In another corridor of Heroic Spirit Palace.
Miranda's sword drew an arc in the air.
* Clang! *
Amid the clear sound of metal clashing, she clenched her teeth and brushed past Kroesch.
In the next second …
* Rip! *
Blood gushed out of Miranda's lower abdomen, while Kroesch's left leg armor was severely deformed.
With their backs facing each other, the two of them widened the distance between them. Swaying, they fell to the ground.
"Haha, as expected of the Chief." Kroesch sat on the ground with an exhausted expression. Enduring the pain, she pried open her deformed leg armor with the blade of her sword and pressed down on the bone. "You're still injured, yet you can still do this."
Drenched in cold sweat, Miranda leaned against the wall and pressed hard on the wound on her abdomen. She kept activating Pegasus' Music to slow down the flow of blood and the contraction of her muscles. She ignored Kroesch.
They knew that after the short but intense fight, both of them had reached their limits. What was left was a competition of willpower and spirit.
"Tell me," Miranda said with difficulty, "Betraying your friends, killing the king, using the Tower of Eradication to satisfy your own ambitions …
"How do you feel, Esch?"
Kroesch paused for a moment and turned her gaze to the sword in her hand.
It was the saber she obtained from the Tower of Eradication: Leader.
The sword hilt was engraved with the unique symbol of the 'Pegasus' branch: Silver-winged Pegasus, representing unwavering faith.
"It feels great, Mira."
Kroesch retracted her gaze and sneered. "The pleasure of breaking the rules."
Unexpectedly, Miranda did not look angry, nor did she look puzzled.
Lady Arunde only looked at her quietly, her gaze subtle.
"Esch," the swordswoman said softly, her tone filled with grief, "you must have had a terrible time in the few years after you left the tower, right?"
Kroesch trembled slightly.
Her arm stiffened.
"I heard from Kaslan that you were rejected by the White Blade Guards.
Otherwise, you wouldn't have … "
Miranda sighed. "But I beg you, don't lose yourself. Think about your 'heart of the sword'."
The corridor fell silent.
Kroesch's breathing became faster.
'Heart of the sword.
My … heart of the sword? '
"Mira." Kroesch still gritted her teeth. "You are the heir to the noble Northern Territory. You have just graduated and are serving under the Fortress Flower …"
"For someone as successful as you, of course you don't understand what kind of struggles a woman of ordinary birth has to go through in this world."
Miranda was slightly taken aback.
Just as she was about to ask, "What struggle?", the man suddenly got up from the ground and limped towards her!
Miranda was shocked. Ignoring the pain in her abdomen, she leaped up!
Clang!
The longsword 'Soaring Eagle' and Kroesch's' Leader 'clashed against each other in the air. They were in a stalemate.
"White Blade Guards?" Kroesch's arms trembled as she looked down on her opponent.
Miranda could only fight with all her might.
Both of them listened to the force in their swords as they trembled against each other. The point of contact between the two swords kept shifting back and forth as they tried to find the most suitable point to exert force and attack rhythm.
"That's not all. From the noblest Dragon Clouds City to the most remote manors in the countryside, no suzerain was willing to hire me, even if I could beat up all their guards and scouts," Kroesch said hatefully. "For more than a year, I carried the tower's expectations and skills, but wandered around like a beggar despised by everyone.
"So, when Lampard extended his hand to you …" Miranda looked at the injury on her opponent's other leg and calmly moved her feet, looking for an opportunity. "You were determined to repay him with your death, even if it went against your creed?"
Kroesch's sword-wielding hand trembled slightly.
Miranda's eyelids twitched. She instantly seized the opportunity.
* Clang! *
She twisted her longsword and swiftly broke free from the disadvantageous position of being suppressed. Then, she took a step forward and turned sharply, using the advantage of her feet to attack!
But against Miranda's expectations, Kroesch, whose left leg was injured, did not retreat as she expected and fall into her rhythm.
The round-faced swordswoman roared angrily. Disregarding the injury on her legs, she stomped on the ground and pounced forward!
'What?'
Miranda's pupils shrank.
The longsword grazed past Kroesch's short hair and took away a few strands. Kroesch's blade went straight for Miranda's injured abdomen.
* Thud! *
In the nick of time, Miranda finally dodged her opponent's blade, but her ribs were struck by the hilt of her opponent's sword.
