Chapter 40: The Goddess’s Affection and a Surprising Turn of Battle

Eve was still looking at the system prompts when a sudden feeling washed over her. She clenched her hand.

‘My power… it’s increasing!?’

Another system prompt appeared.

[You have been affected by the Calamity Domain. All attributes have received a minor boost.]

[You have been affected by the Calamity Domain. Class talents have been enhanced.]

Eve was surprised to see the new system prompts, but then a thought struck her.

‘Oh, right. My faction was ‘Demon Lord’s Army’ from the beginning, and it never changed…’

‘But haven’t I been targeted by the Goddess of Light? Can I still receive faction buffs from an opposing faction?’

‘Is this seriously happening?’

Eve was dumbfounded.

‘Was her current faction alignment perhaps a little too chaotic?’

‘What if the Goddess of Light thought she was defecting, playing a double agent, and just decided to smite her out of displeasure?’

Thinking quickly, Eve whispered softly:

“Oh, great and benevolent, beautiful and kind, amiable Goddess of Light, I am not betraying you! I am merely acting under duress, my body in Cao’s camp, but my heart with Han!”

“I am your eternal, eternal believer!”

Indeed, her will to survive was remarkably strong.

[Goddess of Light Affection +1]

‘So you really were watching me, old lady!’

Eve internally let out another groundhog scream.

Fortunately, however, the Goddess of Light did not seem to mind her faction alignment.

Instead, her affection had even increased by another point.

‘Why did it feel like this goddess really enjoyed being praised?’

As soon as the thought surfaced, Eve shook her head, dismissing it.

‘No way…’

‘She’s a deity, after all. It would be too strange for her preference to be mere flattery, wouldn’t it?’

‘I’ll probe a bit more later. For now, Odell is already at a disadvantage, fighting three enemies on the front line. The other adventurers are each battling a slime and are in peril. The front line is about to collapse!’

Eve felt that, having been hired by Joyce, it would be rather unethical not to step in and protect the caravan.

Nimble as a cat, Eve scrambled onto the pile of goods in the carriage and shouted, “Captain Odell, everyone! I’m here to lend a hand!”

Holy Light Blessing activated!

A radiant glow enveloped all the adventurers.

The moment the Holy Light boosted him, Odell felt his stamina recover and his strength increase significantly in a short time. His eyes brightened instantly. With a roar, he actually sent three slimes flying with a single swing of his spear!

At that opportune moment, Eve shouted, “You’ve been buffed! Go!”

Her voice reached everyone’s ears. Seeing Odell display such might and feeling the burgeoning power within their own bodies, their spirits were ignited, and they launched a counterattack.

“Brothers! It’s our time to strike back!”

“Ohh!” (xN)

Suddenly, the tide turned, and the adventurers began to suppress the slimes.

However, this was merely on the surface. No matter how much Eve buffed them, the adventurers’ levels couldn’t break through the Tier 4 threshold, making it impossible to breach the slimes’ defenses. Even Odell couldn’t achieve a single kill, only managing to repel the slimes.

Instead, with the sounds of battle, new slimes continuously emerged from the grassland.

The number of slimes attacking the caravan was still growing!

This couldn’t continue. Even with Eve providing assistance from the rear, the adventurers’ stamina would be depleted first.

‘It seems I’ll have to step in myself…’

Eve was about to jump off the carriage when someone grabbed her.

It was Joyce.

The man held Eve’s right hand tightly, the fear not yet entirely faded from his face. “Miss Luosha, what are you doing? The adventurers are still fighting the monsters; leaving the carriage is far too dangerous! Stay on the carriage with me!”

He was merely a merchant, terrified of monsters to his core, yet he unexpectedly showed concern for her.

Perhaps he had recognized the value of her previous support and didn’t want her to get into trouble by joining the battle.

Regardless of his underlying motives, he genuinely seemed concerned.

Eve placed her hand over his, gently releasing his grip. She smiled at Joyce. “Mr. Joyce, since I was hired for your commission, it’s only natural that I do my utmost to protect the caravan, isn’t it?”

“Don’t forget, I am an adventurer too.”

“I will protect you.”

With that, she turned and leaped from the carriage without a moment’s hesitation.

Joyce froze, watching the graceful figure rush towards the battlefield. His heart trembled.

In a daze, Joyce seemed to see his own mother from long ago.

When his childhood village was attacked by monsters, his mother had similarly pulled away from his hand, reassuring his frightened self with “I will protect you,” before turning and rushing out the door to fight the creatures.

The outcome was self-evident.

After that night, Joyce survived, but he never saw his mother again.

“No… don’t…”

Joyce stumbled to the edge of the carriage, wanting to grasp her hand again, but could only watch helplessly as Eve stepped into the battlefield, plunged into the slime horde, and then began to slaughter them.

Joyce couldn’t help but close his eyes.

‘Wait, hold on. That scene just now seemed a bit off, didn’t it?’

‘Miss Luosha was slaughtering them??’

Joyce was bewildered as to why he’d envisioned such a scene, and he reopened his eyes.

“Huh?”

“Huh???”

Joyce felt his eyes were playing tricks on him. He rubbed them and looked at the battlefield again, but the scene before him remained unchanged.

The girl in the midst of the slime horde was like a war goddess. No matter their color or size, any slime that approached her was instantly obliterated by the Holy Light she wielded, dissolving into an unknown puddle of liquid.

Joyce’s mouth hung wide open. He stared blankly at the one-sided slaughter before him, utterly stunned. After a long moment, he stammered out two words:

“Holy crap!?”

****

Meanwhile, the adventurers who were fighting had noticed Eve’s intention to join the battle. They wanted to rush over and help, but they were already stretched thin. One adventurer, distracted by Eve, even exposed a fatal weakness.

[Charge]!

A green slime slammed into that adventurer. Unable to dodge, they were severely wounded and sent flying by the impact.

“Cough… cough cough…”

The adventurer, feeling several ribs broken and consumed by excruciating pain, could no longer continue fighting.

The slime’s next attack was imminent.

Just as despair set in, a beam of Holy Light flashed past him.

*Sizzle—*

The adventurer watched, wide-eyed, as the monster, which had been thrashing menacingly moments before, suddenly collapsed motionless onto the grass, its round, terrifying eyes turning into ( X . X ).

He was dumbfounded.

‘Such a terrifying monster, instantly killed with one blow?!’

Still reeling from shock, a beam of Holy Light rose from his body, a warmth spreading throughout him, and the girl’s soft voice reached his ears.

“Are you alright? Can you still fight? If not, could I borrow this sword for a moment?”

The adventurer nodded blankly, still unable to process the shock of seeing a support class instantly kill a monster with Holy Light.

Eve weighed the longsword in her hand.

[Adventurer’s Longsword (Battle-Hardened)]

[Description: A simple iron sword, poorly maintained and heavily damaged. The rust on its blade may inflict additional poison and bleeding damage on its target.]

‘With a sword like this, who could I possibly cut through…?’

Eve looked quite disdainful.

However, lacking a suitable weapon, she had no choice but to make do. She imbued the sword with a temporary Holy Light enchantment.

As the enchanted longsword swung, it left a dazzling trail of golden, flowing light.

Only then did Eve nod in satisfaction. “Good, now I can show off some sword glow!”

“My apologies, adorable slimes! Become my experience babies! Hehehehe!”