Chapter 43: The Knight Commander’s Arrival

“Who?!”

Almost the instant the knocking sounded, Kills and Jess simultaneously assumed their combat stances.

They stood back-to-back, shielding Qing Yu in the corner of the room, their ears perked high, alert to every subtle movement around them.

“Thump, thump, thump.”

The knocking resounded from outside the door once more, and the woman’s voice rose again.

“Please open the door! If Mr. Qing Yu is inside, please open the door! I am Roalsa, the Town Knight Commander! I’ve been entrusted to rescue you!”

The knocking continued, incessant, with the person outside still calling Qing Yu’s name.

Amidst the violent rattling of the door, Qing Yu faintly discerned the distinct sound of a sword being drawn from its sheath.

“Please answer me! If there’s anyone inside, please answer me again!”

The wooden door ceased its shaking, yet the shouts persisted.

A tremor ran through Qing Yu’s heart, and he hastily pressed himself against the wall, shouting to Kills and Jess, “Quick, retreat!”

Upon hearing his cry, Kills and Jess instinctively moved to fall back.

Alas, it was too late; before they could fully retreat, a powerful surge of green energy burst through the door.

Kills and Jess could only deploy their shields, enveloping Qing Yu within their protective aura, as a fierce gale swept through the room, shattering the solid walls and directly dispersing the swirling mist.

“Hoo, hoo…”

The gale gradually, slowly, subsided.

The pallid mist seized its chance, attempting to permeate the room, but despite the weakening wind, the green barrier steadfastly resisted its spread.

“Cough, cough.”

Amidst a chorus of coughs, the dust in the room slowly settled, revealing a tall woman with long, teal-colored hair, wielding a longsword, who now stood before them.

Behind her, a dense formation of armored women stood ready.

“You, you, you—” Qing Yu, gazing at the woman, suddenly pointed a finger at her, and she, in turn, looked back at him.

‘Roalsa, Roalsa!’

Qing Yu remembered; this was the name of the missing Knight Commander he and Aldoran had seen in the newspaper.

“Are you Mr. Qing Yu?” the woman interjected, her gaze sweeping the room before settling on Qing Yu’s face.

To Qing Yu’s surprise, she offered him a slight bow.

“I am Roalsa, the Town Knight Commander, entrusted by Ms. R to rescue you.”

“Hey! You! If you’re entrusted to save Lord Qing Yu, why unleash such a potent attack?!” Kills, having regained his composure, immediately stepped forward, rushing to Roalsa and roaring at her.

“If Lord Qing Yu were to get hurt, you wouldn’t be able to bear the consequences!”

“My apologies for startling you all, but I carefully controlled my power and assuredly would not harm anyone,” Roalsa replied courteously, gently lifting Kills’s chin with one hand while swiftly pinning a small pink flower to his collar with the other.

“Please, calm your anger, young sir.”

“Hey! You!” Kills exerted force with both hands, shoving Roalsa away, and rapidly retreated several steps.

He glared at Roalsa with indignation, pulling off the flower from his collar, intending to discard it.

In an instant, Roalsa’s longsword flashed out, resting steadily beside Kills’s hand.

“Young sir, Ms. R entrusted me to give these to you all.

You must surely know how troublesome that mist is, and this flower can protect us from its intrusion.”

“Tsk.”

Upon hearing the name “Ms. R,” Kills glared fiercely at Roalsa’s face for a moment before clicking his tongue and grudgingly accepting the flower.

“That’s more like it, then our efforts to fight our way here to rescue you weren’t in vain.” Roalsa looked at Qing Yu, took a flower from her waist, and tossed it gently.

The flower drifted on a faint breeze, settling into Qing Yu’s hand.

“Mr. Qing Yu is truly charming. Ah, a face as beautiful as a rose.

If you are willing, after this incident is resolved, how about gracing me with your company for a meal?”

Qing Yu’s face flushed, and he stammered, unsure what to say.

