Chapter 227: Great Compassion

Rayan lifted the foot that was tightly restrained and kicked the naked Eileen to the ground.

Eileen let out a low cry, her voluptuous body uncontrollably falling backward. Although Rayan's strength was not great, and he did not imbue his foot with any Battle Qi, for her, who had lost her magical Spiritual Energy, it was undoubtedly a significant blow.

She never expected Rayan to treat her so roughly; she always thought Rayan had come to rescue her. Even after being kicked away by Rayan, she still couldn't believe her plight.

The ground was hard, littered with jagged rocks. Without the protection of her magical Spiritual Energy, Rayan's kick caused her arms and thighs to be immediately marked with clear bloodstains from the sharp edges of the rocks.

"Lord Rayan... I am Eileen, the Holy Light envoy, and a half-mentor to Lady Spring Rain—"

She spoke in a near-hoarse voice, "My current naked state is all because of that old dog Imperius. He tore my clothes with his spear and tried to assault me—"

Imperius spat heavily on the ground and shook his spear. "Yes, I also want to thrust my flaming long spear between your legs."

Eileen immediately bit her lip in shame and anger, covering her chest as she pleaded with Rayan, "Lord Rayan, you heard it yourself this time, didn't you? Please, for Spring Rain's sake, save me. I will definitely repay you!"

Rayan remained unmoved by Eileen's desperate pleas. Though he was Lady Spring Rain's Oath Knight, once he made up his mind, he would not be swayed by a few words of supplication.

"Lady Eileen, you seem to be a bit too naive," Rayan said indifferently.

Eileen's lips trembled, and the heart that had been elated upon seeing her "savior" seemed to plunge into a frozen abyss instantly. Her heart was filled with grief and anger, but she couldn't resist. She could only pull her legs together to cover her chest, sitting on the ground, trembling in the cold autumn night.

Reckless, naive. Her father's lamenting voice echoed in her mind again.

She deeply regretted not listening to her father. If she hadn't made so many enemies, she wouldn't be in this situation. Even if she had only offended Phoenix Lady but maintained her relationship with Rayan, things might not have turned out this way. She swore to herself that if she survived, she would obey her father's words unconditionally. But in this current situation, she was like meat on a chopping block, losing all dignity, completely at the mercy of others. How could she see her father again?

Thinking of this, Eileen's eyes filled with tears of regret. The autumn wind suddenly picked up, and her body, covered in minor injuries, trembled between the two men, without any support, only able to shiver helplessly.

On the other side, Imperius was quite surprised by Rayan's actions.

He originally thought Rayan had come to rescue Eileen. After all, he and Rayan were rivals in the arena, and his own actions this time were a dishonorable assassination. From any perspective, Rayan rescuing Eileen would bring him both fame and benefit. However, Rayan treated Eileen as if she were an enemy.

"Why?"

Imperius squinted his eyes in confusion and asked, "Lord Rayan, what exactly is your goal?"

Rayan responded casually, "My goal is the same as yours."

"My goal is to kill her."

Imperius's face was resolute. "And to make her die without any dignity—Eileen must die."

Rayan said calmly, "Yes, Eileen must die."

Although Eileen had already realized that Rayan had not come specifically to save her, hearing his words still made her gasp in despair. "Lord Rayan, you..."

Rayan ignored Eileen and spoke directly to Imperius, "Phoenix Lady promised me that if I helped you kill Eileen, she would agree to any request I made. As for whether Lady Eileen dies with dignity, I think we don't need to worry about that."

"For the sake of benefits—"

Imperius sighed with relief, "So that's it. However, even though you've said that, I still can't fully trust you. I still have scars from you on my ribs and neck. To suddenly change our relationship is impossible. Besides, how cunning and clever you are, Lord Rayan? I think we should each do our own thing and not interfere with each other."

Rayan laughed instead of getting angry when Imperius called him "cunning." "Lord Imperius, it was just defeating you once and taking your Phoenix Ring. You're really grudge-bearing. But you're right; you kill Eileen because of your master's orders, and I kill her for benefits. Let's each do our own thing and not interfere with each other."

