I just covet their strength

Chapter 262 No Forgiveness (4k)

For Mivana, traveling alone through the Knight Territory of Yonglan Country was already a piece of cake. After parting with her clan members, the knight lady put on a hooded windbreaker to hide her physical features, covering her furry animal ears and wolf tail, and transformed herself into a ranger to sneak into Jinquan Territory.

This area of ​​land has always implemented very high-pressure regulatory measures. There are watchtowers and strongholds everywhere, guarding large settlements of serfs. There are checkpoints on the main roads to restrict entry and exit, and even free people need a pass to enter and exit.

However, these did not matter to the Lord Knight. Mivana did not even need to dodge deliberately. She only needed to expose the hilt of her sword, and the guards along the way would salute respectfully without asking any further questions.

Even if he is obviously not a knight from Jinquan Territory, as long as he is in Yonglan Territory, the privileges of the knight lord are unlimited.

There's no need to even check. The knight master can tell at a glance whether it's a real one. Even if there are fakes, it's not the soldier's business.

The Knight will make those who blaspheme glory understand what regret is.

Therefore, Mivana sneaked in quite easily, and as soon as she stepped into the heart of Jinquan Territory, she witnessed the close relationship between the military and the people.

"Everyone come out and pay the expedition tax!"

In the first town that Myvana encountered, teams of armored soldiers came in one after another. After posting notices, they began to break into every house and loot money.

Their movements were smooth and well-trained. It was obviously not the first time they had done this. A large number of people knelt on the roadside crying and some hugged the tax collector's feet and said:
"Master, Master, please be kind, this is our last savings for food."

"At least, leave a little bit. We won't survive the winter with only this much."

The taxing officer kicked the supplicant away.

"Stop talking nonsense! You are here to collect supplies for the expedition. Instead of dedicating yourself to building the kingdom of the God of Riders, you are only thinking about yourself all day long? You are really a wolf that can never be fed!"

"I really don't understand. Donating to the expedition benefits the country and the people. Why can't some people understand this?"

"Allowing you to live is the greatest gift the Lord has given you!"

After a round of beating, scolding and looting, the troops collecting the expedition tax left, leaving behind a mess.

Myvana saw all of this, clenched her fists, and was furious:

"Another famine? No, it's a search to collect supplies for the expedition."

"We keep these settlements free on weekdays, and then we can fish them out when we need them."

However, she could only be angry for a while. Facing the regular troops of Jinquan Territory, Mivana had no way to take the initiative to attack. This would bring a devastating disaster to Mudeng Territory. Miss Knight had never felt so powerless.

If it was Westhead, he would definitely take action. He would not let anyone he disliked have an easy time.

But Mivana could only come to the ruined village after the soldiers left.

"Master Knight? We don't have any here. We really have nothing."

Seeing a hooded man with a knight's sword coming over, the townspeople were in tears, thinking they would have to suffer twice and be punished twice - the repeated taxation caused by chaotic management was also a feature that could not be ignored.

"I am not a master, and I am not here to collect taxes."

"You don't have to be pessimistic. You can survive this winter. Go to the border first. You will get help later."

The food reserves in Dusklight Territory are enough to support them for a period of time, and what is certain is that Westhead will arrive soon, no more than a few months later, and by then a supply line will surely be opened up. Mivana has seen how powerful Qinghui Territory can be.

As long as we wait for Westhead to send support, everything will be fine!
"Border? But the border is Twilight Territory, and those orcs."

Myvana took off her hood, revealing her true face.

"You don't have to worry about your safety. I am the lord of Twilight Territory."

"Beast orc?"

The townspeople were stunned for a moment, then said happily:

"So he's a good orc like Aschena!"

Mivana's eyes lit up and she asked quickly:

"Do you know Ascenae?"

"Yes, that little girl with fox ears is a good person, and those orcs are all good people. Without their help in farming, we would have starved to death last winter."

Mivana smiled and said, "In that case, could you please tell me where Ascenae is?"

"Of course! Of course! If you are Ascenae's friend, you must be a good person."

With clear guidance, Miwana then traced the footprints left by her clan members on the land of Jinquan Territory. The paths they took were all away from the urban settlements of Jinquan Territory, all of which were remote mountainous areas - this was as it should be, otherwise they would not have been able to escape.
Along the way, they also met many serfs who had come into contact with Aschena and others. Without exception, they had received help from the orc team.

