Yarra's Adventure Notes-Chapter 100 - 24 - Glory of the Warrior_1

(263...084...458...Please join our book group if you are interested. P.S. Dear fellow readers who have passed by, your collection and recommendation are my greatest motivation. Also, feel free to share your suggestions, thanks)

Lydia is nineteen this year.

Born on an ordinary day, grew up in an ordinary village, with an ordinary family.

The word ordinary has accompanied her for nineteen years.

Average appearance, physique, intelligence, dressing, makeup, speech, vision. Everything about her is ordinary, perhaps the only extraordinary point throughout her nineteen years of life was the strength she possessed——greater than all the other men in the nearby villages. But even this one not-so-ordinary thing just caused her to do more ordinary farm work in her everyday life.

This was her ordinary life for nineteen years, and in her consciousness, she might have thought she would live an ordinary life for the rest of her life. That was until the day she turned sixteen and came of age, the captain of the Olan City’s city guards chose her, and from that day on, she joined the city guards.

Though the job of city guard was monotonous and dull, it brought about a radical change in her mindset.

Only then, she realized how vast the world outside was.

Only then, she found out how wonderful the outside world was.

Only then, she learned there’s an attitude towards life that is called pursuit in addition to just living.

During her three years with the city guards, she learned how to use weapons, learned how to fight, and learned how to clear out the wild beasts threatening the safety of the village. She quickly evolved from an average girl into a qualified warrior. Not only did she learn martial skills, but more importantly, she developed the heart of a warrior——thirsting for victory, seeking honor, pursuing battles with the mighty.

Her soul, agitated by the yearning for glory, constantly spurred her to fight. Yet, reality was unkind. In this small and peaceful city, it was impossible for her to realize her dreams, to claim her glory.

She had given up before this Harvest Festival.

Perhaps my ordinariness is predestined, maybe I will never attain glory, perhaps the thrill of battle can only exist in my dreams,

Forget it, turn back. In a few years, like the other girls around me, I’ll return home to get married, have children, and live out the remainder of my life in peace. I’d consider these past few years nothing more than fond memories. She had found herself thinking this more and more frequently.

However, this Harvest Festival was unlike any other.

The bizarre disappearance, the dangerous environment, the ferocious magical beasts, the formidable comrades, everything was just like her countless fantasies, it seemed surreal. An opportunity like this, how could she let it go? How could she hold back? How could she stay on the safe ground and not venture down?

The pervasive crisis, the life or death moment, all of these stirred her warrior’s soul. A voice in her heart roared persistently: Taste death on the edge between life and death, chase glory in the clash of forces, forget about getting married, forget about an ordinary life, it is in battle where your soul truly belongs.

Lydia is nineteen this year.

Maybe, this is the turning point in her ordinary life. Maybe, this is merely the most memorable day amidst the mundanity of her future housework. Or maybe, this is her last day.

Emerging from the visibility, lay the Earth Walker. Invisibly yet deadly, its claws gleamed.

Even though she couldn’t see anything, she could still sense the forceful pressure carried by the claws and the smell of death it brought. At this moment between life and death, Lydia’s mind went blank.

Shield up, block above. This was the advice her formidable comrade gave her, her only hope for survival.

Lydia’s response was quick, but compared to her willpower, her physical action was agonizingly slow. She could only watch helplessly as her arm slowly raised, bit by bit, helplessly watching the claw behind the wind pressure gradually breaking free and getting closer and closer.

Faster, even faster. This is the life I want. I want to live this way. I want to keep fighting. I don’t want to die. Absolutely not.

No one knew whether Lydia would be able to withstand the Earth Walker’s attack in time. Lina did not know, neither did Pannis. Given the current speed, it was clearly too late. Whether she could burst out beyond her limit under the pressure of death remained uncertain.

However, despite all this, neither Lina nor Pannis moved to save Lydia. Lina gripped her hammer with both hands, the head of the hammer touching the ground, a holy power gathering in her arms, amplifying her strength several times, ready to strike. Pannis put away his short bow, squinted slighted, took a dagger in a reverse grip, inclined his body forward, like a fully-drawn bow ready to strike.

No one came to Lydia’s aid. Whether she would be able to raise her shield, whether she would live or die, it was her choice, the price of seeking glory.

She caught up.

With a "thud," the all-steel shield suddenly accelerated in the last moment, blocking the path of the oncoming claw. Behind the shield, Lydia held it aloft with a bent left arm while bracing her left wrist with her right hand. She leaned slightly forward at the waist, one leg before the other in a half-squat—meeting the claws’ strike in the most textbook manner she could achieve.

If time were slowed by countless measures, one could see clearly. As the claw and shield collided, the solid metal shield warped slightly, the force transferring up into her arm, causing an ominous crackling in both arms. The force drove downwards, partially diffused by her bent waist, the remainder forcing her to her knees uncontrollably, her left kneecap striking the hard rock beneath with a shattering sound.

