American comics farmer: start by adopting the villain savior.

Chapter 234 Diana: Thank you, unknown lady!

The cross-shaped crack silently healed, swallowing up the last bit of pale blue starlight.

The dungeon returned to near-absolute darkness.

But to Locke, this thick darkness was no different from daytime.

He sized up the girl in front of him who was pointing a giant sword at him.

The first thing that catches the eye is that unwavering determination that cannot be concealed even in times of hardship.

The girl was about eighteen years old, her face still showing some youthful innocence, but her blue eyes, which shone brightly even in the darkness, burned with an indomitable flame.

But to be honest
What made Locke secretly raise an eyebrow was her height.

The girl standing here is at least 185 centimeters tall, and may even be close to 190 centimeters.

This is an astonishing number for an ordinary woman, full of power and visual impact, and even among the generally tall Amazonians, it is absolutely outstanding.
However, the shadow of the prison and his slightly disheveled hair diminished his imposing height, adding a touch of wretchedness to his appearance.
His breathing became slightly rapid due to this sudden alertness.
but
Even so, the girl's obviously overly heavy greatsword was still steadily pointed at him.

Locke did not sense any murderous intent, but only a wary, wounded beast-like aggression, carrying a warning connotation.

He had no intention of provoking the other party, especially in this situation.

And with such distinctive features.
The other party was obviously
Locke's mind stirred slightly, and he held his palm up flat.

A gentle and steady ball of lightning emerged from his palm, silently exploding and dispelling the suffocating darkness of the prison.

Bright white light illuminated the small space where the two were.

Their faces were clearly reflected.

Locke tried to break the tense atmosphere:

"Relax, don't misunderstand."

By conventional standards, I'm... on the good side.

His gaze gently met the girl's wary yet undeniably clear eyes, and he directly uttered the name that should be taboo in this place:

“Princess Diana of Paradise Island, I am an assistant invited by your General Phillips.”

"!!!"

Looking at this unfamiliar face, Locke accurately called out her name.
Especially when 'General Phillips' was mentioned, Diana's heart felt as if it had been gripped tightly by an invisible hand, and then it began to pound violently!
Who is this guy?!

A stranger appeared deep within this absolutely sealed dungeon.
Not only did he speak fluent English, but he also immediately recognized her identity and even mentioned that he was the military commander of his own paradise island!

Is this the Queen's new trick?
An elaborate scam?

Use the names and relationships she is most familiar with to break down her defenses, making her willingly step into the arena, or to extract information about Paradise Island.
In this cold, mirrored world, nothing is surprising.

That lightning ball…

Is it a vessel for some kind of illusion?
Or... a real turning point?

just in case……

What if he's telling the truth?
Did General Phillips actually seek outside assistance after discovering their disappearance?
This guy had an indescribable calm demeanor; his eyes didn't hold the fanaticism or cruelty often seen in Imperial warriors, but rather a deep, unfathomable tranquility.

Moreover, the very fact that it could appear here so mysteriously signifies extraordinary ability.

Countless thoughts collided and clashed in her mind like lightning.

Trust may mean falling into a deeper trap.
She stared into Locke's eyes, trying to find even the slightest deception or hypocrisy.
Can.
Nothing can be seen.

There was only the gentle warmth rising slowly like a hot spring, without the slightest hint of hypocrisy.

The silence, lasting only a few seconds, felt like centuries.

The only sounds in the dungeon were the steady low rumble of the lightning ball and the dripping of water.

Until
Diana's hands, which were tightly gripping the sword hilt, loosened slightly, and the heavy greatsword was slowly moved away from Locke.

"clang--"

The sword tip finally fell heavily to the ground with a dull thud.

But Diana did not completely let go, as if she was retaining her last bit of instinctive vigilance.

She raised her head and looked directly at Locke.
His voice was slightly hoarse from prolonged tension and dehydration, carrying an almost numb calmness:

"...I've lost all my trust, stranger."

Her gaze was sharp, as if she could pierce through Locke's soul.

"I hope you can prove yourself next."

Ignoring Diana's wariness, Locke simply shrugged, as if being in a gloomy dungeon was no different from being in his own barn.