The young orcs of the Dusk Lantern Territory have received careful instruction from Viona. Their combat power and skills far exceed those of the serfs of the Eternal Mist Country. They are experts in farming, guarding, and establishing trade.

With such active signs, maybe they are still alive.

Mivana even had such optimistic thoughts.

She walked all the way to a remote corner of the mountain, looked at the barren wilderness in front of her, and said with a smack of her tongue:

"They should be heading here. Let's look for any villages first. As usual, they should lurk in smaller villages."

Mivana went into the mountains covered with snow and dead leaves, and finally found a small village when night was about to fall.

Miss Knight, as usual, made a careful observation.

"The poor village looks like it has just been harvested and the tax collector has not come yet."

Mivana was a little surprised to find people patrolling around the village with weapons:

"There are obviously trained militiamen? They don't look like they are on guard against wild animals, or are there bandits nearby? No. Wait, those weapons are the work of Aschena and the others!"

The standard weapons of the orcs of the Mu Deng Territory were all taught by the same master, and Mivana knew it at a glance.

"But why can't I see any orcs? Are they in the village? Or have they left?"

Mivana felt that this was normal. After all, the existence of orcs was still too gray, and it would be hard to explain if they ran into a patrolling knight.

After confirming that her companions had left footprints in the village, Myvana immediately stepped forward.

As soon as the wolf-eared girl, whose entire body was covered by a hooded windbreaker, approached, the villagers on guard outside the village immediately shouted:
"who?"

But when they saw the shining and exquisite scabbard of the knight's long sword, they immediately changed their attitude, hunched over, and said respectfully:

"Ah, sir, is it the knight sir?"

Mivana remained noncommittal. It would be quite convenient to be mistaken for a patrol knight, and as long as she didn't admit it, it wouldn't be considered a lie.

She asked directly:
"Have you ever had a group of orcs come here?"

Normally, such words would be flatly denied. However, to Mivana's surprise, the villagers' faces showed a look of panic and relief, and they nodded repeatedly:

"That's right! Master, did you come here because you heard about it?"

"Oh, this is really... Please don't misunderstand us. We are absolutely loyal to the Lord and have never done anything disloyal."

"Come in and see our results!"

What are the results?
Myvana, who was about to take off her hood to identify herself, frowned, as she detected something strange in the villagers' words.

So she untied her hand from the brim of her hood, grasped the hilt of her sword, and walked into the village. In this poor village, it seemed that the harvest had just ended, and people still had tired expressions on their faces, but when they saw the arrival of a certain knight, they immediately cheered up.

"The Knight is finally here!"

"master!"

"A knight has come to our village. I guess you've heard of him before."

"So I said no problem, luckily I acted quickly."

"."

Mivana's eyes swept over these villagers. They all looked like they had been trained, and their excited whispers made her even more confused.

So the knight lady remained even more silent. When she arrived at the center of the village, an elder of the village came out with a large group of people to greet her. They were all smiling and almost knelt down to Myvana.

"Ah, my Lord Knight, how come you come to such a little place as ours?"

Mivana lowered her eyes slightly and said calmly: "I came here following the trail of a group of orcs. Where are they now?"

"Ah, you've come just in time!"

The village elder showed an ecstatic expression, turned around and shouted:
"Hurry up and take out the things and show them to this knight!"

They all held wooden boxes in their hands, wrapped in blood-stained linen, which made Myvana frown.

"We originally planned to send it to a nearby place after the winter, but since you came in person, we can hand it over to you now."

The boxes were all opened with the village elder's flattering smile.

Among these dozens of wooden boxes, all of them contained heads.

The head of an orc.

The box in front of Mivana contained a head stained with blood and mud, with brown fox ears and a handsome, fair face that was extremely familiar. It was the classmate and compatriot she was looking for.

"Aschena."

Myvana's pupils suddenly shrank, and she called out in an almost imperceptible voice.

The village elder said proudly:

"Master, this group of orcs came to our village not long ago. They all carried weapons and robbed our food. They also wanted to occupy our village and treat us as slaves. It's hateful, so hateful. Master, how could we let the orc bastards succeed?"

