Reborn as the General's Useless Daughter-Chapter 224: Fiona’s punishment

Shihtzu’s sleek eyes shimmered with agile curiosity. It knew its master too well. Zora had never been a simple character, and the things she held in her hands were even less so.

Whether it had been Luna or Scarlet in the past, anyone who crossed her had paid a heavy price. This time would be no different. The season girl was definitely not going to end well.

The master had always been like this. Once she set her sights on something, she would get it. Calm, precise, and merciless when needed. There was no reason to worry at all.

Zora’s gaze remained indifferent as it rested on the prohibition surrounding the ancient ruins. The glow of the barrier had grown increasingly faint, its light thinning like mist in the morning sun. It would not be long now before it completely disappeared.

"Darling," Prince Kael asked with a faint smile, his brows lifting slightly, "what did you do to Fiona?"

He knew his wife too well. With her wearing that calm, unreadable expression, there was no doubt she was waiting for something to happen.

As for suffering a loss? That had never been her style.

Zora smiled mysteriously, deliberately keeping him in suspense. "Just wait and see."

Not far away, Fiona stuffed the Abyssal Crocodile’s demon crystal into her storage pouch, her lips curling in ridicule. "You really think you’re something special. All bark and no bite."

Sigmund and the others kept glancing between Fiona and Zora. For some reason, they felt uneasy, as if something was about to go wrong.

"I always feel like Zora must’ve done something," Sigmund said quietly, frowning.

"What could she possibly have done?" Fiona sneered. "There were so many people watching. Do you think she could pull some trick right in front of everyone? It’s all just intimidation."

Elowen and the others exchanged silent looks. Fiona really seemed to have lost her sense after being humiliated earlier.

Just moments ago, she had been crushed speechless by Zora’s momentum. Now she was acting smug again, as if nothing had happened.

But then, Fiona’s expression suddenly changed.

A sharp, stinging pain surged through her body without warning.

"What... what’s happening?" Fiona frowned, confusion flashing across her face. The pain felt as if something inside her had gone terribly wrong.

"Hng!"

A muffled groan escaped her lips. The pain intensified rapidly, spreading through her limbs and into her bones, far beyond what she could endure.

"Ah— it hurts!"

Everyone turned to look as Fiona twisted awkwardly, her movements frantic and disordered, her face contorting in agony.

"Miss, what’s wrong?" The House Ravens’ spirit warriors rushed forward in alarm.

"It hurts! It hurts so much!" Fiona screamed, panic and pain flooding her voice.

"How could this happen all of a sudden?"

The House Ravens members were at a loss, but their eyes couldn’t help drifting toward Zora in the distance. They remembered her earlier words. She had said Fiona would come begging.

Zora stood calmly, her gaze still fixed on the ancient ruins. She didn’t even spare Fiona a glance, as though everything unfolding behind her had nothing to do with her at all.

"Damn it... Why does it hurt this much... I can’t take it anymore!"

Fiona felt as if her entire body were being torn apart from the inside. The pain pierced every pore, leaving her gasping, unable to catch her breath.

Under the stunned gazes of everyone present, Fiona’s legs gave out. She collapsed heavily onto the ground, her cries echoing through the clearing.

"What—!"

Wave after wave of pain crashed through Fiona’s body. She had long since lost the ability to endure it.

The agony only intensified, burrowing into her internal organs as if they were being torn apart one by one.

She had suffered plenty during cultivation before, broken bones, torn meridians, exhaustion to the brink of collapse.

Yet compared to the pain she was experiencing now, all of that felt laughably insignificant.

Fiona finally lost control and began rolling on the ground. Her luxurious robes were quickly smeared with dust, her hair disheveled and tangled, her once-proud appearance utterly ruined.

Under normal circumstances, she would have gone mad just seeing herself like this. But now, dignity, pride, and appearance, all of it had vanished from her mind. There was only one thought left.

Make it stop.

Elowen and the others were initially puzzled by Fiona’s reaction. But once they saw her deathly pale face and the cold sweat pouring down her temples, they immediately understood.

This was definitely Zora’s doing.

"Fiona really looks like a monkey being toyed with today," Elowen said coolly, disdain flickering in her eyes. "From start to finish, she was the one provoking Zora. Now she’s only reaping what she sowed."

Sigmund nodded in agreement. "She’s truly planted herself this time."

"This Zora..." Zephrin said slowly, his gaze darkening. "Her cultivation may not be terrifying, but her methods are far from ordinary. She’s not someone anyone can afford to underestimate."

At this point, no one could still treat Zora as a harmless civilian with no background. Even he felt a faint chill thinking about her calm precision.

No wonder Prince Kael chose her.

Guinvere’s brows knitted tightly. She was certain now that Fiona’s condition was caused by Zora. It was no coincidence that Zora threatened her, and then a few moments later, Luna suddenly was screaming in pain. Yet the terrifying part was that she hadn’t sensed the slightest movement from her earlier.

Had she acted long ago?

The thought made Guinvere’s heart tighten. For the first time, she felt genuine vigilance toward Zora.

"Zora!" Fiona screamed hoarsely through clenched teeth, forcing herself to endure the pain. "What did you do to me?"

Zora raised her brows slightly, her expression calm and unhurried. "Miss Fiona, don’t accuse people so casually. Under everyone’s watchful eyes, I couldn’t have done anything at all."

"I don’t believe you!" Fiona roared, her face twisted in agony and fury. "It must be you! Release me now, or I’ll never let you go!"

Zora looked at her as if she were watching an absurd performance, her tone leisurely and detached. "Miss Fiona, you’re quite amusing. As if, even if you weren’t in pain right now, you’d ever let me go."

Her words landed squarely.

For a moment, many people were stunned. Then a few couldn’t help but laugh.

She was absolutely right.

Whether Fiona recovered or not, she would never let this go. In that case, why should Zora bother helping her?

"Such a hateful woman," Black muttered angrily. "She deserves every bit of this. If you don’t teach someone like her a lesson, she’ll never know how high the sky is."

"She really had it coming," White said smugly, satisfaction written all over his face. "All that arrogance before, and now look at her."

Black winked at Shihtzu. "Relax. That demon crystal is still yours in the end."

Shihtzu’s eyes lit up, its tail nearly wagging at the thought.

Hearing those words, a spark of excitement leapt into Shihtzu’s eyes. As long as it obtained the demon crystal of the Abyssal Crocodile, its strength would break through in one fell swoop!

The thought alone made its blood boil. Once it advanced, it would finally be able to stand in front of its master and fight for her, instead of always being protected.