“Of course.” His tone was calm, with a convincing certainty. “Having accepted General Phillips’s commission, I will naturally do my best to get things done.”

He leaned forward slightly, letting the light from the orb of lightning cast deep contours on his face. Lowering his voice, he got to the point: "So, as a first step, you can now tell me about your mother, Queen Hippolyta."

"Where are they being held now?"

“I don’t know.” Diana shook her head gently, a trace of helplessness flashing in her bright blue eyes, like dark clouds obscuring the stars. “Since my arrest, the emotional connection between me and my mother has been completely severed…”

"They must have used some means to isolate her or imprison her in a more secluded and remote place."

Upon hearing this, Locke's brows furrowed imperceptibly.

He unconsciously touched the surface of the lightning ball lightly, causing the lightning to flicker slightly.

"That's a bit tricky..."

"Without precise location tracking, rescuing people silently within such a vast empire would be far too inefficient. Could it be..."

He stroked his chin, his gaze sweeping across the sturdy stone walls of the dungeon, his tone carrying an almost absurd casualness, "You want me to just smash through the entire empire and find them? That wouldn't be the price your Paradise Island General Phillips paid..."

The simplest way is to find the mother and daughter together, then tear through space and escape back to the main world.
of course
All of this is predicated on finding the right people first.

"Ha ha ha ha."

Listening to Locke's tone, which sounded as if he were discussing tearing down an old wall rather than confronting a powerful empire, Diana's tightly clenched lips twitched slightly, a hint of a smile almost breaking through her suppressed emotions, but she was pulled back by the weight of reality.

“You… are really funny,” she said with a hint of helplessness, but there was no sarcasm in her tone. Instead, there was a strange sense of relaxation. “This empire… is stronger than I imagined.”

She had witnessed the ruthlessness and efficiency of those soldiers.

I have also felt the unfathomable pressure of that empress.

“Alright.” Locke shrugged and countered, “Then may I ask, Your Highness, wise princess, besides my ‘humorous’ suggestion, do you have a better, more feasible method?”

“Hmm,” Diana took a deep breath and pointed to the dark red armor on the ground. “Yes.”

"In tomorrow's 'Ring of Victory'."

She explained, her voice clear and calm: “According to the ancient rules passed down from the ‘Ring of Victory’.”

"Although it may become incredibly bloody here, the core rules should still be preserved."

"Any player who can achieve a ten-game winning streak in a single day will be granted the right to meet the Queen... or rather, the Empress."

"And you can make a request of her."

"I will make a request to her."

The girl clenched her fists slightly. "Let my mother leave."

“A very reasonable plan.” Locke looked at her with interest. “So, what about you? After you make your request, how do you plan to ensure your safe departure?”

"I?"

Diana smiled, a hint of arrogance in her expression. "I never expected that the Queen would actually keep her promise."

"So, at the moment I made my request, they lowered their guard and might have kept their 'agreement' and let Mom leave..."

She paused, her eyes reflecting the ball of lightning in Locke's hand, which seemed to surge with thunder, an arrogant power poised to unleash a storm.

"...That was when I led my mother and fought our way out from here."

Upon hearing this, Locke was slightly taken aback at first, then burst into laughter. His hearty laughter echoed in the small cell, easing the oppressive atmosphere.

"Seriously, you just said I was funny?"

He shook his head, his eyes full of amusement. "Your Highness, the other side is a complete empire with strict rule and a huge army!"

Diana was annoyed by his laughter, but her deep-rooted pride made her raise her head: "What, are you scared? Or is it that the 'helper' General Phillips brought is not actually good at fighting?"

"Afraid? Not at all."

Locke's smile faded, but a hint of amusement remained in his eyes. "After all, the effort required to forcibly break through the Empire and to outsmart them to rescue people is worlds apart."

"but."

He changed the subject, his gaze sweeping over the greatsword Diana gripped tightly, his tone warm with a hint of teasing, "Your plan, though it sounds like a drunkard's wild fantasy, at least has a clear timeline and objective."

"It's a better solution than searching aimlessly."

