White Night looked at Cainee, sizing him up from head to toe.
"Have you served in the Empire's army?"
"Oh! How did you know?"
Cainee was stunned for a moment. Only a few of his brothers knew that he had served in the army; he was curious how the girl in front of him had guessed it.
"Earlier, when I heard the sound of gongs and drums, I vaguely felt it was similar to a military assembly order. Now, looking at the way you hold your sword—neither slung over your shoulder nor resting on the ground, but positioned properly at your waist—you look just like an ordinary soldier."
"I see."
Cainee became even more vigilant. This Silver-haired Girl actually knew about the Empire's army; could she be the offspring of some noble? But why would a noble's child break into his mountain stronghold? He truly couldn't figure it out.
Regardless of his confusion, Cainee remained outwardly calm.
"You have a good eye. I did indeed serve as a squad leader in the army for a few days."
"Hmph! Since you've served in the army, why didn't you stay there? Why engage in this human trafficking business!"
White Night's tone suddenly grew stern, but Cainee didn't seem to care.
"How much money can a soldier make? No matter how much territory the Empire conquers or how much wealth it seizes, will any of it be shared with us? No business makes money faster than the flesh trade."
"Tsk, doing anything just for your own benefit..."
"Selling a single slave or prostitute earns more than half a year's income from my time in the army. If I don't do this business, someone else will. Since that's the case, why shouldn't I be the one to earn this money?"
White Night was speechless. Facing such a person, any moral reasoning was useless. Moreover, her own eloquence wasn't particularly good, and she didn't expect a few words to make him realize what it meant to repent.
"Have you ever felt the despair of those people you sell as slaves?"
"What?"
White Night's voice was very soft, and Cainee didn't hear clearly what she said. However, in the next moment, he knew what White Night was about to do.
"Today, I'll let you experience this feeling of despair. Hellfire Cage!"
Along with White Night's words, a pillar of fire soared into the sky behind her!
The flames seemed to be controlled by someone, spreading at an extremely fast speed. They actually circled around everyone, forming a ring-shaped wall of fire that trapped everyone, including White Night herself, inside.
"She... she can use magic. Could she be a Holy Cultivator!"
"B-Big Brother, what should we do? The opponent is someone who can manipulate magic power; we're definitely no match for her!"
Looking at the soaring flames burning around them, the group that had been leering just a moment ago instantly lost their composure.
Was this a joke? Although they were a bunch of scumbags and thugs, they were ultimately just ordinary people slightly stronger than average. How could they possibly be a match for a Holy Cultivator!
Many people's legs were trembling. They wanted to flee, but found that the surroundings were already blocked by fire. They couldn't go anywhere and could only be trapped there by the flames.
If it were a Holy Cultivator who had just started learning magic, these thugs might have had a chance if they swarmed her. But looking at the soaring flames rising around them, she didn't look like a beginner at all.
Right now, the fire only circled around everyone present. If she had the intention, she could have burned them to ashes just now; they wouldn't even have had a chance to resist!
"Th-this scale of magic... it couldn't be used by anyone other than a high-ranking Holy Cultivator!"
"Big Brother, what should we do?"
Facing the words of his two brothers, Cainee did not respond.
At this moment, he was also too shocked to speak. The moment the fire erupted, his heart clenched violently. He suddenly recalled the scenes of facing enemy Holy Cultivators on the battlefield. Back then... it was truly terrifying!
"Kneel down..."
Cainee said slowly.
"Boss..."
"B-Big Brother, what do you mean by this?"
Hearing this, the crowd could hardly believe their ears. Although their boss was cautious to a fault, he had never chosen to back down when facing any opponent.
Yet now, facing this Silver-haired Girl, he actually told his brothers to kneel?
"Didn't you hear me? I told you to kneel!"
Cainee roared at the crowd, then was the first to throw down his saber and kneel before the Silver-haired Girl.
Although everyone knew they were no match for the girl before them, there were so many of them after all. No one had thought of surrendering directly; they were all hoping their boss would think of a way.
But if they thought about it carefully, they would realize that in the face of such a massive gap in strength and with their path of retreat blocked, there was no room for any tactics or schemes.
Even the Empty Fort Strategy required a zither and a few demoralized soldiers. What did Cainee have? Aside from the group of scumbags following him, he had nothing. Therefore, kneeling and begging for forgiveness was the best course of action.
Although not everyone could think of this, since their boss had knelt, who could afford to play the hero? Didn't they see that even the most hot-tempered Second Brother was kneeling on the ground just like the boss?
The crowd could only follow Cainee's example, throwing down their weapons and kneeling before the Silver-haired Girl.
"We surrender! Please, My Lady, show mercy and spare our lowly lives!"
After saying this, Cainee actually propped his hands on the ground and kowtowed three times to White Night, not caring about dignity or anything of the sort.
All he was thinking about now was "survival."
"Hmm? To think they would just..."
Even White Night was stunned. Although she had intended to intimidate them when she cast Hellfire Cage, even she hadn't expected the other party to surrender so decisively.
"Hellfire Cage is just a bit large in scale; is it really that terrifying?"
White Night naturally didn't understand what kind of deterrent a large-scale magic like Hellfire Cage held for former soldiers.
After all, to her, this kind of magic that only had scale but lacked precision and power couldn't hurt her in the slightest.
But for Cainee, who had been on the battlefield, such large-scale magic was undoubtedly his nightmare.
He had personally seen enemy Holy Cultivators release similar magic on the battlefield, wiping out an entire squad in one go!