"So we fought back and killed all those orc bastards. Here they are."

Mivana slowly raised her eyes, looked at the villagers with an extremely indifferent look, and asked:
"Are you sure you killed him? Are you sure what you said is true?"

The village elder nodded quickly and said:

"It's absolutely true. How dare we deceive you?"

Then, he pursed his lips and looked at Myvana with great hope:

"Master, we killed so many orcs, can we be awarded the title of knight? This is a military achievement, right? We have made military achievements, right?! I don't ask for too much, just a knight's quota, my grandson, I just want him to be able to study knighthood!"

The village elder waved his hand and called over the most robust young man. He patted the latter on the back and said in an even more excited and short voice:
"He was the one who killed the leader of this group of orc bandits. Sir, these orc heads should be useful, right? They can be exchanged for a chance to become a knight, right? "

In the country of Yonglan, serfs have only one path to social advancement.

That is military merit. Killing bandits, participating in expeditions, slaughtering monsters and even defeating knights can obtain the qualification of knight and become the ruling class of Yonglan.

It is also for this reason that countless serfs endured suffocating oppression and exploitation, but still submitted to it and tried their best to give birth, just to keep the hope that their descendants could one day become knights, or even start a knight family.

".Is this the reason for your betrayal?"

Mivana was silent for a while before she spoke.

"Ah? What did you say, we..."

"Are you going to lie again?!"

The wolf-eared girl took a step forward, and a low growl like a wild beast came from her throat:

"What a clumsy lie. How could you possibly defeat the orcs who are physically stronger than humans? And your weapons are also made by orcs. There is only one way you can kill them. That is when you are most tired. Maybe you have just finished working, or you have driven away the wild beasts and attacked them from behind."

"They believed in you, helped you, and even protected you, and yet you, just to get a place as a knight, are going to trade their heads for wealth and honor."

"Master!"

The faces of all the villagers turned pale, and they knelt down on the spot, kowtowing desperately. The village elder even banged his forehead until his flesh was bloody and blurry, saying:
"I can't hide it from you. We did kill these orcs in a surprise attack."

"We...we have no other choice. This place is too poor. It's not easy to pay taxes every year. Please have mercy on us. As long as we can produce a knight, our village will be tax-free and we won't have to starve to death every year. I deserve to die. Please let others go!"

Mivana did not listen to the villagers' pleas and cries, but picked up Aschena's head from the wooden box and gently wiped the stains on the latter's cheek with her fingers.

If this head appeared on the gallows or the demonstration pillar, Myvana would not be very moved or sentimental, because this was a long-foreseen consequence. Since she chose to be the enemy of the unjust knight, she would have to endure the fate of defeat and execution.

This is not something to be sad about, but a glorious death well deserved.

But it was so absurd that she was backstabbed by the person she trusted and protected. It made Myvana angry.

Anger like never before.

Mivana raised her head, and the hood covering her wolf ears slipped down. There was a trace of melancholy on her handsome and stern face, and she bit the corner of her lip tightly.

"Beast orc?"

"Fuck, isn't that Master Knight?!"

"We were deceived, they are in the same group!"

Seeing Mivana's physical signs, the surrounding villagers screamed and retreated quickly.

However, when they retreated halfway, they found that Myvana did not take any action. The wolf-eared girl seemed to be lost in deep thought, kneeling on the ground like a sculpture.

Seeing that Mivana seemed to have no reaction, the village elder's grandson, the sturdy young man, quietly moved behind Mivana, grabbed a pitchfork beside him and stabbed hard at the unsuspecting wolf-eared girl.

However, as soon as the pitchfork touched the back of Myvana's head, it shattered with a "bang", like a piece of tofu hitting a sharp blade.

"!!!"

Mivana, who was unharmed, slowly turned her head and raised the corner of her mouth:

"You are submissive to the lord who actually hurt you and ravaged you, and you are willing to be killed; but you dare to attack the protector who has justice in his heart?"

"You. You are a bunch of greedy, stupid, short-sighted, superficial, and beastly people."

The knight lady's smile disappeared, and she stood up unsteadily. The moment she raised her head, scarlet light occupied her beautiful golden eyes, and she spoke in a low and extremely cold voice:

"I will never forgive."

(End of this chapter)