The moment I saw the carriage waiting in the distance, I abandoned any thoughts of continuing to observe.
If those people managed to load the unconscious woman into the carriage and leave, following them afterward would become considerably more troublesome. More importantly, despite everything I had witnessed so far, I still had no idea who they were or where they intended to take her.
There was no reason to wait any longer.
My gaze settled on the two Controllers among the group.
The three ordinary men posed little threat. If I was going to intervene, dealing with the Controllers first would be the quickest and safest approach.
Without making a sound, I activated my ability.
Two circular energy rings instantly materialized around the Controllers.
The attack came without warning.
One moment, the two men were walking toward the carriage. The next, translucent rings had wrapped around both of their legs, binding them together and completely disrupting their movements.
Caught off guard, the Controllers immediately stumbled. Before either of them could understand what had happened, their legs tangled beneath them and they crashed heavily onto the ground.
"What—"
The word had barely left their mouths when I moved.
Several sharp energy blades formed beside me before shooting forward with terrifying speed.
"Aaagh!"
"Aaagh!"
The two cries echoed through the night almost simultaneously.
Neither Controller had been given even a moment to react. Before they could circulate their energy or activate their abilities, the energy blades pierced through their hands. Blood immediately stained their sleeves as both men instinctively clutched their injuries, their faces twisting in pain while they writhed helplessly on the ground.
I gave them no opportunity to recover.
Closing the distance in an instant, I appeared before the nearest Controller. His eyes widened in shock as he looked up and finally caught sight of me.
Too late.
The edge of my palm struck the side of his neck.
His body immediately went limp.
Before the second Controller could process what had happened to his companion, I was already moving again. Another strike landed against his neck, and his eyes rolled back before he collapsed unconscious beside the first man.
The entire exchange lasted only a few seconds from beginning to end.
Silence descended over the area once the second Controller collapsed.
The three remaining men stood frozen in place, staring at the scene before them with wide eyes. Their expressions seemed caught somewhere between confusion and fear, as though their minds were still struggling to process what had just happened. Mere moments ago, everything had been proceeding according to plan. They had been escorting the unconscious woman toward the waiting carriage, protected by the two Controllers accompanying them.
Then, in the blink of an eye, both Controllers had been brought down.
Slowly, their gazes shifted toward me.
The confusion lingering in their eyes quickly faded, replaced by unmistakable fear.
Unlike the two injured Controllers, these men possessed no cultivation whatsoever. They might not have understood exactly how I had accomplished it, but they understood the result well enough.
I was a Controller.
And judging by how effortlessly I had neutralized the two men they had relied upon, I was far stronger than either of them.
The realization seemed to drain the remaining courage from their faces.
Without saying a word, I pointed toward the unconscious woman. The gesture was simple, but the meaning behind it was obvious.
The two men supporting her immediately stiffened. For a brief moment, they exchanged uncertain glances, seemingly afraid that any wrong move might provoke me. Then, seeing that I made no move to attack, they carefully lowered the woman onto the ground.
Once she was safely down, I shifted my attention toward the three remaining men.
"Where were you taking her?"
The question caused them to exchange uncertain glances. For a few moments, nobody answered. Finally, one of them gathered enough courage to speak.
"We... we don't know, sir."
I looked at him silently.
The man's face immediately paled.
"It would be in your best interest to tell the truth."
The three men visibly flinched.
"We are telling the truth, sir," one of them hurriedly said. "Please believe us. We really don't know where they were taking her."
He quickly pointed toward the two unconscious Controllers lying nearby.
"They were the ones giving the orders. We were only hired to help them with whatever they needed."
"We just took the job because they were paying well," another man added nervously. "That's all we know."
The third man nodded repeatedly.
"Please, sir. We don't know anything else."
I studied their expressions for several moments.
Based on their nervousness, fearful expressions, and the urgency in their voices, they genuinely didn't seem to know anything. The explanation also made sense. They were ordinary people without any abilities whatsoever. Individuals like them were often hired to carry luggage, deliver goods, run errands, or assist with various tasks that didn't require cultivation.
There was little reason for someone to entrust important secrets to people like that.
I casually waved my hand, signaling for them to leave. That was all the encouragement they needed.
Relief immediately appeared on their faces. Whatever role they had played in this situation, they clearly had no desire to remain anywhere near me. The three men nodded repeatedly before hurriedly expressing their gratitude.
"Thank you, sir."
"Thank you."
After backing away several steps, they turned around and practically ran toward the waiting carriage. Within moments, both the men and the carriage disappeared into the darkness, leaving only the unconscious Controllers, the woman, and myself behind.
I made no attempt to stop them. Whether they were hired help, servants, or simply men following someone else's orders mattered little to me at the moment.
Instead, I turned my attention toward the unconscious woman lying on the ground.
Now that the situation had settled, I finally had the opportunity to examine her properly. Stepping closer, I crouched beside her and studied her face beneath the pale moonlight.
A faint look of surprise appeared on my face.
I recognized her immediately.
She was one of the two young women who had traveled in the same horse carriage as Charlie and me on our way to Daylight Inn. The pair had been heading to Astravia Academy, accompanied by a middle-aged man who possessed the strength of a Moderate-Level Controller.
For a moment, I simply stared at her.
What was she doing here?
The last time I had seen her, she had been traveling toward the academy with her companion and the middle-aged Controller. Yet now she was lying unconscious in the middle of the night after being pursued by a group of strangers.
Were they ambushed somewhere along the way?
And perhaps more importantly, where were the other two?
The questions continued lingering in my mind as I carefully lifted the unconscious woman into my arms.
Regardless of what had happened to her, this wasn't the place to look for answers.
I still had no idea why she had been running, who those people were, or what had happened to the other woman and the middle-aged Controller who had been traveling with her. The more I thought about it, the more questions surfaced.
If I wanted to understand what was happening, I needed to take her somewhere safe and wait for her to wake up.
With that thought in mind, I adjusted my grip and began making my way back toward Daylight Inn.