Reborn as the General's Useless Daughter-Chapter 203: The Counter scheme (Part-2)

"Chase after them."

The mercenaries immediately pursued as they received the order. At that exact moment, Alaric Von Seraph slammed his foot into the ground and flung something forward.

Boom!

A cloud of sand and dust exploded into the air.

Mixed within the yellow grit was a fine white powder that instantly coated Julian and his men. It filled their hair, clothes, eyes, and mouths in an instant.

"Cough—! What the hell is this?!" someone shouted.

By the time Julian wiped the dust from his eyes and looked up, his heart sank.

The ground ahead was empty.

In the darkness of the night, Zora and the others had already vanished, swallowed by the vast White Mountains. Tracking them now would be like searching for ghosts.

"After them!" Julian spat out the grit in his mouth, his face twisted with fury. "No matter what, you must catch them!"

After a good while, Zora and the others were perched lazily among the branches, their postures relaxed and unhurried. Not a trace of the earlier exhaustion remained on their faces. If anyone saw them now, they would never believe these people had just fought through waves of demonic beasts.

"Julian would never guess that we’d circle around and end up right behind him," Reesa said with a grin, clearly amused. Just imagining Julian’s expression was enough to lift her spirits.

She really was curious. When Julian realized he’d been thoroughly outplayed... what kind of face would he make?

Zora blinked lightly, the corners of her lips curling upward. "Just wait. The real show is about to begin."

Hidden in the darkness, two small black-and-white figures slipped away unnoticed. Before long, Black and White quietly returned, leaping back to Zora’s side as if nothing had happened.

Meanwhile, Julian and his group chased in the direction where Zora and the others had fled, only to find... nothing.

No tracks. No aura. No sign of life.

Then—

"Roar!"

A deep, savage howl tore through the night, heavy and oppressive. Just from the sound alone, it carried a terrifying sense of power.

"Roar—!"

One call became two. Two became many. The cries echoed through the forest like a response to a summoning, sending chills through the air.

Hearing the monstrous roars, Alaric Von Seraph and the others exchanged uneasy looks.

"What kind of demonic beast is that?" Reesa whispered, her face paling. "That voice is terrifying..."

Then her eyes lit up with sudden realization. She turned toward Zora in awe. "Zora... don’t tell me your powder is that effective? It’s only been a moment, and so many beasts have already been drawn here?"

Zora shrugged innocently. "The powder alone wouldn’t work that fast. It’s just that this area happens to be the nesting ground of the Infernal Fire Rocs. I merely... helped them find some trouble."

Her tone was calm and casual, as though she’d done nothing more than lend a small hand.

Yet Baldwin and the others couldn’t help but instinctively draw back.

Infernal Fire Rocs—

Those were demonic beasts whose strength rivaled, even surpassed, late-stage Sky Realm spirit warriors!

Provoking even one was enough to spell disaster. Charging straight into their territory?

That was courting death.

At this moment, Raphael, Alaric Von Seraph, and the rest were utterly convinced. Not only was Zora terrifyingly sharp-minded, but her methods were also outright... lethal.

Baldwin, who had once thought Julian despicable enough, now felt a twinge of sympathy.

This fate... was truly horrifying.

"Wife is truly brilliant," Prince Kael said softly, amusement shimmering in his eyes. "We didn’t even need to lift a hand."

Zora brushed her palms together lightly. "We’ve already been tired from traveling all day. Wasting energy on Julian would’ve been far too uneconomical."

"My lady speaks wisely indeed."

As the distant forest filled with frantic shouts and terrified screams, mixed with the furious roars of demonic beasts, everyone glanced at Zora and Prince Kael standing calmly together.

Two words echoed silently in their minds.

Monsters.

As the sounds gradually faded into the distance, Zora hopped down from the tree.

"Let’s find another place to rest," she said with a smile. "Tonight, we can finally sleep well."

Reesa hesitated, then asked, "Zora... do you think Julian will manage to survive?"

Before Zora could answer, Prince Kael draped an arm over her shoulders, his smile lazy and confident.

"When my lady makes a move," he said lightly, "do you think she leaves behind loose ends?"

Hearing Prince Kael’s words, Reesa suddenly realized that her question had been completely unnecessary.

With Zora deliberately leading the Infernal Fire Rocs out, how could Julian and his group possibly be left alive?

Marcus patted Reesa’s shoulder and chuckled. "Even if Julian somehow escaped the Infernal Fire Rocs, don’t forget—the powder Zora used is still in effect."

"Oh!"

Reesa’s eyes lit up in sudden understanding. "That’s right."

At this point, she could only sigh inwardly. Zora really was meticulous to the end. Every step left no room for escape.

Not far away, Sebastian and Miel had overheard the conversation. Both of them felt a faint chill creep up their backs.

Even they would have trouble defending against such methods.

"Julian’s real misfortune," Sebastian said with a laugh, "was provoking this little girl."

Miel shook his head, half amused, half impressed. "You should be glad you’ve never faced a physician as an enemy before."

Today’s display had truly broadened his horizons. That kind of powder... if he ever had the chance, he wouldn’t mind getting his hands on some. Sometimes, not needing to personally take action was the best solution of all.

"But..." Sebastian’s expression shifted, a hint of doubt flashing through his eyes. "How did Zora know there was a Infernal Fire Roc nest nearby?"

Miel paused, then frowned slightly. That point... he didn’t understand either.

*

"Master, White and I did great, didn’t we?"

Black beamed, eyes curved into happy crescents, pride practically spotioning out of him.

Zora smiled and nodded. Without Black and White quietly stirring things up and alerting theInfernal Fire Rocs, tonight wouldn’t have gone nearly so smoothly.

"When we get back," she said generously, "you can eat whatever you want."

Those words were like heavenly music.

Black and White instantly burst into delight. All their effort had finally paid off!

Shihtzu also leaned forward, rubbing a small paw against Zora, clearly unwilling to be left out.

As a Beast King, it was especially sensitive to demonic beasts. With just a little perception, it could pinpoint the location of a lair. That was exactly why Zora had chosen this resting spot.

"You helped too," Zora said warmly, reaching out to pat Shihtzu’s fluffy head.

Shihtzu squinted in bliss, its tiny face full of contentment.

The smile in Zora’s eyes deepened. Though raising three little gluttons might eventually empty her pockets, their usefulness more than made up for it.

That was the upside of having food-loving companions.

That night, Zora and the others finally enjoyed a peaceful rest.

No Julian.

No ambushes.

No sudden danger.

Everyone slept soundly, feeling lighter than they had in days.

The most relieved of all was Sylvandria.

Ever since the earlier incident, the mere thought of Julian had kept her awake at night. After his last appearance, she’d been constantly afraid he would suddenly show up again.

Now, that fear was finally gone.

"From now on," Alaric Von Seraph said in his usual cool, steady voice, "Julian won’t appear again. You don’t need to worry anymore."

Sylvandria smiled softly and nodded. "Mm. I finally feel at ease."

Alaric Von Seraph’s gaze softened just a fraction. "If that’s the case, then I can be at ease too. No one will bring it up again in the future."

Hearing Alaric Von Seraph’s words, Zora and the others all fell silent, choosing not to pursue the topic any further.

There had never been many people who knew about that matter in the first place. None of them was the type to gossip, and now that things had reached this point, it was best to let the past end here.

Besides, with Julian gone, everything had truly come to an end.

However, Sylvandria couldn’t help but ask, "Brother Seraph... what do you mean by that?"

She looked at him expectantly, as if she wanted him to directly tell her that he cares about her.

However, Alaric Von Seraph’s reply made the joy in Sylvandria’s eyes vanish in an instant.