Volume 3, Chapter 21 – Rescue

Faced with Miss Yumo’s questioning, the knight did not show the slightest hint of guilt. Instead, he stared back at the noble girl who dared to meet his gaze without any trace of a troubled conscience, speaking in a tone dripping with disdain.

“After you savages colluded with the Abyssal Demons, it is already His Majesty’s grace that you are being taken to the capital for a fair trial. That is giving you enough face. What else do you want?”

Not only was his tone full of contempt, but his expression was also brimming with hostility, as if he would attack her if she said even a few more words.

Watching this, Yumo couldn’t help but frown. Beside her, Duo’er and the other maids hurriedly tried to pull her back, not wanting her to provoke the man any further. At the same time, these maids were incredibly bewildered. After all, their young lady was usually so timid and fearful, yet this time she actually dared to confront a fierce Royal Knight? Furthermore, there was no fear in her voice, only a faint trace of coldness.

However, the maids’ efforts ultimately failed. They were astonished to find that their lady’s strength was startlingly great, and they couldn’t hold her back at all.

Yumo continued to speak, asking the question she was quite curious about. “You keep saying we colluded with the Abyssal Demons, and you say it with such confidence. But don’t you lack evidence? Isn’t a conclusion regarding so-called collusion something that requires an investigation and a court trial? Why are you so certain?”

“Heh! That sister of yours is an Abyssal Demon right now!”

“I’m the one who should be laughing. Honestly, I’m speechless. The Duke Family has resisted the Abyssal Demons for nearly a hundred years and could be considered irreconcilable enemies with them, so how could we possibly collude? Besides, are you a fool? Many people have been infected and eventually turned into Abyssal Demons. As far as I know, someone from the Imperial Family turned into one back then as well. Why didn’t you say the Imperial Family was colluding with them too?”

Yumo’s tone gradually turned icy.

“You! You dare to insult the Imperial Family!”

“I didn’t. I’m just discussing the facts…”

Retorted like this, the knight found himself at a loss for words.

However, at that moment, another Royal Knight of higher status slowly walked into the view of Yumo and the maids. Upon seeing this man, Yumo’s brows quirked because he was the squad leader of the Royal Knight Corps who had ‘arrested’ her before, a fellow who seemed to be named Abik.

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Abik was slightly surprised by Yumo’s remarks, shocked that the timid lady actually dared to confront a knight head-on. However, his face still bore a look of dismissive disdain.

“Evidence? We don’t need any at all.”

“Hmm? What do you mean?”

“The Crown Prince… oh no! It is His Majesty. His Majesty has already determined that the Duke Family attempted to collude with the Abyssal Demons, using their power to strengthen their own influence and strength. As for evidence, we can just collect it later!”

As he spoke, a fanatical look gradually emerged in Abik’s eyes. When he mentioned the words ‘His Majesty’, the excitement in his tone was spine-chilling. It seemed Abik’s loyalty to Xue Tian’ao was not mere devotion but rather he viewed him as a religious faith, and a fanatical one at that.

Hearing this, a complex look appeared in Yumo’s azure eyes. “You guys…”

At the same time, Yumo’s gaze slowly shifted to the other members of the Royal Knight Corps nearby. As it turned out, everyone was just like Abik; they all showed fanatical looks when His Majesty was mentioned, and none of them were moved by Yumo’s words just now.

After boasting for a bit, Abik walked up to the cage with disdain, speaking in a tone full of contempt and hostility. “People like you who have betrayed the empire and humanity are only alive because of His Majesty’s grace! You actually dare to make demands? How laughable!”

As he spoke, Abik glanced at the food nearby, the bread originally prepared for Yumo and the maids. Then, Abik directly kicked over the basket holding the bread.

“You still want to eat? Having committed such a crime of betraying humanity, you deserve to starve!”

Seeing the bread scattered on the ground, Duo’er, who had been uneasy for a long time, couldn’t help but plead. “Please, Sir Knight, our lady hasn’t eaten for a day! This bread, you can’t…”

“Can’t what?”

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Abik raised his hand in disgust and slapped Duo’er away as she rushed toward him. Then, Abik crouched down, picked up a piece of bread stained with dirt, and tossed it toward Yumo’s feet.

“This is all people like you are worthy of eating.”

With a cold laugh, Abik ignored the ‘sinners’ any further. If not for His Majesty’s mercy in wanting them to return for trial, Abik probably would have executed these scum who colluded with the Abyssal Demons long ago.

