Chapter 112 New Grudges and Old Hatreds Together!
It started raining in the evening.
Cressida returned to the manor and changed into dry clothes.
Patrick specially sent someone to ask if she had returned, worried she might miss tonight's money delivery.
"Mark told Ms. Hamilton to bring the money to Riverside Village South of the Aine River. There was a huge flood here a few years ago, the Aine River changed course, and Riverside Village was abandoned and demolished long ago. Nobody lives there anymore. Mark's up to no good," Emma said.
Cressida wiped the sword Ivan had given her and said calmly, "It's fine. Wherever he says to go, I'll go."
Ingrid reminded her, "There might be an ambush there."
Cressida turned the blade horizontally. The snow-white sword reflected her cold eyes filled with killing intent.
"There are a few things I need you to help me with."
The night was deep, and light rain fell.
Heavy dark clouds were swallowed by the night. Only when thunder tore across the sky could you see the thick clouds pressing down over Emerald City.
In the summer night's drizzle, Riverside Village was pitch black and deathly silent.
Following Mark's instructions on the note, Cressida rode alone to the country path south of Riverside Village.
It was too close to the rushing Aine River. On the left was the rapid current, on the right were long-abandoned wheat fields.
The waist-high wild wheat swayed in the darkness, gleaming a dark yellow when lightning flashed.
Cressida stopped her horse at the bottom of the slope and walked toward the only wooden house ahead.
She pushed open the door and walked inside, leaving her umbrella by the door.
Hearing the noise, Mark turned around, his eyes showing a hint of vicious mockery.
"Ms. Hamilton—no, General Hamilton, you finally decided to show up."
Cressida didn't close the door. Though the room was dark, it was enough for her to see Mark's expression clearly.
Her voice was slightly cold: "Mark, who put you up to this?"
Mark burst out laughing, full of mockery.
"Don't you know who you've offended? Let me be straight with you—today's trap, once you walked in, you're not getting out!"
Cressida looked at him: "You should know, if I hadn't deliberately gone easy on you back then, you would never have made it out of Wolf's Den Execution Ground alive."
Soldiers sent to Wolf's Den Execution Ground for execution were all thoroughly searched. Mark was the only exception.
Hearing her words, Mark laughed wildly, his eyes turning bloodshot, his expression twisted and terrifying.
"How ridiculous, Cameron! You should have just killed me then! Do you know what you turned me into?"
He tore open his shirt, revealing the twisted, winding scars on his chest.
All claw marks left by wolves.
"You broke my legs, and you want me to thank you? If I hadn't killed those wolves, I would've been their food!"
"After returning to Emerald City, I wanted to live a decent life. I hauled corpses, moved sand and stones, but once people knew I'd been expelled for desertion, no one dared hire me."
At this point, veins bulged on Mark's forehead as he laughed bitterly.
"Cameron, do you know I was married? She didn't mind my criminal record, but when she had complications during childbirth, I didn't even have money for life-saving medicine."
"I went to The Hamilton Mansion for help, hoping they'd give me some money for the sake of my service in the Blade of Victory. But they turned me away! In the end, my wife died in childbirth—two lives lost!"
"Two lives, Cameron! I fought alongside you for six whole years. Before you became a general, I was already fighting battles with you! Dozens of battles, I charged into enemy lines for you, and just because I made one mistake, you stripped my military rank, broke my legs, and made me live worse than a dog!"
Mark angrily kicked aside a pile of straw: "You think your little bit of mercy was some great favor? You should have just killed me!"
Suddenly!
He grabbed a handful of powder from his sleeve and threw it at Cressida's eyes.
Instantly, everything went black. Cressida couldn't see anything.
Mark sneered: "Cameron, I can't beat you in a fight, but you're definitely dying today! There are plenty of people who want you dead!"
Cressida rubbed her eyes and slowly backed away until her back hit the corner.
"Mark, you're being used." Her voice remained calm.
"Shut up! At this point, you still want to lecture me with your high-and-mighty principles? General Hamilton, today is your death day!"
Mark pulled out a dagger from his waist and lunged at Cressida.
But just then, the umbrella by the door fell over, and the wind blew the wooden house door shut.
Instantly, the room plunged into complete darkness.
Mark immediately lost his bearings and could only stab blindly in Cressida's general direction.
"Damn it! Where are you? Come out! Even if we die together, I'm taking you with me!"
