Return of the Female Knight

Chapter 297 – You Shouldn’t Have Touched Her (2)

Elena was engaged in her own fierce battle, but her hands were both tied and she had no proper weapon. She had the spoons she sharpened in prison, but it had its limitations. Not only did she have a limited amount of them, they were hardly deadly.

Swiiiig!

But Elena never missed a weak spot.

“Ugh!”

Elena drove a sharpened spoon handle into the neck of a soldier who tried to grab her. Blood spurted from his mouth and he collapsed, and the other soldiers turned at her furiously and shouted in an angry voice.

“You bitch! Once we catch you, it just won’t be one arm that gets cut off!”

Tadag tadag.

Elena heaved wild breaths as she fled. It would be useful if the reinforcements in the area could arrive soon, but there were not many options available for her to stall the Lunen soldiers.

‘I was imprisoned in that direction, so the flames I saw in the spoon came from—’

She did not have time to finish that thought.

“Ugh!”

A Lunen soldier had thrown a rope at her as if he were catching a beast, and the noose tightened and squeezed her neck, forcing out a choked gasp. Her escape was suddenly halted, and the soldiers swiftly surrounded her and pinned her down. They approached her with angry looks.

“I’ll cut off the Achilles’ tendon in both feet so she won’t run away again.”

He couldn’t kill a hostage as valuable as Elena, but Paveluc wouldn’t mind if they maimed her. Until now, the soldiers could not shoot her with arrows, and they wasted more time than they expected. Even when Elena’s hands were bound, she avoided their attacks with ease.

Elena quickly searched for a spoon hidden in her shift. If her calculations were correct, it was her last one. Her thoughts swirled wildly in her head as she teetered at the brink of death.

‘What do I do? How do I use it most effectively?’

If she tried to cut the rope from her neck, she would most likely be caught again, and could only kill one more enemy.

But she could not give up. It wasn’t just her life that she had to save.

She clutched the hidden spoon in her hand, and at the same, a soldier holding a sword moved towards Elena’s feet.

At that moment—

Hwiiiig!

Another sword appeared from nowhere and struck the one the soldier was holding, stopping the attempt to cut Elena’s Achilles tendon.

Elena’s and the Lunen soldiers’ eyes widened in surprise, and they all turned their heads towards the direction of the attack.

Tatatatak!

Dozens of knights rushed inside, stirring up a cloud of dirt and dust. In the middle was a middle-aged man who looked very familiar. He had blond hair and dark green eyes set in a hard look.

‘…Father.’

It was Elena’s father, Alphord, the head of the rescue operation. The Lunen soldiers, stunned by the unexpected arrival, soon came to themselves and quickly lifted their swords to capture Elena. This time, however, Elena moved the spoon she was holding in her hand and stabbed the palm of the knight nearest to her.

“Ugh! This bitch!”

She tried to run past the man, but the other soldier holding the rope yanked her back.

“Ack!”

Elena gasped as her body was dragged back, when suddenly—

Swiiiig!

An arrow from Alphord’s soldiers flew in the air and severed the rope.

“Haaa!”

Elena sucked in deep breaths of oxygen and rolled her newly freed body away from the Lunen soldiers.

This time, a dozen arrows flew as a volley from Alphord’s men. This time, it was an attack to keep the Lunen soldiers away from Elena.

Pas! Taas!

The knights tried to parry the arrows and recapture Elena, but Alphord’s men arrived before that.

“Guard the Empress!”

As more of the Ruford knights rushed in, the Lunen knights, now outnumbered, began to flee with a look of resentment. They had no choice but to retreat for now, but they would soon get fresh reinforcements and try to track her again.

“Kollog, kollog.”

Elena sat on the floor and coughed dryly, her body feeling weak and exhausted. Alphord knelt down on one knee and removed the rope from her neck, then took off his cloak and covered her shoulders.

“Are you alright, Your Majesty?”

“Yes. It’s all because you showed up in time. His Majesty is not hurt, is he?”

Alphord paused when he saw that Elena worried about Carlisle first before her own safety. It was only a moment though, and Alphord soon replied.

“…His Majesty is fine.”

“Thank God. I was beside myself with worry about him.”

Alphord stared at Elena with an unreadable expression, before changing the subject.

“Your Majesty, can you stand? Let’s talk on the way back. It’s still not safe until we’re out of Lunen.”

“Alright.”

Alphord stood up and extended his hand, and Elena took it and lifted herself up. He supported her and put her on his horse, then spoke in a commanding voice to the soldiers all around him.

“We’ve achieved our goal, so we’re leaving! Inform the other troops!”

“Yes, sir!”

Because they had blown their cover, they were in a place of immediate exposure to the Lunen soldiers. Hence, Alphord’s men would light a blue signal when they found Elena.

Pusisisisig!

Blue smoke began to rise up the night sky. Alphord climbed up on his horse behind the exhausted Elena.

“Let’s go!”