Become their wicked yet gentle lord.

Liu Xia's answer was concise and to the point. Even though it was just a single word, it still made Gavin's body tremble slightly, as if the last veil of his shame had been completely torn away.

An earl who defected from the empire was eventually trapped in the remote town of Cornwall and forced to become an experimental assistant to a madman. This wretched situation made him feel utterly ashamed.

Liuxia did not give him a chance to wallow in shame and indignation or consume himself, and instead asked him a question directly.

"Should we run away?"

Ryuka asked the question in a casual tone, with a gentle and calm voice, without the slightest hint of contempt or mockery. Her sincere attitude, on the contrary, made people feel at ease.

After saying that, he did not stand still to wait for a reply, but instead slowly walked around the examination room to investigate.

Previously, Mayocles and Ada were indoors, making it difficult to examine many details up close. Now, they can finally search for clues carefully.

Liu Xia bent down and carefully picked up the scattered pieces of flesh and blood tissue from the ground. She condensed a layer of ice magic at her fingertips to seal the samples at a low temperature and put them into her waist pouch and pockets.

In addition, he took out a small, portable mini camera—a magical tool specially made for him by Anjaberg.

Liu Xia took photos of each of the various instruments and workbenches in the room, not wanting to miss any clue.

He knew that he might not be able to decipher all the secrets immediately on his own, but as long as he brought the images back, the intelligence personnel under Tipalotura and the Shadow Guard organization under his control could deduce a large amount of valuable intelligence through the materials and casting techniques of the equipment.

Watching Ryuu's methodical and decisive actions, Gavin instantly saw through the boy's style of doing things.

He offered the suggestion of fleeing, but he wouldn't waste time waiting. If he refused to cooperate, Ryūka would most likely turn to other plans, and might even kill him while he was at it.

But if he nodded in agreement, the person in front of him would have the ability to take him away from this town that was like a prison.

After weighing the options in an instant, Gavin gritted his teeth, supported himself against the stone wall, and stood up, looking at Ryusha with a determined gaze.

"I'll do whatever you say! As long as you can get me and my daughter out of this hellhole!"

He knew that as a traitor, he had no right to bargain.

When he fled Thunder Keep, he was led astray step by step by Ada.

While he was in the Otus Empire, although he harbored ambitions and secretly colluded with external forces, there was still room for maneuver in those entanglements.

As long as one possesses sufficient value, there is still a chance to find a way to survive for oneself and for Ada.

Gavin saw absolutely no hope of remaining in the Chosen Ones organization.

Seeing Gavin's straightforward reply, without any unnecessary arguments or pointless complaints, a hint of relief flashed across Liuxia's eyes.

Gavin is ambitious, and while he may not be considered exceptionally intelligent, his decisiveness and lack of unnecessary words at this moment prove that he is not an uncommunicative fool.

Cooperating with a fool will only cause more trouble. Not to mention helping him break through the layers of blockade and escape from this place, trying to extract information from him will only be a waste of effort.

“That madman implanted a number of magical devices into my body. Once I leave the Cornwall town area, he will immediately sense it. If it triggers an alarm, it will only bring trouble to you. Governor Ryūsha, do you have a way to deal with this?”

Having made up his mind to escape, Gavin no longer held back, pointing to several vital joints on his body, bluntly stating the biggest hidden danger at hand.

Since Ryuka chose to show himself and admitted to witnessing everything that had just happened, he must have had a plan.

Even if Ryūka were helpless, the outcome for him would be nothing more than death.

A Heavenly Realm expert deliberately exposed his whereabouts to find him, and from that moment on, he had no way out.

Ryuga looked in the direction he was pointing. Those magical artifacts were buried deep in the bones and flesh, similar to the principle of slave marking, which could interfere with and block Gavin's own magical power flow.

Given that it has a location tracking function, it's hard to guarantee that it doesn't have a built-in self-destruct mechanism or an alarm trigger.

