Chapter Eleven: Save the Day
As the guard behind spoke, the figure in the raincoat froze for a moment, then suddenly snapped back to reality. With a quick motion, they pulled out a short sword from their coat, shouted something incoherent, and lunged forward two steps, reaching out to grab a nearby young man. He, however, swiftly evaded, causing the crowd to part like the Red Sea. Poor Sarah lost her footing amidst the chaos and was pushed into view, not a chance to escape.
“Yaaah—!”
Daisy screamed in terror.
The scream instantly caught the attention of the assailant.
The street had opened up into a circle a few meters wide, but the chaos was as intense as ever. The figure spotted the two seemingly defenseless girls near him, marched up with a menacing look, and bellowed, “Get over here!” Then he reached for Daisy, who was on the outskirts of the crowd. Terrified, Daisy screamed her lungs out, but fortunately, Sarah was quick to react and yanked her away just in time. With a surprising burst of courage, Sarah threw a punch at the man’s face.
“Sorry, kid…”
Though the guy’s skill was amateurish, judging by his shaky sword-drawing skills, he was a tall and burly guy. Standing in front of him, Sarah looked like a little chick next to a grizzly bear. Instead of dodging, he took the punch to the forehead like a champ, only slightly tilting his head back. His arms kept moving as he locked Sarah around the neck with one arm, pressing the short sword against her throat while shouting back to the approaching green-clad judges, “Don’t move! Stay right there, or I’ll do her in!”
“Help! Someone help—!”
Daisy panicked and started crying, wanting to dart in to rescue Sarah but too scared to move. Her terrified cries for help echoed around but nobody dared to step up, instead moving away faster. Meanwhile, Sarah struggled with all her strength, yelling, “You j*rk, let me go!” Her fists pummeled behind her while she tried to grab the man’s hair. He dodged her attempts, then—surprise!—a flash of light erupted from Sarah’s hand, igniting the man’s hood in a burst of flames. The crowd gasped in shock as the guy screamed and hurriedly tried to smack the flames off his head.
Sarah took the chance to escape but unfortunately received a whack on the head from the sword hilt instead.
“Ow!”
“Sarah! Ooh—”
“I said don’t move! Don’t move!!!”
Suddenly, a downpour came crashing down on the man’s head, snuffing out the flames. A similarly clad guard sprinted up from behind, twisting Sarah’s arm to regain control. With a flick of his wrist, the raindrops and puddles around came alive, swirling into serpentine streams that gravitated towards Sarah’s head, threatening to suffocate her.
The rain fell in sheets.
Sarah’s umbrella lay abandoned nearby, the crowd grew silent, and Daisy’s cries only grew louder.
“Let us go! Or else she dies…”
With one hand twisting Sarah’s arm, the guard pointed a finger menacingly at her head, threatening the advancing green judges. Sarah winced in pain, releasing faint whimpers that cut through the noise of the rain and crowd, reaching my ears all too clearly.
“Shameful traitors of the kingdom! Using your authority to collude with the enemy and sell out the militia! Lord Neil, do you even know how many lives you’ve lost? And you expect to just walk away?!”
Several green-clad judges pushed through the crowd, still drawing closer to the two imprisoned folks. One apparent leader stepped forward, sword clenched, pointing the blade at the man. “Let her go and come with me for questioning! Maybe the Queen will spare you if she returns victorious.”
“Get lost! If I end up in your hands, dying will be the least of my worries… Stay back! Don’t come any closer!”
“Release her!”
“Don’t move! One more step and I’ll break her arm!”
“Back off! Back off!”
The chaos escalated, with more people fleeing the scene, quickly clearing the street. Despite their fiery rhetoric, the judges dared not encroach any closer, halting a few meters away.
“Lord Neil, this is pointless. Even if we don’t catch you, the Sword of Kanli will be here soon… Don’t make any stupid decisions.”
“Just let me go and worry about the rest later.”
The two retreated with Sarah in tow.
Once the crowd dispersed, I took the opportunity, opened my umbrella, and finally made it to the edge of the street behind them, observing as they backed away step by step.
Don’t rush…
Wait for them to slip up—just don’t hurt Sarah…
“Nobody’s leaving!”
“Sarah! Someone save her!”
Daisy trailed anxiously behind, scared to approach, desperately calling out to the judges for help.
“Lord Neil! Do you want to drag your family into this too?!”
“If I d*e, they’re finished too…”
“The Queen is merciful! After all this, how can you still not understand?!”
“Hmph…”
“Sir, I’ll hold them off; you escape first!”
Closer…
They didn’t see me yet—just hold on a second…
The area was clear now, and the guard holding Sarah was just a few steps away from me.
“Hey! There’s still someone over there!”
Suddenly, a judge in green shouted at me.
“Kid, get out of here!”
cr*p…
They looked back…
Opportunity!
Bam!
In that instant when I activated Moon Step, a gust of wind swirled down the street, scattering raindrops everywhere. I hurled the umbrella upwards, clutching my hood with one hand, and transformed into a streak of water droplets sprinting toward the man.
Then I kicked.
At that moment, everyone was caught off guard.
Daisy was still at a distance, wiping her tears; the green judges had their gazes fixed on where I had just stood, mouths agape. The guard, just turning back, was still dripping with rainwater, his stunned look was only just beginning to set in. And poor Lord Neil didn’t even have time to react; before his eyes could catch me, the ripples of his cheeks spread like waves from the impact.
Time slowed down.
I swiftly grabbed Sarah by the arm, right leg raised as if to unleash a whip, smack smack smack, scattering countless rain droplets, propelled by the howl of the wind, as I struck the side of the guard’s waist.
Thud!
A muffled sound echoed.
The guard’s feet left the ground in an instant, his body flown like a cannonball.
“Ah—!”
“Yaaaah!”
The wind rushed out from me, encompassing everyone around, including an ear-splitting scream, one from Lord Neil and the other from Sarah, who I had yanked over. As the guard soared through the air, the water surrounding Sarah’s head fell limp as the control vanished, splattering down on her head. Sarah shrieked in shock, eyes clenched shut, flailing her limbs, and managed to whack my face a few times. Ouch.
I quickly whispered, “Sarah, don’t be scared, it’s me…”
At the same time, my leg snapped back like lightning, turning to kick Lord Neil.
The second kick was much lighter, but it sent Neil flying several meters backwards, skidding nearly a meter before finally stopping, his scream abruptly cutting off.
Thud! Splash…
The kicked guard crashed right into a sausage cart, obliterating the makeshift wooden shelter.
“Sa-Sarah—”
“Who are you?!”
“Who are you! What do you want?!”
The now-alert green guards were all flustered, gripping their swords tighter, shooting wary glances in my direction. Daisy was utterly frozen, fear written all over her tear-streaked face as she blankly called out Sarah’s name.
I released Sarah’s stiff arm.
Finally coming back to reality, she gasped, “Yo-you’re… Pay—”
Splash!
In the next moment, water erupted from the street, countless raindrops flying from all directions.
