The Soldier's Last Wish

Aurora calmly raised her sword and thrust it at the giant dogs that were biting her.

Her swordsmanship was superb, even better than the kingdom's top Sword Art Master. Everyone who saw her wield a sword praised it as the finest swordsmanship.

These two dogs were bigger, stronger, and fiercer than the first one, but Aurora, having undergone training, was even stronger than them.

The cold light of the sword flashed under the moonlight, and in no time, Aurora defeated these two terrifying monsters.

The two dogs dragged their bleeding bodies and fled in panic.

The blood they shed stained an entire street red, dyeing the bakeries, alchemical workshops, luxurious hotels, and people's homes; the blood flowed into the river, turning it red as well.

From then on, the Royal Capital had a street full of red houses.

Soldiers ran and ran, dashing through the streets under the moonlit night.

"Huff, huff, I'm exhausted. I escaped, right? I should have gotten rid of that monster, right?"

The soldier recalled the scene that had just happened, which felt like a dream.

What a beautiful girl, how could she be so terrifying? he thought.

Temporarily out of danger, the love and desire he had forgotten due to fear surged up again. The soldier suddenly felt that he shouldn't have run so fast, so far. He even had the urge to turn back.

"Perhaps that girl is reasonable? She's the most beautiful woman I've ever seen. It would be wonderful to be with her."

Just as the soldier thought he was safe and gradually stopped, a Rope on the side of the street suddenly came to life, swooping over and binding him tightly.

The Rope seemed to have been given life, wriggling like a snake, no matter how hard the soldier struggled, he couldn't break free.

"Quite an outstanding performance. Being able to defeat those three dogs, you are already a Warrior who can stand on your own, Aurora!"

Rhine emerged from who knows where, applauding Aurora.

He didn't take action to capture the soldier in advance because he wanted to personally verify Aurora's growth.

However, Aurora's face did not show the joy of victory.

"Mentor, is the story that strange man told true? Is the kingdom really under a Curse?" The blonde girl wiped the blood from her face.

Rhine nodded gently:

"Yes."

This was something that Aurora would have to be told sooner or later.

What truly worried Rhine was that the soldier had said that the hostile neighboring country, Engeland, was preparing to reveal the truth about the Curse.

Fear is a weapon more terrifying than swords. If people knew that the country would perish in a few years, the entire kingdom would definitely be in chaos, order would cease to exist, farmers would abandon their fields, and soldiers would not be willing to fight. Engeland could then take the opportunity to plunder everything.

Aurora sighed again with a hint of regret, "It's a pity that the culprit who almost killed Grandma Rosa got away."

"No, I caught him. He will receive the judgment he deserves," Rhine said.

As he spoke, Rhine looked back at the hotel room.

On the floor, the severely injured and wailing dog had disappeared—it was obviously still alive, but its whereabouts were unknown, as mysterious as its appearance. It would only appear again when summoned by its master.

From Rhine, His Majesty the King and the Queen learned about the soldier's abduction of their daughter.

They were extremely angry and had the soldier arrested and imprisoned.

The soldier was imprisoned in a cell that was dark and stuffy.

The other prisoners in the same cell said:

"Friend, you will be hanged tomorrow."

The soldier was terrified when he heard this. He searched his whole body, wanting to find the life-saving The Tinderbox, but found that The Tinderbox was not on him.

"Heavens, this is really unfortunate! I remember, when I was tied up by the Rope, The Tinderbox fell out. It rolled into the roadside ditch!" The soldier was desperate.

The next morning, the sky was just beginning to brighten.

Through the small window with iron bars, the soldier saw many people pouring out of the city, wanting to watch him be hanged.

He heard the thunderous sound of drums and saw the King's guard marching, the King and Queen sitting in a magnificent four-wheeled carriage. A large crowd of people were heading out of the city.

"Even the King is here, did I really kidnap a princess?"

"No way? But that creature I saw didn't look human at all."

"Could it be that the King imprisoned the princess because he didn't want people to discover that the princess is actually a monster?"

The soldiers speculated.

At this point, he was increasingly confused about the truth of the matter.

Just then, the soldier saw through the iron window that among the people running towards the outside of the city, there was a boy wearing a hooded cloak running particularly fast, the cloth hood covering the boy's face.

The soldier looked out from behind the iron bars: "Hey, little guy, why the rush? There's nothing to see before I arrive."

He then tempted the boy: "If you get something for me, I'll give you four copper coins. But you must swear that you must run as fast as you can!"

The soldier told the hooded boy which street and ditch The Tinderbox had fallen into. The hooded boy then ran to the street where the soldier had previously lived.

"Please bless me, may The Tinderbox not have been picked up yet." The soldier squatted in the dark, stuffy cell, kneeling on the ground to pray.

Before long, the hooded boy ran back, much faster than the soldier had expected.

As soon as the soldier saw The Tinderbox in the boy's hand, he was so happy that he almost jumped up.

