Kelly cupped her mouth in shock. She threw down the whip in her hands and hugged her father Mark, "Father, what happened?"
Kelly was crying. She saw the blood on her hand, her voice sour, "Why… why... are you covered in blood?"
Mark had wanted to sell the gemstone with the ichor. All he asked for was a thousand gold. With the money, he could escape his ident.i.ty as a slave and take his daughter away from this life of servitude. He could buy a large piece of land and an ident.i.ty as a free citizen, forever freeing himself from the shackles of a slave. From then on, he could perhaps become a merchant, or a craftsman.That way, his children and grandchildren would never have to become a slave.
However, he was betrayed. He was stabbed from the back while he escaped in a fl.u.s.ter through the window. After a simple bandage, he spent an entire day trying to reach his daughter at the village, as the partner that betrayed him knew where his daughter was. He had to reach this place faster than him!
Kelly helped her father into her dilapidated house as she chased the sheeps into their pen. There were not many things in the house, not even a bed. There was only a rug on the ground.
Kelly got her father to sit on the rug. Mark leaned on the wall, unable to stop coughing, "No, Kelly, we have to leave immediately!"
Kelly immediately said, "Why? We"re slaves, it"ll be hard for us to survive even if we escaped from this place. We have no land, and n.o.body would take us in!"
Mark smiled, "It"s alright. We have this."
Mark took out a golden gemstone from his robes. There was a drop of golden-red blood suspended in the gemstone. Mark instantly revealed a smitten look. Kelly asked out of curiosity, "A gemstone, how beautiful. Father, where did you get that? You didn"t steal the leader"s item, did you?"
Mark shook his head, "No, not just a gemstone. It"s ichor. No one is worthy enough to own it. The n.o.bles, even the emperor, would become the descendent of G.o.d and inherit his power if they drank the ichor inside!"
"Cough! Cough! Unfortunately, I do not know how to open it and could only think of ways to sell it. Kelly, we"d never have to be slaves again. We can have a rich, free life. I can marry you off to a respectable person, and not keep you here to shepherd sheeps, then be violated by those filthy people!"
"That"s my biggest wish. Unfortunately, your mother"s dead, killed by those n.o.bles. I really want our family to live happily together and have a piece of land to our name!"
Suddenly, there were noises outside. Mark was worried, immediately propping himself up against the wall. He looked through the window and saw a group of soldiers on horses, heading toward the small hut. The person that betrayed him had changed into a set of presentable clothes and riding on a horse, giving the group directions to this place!
Mark was very fl.u.s.tered, his expression that of shock, "They"re here! They"re here! Kelly, run quickly. Jump out from the window at the back and hide. Don"t come out, no matter what!"
Kelly instantly hugged her father, "No, father, let us run together!"
Mark shook his head, "No, my injuries are too serious. I cannot run much father. Oh, yes, take this. Run, and do not look back!"
Mark stuffed the gemstone with the ichor into Kelly"s hand, then pushed her out of the window. Mark blocked the window no matter how much Kelly cried. Soon after, the noise outside the window stopped, while the sounds coming from out the door became louder and louder. Mark wiped his tears. At this moment, he saw the door to the hut being kicked open. A few soldiers burst into the room, quickly suppressing Mark and dragging him out the hut to the front of a knight. The armored n.o.ble youth lowered his head and looked at Mark, then tilted his head.
Another man immediately came forward and searched Mark. Mark spat on him. "Ian, you traitor!"
Ian kicked him onto the ground, "In front of money, be it you or me, friends.h.i.+p is worth nothing!"
Ian searched Mark but found nothing. His expression changed, "You clearly had it with you, where did you hide it. Wait, where is your daughter?"
Mark laughed, "She"s long gone. You"ll never find the ichor. You despicable people, The ichor landing in your hands is simply polluting the ichor!"
The young n.o.bleman leapt off his horse, slowly drawing his sword with his gloved hand, "A slave like you dare to kill a n.o.bleman, betray his master and steal a holy treasure bestowed by the G.o.d. Mark, your name has even reached the ears of the emperor. You may be a slave, but I will give you the honor of dying at the hand of a n.o.bleman!"
"I curse..."
Mark had not completed his sentence when his throat was pierced by the sword. He slumped to the ground, dead. The n.o.bleman wiped down his thin sword, "Search the area, she couldn"t have gone far. Capture her immediately!"
Soon after, a few knights riding horses followed the tracks and found Kelly in a wheat field under the mountain. Kelly screamed as she was being dragged back to her hut by the shoulder. She then saw her father"s corpse thrown to the side, pinned on a wooden stake!
"Father!"
Kelly had a dazed expression, "Father?"
But Mark could no longer answer her. His lifeless eyes looking on the ground like a dead fish"s. His head hung low, his entire body pinned on a wooden stake, as if a broken puppet.
The n.o.bleman walked up to her. "A sheep shepherd? You sure are a despicable slave. Where"s the ichor? Hand it over. How can a person with dirty blood flowing in their body handle an item bestowed by G.o.d!"
But Kelly could not hear anything now, her gaze fixed on her father"s corpse. She suddenly felt that her world had turned gray, her consciousness seemed to have floated into the sky.
"Father"s dead? Why did such a thing happen?"
"Oh G.o.d? Is this real? Why must they do that. G.o.d, why do you tolerate the existence of such evil, why do you not punish them?"
The n.o.bleman was furious at Kelly"s unresponsiveness. But he saw the gemstone from the corner of his eye!
"It is indeed in your hands, hand it over!"
The young n.o.ble was greedy and l.u.s.tful. He extended his hand, wanting to s.n.a.t.c.h the gemstone away from Kelly"s hands. Suddenly, the gemstone Kelly was grabbing tightly onto started to release a golden glow. It released an intense light into the night sky. The ichor in the gemstone pulsed, then flowed into Kelly"s body!
Everyone was shocked when they saw Kelly floating into the air. She was undergoing an intense transformation. Deified cells are flooding into her body, but she did not appear to be resisting the changes. Her entire being was starting to fuse with the ichor. Her skin started to change, her appearance becoming more exquisite. Her figure became more slender. But the changes in her internal organs and brain were even more intense.
Outside of Maria"s World, Lu Zhiyu, who was flipping through books about the humans within Maria"s World in the library of his dimensional castle, could also sense this scene. He instantly stood up. It was as though he could sense Kelly despite them being in separate worlds!