Seeing Dream Jia and Eva about to start arguing again, a clear cough came from behind Eva, and someone spoke in time, "Ahem! Eva, are these three new recruits the 'little white people' you mentioned?"
Immediately, a tall and thin woman with slightly bluish skin stepped forward from behind Eva. This woman, with an ordinary appearance, continued in a soothing tone that inexplicably brought a sense of reassurance, "Welcome to our big family, all three of you. My name is Elsie, also known as the Savior in their words. These people are all under my command. We've come to Earth NX specifically to help humanity resist the Westbows."
After her brief introduction, Elsie elegantly turned and gestured towards a dozen or so burly soldiers.
Upon hearing Elsie's introduction, Hao Yun and his companions were somewhat surprised. They hadn't expected to encounter the legendary Savior so easily. However, amidst their surprise, they quickly became vigilant. Based on the information they had, they couldn't yet determine if these saviors were friend or foe.
"Oh! Great Savior! We salute you!" To avoid appearing too strange, Hao Yun quickly stepped forward in surprise, bowing respectfully to Elsie, followed nervously by Dao Lao and Dream Jia, who also bowed in respect.
By the way, the manner in which Hao Yun and his companions showed respect to Elsie was something they had learned in training camp. To the humans on Earth NX, the Savior was their savior, revered almost like a deity. Therefore, they had developed a set of rituals specifically for showing respect to the Savior, which became a compulsory course for every human to master, expressing their reverence.
"Very good, full of spirit. It seems you are indeed promising. No wonder Eva has a special fondness for you," Elsie said approvingly, eyeing Hao Yun and his group, teasingly.
"Elsie, please don't misunderstand! I only value them because they naturally possess more mature thinking for 'little white people' of their rank. After all, such high-level 'little white people' are not easy to come by," Eva hastily defended herself, her face flushing.
Even Eva, who was usually straightforward and unafraid to show her emotions, became flustered and shy when teased by the Savior, illustrating just how revered the Savior was in their eyes. Such was the respect they held that the humans on Earth NX had developed a set of rituals specifically for honoring the Savior, making it a mandatory course for all humans to master, to express their reverence.
"Well, well! I see through your little tricks! Anyway, I'll support you because I trust your judgment," Elsie said with a smile, stepping forward to pat Eva's hair.
It was clear that Elsie and Eva were very close. Elsie spoke to Eva as if she were an elder speaking to her favorite junior, full of care and indulgence. This was evident from Eva's way of addressing Elsie. After all, while others addressed Elsie as "Respected Savior," only Eva shortened her title to "Elsie."
Eva smiled shyly and quickly changed the subject, "Thank you for your concern, Elsie. By the way, Elsie, didn't you have something to ask Ah Yun and them?"
"Ask us?" Hao Yun asked in surprise. At the same time, he began to quickly compare the images of various characters he had encountered in his memory with Elsie and her group, to determine if he had ever interacted with them.
"Oh, right! I almost forgot!" Elsie slapped her forehead lightly. Then, with a very gentle tone, she said to Hao Yun, "Actually, it's nothing serious. I just want to know if you three remember what happened when you first arrived here?"
Hao Yun scratched his head in confusion. Although he didn't understand what Elsie meant by her question, it didn't stop him from being on full alert in her presence.
"Memories?" Hao Yun replied, perplexed. While he didn't understand Elsie's question, he remained vigilant in her presence.
"Um... Respectful Savior, it was as if we suddenly entered a dream and then woke up just as suddenly. After we woke up, we found ourselves inside that building. And before we could figure out why we had suddenly appeared, we encountered the battle happening outside the building," Dao Lao respectfully answered, stepping forward.
Elsie seemed somewhat surprised by Hao Yun's answer. After a moment's thought, she asked again, "Oh? Is that so? Then, Dao Lao, did you notice anything unusual around? Like encountering strange characters? Or witnessing any strange phenomena?"
"Strange characters or phenomena?" Dao Lao stroked his white beard in thought, simultaneously exchanging opinions with Hao Yun and Dream Jia in his mind, trying to quickly confirm whether Elsie's question meant she had sensed their true identities.
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"The strangest people we encountered were the Mastanians. Not only were they horrifying in appearance, but they could also climb walls directly. It was truly terrifying! If our squad hadn't opened fire in time to stop them from continuing their search in the building, we might have been found and shot on the spot!" Dream Jia responded with feigned alarm.
Regardless of Elsie's intentions in raising these questions, Haoyun and his group were committed to maintaining their façade of ignorance. Their natural acting was aided by the fact that everything they recounted was based on actual events. Besides encountering the Mastanians, they hadn't noticed any other strange individuals or phenomena. However, Haoyun and his group remained quite nervous at this moment. With their keen perception, they could sense that Elsie's seemingly polite and gentle words were laden with traps. Any slight misstep could lead them into Elsie's cunning scheme.
