"You recognized the symbol?" Amber asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Yes, it’s that bastard Ronald and his group of mercenaries who wear that symbol on their uniforms. They must never have imagined that someone would save these women from the goblins and uncover the truth," Eleanor said through clenched teeth before continuing, "I knew he was unpleasant, but I didn’t expect him to be such scum. I will inform the authorities."

"By the way, what are you all going to do now?" Amber asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Hmm, we don’t know. All our families were killed, and we have nowhere to go. If you allow us, we would like to follow our saviors," one of the women stepped forward and said while bowing her head.

Amber looked them up and down and nodded several times in approval. "Not bad. You all are beautiful. You can serve as maids at the estate and... you can also serve as his bedwarmers."

Victor, who had been calmly listening to Amber’s words, nearly choked on his saliva when he heard that. "What the hell are you talking about?"

Amber ignored Victor and asked the women, "You don’t have any problem serving him in bed, do you?"

All the women who heard her question blushed as they looked at Victor. Some of the more experienced women who had once been married eyed him from head to toe. He was far more handsome than any man they had seen in their villages and carried himself like a noble.

In fact, many women dreamed of attaching themselves to nobles, as it would instantly elevate their status. Even maids at noble estates often lived better lives than the richest villagers.

"We are willing," the women replied, their faces flushed red.

Boink!

"Ouch!" Amber clutched her head after Victor smacked her, causing her to pout at him. On the other hand, Eleanor forced a tight smile onto her face while veins bulged on her forehead.

Suddenly, Victor’s expression turned cold as he looked back.

"Looks like some rats have entered."

-------

Ronald, along with a group of men, walked toward the cave while dragging a large cage filled with naked women who huddled together and sobbed quietly.

Bang!

"Shut up, bitches!" One of the men kicked the steel bars of the cage and shouted angrily.

"Something is wrong," a man who seemed to be the leader said with a frown.

"What happened, Captain Jack?" Ronald asked after noticing the man had stopped walking.

"Where are the goblins? Shouldn’t they have come out already?" Jack said. Every time they brought new women, the goblins would arrive and lead them inside.

"Should we wait outside?" Ronald asked.

"No, let’s go in," the captain ordered as he walked toward the cave. 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

The first thing he sensed was the stench of blood, and when he saw what lay inside, his expression changed. Corpses of goblins littered the floor, and his face turned ugly when he saw how brutally they had been killed.

"Damn, who killed them? Could it be some kind of beasts from the higher layers that came here?" Ronald said as his face turned wary while he looked around. Most of the time, the beasts deeper within the Lightning Valley did not come to the weaker layers, but there had been rare instances where powerful beasts descended to weaker regions and slaughtered tribes of monsters.

Then Ronald’s expression darkened. "Fuck, who is going to buy these women now? This will be a huge loss, boss."

"Calm down, first check if all these goblins are dead. If they are, we can take their treasures, and as for the women, we can always sell them to slave traders," Jack said calmly, but then his eyes shifted toward the entrance as he heard multiple footsteps approaching.

"Everyone, be careful. We might have company," Jack shouted.

Soon, a group of people emerged from the entrance, and their eyes widened in shock as they recognized them as the last batch of women they had delivered to the goblins.

"How did you all escape?" Jack asked with a frown, but was met with silence as the women only glared at them with hatred after recognizing them.

"Are they the ones who kidnapped you?" Jack heard a voice from behind the women and asked, "Who is there?"

"Yes, they were the ones," one of the women replied.

"I see."

The crowd parted, and Victor and the others appeared in their view.

"Eleanor!" Ronald’s eyes widened in shock before his face turned ugly. He had never expected his deeds to be exposed to the woman he hated most, and he instantly decided he would silence her along with everyone else.

"Ronald, you bastard! I did not expect you to be this evil. You actually sold these women to those vicious creatures. Don’t you have any shame or humanity left in you?" Eleanor’s face turned bright red with anger.

"Shame? What is that? Can you eat it?" Ronald sneered.

Then suddenly, his body stiffened as a crushing pressure enveloped him.

Bang!

His body exploded into bits of flesh and blood.

Jack’s expression changed as he looked at Victor after sensing the mana fluctuations around him.

’I can’t beat him.’

Originally, he had planned to kill them all, silence them, reclaim the women, and sell them as slaves for a hefty profit. The two women beside the man also seemed like noble beauties he had intended to enjoy himself. But now, cold sweat covered his body as he looked at Victor in terror.

He forced himself to calm down and said with a tight smile, "Friend, I am from the Sylph Family of the Kingdom of Drakol. How about we end this matter here? You go your way, and I go mine. In fact, I promise I will return to the kingdom and never come here again."

The moment those words were spoken, a terrifying wave of bloodlust leaked from Victor.

"So, you are from the Sylph Family..." Victor muttered.

Hearing those words, Victor’s bloodlust surged out uncontrollably, and everyone present wore expressions of horror as Victor’s Bloodlust Skill—now upgraded to Level 2—overwhelmed even Tier 2 powerhouses.