my armed maid

Chapter 18 17: The heart that believes is your magic
This is a dream that seems like a lifetime ago.

With the cold wind blowing in her face, Yuna, wearing a knight's armor and a knight's sword on her waist, rode a horse and galloped towards Ganlin Village.

In the morning, she received news that grassland people were harassing the border of Linfeng City, and was preparing to rush back to her long-lost hometown to bring her family to the city.

Over the years, she has been practicing hard in the academy and has not returned to the village to visit her family and old friends in the village for several years.

I don’t know if my parents are in good health. How are my childhood playmates doing now?

She was filled with excitement in her heart and wished she could fly to the village immediately to show her relatives and friends the results of her years of practice in the city——

She is about to become an official knight!
Ever since she showed her talent for knight training as a child, she had high hopes from her parents and the people in the village. She did not dare to relax for a moment, and had been practicing hard as a knight for several years.

Now 16 years old, she will get her diploma from the Knight Academy in two months, and she has also been invited by the city lord's palace. This is an olive branch from the highest authority in Linfeng City!
This return trip can also be regarded as a return home in fine clothes.

Doing the most proud things at the most energetic age, the high emotions dispel the haze quietly shrouding the earth, and even the cold autumn wind becomes gentle and refreshing.

The tireless trek continued until dusk, when the shadow of a long-lost village appeared at the end of the horizon.

wisps of cooking smoke have risen over the village. I wonder what the family will cook for dinner at night?Thinking of this, Yuna felt her stomach growl.

As she got closer, she could faintly hear the lively sounds of the village. She drove her horse hard and sped towards the village.

But as she got closer to the village, she quickly noticed something was wrong.

The commotion in the village... seemed a bit too loud.

The neighing of cattle, sheep and horses, and the screams and calls for help from the crowd were mixed together, shrouding the sky over my hometown like a tragic black cloud.

The watch tower was torn down, the house was burning, and the unique sound of the prairie people's horns and flutes rolled in, making her chest suddenly tighten.

No, in just one day, the prairie people's troops have already arrived here! ?
Judging from the number of horn and flute sounds, this is a force of at least hundreds of people, including at least a few powerful enemy knights.

Since she was only one man and one horse, her rationality told her that she should immediately turn her horse back to the city to seek help before the enemy noticed her.

But she didn't do that - on the main road leading to the village entrance, she saw mottled bloodstains extending into the village, and the bodies of the villagers who tried to escape lay scattered on the ground.

There were also several grassland people's cavalry, waving machetes and chasing the surviving people like chasing animals.

Among those who died and those who were about to die, there were some she knew and some she did not know.

"stop!"

The living massacre happened right in front of her eyes. She shouted loudly, pulled out the sword from her waist, and galloped towards the cavalry in front of her.

This sword is a special knight's sword. The sword is indestructible after being infused with magic power.

Yuna drove her horse to pass the two cavalrymen, and the sharp sword cut their upper bodies in half.

She sped up and rushed into Ganlin Village, which had turned into a hell on earth, with only one thought left in her mind.

——At least, save his parents and younger brother.

Rushing into the village, the sound of the horn and flute became more harsh and urgent, surrounding her like a tide.

Killing several more cavalrymen along the way, Yuna fought her way out of the siege and followed her memory to her doorstep.

The family has raised horses for generations, and there are more than a dozen pure-blooded Lebus prairie horses raised in the stables. These prairie elves are all fat and strong, with excellent endurance. Looking at the entire Roland Empire, they are also the top breed horses.

They are also the most important fighting and maneuvering tools for the cavalry, so they receive special attention from the prairie people.

Several prairie cavalry surrounded the place. They rushed into the stable and quickly pulled out a middle-aged man in ragged clothes and covered in blood.

"dad!"

Yuna's eyes turned red instantly. She galloped forward on her horse and struck with her sword. The cavalry also reacted quickly and surrounded her while shouting prairie dialect that she didn't understand.

The cavalry here were obviously stronger. During the melee, she heard the whine coming from the horse beneath her. Knowing that the horse had been stabbed, she decisively abandoned the horse and swung the sword in her hand again.

The strength of the fifth-level knights was fully revealed at this moment. Even though these prairie cavalry were big and round, they were not her generals.

