"Corrupted... Divine Chosen? What is that?"

Phield put on a perfectly innocent expression.

"Then forget it. How about a drink? We can chat while drinking."

Like performing a magic trick, Sinta pulled out an entire barrel of ale from her spatial artifact and handed Phield a wooden mug.

"My honor, milady. Boys, slaughter a sheep."

Phield removed his helmet and sat beside the freshly lit campfire with Sinta. The soldiers nearby immediately went off to slaughter a sheep while Phield casually adjusted the firewood with two pokes.

"What happened?"

"It’s an evil Divine Chosen. That woman’s combat strength is terrifying. Among the military’s Third-Tier Divine Chosen, she could rank within at least the top ten. And she appeared near your safe zone. Listen carefully, wooden walls absolutely cannot stop her."

"Top ten..."

Phield was genuinely shocked. Was the military really this powerful?

"Then compared to the Imperial Guards?"

"Huh? Those spoiled brats? Aside from causing trouble for us, they are basically useless. Though a few of them are indeed strong."

Sinta waved dismissively.

"Still, they are deeply trusted by the Empress. They constantly inspect and supervise us. Their authority far exceeds their actual strength, so absolutely do not provoke them."

So even the Sacred Griffin Empire suffered from the classic issue of emperors mistrusting their generals.

"Do not spread that around, alright? Otherwise they’ll extort me again. They are extremely good at gathering information."

Sinta repeatedly winked her right eye with obvious implication.

"After another ten years of fighting, I plan to retire and go home."

"Of course. I am famous for keeping my mouth shut."

Phield raised his mug.

"Cheers, to health."

Sinta raised hers as well.

"Cheers!"

"Gulp gulp gulp~"

After downing a mug of ale, Sinta became far more relaxed. She stepped onto a nearby rock with one foot and spoke boldly.

"A knight like you belongs in the military. Once the war with the elves breaks out, you can capture ten or eight elf girls and have them serve you in shifts. Isn’t that far better than staying here?"

Damn, why did that actually sound tempting?

Phield sighed.

"I still prefer being a lord."

"Fine then."

Sinta stopped persuading him and suddenly changed the topic.

"Have you ever wondered where the Shadow World Sect came from? Or what exactly they are doing?"

The soldiers brought over freshly cut chunks of lamb meat.

Phield waved for the soldiers to withdraw, then personally skewered chunks of lamb onto an iron stick and roasted them over the fire.

"I was actually curious about that myself. Those lunatics are everywhere. More importantly, they possess Divine Chosen. That’s unbelievable considering they’re constantly fleeing around without territories to develop."

"No, they do have territories."

Sinta’s gaze sharpened.

"Part of the Shadow World Sect is made up of insane Divine Chosen and opportunistic Imperial nobles. The other part comes from... the former Empress’s Imperial Guards."

"Huh?"

Phield’s hand shook so badly that some ale spilled from his mug.

"The transfer of power is always cruel. Hahaha. This is not really a secret. Someone of your status should naturally know about it. Your father was probably too busy recovering from injuries and maintaining the family to discuss these matters with you."

"He really never talked about it."

Phield’s thoughts raced wildly. No wonder the Shadow World Sect’s strength was absurdly overwhelming.

"They possess territories as well. Have you heard of the Paradise on Earth? Rumor says every member of the Shadow World Sect is using flesh and blood to construct a so-called paradise filled with desire and fantasy. Do not believe it. It’s all an illusion."

Sinta stuffed a mouthful of lamb into her mouth.

"Is it called the City of Slaughter?"

"Why would you ask that? I do not know the exact name."

Sinta shook her head.

"We still have no concrete leads."

Phield grew extremely curious about where exactly their so-called paradise was hidden.

"Oh right, take this bounty list. If you kill an enemy Divine Chosen, you can exchange the corpse with me for money, high-tier weapons, divine artifacts, or even Divine Chosen."

Sinta pulled out a massive scroll of parchment. Countless portraits were drawn upon it, each realistic enough to resemble photographs. They were clearly not painted through ordinary means.

"The Empire’s bounty rewards are not usually this generous, right? This is the first time I’ve heard of Divine Chosen themselves being included as bounty rewards."

Phield widened his eyes in disbelief.

"This is not an official bounty issued by Her Majesty. It was privately created by us old veterans."

As she spoke, Sinta lowered her gaze and casually pulled out one of the bounty notices.

"For example, her. The Shadow World Sect’s Second Executor, Silver Bell."

"She killed my comrade. If you kill Silver Bell, then this Featherdraw Crossbow left behind by my comrade will become yours. Of course, most divine artifacts are still stored within the military treasury."

Sinta took out the massive crossbow she had used against Rosalia earlier and waved it twice in front of Phield.

"Likewise, my comrade’s granddaughter, a newly awakened Divine Chosen, is also willing to marry whoever completes the bounty."

"I see. So the so-called rewards are actually prizes for revenge."

Phield was practically drooling.

"Leave it to me. If I get the opportunity, I will personally deliver their corpses to you."

Having rewards involved definitely made things far more motivating.

Coincidentally, he had already planned to actively provoke the Shadow World Sect anyway. Unfortunately, the Executor he killed previously had not provided any rewards at all.

"Enough about that. You can hand over any materials containing extraordinary power to me. Tomorrow, I will mass-produce staffs for you."

After speaking, Sinta casually ate some food and immediately collapsed into deep sleep, completely unconcerned with the filthy surroundings.

The next day, Phield spent the entire night sending people to transport all the territory’s magical collections over.

The mana pearls obtained from killing Shadow World Sect Executors, the magic cores acquired during the rebellion suppression campaign, the elemental gems previously hidden by Ophelia, along with all the random magical junk they had collected over time. As long as it contained magic power, Phield packed everything together and brought it over.

"Wow, so many strange things. There’s even a Dimensional Pearl. Where did you find this?"

Sinta played with the smooth pearl in astonishment.

"This is an extremely rare treasure. Its market value would never be below one thousand gold coins."

"It was seized as loot from the rebels."

Even Phield had not realized the item was this valuable. Due to the rebel threat, he had not dared to openly sell it out of fear of attracting attention.

"Excellent material. I can forge this into a summoning staff capable of summoning dimensional creatures to fight for you. As for the rest, at most I can turn them into low-tier elemental staffs."

Phield was dumbfounded.

"You can make staffs out of all of this?"

Sinta smiled confidently.

"Whether it smells good or bad, once it enters my mou... cough cough. As long as it is a magical stone, I can forge it into a staff. I am a Forging Divine Chosen after all. I’ve been forging staffs for the Imperial military for forty or fifty years now. Hehehe."

"Amazing."

At this point, Phield was no longer only coveting her treasures. He was starting to covet the person herself.

"Third-Tier Divine Artifact, Skyforge Hammer!"

A pitch-black warhammer appeared in her grasp while beautiful crystals floated around it.

Carrying the massive hammer on her shoulder, Sinta declared, "This time I won’t charge you. I’ll provide the remaining materials for the staffs myself. Just give me half a day."

Soon afterward, Sinta found a suitable location and immediately began forging staffs with loud clangs echoing nonstop.