Raise Joan of Arc to be an empress, then discard her.

"Okay, I hope you'll promise me one thing."

Looking at Aaron's serious expression and thinking about what she had just said, Carol nodded and said, "Yes, I promise you."

"Okay, this is a very important thing, and only you can do it."

“I do…” Carol said happily.

“Okay.” Aaron nodded. “I want you to stay here and not go anywhere.”

Carol hadn't expected such a request, but she still obediently nodded: "Okay."

Aaron stood up, slowly separating his hands to grip the hilts of two long swords, which appeared in his hands.

The two swords were identical in shape, almost indistinguishable. But when he gripped the hilt with four fingers, two gentle streams of spiritual energy emanated from his palms, covering the blades, and the two long swords revealed their true forms.

These are two sheathless longswords, one entirely black, as dark as the night, and the other entirely white, like moonlight condensed in the night. The colors of the two swords present two extremes.

Aaron gripped the white longsword tightly. Judging by its appearance alone, there was no indication that the sword possessed any supernatural power. Yet, Aaron planted the sword firmly at his feet, as if he had drawn a clear line with it. Aaron addressed everyone:

"My request to you is simple: do not go beyond the range of this knife. As long as you do not go beyond the range of this knife, you will not die."

Then Aaron said something that stunned Carol: "Then, I'll leave."

"You...can leave?"

Upon hearing those words, Carol thought she had misheard.

"I didn't hear what you just said. Could you repeat it?"

Carol pretended not to hear and spoke with feigned optimism.

“I’m leaving here. I’m not staying with you. You stay here on your own,” Aaron said.

“Wait… what do you mean by saying you’re leaving here… didn’t you promise to stay and protect us? What do you mean by leaving…” Carol still had a smile on her face, but her voice was trembling.

"I won't stay behind to protect you, but you'll be fine as long as you do as I say and don't leave the sword's protective area. They are a hybrid of soldiers and bandits, possessing both the ruthlessness of soldiers and the cruelty of bandits. If you leave the circle and are caught by them, you will definitely not have a good ending. They will kill all of you and do everything you find terrifying. So never leave the circle. This is the protection I'm promising you."

"Wait... what are you saying..." Carol was completely panicked, her voice trembling. She couldn't believe that Aaron would abandon them and run away from them. Aaron was their only support, Aaron was their hero, Aaron had come all the way to save her, but now her prince charming was telling her that he would leave on his own and that they should stay where they were.

How could it have turned out like this? Things shouldn't have been like this at all...

The moment Carol heard Aaron say he was leaving, she felt all her rosy fantasies shattered. She had never felt this way before, even when she realized Dylan had given her poison. But at this moment, Carol felt as if the world's vibrant colors had suddenly disappeared, replaced by cold, hard colors. She was facing a harsh reality.

Chapter 37 Kill!

“Didn’t you come here to protect us? If you leave…we…we…” Carol grabbed Aaron’s clothes, begging him not to leave them.

But Aaron coldly replied, "I said I would protect your safety, and I will always keep my promise."

After saying that, Aaron pushed Carol away and stood up.

Carol felt a wave of despair as she was pushed away. Ever since she heard about Aaron's deeds, she had always thought that Aaron was her Prince Charming who had come to save her. She never expected that her Prince Charming who was going to save her would push her away and leave her.

Carol wanted to say something more, but when she saw Aaron's eyes, she suddenly stopped.

Aaron had a pair of deep black eyes, and Carol had always liked Aaron's eyes. But at this moment, seeing the long sword in Aaron's hand and the imposing aura he exuded, Carol suddenly felt that she could not see any softness or love for her in those eyes. At this moment, those eyes were like dark clouds pressing down on the sky, making it hard for Carol to breathe.

Even Damian spoke up: "I don't understand either, Lord Aaron. Are you sure your Blessing can really protect us? The enemy is the Griffin Legion and an army of thousands. Your weapon..."

Damian stopped there. Although he had just witnessed Aaron's power, the idea of ​​using a single sword to stop an army of thousands and leave hundreds unharmed sounded too mythical. Damian was not an ignorant man, but he still found it too incredible.

More likely, Aaron intends to abandon them, and they will become discarded pawns.