People ran and struggled within the flames to no avail, ultimately being roasted alive into charcoal!
Those hateful Holy Cultivators seemed to believe that fire magic had a stronger deterrent effect on rank-and-file soldiers. Even though they knew other large-scale magics, they would always throw out massive areas of fire when clearing out low-level soldiers.
Those flames would connect into lines of blockade, not only stopping the charge of ordinary soldiers but even trapping them within the fire to burn to death!
The stench produced by the flames burning corpses would often permeate the entire battlefield. Even now, when Cainee occasionally thought of it, he would still feel a lingering fear!
He understood all too well how easy it would be for the girl before him, who could use large-scale magic so casually, to deal with a motley crew like them.
As long as she wanted, with a casual wave of her hand, she could let scorching flames burn over their entire bodies, and it wouldn't take long to turn them into charcoal.
"Surrender, huh..."
White Night thought for a moment. Although the other party's reaction was beyond her expectations, what she planned to do next wouldn't change.
"When did I ever say I would accept a surrender?"
"My Lady!"
"Shut up."
Cainee wanted to continue begging for mercy, but was sharply interrupted by White Night.
"You aren't soldiers on a battlefield, and I don't need prisoners of war! Do you think you even have the option to surrender?"
"..."
Cainee didn't speak, but his gaze gradually became sharp. If the other party really intended to drive them to a dead end, they could only fight for their lives.
"However..."
Just as Cainee was about to call his brothers for a final struggle, White Night suddenly changed her tone, causing him to abandon the idea.
"I can play a game with you. If you can beat me, it's not impossible to let you go." "A game?"
Cainee frowned. Although the Silver-haired Girl's words were casual, she probably didn't really want to play a game with them; she was likely just using it as an excuse to toy with them.
But Cainee had no choice. If he wanted to live, he had to follow her arrangements.
"I wonder what game you would like to play?"
Hearing Cainee's question, the corners of White Night's mouth curled up slightly.
Cainee asking this question meant he harbored hope for survival. White Night would make him understand that the greater his hope now, the stronger the despair he would suffer next!
"Choose three people to fight me. As long as one person can win... no, as long as you can touch the corner of my clothes, I'll let you go. Of course, during this process, I won't use any magic, only physical techniques. Rest assured, I won't use magic to bully you."
Hearing this, everyone looked at Cainee and the Second and Third Brothers beside him.
Among these people, if anyone was the strongest and most likely to win them a chance at survival, it was only these three.
The three of them also understood the expectations the crowd had for them. Thus, without even asking for anyone else's opinion, they tacitly agreed to represent the group in the "game."
"Big Brother, what do you think? Do we have a chance?"
"If the opponent truly doesn't use magic, we do have a chance... provided she keeps her word."
"Then, Big Brother, you mean..."
"Once there's a chance, kill her!"
Cainee's voice was very low, masking his killing intent.
He was respectful to the girl before him because he wanted to live. If there were a chance to take her life, he would absolutely not hesitate.
"Who goes first?"
"Me..."
Third Brother stood up. He was the weakest of the three and the one who cared most about his brothers.
"Big Brother, Second Brother, let me go first."
The two remained silent. They both knew that without knowing the opponent's strength, the one who went first had the slimmest hope.
But even so, it was indeed the most logical choice.
Letting the weakest of the three test the opponent's true strength would give the stronger Big Brother and Second Brother a better chance.
"...Be careful."
After thinking for a long time, Cainee only managed to say those two words.
If Third Brother failed, the Silver-haired Girl before them likely wouldn't spare his life. But they had no choice; all he could do now was pray for his brother's success.
"Finished discussing?"
Looking at Third Brother standing before her, White Night didn't even have the interest to ask his name; she just beckoned him over.
"Then let's begin."
As soon as White Night finished speaking, Third Brother charged at her with his saber raised.
He had actually been wondering why this seemingly frail girl could be so confident without using magic.
Although he had heard that a Holy Cultivator's physical fitness was better than an ordinary person's, could it really be enough to make her this confident?
Touching the corner of her clothes? What a joke! If he got the chance, he would definitely slash her neck with his blade!
Although Third Brother charged at White Night aggressively, she didn't seem to have any intention of dodging. One had to know she had no weapon in her hands, so it was unlikely she could parry a blade's slash.
In that case, how exactly did she plan to deal with it?
"Arrogant brat! If you don't dodge, prepare to be hacked in half!"
The distance between the two wasn't far to begin with, and Third Brother's slash reached White Night almost in an instant.
He was already beginning to rejoice inwardly. He was extremely close to the Silver-haired Girl, yet she still hadn't moved. In this situation, no matter how great her skills were, could she still dodge this strike?
"Die for me."
Third Brother put all his strength into the slash at White Night. However, to his surprise, before his blade could even touch her, a sharp pain shot through his chest!
The pain was so intense that every muscle in his body shuddered, and the saber even flew out of his hand.
The Silver-haired Girl before him had actually struck second but arrived first, punching his solar plexus with extreme speed!
"Guh!"
Third Brother looked at the soft, fair fist against his chest, unable to comprehend why this punch had such immense power. His whole body felt like a balloon with the air sucked out; he lost all strength and collapsed to the ground.
Third Brother turned his head with difficulty, glaring at White Night with an unwilling gaze, yet he couldn't even utter a single word.
That punch just now felt like a heavy hammer striking his heart directly. His heart was already ruptured. He wanted to speak, but only large amounts of blood spilled out.
At this moment, no matter how unwilling Third Brother was, his life was still rapidly slipping away. No one could save him.