Ryusha channeled her magic into Gavin's body, carefully sensing the location of the magical device and the structure of the magic circuit, asking questions as she investigated.

"Cracking it isn't particularly difficult, but I'm curious why Mayocles didn't just use the Slave Scroll directly?"

“High-ranking slave scrolls capable of binding Grand Master Mages are extremely rare. Moreover, the organization is not monolithic. According to the rules, Mayocles does not have the authority to directly turn me and Ada into his personal slaves. In addition, he is focused on live experiments, so he simply took advantage of my unconsciousness to plant these devices.”

Gavin continued to explain while adding more information.

According to Ada, the organization's next plan was to send her and her father to the capital of the Bauhinia Kingdom to undertake a mission, an area that was not under Mayocles' jurisdiction.

In just half a month, Gavin had already seen through the Chosen Ones organization as a bottomless abyss.

His daughter was deeply obsessed and infatuated, and no amount of persuasion could bring her to her senses. He was absolutely unwilling to follow the crowd onto a more dangerous path.

“Ada has told me a lot about the dark secrets behind the Bauhinia Kingdom and the southern countries. Of course, she would never choose to cooperate with you like I have. If you want to obtain the complete information, you must ensure that my daughter and I leave alive.”

Gavin spoke very cautiously, on the one hand pointing out that the father and daughter possessed highly valuable information, thereby increasing his own bargaining power; on the other hand, he cleverly tied the fates of the two together, implying to Ryuka that without either of them, it would be difficult to obtain all the inside information.

Such a subtle thought elicited a faint smile from Liu Xia.

It's clear that Gavin has an extremely strong will to survive and is unwilling to abandon Ada no matter what.

Fortunately, Sienna is lying in wait, so there's no worry about not being able to extract clues from the father and daughter later. All they need to do is successfully take the two of them away.

"On the condition that you must completely follow my instructions."

As Ryuka finished speaking, the investigation of all the magical devices inside Gavin's body was over.

He raised his hand, and the silent dark magic spread precisely, instantly severing the pain nerves in Gavin's neck and below. Then he picked up a sharp scalpel and looked at Gavin.

"Lie down on the operating table, try to stabilize your water magic, control fluid loss, and avoid excessive blood loss."

Gavin gritted his teeth and nodded.

He had previously assisted Mayocles in performing surgery on others, but now the blade was about to fall on his own body.

Although the pain was shielded by magic, he couldn't see the operation process clearly, which made it more difficult for him to control the blood flow in his body. However, he still did not hesitate and signaled Ryuka to do it immediately.

hum-

A faint aura of battle energy flowed along the tip of the blade, making it incredibly sharp. Ryuka's movements were fluid as she sliced ​​through Gavin's right arm, skillfully avoiding arteries and penetrating deep into the joint along the muscle gaps.

Gavin was shocked by the skill and precision of the technique.

He did his best to stabilize the magic and seal the blood in the wound, and couldn't help but ask a question.

"Your Excellency, you wouldn't happen to be..."

"Also what? A surgery-obsessed madman like Mayocles?" Ryuka joked casually. "Don't overthink it. I was a battlefield knight in my early years, so dealing with this kind of injury isn't difficult for me."

Gavin looked at Ryusha's calm and composed appearance, forced a dry laugh to ease his unease, and secretly prayed that he would not fall into the hands of another of his kind after just escaping one pervert.

Liu Xia's smooth and effortless actions make it hard not to make such associations.

The similar trauma treatments that Liuxia mentioned she had seen before were based on fragmented modern medical knowledge in her mind.

But what truly supports his precise operation is the extraordinary perception of the Celestial level, coupled with the subtle adjustments of the power of order, allowing him to perceive the human body's texture and veins with the precision of a magical detection instrument.

With a deft flick of the blade, a ring-shaped magical device embedded in the joint gap was successfully picked out.

The entire process takes less than ten seconds.

