After I died, my personal maid rebelled.

"Do you all remember the story I told you, the story of a monkey learning magic?" Oswald stopped meditating, went to the fire, and lit his pipe.

Amidst the concerned gazes of the crowd, he slowly exhaled smoke and said with a smile, "In my opinion, the most powerful skill that monkeys have learned is not the speed of leaping thousands of miles, nor the strength of overwhelming mountains and seas, but the art of transformation."

The cavalrymen were stunned for a moment. What a wonderful time that was! Back then, the camp in Kuogu City had not yet been built. The Duke often took them on horseback to build their homes, and in their spare time, they would listen to the Duke tell all sorts of strange stories.

Thinking of this, the cavalrymen couldn't help but feel a little sad. They were very powerful, so powerful that even the Duke was proud of them; yet they were also very weak, so weak that when facing powerful enemies, the Duke always had to step forward to help them.

Oswald took off his cigarette and sat down next to Elena, looking down at the firelight.

"Think about change, respond to change, learn about change, and master change—this is the essence of life and the development of the world. When faced with difficulties, we must proactively seek change; we cannot be at a loss or lose heart."

"If one day I can no longer lead you forward, you must not stop. The balance of power has never been fixed; it depends on your every move."

"Your hearts yearn for change, the blood of struggle boils within you, and the change of the world is in your own hands."

……

Over the next few days, the atmosphere in the group became somewhat somber, as the Duke spent increasingly longer periods meditating.

At first, the Duke would smile and search for wine among the supplies, but later he would stay in the carriage for more than ten hours at a time.

When the Duke got up to move around, he would avoid them and go into the woods alone. They all knew that the Duke was vomiting blood and that his health was not good.

But they had to keep going. The Duke said that it was no big deal that the enemy could be resurrected, which just proved that killing her was the right choice.

The news that the curse had come true did not cause much panic in the ranks. To put it bluntly, these nearly three thousand elite cavalrymen could easily take on the royal city and even hell several times over, let alone the capital. They might even be able to kick the Lord of Hell.

The only one troubled by this was Paul, whose gossipy nature as a northerner kicked in again. Someone had secretly leaked his love-hate relationship with the cursed saintess.

These days, people keep trying to get some "explosive" news from him.

Fortunately, after several days of rapid marching, they soon arrived at the edge of Redwood Village.

The central district remained as quiet as ever. The team rested silently in the forest. Apart from Oswald, who was still working hard to condense magic crystals, the remaining high-end combat forces all set out. They came to a small hill and used binoculars to investigate the situation in Redwood Village.

Multiple scouts have confirmed that the cursed incarnation named Maria is currently residing in this densely populated village.

In just a short time, those who had followed the Blood-Clad Saintess had grown significantly stronger, their eyes had become vacant, and they had firmly occupied the entrance to the village, forming a human wall that completely surrounded and sealed off the village.

The telescope kept changing direction. Many villagers seemed to have become fanatical followers of the Blood-Clad Saintess. They moved back and forth in the village mechanically, and every now and then someone would deliberately lie down on the street, as if they were still continuing their ordinary lives.

But everyone knows that in today's world, where the plague is rampant, this scene is far more eerie than a city littered with corpses.

"The direction at three o'clock on the left."

Elena was the first to notice the unusual situation and spoke up to remind the others.

Suddenly, the figure of the hero Thorne appeared at the street corner, looking quite disheveled.

"What...is he doing?"

Lisa put down her binoculars. It was clear that the hero Thorne hadn't become one of those controlled monsters. In just a short while, he had scratched his head several times and sighed a few times.

The others were equally puzzled and could only continue to observe.

Before long, the Blood-Clad Saintess appeared, surrounded by a large group of controlled followers. She moved gently, picked up a bowl of blood and fed it to a villager. After casting some strange magic, the villager's muscles bulged, and he quickly turned around and knelt down to thank her.

???

"Can someone with brains explain this? I'm finding my brain isn't working properly." Lisa put down her binoculars again. If she wasn't mistaken, their biggest enemy was currently... playing house?

"It must be some kind of treatment process," Janice said softly. "However, it seems that those who have been treated by the saint have undergone special changes in their bodies; at least the plague is no longer effective against these villagers."

As they were talking, they saw the Blood-Clad Saintess crush a follower with a single claw, instantly turning him into a pool of flesh and blood, which she then gently handed to the next "patient" to drink.

