They are all characters I control.

Claire didn't waste any words with her.

He grabbed Mel by the back of her collar, pulled her in front of him, and pressed the tip of his sword against the back of her neck.

"I'm telling you, do you want to live or die?"

Mel's body trembled slightly.

It wasn't out of fear, but rather out of pleasure.

Why the pleasure? Because this death-like 'Eleanor' didn't kill him directly, but instead questioned him?

That means I might not necessarily die?

Feeling that she still had some leverage, Mel took a deep breath, raised her head, and the smile on her face completely disappeared.

Instead, there is a cold, condescending gaze, as if looking at ants.

"You think you can leave here alive by taking me hostage?"

Her voice had changed; it was no longer a childish, innocent voice, but a calm, authoritative tone.

“The Scarlet Witch doesn’t care if I live or die. Will is finished, and your knights have suffered more than half their casualties. You have no reinforcements, no way out, and no hope.”

She stared into Claire's eyes and said, word by word:

"Let me go, and I can let you die a quick death."

Claire looked at her.

Then, I laughed.

"Are you sure you're not mistaken about something?"

His sword tip pressed even harder, piercing the skin on the back of Mel's neck, and a drop of blood seeped out.

"I'm asking you this question not because I want to live."

His voice was soft, but every word pierced Mel's ears like an icicle:

"It's because I'm considering whether or not to let you live."

Mel's pupils contracted sharply.

Wait, something's not right.

Shouldn't this be a time for cooperation? You've revealed your hand; you should at least set conditions, not actually take action!

Feeling the stinging pain in her neck, Mel knew very well.

This cold-blooded 'Eleanor' really will kill her.

No matter who she is, no matter who is behind her, no matter what the consequences of killing her would be.

He really can.

Mel remained silent.

Then, she spoke.

What do you want to know?

Claire did not answer.

He simply stared at Mel, his blue eyes, which belonged to Eleanor, devoid of any emotion, as if he were looking at an object rather than a living person.

Mel was bleeding from the back of his neck, and the infidels around him continued to attack.

But none of this seemed to concern Claire; it was as if Claire wasn't the one who should be most worried.

"What do you want to know?" Mel asked again, this time with a hint of urgency in his voice.

Claire finally spoke.

"The Philosopher's Stone. Do you have any left?"

Mel's eyes flickered. "Yes."

"How many?"

"Two. One low-quality one, and one 'Primordial Blood'."

Claire raised an eyebrow: "Primordial Blood? You're just a little girl, and you have something like that on you?"

Isn't that the superior 'Philosopher's Stone' that the old village chief used? A transformation pill even purer than the 'Philosopher's Stone'.

Mel didn't answer, she just stared at him.

Obviously, Mel couldn't tell Claire these things; they concerned her own secrets.

Claire didn't press further, but changed the subject.

"Does the Scarlet Witch know who you are? She doesn't seem to recognize you? Or even know who you are?"

Mel paused for a moment, then shook his head.

"I don't know, because I wasn't supposed to be here in the plan. You only bumped into me by accident and went to that village, didn't you?"

The tone carried a hint of misfortune; Mel hadn't expected 'Eleanor' to turn his entire village upside down.

If I had known, I shouldn't have brought 'Eleanor' to my base in the first place.

Her followers are all dead, and the Scarlet Witch Dorothy is carrying out her plan to kill Knight Commander Will, while Mel happens to be among the church knights' ranks.

It seems that her plans have been completely disrupted ever since she bumped into 'Eleanor'.

"Oh? So that means the rest of the 'Church of Life' doesn't know you look like this?" Claire seized on the key point.

Just like the Church of the Goddess, the Church of Life, as a pagan organization, also has factions.

Seeing that Mel was still in the ranks of the church knights, Claire roughly guessed what was going on.

For Mel, the Scarlet Witch, a member of the same church, was also a danger to her.

Therefore, Mel is Elinor's only chance to escape now.

Chapter 136 Just Wants to Run Away

The sounds of battle shouts, arrows whistling through the air, and metal clashing continued all around.

The church knights were all waiting for Claire (Eleanor) to give instructions when they saw 'Eleanor' capture Mel.

They thought Eleanor was going to treat Mel like she treated other civilians, and they even had a weapon pressed against his neck. Fortunately, Eleanor didn't harm him further.

Although the church knights all felt that 'Eleanor' was wasting her time, no one dared to stop her.

After all, they are only able to stand here now because of Eleanor's intimidation.

Knight Commander Will could hold out for a few more minutes. Karl and the betrayed church knights were also afraid of the knight commander, so they were just surrounding Knight Commander Will with the Scarlet Witch and the heretics to buy time.

Before this, the church knights could only obey the orders of the vice-captain 'Eleanor,' who was of higher rank and very reliable.

Claire (Eleanor) on the other side, however, was not in a hurry. A demonic emperor who had been sealed for a hundred years was currently controlling the body of a female knight of the church and talking to a person disguised as a little girl who was of a very high status among the heretics and was most likely a high priest.