“Lord Qing Yu is Lord Aldoran’s spouse; please show some respect,” Jess interjected, blocking Roalsa’s line of sight.

“My apologies.” Roalsa likewise tossed a flower to Jess.

“What a pity. Such a beautiful flower already has its own garden. How can one not feel a touch of sorrow?”

Kills turned his head away, snorting in displeasure.

‘To be so disrespectful to Lord Aldoran’s spouse, and acting all prim and proper, like a man. What a disgusting woman.’

Jess caught the flower Roalsa tossed, a hint of displeasure also flickering across her expression.

Next, Roalsa turned her attention to Aldoran.

“If I’m not mistaken, this must be Ms. Aldoran?” Roalsa walked to Aldoran, gently brushing her hand across her cheek, and similarly pinned a flower to Aldoran’s collar.

“Also a pure and beautiful maiden, like a rose. It’s no surprise then that she can be a fitting partner for a young man like Mr. Qing Yu.”

“Hey! You don’t like women, do you?! Don’t you dare touch Lord Aldoran!” Kills snapped, batting Roalsa’s hand away and shielding Aldoran.

Roalsa remained entirely unfazed by Kills’s attitude.

She merely took two steps back, lightly flicked away some dust clinging to her sash, and offered a faint smile.

“My apologies, I merely appreciate beautiful things.”

“Hey!” Kills shouted, clearly exasperated by Roalsa.

“Um, may I say something?” Qing Yu, who had been quietly crouching in the corner during their argument, weakly raised his hand and spoke.

“Of course, Lord Qing Yu.” Jess swiftly moved aside, allowing Qing Yu, whom she had been protecting, to step forward.

“Please do. How could one not be moved by the request of a poor spouse whose partner is unconscious?” Roalsa curtsied, making a ‘please’ gesture.

Kills merely grumbled in dissatisfaction.

“Um, Ms. Roalsa, didn’t the newspaper say you were missing?”

“Indeed. My knights and I, while investigating the mist, suddenly encountered a strange mist intrusion.

Though we tried every method to find a way out, we unfortunately ran into a large-scale monster migration.

Despite fighting desperately against those monsters, we ultimately couldn’t break through the mist, our stamina completely depleted in continuous battles.

We were finally defeated by giant tentacles, then lost consciousness, and I don’t recall what happened next,” Roalsa replied, maintaining polite eye contact with Qing Yu the entire time, never averting her gaze.

After speaking, she offered him another slight bow.

‘Tentacles and monsters? There are tentacles and monsters in this mist?’

“Then, how did you suddenly appear here?”

“A mysterious individual named Ms. R rescued us.

She also healed our injuries and gave us these flowers to prevent mist intrusion, instructing us to come and rescue you.”

Qing Yu acknowledged her words.

He then glanced at the mist outside, and then at Roalsa and the knights behind her.

Indeed, each one of them had a pale pink flower pinned to their waist.

‘Ms. R, that mysterious pink-haired girl, why would she do this?’

“Um, why did Ms. R ask you all to rescue us?”

“I don’t know,” Roalsa answered seriously, a smile gracing her lips.

“You, you didn’t ask Ms. R anything?!” Qing Yu stood up in shock, his wide eyes filled with confusion and disbelief.

“You, you just listened to her and came all this way to save me?”

“Of course,” Roalsa replied, puffing out her chest with a proud demeanor.

“As Ms. R is our benefactor, we must unconditionally help her to repay her kindness!”

‘This, this person is actually quite principled.’

“Then, um, what did you mean by ‘fought our way here’?” Qing Yu swallowed, reluctantly asking his next question.

“Of course, we fought our way here, slaying the monsters that blocked our path,” Roalsa said with a smile, stepping aside to reveal her knights, who stood with weapons ready, focused on maintaining vigilance.

Their weapons were varied: some wielded sharp great axes, others heavy war hammers, or even nimble whips—a diverse array of peculiar armaments.

However, one thing was consistent: every weapon was stained with viscous, black blood.

