The Legend of the ruthless Empress Freya-Chapter 243 The Pact [The Village Mystery - Part I]

- POV General -

"Let me introduce myself, my name is Freya and I am the leader of this group of adventurers and we need to travel as quickly as possible. I heard that you were not ready to let us pass and since we are in a hurry then...how about a compromise ?"

While she had witnessed her group's first interactions with the villagers and the mayor from above, Freya had finally appeared. While not surprising her companions, she had surprised the humans standing before her, bringing silence as soon as she arrived. In order not to create any waves, her proposal had been sincere although it was also a waste of time but after all, what else could they do ?

The undercover Empress had not said another word, waiting patiently for a reaction from the old man or his acolytes. Having suppressed her oppressive aura as much as possible, she hoped to appear less frightening than usual but she underestimated her own presence. Despite her precautions, the cold-eyed young woman was passively giving off a cold and powerful aura capable of killing them if released entirely.

"I-I...w-who are you ?? And why are you from the mountains ?"

Even though she concealed it, for humans with no special abilities, simple country farmers, Freya was still very intimidating. The gray-haired mayor after a few minutes speechless, had finally come to his senses, instinctively suspicious of the convoy. It was normal after all, who were these young women on horseback who appeared from nowhere guarding a rather luxurious carriage whose leader was giving chills ?

"I told you but we can all introduce ourselves if you want...Sir ?"

"C-Call me Fred."

"Well Mister Fred, we are adventurers in a hurry, I don't doubt our abilities to come to your aid as long as we pass through your village. What do you say ?"

Not knowing what to answer, the old man stood there once again, eyes wide open, his body slightly backwards betraying fear. The offer was of course very interesting, but how could he be sure it wasn't a trap ? But after all, if it was, they would have killed them long ago. Finally, the mayor turned to the men and women behind him for their opinions, speaking in a low voice.

"What do you say ?"

"Fred I'm not sure that..."

"But they are adventurers Jane, what could they possibly do to us ? We're a little reclusive from the outside world so our judgment is a little biased."

"I agree with Paul, let's see what deal they have to offer us first, right ?"

"I'm for it, if they can help us save our families for no money but the promise of crossing our village, that's gold. B-But let's be careful all the same."

"Yes !"

The villagers stood in a circle and whispered one by one giving their opinions to Fred who listened, not seeing the little sneer on Freya's and the others' lips. They, who were not human, could hear everything perfectly well for several meters, their whispers being useless. Playing along, the group coming from Elysium remained silent before finally, the old man turned to the Empress to accept the deal under certain conditions.

"It's agreed, but I would like to see your identification plate as well as the people traveling in the carriage, t-then...the payment will not be in money because we don't have much and the case of the disappearances must be solved in less than 24 hours"

"No problem for our identification plate, nothing to say for the payment as well as the delay though...our client will remain anonymous, do <strong>not</strong> approach our convoy"

Inside, hidden, there were Gaya, Jade, but most of all, the children and Lia who couldn't change their shape and kept their half-human attributes. Of course, they were all dressed in cloaks, which made them look human, but it was dangerous. Freya's voice had changed slightly when she refused to let them look, becoming for a few seconds more threatening than she would have liked.

Her eyebrows had furrowed, her piercing violet eyes looking into Fred's, who couldn't help but feel suddenly unsafe. Realizing that their requests were already quite advantageous and that pushing too far was stupid, after swallowing, the man gave his answer. That feeling he had of being in control was only fake but well enough to get him where the she-wolf wanted him to be...like on a chess board.

"I-It's a deal."

"Then it's a deal."

Holding out a gloved hand to Fred, the dark-haired woman was inwardly delighted as she was intrigued by their situation, knowing that everything would be sorted out very quickly. They had only been gone a day, but they were already facing a unique situation. While Freya was immersed in her thoughts, the Mayor grabbed her hand before shivering at the coldness it gave off despite the glove, suddenly feeling cold sweat run through him.

"T-That's fine meet under that tree there and talk in about...15 minutes ? We still need to consult if you don't mind Miss Freya"

"So we'll set up on the grass a little further away and talk too"

Splitting up, the two groups headed in opposite directions, the villagers heading under the one tree that stood at the edge of the path several meters away. Once far enough away, Freya would turn on her heels to walk on the grass that stretched as far as the eye could see just before the small forest, followed by Kira, June, May and the carriage. After a few seconds, she would snap her fingers making ice walls appear around them.