……

"Can we conclude that this person is mentally ill?"

"No, look closely, there are more experts."

Paul's reminder made everyone realize that even the hero Thorne wasn't a normal person.

He stared silently at the Blood-Clad Saintess for a long time, then suddenly drew his sword and fought a heroic battle with the air. He then turned around, grabbed Maria's hand, and dragged her into a house with an extremely ferocious expression.

Finally, he ran out again, dodging and weaving through the air, his sword flashing. He accidentally slashed his own leg, roared angrily, and continued to fight with gritted teeth...

After the fierce battle, he tossed his bangs, sweat dripping down his face, and gave the house a "handsome" smile.

Maria jogged out and was about to treat Thorne's leg wound when Thorne hurriedly took out a bandage and quickly bandaged his leg.

The distance was too great, and everyone could only judge from experience that the two seemed to be exchanging sweet nothings. However, as Thorne fell silent after stammering, Maria, who had been smiling just moments before, immediately changed her expression.

"I didn't realize he was trying to break the curse with love?" Lisa finally understood and couldn't help but laugh, "Is this what they mean by 'as long as there's love, everything will be alright'?"

Jenny glanced at Paul and said, "The saint doesn't seem to have lost her mind. This method might actually work, but... are they trying to recreate a past of beauty?"

"The reason why the Wishing Stars failed and the curse was created is because they manipulated time."

Elena added information for them, continuing, "Perhaps this is how the two met at some point in time. Logically speaking, girls would never forget the first time they met their beloved. As for the boy, well, I don't think the hero has any hope of success."

Everyone fell silent, realizing the hero's purpose. However, the hero's virtue was evident to all in the kingdom, and he probably wouldn't even remember the first time they met, let alone the first time!

"What's wrong with this hero? He's acting like a womanizer at the academy! Luna has complained to me countless times that if this womanizer hero stays at the academy for just one night, the whole campus smells of heather the next day!"

Lisa now desperately wanted to force Thorne to seduce the Blood-Clad Saintess. "Go ahead, get down on your pants and get to it! If you can handle all this with your holy sword, then the Duke won't have to..."

"Perhaps we should start with giving her gifts?" Paul said seriously. He did remember what Maria liked, which might come in handy.

"It must be personal charm, letting the other person naturally discover your strengths," Jenny Shih said after thinking for a while.

"No, women's minds aren't that simple. The most important thing for a man is to show his adorable side."

As soon as Elena made her speech, she noticed the strange looks from everyone who had heard her voice.

After a long silence, Lisa asked hesitantly, "Um... has any of us ever been in a relationship?"

These words effectively ended the game, leaving only the whisper of the wind in everyone's ears.

Having gathered enough intelligence, they quietly returned to their camp in the dense forest. Oswald had just gotten up and started moving around, but seeing their hesitant expressions, he couldn't help but smile.

"What's wrong? What happened?"

Jenny shook her head. She had observed the situation most carefully. As a clergy member who also practiced goddess magic, she understood the composition of the curse.

"My lord, just as you said, the Holy Maiden possesses the ability to curse and control others. This time... we may all be of no use."

Jenny finally understood why so many powerful figures in the royal city had allowed the embodiment of the curse to leave.

Aside from the Blood-Clad Saintess being indeed difficult to deal with, the pervasive curse is the most worrying aspect. If a powerful figure were to be controlled, it would be nothing short of a catastrophe for the entire kingdom.

"It's alright, this was expected." Oswald coughed, and Eleanor immediately stepped forward to pat his back to help him catch his breath.

"Your Grace, the enemy has about six thousand men, which your cavalry can handle. So I think... I want to go with you to defeat the Cursed Avatar."

Paul stood up and firmly stated that if we're talking about curses, he's the one who should least be afraid of them.

According to the Duke's original plan, the cavalry only needed to rush in and intercept the followers, thus creating space for the Duke to attack the saintess alone.

According to the Duke himself, his body is imbued with immortality magic, and his soul is immune to corruption, making him the most suitable person to face the curse.

But Paul knew that the Duke was putting on a brave face, and that he himself did not have much time left. Even if it was Maria he was facing, as long as he could provide the Duke with any help in overcoming the curse, he would not hesitate to risk his own life!

Feeling the weight in Paul's eyes, Oswald was stunned for a long time before finally nodding.

In a way, isn't this an interesting adventure? Since Paul has made his choice, he might as well experience it once and follow the original simp to beat up the female lead.