Suddenly, a hand cold as jade reached out, its strong fingers gripping his wrist tightly.
A voice came from behind him—
"When I trained troops, I taught you all—when trapped in darkness, don't make noise, or you'll become the enemy's prey."
"Mark, you're too noisy, and your skills have deteriorated too much." Cressida's voice was cold, carrying undeniable killing intent.
Before Mark could react, he felt Cressida's quick and powerful fists rain down on his abdomen like hailstones.
It felt like his internal organs were being shattered!
He coughed up a mouthful of blood and tried to stab back at her.
But he missed again.
Though they were both in darkness, Cressida's punches and kicks were precise and ruthless.
Yet he couldn't even touch the edge of her clothing.
Finally, Cressida kicked him in the chest. With a crisp sound, Mark's ribs all shattered.
He fell to the ground, unable to get up again.
Just then, the wind gradually blew the door open. Cressida stood backlit, her dress billowing in the wind. Her eyes were bright, her killing intent sharp and intimidating, enough to chill anyone to the bone.
"You think you can get away after killing me?" Mark coughed up more blood and couldn't help mocking, "Outside is full of Prince Yosef's army. The moment you step out, they'll capture you! Today's invitation was a death trap set specifically for you!"
Cressida walked over slowly, bent down, and held a blood-stained strand of silver-white hair between her fingers in front of his eyes.
Lightning tore across the night sky, illuminating the scene inside the house. When Mark saw the white hair clearly, the color drained from his face, turning pale green with shock.
"My mother, what did you do to my mother? Did you kill her? Cameron, you maniac! My mother is old, blind and confused—why would you kill her!" Mark cried and roared in anguish.
"When you and they set this trap for me, didn't you think? Even if I didn't kill her, Yosef wouldn't spare your mother either."
Mark's pupils dilated suddenly, full of shock.
At that moment, a squad of light-armored guards lying in ambush in the wheat field were quietly waiting.
Through gaps in the wheat stalks, they kept their eyes fixed on the distant wooden house.
Yosef had ordered that once Cressida brought the money to buy off Mark, they would immediately rush out and catch her red-handed.
As long as they had evidence against her, they wouldn't be afraid of Cressida refusing to submit.
So today's operation was personally led by Rodolfo.
They had been waiting for a long time.
So long that the guard beside him lowered his voice and asked, "Mr. Chambers, two hourglasses' worth of time has passed, and they still haven't come out. Mark has a personal grudge against Cressida—could he have already killed her?"
Rodolfo kept his eyes fixed on the wooden house. "No, he can't beat Cressida."
"What if Cressida killed Mark?"
"Even so, she can't escape. To leave here, she only has the path she came by."
Though Rodolfo said this, something felt off in his gut.
Would a general who had fought for years and commanded hundreds of thousands of troops personally deliver money? It made no sense.
With Cressida's abilities, she couldn't possibly fail to see this was a blackmail death trap.
Delivering the money meant admitting to the crime of deceiving the monarch. How would she dare come in person?
Yet she came anyway, alone.
The guard beside him said, "Mark's not just anyone. Back in the Blade of Victory, he commanded six elite cavalry squads—he was especially important to Cressida. That must be why she came herself."
Rodolfo frowned.
The explanation seemed reasonable at first, but the more he thought about it, the more holes he found.
Even if Mark had once held an important position, after he committed desertion, Cressida didn't hesitate to strip his military rank.
Clearly, though she had shown mercy back then, she wasn't someone who clung to the past. If she wanted to reconcile with Mark this time, there was no need to come herself—she could have just sent a maid with the money.
That way, even if caught, Cressida could clear herself and pin the blame on the maid.
Yet she came in person. Could it be that she...
Rodolfo's head snapped up. "This is bad!"
He immediately stood up and led the hundred guards lying in ambush toward the wooden house.
Their armor clanged in the thunderous night.
Heavy footsteps reached the doorway. Rodolfo pushed open the door and raised his torch to light the interior—it was completely empty!
"Damn it!" Rodolfo roared in fury. "She's gone!"
Not only that, she'd taken Mark with her!
Guards entered to inspect and found a large pool of blood and drag marks.
Just then, a black-clad cavalry soldier galloped over. A guard shouted, "Mr. Chambers, something's happened!"
The horse stopped, and the soldier practically tumbled off.
"The four secret guards Mr. Chambers arranged to watch Mark's mother have all been killed!"