“Sir Damian, I have made myself clear. Remember your duty: do not let them out of the sword’s reach.” Aaron stared at Damian and said, enunciating each word clearly.

At this moment, more and more people gathered around Aaron. Many of them had heard Aaron and Carol's conversation and learned that Aaron was leaving. They all became uneasy. They had been besieged for a long time and had finally seen a glimmer of hope for rescue, but that hope was about to leave them. They were all afraid of the feeling of being abandoned.

"Are you going to abandon us, Lord Aaron...?"

"You...you'll stay and protect us...right?"

"Don't leave us, we need you..."

This is not their fault. Many of them are not superhumans, and many have never seen any decent superhuman power in their lives. Even if they have heard of powerful superhumans, they believe that the superhuman is powerful, not the blessing. The blessing of a superhuman is just a weapon, and a powerful weapon is meaningless if it is not wielded by the superhuman himself.

They couldn't imagine that a single weapon could protect them, but they could feel the fear that the army instilled in them, and they certainly hoped that the knight would stay and protect them.

Aaron knew there was no point in continuing; it wasn't their fault. He simply let the sword domain slowly spread beneath his feet, emitting a clear sword hum as it took shape. Everyone saw the circle drawn beneath their feet.

After confirming that everyone had seen the circle, he stopped talking, gripped the hilt of his knife, and leaped into the air through the crowd. People saw a dark shadow transform into a tiny dot, rushing through the air, and a moment later, his figure had disappeared.

No one could stop him; they simply watched him leave, leaving only a white knife behind.

When he disappeared, a terrible feeling of utter isolation and helplessness lingered in everyone's hearts. Now, they had to rely on themselves to fight against the distant army.

“He said…he said…as long as we stay in the circle…we’ll be fine…” Someone turned around and looked at the white knife Aaron had left behind. The man’s voice trembled as he tried to believe that Aaron was telling the truth. But when he turned around and looked at the army not too far away from them, their reason told them that it was absolutely impossible.

In the distance, Roman also saw a dark figure suddenly soar into the sky and disappear into the distance. Almost instinctively, he spurred his horse forward and chased after the figure for several steps. It wasn't until he had watched for a long time that he believed it was the Obsidian Knight who had come to provide support.

"That Obsidian Knight... he's gone?"

Dominic, standing not far away, stared wide-eyed in disbelief.

They also saw the fearful and even desperate expressions on the faces of the people in the convoy as he left. At first, Dominic wondered what had happened, but the panic and despair were definitely not feigned. Even after seeing it, Dominic still couldn't believe it.

"That Obsidian Knight really abandoned those nobles of Esgard and left on his own? Could this be a trap they set...?"

Dominic licked his lips, feeling his mouth dry. The good fortune had come too suddenly, and he instinctively felt that it was unreal, that it was a trap.

Roman the Dragon Slayer also frowned. He followed the direction the shadowy figure had left in and watched for a long time before confirming that he had indeed left, and that the direction he had left was precisely the direction of the high cliff valley.

In other words, they truly made a difficult choice, believing that the mineral resources of the high cliff valley were more important than the lives of the nobles, and thus abandoned the group of Asgardian nobles in order to preserve the mineral resources.

From Roman's perspective, he hoped they would abandon the high cliff valley and instead choose to protect the nobles, thus thwarting their plans. However, when they actually made that most rational decision, Roman was still shocked.

Even Roman, the man known as the Dragon Slayer, would find it difficult to simply abandon the nobility under these circumstances. Even if it were the right thing to do from a rational point of view, it would include the duke's daughter, as well as various nobles and scions of wealthy families.

"Let's confirm again, did that person really leave? Or is there some kind of trap involved?"

"There was almost no possibility of a trap; they were stopped by us suddenly, and their every move was under our surveillance," the staff officer said.

Roman knew the staff officer was right, and the staff officer continued, "Moreover, the person who left was extremely fast; his speed was definitely not that of an ordinary superhuman."

Roman also knew that, yes, there was no mistake, that one who possessed that kind of speed was definitely not an ordinary superhuman.

"Could that person really be Charles? Or some other powerful supporter?"

