SWDnovel Chapter 18 Noble Lady Elena
Chapter 18 Noble Lady Elena
Irena's hair was a slightly wavy, dark gold color, draped over her trembling shoulders.
Under the cover of night, one could see that her hair was very messy and covered in dust, and her face was extremely pale, almost bloodless.
Clearly, the girl was in a state of extreme fear.
Xia Tong pulled on the reins and stopped.
Torret was panting heavily, carrying too many spoils of war, and snorted as he did so.
Xia Tong looked at Torret, and Torret looked back at Xia Tong with a resentful look in his eyes, as if to say, "I am a spirit horse, not a cow or a horse."
Seemingly having heard the voice, Elena asked in surprise:
"Who is it?"
Is anyone there?
"...Or is it a wild beast?"
Xia Tong cleared her throat, trying to make her voice sound as gentle as possible:
"I am a knight who has come from afar."
Xia Tong silently gave herself a reasonably acceptable identity.
In this broken world, the title of knight always brings a sense of security.
"Very good......."
Irene breathed a sigh of relief, her voice trembling with a hint of tears:
"If you're not the one who wants to kill me, could you please listen to my request?"
She clasped her hands together in front of her chest, speaking rapidly as if grasping at a lifeline:
"My name is Elena, and I escaped from Moen City in the south."
"The servants in the city rioted... I am blind, and I barely managed to escape here with the protection of the guards."
"............"
Perhaps they were too terrified, or perhaps they hadn't encountered a living person they could talk to in a long time.
Irene talked for a good ten minutes straight, rambling on and on, like a drowning person desperately trying to grab onto something.
"If you would be willing to go to Moen City... could you please deliver this letter to my father for me?"
"My father is Edgar, the lord of Moen City. He must still be guarding the city, unwilling to leave."
"I've already escaped, please let him escape quickly too..."
"...As long as my father is still alive, I can live. I'm such a weak person."
Xia Tong didn't answer immediately, but just listened to her talk silently.
Seeing her chapped lips, Xia Tong interrupted her:
"Haven't eaten in a long time, have you?"
As she spoke, Xia Tong took out a large piece of dried meat from her cloth bag.
This is a dish he made with venison while hunting on the shores of Lake Yaquil.
In the game, the characters don't need to eat.
But if I don't eat after transmigrating here, I'll really starve to death.
Although those who have faded are very strong and can basically go three days without eating, their physical strength will begin to decline significantly after three days.
Perhaps this situation will be alleviated when the level becomes higher in the future.
If you reach the level of a demigod, you might really not need to eat anymore.
Elena paused for a moment, then stretched out both hands, put them together, and turned her palms up.
She carefully accepted the dried meat that Xia Tong handed her.
Then, like a little squirrel, it ate in small, tiptoeing bites, trying not to drop a single piece of meat.
Xia Tong didn't really know how to cook complicated dishes.
He simply cut the venison into thin slices, 0.5 cm thick and 10 cm long.
The meat slices were rubbed with coarse salt given to them by the wandering merchant, Kale, and then coated with the juice of crushed wild onions and garlic picked from the roadside.
They are placed on rocks to dry in the sun during the day and brought back in at night.
In about three days, this simple air-dried meat is ready.
"Is the taste alright?" Xia Tong asked.
"Well……"
Elena swallowed, a satisfied look on her face.
"It has a subtle scallion aroma, combined with a hint of sea salt, creating a unique flavor."
As the daughter of the city lord of Moen, Elena had naturally eaten many delicacies before.
But after so many days of hunger and fear, she felt incredibly happy to be able to eat the dried meat made by Xia Tong.
After eating, Elena seemed to have regained some strength and asked hopefully:
"Lord Xia Tong, you will deliver the letter for me, won't you?"
She had already learned Xia Tong's name during their conversation.
Xia Tong looked at her tinted eyes, smiled faintly, but her tone was firm:
"I won't."
"what?"
Elena froze, as if she hadn't heard clearly.
"I won't deliver your letter."
Xia Tong reiterated it once again.
Elena was momentarily stunned, the color draining from her face, and she was at a loss for what to do.
She thought Xia Tong was a very gentle knight...
"Too……"
She lowered her head, her voice filled with disappointment and self-reproach:
"Moen City is in a very chaotic and dangerous state right now. It would be extremely irresponsible of you to go there rashly."
She gave a smile that was more like a grimace, and slowly said:
"But I'm still very grateful to Lady Xia Tong, at least I got to eat such delicious jerky."
A brief silence fell between the two.
The only sound was the whistling of the wind as it swept through the canyon.
Xia Tong turned around and looked at her surroundings, feeling an inexplicable sense of unease.
He knew it very well.
