Seeing the troll, Zach had to hold back a laugh. It's only half the size of a regular troll, and it's rumored to be completely immune to magic. The trolls of the gods of hell are immune to fire, but extremely vulnerable to ice. It is a smaller, weaker version of its kind.

She knelt beside the roll and drew her sword, "It's not immune to magic, it's vulnerable to ice!" She shouted.

She rushed past Rab and Lindis, who looked back at her. "What are you—what are you doing, child? Don't run over there! ”

But she didn't listen. The troll raised a massive hand and tried to smash it at her, but she took an easy step to the left and narrowly dodged the blow. She turned, stood up, stepped on its feet, and pushed its legs back. "Frost Slash", she cast a spell that caused the sword to frost and glow a dark blue light.

The feeling of magic running from her fingers made her cringe. It was one of the simplest and lightest draining spells she had ever known in her previous life, but it still felt as if half of her mana had been used in this spell. It lasts at least a few times, and that's long enough. She raised her sword in both hands and slammed it into her fist embedded in the ground.

Her sword was shattered in three by the blow, leaving only a few inches of the hilt. It rattled in her hands, causing her hands to vibrate in pain. Worst of all, however, even with her magic and wielding her sword with all her might, she was nothing more than an inch or so deep in the monster's arm. After a few moments, even the mark healed.

"How-" Before she could finish the thought, the foot on her foot was kicked out of the air, throwing her into the air. She landed hard, her sword scattered, rolled a few times, and was injured again. She tried to move, but she was fairly sure her leg was at least broken. She couldn't put into words anything.

The beast let out a loud, angry roar. She slowly lifted her eyes, and to her horror, those eyes were staring straight at her. She blames herself in her heart through pain. She hurt it, albeit only for a few minutes. How long has it been since this has been done? No wonder it was so angry with her.

The troll charged at her, raising a thick fist of flesh into the air.

She's dying. She couldn't believe it. She was going to die at the hands of a monster she had killed dozens of them before, and she only slightly bruised it. Is this really a world of difference between her past and her now?

"Swan Falls!" Hardwin's voice rang out. She found her eyes drawn to the man, whose sword was now encased in a gleaming white block of ice rising from its blade. He intercepted the troll, slashing off its legs with a single sword, and covering the stump with a layer of frost.

The troll fell to the ground, and the world shook with its power. The Chosen One didn't hesitate, and the Frozen Sword slashed at the creature again and again. Each of his knives cut off a piece of the troll's body.

She inhaled and began to scream, pain washing over her body and mind, tearing at all other thoughts.

In a few moments, Rab came to her side and knelt beside her. "Shhhh He whispered, placing a hand on her forehead. "Everything will be fine. The troll is dead. A while. Focus only on me. The pain began to subside as her body became tingling and numb, which was simply a mercy compared to what she had felt before.

"You know what, prodigy. Your spell is pretty useful. Hardwin laughed. I guess maybe there are some—" His words stopped when he turned to see her, and the blood on his face vanished from his face. "Oh. Given by the gods. Her legs. What happened to her legs? She's still—"

"She's not dead," Rab said, shaking his head and looking into her eyes. "Zach, can you hear me?"

She wanted to speak, but couldn't. All she could do was look at him. She tried to move her arms, but they refused to respond. She blinked a few times.

He sighed. "Lindis. Try to set up what you can do. Joan, if only you could hear me blink twice. ”

She blinked twice, even though it felt almost impossible.

"Okay. You're going to be okay. Don't try to move," he said gently. "You silly girl. Why are you running at the trolls like this? What do you think you can do? Break your arm first, then your leg? We shouldn't have let you come at all. ”

"She managed to cut it out," Lindis said. "It's better than most people."

"Even though it's good for her," Rab said, shaking her head, her beard tickling her jaw.

Hadwin slowly walked over to them, then knelt beside her. "She'll be fine, right? Her legs, can you-"

"Nope. She needed a therapist. Much better than me. Even then, I'm not sure if they'll be able to fix this. Not to mention her arms. We just healed the child and she was lucky to survive. Rab's gaze turned away from her and toward her right arm.

She felt the panic creep in.

"I'll take her with me," Hardwin said firmly. "Back to the Queen, there's no one better than her."

However, these words frightened her even more than she thought about which parts of her had been destroyed. Zach tried to blink faster, trying to get them to think about some alternatives. Queen, Emmeline. There is no one worse than her. They'd better poison her now or throw her into the lake.

"There's a healer in our camp, he's-"

"Can they fix this?" Hadwin asked. "How many days will it take you to get her there?"

Rab looked down at his body. "Maybe he can help. Few days. She may be lame, but—"

"We rode to meet my queen. Joan may be stupid, but there is no doubt about her help. I still want to raise her. As a human, she certainly falls under our jurisdiction, even though she is now a member of the Crystal Phoenix. ”

"Lord Wang, are you sure? She's just a child. Stupid, yes, but I don't think she's done anything worthwhile-" Hardwin turned to the dwarf, his face furious, his eyes burning with fire. The dwarf quickly looked away. "As you wish. We'll get her ready to move. ”

"Thank you." He said sternly, and left them. "I'll get the horses ready. Do what you can. ”

Rab shook her head and looked down at Joan. "I'm sorry, I'll talk to the commander, maybe she can help. Go to bed now. Save your energy and you'll need it. ”

She winked desperately at him, trying to get his attention. She didn't care if she went with Hardwin or not. But they couldn't take her to Queen Emmeline. It would be tantamount to a death sentence, especially if she could not move. She struggled to move her tongue, but it refused.

"Will she really be okay?" Lindis asked. "Lord Hardwin looks ready to kill her with his own hands."

"I don't know. Maybe. Sabu shook his head gently at the elf sadly. Joan, just do what your adults tell you. If you're lucky, hopefully he'll believe that your actions are not malicious. ”

"She's just a child," Lindis said softly, then glanced back at Hardwin. "We can't just give up on her. She's one of us, isn't she? ”

The elf didn't respond, just looked at her with pity.

They doomed her. Why can't they see it? As long as she could speak, she would be able to make Hardwin understand.

When the dwarf returned, she heard the crunch of leaves and grass again. He knelt beside her, looked her eyes, and shook his head. "Don't cry. This will eliminate the pain. A thick, short finger lifted up and wiped her eyes. Did she cry? She didn't feel it. Slowly, a bottle was raised to her lips, and a thin drop entered her mouth. Cool and slightly sweet, sliding down the throat. After a few drops, her vision began to become cloudy.

"Don't worry. When you wake up, you'll be fine. He whispered.

No, no, no. She desperately wanted to scream at them. Tell them no. Plead with them not to do it. Don't they understand? The queen hated her. But no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't stop them. Even if she succumbs to the darkness, her body refuses to obey her.