Miranda's face contorted in pain. She could not help but retreat until she fell to the ground.
'Sh * t.
'Ribs …'
The wound from the battle against the Disaster Swords earlier was also throbbing in pain.
In front of Miranda, Kroesch, who had overexerted herself, also fell limp. She used her longsword to support herself on the ground and pressed down hard on her injured left leg.
"You don't understand …" Kroesch said in pain, "Finally, in the City of Halting Light, a viscount finally agreed to hire me — as long as I'm willing to marry him.
"I know. There were similar cases in the past. He probably wanted a woman who could obediently spread her legs at night after swinging his greatsword in a carefree and unrestrained manner." Kroesch flashed a sarcastic smile. "I thought he wanted a sense of accomplishment when his dignity was satisfied, to make him feel like a man.
"I refused."
Feeling the injury on her ribs, Miranda listened to her former colleague's words with a pale face.
"'No matter how powerful you are, you're still a woman.' That's what he said." Kroesch gritted her teeth fiercely. Her eyes reddened.
"Right after he drugged me …"
"Before it took effect."
Miranda shuddered violently!
She stared incredulously at her friend, then at the mournful expression on Kroesch's face.
Kroesch laughed sarcastically.
Miranda's heart ached. She said softly, "Esch …"
"I don't care about what he did!" Kroesch's abnormal smile made Miranda feel uneasy.
"In fact, he really didn't do anything, did he?
"But that night, I'll always remember his gaze, the words he said — that humiliation, that contempt." Kroesch's tone became hurried. "And the panic in my heart at that time … It was as if I would soon lose all my value as a woman.
"From that day onwards, I understood one thing."
The Archduke of Black Sand Region's female guard captain's gaze turned cold.
"The reason why I run into walls everywhere and no one accepts me is not because I lack ability, not because my physique is not good, and not because I lack experience." Kroesch straightened her body while trembling. She placed her weight on her sword and said coldly, "I don't have enough experience.
She said coldly, "But it was only because I was a woman."
Miranda stared at her former best friend with grief and heartache. She felt a tightness in her chest.
'Kroesch …
'You …'
"In Northland, they don't believe that a woman can become a warrior, fight with a sword, and survive independently." Kroesch's gaze became solemn. She staggered towards Miranda. "They don't allow it either!
"This world can't tolerate women being 'stronger' than men, because that's their exclusive privilege." Kroesch took a deep breath. "It can't tolerate women surviving on their own without relying on men, because that's also their privilege!
"Once you think about this clearly, many things will be easily solved.
"Remember, in all the stories we read in the tower — knight novels, historical dramas, romantic poems? No matter what kind of woman she is, no matter how valiant, independent, loyal, and unyielding she is, if she wants to be liked by the readers, she must fulfill one condition." Kroesch panted, her gaze fierce. "She must be able to be f * cked by men — by the protagonist!
"When a woman of noble status is f * cking, the readers will feel a greater sense of accomplishment!
"When a dignified and virtuous woman is f * cking, the readers will feel a greater sense of conquest!
"When a charming woman is f * cking, the readers will feel a greater sense of pleasure!
"When a delicate and pitiful woman is f * cking, the readers will feel a greater sense of dignity!
"When a pure and lovely woman is f * cking, the readers will feel a greater sense of security!
"When a cunning and treacherous woman is f * cking, the readers will feel a greater sense of satisfaction!
"As long as it's a woman, whether it's a protagonist or a supporting role, they must be appendages to men's lives, and exist for men." Kroesch leaned against the wall and gritted her teeth.
"From childhood to reality, from birth to death, from law to life, this is the story this bastard world repeatedly tells us — and it's also the f * cking truth!"
"What are you talking about?" Miranda shook her head in disbelief. Her heart was filled with fear. "Esch!"
"Even if it's you, Mira, in Constellation where women have the right to inherit, if you don't have a strong husband, your vassals won't obey you wholeheartedly." Kroesch's eyes were filled with indignation and pain.
"Even independent women like Heart of the Rain and the Fortress Flower have to achieve results that far exceed the norm to obtain the same pay and status as men."
At that moment, Miranda suddenly remembered her past, the way her subordinates looked at her in the fortress, her father's expression when she was seven years old, and … Raphael.
"So, I also understand one thing."
"It's not the White Blade Guards or those suzerains who rejected me and women's independence." Kroesch walked up to Miranda. Her gaze was bleak and her voice was hollow.
