Chapter Volume 3 44

Death Arrives

Veirya dismounted and headed into the imperial palace. The soldiers on either side were surprised to see her. They quickly approached her and attempted to stop her. However, she ignored the two and forged forward. The two desperately chased after her and, in a distressed tone, one of them said, "Umm, umm, sorry, Lord Vierya, but you cannot see Her Majesty right now. Umm… umm… Her Majesty is currently with guests at a banquet, so she cannot see guests."

"Move."

Veirya's reply was simple and cold. She shoved the two guards aside, even sending one of them into a shrub. The other one panicked. She headed to the palace Queen Sisi resided and ran into Achilles by chance.

Achilles was just below the imperial palace pacing back and forth similarly to a madman. He was stunned for a moment when he saw Veirya. She had a quick glimpse of him but didn't plan to speak to him. Achilles, on the other hand, hesitated for a moment upon seeing her before asking, "Umm… umm… you are Veirya this time, right?"

"Mm."

Veirya questioned Achilles' intelligence. She didn't understand the point of the question. She didn't intend to continue speaking with him; therefore, she continued on her way. Nevertheless, Achilles extended his arm out to stop her: "Her Majesty really is in a meeting at the moment. This time, the matter is very important. Her Majesty will not allow anyone to interrupt the meeting, so you best not barge in. Rather, there is something more important for you to do right now."

"I don't take orders from you," said Veirya, clutching Achilles' shoulder. Seemingly hearing his bones popping, he almost grunted aloud. Veirya sternly said, "My business. Has nothing to do with you, either. Move. If you don't want to die."

Achilles resisted the sharp pain from his shoulder, shut his eyes and thundered, "You need to go protect Leah and Mr. Lin!!! The two of them are in danger!! The chapel has taken Leah, while there is no chance Mr. Lin can rescue her on his own!! If you don't go to their aid, they really will die!! Hurry and go save them!"

Achilles didn't bear the pain for long, as Veirya immediately let go. She asked, "Where are they. Now?"

"They should be at the ruin outside the city. The last time our merchants saw them at the city doors, they saw their carriage headed toward the abandoned mill. As for what happened, I will tell you later. Right now, however, they are in danger! Go and help them first!"

Veirya spun around and departed straight away. Achilles was initially worried about how to explain things if she asked; however, she didn't ask in the end, instead immediately leaving.

"Lord Veirya?"

Anna stood next to a horse. The horses that had run for days could finally rest. They chewed grass as they prepared to rest. Anna also planned to go and rest, only to see Veirya come back with big strides.

Veirya grabbed her horse reins and led it out without any regard for the horse's feelings. She mounted the horse. Without even turning her head around, she said, "Anna, let's go. To the abandoned mill in the East outside of the city. Bring your weapons. We'll be fighting."

"Lord Veirya, what exactly happened?!"

Anna didn't receive a response, because Veirya had taken off by the time Anna asked her question. Hopeless, Anna mounted her horse and looked at the letter in her pocket. She muttered to herself, "I need to find Mr. Lin and hand him this letter… Where is he now, though? Is… Lord Veirya going to protect them…? Leah…?"

Anna shook her head to stop herself from imagining a terrifying scene. She mounted her hose and adjusted her long sword then chased after Veirya.

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Present time at the mill.

"We have arrived. This should be the place. As I said, there is no one guarding the place. Everyone should be inside. Sir, how do you plan to save the girl inside?"

Sophia and I arrived at the bottom of the mill. The mill had been abandoned ages ago. The windmill already snapped. The sun was no longer in sight. Only a few rays of light faintly remained on the horizon. I looked at the dark and shabby door. I kicked the door open without a word.

"I don't have any plan. I'm going straight in!"

I thought, "Is there any time to be discussing plans?! My daughter and I are separated by just one stupid door. A group of wretched men are holding my daughter hostage. What do I even need to think about? Plus, what can I even do? I'm betting everything on Angelina."