In the original game storyline, once he accepted this quest, he would help her deliver the letter to Edgar, the lord of Moen City.
So when he comes back...
What awaited him was a huge, mixed-breed iron machete stuck in the ground, and Elena lying in a pool of blood.
"Come with me."
Xia Tong suddenly spoke, her voice leaving no room for argument:
"It's not safe for you to stay here. Those bastards will find you soon!"
"I'll send the message after I've settled you in a completely safe place."
Elena suddenly looked up; though she couldn't see, her face was filled with surprise:
"Really? Thank you, Lady Xia Tong!"
Being alone here is really scary.
........
It was evening.
Xia Tong was not in a hurry to travel overnight.
He settled Elena at the blessing point next to the sacrificial bridge and transferred Torret's equipment and weapons to his own space within the blessing, instantly reducing Torret's burden.
The two lit a campfire together and cooked a pot of hot meat soup.
"Here, have a taste."
A small bag of dried meat was poured into the broth, along with wild onions and garlic picked from nearby, creating an irresistible aroma.
Speaking of which, the iron pot we used for cooking was something we just casually took from the camp in front of the checkpoint.
Elena held the bowl, drinking the broth very slowly.
By the firelight, Xia Tong finally had the time to examine her closely.
It's clear that even as the daughter of the city lord, she lived a very simple life.
She had no rings or necklaces on her hands, and her skirt was covered in black mud and grass juice.
There were also some small, dark red, dried bloodstains on his chest.
She was only wearing a pair of simple cloth shoes, the soles of which were worn out.
"The most important thing right now is to improve our strength."
Xia Tong secretly made a plan in her heart.
The Moen City dungeon is a bit too difficult for him right now.
The mixed-race people there are all uncivilized animals.
Not only can they fly, but they are also physically strong, move as fast as mad dogs, and often travel in packs.
Some elite hybrids wielding giant axes are so powerful that they can take on several Kadan mercenaries at once.
As Xia Tong thought this, she used the energy of the blessing to gently nurture the ashes of the body that had been injured in the battle.
The lone wolves are really too weak right now, with too low health.
However, the Fang Imp is still quite powerful.
It can throw pots from a distance, bleed enemies in melee combat, and is very agile, making it difficult to die.
..........
During the break, Xia Tong asked Melina:
"Can I teleport with Miss Elena?"
"No, that won't work. Elena can't see the blessing, and she's not recognized by it."
"Yes, it's impossible to find such a loophole."
Xia Tong sighed.
At present, the only people we can really rely on are probably the wandering merchants.
Returning from the Sobbing Peninsula to the Church of Elena to find Galley is too far. He can manage alone, but with Elena along, the possibilities are too great.
Xia Tong was really worried that something might happen to her on the way and she wouldn't be able to take care of her.
However, in my memory, if we went a little further ahead, in front of the city walls of Moen, there would be another wandering merchant.
The merchant even sold stone sword keys and two-handed greatswords.
Elena should be properly taken care of there.
At most, I'll just have to give up a little rune as compensation.
Although the wandering merchant class is despised, they are extremely trustworthy.
Everything is tradable.
...........
The night passed peacefully, and as dawn broke, Xia Tong packed up her camping gear and prepared to set off.
"Irena".
Xia Tong patted the dust off her clothes:
"We're about to set off. Now I'm going to lift you onto the horse's back, and it'll be unavoidable that I'll touch you. Excuse me."
Elena blushed slightly and whispered:
"Lord Xia Tong, there's no need to be so kind to me... I won't move."
Xia Tong then gently lifted Elena's legs through her clothes and lifted her up.
Although Elena said that, when Xia Tong touched her, he could still feel her petite body suddenly stiffen.
In the firelight, a faint blush appeared on her face.
After helping Elena mount the Torret, Xia Tong refused to mount the horse again.
.........
Xia Tong held the reins of Torret and slowly moved forward on this unfamiliar peninsula.
At the same time, he shook the summoning bell and summoned three stray wolves.
As wild wolves, they have an extremely keen sense of smell and hearing, allowing them to anticipate danger.
I walked about 5 kilometers.
Suddenly, the lead wolf lowered its body, let out a low whimper, and its fur stood on end.
Xia Tong immediately became alert and gripped the greatsword in her hand tightly.
By the moonlight, the wreckage of more than a dozen broken carriages could be seen along the road ahead.
Goods were scattered all over the ground, and there were signs of fighting and massacre everywhere.
And in the shadow of the carriage wreckage, something seemed to be stirring.
It was an extremely ugly creature with fleshy wings on its back, lying on the corpse and gnawing on something.
Xia Tong's eyes narrowed, and she said in a low voice:
"Mixed race!"
"A winged hybrid!"