Now, he needed to quickly organize the convoy, drive away nearby magical beasts, and prepare to set out tomorrow morning. For some reason, they seemed to have lost contact with the main force, and he needed to re-establish communication quickly.

He couldn’t be bothered to deal with these sinners any longer. Thinking this, Abik slowly turned around to leave.

However, the moment he turned his head, Abik’s pupils shrank as an expression of bewilderment appeared on his face, with countless exclamation marks flooding his mind.

‘What??’

“You! Who are you!”

At that moment, a petite figure dressed in a black robe with an obscured face had appeared behind Abik at some unknown time. Although it was unclear who the person was, judging from the massive warhammer on their back that was disproportionate to their body, the person before him was definitely up to no good.

Coupled with the fact that the person had no intention of answering his question and instead slowly reached out to grasp the handle of the warhammer, Abik’s heart suddenly hammered wildly.

In the next moment, driven by battle instincts, Abik directly gripped the hilt of the sword at his waist and took a defensive stance to counterattack. However, just as he struck the pose, the petite figure across from him suddenly grasped the hammer handle with speed hard to track with the naked eye and swung the massive hammer.

In an instant, a violent battle aura rushed at him. Abik’s protective battle aura was abruptly shattered as the hammer smashed directly into his head!

‘Just… why…’

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The handsome knight helmet on his head instantly deformed, and stars danced before Abik’s eyes as he foamed at the mouth. He managed to stay standing for a full three seconds before stumbling and collapsing completely, his consciousness sinking into an endless darkness.

“Captain!”

Seeing their captain fall to a despicable sneak attack, the other Royal Knights nearby immediately looked on with sheer astonishment. No one had expected that in this godforsaken place, someone would actually dare to attack the Royal Knight Corps.

After a moment of daze, the knights expressed their anger, drawing their weapons and surrounding the figure aggressively.

“Who are you?!”

However, before they could act, a series of cold winds swept past. Dozens of black figures appeared like ghosts behind the Royal Knights under the cover of the night, completely undetected. Their speed and the suddenness of the attack made it impossible for the Royal Knights to defend themselves.

In the next instant, daggers with sleep effects were thrust into the bodies of the Royal Knights, causing them to follow in Abik’s footsteps one by one, collapsing into unconsciousness for no apparent reason.

While a few Royal Knights reacted in time and drew their weapons to fight back, their resistance became meaningless with the appearance of another black-clad figure. Countless hideous, black energy bodies resembling malevolent spirits suddenly emerged around the knights, surrounding them completely before launching a tempestuous assault.

“W-What are these things?!! Help… Help!! Request reinforcements quickly!”

“What the hell! Akaka, call for reinforcements!”

“I already did! No one is responding! W-What are these things?!”

“Boom!!”

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Along with an explosion of orange-red magic power and the panicked cries of the knights, the last few resisting Royal Knights completely lost consciousness amidst extreme terror. With the fall of the last Royal Knight, the area suddenly fell into a state of deathly silence.

Although the battle ended quickly, the commotion it caused was still significant. Yet, for some reason, reinforcements from the other Royal Knights had failed to appear even now.

‘This?! Were they assassins?! Bandits? Or something else?!’

Seeing the Royal Knights outside being struck down so easily and pathetically, Duo’er and the other maids felt a secret sense of satisfaction, but they were still anxious. After all, they didn’t know if these people in black were friends or foes.

However, in the next moment, Duo’er watched in horror as the figure who had instantly defeated Abik slowly walked toward the cage. Then, under the terrified gaze of the maids, the iron bars made of Dark Iron, said to be incredibly sturdy, were effortlessly ripped off by the black-robed person using brute force.

Seeing the black-robed person jump onto the cage, Duo’er’s heart began to beat wildly. Having drawn closer, Duo’er couldn’t help but notice that the killing intent on the person was far too heavy, so cold it was suffocating. This petite person in black had definitely killed many people! Otherwise, they wouldn’t be able to condense such terrifying killing intent.

Despite her immense fear, Duo’er still blocked the front of the pink-haired girl, looking at the black-robed person while trembling.

“T-This… Lord, I beg of you, please… do not hurt the young lady… she is… she is just a child!”

However, faced with Duo’er’s plea, the black-robed person tilted her head, seemingly not understanding the maid’s words. She didn’t bother to communicate either.

Instead, under the completely bewildered gaze of the maids, she knelt on one knee before the pink-haired girl and performed a standard, highly respectful knight’s salute.

“I am very sorry. We are late, Lady Yumo.”

Duo’er: “Eh?!”