Goblin-Captured Female Knight

Unyielding Flame: Elena’s Redemption

Outside the city, alone after completing a bandit extermination mission, the female knight Elena rode her horse along a country road. At this moment, she didn’t wear the knight’s exclusive helmet, revealing a head of pink long hair and a somewhat enchanting face—her 1/8 elven bloodline endowed her with the ability to control fire magic, which, combined with her superb swordsmanship, made her the strongest knight in the Dolan Kingdom. With her stunning appearance, she was well-known throughout the kingdom, often needing to wear a helmet for extended periods among the troops to avoid attracting too much attention.

At the end of the road, a distressed figure appeared, rushing towards Elena. Approaching, she saw a battered farmer kneeling before her horse.

“Are you okay? What happened? How did you get injured like this?” Seeing the farmer’s condition, Elena, without donning her helmet, quickly dismounted and helped him up.

The farmer raised his head, recognizing the person who helped him as the strongest knight in the kingdom. Tears welled up in his eyes as he spoke, “Is it Lady Elena? Please save our village! A group of goblins is rampaging through our village, killing men and abducting women!”

“Goblins? Do the goblins near the kingdom have such a large scale to slaughter a village?” Elena inquired, puzzled.

“Their numbers aren’t large, but they possess certain tactics. They’ve been harassing our village for three weeks now, causing panic. Our villagers can’t be prepared for battle all the time. Today, they suddenly attacked, and our young men, exhausted after weeks of continuous defense, couldn’t withstand the demons’ assault. Please, you must help us…” The farmer explained in distress.

After understanding the situation, Elena briefly treated the farmer’s wounds, gave him some water and food, then swiftly mounted her horse, telling him, “I will do everything I can to save your village. You don’t need to worry. Take your time; there won’t be any goblins chasing after you anymore!”

With a confident and determined expression, Elena’s resolve deeply impressed the farmer. As he watched her departing figure, tears streaming down his face, he knelt in gratitude towards her.

Elena quickly located the village described by the farmer. The scene was akin to hell: scattered men’s corpses, burning houses crackling with flames, accompanied by cries of despair and goblin laughter everywhere. Elena, filled with fury, dismounted her horse, drew her sword, and charged into the village.

Near one house, several goblins were dragging a struggling woman out, tearing at her clothes. One goblin pounced on her, about to indulge in her misery.

At that moment, a scorching sword aura sliced through his body, severing the evil thing beneath him. The woman, lying on the ground, looked up to see a figure wielding a flaming sword like a Valkyrie. With long pink hair fluttering in the wind, she effortlessly dispatched the demons, swiftly ending their wicked lives.

Elena helped the woman up, offering a few words of comfort before instructing her to seek refuge in a nearby village. Meanwhile, she began to patrol the devastated village, searching for any remaining enemies. In less than a quarter of an hour, she had slain 46 goblins, roughly the number described by the farmer.

After a thorough inspection, a slowly moving figure hiding under a three-wheeled cart caught Elena’s attention. With a cold snort, she swiftly approached, dragging the figure out from under the cart and holding her flaming sword aloft.

“Hold on, hold on, spare me, Lady Elena, please… I-I haven’t killed anyone…” pleaded the goblin on the ground, shielding his head with his hands, speaking in a surprisingly clear common language (while goblins could speak some basic common words, forming sentences was rare), and even calling out Elena’s name.

“You seem different from the others, able to communicate and know my name,” Elena remarked, her face turning cold.

“Y-Yes, Lady Elena, I’ve seen you before. Do you remember the undead mage living in Cliffside Castle in the Gondora Empire you killed a year ago? I was his slave. I gained my freedom only after you killed him and wandered here…” The goblin explained.

Understanding dawned upon Elena, her expression hardened again as she slowly raised her sword.

“Hmph! So, killing your master gave you freedom, and you came here to slaughter my people?”

“N-No, Lady Elena, it’s not like that. I didn’t kill anyone. I’m not like them! I can’t survive alone; I can only follow these guys to rob and help keep watch this time!” The goblin desperately pleaded.

“Hmph, who would believe you?” Elena scoffed.

“N-No, please, Lady Elena, I’m really different from them! My former master modified my body, making me more intelligent, closer to humans. I even have a name, I’m called Pog. I’m really different from these barbaric fools. I can’t bear to kill people either. Please, believe me, Lady Elena…” Tears welled up in Pog’s eyes as he begged.

Seeing the pleading expression on the goblin’s face, so different from the blank gaze of other goblins, combined with his frail figure, Elena finally sheathed her flaming sword.

“Get lost, don’t let me see you again. Go back and tell your kind to stay away from the Dolan Kingdom. With me, the kingdom’s top knight Elena here, even if there’s a wave of tens of thousands of goblins, I’ll wipe them out easily! Now scram!”

Hearing this, Pog quickly got up, scrambling away on all fours and disappearing into the distance.

Just then, the sound of a baby’s cry caught Elena’s attention. Following the source, she arrived at a burning house. With her proficiency in fire magic, Elena had some resistance to flames, so she hesitated only briefly before charging into the inferno. Inside the burning house, the baby’s cry echoed from the second floor. Elena rushed up the stairs, but just as she was about to reach the landing, the stairs collapsed, sending her crashing to the ground. The collapsing roof started to rain down debris. Blinded by smoke and heat, Elena could hardly open her eyes. Suddenly, a beam fell, pinning her legs beneath it. Elena struggled to move the beam, but she couldn’t abandon the thought of saving the baby. She rose again, trying to find a way to the second floor, but after a fruitless search, a roof tile hit her neck, sending her crashing to the ground. Elena groaned in agony as intense pain made it difficult to get up. With no other option, she slowly crawled towards the exit. After a struggle, she finally managed to crawl out just as the house collapsed.

Outside, Elena rubbed her smoke-stung eyes, slowly opening them. However, what met her gaze was a pair of ugly, nail-studded feet. Looking up, she saw Pog holding a stone standing in front of her, an evil grin on his face, slowly raising the stone…

Elena’s consciousness finally plunged into darkness.