"So Freya nee-san, what's the plan ? Do we try to sneak by once they trust us ? Or maybe we should finally just force our way through ? Or are you really planning to honor the deal ? But why ?"

Kira, who felt more comfortable away from the humans, stretched as she asked her questions before jumping off her horse to put a foot down. She had not liked the attitude of the villagers, not to mention this deal which she found totally useless knowing their strength. The young Commander knew that discretion was important but she didn't understand why her older sister had accepted without batting an eyelid at the Mayor.

"We are in a hurry, but we are in unfamiliar territory in an Empire that may not function the way Zal does. Helping these villagers may bring us information about Vancesia that we can only get by trusting these humans rather than by fear. So, in the end, we are just as much better off as they are and perhaps even more so since they depend on us now, am I right, Freya~?"

As the Empress had turned to answer her little sister, another person had beaten her to the punch by suddenly speaking up. The Queen, with a mischievous smile, had stepped out of the carriage with the twins' basket in one hand, and Shiro's in the other. From inside she had obviously heard everything and understood her wife's decision, knowing that they had more to gain despite the delay of a few hours.

After all, they were in a hurry, but it wasn't a race against time either and they could afford to stay an extra night. Gaya no longer had her dragon horns, tail or wings and looked like a perfect human despite having half-human children. Still beautiful and graceful no matter what she looked like, for once was dressed in brown pants, a tight-fitting shirt and high boots.

"You are absolutely right Gaya fufu~"

"Mommyyyyyy~"

As Freya replied with another small smile on her face not being able to help but hold it back at the sight of her wife, the little white-haired girl ran towards her. All hidden behind her four walls of ice, they could afford to be a little less discreet for a few minutes. Bending down to catch Shiro running ahead of her with her arms wide open, Freya grabbed her by the waist before gently lifting her up.

"You're going to help the humans find the evil thing that's hurting them then ?"

"Mmmh, yes we could say that my little moon."

The little white-haired Princess had her ears moving happily and while the young woman was patting her head, it was her fluffy tail that was wagging back and forth. Soon, it was Lia who came out of the carriage, followed by Jade who was a little more hesitant and then Kalaa who finally came down from her perch. The small group had only to wait for the time to pass before deciding what to do next.

______

Fifteen minutes had passed and for the second time, the Empress of Elysium was going to talk with the old man named Fred and the other villagers. Now only five in all, they were waiting for her sitting under the only tree on the dry earth road, sitting on small wooden stools. Accompanied by Kira and Kalaa, Freya finally sat down in front of them after creating three chairs of ice before their stunned eyes.

"Your identification plates please."

Not forgetting their initial pact, Fred didn't let himself be impressed any further, reaching out a hand towards them with an ever-wary look in his eyes. Without even blinking, he watched as the violet-eyed young woman pulled a cloth bag from her pocket before tossing it at his feet. Inside were the identification plates that had been made in advance by the head blacksmith, obviously hiding the most sensitive information.

"I-I see that you are rather powerful adventurers. It was obvious at first glance, but I never imagined that you could be level 30 and your companions between level 15 and 20..."

After several minutes, the old man finally spoke again, his voice having softened when he had discovered Freya's false power. Everyone's level had been lowered so as not to attract too much attention, but for simple peasants or even simple humans, this was already huge. Suddenly, the villagers seemed more willing to be helped, seeing this group of adventurers as a potential solution to their problem.

Without further ado, taking a deep breath, settling back in his seat and closing his eyes for a few seconds, Fred was determined to speak. He, like the others, didn't have the money to pay such adventurers, nor the courage or strength to fight whatever it was that was causing them pain. The appearance of Freya and her group was almost like a gift from heaven that he intended to exploit with a seemingly unfair deal.

"For the past few weeks, our lands have been traversed by half-humans and beast-men heading over the mountains into the western forest. I-I don't know what's going on, you who are from there may know, but it has been going on for at least a month. And...three weeks ago, the women of our village began to disappear one by one while our fields were being devastated."

