The Arrow is on the Bowstring
“See?! See?! He was right.”
A man among the townsfolk pressed down on Leah’s legs and stripped her. Leah’s smooth belly was different to humans. She lacked the unique part that breastfed humans did; she didn’t have a belly button. There were no shadows on her smooth belly underneath the flame.
“What are you doing?!! Let go of me!! Leah is a succubus, but Leah has never done anything bad! Leah didn’t get to have full meals! Leah is the same as you! Leah never did anything bad in this town! Please… Leah just wants to live together with Papa! Please, spare Leah!”
Leah struggled with all of her might. She cried as she looked at Anna and the men around her. Anna didn’t speak. However, the leader of the pack slapped Leah across the face and belted, “Shut up, you demon filth! You’ve finally learnt to beg, have you?! When you demons killed our families and stole our food, did you spare us when we pleaded you?! You never cared about our lives!! I, personally, witnessed my sister be killed by a demon! Did you listen to our pleas?! I’ll never forgive your kind, you bitches! Our town doesn’t welcome a demon! We’re killing you here today!!”
The man, who was yelling, strangled Leah’s small neck with his hands. Leah grimaced and squealed; she couldn’t even struggle. Anna just stood there. She believed Veirya and Lin Dongqing weren’t aware Leah was a succubus. She believed Leah disguised herself as a harmless child to rely on the two. Leah was a succubus, so she didn’t think Veirya, who killed more than plenty of demons, would complain.
“Stop!”
A white hawk-shaped shield smashed into the man’s back, knocking him off Leah. Leah gasped for air and violently coughed. She saw a vague silhouette in front of her. The owner of the silhouette looked brave and trustworthy. Leah cried and vaguely muttered, “Veirya… Veirya..”
“Leah…”
Angelina raised her shield and looked down at Leah. She swung her sword to get the people around Leah to back off. She faced the crowd and thundered, “What are you doing?!! She’s Lord Veirya and Sir Lin Dongqing’s child! What are you trying to do in their absence?! God is watching from above! You should all be sent to the cross so that your souls forever burn in the fire for this barbaric act!”
“Sister Angelina… I beg you… please…”
Leah finally realised it was Angelina. Although Angelina was gentler in Leah’s mind, she felt that Angelina was less trustworthy than Veirya for some odd reason when she realised it wasn’t Veirya. Angelina stood in front of Leah and yelled at the crowd. Unfortunately, the crowd worshipped a different god. They were already angry about the previous incident. The chapel’s interference this time was the oil on their fire. As such, they charged at Angelina.
Angelina didn’t lose her composure, but she didn’t allow the crowd to assault them. She didn’t hesitate to raise her shield and smack the men away with it. A mere shield it may have been, it was made from metal, while Angelina didn’t pull any punches. Being slammed with a metal shield didn’t feel the same as being hit with a cotton pillow. Angelina broke lips and noses, thereby littering the place with blood.
Everybody encircled her, yet not one person dared to close in on Leah and her. Angelina stopped all of them with just one hand and shield. Everybody was awkwardly gathered around Angelina. From behind her shield, Angelina revealed a mocking smile. She looked at the townsfolk and stated, “Try as you please, but there’s no chance of you ever breaking through. This is the difference between commoners and soldiers.”
Leah watched Angelina. The crowd put a temporary pause on their attacks. They finally calmed down and stopped with their fearless efforts. Angelina lowered her shield. All of a sudden, the bishop began yelling from the outside: “What are you all doing?! Are you heretics not even going to spare a child?! What are you trying to do to such an adorable child?!! Angelina! Bring the child over here!!”
“Yes, Your Excellency!!”
Angelina swiftly picked up Leah; unfortunately, the crowd raised their wooden rods again and protested, “Put her down!! She’s a succubus! Don’t even think of protecting a succubus! Don’t you even dream of protecting a demon! This demon trespassed into our town! We must personally kill her!!”
“Get out of the way! All of you! Otherwise, don’t blame me for getting physical!” Angelina raised her shield up in front of her.
Leah leaned on Angelina’s left shoulder. Despite Angelina’s deft movements, Leah didn’t seem bothered. She just calmly observed crowd and tightly gripped Angelina’s chest. She was so afraid that she didn’t dare to look up.
Lucia lied prone on the rooftop. She was worried about the bow in her hand. She didn’t dare to aim directly at the bishop and Angelina. Although Lucia was incredibly confident in her archery skills, her opponent was Angelina. To add to that, Leah was behind Angelina’s shield. If she accidentally hit Leah, she would’ve let down Travor, who died for her.
Lucia controlled her emotions with self-talk: “I can’t be nervous. I must ensure all the preparations are adequate. I can’t fire without one hundred percent confidence. I must wait for the crowd to disperse.”
“Look! She’s a succubus! Is your chapel going to shelter demons?! Look at her belly button! What are you going to do to a demon?! Protect her?! That makes you traitors to humanity! You’re the demon race’s accomplices! Don’t even think of leaving this town with your lives!
“Even if Leah is a succubus, our chapel should be the ones to deal with her. Not you people, who are just trying to vent!! We’re taking Leah back to question her. If you don’t move, we’re going to get physical!”
The knights surrounded the crowd. The used their swords and shields to blocked off the townsfolk with wooden rods. However, the knights were the minority here; thus, if a battle truly broke out, then there was no guarantee they could subdue the enraged townsfolk.
Lucia breathed gently. She slowly drew back the bowstring. The sounds she made were masked by the rowdy crowd. Not even Angelina could clearly hear her over the ruckus. The crowd occupied the latter’s attention. Lucia aimed at Angelina’s arm. The shot wouldn’t hurt Leah and would provide Leah with a chance to run.
It wasn’t hard for Lucia to hit the shot. She told herself, “It’s not a hard shot. Angelina’s attention isn’t on me at the moment, while the townsfolk are there. I just need to take advantage of the ruckus, and fire this shot. Not even Angelina will detect it; the tip of my arrow is concealed. I’m in a good spot. All that’s left is to wait for the right moment.”
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