"Here, this is your Tinderbox. Give me my copper coins."

The soldier happily took out the copper coins and stuffed them into the boy's hand, and stuffed The Tinderbox into his pocket.

"Hahaha. My Tinderbox is still here, still here! As long as I have The Tinderbox, and the three dogs, the King won't be able to execute me."

However, what the soldier didn't see was that as the boy walked away from the iron window bars, with his back to him, a strange arc suddenly appeared at the corner of his mouth, revealing a hint of a smile.

"Your wish has been fulfilled."

A few strands of silver hair peeked out from under the hood, gently swaying in the morning breeze.

Outside the city, a large gallows had already been erected, surrounded by the King's guard and many common people.

The King and Queen faced the jury, sitting on two magnificent thrones in the best position to watch the execution.

The judge loudly announced the soldier's two crimes:

One was using a sword to attack an innocent person, and the other was kidnapping and attempting to molest a minor girl. The former seemed to be referring to the attack on the old Witch—although the soldier didn't know how he was discovered.

The soldier was already standing on the execution ladder.

Just as the executioner was about to put the noose around his neck, the soldier suddenly spoke loudly:

"I heard that the kingdom has a tradition that a criminal sentenced to death can make a request before receiving punishment. If it is a reasonable request, his wish should be granted."

"There is indeed such a thing." The Old King on the stand said.

"Right now, I really, really want to have a smoke, please, merciful, just His Majesty the King, I really want to have a smoke! And this is the last smoke I'll have in this world, His Majesty the King wouldn't refuse even this request, would he?"

The King agreed to the soldier's request.

So, the soldier reached into his pocket, took out The Tinderbox, and quickly rubbed it several times.

On his face, an uncontrollable smile overflowed.

The soldier saw the future, yes, an incredibly beautiful future:

The three dogs would all jump out to save him, one with eyes the size of teacups, another with eyes the size of waterwheels, and the other with eyes bigger than the first two combined. They may have been injured, or they may have magically healed. But whether injured or not, they were terrifying, powerful monsters.

Those dogs would pounce on the judge, the jury, and the King's guard, biting off their legs, biting off their noses, throwing them into the sky, throwing them dozens of meters high so that they would all be smashed into meat paste.

The King and Queen would also suffer the same fate. He could choose to let the dogs eat the King and Queen, or, choose to spare the King and Queen's lives—if he wanted to show his mercy. People would praise his mercy.

The surviving guards and the surrounding common people would be afraid of him, support him, and take him to sit in the King's four-wheeled carriage, and the three dogs would guard him by the carriage. He would become the country's new King.

As for that blonde girl who may or may not be a princess ("She is truly a terrifying monster, but I swear, she is also the most beautiful girl I have ever seen!" the soldier thought), heaven knows where she is now. If possible, the soldier hoped to re-establish a good relationship with the girl, after all, he was now the honorable King, and no one was more suitable to become his Queen than that girl. They would hold a grand wedding for eight days and eight nights, and the three dogs would also attend their wedding, their eyes wider than ever.

After becoming the new King, he would enjoy himself for two or three years, and before the Curse's disaster broke out, he would escape the kingdom with his Queen. He had three magical dogs, and they would live well no matter which country they went to.

The fantasy ended.

The soldier's mouth hung open, the beautiful dream almost causing him to drool.

His gaze fixed on The Tinderbox in his hand.

Strike, strike, strike.

He struck it again and again.

But nothing happened.

Not a single dog appeared.

"Why?"

"How can this be?"

"Why is my Tinderbox malfunctioning?"

The soldier trembled violently with fear.

He even suspected that everything he had encountered in the past month, including the magical Tinderbox and the three dogs, was just a morning dream, an unrealistic fantasy—just like the fantasy he had just had.

"Your Tinderbox looks like it got wet; it won't light. Let me light your cigarette for you."

The executioner laughed. He took out a Tinderbox—the most ordinary, non-magical kind—and lit the soldier's cigarette.

With the cigarette lit in his mouth, the soldier's legs went weak, and he collapsed to the ground with a thud.

He rarely spoke the honest truth, but this was indeed the last cigarette he would ever smoke in his life.

The execution proceeded as usual.

The executioner put the noose around the soldier's neck and hoisted him into the air.

The onlookers cheered. People praised the King and Queen, the judges and the jury, for ensuring that a well-deserved villain in the kingdom received due justice.

Hanging in the air, the soldier saw that among the cheering and applauding onlookers were a few friends he had met at the hotel when he was a wealthy man.

Just a few days ago, these "friends" were praising the soldier's generosity in order to get an extra silver coin as a reward from the nouveau riche.

Obviously, now, his friends didn't feel that their behavior was inappropriate at all—because they no longer needed to flatter and please the soldier.

The Rope around his neck was pulled so tight that the soldier kicked his legs in the air.

His eyes were indeed wider than at any other time—almost as big as teacups.