric—her focus was entirely on Mavis, and she hadn't even noticedLeoric hiding in the distance.

  What wasn't an issue forLeoric seemed to be quite a problem for Mavis and the priests.

  The old chief had once said that two of the three priests were followers of Lansender, and one was a follower of Tyr. Mavis was presumably a paladin of Tyr. Whether it was Lansender, the God of Dawn, or Tyr, the God of Justice, they shared a common trait: they were both benevolent gods.

  Of course, followers of benevolent gods weren't necessarily kind people. But these individuals weren't ordinary followers; they were high-ranking priests and a paladin. This was a world where gods truly existed. The higher the ranking of a priest, the closer their spirit was connected to their god, the more aligned their beliefs were with their god's, and the more their behavior conformed to their god's teachings. Otherwise, they would have been demoted and expelled long ago.

  As for paladins, that went without saying. The code of paladins was to maintain order, protect the innocent, and combat evil. In a sense, they were the embodiment of justice.

  So, how would they choose in this situation?

  "One!"

  "Two!"

  "Three!"

  Karina smiled as she looked at the four surrounded individuals, counting slowly. She seemed very confident, or rather, confident in their character.

  The priests hesitated. Finally, Tannas, the red-haired Lansender priest, seemed to make a decision. He reached out and took the package he had been carrying on his back, about to open it, but Mavis beside him reached out and stopped him.

  "No!" Mavis said in a deep voice. "We can't use it."

  "There's no other way," Tannas argued. "We can't just sit here and wait to die."

  "No," Mavis didn't back down.

  They argued in low voices, and finally, Tannas gave in. "Alright," he said, "but what should we do?"

  This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

  They were surrounded. Mavis had charged in just now, killing six or seven Sphinxes, but she seemed to have expended a lot of energy. The priests had cast a blessing enhancement spell on her, but it couldn't eliminate fatigue.

  Human strength had its limits.

  Three priests, one paladin, and maybe a wizard hiding in the shadows, facing nearly thirty Sphinxes—the odds didn't look good.

  Moreover, the enemy was holding the Bedai hostage. Could priests of Lansender and Tyr stand by and watch monsters slaughter innocent civilians?

  As they hesitated, time ticked away. Karina had already counted to "seven," and her smile grew wider, as if victory was within her grasp. Then she was satisfied to see that the humans across from her seemed to have reached a decision and were preparing to surrender.

  Mavis looked up and lifted her helmet's visor. "Alright," she said, "we surrender, but you have to let them go first."

  "That doesn't seem very fair," Karina said, but her tone wasn't resolute. "Money in one hand, goods in the other."

  "Let them go first," Mavis insisted.

  "I've heard that paladins of Tyr never lie," Karina said, smiling at the other side.

  "I am a paladin," Mavis replied briefly.

  Karina laughed and let out a shrill whistle, as if it were a signal. The Sphinxes guarding the Bedai heard the order and slowly moved away. The barbarians, still shaken, couldn't believe they had escaped and stood there stupidly.

  "Go," Karina said loudly.

  The barbarians finally reacted, supporting each other as they stumbled out of the square and ran towards the city gates. Their camels had been taken by the Sphinxes, and no one dared to ask for them back. Although in this vast desert, without camels and supplies, it would be difficult to survive even if they escaped from Esco City, no one was thinking about that now.

  Seeing the Bedai disappear from sight, Karina waved her staff.

  "Now, it's time for you to fulfill your promise," she said, looking at Mavis and the priests.

  Mavis slowly bent down and placed her silver sword at her feet. The priests also put down their war hammers and maces. Four Sphinxes approached, tucking their curved swords into their belts and taking out ropes, preparing to capture the prisoners.

  But just as they got close, Mavis suddenly grabbed her silver sword and swept it in a wide arc. Dazzling white light erupted from the blade, which seemed to double in size, becoming even sharper. Before anyone could react, the four Sphinxes were decapitated. Mavis's timing with this sword strike was impeccable, almost masterful.

  As soon as Mavis moved, the three priests followed suit, grabbing their weapons and charging out together. The Sphinxes were caught off guard, and their formation was immediately disrupted. They shouted and roared, making strange sounds that were probably the Sphinx language, whichLeoric naturally couldn't understand.

  Karina waved her staff, commanding her subordinates. "You broke your promise!" she shouted angrily. "Paladins can't lie!"

  "I didn't lie," Mavis replied while fending off a Sphinx with her sword.

  "You did lie!" Karina accused.

  "I didn't lie in my heart, and you should know that," Mavis responded.

  "How would I know?"

  "Well, then you're not very smart."

  Karina, enraged, instead relaxed her face and laughed. "Interesting, I always thought paladins were upright and trustworthy people."

  Mavis didn't respond, or rather, she disdained to respond. She forcefully chopped off the front leg of a Sphinx, causing it to fall to the ground, and then she leaped over it. The priests followed behind, guarding the flanks, unstoppable.

  Karina sneered and waved her staff, striking the ground heavily. In an instant, several illusory duplicates appeared around each Sphinx in the square. They then immediately separated and solidified into real entities, all pouncing together.

  Suddenly, the number of opponents multiplied.

  This was obviously some sort of illusion. Karina couldn't summon so many companions instantly. The problem was that everyone knew it was an illusion, but they couldn't tell which ones were illusions and which ones were real. That was very bad.