Investing in the Three Villainesses Gives Me Infinite Returns

The seven rangers walked past the city gates and continued along the dirt road leading away from Kilmir, each of them carrying a small supply bag strapped securely across their backs.

The massive city wall gradually disappeared behind them as they moved farther into the surrounding wilderness. The road remained relatively clear.

Behind them, Berlic Draveon stood near the gates with several of his knights, his pleasant smile still present on his face as he watched the seven figures disappear into the distance.

His gaze remained fixed on Elias’s back for considerably longer than it did on anyone else.

Belthon, who stood several steps away beside the Draveon knights, noticed the man’s expression and couldn’t help frowning deeply.

’Something is wrong with this team.’

He had been around enough rift expeditions to understand that a ranger team needed to be carefully selected, especially when the grade of the rift remained unknown. The people walking toward the rift were clearly not an experienced group, and if the spatial rift turned out to be above Grade One, there was a good chance none of them would return.

Belthon glanced toward Berlic again before narrowing his eyes.

’Why would the City Lord send them?’

He didn’t have an answer.

Meanwhile, the seven rangers continued walking.

Dane had been appointed as the captain of the team, and although he had initially been pleased with the decision, his expression gradually became annoyed as he looked at the four trembling men walking behind him.

"How long are you lot going to be like this?" Dane asked impatiently.

Jessie flinched before lowering his head.

"I-It’s easier for you to say," he mumbled.

Dane stopped for half a second before turning his head toward him.

"What did you say?" he asked, his brows furrowing.

Jessie swallowed nervously, but after glancing toward the distant city behind them, he finally gathered enough courage to speak.

"Unlike us, you at least know how to swing that sword on your waist, and you also have a much better body than us. Do you think we volunteered for this?"

Dane stared at him for several seconds before turning his head toward the dirt road again.

"Heh," he scoffed. "You speak as if being scared would keep you alive or make those monsters pity you."

He continued walking while adjusting the sword hanging from his waist.

"It doesn’t matter if you volunteered or not. If you want to live, you have to come out of that."

Jessie fell silent.

Ravy, Lorey, and Charles exchanged glances among themselves, and after a brief moment, their attention collectively shifted toward Elias.

Unlike Dane, Elias had remained calm from the moment they had left the city.

His posture wasn’t tense, and there wasn’t even a trace of fear on his face despite knowing that they were heading toward a potentially deadly spatial rift.

More importantly, he was a member of the Crimson Ducal Clan.

Even if the rumors surrounding him were true and he really was the weakest member of the ducal clan, having someone from such a powerful family beside them still gave them a faint sense of security.

Dane noticed their gazes.

His expression immediately turned sour.

"You lot can learn a thing or two from Lord Elias," he muttered.

Elias glanced toward him.

Dane noticed the attention and smiled, although the expression carried a faint trace of mockery.

"Even as a bastard, he is here to keep the name of his clan," Dane said. "Commendable."

Elias stared at him for a moment before simply turning his gaze toward the road ahead.

He had no interest in Dane’s opinion.

His thoughts were elsewhere.

’Stella, Natasha, and Monica should be fine.’

He had already left instructions before departing. Still, Elias couldn’t completely suppress the worry inside his heart.

’Hopefully, the contingency plan won’t be necessary.’

He silently prayed that the situation would be resolved quickly, allowing him to return before anything unexpected happened.

Suddenly, Smith moved closer to him.

The bulky swordsman glanced at Elias for several seconds before asking casually, "Do you know who your mother was?"

Elias’s expression immediately changed.

His eyes became sharp as he turned toward Smith.

"Do you wish to die?" Elias mumbled.

Smith raised both hands in surrender and immediately stepped away.

"Ho. Calm down," he said with a nervous chuckle.

Elias continued staring at him for another moment before turning his attention back toward the road.

Smith rubbed the back of his head.

"That really touched a nerve. Huh?"

The group continued walking, and for the next several minutes, only the sounds of their footsteps and the rustling vegetation accompanied them.

The dirt road eventually became narrower as the trees grew thicker around them, while patches of tall grass brushed against their legs whenever they passed.

Then, after roughly ten more minutes, Dane suddenly stopped.

"Wait."

Everyone immediately halted.

The scene before them made the hair on the back of his neck rise.

A massive distortion floated several meters above the ground, its edges twisting unnaturally as though someone had ripped open an invisible curtain. Dark purple light pulsed from within the opening, expanding and contracting like the heartbeat of some enormous creature.

The surrounding air seemed distorted by its presence, and faint ripples continuously spread across the space around it.

Seeing it, even Dane’s confident expression had disappeared.

Ravy’s face became pale as he stared at the rift, while Lorey’s hands began trembling around the hilt of his sword.

Jessie swallowed hard.

"L-Let’s run away," he suggested.

Smith immediately turned toward him with a sharp expression.

"And be branded as deserters?" he spat.

Nobody said anything, and their gazes slowly shifted toward Dane.

Even he seemed taken aback.

The rift was considerably more ominous than he had expected, and although he had imagined himself becoming the hero of this mission, the reality standing before him made his confidence falter.

However, he wasn’t going to let the opportunity slip away.

If he returned now, he would be branded a coward, and whatever reputation he had hoped to gain would disappear instantly.

Dane clenched his teeth before forcing a confident expression onto his face.

"Stop standing there like idiots and get in!"

His gaze shifted between everyone.

"Move!"

The others remained reluctant.

Nobody wanted to be the first person to step into the unknown.

After several minutes of hesitation, the seven finally began moving forward.

Their footsteps became slower as they approached the rift.

Jessie’s breathing grew heavier.

Ravy’s hands trembled.

Lorey kept glancing backward toward Kilmir.

Charles remained silent.

Smith’s expression had become serious.

Even Dane had stopped pretending to be completely fearless.

The moment their body touched the distorted space, purple light consumed them and the world around them seemed to twist.

For a split second, an intense pressure struck their head, followed by a strange sensation that felt as though their entire body was being pulled through something impossibly thin.

Jessie immediately grabbed his head.

"Ah!"

Ravy stumbled forward.

"My head!"

Lorey groaned as he staggered.

The sensation lasted only for a moment before disappearing.

However, Elias didn’t experience any pain.

Instead, the moment he crossed the boundary, his vision opened into something completely different.

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