infodatos Chapter 62: Women's Guard
Chapter 62: Women's Guard
Four women stepped out of the line. They looked and were all different, but they all stood in the same position: shoulders back, chins slightly raised, and hands placed on their left chests.
Mrs. Moriel looked at them and nodded.
"From today onwards, you are the first batch of female knight candidates in Ashwood Territory."
The four women knelt down on one knee and bowed to Ron.
"Greetings, Your Lordship!"
Mrs. Moriel stepped back half a step, giving Ron the right to speak.
Ron smiled gently as he carefully examined the four of them.
These four women were not particularly beautiful, but their eyes were full of hope and expectation.
"stand up."
The four women stood up, their shoulders still slouching, their chins still slightly raised, their hands lowered from their chests and clenched into fists at their sides.
Ron took a step forward.
The area was crowded with people, mostly women's teams, and many others who had just been rescued and were being prepared to be sent to Ashwood Territory.
"What do you think!" Ron began, "Why the four of them?"
No one answered, nor did they dare to answer.
"It's not because they're the best fighters, nor because they're the youngest or strongest." Ron's gaze shifted from the four women to the people present, "It's because of the way they stood."
Ron displayed this chivalrous salute in a more standard and imposing manner.
"This gesture isn't a bow, it's a vow! It means my heart is here, and I'm willing to give everything for this territory."
There was a slight commotion in the crowd.
Ron turned to face everyone, raising his voice slightly: "I've heard this too many times: women stay home, men go to war. Women weave, men farm. Women wait at home, men fight on the front lines."
"That's all bullshit."
Upon hearing this, many people gasped, some covered their mouths and laughed, while many more had their eyes light up.
"The city walls of our territory have collapsed, and the enemy's sword is coming at us. Do you think it recognizes whether you're a man or a woman?" Ron stretched out his right hand and pointed his index finger at his chest. "It doesn't recognize you. It only recognizes whether your bones are hard enough and whether your head is big enough for it to chop off."
Ron walked up to the four women.
"You are selected as knights candidates today not because you are talented, but because you are good enough."
Ron's voice grew louder: "From now on, I will open this door, because there wasn't even a door before."
Mrs. Moriel stood to the side, her lips slightly upturned, but her eyes were already red-rimmed.
"Some people say that women should stay in the kitchen. I tell you, that's utter nonsense. But besides the kitchen, there are stables, drill grounds, council halls, city walls, and watchtowers—places where women can stand just as well."
Ron's voice grew louder and louder.
"I'm not saying women are stronger than men. A man can take on two small goblins, and a woman can take on one. But the goblins won't just send small goblins; they'll send large goblins. If one woman can't beat them, then two women will go together, and if two aren't enough, then three will."
Ron turned to the four knight candidates and said:
"From today onwards, you are the first batch of female knight candidates in Ashwood Territory. You will be laughed at, questioned, and some will say you're just playing house. What will you do then?"
The four women answered in unison.
"Beat them down!"
Ron laughed: "That's right, let them see how powerful women are."
This time the laughter was so loud that all the women around laughed along with it.
Some people, while laughing, find tears welling up in their eyes.
"Got it!" Ron said finally, his voice suddenly softening.
"When the sky falls, it's not just men who hold it up. Women also have a part in Ashwood's sky. Don't underestimate yourselves. Women are also part of this world. I don't want you to just panic and run away when the goblins come, only to become their breeding tools. I want you to pick up your weapons and fight the goblins to the death. Even if you die, you should die with dignity."
No one speaks.
The training ground was silent except for the sound of the wind passing through the flagpole and the crackling of firewood burning in the kitchen in the distance.
It's unclear who started it, but a voice shouted out.
"Long live the Lord!"
Then came the second, the third, the tenth, and the hundredth.
The women's shouts formed a river, rushing from one end of the training ground to the other, crashing against the city wall and then turning back, startling the birds in the trees into flight.
Mrs. Moriel finally couldn't hold back and raised her hand to wipe the corner of her eye.
The four knight candidates stood ramrod straight, shoulders back, chins slightly raised, and hands back on their left chests.
From this day forward, they are willing to give their last drop of blood for the cause of leadership.
Ron turned around and walked toward the largest tent in the square.
The cheers behind him continued, but he didn't turn around, though a smile remained on his lips.
This was the first time he had smiled without having killed anyone.
"It's too early to say that women hold up half the sky. Shouldn't we bring it up?" Ron muttered to himself, his voice so soft that only he could hear it.
The women's team in the square included women of varying heights, weights, and ages, but at this moment, everyone looked at them with longing.
Peggy stood at the back of the crowd, clutching a small piece of black bread she had just stolen from the kitchen, watching all this with a light in her eyes.
She was seven years old, and because she was a girl, the goblins would raise her and raise her like their mother.
So when she was very young, her mother wanted to kill her, which made her very afraid, causing her to run around aimlessly in the prisoner-of-war camp.
Starting a couple of days ago, the Earth Dragon Tribe changed its name and was renamed Harvest Town.
Her mother found her immediately, hugged her tightly, and kept apologizing.
"We are safe now, we can all live well."
Peggy didn't quite understand what she meant. She was already alive, but she was only occasionally beaten by those goblin old witches.
She couldn't understand what the man was saying, but she could sense the changes in the gazes of those around her and the surrounding environment.
She secretly copied that posture, shrugged her shoulders back, raised her chin towards the stage, and placed her palm on her left breast.
The bread tucked under her arm looked a little comical, but she felt as if she had grown up.
She saw the image of a knight in those older sisters and aunts for the first time.
"They are like those powerful knights, knights who protect their territory, heroes who fight monsters to the very end."
Ron's words boosted the morale and courage of the women's team and also greatly shocked the men around them.
As for the women who had just been rescued, after a long while, they began to cry out one after another, and eventually the whole square was filled with weeping.
Many women looked at the women's team with envy and hope in their eyes. They also hoped to become a member of the women's team. Their families were eaten by goblins and subjected to their endless lust. When they were rescued, many women immediately picked up the nearest weapon and killed the goblins, the old, weak, women and children around them.
Mrs. Moriel slowly walked out and looked at the strong women who had not been selected.
"What's with all the crying? You've only lost the chance to join the Women's Guard, but you're still the best women in the Women's Guard. Look at all the men in the militia, how many of them have joined the Knights Guard?"