The cavalrymen struggled and fell. Yuna strode towards her father covered in blood and helped him up: "Dad, I'm here to pick you up!"

"No!"

His father's chest heaved violently. He threw away Yuna's hand and shouted in a hoarse voice.

"You...run!"

Only then did she notice that there was a fatal wound that almost penetrated her father's abdomen.

Yuna was lost for a moment, and then asked urgently, "Where's Mom? Where's Haru? Where are they?"

Father clutched his stomach and fell to the ground again. He could barely breathe in, but weakly pointed in the direction of the house and murmured:
"You run...you have to live...well, live..."

Yuna turned her head and looked in the direction he pointed, and saw a woman covered in blood lying at the door of the house. She was tightly protecting a motionless little boy. Both of them seemed to have no signs of death. lethargy.

"Ah...ah!"

A thunder exploded in her head, and Yuna stood there blankly. She shook her lips, but she could only spit out meaningless syllables.

Why did I become a knight?
To become stronger?For the status of being respected by thousands of people?For a life of luxury and wealth?

neither.

A little girl with some talent, the reason why she has been able to persist in the hard knight training all these years is just through some of the simplest wishes——

She wants to respond to her family’s expectations and make them proud of her;
She wants to protect her family and lead them to a better life.

But now, when the dream he had worked hard for so long was about to come true, he returned to his hometown, and all he saw were the corpses of his relatives and the scorched earth.

What do all my efforts over the years count?What exactly am I protecting?
"Tap-"

The sound of eager horse hooves quickly approached, and after noticing the situation in the stables, the prairie people's cavalry once again surrounded the place.

A bronze-skinned young man rode out on horseback holding a machete. He seemed to be the leader of the army and was wearing leather armor with bright feathers.

"Roland people."

He spoke condescendingly at her in half-baked Rolandic, "I want you to bring a message to your king and tell him that the Lebus people have come to take back their homeland."

Yuna tightened the sword in her hand, looked at the young leader with dead eyes, and said quietly: "Why kill them? They are obviously unarmed civilians."

"What we are doing now is exactly the same thing the empire did to us 80 years ago."

The leader shook his head, "As for you, woman, although I want you to send a message, but you killed our brother, I will chop off your legs as compensation."

"Ha...it doesn't matter what happens to this kind of thing, right?"

She sneered like a cry and walked towards the young man with her sword, "What you plan to do is your business, but now I just want to kill you, from the inside out, leaving no one behind."

"You can try."

The leader dismounted and walked towards Yuna. He rushed towards her with the aura of a high-ranking knight without any reservation.The swords struck each other, making a clanging sound. She tried her best to draw the sword, but there was a clear gap between the fifth-level knight and the high-level knight. No matter how hard she tried, she was still not as good as the leader.

The pain in her body and the feeling of powerlessness in her heart gradually enveloped her whole body. The next moment the leader swung a knife, her body lost balance and her legs suffered severe pain.

She lowered her head in shock and saw that her upper body and legs were separated, and then she fell heavily to the ground.

"No!"

With red eyes, she stretched out her hand and grabbed the leader in vain, "It's not over yet! I will definitely... I will definitely--"

"Kill you!"

……

With these words, she suddenly sat up from the bed, her blue eyes seemed to still reflect the shadow of the sword that day.

Cold sweat soaked her underwear, and her chest hurt from her violent heartbeat.

this dream again...

Yuna took a breath, and she reached out to grope her thigh tremblingly. The unfamiliar and cold touch made her heart sink to the bottom again.

No, this is not only a dream, but also reality.

Recalling the battle in her dream, her faith was shaken violently again.

The leader of the prairie people is very strong.

Even if I had no chance of winning against him in my prime, what could I do now with just this prosthetic limb?

Is everything I have done another useless joke?
Could it be that, as Principal Ryan said, abandoning the past, giving up the identity of a knight, and living the rest of his life peacefully as the owner's maid and slave is the best choice?

Recalling what my father said to me before he died——

Run...live...

Is it okay to just do this for the rest of my life?
The pressure of revenge and doubts about herself almost overwhelmed her. Yuna lay weakly on the head of the bed, letting sadness and despair wash over her dry heart over and over again.

