ALL NOVEL Chapter 115
Chapter 56: The Holy Knight Princess in Prison
When Edwina woke up, she found herself in a dim prison cell.
“Ugh… I’m not dead? Where is this…?”
Underneath her was a cold, hard wooden bed, hastily covered with some straw, giving off a strange musty odor, and it was a bit damp, likely due to prolonged exposure to moisture.
The Holy Knight girl looked around, noticing the damp, dirty stone floor that measured only about ten square meters, with walls on three sides and dark metal bars standing in front.
The cell had no windows, and a candle flickered on the wall, almost burnt out, casting a faint light that barely reached a few meters around her.
Aside from the makeshift bed she was lying on and a bucket in the corner, there was nothing else in the room.
“That woman didn’t kill me, but chose to imprison me? Why…?”
The naïve Holy Knight princess first thought that perhaps the other party was reluctant to kill, but upon further reflection, she considered this explanation too far-fetched, even for her own belief.
Edwina was somewhat innocent and rigid, but she wasn’t a fool. That blue-haired woman was obviously associated with the strange undead creature she had previously chased off. Coupled with the uncontrollable aura of evil chaos surrounding her, it would be suspicious if she hadn’t killed anyone.
So, was there some special purpose behind leaving her alive?
She still had no idea what that blue-haired woman really was. Unlike the previous creature that exuded the stench of decay, this one didn’t seem quite alive either, and it felt like she was a mix of many strange things.
However, now wasn’t the time to research those matters in detail.
She needed to escape.
Edwina did a quick check of her physical condition. Although her waist still ached, it seemed her long period of unconsciousness and the fact that the kick she received hadn’t caused a true fracture meant she could move now.
However…
Her sword, shield, armor, storage ring, Holy Emblem, and Holy Seal were all taken away. Currently, she was unarmed, dressed only in a plain white undergarment.
Fortunately, the inner clothes seemed untouched, so nothing peculiar happened while she was unconscious.
Though some Holy Knight exclusive faith-based magic could be invoked without any external items, the effectiveness would certainly be reduced without appropriate sacred objects and weapons. Moreover, with her injuries not fully healed, she was probably only able to exert one-third of her sky-level power.
Human strength has its limits, hence the need for external enhancements. Whether it’s copper, silver, earth, sky, or even legendary might, losing one’s usual weapon would hinder even the strongest tiger.
Edwina approached the bars cautiously, peering out to check for anyone around and noticed the area outside was empty; there didn’t seem to be any guards.
Though it was hard to see clearly, her cell wasn’t the only one here. A dimly lit corridor stretched long, and about a dozen meters away, she could see a high iron door connected by a short staircase.
Were there many others imprisoned here too?
Right, she recalled seeing that Black Cloak person carrying an unconscious little girl earlier, meaning this group was secretly abducting innocent people from the capital to bring here.
“Is anyone there? Can you hear me?!”
Seeing no one around to guard, the Holy Knight girl mustered her courage and raised her voice a bit, leaning against the stone wall to call out to the other side.
But after repeating her question three times, all she heard from the next cell was a soft rustle, then silence, and no one responded to her.
“?”
The girl found it strange; there had to be someone next door, judging by the breathing sounds still occurring and the initial startled reactions when she spoke.
But why were they ignoring her? They were all in dire straits, confined together, shouldn’t they communicate more, help each other, and provide encouragement?
Edwina couldn’t understand. Just as she was about to say something further, a sudden harsh clang echoed outside—the heavy iron door connecting to the outside was forcefully pushed open.
A few indistinguishable figures in black cloaks swarmed in from outside.
They seemed to be checking something in their hands, quickly approaching another cell not far from Edwina’s, unlocking it with a key, and stepping inside.
Then, a woman’s piercing scream echoed through the silent prison.
“Ah!! No, don’t choose me again! I don’t want to fight, and I don’t want to turn into that anymore! I really can’t handle it this time! Please let me go, I beg you, let me go! I won’t dare to investigate anything again, I really won’t!!”
From the sound, the woman couldn’t be very old, probably just in her twenties, but her voice rang excessively high and sharp due to extreme fear, an incredibly penetrating scream that made Edwina involuntarily recall the wraiths she had fought in the Forgotten Land.
However, this also implied that the woman possessed significant strength and physical prowess; an ordinary girl could never produce such a powerful cry. She likely had at least the prowess of a Golden-level warrior.
But oddly, regardless of how the terrified girl screamed and begged, the shadowy figures in black cloaks gave no response, silently dragging her away from the cell forcefully.
“No, no, no! Let me go! Please, let me go… ugh…”
Seemingly annoyed by the girl’s desperate struggles, one of them suddenly pulled out a gleaming syringe and jabbed it into her neck, showing no concern about making a fatal mistake; they mercilessly injected the liquid inside.
What the contents were, who knows, but the effect was immediate and outrageous. In just a few seconds, the girl, who at least had the strength of a Golden-level warrior and wore adventurer attire, started frothing at the mouth and collapsed, motionless.
This scene, quite coincidentally, occurred right in front of the Holy Knight princess, who witnessed the entire process clearly.
“Stop! What do you want to take her for… wait, you need to stop the bleeding first! Randomly stabbing her like that could puncture an artery! Hey, hey, can you hear me?!”
Edwina hammered on the metal bars vigorously, clattering loudly, but the cloaked figures acted like they couldn’t see her, completely ignoring her as they dragged the limp, frothing adventurer girl along the dim corridor and out through the main door.
Bang! The heavy iron door was slammed shut again, suppressing all of Edwina’s furious roars back into the dark cell.
“Damn it! Those lawless scoundrels should at least show some basic humanity towards prisoners; the Goddess will definitely bring down divine punishment upon you!”
The Holy Knight princess leaned against the bars, weakly cursing with her most venomous words.
“…I didn’t expect you to be a believer of the Temple too? Save your breath. Those people will never respond to you; they’re nothing but soulless puppets. Not just them; you and I will eventually become the same, or simply die in their experiments.”
From the adjacent cell came a low, hoarse, yet still melodious female voice, lifting the despondent Edwina’s spirits instantly.
“Oh! You finally decided to acknowledge me!? Hello, senior! My name is Edwina, a Holy Knight from the City of Angels. How long have you been locked up here? How did you end up here? Do you know who those people are or how we can escape? What’s happening here is inhumane; we must report this to the kingdom’s officials!”
“…?”
The voice from the adjacent cell fell silent for a moment, seemingly at a loss for words due to the peculiar thought process of the Holy Knight girl.
After a while, she finally managed to hold back some annoyance and replied.
“Are you even aware of your current situation?!”