Claire didn't know why Mel had become so helpless, but she knew very well that Mel was extremely vulnerable at this moment and that she wasn't exactly on friendly terms with her companion, the Scarlet Witch.

“You want to leave here, don’t you, little Mel?” Claire finally spoke, not as a question, but as a statement.

Mel's eyes flickered. "You too."

"We will cooperate."

Claire extended an olive branch.

"Cooperation?" Mel laughed, a mockery that seemed completely out of character for his age appearing on his youthful face. "You just held a sword to my neck, and now you're talking to me about cooperation?"

This guy tends to become effeminate once he gains the upper hand.

Looking at Mel, who was becoming smug and arrogant, Claire wondered if the guy's brain had turned into a little devil, just like his body.

Without saying a word, he simply twirled the knight's sword that was still resting against the other man's neck.

Feeling the sharp edge against his neck, Mel paused for a moment. "What do you want?"

Even if he did have a way to help 'Eleanor' escape, this cold-blooded 'Eleanor' who appeared after drinking the 'Philosopher's Stone' potion might still actually kill him.

Sighing inwardly, Mel once again regretted his greed for that one move.

If I hadn't gotten involved with Eleanor back then, none of this would have happened.

“First, the Scarlet Witch’s weakness. Second, the safe route out of here. Third…” Clayton paused, “the ‘Primal Blood’ and the ‘Philosopher’s Stone’ in your body.”

Mel's pupils contracted slightly. "The first two are negotiable. The third, impossible."

"Then I'll kill you and search for yourself."

“You won’t find it,” Mel’s voice was calm. “I hid the ‘Primal Blood’ in a place only I know. If you kill me, it will disappear with me.”

Claire stared at her for a few seconds.

He was trying to determine if she was lying.

Mel met his gaze without flinching.

“Okay.” Claire looked away. “Tell me the first two now.”

“The Scarlet Witch’s weakness…” Mel bit her lip, “She can only use her 'Shedding Skin' a maximum of three times. You’ve already forced her to use it once, so she has two more left. After each 'Shedding Skin,' her true form will be weakened for a short period of time—about ten seconds. That’s the only chance to kill her.”

"A dozen seconds?" Claire frowned.

“Yes. And…” Mel lowered her voice, “her 'molting' requires a medium prepared in advance. The medium she used just now was that fat woman, and the next medium is hidden somewhere in town.”

"If you can find that medium and kill the other person beforehand, she won't be able to 'molt'."

“What does the medium look like?” Claire asked.

"Anyone who has been 'planted' with the 'Seed of Life' by her will have dark red lines on their body. These lines are not visible under normal circumstances, but they will glow when she activates 'molting'."

Claire nodded and noted the information down.

"What's the route?"

Since Mel is in this area, she must know something about what's happening around here.

You should also know something about the town you're in now.

“This town only has one main entrance, the one you came in through. But there’s a hidden side entrance on the east side that leads to the mine shaft,” Mel said quickly, as she also wanted to leave.

It was because he knew that if he acted alone, he might be captured and refined by the Scarlet Witch as an ordinary civilian.

That's why she chose to follow the church knights, since her stronghold and followers had all been wiped out by 'Eleanor'.

Although the church knights are also enemies, they are absolutely safe as long as Mel's identity is not exposed. At this time, escaping with the church knights is the best option.

“There’s a road in the mine that leads directly out of town without going through the city walls. The Scarlet Witch has put most of her forces at the main gate and on the city walls, leaving only a few guards at the mine.”

"how do you know?"

“Because that mine tunnel was dug by my men.” Mel’s tone carried a hint of smugness. “It was originally intended as… a backup. I never expected it to be used here.”

The first half of the sentence is probably true, but the second half is not.

Claire didn't ask her what "backup" meant; it was just some backstabbing and infighting among heretics, much like how Mel was now afraid to reveal her identity to the Scarlet Witch not far away.

"How do we cure Sir Will's poison?"

Mel shook his head. "There is no antidote. But the Scarlet Witch has a bottle of pink potion that can temporarily neutralize the poison and restore about 20% of his strength, which should last him about half a day."

"What? You want to save Commander Will? That might be difficult."

"Although the Scarlet Witch isn't that strong, she's weaker than me at my peak..."

“Who said I was going to save the Knight Commander?” Claire interrupted Mel.

Mel stared wide-eyed at Claire: "Then why did you ask about the antidote?!"

"What if I also get poisoned by that strange poison? I'll definitely need an antidote then, right?"

Claire shrugged, and Mel looked at 'Eleanor' in front of him with a speechless expression.

As expected of someone who drank the Philosopher's Stone potion, he showed no extraneous emotions towards the church knights and his superiors, displaying a frightening level of rationality.

If it were the original Eleanor, she definitely wouldn't have said something like that.

"So what are you planning to do next? It's unlikely you'll escape from the Scarlet Witch's encirclement." Mel looked at the cold-blooded 'Eleanor' in front of him.

Although Eleanor could consume the Philosopher's Stone or the Primal Blood, the Church Knights were present at this time.