"It's this damn world."
Kroesch's voice faded away.
Miranda stared at her in a daze. She was shocked by Kroesch's words, whether it was her past misfortune or her shocking opinion of the world.
Kroesch calmed her breathing, then steadily raised the sword in her hand. There was a cold expression on her face.
She said hatefully, "F * ck them all."
Sword light flashed!
Miranda endured the intense pain in her ribs and rolled to the side in a disheveled manner, avoiding Kroesch's fatal sword slash.
If it were not for the inconvenience of the other party's legs, she might have been beheaded a long time ago.
Miranda reacted quickly. She turned around and threw the sword in her hand straight at the other party's abdomen!
Just as Kroesch, who could not move easily, was about to draw her sword back to block the attack, Miranda's sword magically turned and stabbed straight ahead.
It struck Kroesch's left ankle!
It was as if Kroesch had moved away from the sword.
* Clang! *
The blade of the sword clashed violently against the armored boot.
Kroesch fell to the ground in pain and gripped her ankle in the armored boot.
Miranda's Pegasus' Pegasus' Music, which belonged to the same branch of the Pegasus family, tended to move the rhythm of both the enemy and herself in a continuous chain movement, creating an unintentional opportunity to defeat the enemy. It was like a concerto that went back and forth.
Kroesch's Pegasus' Music, on the other hand, was used to taking the initiative to control the overall rhythm of the battle. Her attacks were swift, and it was clear between the enemy and herself. It was like a scherzo with a strong contrast between the strong and the weak.
This was vividly displayed during the exchange of blows just now, when Kroesch struck her ribs heavily and Miranda attacked her opponent's ankle.
"Kroesch, forget about the unbearable past." Miranda shook her head and said anxiously, "You're thinking too much. You're shifting your hatred to …"
"Thinking too much?"
Kroesch endured the double pain in her ankle and leg and snorted coldly. "You don't understand, Mira.
"The scariest thing isn't the injustice women suffer, but the fact that for thousands of years, even we women ourselves have taken this sort of thing and this sort of rule as something that should be taken for granted."
The two former schoolmates fell to the ground and glared at each other. They were only three steps away from each other.
That was the perfect distance to thrust her sword forward.
The final strike.
"My mother was an ordinary country woman. My father never loved her." Kroesch held her sword and searched for an angle. "For as long as I can remember, that country woman sat in the house all day, twisting the knitting needles in her hands. From day to night, she strenuously watched over the lamp on the table, waiting for her only support to return from the glorious White Blade Guards, even though he never returned.
"But my mother was still proud of that man. She believed that being the wife and daughter of a king's imperial guard was incomparably glorious. It was as if all her and my value could only be reflected in that man, even though he only appeared before me for the first time during my mother's funeral."
Kroesch chuckled.
Miranda fixed her gaze on the enemy's shoulder. The tip of her sword adjusted its position along with Kroesch's weapon.
"After my mother died of depression, I was brought back to Dragon Clouds City and entrusted to be raised by a lady of noble birth." Kroesch's expression darkened. "Madam Adele married one of the most honorable men in this country — the heroic, promising, forthright, and righteous Prince Soria Walton."
"You can't imagine what I saw." Kroesch could not help but quicken her breathing. "If other people still know how to use flowery words to cover up the fact that women are property, then Soria Walton is probably an honest man. Property should be treated with a whip."
"When I was young, I hid under the bed countless times with my hands over my mouth, trembling with fear when I heard that damn bastard enter the door. I heard Madam Adele's pained screams, listened to that bastard prince treat her like the lowliest female slave, and vented his dissatisfaction with his wife time and time again. Adele did not leave her first night to her new husband, but to a knight from her hometown when she was young. He punished her for her disrespect and insults to herself.
"I always crawled out after he left, disheartened, to comfort Adele, who was covered in cuts and bruises because she was naked all over. She also always hugged me tightly in tears, and told me, and at the same time, she also told herself not to be sad, because this was her sin, and also a woman's fate. "
Miranda stared at Kroesch in astonishment. She had never seen this side of Kroesch in the past in the Tower of Eradication.
"Do you know, Mira," Kroesch said tiredly.
"In fact, from birth to death, we, women, are never, from beginning to end, a complete human being, compared with the other race," her voice broke.
