The sound of hooves was like thunder, rapidly closing in.

  “Ugly Kid” Rod reined in his horse, making it rear up on its hind legs. After a long whinny, his menacing aura intensified significantly. He looked down, his cold gaze sweeping over Pandora, Elsa, and Betty. His eyes first showed confusion, then deep thought, and finally, a resolute killing intent!

  Harboring a frigid thought, his gaze fell upon Aurora once more, his voice now laced with undisguised malice, as sharp and grating as metal scraping metal:

  “The Douglas family… is finished! The Viscount? Hah! That stubborn old fool should have died long ago! Aurora, the world has changed. Now is the era of the new generation, the era of Lord Arthur! Now, Aurora, I order you to kneel! Return at once and swear fealty to Lord Arthur. His lordship might spare your life, perhaps even allow you to atone for your crimes with merit…”

  “Pah!”

  Before Rod could finish, Aurora spat out a mouthful of saliva! Her eyes blazed with fury. She struggled to stand but was held down by Pandora. She didn’t give up, throwing her head back up, her gaze as bright as tempered fire, stabbing straight into Rod’s heart: “I, Aurora, swear fealty only to Viscount Douglas, and to him forever! As for that damned Arthur, I will never, like you… you spineless cowards who betray their masters for glory, beg a traitor for scraps!”

  “You’re courting death!”

  Rod’s face instantly darkened, his killing intent exploding!

  He kicked his horse’s flanks, and the warhorse charged forward again. The long sword in his hand was raised high, like a viper striking, aimed directly at the four of them!

  “Seize them! The little girl is a fake! They’re all accomplices of Aurora, in disguise! Ham, Lucien, I order you to follow me! Kill them all! For Lord Arthur! CHARGE—!”

  He roared, trying to incite the two squires behind him to charge with him.

  However, the two squires behind him were clearly hesitant.

  Their gazes swept back and forth across the faces of Pandora, Elsa, and Betty, their eyes filled with shock and struggle.

  Pandora Douglas?

  They were squires of Viscount Douglas. There were a few people they couldn’t possibly fail to recognize.

  The first was naturally the Viscount himself. The second was the young lady before them, the Viscount’s sole heir. And the Head Handmaiden, Elsa? As the first handmaiden at Pandora’s side, her importance was also enough to place her on the “must-recognize” list.

  These two, there was no way they could be mistaken!

  As for the “Little Kitchen Maid,” Betty? That round, baby-faced girl who loved to hide in the kitchen and sneak snacks, who sometimes shared food with them, whose small face was now etched with fear and disbelief… She wasn’t on the “must-recognize” list, but she was just as important!

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  Which squire hadn’t, after training to the point of collapse, been secretly brought a warm soup by Betty? Even the affectionate nickname they had for her, “Little Kitchen Maid,” was one they had all given her!

  Without a doubt, these three were faces they knew intimately! They couldn’t possibly be in disguise!

  “Captain Rod, that… that’s really Miss Pandora…” One of the squires stammered, instinctively pulling on his reins.

  “And Lady Elsa… and Betty… I just saw her sneaking jam in the kitchen two days ago…” The other squire murmured, his hand on his sword hilt, unable to lift it against familiar faces.

  “Useless trash!”

  Rod cursed, but it was too late to do anything else.

  He was now alone, riding his horse, carrying the momentum of a thousand pounds, charging straight at Pandora and the others! The tip of his sword tore through the air, letting out a piercing shriek!

  “My Lady, be careful!”

  Elsa barked, her body rooting itself to the spot like a boulder. The blood-colored sword instantly moved to block Pandora.

  “My Lady!”

  Betty shrieked. She, who had been trembling just moments before, suddenly darted forward, spreading her arms wide like a chubby mother hen protecting her chicks, trying to use her own body to shield the mistress she followed from the unstoppable charge!

  Pandora looked at the Betty shielding her, afraid yet stubborn. She felt a mix of exasperation and a warm current in her heart. She let out a soft sigh but didn’t stop her.

  It wasn’t that she intended to sacrifice Betty, but that she had complete faith in Elsa.

  Without hesitation, her gaze hardened, and Pandora raised her voice, shouting at the two hesitant squires with all her strength:

  “I am Pandora Douglas, daughter of Viscount Douglas! You are my father’s knights! Look carefully! Who are your swords truly pointing at?!”

  At the same time, she gave Elsa her command:

  “Elsa, take him! Dead or alive—doesn’t matter!”

  The command was decisive and absolute.

  Before the words had even faded—

  “Ugly Kid” Rod, like a river of steel wielding a scythe of death, charged right up to Elsa!

  A cruel light glinted in his eyes, his expression full of confidence. The long sword in his hand was raised high. Borrowing the terrifying inertia of his charging horse, he channeled its immense power and brought it down upon Elsa’s head!

  In truth, he didn’t even deign to make Elsa the true target of this charge. An unarmored handmaiden? Did she deserve his full attention?

  His real target was the eyesore behind the meddlesome handmaiden, the one who had to be eliminated, Pandora Douglas!

  As long as he could force this troublesome handmaiden to yield, even by half a step, his sharp sword could cleave the head of that “noble lady of the old world” as easily as slicing through butter!

  To kill someone he once could only look up to… What an “honor” for him, Rod!

  “Die!”

  Rod sneered in his heart, certain that Elsa would panic and dodge!

  However,

  Elsa did not move.

  She neither retreated nor made any move to dodge.

  She just stood there, calm as a boulder. The blood-red thorn sword, glinting with a cold light, was angled upwards, its tip slightly depressed. It was a stance that seemed clumsy, but was in fact coiled and ready to strike. It was as if she intended to… take this blow head-on!

  “Courting death!”

  Rod was ecstatic, thinking the handmaiden had been scared stupid.

  He didn’t pull back at all. Instead, he spurred his horse on, channeling all his strength and the momentum of his charge into this single strike!

  Clang—!

  The clash of steel on steel vibrated through the air, making everyone’s eardrums ache!

  The expected scene of blood and gore, of the handmaiden being sent flying, did not occur.

  Rod felt as if his sword had struck a massive boulder. A counter-shock force traveled up the blade and into his sword hand. The web of his hand instantly split open, blood spraying everywhere!

  His seemingly certain-to-kill strike had been deflected by a full seventy percent of its force, either by the sword in Elsa’s hand or by her peerless skill!

  Only thirty percent of its power remained, and with its remaining momentum, it hacked down upon Elsa’s left shoulder.