The shield that Zargath had thrown before curved through the sky, attacking her from behind.
The barrier was still on cooldown, so she can't defend herself. As the result The woman falls from the sky.
In the air, she tried to cast another spell, but Zargath didn't give her any opportunity. As he fell, he pointed the shotgun barrel at the woman.
The woman was pushed back through the air, crashing into the ground. She felt like she had been hit by many hammers in her chest and hand.
In all her life, she had never felt pain . It was so intense that it almost made her faint.
If she were a normal human, she would already be on the ground, but she was a half-vampire, half-elf. She had also grown up in an area filled with abundant life force.
This made her body robust, even without martial arts practice.
Blood started seeping from her, painting her white robe red, but the wounds were only superficial. They only damaged her skin, and it was already starting to heal.
Unfortunately, the woman didn't have enough mental strength to withstand the pain.
Zargath shot two more times to make sure the woman stayed down. This time, the woman felt her bones breaking.
Her consciousness became even fuzzier, and everything in her view turned blurry. She tried to move her lips to cast a spell, but nothing happened.
Zargath then kicked the staff out of her hand. He didn't dare pick it up in case it had some protection mechanism.
The moment the staff left her hand, it turned back into an amulet.
He then turned his attention elsewhere, kneeling on one knee. "King, Queen."
Alex and Mingyue arrived at the location. When they found out Zargath was in conflict with the noble, they quickly made their way there.
As they moved, Mingyue suggested, "This time, we need to capture and interrogate her. Negotiation won't work."
Alex had already seen how everything unfolded through Zargath's eyes. He knew he wouldn't be able to reason with someone like her.
"Not like we have a choice in the current situation," Alex said with a sigh.
This was one of the times he wished Vesa was awake. He could have just thrown the woman to have a session with Vesa.
'But torture doesn't necessarily have to be painful. For a noble like her, I bet I can find many ways to force her to talk,' Alex thought.
As the woman's consciousness drifted away, Mingyue tied her up and told Zargath to bring her with them. But they didn't immediately leave the area.
Alex brought them back to the wagon since he wanted to capture the horses and check out the gemstones.
The robbers had only taken one chest; three others were scattered on the ground. Two wagons were still intact. One had no chests, while the other contained a few.
Alex took all of these into his storage ring and then captured the three horses. He wasn't sure if it would work but decided to try since the horses were very docile.
Whoever trained them had made them almost like robots, only moving when ordered.
He planned to give it one try, then quickly bail if it failed. Who knew what countermeasures had been put in place for something ? But Alex doubted there were any, given how arrogant the noble was.
Alex threw the awe cube to the three horses. He smiled at the result as the creatures were caught without fighting back.
They then moved to find a secure area to start the interrogation.
Time passed, and the woman began waking up. Most of her wounds had already healed except for the internal ones.
Her skin returned to its smooth, pristine white, but unfortunately, the same couldn't be said for her robe. It was filled with holes. The dried blood and dirt made her look like a beggar.
Upon waking up, she felt her hands and feet were tied up. Her memory surfaced, recalling the last time she was fighting against a strange grassroots class.
Her heart shook with fear. She had heard of the horrors that happened when nobles were thrown into their midst.
Even though those people were punished afterward, she would be scarred for life.
The woman's mind quickly turned to clarity. She looked around to find the best way out of her predicament.
She found herself inside a brightly lit cavern tied to a chair. Looking around, her eyes widened when she saw someone with crimson eyes. For her, this was worse than being caught by the grassroots clan.
Alex and Mingyue underestimated the importance of sovereigns in this place. Here, they were treated like gods.
Being captured by the grassroots class might implicate her, but getting involved with the conflict of a sovereign could spell doom for her family.
She was only a low-class noble who had risen thanks to her grandparent's talent as a sorcerer.
Alex had already planned to use the emperor skunk incense to force the woman to speak, but before he could become more creative, the woman began talking.
"Sir, I will cooperate with anything you want, but please don't implicate my family," the woman said in a pleading voice, making Alex and Mingyue look at each other.
'Should we ask directly? But then she might realize we're not a sovereign,' Alex asked telepathically.
'She may suspect us, but she won't dare challenge us. I think I understand the position of a sovereign here,' Mingyue replied.
She recognized the look of the woman: it was like a cultivator facing someone who could crush them like an ant.
People who had already given up resisting and would do anything to be spared.
"Tell me your name and where you come from," Mingyue asked.
"Elvira, from the House of Duskmire."
'House of Duskmire? Any idea what that is, Alex?' MingYue asked.
'Probably another word for clan or sect. If a real vampire really escaped here, than than the politic should not be that different. Have you heard about his from Vesa?'