"When we were young, we were our father's property, which was used to exchange for another man's property. When we grew up, our faces and bodies were our future husbands' faces, our first night and chastity were his dignity, our lower bodies were his territory, and our wombs were his storehouse for the continuation of his bloodline. Even our thoughts had to be theirs.
"When I carefully dissected my entire body from top to bottom, from the inside out, I realized that the only thing that belonged to me was this sword." Kroesch's eyes were filled with gloom.
"Esch."
Miranda wanted to say something, but stopped herself. There was a mixture of regret, puzzlement, pain, and other emotions in her eyes.
At that moment, it was as if both of them had forgotten about the swords in their hands.
In the end, Miranda sighed. "What exactly do you want to do?"
Kroesch stared at her quietly and forced an ugly smile. "I want to use the only sword I have left …
"To take back the things that women have been deprived of since they were born.
"To make women independent from then on."
At that moment, Miranda swayed a little and leaned against the wall in a daze.
"I don't understand," she said with a pale face.
But Kroesch only snorted, as if she was not surprised at all.
"Mira, I don't blame you … You are a happy, pitiful, innocent, pitiful woman who is content with the status quo and has no self-awareness."
Miranda pursed her lips and looked at the sword in her hand, then at Kroesch.
"No matter what you plan to do … the world and history have been running like this for thousands of years. Even if you become a god … this nonsense." She clenched her teeth and shook her head.
"It's impossible for you to succeed!"
Kroesch raised her head abruptly.
"Of course I know I can't succeed!"
The female captain of Black Sand Region's guards had a pained and contorted expression, causing Miranda's heart to tremble.
Kroesch took a deep breath. Her gaze was firm. "Regardless of whether it's the world's habitual beliefs, Northland's deeply-rooted traditions, or our own self-awareness … But in everything, someone must take the first step."
"Your Grace, he is the only person in Northland who can throw away the shackles, break tradition, and break the stereotypes." She regained her indifferent expression and spoke in an unquestionable tone. "And it is only when he shatters everything that Northland and Eckstedt believe in and negates the backward past inch by inch, that women will have the hope to obtain a brand new future in the new world that will be built on the ruins. They will not live as anyone's subordinates."
Miranda did not know how to answer. She could only furrow her eyebrows tightly and shake her head continuously. Her heart was filled with grief.
'Esch …
Esch! '
"The other people in the world may not change. In the end, they may not even look at those women who yearn for independence and the future in the eye," Kroesch said coldly. "But I must at least let them know that in that turbulent and earth-shattering era, there is such a woman under the archduke who shocked the world!
"The world will know that she is a woman, but she can also bleed, contribute, fight, and survive on her own. She does not need to muddleheadedly become some man's wife, rely on her face and uterus to survive, and wear the identity mask given to her by the world to live!
"Just like Queen Erica, just like the Yao King." Pain and hesitation appeared in Kroesch's eyes, but they immediately turned into indestructible ice. "Only like this, through me, through our repeated efforts, repeated attempts, and repeated failures."
"Only then can injustice be made up for, and difficulties be broken!"
In the next second, Kroesch suddenly raised her sword!
Miranda also subconsciously raised the Soaring Eagle in her hand.
* Clang! *
The two swords clashed against each other in the air, but neither of them showed the slightest intention to resist.
Instead, both of them pierced into the enemy's body!
* Shick! *
Blood flowed out from Miranda's and Kroesch's chests at the same time.
The two of them, who knew each other very well, guessed each other's intentions. At that moment, their postures were almost identical.
They held their swords in one hand and thrust forward, while the other grabbed the tip of the other's sword. Their gazes met, and the atmosphere was solemn.
"So …
"For this baffling reason, you turned to Lampard." Holding the tip of her old friend's sword, Miranda widened her eyes in pain and trembling. "You betrayed all of us."
Across her, Kroesch revealed a smile that was a mixture of apology and relief.
Bright red liquid spread out from under the two of them.
"No, Mira, it's not baffling," Kroesch said softly. Her face trembled slightly, and tears flowed from her eyes. "It's close at hand. It's just that you've already been trained by this world … to become accustomed to it."
Miranda breathed absentmindedly. She recalled everything that happened in the tower, and the scene before her eyes was a blur.
"His Grace, he, he carries the hopes and beliefs of so many people, including me …"
In her ears, Kroesch's voice grew further, softer, and more indistinct.
"He will definitely succeed.
He must succeed. "
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