I became a cannon fodder villain. If I want to survive, I must take care of my baby first.

After becoming a subordinate of Megalos, Erica wanted to learn lessons from recent events and accumulate experience in order to avoid making the same mistakes again.

After repeated thinking, she gradually realized that if dark magic wanted to influence people's minds, or even to completely control them, it would require unimaginable amounts of magical power.

That level of dark attribute magic concentration can easily cause damage to the human body just by its presence, and it is difficult not to notice it before the consciousness manipulation takes effect.

In addition, Wuxin is a puppet created by the Elf Queen, and has the blessing mark left by her on his body, so ordinary means are simply ineffective.

Even so, their minds were still influenced and they were at the mercy of Grusel and her companions.

This result could only have happened because they were unknowingly influenced by Grusel. Her dark magic had already invaded the lives of Erica and the others, and they had become accustomed to it, not realizing that there was something wrong with them.

Erica even considered whether it might be related to the gradual loss of vitality in Hyacinth Town. After all, no matter what, changes in the living environment are greater than the subtle effects on the body.

There has always been a rumor in the town that this place was originally a wasteland. Later, the Elf Queen visited and used an artifact called "Storm Horn" to give life to all things, and the land came back to life.

Originally, Erica only regarded this rumor as a small story, but who knew that the two antlers brought by Grusel's accomplices were actually somewhat similar to the legendary Storm Horns.

The green antlers control the strong winds, and the purple antlers control thunder and lightning. Once they appear, they will summon storms and lightning with incredible power.

If the Cape of Storms was really hidden by the Elf Queen somewhere in the land of Hyacinth Town, then wouldn't Grusel's accomplices have stolen the artifact, made the town's environment worse, and then used this stolen thing to deceive them?

Erica had originally planned to put all the blame on Grusel and her accomplices, but a few days ago, when she and Wuxin went to Wuchang to extract the remaining dark magic in their bodies, they unexpectedly learned that they were deeply affected by the dark magic, and this abnormality happened every moment like breathing.

Wu Chang also joked that Erica and Red Heart were too slow, as they had to help count money after being sold.

Dark magic invisibly seeps into Erica and the others' bodies. This long-buried magic has a very good healing effect, but while providing protection, it also lays the foundation for manipulating consciousness.

Now that I think about it, the magic cast on the black robe was just a feint, meant to create the illusion that Erica and the others had only temporarily fallen into a trap.

In fact, even after being baptized by Luo Shiqi's golden flame, the dark magic in their bodies was still not completely eliminated. This was very strange. After all, everyone knew that his flame could completely suppress the dark attribute.

Even he couldn't clean it up, which was enough to show how much dark magic was accumulated in Erica and the others' bodies.

Spades and Diamonds were able to attack Megalos together with Erica not long ago, but they died not long after. The problem lies in this as well.

In the Kingdom of Aslan, even if one eats good food and takes supplements every day and tries every possible way to stay healthy, one can only live to sixty or seventy years old at best.

It is rare for civilians like them to be alive and well in their fifties. Ultimately, it is the dark magic in their bodies that has taken effect.

After being washed by Luo Shiqi's golden flames, the dark magic in Spade and Cube's bodies suddenly decreased, and the lives that had been nurtured for twenty years suddenly came to an end, leading to their sudden deaths.

It would be fine if it was just a coincidence, but Hongxin's age is almost the same as Grusel's, both of them are elderly people.

Moreover, the onset of her illness and Grusel's actions were very consistent, and they were both dark magicians, and their magical reactions were almost identical.

In addition, as they were all victims of the riot, their characteristics almost corresponded one to one.

If one coincidence is an accident, then it is hard not to be suspicious when there are so many "coincidences" in front of us.

As the closest person to her, Erica originally didn't want to suspect Madam Redheart. But when she thought about the horrific criminal who was causing panic in Streamer City and who stayed with her every day, wouldn't Erica herself become a natural umbrella to help her conceal her identity?

Rather, she took the initiative to discuss this matter with Manjushage in order to rule out the option that the red heart was Grusel.

But she was not the only one who noticed something unusual, so it was obviously impossible to clear herself of suspicion so easily.

There is some information gap between everyone, which leads to subtle differences in their cognition.

Among so many people, Wuchang, as a bystander, was the first to doubt Hongxin's identity.

He didn't know what happened between Mekalos, Erica and others, he only heard that Grusel invaded the city.

He was just passing by here with Manjushage and his group, but this aroused the suspicion of Carlos and others. Why doesn't Red Heart, who exudes an ominous aura all the time, need to prove himself?

He clearly heard that Grusel came just after Erica and her group arrived in Liuguang City. This was too much of a coincidence.

As for Luo Shiqi and Manjushage, he had seen them a long time ago, and there was not much difference between them now and then. At best, the atmosphere between them had become more ambiguous.

Because of this, Wu Chang has every reason to doubt Hong Xin.

If he hadn't been the first to point out the strangeness of Hong Xin, Manjushage would probably still be in the dark and would have thought she was just an ordinary old man.

Manjushage felt ashamed when she thought about how she had previously shamelessly told Rujing not to trust the authority of the Knights too much.

It was obvious that she was particularly relaxed because Luo Shiqi was around, and she didn't take Grusel, who had caused her a lot of trouble a while ago, seriously at all.

Little did they know that Grusel would be so bold as to come to them directly in his true identity without any disguise.

Even though everyone knew that Grussell was an elderly woman, no one could have imagined that this national-level felon, who could scare people half to death with just a little bit of information, was actually right next to them!

People are always used to judging others based on their first impression, but ignore the fact that everyone is a complex individual.

If Erica had not lived with Red Heart for nearly twenty years and was not particularly familiar with her every move, no one would have imagined that this seemingly ordinary peasant woman was actually a criminal who terrified countless powerful people!

After hearing Manjushage's analysis, Grusel's wrinkled face showed no panic at all, she even smiled with relief.

"Well done." After saying this to someone unknown, Red Heart stood up and bowed respectfully to Manjushage just like she did when she first arrived.

"You don't seem to be worried about your current situation at all?" Manjushage did not respond to her somewhat arrogant remarks.

When Red Heart first appeared here, she thought it was just a false alarm. After all, Grusel had been at large for twenty years, so he wouldn't come here like a fool without knowing anything.

Who would have thought that she not only came, but also openly admitted everything she had done. Even when her identity was exposed, she calmly bowed and left.

I really hope she can be as elegant when she escapes later.

However, Hong Xin was still in no hurry to leave. She smiled and asked in a friendly tone: "Ms. Manjushage, can you tell me how many people you arranged outside?"

"To tell you the truth, I don't think you can come here even if you are really Ilivia Grusel, so most of the people I can recruit are busy blocking your escape route."

Hearing this, Grusel's lips curled slightly: "It's the same news I received, but with just these few people, they can't catch me..."

As soon as he finished speaking, several silver threads suddenly shot out onto the floor. The ground instantly cracked and gravel flew everywhere, but Grussell was no longer there.

"Is this, space movement?" Manjushage was stunned.

Where was Grusel in the small room? In just a moment, she disappeared without a trace.

"Chase her quickly, don't let her run away." Luo Shiqi came to Manjushage, grabbed her hand, and rushed out immediately.