Even so, even with her arms and knees fractured, even as she vomited blood, she still managed a laugh—unstoppable, loud laughter that simply wouldn’t end.

"Now!" In the instant when the Earth Walker’s attack was thwarted, Lina roared. Her hammer drew a curve close to the ground, coming up from below to strike the magical beast’s belly heavily. Under such force, the nearly three-meter-long beast uncontrollably flew into the sky, rolling over and over again in midair.

"Flawless," Pannis praised. He stomped forcefully on the ground, his figure flickering like a ghost. He appeared in the air, avoiding the beast’s flailing limbs. Effortlessly wrestling his way into the beast’s embrace, his dagger easily traced down the Earth Walker’s weakest midline. With a kick off the beast’s body, he fell back to his original position in a series of backflips.

The rolling Earth Walker suddenly stopped flailing. A thin red line appeared on its pure white belly. As its body rolled, the line rapidly deepened. First, a mass of fresh blood gushed from its stomach, then its entire belly ripped open, foul guts scattering from the sky.

"Lovely finishing blow." Lina clapped her hands from the side, giving her praises.

"Well, only half are leftover." The battle from start to finish had only lasted several tens of seconds. The only Earth Walker left alive was writhing dramatically on the floor from the injury caused by Lina’s hammer. Pannis crossed his arms leisurely, asking, "Who wants to land the finishing blow on it?"

"You go ahead, I’ll go heal Lydia; she’s turning into a fountain." Lina, paying no further mind to how Pannis would finish off the beast, turned to walk towards Lydia.

"I did it," Lydia slumped on the ground, blood seeping from her mouth, but she still wore a joyous smile on her face, satisfyingly saying, "I finally did it—is this what glory feels like? I’m hooked."

"Yes, you did." Lina squatted beside Lydia, looking down into her eyes: "Congratulations on obtaining the glory that belongs to you—the glory of a warrior."

After her initial excitement, Lydia’s voice gradually grew weak: "Actually, I know that even without me, you guys still could have won easily. But you shared the opportunity to fight with me."

"We are also warriors," Lina solemnly said. "We have no right to obstruct a spirit yearning for battle, nor to stop a warrior from chasing after glory with their life."

"Thank you." Lydia managed a weak smile. "This glory you guys brought me, thank you."

"No, you’re wrong," Lina solemnly corrected, "The glory is the result of your own choices. You chose to step forward, to fight hand in hand, and to face the enemy head-on. Your choices led to your victory, and you don’t need to thank anyone for that. You earned it."

Lydia couldn’t help but laugh, blood seeping again from her mouth: "What a pity it would be, such a shame to die, with no chance at pursuing more victories."

"Do you regret it?" Lina softly asked, "For chasing victory, you’ve paid with your life. Do you regret it?"

"How could I regret it?" A spark lit in Lydia’s eyes as she answered with conviction, "Even if I had to do it all over again, no, even a thousand or ten thousand times, I would still make the same choice. I wouldn’t regret it."

"Very good, you have a strong heart. That will be your most precious asset in your future career." Lina said with a smile, "Congratulations, newly-baptized professional."

"What? Professional?" Lydia momentarily forgot the pain of her injuries, "Are you talking about me?"

"Of course, didn’t you realize? Since the moment you pushed your limits and blocked the Earth Walker’s attack, your body has undergone massive changes," Lina explained, "Your body had already been perfectly trained, you just lacked the opportunity to break through. Utilizing the battles fought in moments of life and death, you successfully overcame yourself and became a professional warrior. So, congratulations. By the way, once professionals break through their limits, their physical abilities and vitality recovery power will drastically increase. So, you’re not going to die."

"I became a professional? I’m not going to die?" Lydia said in disbelief, "I still have a chance to continue pursuing victory?"

"Of course. And even if you hadn’t become a professional, you still wouldn’t die. You think I’m a pretend priest? As long as you still hold onto a breath, I can pull you back from hell. Now, close your eyes, and welcome a new life." Lina lightly swung her hand, releasing a cloud of white sand from her hand. "In the name of the benevolent God Denia, bestow blessings upon her people. Divine Spell, Dust of Rebirth."

The fine sand evenly scattered over Lydia. The pallor of Lydia’s face visibly returned to healthy hues, and blood no longer seeped from her mouth.

"Now the bones." Lina’s delicate fingers deftly danced over Lydia’s limbs. Her contorted limbs gradually returned to their natural state; the bruising from the fractures faded quickly, leaving no trace behind. "Okay, rest for a week, and you’ll be bouncing around again."

"Hey, is she healed yet?" Pannis’s voice echoed from the horizontal crevice. "I found the missing persons. There are men, women, old people, youths, four in total plus two travelers. Only the Ryan couple is missing. Let’s find a way to get them up."

"You’re not going to continue looking for the Ryan couple?" Lina shouted.

"There are too many forks in here. It’s more exaggerated than a large maze. Let’s send the people up first and then come back down." Pannis answered, "Otherwise, I’m afraid of danger."

"No problem, you have the final say."