Gavin stared blankly at the metal ring on Ryusha's fingertip, not yet snapping out of his daze, when Ryusha had already activated healing magic to cover the wound.

Unlike Mayocles' crude and brutal life magic, Ryusha deliberately avoided a large amount of muscle tissue when she made her cut, causing minimal damage. With just basic healing magic, the skin and flesh healed quickly, leaving no obvious scars on the surface.

"The first one."

With a clang, Ryusha tossed the ring-sized scalpel into a metal tray, then slightly shifted the scalpel, aiming it at Gavin's shoulder.

There were several similar devices implanted in his body, and given Ryuka's current speed, they could all be removed in just a few minutes.

Chapter 41 An Unexpected Joy

In no time, Ryūka had removed all the magic controllers from Gavin's body.

Looking at the little ring-like trinket in her hand, Ryuka couldn't help but tease:

"The craftsmanship of this little thing is quite impressive. On such a small size, not only are rune circuits that restrict magic power carved, but also magic that senses and locates is integrated. Only a highly skilled magic engineer could do this."

Gavin had already climbed off the operating table. Although his wound had healed, the pain-suppressing magic had faded, and the excruciating pain still came from the same spot.

He glared at the rings on the plate and said angrily:

"They have a complete fortress underground, with at least a thousand people inside! It contains not only many local villagers captured from Cornwall and the surrounding area, but also magical craftsmen and slave knights they've rounded up from all over! Even my men are probably doing hard labor for that bastard Mayocles in some underground cave!"

"Looks like you went down there."

Ryuka was already aware of the existence of the underground cavity, but Gavin's words at this moment could still be seen as his surrender to him.

Upon hearing Ryusha's question, Gavin simply nodded, not hiding the information he knew.

After all, the bargaining chip he and Ada possessed was information about the Chosen Ones organization throughout the entire Bauhinia Kingdom, which was enough to get Ryusha to rescue them and their daughter.

The information about Cornwall was crucial to whether Ryūsha could safely lead them out, and Gavin wanted to spill all of it to Ryūsha, hoping that the kid could easily kill Mayocles to vent his anger.

“When I was teleported here, I was underground.” Gavin nodded, putting on his clothes while enduring the pain, and freely circulating his magic. “Directly below the hills of Cornwall is a huge main bunker, comparable in size to Thunder Keep’s First Training Ground. The elevators here lead to that place, but there’s more than one, big and small. Mayocles has his own private elevator. Others lead to the space above us, inside Cornwall Cathedral, which is said to be where the saint resides, but I don’t know the exact location.”

Gavin pointed to the hidden door he and Ada had walked out of, which was the entrance to the elevator they had used, and where items were usually transported between the Mayo Clarence operating room.

As for Mayocles' own private elevator, Ryuka had already seen it before. It was hidden in an inconspicuous place in the corridor. If you weren't following him, it would be hard to find that there was a secret passage hidden behind an unremarkable wall.

According to Gavin, there are hundreds of underground passages of varying sizes centered around the main underground bunker in Cornwall. These labyrinths carved into the rock are beyond human capability.

It is divided into many areas, some of which are where the upper-level chosen ones live and conduct research, while others are used by the slaves.

The research conducted on the surface by the Cornish church, which is controlled by God, is merely the surface; the truly important research is underground.

Gavin had only a vague idea of ​​what Mayokris did with the deformed tissues taken from human bodies.

But there was one thing Gavin understood: Ryūsha's arrival here was definitely not to capture him, the traitor.

The fact that a young nobleman of the Heavenly Rank could infiltrate this place alone shows that he already knew how deep the waters were in Cornwall. Liu Xia and the thirteenth princess of Otus behind him must have come here with their eyes on this mysterious organization that is entrenched in the southern continent!

Rescuing him was just a side benefit; if he couldn't help Liuxia complete his mission here, he and his daughter would be dead!