"Hey, the direction he's heading is towards the high cliffs and valleys. Are we just going to let him go and do nothing?" Now it was Dominic who urged Roman on. As a bandit, he would never let go of any opportunity to make money. His eyes were shining, as if he saw a stunning beauty in front of him.

The situation on the battlefield is constantly changing. Since the enemy has already made a decision, they don't have much time to react, and they must make a decision.

“Since they’ve already abandoned those nobles, should we still be polite to them?” Dominic revealed a cruel smile, having already drawn the long sword from his waist.

Roman remained silent. The safest course of action would be to receive information about the High Cliff Valley before deciding on the next course of action. However, the High Cliff Valley was some distance away, and it would take at least twenty minutes for new information to arrive. The battlefield was ever-changing, and twenty minutes was enough to alter the course of a war. He had to make a decision at this moment.

Surprisingly, he actually agreed with what Dominic said: since the enemy has already abandoned them, should they still show mercy to those nobles?

“You’re right,” Roman replied coldly.

Looking at the Asgardian nobles who were completely panicked ahead, and in the direction the Obsidian Knight had left, his figure had completely disappeared from sight. News of the distant high cliff valley had not yet arrived. Before setting off, the planners had already given Roman autonomy. If necessary, Roman could decide whether to launch a charge without their permission. Thus, amidst the convergence of various information streams, it seemed that the Dragon Slayer Roman could only make one decision.

Dominic and the bandits beside him were already unable to contain themselves due to the nobles' panic. Their eager expressions and greedy eyes were all fixed on the dragon slayer, as if he were the sheep and the delicacy. Their eyes were so greedy that they wanted to tear the dragon slayer to pieces.

The reason this bandit group gathered here was because the King of the Mountain promised them that they could plunder nobles to their heart's content, and the nobles' wealth and women would be theirs to enjoy, without having to worry about any consequences, because the famous Dragon Slayer would be there to protect them. They were gathered together with this goal in mind.

At this very moment, the knight who was supposed to be protecting them had run away! They had all clearly seen that scene; it was absolutely true, without a doubt. Only a group of less than two hundred guards remained, while on their side, there were more than two thousand nobles eyeing them covetously. They were also armed with advanced weapons. Without him giving any orders, they were already restless. Dominic was completely convinced that if he dared not grant his wish, these bandits would turn around and tear him to pieces.

Therefore, his gaze toward Roman had become fiery. He called himself the King of the Mountains, and he himself had become a greedy wolf king. The wild part of him had completely merged with the bandits.

The dragon slayer also sensed the extremely restless atmosphere around him. In fact, not only the bandits, but the entire army was caught up in this atmosphere. It was as if, at this moment, both reason and emotion were agitated, forcing him to make a single decision. Only one question lingered in his mind.

If that person really abandoned those nobles and really left, if that was really what the kingdom's higher-ups intended, then why did they send someone over in the first place? And if that person came and then suddenly left, is it possible that they left behind a trap or some kind of backup plan?

Such doubts did indeed surge through his rational mind, but at this moment, these doubts could not stop him, nor the thousands of restless hooves behind him. So, while thinking about these doubts, he slowly raised the command sword in his hand, held it high in the sky, and then, with a deafening shout, raised it towards the convoy in front of him.

"kill!"

His voice was deafening.

The moment he spoke, countless warhorses leaped past him on either side, charging toward the noble caravan that was completely isolated and helpless on the plain. At that moment, the caravan was like a pebble in the face of a raging torrent.

Looking out from the flat plain, all the way to the horizon, there were armies charging forward. Above their heads floated sparks of fire. From a distance, those suspended sparks looked as beautiful as stars, but upon closer inspection, they turned out to be countless swords, with huge cannons as embellishments.

In this dim and desolate world, thousands upon thousands of arrows rained down on them. Their speed far exceeded that of the charging soldiers. The people in the caravan had no time to escape and nowhere to hide. They could only watch helplessly as the fiery rain descended.

The strong held the door panels above their heads as shields to protect those around them, while the more cunning ones escaped directly into the carriages. Some desperate people just stood there, staring blankly at the fire rain in the sky. Everyone thought the end of the world had come, but unnoticed by anyone, the wind direction around the caravan changed imperceptibly.

As the rain of arrows touched the sky above the caravan, a light, soft breeze stirred up the ground. This breeze had no beginning, and neither those near nor far noticed it. With a crisp hum, an invisible wind swept over their heads, and then all the flying arrows were cut in two. The flames burning on the arrow fletching were extinguished in an instant, and the remaining arrows, broken in two, were swept away by the invisible wind and fell to both sides of the caravan.

The invisible wind only blocked the first wave of arrows, and many people didn't react for a moment. But when the dense rain of fire descended and the invisible wind roared, they finally noticed the wind, heard its sound, and noticed its color. They saw the white, ribbon-like wind forming a white ball above their heads. All the arrows were cut in two as they passed through the ball, making it impossible for them to get close.

At that moment, the whistling wind came, and even more powerful artillery fire followed closely behind the arrows. The arc of the artillery fire was like a fire meteor. People instinctively dodged, but when the fire meteor streaked across the white ribbon, it was tossed high into the air like a light ball and flew outside the convoy.

"What……"

Many people slowly lowered the car door panels they had been holding above their heads and quietly got out of the cars. They watched in horror at the fiery, meteor-like spectacle in the sky, and for a moment they felt as if the scene was fireworks, except that none of them had ever seen fireworks at such close range... They also did not expect that these arrows would stay in the sky above them like fireworks.

Some people had noticed the white knife stuck in the middle of the convoy and turned to look at it, but the long white knife was stuck in the ground without any reaction, making it almost unbelievable that it was its doing.

Chapter 38: The Shift

But then the terrifying sounds of battle startled them awake. They turned around abruptly and found that the roar of the heavens and earth had not diminished, but instead had become even more turbulent. In the time it took for the invisible wind to block the rain of arrows, the soldiers who had charged down from the plains had already reached them. The bravest among the bandits were at the forefront.

The bandit, mounted on his warhorse and brandishing a butcher's knife, had his eyes fixed on the beautiful noblewomen. The knife in his hand gleamed coldly as he aimed at a nobleman standing in front of him, who was clearly terrified. He didn't know how to dodge the charging bandit and could only watch helplessly as the knife drew closer and closer to him.

A fierce glint flashed in the bandit's eyes. The butcher's knife was only a few dozen steps away from the nobleman. At the speed of the charging warhorse, it would only take a few more seconds for the nobleman's head to fall to the ground and his body to be trampled into mincemeat under the iron hooves of the warhorse.

"Puff-"

Scalding blood splattered on the face of the dazed nobleman. The warhorse continued its charge, but its upper body and the bandit's head had already shot into the sky, turning into a blood-red light that pierced the heavens. The warhorse's corpse, now without support, and the bandit's corpse crashed into the caravan. An invisible wind swept through at the right moment, splitting the two corpses in half again, and sweeping them aside like trash.

Dozens of warhorses followed behind him, trampling over his corpse as they approached the caravan. Then, a scene that all the nobles would never forget unfolded: they saw dozens of fountains of blood simultaneously erupt into the sky.

The entire sky was dyed red. In that frozen moment, they saw countless headless corpses rushing towards them. Some of them even maintained the posture of raising their butcher knives, still charging towards them. But the next moment, their corpses were swept aside like garbage. Their blood was all splattered on the grass, carriages, and nobles, but their bodies could not get any closer.

The terrified nobleman stood frozen in place, covered in fresh, still-wet blood. To those who didn't know what was going on, he seemed to be showing off, but to those who did know he was simply paralyzed with fear. Sure enough, his soul had already drifted away, leaving only his body behind.

But the bandits who charged forward stared at the nobleman standing in front of them with eyes full of extreme fear.

"Is he a superhuman?! Damian or Valery? There's actually a superhuman hidden among those nobles!"

At this moment, Valery rushed over and carried the nobleman, who was already terrified, back to safety. The look in the nobleman's eyes was one of utter shock.

The bandits charging from behind saw the terrifying scene ahead, but that's how cavalry charges are; once they start, it's hard to stop. Among the first wave of attackers were experienced soldiers who knew that stopping out of fear would throw the entire army into chaos. So they roared and charged even more fiercely at the convoy.