Arknights, but the sickly pretty girl starts

"Indeed, when a country prospers, its people suffer; when a country perishes, its people also suffer." Noya quoted a proverb from the Yan Kingdom, and then continued, "The worst thing is not the current predicament, but the fact that after this predicament, there may be another predicament."

Chapter 11: Burning

The fugitive from Casimir's legend, the worst swindler, the traitor who bore the name of Kirilet but insulted it.

Noah does have a lot of reputations. At least in Horn's impression, although this wanted criminal has disappeared for a while, his reputation has not disappeared at all.

If he was just a simple fugitive, to be honest, Horn would not pay much attention to him, but Noah Kyrielight was rather special. In Victoria, Noah Kyrielight had a nickname among the nobles.

The Witch of Mind Reading——

It's unknown who first spread the rumor, but Noa possesses the ability to read minds, a power that allowed her to stir up trouble in Casimir and escape unscathed. It's said she traded her eyes and legs for this captivating ability, capable of unwittingly subjugating people, wearing down their minds, blurring their will, and ultimately capturing their every ounce of power, ultimately winning them over.

It is said that the former Radiant Knight was once bewitched by her and even called her a close friend, until some people discovered her evil side. People exposed the evil witch's crimes, but the witch had foreseen the outcome early on and left Casimir in advance.

Today, this enchanting witch still roams Terra—

This is simply a modern version of a fairy tale... Horn held his forehead helplessly. Although it is very common for things in other countries to be distorted and adapted when they are passed to his own country, the rumors about Noah are still too exaggerated.

He replaced his ability to read people's minds with his eyes and legs, confusing them and subverting the country.

How could one person accomplish this? The only thing that was confirmed was that Noah was indeed wanted by Casimir. After a trial by the Casimir Court, if Noah were recaptured and taken back to Casimir, he would likely face a long prison sentence—possibly even exile.

After all, based on the charges announced now, Noah has at least committed fraud, attempted subversion of state power, defamation, abuse of power, bribery - and so on.

Although there may be other hidden secrets, Noah is indeed a troublesome person.

"Ms. Horn, you're here to investigate the illegal gathering of the Tara people, right?" Noah asked as Horn was in a daze. "But with all due respect, such a blatant gathering probably won't have any good results."

"What do you mean?" Horn frowned. "You mean this banquet?"

"If you hadn't come, I might have been suspicious, but now that you've all sneaked in... then, I guess this place will be raided by the military soon."

"...?" Horn frowned. To prevent this situation, she had sent Triangle and the others to the barracks to monitor the garrison. This shouldn't be possible. "That's impossible. I've already sent people to monitor the garrison. This place shouldn't be raided. Besides, this is a gathering of nobles. A surprise attack here would be risky, unless..."

"Unless they've already sent someone to follow you, Miss Horn, you could contact the people monitoring the garrison to find out more about the situation." Noya sighed. Although Horn and the others hadn't realized it yet, once Noya stood in a position similar to the two of them, she immediately attracted the attention of others. Their whereabouts were under surveillance from beginning to end. And there were more than one group of people watching.

If one group of people may be the so-called ghost army, or the surveillance of the Tara people, then who are the other group?

It seemed that there was no need to ask any more questions. After all, the emotions conveyed by Miss Horn had already explained everything.

Triangle and the others have lost contact... This is not a good sign.

"It looks like we'll return empty-handed this time, Miss Horn." Noya could already hear the army evacuating the surrounding residents and sighed helplessly. "I believe you can escape safely, Miss Horn. To prevent me from being extradited back to Casimir, I'll take my leave."

"Wait--" Just as Horn was about to speak to stop Noah from leaving, the door of the banquet hall was kicked open.

"Military business! Everyone get down!"

Horn did not realize that the garrison was not stupid. When they were investigating on their own, they did not realize that the garrison had already sent people to follow them secretly.

As soldiers and members of an elite team, they were completely unaware that they were being followed. Perhaps the atmosphere here was too tense, or perhaps Horn and the others were too impatient. In any case, they had become the bait to lure the snake out of its hole.

The soldiers who rushed into the banquet hall quickly seized control of the situation. Aside from Noah, who had fled early, almost no one escaped. Colonel Hamilton, draped in his military coat, walked into the vibrant venue, his nose twitching slightly, perhaps sensing something distasteful. He frowned, glanced around the room, and spoke. "Ladies and gentlemen, yes, that's right, you—all of you—are under arrest!"

-

"The soldiers here have pretty good reflexes—" Noya and Kuro, concealing themselves using shadow magic, hid on the second floor of the reception room. Through their divine eyes, they coldly gazed at the soldiers who had already controlled everyone in the venue. "Precise and fast, this is indeed the high efficiency that a regular army should have."

Although Noah was praising, his expression did not show satisfaction at all. Indeed, the reaction speed of this group of soldiers was very good, and the timing of their intervention was also excellent, but the problem was - they did not seem to have considered the principle that while the mantis stalks the cicada, the oriole is behind.