"Lord Ryusha, you came to Cornwall on Her Highness the Princess's orders, right? If possible, could you please tell me your purpose? I will do my utmost to atone for my sins! In the future, I would also appreciate it if you could put in a good word for me before Her Highness the Princess and His Majesty..."

Since the magic limiter was removed, Gavin's spirits have improved significantly, and his tone has gradually returned to its original self-awareness. However, he has become less hypocritical and exaggerated, and he earnestly patted his chest to make a promise to Ryūka.

"I have only one goal: to find out what this damn organization is doing. Not just in Cornwall, but their schemes across the Bauhinia Kingdom and the entire continent. So..."

Ryuka pointed to the top of her head, then to the bottom of her feet.

“I want to capture that saintess above me and Mayocles from just now, both alive. I also need to gather as much other information as possible. Lord Reed, your situation with your daughter will depend on how much valuable information we can extract from here.”

He infiltrated the enemy camp alone, his first demand being to capture the enemy leader alive.

Such boastful words did not sound exaggerated to Gavin, for the young man before him was a Heavenly Rank cultivator!

If Lady Sophie were here, a single, full-force flaming spear throw would be just like the battle against the Earth Dragon Beast, obliterating all of Cornwall's underground defenses!

Although Ryukyu is not Mrs. Sophie, Gavin still believes he can do it too.

So when he saw Ryūka, he quickly chose to surrender, even though he would still face trial after being captured and brought back to Ottos.

But when the thirteenth princess sent the young governor, Gavin already knew the town was doomed.

However, if we launch a direct assault, all valuable information will be destroyed.

Gavin pondered for a moment and then advised Ryūsha:

"Based on my observations over this period of time, Mayocles and that saintess seem to belong to two different departments, and they usually keep to themselves. However, if you make a move against one of them first, the other will definitely escape through a hidden teleportation array once they notice. So it would be best to find a way to get them together in one place, and then you can make your move. You'll definitely be able to capture them easily."

The information provided by Tipalotura originally indicated that capturing just the saintess would have been sufficient.

But now that Mayocles' existence has been discovered, there's no reason to let him go.

After all, he was a member of the Earth Dragon Beast spectator group that day, and a high-ranking member of the Chosen Ones.

After thinking for a moment, Ryūka asked Gavin:

"How long will it take for Mayo Cress to notice you two disappearing?"

After a moment of contemplation, Gavin said:

“He usually goes to inspect the sanatorium on the ground every day. Ada and I usually live in a secret room behind the sanatorium. Whenever he sends a message, we have to go and do some disgusting experiments for him. But this time he seems to value today’s results. Judging from his previous behavior, he might not show up for a day or two. I guess he’s hiding and tinkering with something. But Ada is practically one of their own. If she doesn’t show up for a day, it will definitely arouse suspicion, not to mention that we both disappeared into thin air.”

Could it be that they might not reappear for another day or two...? Ryusha pondered, with Mayocles underground and the Saintess on the ground.

The saint will appear at the church event the day after tomorrow. Calculating the date, the best option is to find a way to get the two of them together then.

The plan will be made in the next day or two.

Ryuga immediately looked at Gavin: "You and Ada have a way to get in and out of that big door outside, right?"

"Only Ida has it."

With Gavin's words, Ryuka felt relieved.

He immediately took Gavin out of the operating room and headed towards the door.

“I’ll take you out first, and we’ll discuss our strategy tonight. I’ll bring you back before dawn tomorrow. After that, you’ll follow my orders. Otherwise…” Ryuga turned back and smiled at Gavin, “you can just turn into ashes along with the other chosen ones in this town.”

Gavin's face paled. Hearing Liuxia's threat, he and the thirteenth princess were indeed determined to take this place, and perhaps the Thunder Fortress army had already ambushed them outside.

No matter how he tried to guess what was going on outside, he couldn't help but grit his teeth and plead with Ryūka: