So I'm a sheep.

Noah nodded in agreement: "How could such a powerful wizard suddenly appear out of nowhere, when I've never heard of him before?"

"Moreover, if she is really as powerful as described, Duke Wood would have no chance against her at all."

"..."

"Let's go, let's set off right away!"

Sasha stood up abruptly: "That 'wizard' must be a friend of mine. She's probably injured and waiting for my help."

The little girl herself could fly, and to save time, she used the light of miracles to transform into a white eagle and have it carry Noah.

When they arrived at the village without stopping, it was not yet completely dark.

"Wow, what a big bird!"

There's someone on the bird's back!

"That little girl has wings on her back... Could she be an angel?"

As soon as they landed, Noah asked without hesitation, "Where is that wizard? Take us to see her."

"What do you want with the Holy Maiden?"

A saintess? Noah looked astonished.

Wasn't she a powerful wizard? How did she suddenly become some kind of saintess?

Several men dressed as soldiers hurried toward them, their eyes filled with vigilance.

"Who exactly are you people? Speak! Are you assassins sent by Duke Wood?"

"..."

Noah raised an eyebrow, about to speak, but the little girl spoke first: "Is Aran here? I'm her friend."

“I heard she was injured under Duke Wood, so I’ve come to treat her.”

"Eh, a friend of the Holy Maiden?"

That's right.

The Miracle Light activated, and several soldiers immediately showed signs of anxiety.

"The Holy Maiden is dying, please save her!"

........................................................

"Aran!"

"Lady Sasha!"

In the room filled with the strong smell of herbs, the girl struggled to get up, but Sasha pressed her down.

"Don't move, keep lying down."

"The man went out on his own, so I'm going to treat her wounds."

The young girl frowned, her hand gently pressing against the gruesome sword wound on Aran's back.

"So badly injured, slashed by Wood?"

"Hmm," Aran nodded.

"The fact that I was able to hit you means that the power I gave you has been used up..."

“After being struck by that sword, your life was in Wood’s hands.”

While treating Aran, the little girl said strangely, "Based on my understanding of Wood, he can't possibly let you off so easily."

“Leaving the enemy severely wounded and waiting to die is not his style. Wood should have just cut off your head.”

"Aran, what exactly has happened these past few days?"

Volume 1: Chapter 115 Familiarity

"Lady Sasha, does this village seem somewhat familiar?"

Aran got out of bed and poured herself and the little girl a glass of water.

"I was in a hurry when I came here and didn't have time to look around carefully, but there are a few elderly people in this village who look familiar."

The little girl thought for a moment, then suddenly exclaimed "Ah!"

"Isn't this the village where all the able-bodied men ran off to become bandits? I remember it used to be dilapidated and deserted."

"Now that the house has been renovated and there are more people, I didn't recognize it at first glance."

“Lady Sasha, the people in this village are having a very hard time. After you left, I decided to come back and help them.”

"Haha, just like you."

The little girl asked with a smile, "Did those guys ever change their ways afterward?"

"Yes, with the land you left behind, they lived peacefully and never went out to do evil again."

"How is the village chief? Is he alright?"

"The village chief is no longer here."

Aran looked somber: "I had only been in the village a short time when I encountered a tax collector leading two soldiers to collect taxes."

“They went directly to the village chief and made him hand over the ‘stolen goods’ he had collected over the past few days.”

The little girl's eyelids twitched: "Stolen goods? Does that tax collector know that someone in the village is a robber?"

"More than just knowing."

Aran sighed: "It was the tax collector who encouraged the young men in the village to become bandits."

"..."

“The things they risked to retrieve were often mostly confiscated by tax collectors every so often.”

“The villagers had been keeping quiet because if they dared to resist, the tax collector would no longer turn a blind eye; he would report the situation of this ‘den of thieves’ directly to his superiors.”

"Lady Sasha, those young people have reformed. So, there's not a single piece of 'stolen goods' left."

"He definitely won't believe it," the little girl had already guessed what would happen next.

Sure enough, Aran said angrily, "That villain didn't believe it at all. He immediately flew into a rage and pushed the village chief to the ground."

“The young men in the village couldn’t stand it anymore, so they rushed up and fought with him.”

"Unexpectedly, the two soldiers he brought actually drew their swords..."

A look of melancholy crossed the girl's face: "They are soldiers who protect this country, how could they so readily draw their swords against those they are protecting?"

"I never expected this to happen. I was a beat too slow and only had time to knock the sword out of one of their hands with my axe."

"Another sword that was aimed at the young man was blocked by the village chief with his body."

"The village chief is a good man; he has always taken good care of me."

"When I saw that he was bleeding profusely, my mind went completely blank."

"After I came to my senses, I realized that I had made a huge mistake."

"What trouble did you cause? Ran, all you did was get rid of three scumbags!" the little girl said angrily.

“Killing the tax collectors and their party would be a disaster for the village.”

Aran said with a wry smile, "I originally wanted to turn myself in, but the villagers stopped me."

“They said I couldn’t bear such a huge crime on my own, and that the soldiers who were investigating would definitely not let this village go.”

"I thought about it and it made sense, so I stayed there in the end."

..............................................................

The village is mostly populated by the elderly and infirm. Unless they are abandoned, Aran and a few other young people have no choice but to stay in the village and wait to die.

The first day was spent in an atmosphere of fear and anxiety.

The next day, something else happened that the girl never expected.

"A young man went missing. At first, I thought he had run away out of fear, but later I found out..."

Aran paused for a moment: "So he went to report me."

The little girl didn't know how to comfort her friend, so she could only listen silently as she continued.

"Soon, he led more than twenty soldiers to arrest me."

“I told you the whole story honestly. It’s not that I didn’t expect it, but the team leader said that everyone in the village was guilty and ordered the soldiers to arrest everyone in the village.”

"I was just about to fight back when, unexpectedly, several soldiers started attacking the people around me."

"what?"

The little girl asked in surprise, "What's going on?"

"Lady Sasha, do you remember the children who grew up in this village? Many of them left the village to make a living on their own?"

"Those soldiers, could they be people from the village before?"

Aran nodded: "Yes, their vice-captain is the village chief's grandson."

"They had made a name for themselves outside, and they were planning to come home together in the next few years."

"Unexpectedly, I suddenly heard that a tax collector had died in the village where he was born."

"After that person informed on us, the soldiers were able to secure the qualification for this operation."

"Once they figured out what had happened, well, they rebelled."

"How dare you!"

The little girl thought for a moment and said, "How dare they just do it like that?"

“That tax collector is quite powerful. If anyone in the village is arrested, they will most likely be hanged.”

"And I've heard that their captain isn't a good person either; he and his cronies have long been incurring public wrath."

"Aran, who told you all this?"

“The village chief’s grandson, Sami.”