At his words, the expressionless Empress didn't show it but knew perfectly well what was causing this sudden exodus from the other races: Elysium. Since the war against Zal's army had been won, this Empire, previously unknown to others, was becoming more and more famous. Known as a paradise for those persecuted and looking for a home, a better life, more and more families from other countries were venturing there.

"Continue"

"We have no certainty, but I'm pretty sure it's one of those beasts that's taken a liking to our village to torment it and make us disappear. The Count who manages these lands is too busy with the nobility to disdain helping us but the reality is...we are suffering from the situation."

The more he spoke, the harder it was for the three silent women to take pity on them, hearing once again the humans spitting on the other races. Always the same refrain, always the same accusations, the same victims and the same executioners and criminals. However, putting aside what they thought, Freya, Kira and Kalaa waited in silence, listening to the poor distressed Mayor's little monologue to the end.

Knowing perfectly well the relationship that humans had with white hair, the Empress' older sister had changed her hair color to deep black. Thus, with this color and her purple eyes, she looked even more like Freya and Kira, almost making them look like triplets. Feigning interest, finally, after a few minutes, Fred would finally say some words that instantly caught their attention and curiosity.

"On full moon nights like the one tonight, at least one woman is abducted is unable to be found no matter how hard we look. At daybreak, there are no traces of blood, no traces of forced entry and only traces of huge, unidentifiable paws leave the kidnapping site in the center of the village before disappearing."

No matter how hateful the villagers seemed, the mayor's last words had managed to get Freya's full attention. Unexplained disappearances ? Tracks magically disappearing in the same place over and over again ? The next 24 hours in this village were going to be much more interesting and mysterious than they could have imagined.

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FULL STATUS

Names : Freya / Lucifer Nightshade

Age : 0 year old / Mentally : 25 years old

Sex : Female

Course: Ice Demon Wolf of Chaos - Adult

Race : Imperial Demon

Titles :

- Demon Goddess of Primordial Blood and Death (former - until all powers are recovered) - 30%.

- Wrathful Lucifer (7th Sin) - Master of the uniques Sins Demons (to unlock it, please gather the other 6 - 3/6 - (locked)

- Dragon tamer

- Ruthless slayer

Level : 45/70

Exp needed for next level: 0 / 46 000

HP : 170 000 / 170 000 MP : 85 000 / 85 000. BLOOD : 100 / 100

Strength: 660

Defense : 660

Agility : 666

Endurance: 663

Speed : 662 𝘧r𝗲𝑒𝔀𝘦𝙗𝓃oν𝑒l.𝐜𝗼m

Intelligence: 660

Charisma: 500 (imperial she-wolf)

Attribute points to allocate : 0

Married to : Gaya Nightshade

Daughter : Shiro Nightshade

Twins (son & daughter) : Tyle & Alta?s Nightshade

Little sister : Kira Nightshade (Greedy Fox)

Big sister : Kalaa Nightshade

Empire (menu)

Subordinates: 5865 (keep growing)

Humans killed: 153

Souls: 0/3

Elements: Ice / Chaos (Freya) - Blood / Death (Lucifer)

Skills (all):

Attacks :

- Demon Claws (Lvl 5)

- Bite of hell (Lvl 6)

- Infernal ice spikes (Lvl 6)

- Fighting techniques (Lvl max)

- Mastery of the katana (lvl max)

- Demonic Empress aura (lvl 7)

Défense :

- Ice demon wall (Lvl 6)

- Demonic Cloak (lvl 5)

- Pain Resistance (lvl 6)

Attack/Defense :

- Domain of the Ice Empress "Frozen Wrath" (lvl 4)

- Death Gaze (lvl 1)

Others :

- Humanoid form 𝑓𝚛𝚎ℯ𝘸𝙚𝘣𝚗𝘰νeƖ.c𝒐𝐦

- Demonic form (linked to the title so incomplete) - 20%.

- Ice creation (Lvl 6)

- Detection and control of mana (lvl 6)

- Storage of chaos (Lvl 4)

- Devouring Chaos (Lvl 5)

- Master of Souls (lvl 3)

- Lucifer's Threads of Blood (lvl 3)

- Healing Blood (lvl 3)

- Analysis

- Telepathy

Passives :

- Commander (lvl max)

- Natural Aura of the Ice Empress ]