"You reckless little bitch, go to hell!"
The other bandit didn't waste any words.
He was clearly sharper than his accomplice. Noticing the strange oil lamp in Irene's hand, he associated it with those black tubes that had attacked them before.
Those things that had nearly wiped out their entire force.
With a savage grin, he swung his machete, creating a shrill whistling sound as it slashed directly toward Irene's neck.
Irene's brain crashed instantly.
She was just a powerless STEM geek; even her scream was stuck in her throat.
Sophia's mind went blank for a moment. acting entirely on instinct, she grabbed the half-man-tall large porcelain jar at her feet—filled with fermenting 'primary fertilizer'—and violently smashed it at the bandit.
Crash—!
The heavy porcelain jar shattered on the bandit's head, accompanied by an extremely pungent smell, a mix of bone meal and decomposing matter.
The bandit didn't even make a sound before passing out cold, his entire body drenched in the foul-smelling brown liquid.
Irene was stunned.
She slumped onto the ground, the suffocating stench lingering around her nose, but her eyes were fixed dead on Sophia's back.
Your Majesty... actually took action personally to save me?
That was a fertilizer jar that stinks to high heaven!
As a Queen, she actually soiled that noble, custom-made dress for a 'tool' like me?
She had originally thought she was just a pawn in Sophia's hands, but that smash just now added a trace of confusion to Irene's intelligent mind.
The bandits were also shaken by this move.
In their eyes, this Queen's action of smashing the jar was smooth and flowing, catching them off guard.
How could she, with the figure of a powerless young girl, lift such a heavy jar?
Sophia was screaming internally.
It stinks so bad!
My dress!
So disgusting!
Help! Someone save me!
"Damn it, kill them!"
The remaining three bandits snapped back to reality, becoming even more violent due to Sophia's resistance.
The three of them closed in from different angles, their gleaming blades sealing off all escape routes.
Sophia no longer had a handy 'weapon' in her grasp. Watching the approaching blades, a wave of bitterness rose in her heart.
Regret. I regret this so much.
If I had known, I would have brought Delilah tonight. Isn't that cool-beauty bodyguard very good at fighting...
Just as the blade was about to touch Sophia's hair, a cold sword-light pierced through the air like a silver dragon.
Ding—!
The crisp sound of metal clashing echoed in the laboratory.
Delilah's tight-fitting outfit snapped in the fierce wind as she stood before Sophia, holding her sword in one hand.
Her breathing was slightly chaotic, a trace left by high-speed movement, and her eyes still held a hint of lingering struggle.
While observing from the shadows earlier, she had actually hesitated.
If I let this Tyrant die here, would the Kingdom of Mason be liberated?
But... those wheat seedlings that just sprouted, those commoners eating bread...
In the end, Delilah moved.
She could not bear to let a ruler who was trying to let commoners survive die at the hands of these bottomless rogue bandits.
"You scum, stay away from her," Delilah said in an icy tone.
Seeing the situation turn bad, one bandit actually bypassed Delilah, launching a sneak attack on Sophia from the shadows at the side.
"Your Majesty, look out!"
Sophia saw that glint of cold light.
She knew Delilah was currently entangled by two men and couldn't divide her attention.
Almost subconsciously, Sophia violently pushed Irene, who was beside her, away. However, she herself couldn't dodge in time.
Squelch—
The cold blade sliced through the air and across Sophia's slender arm.
The black lace cuff was instantly torn, and fresh blood seeped out over her pale skin, looking exceptionally glaring under the soft oil lamp light, a shockingly thrilling red.
The cold light in Delilah's eyes surged violently. The long sword in her hand instantly turned into an afterimage, and within a few breaths, she cut down all the remaining thugs.
"Your Majesty!"
Delilah and Irene rushed over simultaneously.
Delilah supported Sophia's teetering body. When she saw the wound on Sophia's arm, deep enough to see the bone, her heart felt as if it had been fiercely gripped.
This Tyrant... just now, to protect that inventor, she actually didn't even care about her own life?
The wound was very deep; one could almost see the pale muscle rolling out.
Yet even so, this teenage Queen, only sixteen years old, still had absolutely no expression on her face.
She didn't twist her face in pain, didn't scream in fear; even the focus of her pupils didn't scatter.
Does a person like her feel no pain?
Or has her will hardened to this extent?
Delilah's heart was filled with confusion, conflict, and an inexplicable guilt.
Irene had completely broken down by now.
She knelt on the ground, gasping for large breaths of air, tears falling like broken beads.
Ignoring her image, she crawled over, frantically tearing at her own sleeves, wanting to bandage Sophia.
"Wuu wuu... Your Majesty, I'm sorry, it's all because I'm too stupid. Why did you save me!"
Sophia lowered her head and looked at her bleeding arm.
Pain. It really hurts!
Tears are about to come out!
But why aren't my facial muscles reacting?
She took a deep breath and spoke in that voice which remained completely flat, even carrying a hint of cold detachment that kept people a thousand miles away:
"So noisy. Shut up.
"Go call a doctor.
"Irene, put away the blueprints on the floor. Those are worth more than my wound."
Irene froze.
She looked at those sketches, then at Sophia's black dress stained red with blood.
At a time like this, Her Majesty is actually considering the preservation of knowledge?
Is she telling me that the progress of science is far more important than a ruler's body?
A loyalty bordering on fanatical faith sprouted in Irene's heart.
If before she invented for better survival, or simply because she wanted to achieve something in this era, then from this moment on, she decided to offer up all the cross-era taboos in her mind for this Queen who understood and cherished 'technology'.
There is a saying that a scholar dies for his bosom friend, isn't there?
After speaking, Sophia slowly stood up with Delilah's support.
She looked at Delilah and added faintly, "You did well. If you hadn't come, the situation would have been worse.
"I will not mistreat you."
Delilah touched Sophia's cold body temperature, feeling the warm fresh blood seeping out of the black dress and gradually turning cold. Her knuckles creaked from gripping too hard.
"Your Majesty."
Delilah's voice was somewhat hoarse. "Just now, you could have dodged it yourself."
Sophia avoided her gaze, looking expressionlessly at the night sky outside the window.
Dodge?
I wanted to dodge too!
I just subconsciously feared that if she died, no one would farm for me!
If I had known back then that it would hurt this much, I really would have had to hesitate properly.
But in Delilah's eyes, this girl tyrant was simply looking toward the future of this Kingdom.
Sophia Mason.
Delilah silently recited this name in her heart.
What kind of person are you, exactly?
You killed your own kin, yet you are willing to take a blade for a humble inventor.
Under that cold exterior, what kind of soul is actually hidden?
At this moment, Willow rushed in panting, leading the alerted Royal Guards.
"Your Majesty! What happened!
"Medical Officer! Quick, call the Medical Officer!"
________________________________________
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