Rodolfo's expression changed dramatically. "What about Mark's mother?"
The guard knelt on the ground. "She's missing!"
Rodolfo punched the door frame, and the wooden door instantly cracked.
"Cressida outsmarted us!"
She knew their purpose but came anyway, and had likely already killed Mark and taken his mother away beforehand.
What was supposed to be a certain death trap for Cressida, she had broken through single-handedly.
The guard looked completely confused. "But how did she escape? Her horse is still at the bottom of the slope. Once she left the wooden house, to return the way she came, we definitely would have seen her. We didn't see a single person!"
Rodolfo's eyes narrowed sharply. "Give me the torch!"
He used the firelight to illuminate the ground ahead, following the blood trail.
He discovered that the blood trail disappeared at the bank of the Aine River.
A hundred guards raised their heads in unison, looking at the rushing water.
Rodolfo fell into a long silence, with only the thunder overhead seeming to pound on everyone's hearts.
The guards were completely dumbfounded.
"She—she couldn't have jumped in the river and escaped by water, could she? This is the most turbulent section of the Aine River—that's impossible!"
"It's possible." Rodolfo's voice was low, carrying a murderous edge. "If it's Cressida, anything is possible."
Her skills were too good, and she had calculated their every move clearly.
Rodolfo had thought his plan was airtight, that Cressida had no way out, but he never expected she would dare escape along the rushing river.
Cameron, truly living up to her reputation.
Rodolfo felt his scalp tingle.
He immediately turned around, gripped his sword hilt, and ordered sharply, "Send people to surround every exit downstream, deploy all personal troops! Dragging someone, she can't swim far. Before Prince Yosef left Emerald City, he ordered that if this matter fails, we bring him our heads! Cressida—we absolutely cannot let her escape!"
"Yes!"
The light-armored guards' footsteps thundered as they rushed out.
Lightning streaked through the clouds, and fine rain fell steadily.
Emma and Verity stood at the edge of the dense forest upstream, waiting anxiously.
"Can Ms. Hamilton still make it here safely?" Emma was full of worry. "With the rain, the current will be even stronger. Going downstream might be possible, but going upstream—I'm afraid Ms. Hamilton won't hold out."
Verity looked at Emma and said firmly, "We must trust Ms. Hamilton. She can do it."
Cressida had told them early on to wait upstream. Because Cressida guessed that whoever Yosef sent to ambush would assume she'd escape downstream.
Human instinct is to choose the most convenient and safest route.
So Cressida would do the opposite.
After waiting a bit longer, suddenly, a hand grabbed the grass at the bank.
"Ms. Hamilton!"
Emma and Verity immediately rushed over and pulled Cressida onto the shore together.
Cressida was soaked through, her long hair draped over her shoulders, with a rope tied around her waist.
Verity pulled on the rope and dragged up a sack containing Mark's body.
"Ms. Hamilton, he..."
"Already dead." Cressida's face was slightly pale from the water, but she still looked imposing, her expression calm and sharp. "But I can't leave his body for others. He was a soldier I led. I must personally collect his remains."
The umbrella Cressida had brought actually concealed a rolled-up sack and rope inside when taken apart.
That's why she was able to successfully drag Mark through the water.
Emma immediately unfolded a cloak and draped it over Cressida. Verity shouldered the sack and followed behind them.
The three of them quickly walked into the dense forest.
Soon, at the end of the path, stood a carriage they had prepared in advance.
After boarding the carriage, Cressida immediately and methodically removed her wet clothes and changed into clean ones.
Only then did Verity fully see Cressida's form.
Cressida's figure was tall and well-proportioned, without an ounce of excess fat. Her slender arms and waist—every inch of muscle had been forged on the battlefield.
However, on Cressida's lower back were two particularly striking scars.
Verity could tell at a glance that the wounds must have been extremely deep.
As a shadow guard, Verity knew well that such scars must have been caused by someone hacking with a blade from behind, nearly cutting Cressida in half, to leave such vicious marks.
Just then, the carriage suddenly stopped.
The driver's lowered voice carried a hint of fear. "Ms. Hamilton, there are many guards outside blocking our way!"
Cressida's hand paused as she dried her hair, ripples stirring in her eyes.
She slightly lifted the carriage curtain and looked outside—
Black-clad guards like ghosts in the dark night, bathed in heavy rain, stood ahead with murderous intent.