Engur seemed certain of victory. He called out, "Long time no see, mercenary lady. You should know that we supporters of King Deshret don't take kindly to traitors."
"Dehya, I originally thought that as a child of the desert, you would understand that King Deshret is superior to the Dendro Archon. I never expected you wouldn't even be worthy of joining us."
Dehya spread her hands. "What's in it for me if I join you? Becoming a radical and kidnapping innocent scholars? Even when those rumors can't be proven?"
[Alhaitham: These people's actions make me sick.]
[Dehya: There's no helping it. This is just how these people are. Reasoning with them is useless. Only fists will work.]
[Cyno: Bullies who cower before the strong are the easiest to deal with.]
[Ningguang: In the end, they are pitiable victims of the current system—tools deceived by lies. However, there's no need for pity. When you do wrong, you must be punished.]
[Neuvillette: Exactly. That's the meaning of the law. Regardless of the reasons, wrongdoing must be met with consequences.]
Delavar shook his head repeatedly. "Mercenaries truly have no faith. They're only driven by money. How pitiful. Like rats."
Dehya said, "That's right. Mercenaries only care about money. The client is my only faith. As long as there's profit to be made, anyone can be my friend."
Zaki pointed at them. "Enough talk. Take them out."
[Yae Miko: Their information is clearly outdated. They haven't heard of the Traveler's reputation yet.]
[Ningguang: If you think about it, the Traveler is arguably the strongest fighter beneath the gods. She can even hold her own in battles between deities.]
[Paimon: Being surrounded by mercenaries without Visions is honestly hilarious. Actually, it should be: the two of us have surrounded all of you! Surrender now!]
Dehya and Lumine effortlessly defeated everyone.
Zaki lay on the ground, pointing at Dehya with an expression of disbelief.
Dehya said, "What's wrong? Still think your information network is that reliable? What's that saying again? 'As a mercenary, you're always out working, so it's normal to miss out on some information.'"
"I'm guessing whoever tipped you off said I was a worthless rookie, right? Because that's exactly what they heard me say with my own mouth."
"Of course you believed it. You tavern regulars only know me as a mercenary—you've never seen me in action. Even if you heard we went after monsters together, you'd only assume it was Candace's doing and that everyone else was just there for decoration. 'Lion of the Mane'? Just a front. She even admitted it herself—she only relies on relationships to gain trust and extract information. That's what you thought, wasn't it?"
[Paimon: Dehya is amazing. She can think that far ahead.]
[Dehya: It's nothing special. If a mercenary doesn't use their head, they'd be dead long ago.]
[Paimon: That sounds dangerous.]
[Dehya: Danger is the job of a mercenary. The dirty, heavy work the Sages don't want to do.]
Zaki was badly injured and said weakly, "You deliberately spread false information because you knew we still had people in the village."
Dehya smiled. "You're still as dumb as ever. Even when we were drinking together, I always thought you self-proclaimed clever types were the most pitiable."
Then Dehya kicked Zaki unconscious. With that, everyone was down and couldn't get back up.