“You’re someone sent by the nobles, aren’t you? What exactly is your purpose here?” Luo Shi tightened his grip on his longsword and strode over to the armored guard, his face cold as he questioned her. Tabu might be willing to tolerate this suspicious individual’s presence, but Luo Shi would never allow any possible threat to interfere with the arena fight.
The armored guard ignored Luo Shi. Although there was some personal bias involved, the main reason was that she was struggling to support the weight of her spear with both hands. The consequence was that her arms couldn’t help but droop toward the ground, her waist bent deeply, and labored breaths escaped her lips.
Seeing this, Luo Shi’s mouth twitched involuntarily, a hint of contempt growing in his heart. Suddenly, he felt he had been overthinking things. Even if this person was aligned with the nobles, she was undoubtedly a complete useless fool.
Unable to bear watching the armored guard biting her lip with such strained effort, Luo Shi snorted coldly and charged forward, snatching the spear from her hands and tossing it aside casually.
“Ugh…” The armored guard stared at her empty palm, momentarily stunned. Was she supposed to say it suddenly felt much lighter?
“Your strength is weaker than an average person’s. Even she could barely wield this spear properly.” Luo Shi explained calmly after relaxing, pointing toward a girl among the fighters. The girl, already stripped of all courage by the fear of death, shrank back and hid behind the others, but still poked her head out curiously to watch the exchange between Luo Shi and the armored guard.
“Oh, is that so? No need for you to remind me, I’m well aware of that.” The armored guard finally spoke, deliberately lowering her voice so that her already hoarse tone became deeper, making it impossible to tell if she was male or female.
“I’m just testing the waters, seeing if I could find a weapon that suits me immediately. But luck was not on my side, so I had to assess my own abilities first. As always, the result was miserable.”
“Who exactly are you?” Luo Shi pondered for a moment, his tone losing some of its threat.
If the other party revealed their identity and sided with the fighters, he would treat her as a temporary ally.
Introduce myself… surname Bai, given name Ya, styled Invincible, nickname Crazy White Wendy — such words were best left unsaid. It wasn’t yet time to reveal her identity. The armored guard raised a hand to her helmet, wanting to mimic scratching her head, but ultimately failed.
“Isn’t it obvious? Do I really have to tell you who can stand here?” The armored guard leisurely fiddled with her wrist and looked down at her palm without concern.
Luo Shi was stunned for a moment, then wore a look of disbelief. In the arena, wasn’t that… a fighter?
But the arena’s fighters were just war prisoners, death row convicts, and slaves from the prison. Luo Shi and everyone had tried contacting all potential strong allies, and everyone present was accounted for. He didn’t recall any armored, faceless person among the fighters.
“You’re a fighter too? Hmph! Let me see your real face!” Luo Shi’s suspicion deepened, and without consent, he reached out to remove the armored guard’s helmet.
“Yale yale, that won’t do.”
The armored guard merely shifted her body slightly—a subtle movement completed in an instant. The next second, Luo Shi’s arm brushed past her, stirring up a fierce wind that struck her face. The scene left Tabu and the other strong fighters surprised.
“You claim to be a fighter in the arena yet hide your face. How am I supposed to trust you?” Luo Shi retracted his arm, realizing from her evasive move that he had underestimated her.
“I don’t need your trust, but you can trust me.” The armored guard’s tone held a trace of grievance, evidently displeased by the sudden attack.
“Trust you? Trust you in what?” Luo Shi found her words incomprehensible. That strange phrase sounded vaguely familiar—was it just his imagination?
“Is there any other kind of trust?
Yale yale, of course you trust that I can keep you alive, lead everyone to victory, and achieve that so-called happy ending. That’s my wish.”
Luo Shi could tell she was struggling to suppress her fanaticism and excitement. She seemed thrilled, full of anticipation for what was to come.
What a strange person, Luo Shi thought.
Because she hadn’t lowered her voice, the fighters surrounding Luo Shi heard every word without omission. Like a stone thrown into a still lake, it caused a huge stir. The fighters were shocked briefly before bursting into laughter.
Strange—how could they still laugh at a time like this? Perhaps it was their final smile before death. This mysterious lady was truly interesting.
“Are you crazy?” Luo Shi sneered. Now he was certain the armored guard posed no threat; her ideas were simply naïve.
“You can call me White Madwoman, but only once in your life.” The armored guard held up her index finger seriously.
Luo Shi laughed enough and was about to retort when a terrifying brute force shoved him aside. Just as he was about to curse, he saw it was Tabu and swallowed the words.
He had listened carefully to the armored guard’s words just now, which reminded him of someone.
A few nights ago, before he had formally met her, the two had communicated through a small hole in the wall.
Tabu was certain they had both been sitting back-to-back against the same wall, with only the wall separating them.
“Neighboring unknown uncle, thanks for the spoon! You’re really a good person!”
“…What do you want to do with the spoon?”
“Oh?”
“Nothing…”
“Hmm, hehe, I was just trying to see if I could use the spoon to dig through the wall and escape this suffocating prison. That’s all~”
“…Idiot.”
“Called an idiot again? Indeed, sometimes no one believes in my methods—crazy, fool, idiot—I’m used to those names. Uncle, when it comes to possibilities, no matter how ridiculous, it’s worth trying. Finding the path to victory among thousands of possibilities depends not only on luck and wisdom but also on unending perseverance. That’s my belief.”
“…You seem to be saying some very strange things.”
“So I say, try every possibility. Though the method is a bit clumsy, this way I cannot lose!”
“Lose?”
“Don’t say that word. I, Bai Ya, am invincible!”
That night, the conversation stopped only when the neighboring girl finally succumbed to fatigue and fell asleep. Tabu found himself smiling faintly—something rare for his usually numb and embittered face.
Step by step, he approached the armored guard. His eyes were filled with emotions: confusion, disbelief, and excitement.
Now he realized it was that strange girl who had captivated him that night.
“Your wish is to keep everyone alive, isn’t it?” Tabu’s voice trembled slightly, unable to control itself.
The armored guard lifted her head. Her crimson eyes shone through the helmet’s slits, clearly seeing Tabu’s fearful yet endearing face. She remained silent for a long moment. After the sound of the bars unlocking the ogre’s cell echoed, she finally fixed her gaze on Tabu and spoke seriously.
“…The concept of a wish sounds far-fetched. But I will try. Saying ‘try’ is actually confidence in a complete victory. I won’t lose—at least for now, I have no reason to.”
Her voice was so proudly innocent it could move one to tears. That familiar confidence was just like that person’s.
“Li—” Tabu’s pupils shrank instantly as he understood who stood before him! Just as he was about to excitedly speak, the armored guard gestured for silence, pressing her lips together and nodding vigorously, a disturbing smile creeping uncontrollably across her face.