"No!"
It was a scream that made one's chest ache upon hearing it, and although the voice was so pleasant that Krade momentarily lost himself, he immediately realized the predicament it revealed.
Secretly annoyed that he still had the presence of mind to enjoy such a heavenly voice, Krade was already galloping towards the source of the sound.
"Follow me!"
"Yes!" Lia's expression also changed. She reined in her horse and, along with Lao Jierui, followed closely. The knights behind them, each with a solemn expression, reacted almost as quickly as Lia and the others, immediately galloping after them.
Krade ignored the branches and vines hitting his face; the knight's spirit urged him on, for the despair revealed in that voice would make anyone rush to the rescue without hesitation.
At the same time, a man's crude roar came from the other end of the forest.
"Damn it, let go! If you don't let go, I'm going to use force!"
Upon hearing this, Krade's expression immediately turned grim; clearly, this was the voice of the perpetrator.
After breaking through the last obstruction of trees, what met his eyes was a young woman whose mere profile made Krade breathless. However, in the full view, a seventeen or eighteen-year-old man was crudely trying to pull off the young woman's clothes. His eyes were bloodshot, and he was panting like an ox, while the beautiful young woman's face revealed despair.
Bastard!
A surge of Qi choked him; Krade felt he had never been so angry.
"Beast, stop it!"
He roared, and the other party was clearly startled, looking over at the same time as the young woman. However, both of them showed hopeful gazes.
"Perfect! Sir, quickly lend me the sword at your waist. There's no time to lose; I think I can't hold it in anymore, these pants must be torn open with a sharp object." The young man said happily, his expression practically treating Krade as a lifesaver.
However, Krade, whose face had been grim earlier, now lowered his eyes, his narrowed pupils revealing the cold-bloodedness of countless killings! It was the ruthlessness that only appeared during bandit roundups!
"Get lost!"
"Huh?" The young man seemed very puzzled, but at the same time, he still showed no intention of letting go, undressing the young woman without hesitation.
"Scum!" Facing the young woman's hopeful eyes, Krade no longer had the slightest thought of negotiating with that scum for even a second. Rather, giving the other party a "Get lost" earlier was already an enormous display of patience.
Krade drew his silver longsword, and under the setting sun, the cold weapon emitted a sharp gleam!
More words were useless; such scum must pay the price!
Krade quickly rushed towards the young man, swinging his sword down.
"Wah!" Whether by accident or due to the other party's agility, what should have been a heavily wounding blow was dodged by the young man, leaving only a finger-thick wound on his arm.
"Ah!" The young man fell to the ground clutching his arm, his expression pained, while the beautiful young woman seemed to breathe a sigh of relief, then fainted as if all strength had been drained from her body.
"Holy crap! Are you trying to kill me?! Who are you?"
The young man angrily roared at Krade, while the handsome man on the tall horse pulled the beautiful young woman onto his horse's back, gave the young man a cold look, then ignored him and turned his horse around.
The young man's expression was grim, but he fell silent, because the man's eyes told him that if he said another word, the outcome would not be as simple as an injured arm.
2
Back in the forest, Lia and Lao Jierui also quickly caught up.
"How… was that scream just now from this girl?" Lia first paused, then exclaimed,
"Oh my god, have I… have I seen a goddess?!"
Even Lao Jierui was too shocked to speak. No matter what, he was an old man who had experienced much, seen countless people, yet had never seen such a beautiful young woman!
Krade was naturally equally shocked, but recalling the scene just now, he couldn't help but become grim.
"It's like this."
Krade told Lia and the other what had just happened. After listening, Lia angrily shouted,
"That damned scum, I'll kill him!"
Lao Jierui also remained silent, a flash of anger in his eyes, and did not stop Lia.
But Krade took Lia's horse's reins.
"Stop, in reality, he didn't commit too great a crime. I've already injured him; there's no need to go a step further and kill him. Moreover, even if your sword were stained with the blood of such a person, it would only be polluted!"
"But…" Although Lia had a million reasons not to, she had to listen to Young Master Krade's words.
Young Master Krade was sometimes too rigid, she complained discontentedly in her heart, then Lia retracted her overflowing Life Qi.
"Let's go, it's getting late. If we return too late, Grandpa will worry." Krade was about to turn back when Lao Jierui, narrowing his eyes, looked at the young woman on the horse's back and said,
"Young Master Krade, I think it would be better to apprehend that rude person."
"Why is that?"
"After all, this Young Miss is strangely dressed but exudes a noble aura, not like someone from an ordinary family. Apprehending that rude person to extract some information would also help us prepare what attitude to take when interacting with this Young Miss." Lao Jierui's eyes shone with wisdom, and clearly, the old man's words held deeper meaning, but Krade and Lia were not strategists. They merely felt that Lao Jierui's words made sense, yet didn't find anything amiss.
"Grandpa Lao Jierui is right, I was too careless. First Squad Captain, you've arrived just in time. Go apprehend the young man at the other end of the forest. If he resists in any way, you may do whatever you deem necessary, as long as he is not killed!"
"Yes!" Upon receiving the order, the well-trained knight squad captain immediately charged into the forest.
In a short while, the First Squad Captain's burly figure rode back on his silver warhorse.
"I apologize, Captain. When I went, that young man had already disappeared. I couldn't find any trace of him even with my senses extended."
"That can't be helped. You've worked hard, you may withdraw." Krade sighed inwardly. After dismissing the First Squad Captain, he looked at Lao Jierui with a slight apology. This was a low-level mistake; if he hadn't been blinded by anger at the time and had considered carefully, his judgment wouldn't have been inferior to Lao Jierui's.
"Young Master, this is not your fault. It's merely one less clue, and with the Duke's Mansion's intelligence, we will surely achieve the same result!" Although Lia was still a bit angry, seeing Krade's somewhat dejected appearance, she couldn't help but offer encouragement.
Lao Jierui merely smiled and shook his head, saying,
"It is indeed getting late. The original plan was to return to the Duke's Mansion before sunset. It would be our dereliction of duty to make the Master worry. All right, Young Master, we'll discuss this matter further when we return."
"Mm." Krade couldn't help but shake his head and sigh. This time, it was indeed his mistake. At the same time, he cast his gaze upon the young woman on the horse's back, who seemed slightly at ease, and a ripple stirred in his heart.