A flash of anger crossed Imperius's old face. "If that's the case, why did you stop me from killing Eileen earlier?"

His angry attitude immediately provoked a roar from Emerald Fire Thunder. The roar, like thunder from the sky, frightened Imperius's chestnut warhorse into retreating repeatedly. Fortunately, Imperius's riding skills were excellent, and he managed to control the horse without falling off.

However, the intense movement caused his side wound to bleed again, the sutures completely snapping, and the healing potion losing its effect.

Imperius took a deep breath, feeling unfair. He believed he was stronger than Rayan, but this young man was too cunning and had so many treasures—Gale Boots, Emerald Fire Thunder, Phoenix Ring, a body immune to fire, and that seemingly ordinary but fearsome Crow Sword.

He hadn't thought much of the Crow Sword before. But after truly fighting Rayan, he vaguely felt that even if all of Rayan's treasures were combined, they might not surpass the value of this weapon—though the Crow Sword had not yet shown its true power.

Thinking of these treasures, Imperius couldn't help but feel a sinking heart, and his fighting spirit against Rayan inexplicably dwindled.

Rayan kept Emerald Fire Thunder in place until Imperius's warhorse calmed down, then smiled at Imperius. "I will certainly kill Eileen, but before that, I have some questions to ask her. If Imperius wants to kill her before I finish, then you must get past me first."

Imperius gritted his teeth. "Lord Rayan, you are tough. Fine, I agree not to kill Eileen before you finish your questions, but you must promise not to let her go. I said it—"

"Eileen must die," Rayan finished Imperius's sentence for him.

Imperius's nostrils flared slightly, then he snorted, "The demon extinguishing powder is only effective for ten minutes, and half of that time has already passed. If it exceeds that time—"

"If it exceeds that time, I can still kill her," Rayan said calmly.

Imperius sneered contemptuously. He didn't doubt Rayan's ability. In fact, with Gale Boots, Emerald Fire Thunder, Phoenix Ring, and Rayan's intelligence, killing Eileen wouldn't be difficult, perhaps not even harder than if he did it himself. He sneered at Rayan because this young man was too arrogant. Instead of taking the opportunity to easily deal with the powerful mage Eileen, he chose to complicate matters.

But when his eyes met Rayan's calm and delicate face, he was suddenly startled. "Are you using Eileen for practice? You, you won't let any battle opportunity slip by..."

Hitting the mark, Rayan merely smiled faintly. "That depends on whether Lady Eileen is willing to answer my questions. If she answers well, I will give her a fair chance."

"What if her magical Spiritual Energy recovers and you can't kill her?" Imperius asked, frowning.

Rayan answered lightly, "Isn't there still you? If you don't trust me, don't you trust yourself?"

Imperius opened his mouth but found himself speechless.

"Fine. However, this matter is of great importance. Even if it costs my honor, I cannot let any mistake happen—"

With that, Imperius tightened his lips and urged his horse to Eileen, who was panic-stricken. Without a word, he stabbed her supporting right hand with his flaming long spear, pinning it deeply into the hard ground.

Eileen let out a scream and fainted from the pain.

Rayan frowned slightly but did not stop Imperius. Instead, he allowed him to drive the spear deep into the hard earth. Although this significantly weakened Eileen's strength, knowing that Imperius did it with a resolve greater than life itself, Rayan felt only admiration.

Torturing an ordinary person was not a glorious thing, but Eileen was no ordinary person. Without a heart cruel and resolute towards enemies, one could not survive in this corrupt world, let alone talk about ambitions and dreams.

Sometimes, to uphold one's principles, one must become a person even oneself despises.

Rayan never considered himself a good person. He was an evil person, someone who would be evil to the entire world and kind only to those he cared about.

After pinning the spear, Imperius retreated with a pained expression, pretending to be calm as he said to Rayan, "Lord Rayan, please."

Rayan urged his mount, Emerald Fire Thunder, forward. The horse neighed, its fiery hooves stomping heavily beside Eileen's round face, scattering green flames mixed with soil, producing a sizzling burning sound that quickly woke Eileen up.

"Ra-Rayan, Lord Rayan! I beg you... show mercy! Great compassion!"