If Noah was the other party's commander, he must have used this party as bait to catch prey...

Noah closed her eyes and began to expand her sensing range. Sure enough, within her perception, there was a ball of fire - spreading.

It was a ball of fire, and a group of silent, yet united troops were surrounding it. The leader was a——

Noah's eyes widened slightly, and he spoke in disbelief.

"Draco?"

If the information provided by the Eye of God wasn't nearly infallible, she would have thought she'd seen it wrong. Draco, a race now nearly extinct. The last time Noya heard of Draco was from the leader of the Reunion, Tallulah... She hadn't expected to see another one in a place like this. This Draco, dressed in a black robe, stood at the forefront of the army, clad in pitch black, saying nothing.

She walked towards the area occupied by the troops and extended her hand to a Tara civilian who was slumped on the ground.

"You...you are the one we have been waiting for?!"

"..."

The girl called the leader didn't answer, but just nodded.

"You actually offered me your hand... I..."

"...No one will oppress you like they did just now." The black-robed leader promised, "You will no longer need anyone's support."

——From now on, you can walk freely on this land on your own.

"Thank you... Thank you! Everything I did was right!" the injured young man who was rescued said excitedly, "We Tara people... one day we will have our own city, we can walk the streets with our heads held high, and we will never suffer any unfair treatment again!"

"Yes, we have come for this very day," the black-robed leader nodded and promised. The people of Tara, already inspired by their leader's appearance, spontaneously knelt before her, as if welcoming their destined king to save them.

It was just - it was like a scene from a musical.

After retracting her gaze and once again closing off her nearly blind spot, Noya rubbed her brow wearily. She now had two choices. One was to tip off the garrison, allowing them to engage Draco in a real fight. Considering the disparity in combat power between the two sides, it would likely be a drawn-out battle... but that would also result in a high number of casualties. The other option was...

"Kuro, I have something to ask of you..."

"it is good."

The black-robed leader was preparing to attack the banquet hall according to the information given by Ms. Mandela, and then she saw a figure in a wheelchair suddenly appear in front of them.

She appeared suddenly, as if she appeared there in an instant, and beside her, a masked blond guard stood there like a guardian angel, and the girl in the wheelchair raised her head and looked at the leader in black.

"Can we talk?" she began. "Draco—"

The leader stopped and looked at the two strange duo in front of her. Her instincts shuddered, as if the two guys in front of her were monsters.

"I'm not here to fight, I'm here to help you." Noah spoke again, her words blending with Originium skills. She conveyed her abilities through her voice, trying to soothe the hearts of everyone present as much as possible, just like wiping iodine before an injection, allowing the flow of emotions to be more clearly exposed.

Noah doesn't like to manipulate other people's emotions, but sometimes - she has no choice.

"..." Flame, flame exploded on the leader's body. The flow of emotions that Noya had originally controlled suddenly became disordered. Noya suddenly covered her chest. The feeling of being burned just now was particularly clear. Her Originium skill was discovered. The opponent's flame was a little special... It could burn her own Originium skill and even hurt her body.

"...You, want to control me?" The black-clad leader's face was expressionless, but the flames lingering around her seemed to float in the air as if they had life. Her eyes, which were intimidating without anger, were now filled with anger. "Who are you?"

"Noa Kyrielight, I'm just an ordinary tourist." Noa knew she wouldn't be able to suppress the riot so easily, but she held back Kuro, who was about to attack. "I just want everyone to calm down and talk. I don't mean any harm."

The other party is the Draco, one of the most powerful races known to all of Terra, whose flames can burn the world.

Noah grew up listening to all kinds of legends about Draco. Even Vayvan was once just a guard under them. There was no need for others to say more about Draco's strength.

However, she had to stand here. If the two groups collided head-on, the number of casualties today would be astronomical. Everything would be too late, and the situation might even get worse.

So she had to be here...

--Um?

Noah was just about to try to play the nameless harp with all her might, and even the keys had already appeared under her hands, but as the night wind blew - something was extending in the darkness.

The horn sounded, and suddenly, phantoms appeared one after another beside Noah. When these phantoms appeared, Noah suddenly felt relieved.

——What? You said you would go into the city after dark. Are you really that punctual?

"Princess--" Among the group of guards emerging from the darkness, Tora came to Noya's side and looked at the [Ghost Army] behind the leader. Compared to these guys who called themselves ghosts, the ones behind Tora might be more appropriately called Ghost Army.

"It seems that the bargaining chips on my side are a little bigger?"

Noah knew that there were more than just Draco's troops here, but she only needed to stop Draco. Noah believed that the so-called colonel could handle the other troops, at least without causing too much damage.

It would be enough for her to just stop here——

"...Nightmare?" The Draco girl finally recognized Tora's true identity. He was the descendant of the Nightmare Khan who once roamed the earth. This nightmarish Originium skill was enough to prove the identity of the warrior in front of her.