Just as Haoyun and his companions were heightening their vigilance and preparing to continue dealing with Elsie's seemingly gentle questioning, Eva couldn't help but smirk after hearing Dream Jia's response. "Oh? In that case, you should really thank me! If I hadn't promptly signaled the squad to open fire, you guys would probably have been done for by those Mastanians sweeping through the building!"
"What? Are you saying you knew about us already?" Haoyun exclaimed in surprise.
"Of course not. It was due to a minor mishap at the time that we failed to conceal ourselves properly, and we were coincidentally discovered by the Mastanians patrolling near the building. That's why they rushed over to inspect the building, looking for the anomaly. I was forced to send a fire support message to cover our ambush team, using firepower to distract the Mastanians and ensure our safety. Who would've thought we accidentally saved your lives too! Ah, what a pity! If I had known, I would've instructed the team to increase firepower, accidentally taking out one more person with stray bullets!" Eva gestured towards Dr. Chu and Wang Defa, then glanced at Dream Jia with a disdainful expression, provoking Dream Jia into glaring back at her through gritted teeth.
Haoyun and Dao Lao breathed a sigh of relief after hearing Eva's explanation. It turned out Eva's group hadn't discovered their presence early on, indicating they also hadn't figured out how they had ended up inside the building. Moreover, Eva's explanation indeed clarified why the Mastanians had suddenly climbed the building. They had only noticed the traces left behind by Eva's group's actions.
"Enough of this back-and-forth! There are so many people watching; let's not bicker right now! How about this? Once this crisis is over, I'll personally help mediate your conflicts?" Seeing Dream Jia and Eva exchanging hostile glances, Elsie suggested somewhat helplessly.
Upon hearing Elsie's words, Eva quickly composed herself, then expressed haughtily that she hadn't argued with Dream Jia at all; she was simply asserting her position. Dream Jia, not wanting to continue the squabble with the younger girl, turned to Elsie after Eva returned to Elsie's side. "Oh? So, according to the Savior, we're now in a crisis?"
Due to the high respect that humans on Earth NX held for Elsie and her group, Dream Jia's blunt manner made Elsie slightly uncomfortable. However, being deeply astute, Elsie wasn't angered by it. Instead, she raised an eyebrow in mild surprise and looked at Dream Jia with curiosity. "Well, yes! Based on our understanding of the Mastanians, considering the recent events in Old Zion City and the current situation around Lena Tower City, we have every reason to believe the Mastanians are likely planning a war similar in scale to the attack on Old Zion City against Lena Tower City. In fact, it's not just Lena Tower City; according to the feedback we've received in the past two days from other main cities in the surrounding areas, similar conditions have appeared around those cities before the attack on Old Zion City. If the Mastanians indeed launch a large-scale attack on the main human cities prematurely, it will undoubtedly cause enormous trouble for those main human cities that are not fully prepared for battle."
Considering the intelligence received from Old Zion City, Dream Jia didn't deny that Elsie's assessment made sense. However, she couldn't resist teasing, "Makes sense. But I hope your judgment this time won't be mistaken again! After all, from the situation in Old Zion City, you still don't understand the Mastanians well enough. Those so-called historical experiences can't always be used as the basis for judging Mastanian movements. Otherwise, you wouldn't have been caught off guard by the Mastanians, right?"
As Dream Jia spoke, the scene immediately erupted into commotion. Although Dream Jia had raised similar doubts in discussions with Karl and others before, those were private discussions among a few people in a small setting. Despite the sensitive topic, it didn't cause significant harm. However, now was different. Dream Jia was openly voicing her doubts in front of the Savior herself, even implying criticism of the Savior's actions. This made everyone present genuinely feel a sense of disdain towards this woman, viewing her as arrogant and excessively self-assured.
However, Dream Jia was utterly indifferent to the displeasure shown by others. With her hands on her hips, she stood there nonchalantly, unabashedly locking eyes with Elsie, completely disregarding the people around her. Ultimately, Dream Jia's attitude stemmed directly from her strong personality and her identity as a special Hierophant empowered to hunt down Mold Spirits. Since the beginning, Dream Jia had never considered the mortals of the lower realms worth her attention. Besides personality and identity, the main reason Dream Jia dared to behave this way was her overwhelming personal strength.
Unlike the disgruntled crowd around her, Elsie didn't get angry when she saw Dream Jia adopt such a defiant attitude. Instead, amidst her surprise, Elsie cast an extremely appreciative glance at her. Thus, Elsie spoke sincerely, "Indeed, you make a lot of sense. Because the Mastanians have operated according to what we've perceived as rules for over ten thousand years, not only have we made incorrect judgments about their actions, but we have also seriously slackened in our defenses. This ultimately led to our severe lack of preparedness when facing the sudden massive attack launched by the Mastanians today. The reason for all this is our excessive reliance on past experiences."