He took two steps forward, ignoring Diana's lingering wariness, and his gaze fell on the greatsword covered in chips, bloodstains, and grime.

“So,” Locke joked, “before you put your grand ‘fight out’ plan into action, shouldn’t we address a more practical problem first?”

He stretched out his finger and pointed at the horribly mangled sword.

“A true warrior doesn’t expect to bring down an empire with a bunch of junk.” He tilted his head, observing Diana’s momentarily embarrassed yet forced composure, and said slowly, “This thing, you expect it to help you achieve a ten-game winning streak?”

"It probably wouldn't even be enough to trim the nails of the dinosaurs on the island."

Before Diana could object, Locke naturally reached out to her and took the greatsword.

"Come on, before you go and carry out that crazy plan..."

A smile flickered in his eyes. "Let me sharpen this 'fire poker' for you first."

"As the saying goes, a good hoe is a farmer's second life. I can't expect you to carry this thing around and... well, to embarrass Paradise Island, right?"

Before Diana could even speak, the words were spoken.

Locke said no more.
His gaze calmed down, and his aura changed accordingly.

Diana did not see any obvious movement.
Yet he keenly sensed an invisible pressure permeating the air, as if an extremely precise force field enveloped the giant sword.

Immediately afterwards, fine, spiderweb-like arcs of azure electricity appeared out of thin air. They did not flash wildly, but rather precisely wrapped around every chip and scratch on the sword.

The electric arc emitted a soft 'sizzling' sound, like a silkworm eating leaves, and wherever it passed, years of accumulated bloodstains and stubborn rust were completely stripped away.
The metal itself emitted a dark red glow under the electric light.
It's as if it's being reforged and revitalized!
At the same time, Locke's cheerful voice rang out, carrying a composure perfectly complementing the magical scene: "Keep a close eye on the princess."

"Sharpening a knife is not about using brute force to scrape it; that will only destroy the steel's essence."

"You have to treat it like the most delicate plant, sense its texture, guide its resilience, and smooth out and awaken the dull and tired parts little by little."

Diana watched intently, her deep blue eyes filled with amazement.

This effortless mastery is achieved by using thunder as both the forging hammer and the furnace.
This almost artistic restoration technique far exceeded her previous understanding of 'sharpening knives'.

She couldn't help but sigh softly, "You...you are truly exceptional! This is something that ordinary craftsmen could never achieve!"

Locke smiled slightly, but his gaze remained fixed on the sword. He casually remarked, "Practice makes perfect."

"I have a farm, and on a farm, you have to be able to fix everything."

"From tractors on strike to alloy toys broken by kids, the principles are all similar. It's just a matter of finding the key and guiding the situation accordingly."

"I discovered this technique when I was repairing sickles. Back then, the harvest was so fast that the sickles were covered with nicks and slits, so I figured out this method."

His words were calm, yet they stirred something subtle within Diana.

The sense of déjà vu was becoming increasingly clear.
Where exactly did she experience that feeling?
The more she thought about it, the more she felt that this was a quality that no ordinary soldier or blacksmith could possess.

Combined with the familiar tone she used when mentioning General Phillips earlier, an idea took shape in her mind.

It must be the female warrior who left Paradise Island back then!
Those female warriors skilled in weapon forging!

Thinking of this, Diana nodded solemnly and said in an extremely firm tone:
“I understand! This unknown… lady.”

She deliberately used honorifics, her eyes filled with respect, "I imagine you must be a very skilled farmer! Or... a legendary blacksmith living in anonymity!"

"?"

Locke paused slightly in his movements.

The tiny arcs of electricity enveloping the giant sword also froze for a moment.

He looked up, and in the light of the lightning ball, glanced with some surprise at Diana's confident expression, seemingly not quite understanding what that sentence meant.
Miss?

"……Miss?"

Locke repeated it again, his tone tinged with amusement and absurdity.

He raised his hand, his fingertips tracing his sharply defined, stubble-covered jawline, then gestured to his broad shoulders and overall profile, clarifying with a sigh, "Princess Diana, I think the darkness may indeed have affected your judgment."

"I am male."

(End of this chapter)