At this moment, the bedroom door was gently pushed open.

"Turns out you're already awake. I thought you overslept."

Nolen poked his head in and paused slightly when he saw her, "We're going to go outside to try the medicine later... Didn't you sleep well last night?"

"fine……"

"But your eyes are very red. Wiping the tears from the corners of your eyes might be more convincing."

"Ah——" Yuna quickly covered her face with her hands.

After being quiet for a while, she suddenly asked softly: "Nolen...can you really help me get revenge?"

"can."

"Why are you so sure? You don't even know how strong my enemy is."

"It doesn't matter." Nolen said leisurely, leaning at the door, "Because I am a genius, so I can do anything."

Yuna retorted unconvinced: "Even if you are a genius, you may not be able to do anything, right? There are always many helpless things in the world."

"No, you've got the wrong point." He just smiled, "Actually, it doesn't matter whether you or I are geniuses. What's important is to believe that you can do it. If you don't believe in yourself, who else will? And you?
"I have also had a history of being bullied and not understood. Although I am not as bitter and hateful as you, it is this belief that supports me all the way.

"Belief in your own heart is the best magic. Even if you can't do it now, you have to wait with hope. I believe you can do it one day."

"Really..." Yuna lowered her head, "But the reality is too cruel. I'm not as confident as you. Sometimes I can't believe in myself...

"Sorry, I'm a little confused right now, can you please leave me alone?"

"Of course." Nolen shrugged, "I can understand that everyone feels down sometimes."

Before leaving, he looked at Yuna sitting blankly on the bed, he thought for a while and said: "If you don't believe in yourself, just believe in me.

"I will help you get revenge. This is our equal exchange. Since you have signed a contract with me at the cost of your future life, there is no need to worry that it cannot be fulfilled - I always keep my word.

"That is to say...you don't have to think about so many complicated things. From now on, you just live for me."

The girl on the bed trembled. She looked towards the door and saw that the young genius alchemist had left at some point.

……

Ten minutes later, Yuna was ready and came to meet Nolen at the entrance of the workshop.

The tears on her face had been carefully washed away, and she looked the same as usual.

"Let's go." Nolen nodded, "It's time to test your actual combat ability."

In the morning, he made an appointment with Harrison to test the efficacy of the improved medicine.

Yuna nodded and silently followed Nolen into the carriage, glancing at him without leaving any trace during the journey.

Although he had said so many handsome words to her just now, the face of the person involved was as leisurely and calm as ever, as if the heartbeat at that moment was just his own passion.

Or is it that I misunderstood it and that his words actually had no special meaning?
The girl quietly fell into a melancholy entanglement. The carriage slowly started and drove towards the agreed place.

It was a gladiatorial arena located in the center of Cube Street, where a series of bloody performances such as human-animal fights and death row fights would usually take place.

Watching the fresh life lose its breath and the bright red liquid spilling all over the arena, for the mercenary who licks the blood at the tip of the knife, there is no more stress-relieving sideshow than this.

Of course, this arena is also Harrison's territory.

The three of them arrived at the entrance of the arena and were quickly directed to a VIP room by the servant in charge. From here, they could overlook all the details of what was happening in the arena below.

It was Harrison who was sitting on the VIP sofa. Standing beside him were his female secretary and a guard with stubble and two swords on his waist.

"Sit anywhere."

Harrison raised the wine glass as red as blood towards Nolen, "The sideshow will be over soon."

Nolen looked towards the arena. At this time, two strong men wearing iron armor were wielding weapons and fighting each other.

The battle has been going on for a while, and the sharp sword blades have left scars of varying sizes on their bodies.

The wounds were not stopped due to the intense exercise, and blood was smeared all over their chests, dripping in the earth-yellow arena.

Their chests were heaving violently, and their physical strength was already a little exhausted. One of them roared, and the long sword in his hand actually shone with a misty light. With just one sword, a piece of the opponent's iron shoulder pads and shoulders were cut off!
"This is...a knight!" Nolen was a little surprised.

He thought that those who were reduced to competing in the arena were either slaves or prisoners.

But he didn't expect that even the extraordinary knight would become its plaything.

(End of this chapter)