I thought I understood Angelina. At the very least, she had a conscience. I didn't think Angelina would harm a child. She was my last bet. I put all possibilities on Angelina.

The shabby wooden door couldn't withstand my kick, but the bang didn't go unheard. I put all of my body weight on my injured foot. I heard a clear crack from my left foot, but to my surprise, it didn't hurt so much. Nonetheless, I couldn't feel my foot at all. Regardless, I charged inside.

The people inside jumped to their feet in a panic and looked at me with surprise. I got up from the ground. I had no time to mind my foot. I aggressively shoved away the two in front and leapt over to a corner of the wall where Leah was curled up. I basically bear crawled over to her and tightly hugged her.

"Papa!!" Leah looked up at me with surprise. She tightly hugged my head and wailed.

"What's up with this guy?! How did he know we were here?!"

"Hurry and kill him! We've been discovered!! Let's enact the plan sooner than scheduled!!!"

I heard a sequence of screeches from metal. I heard approaching footsteps and saw sharp metal. I hugged Leah and looked up at the group that had me surrounded with swords. I yelled at the top of my lungs, "Your era is already history! It's no longer your era! You've crossed the line!!"

I tightly hugged Leah; she buried her head in my chest. I looked at the crowd and oil lamp that was swaying back and forth, thereby shape shifting their shadows. Their shadows were seemingly a symbol of souls from the old era that were trying to cling to this era. Their blades reflected the flames. If one listened in carefully, they could hear the sound of an army rising. Unfortunately, their era was done. This era no longer required the use of swords. This era belonged to me!

I faced the men armed with metal blades and roared, "I don't care what you want! I don't care what you have to do to survive, but if you dare to hurt my daughter, I'll make sure you won't live to see another die!!"

I swept my eyes over all of them, and then finally looked over to the woman at the table who hadn't moved the entire time. Angelina leaned against the table with her arms folded. She didn't draw her weapon. She didn't help us; neither did she stop me. I yelled, "Angelina! Angelina! You understand, right?!! You know what it means to harm a child, right?!! Do you remember that night?! Are you willing to watch Leah die?! Think about it! You're a woman with a daughter, too. Think about it!!"

Angelina glanced up at me. The adventurers had us completely surrounded. I had several long swords up to my neck. My left foot no longer hurt; it was something more frightening than pain. I couldn't feel my left foot at all. If I couldn't see it, I wouldn't even know it was there.

I was at an impasse. A door wasn't just going to magically appear behind me. Meanwhile, the adventurers blocked me off from the front and had swords up to my neck. I had nowhere to run to. I pinned all of my hope on Angelina. If Angelina could spare us, we'd make it out alive. Otherwise…

I tried to persuade myself: "I trust Angelina! I trust her!!"

Angelina stood straight with a serious gaze. I blankly looked at her. I didn't hide my desire. Angelina was my last card and last bet. Angelina wasn't the type to kill a child. I believed she wouldn't. I firmly believed so!

Angelina shifted her gaze from us to Leah specifically and softly sighed. She covered her face with her hand and softly uttered, "Kill them. They found us, so there's no point in keeping them any longer."

"Angelina!!!! Angelina!!" I cried. I questioned myself, "Was my guess wrong?! Was my bet wrong?!"

I tightened my arms around Leah. Swords came from both sides. I shut my eyes and listened to the sound of them swiping the air. I had nowhere to run to. All I could do was hug Leah tighter, albeit knowing that it was futile.

"How similar. This scene is the same as when I first arrived here. I wonder if the saying people on the verge of death will recall their past is true. All I'm recalling is that one time, the first time Veirya and I met," I thought.

My first meeting with Veirya was the same as this one. I tightly hugged Leah while the sound of her sword came down toward me, whistling through the air. I was just as hopeless back then.

I silently questioned, "Is there any hope left for me? Do I have any regrets?"

"Veirya!!!!!" I subconsciously cried, accompanying the cold blades reflecting light and the whistling wind.