“Various monsters lurk outside, and our path forward was met with considerable obstacles.

But fortunately,” Roalsa turned, raising her hands, “my shining knights fought with all their might and pressed onward, quickly reaching this place.”

She continued, “The fresh blood splattered by the knights as they slew monsters exuded a mesmerizing beauty, highlighting their valor…”

“Then, what next…” Although Qing Yu found the woman before him increasingly unreliable, their sheer numbers offered a certain assurance in terms of combat strength.

Thus, before Roalsa could complete her lengthy discourse, Qing Yu interrupted her.

“What do we do next?”

“We fight our way back, of course,” Roalsa replied decisively, casting a confident gaze at Qing Yu.

“Back to the Knight Order’s headquarters, where Ms. R has prepared a barrier.

Once we enter, we can escape the mist’s invasion and give Ms. Aldoran enough time to recover.”

“Fight our way back?” Jess was startled, then immediately shielded Qing Yu once more.

“Fight our way back?! Hey! Are you joking?! You want us to fight our way back now?! What about Lord Aldoran? What about Lord Qing Yu?!” Kills grabbed Roalsa’s collar, practically roaring his questions.

“And how are we supposed to know if your barrier is real? What if there’s nothing there?!”

“Don’t be agitated, young sir.” Roalsa wiped a speck of spittle from her face, maintaining her elegant and composed demeanor.

“Rest assured, with the flowers from Ms. R, we can receive swift healing and protection during combat,” Roalsa replied, taking out the flower from her waist and sniffing it.

“Moreover, the fragrance emitted by these beautiful little flowers can prevent us from being attacked by the mist.”

“What about the monsters? What about Lord Qing Yu and Lord Aldoran when we fight monsters?” Jess asked calmly.

“No problem. I will assign a knight to carry Ms. Aldoran, and as for Mr. Qing Yu, I will personally protect him,” Roalsa said lightly, snapping her fingers.

“What kind of attitude is that?! Can’t you be more serious?! Lord Qing Yu and Lord Aldoran’s lives are worth more than ten of yours!” Kills felt a surge of anger at Roalsa’s frivolous attitude.

He knew that the individuals standing before Roalsa were the future Divine Lord and Empress, destined to reign over the cosmos, yet she treated Qing Yu and Aldoran with such flippancy.

This infuriated Kills.

“Kills, calm down. The decision must be made by Lord Qing Yu,” Jess stepped forward, restraining Kills to prevent him from acting impulsively.

Then, Jess turned her head towards Qing Yu, signaling him to make the decision.

“Then, um, is what you say true?” Qing Yu looked at Aldoran, then at Kills and Jess, finally fixing his gaze on Roalsa.

“Of course, I would not deceive you.

My knightly honor forbids me from such a wicked act of deception,” Roalsa replied, straightening her collar and looking back at Qing Yu.

“…”

“If that’s the case, then please lead the way.” After surveying the ruined room and the mist desperately trying to surge in from outside, Qing Yu spoke the moment the first crack appeared in the green energy barrier.

“Lord Qing Yu!” Kills immediately looked at Qing Yu.

“Kills, Aldoran is unconscious, the room is destroyed, and our supplies are depleted.

If we stay here, even if the mist doesn’t kill me, hunger will.

If Ms. Roalsa’s words are true, then by going to the Knight Order, we can at least stop worrying about the mist.”

“Lord Qing Yu!” Kills still wanted to speak, but Jess immediately covered his mouth.

“Kills, I trust your loyalty, so now, please trust my words.

Rather than waiting for death, it’s better to fight for a chance,” Qing Yu said to Kills, walking towards Roalsa.

“Please, Ms. Roalsa.”

Qing Yu looked up, his eyes filled with sincerity.

Seeing Qing Yu’s earnest gaze, Roalsa nodded firmly.

“Rest assured, Mr. Qing Yu, I swear by my knightly name to the gods.”

“I will certainly lead you all to safety.”