To be here——

In the beginning, the Victoria Empire was established in large part because of the threat from Nightmare Khan, which led to the union of the Kingdom of Tara and the Kingdom of Victoria, resulting in the rise of what was once the most powerful empire in the entire Terra.

And now, when someone tried to rebuild the Kingdom of Tara, the nightmare appeared before them again.

"Destiny..." The Draco girl murmured these two words, "Is this what my sister was talking about... destiny?"

Draco and Nightmare will eventually fight——

The incident happened suddenly, and Noah did not expect that this situation would occur. She originally wanted to use Originium skills to appease these troops and use persuasion as much as possible to prevent them from capturing the banquet hall.

After all, most of the garrison's officers are in the banquet hall now. If they are all caught in one fell swoop, it will be a big problem.

There isn't much difference now though.

But with Tora's arrival, at least they won't be completely outnumbered.

With Kuro and Tora around, she was pretty confident she could give it a try head-on.

Of course, this was the worst-case scenario. If possible, Noah just wanted to minimize the number of deaths.

"...What do you want to talk about?" Just when the two sides were about to start fighting, the girl Draco in front of him suddenly softened and asked.

It’s not that the girl suddenly became timid, but her sister told her something in her headphones.

"My lovely Ravshini, she... is my guest (prey)."

She never competed with her sister, and it's the same now.

written request for leave

It's the end of the month, I'll take a day off, so there will probably be no updates tomorrow, but I'll update as usual the day after tomorrow!

over!

In fact, I have already updated 190,000 words. Starting next month, I will continue to try to update 8,000 words a day!

But do you prefer 4k with two updates or 2k with four updates?

It depends on your preference. Of course, there are also cases where you can't stop and end up writing 4k chapters.

ummm

All in all, I've worked hard this month!

By the way, quietly ask for votes

Chapter 12: Planted

The girl in front of him who was called the leader seemed a little strange to Noah.

It wasn't that Noah was surprised by the other party's ability and strength, but because of her inner weirdness. In Noah's perception, the girl in front of him was like a puppet, suppressing her own emotions, speaking as if she was reading a speech, words that she herself didn't quite understand what they meant, as if she was pushed into this position by someone, and the confusion in her heart was almost overflowing.

"...Do you really know what you are doing?" Noah said. Along the way, she had seen too many determined people who were often motivated to change the status quo. Margaret and Enya were like this. They paid a lot to change everything, but the girl in front of her who was called a leader did not have such a firm belief.

Her confusion is like being lost at a crossroads in life, so as long as someone tells her which way to go, she will give up thinking and take the path recommended by others.

This clearly wasn't what one might call "will" or "awakening," but simply blind obedience. Facing Noya's question, the Draco girl, who had been thrust into the leadership position, initially looked bewildered, then regained her composure and said, "This has nothing to do with you. This is the struggle of the Tara people—"

"The Tara people's struggle... I admit that everyone has the right to struggle." Noah nodded. "But if even the struggle itself is guided, then it's not a struggle, but a simple conspiracy—"

"What do you know?" As a leader, the Draco girl naturally couldn't show weakness in front of her subordinates. She said the words her sister taught her and stood firm in her position. "I am only the banner of resistance for the Tara people. I am the one who will lead them to a better tomorrow!"

——But your heart is not as firm as you say.

Noya didn't say this out loud. In reality, she also sensed that behind this leader, there must be a true culprit manipulating everything. Just as she had said, this Draco girl was merely a banner pushed to the front, simply standing there to fulfill her mission.

But his goal was to intercept the other party here—at least this way there wouldn't be a guy of Draco's level...

Noya was just about to try to persuade the seemingly undeterred boss unit in front of her with a manga-like excuse, but at that moment, she heard wailing and screaming...

She suddenly stopped, she really hadn't thought of this -

"...Draco...there are actually two of them." The flames had already set the banquet hall on fire. They were purple flames, mixed with human wails and pain. However, this deep purple flame not only had no mercy, but even danced in a mocking manner. The purple flames set the night sky on fire, making Xiaoqiu County seem to be shrouded in dark ghost fires.

This was the scene Noah saw using the Eye of God, and in the center of the flames appeared a white-haired Draco—the corners of her mouth were slightly raised, as if she was enjoying it all.

The deep purple flames were extremely hot. Everything in the banquet hall was burning under the flames. Those glamorous nobles didn't have time to escape from the scene and were almost instantly burned to ashes. What made Noah feel a little relieved was that she didn't see any trumpets or bagpipes in the flames.

She could never have imagined that there were actually two Draco, a rare person in the world, in Hill County—

"...Sister..." At this time, the girl Draco, who was called the leader, looked at the burning banquet hall and the familiar purple flames. She knew that her sister had bypassed her and attacked.

Unlike his own flames, his sister's purple flames could burn everything. His attack meant that everyone in the banquet hall who hadn't escaped would inevitably die...

Originally, even I wanted to prevent my sister from taking action... However, Noah's obstruction might have had the opposite effect.

Unlike me, my sister is a determined person. There is nothing she can't do as long as she wants to do it.