Luo Wei stopped and looked down at the two kids. After just one trip out, their presence had sharpened noticeably. Her expression gradually softened.

  "Yes, I know."

  She placed her hands on both children's heads and gently ruffled their hair. "You were brave. You did great."

  Big smiles spread across Roman and Rosie's faces. In unison, they said, "Miss, we have something to show you!"

  Luo Wei withdrew her hands, curious. "Oh? What is it?"

  Roman and Rosie exchanged glances, nodded, and simultaneously opened their palms to reveal golden longswords.

  "Miss, these!" They raised their heads proudly.

  Luo Wei looked surprised. "Count Wesley gave them to you?"

  She'd thought Count Wesley would resist for at least three to five years—until Roman and Rosie grew up or developed feelings for him—before he'd willingly hand over the swords.

  "What did you do to win him over?"

  "Uh..." Roman said vaguely. "Maybe Count Wesley is just generous? Or maybe he wanted to repay you for saving his life."

  "Yes." Rosie nodded. "Yesterday after Count Wesley drank the potion you gave him, he was very moved. In the middle of the night, he took us to the basement and told us to take the swords."

  His exact words were: Take these swords and get out of here.

  "Miss, do you want to see this sword? It's really interesting—it makes black smoke." Rosie held out her sword.

  Roman: "Miss, look at mine first! With this sword, you can make anyone tell the truth!"

  Luo Wei shook her head. "I'll just look. I won't hold them. These swords have recognized you as their masters. If someone else holds them, they'll face backlash."

  "Huh?" Roman looked disappointedly at his sword. "Why?"

  But Rosie said, "The sword recognizes me as master, and I recognize you as master, Miss. So you're its master too!"

  "That's not how it works." Luo Wei said. "They belong exclusively to you. Take good care of them. They'll become your most trusted battle partners."

  Roman looked up. "Miss, will you name my sword? I heard powerful swords all have names, but I don't know what to call it."

  Rosie chimed in. "Miss, name mine too. I want the name you choose."

  Luo Wei sighed helplessly. "They're your swords. Why not name them yourselves?"

  "If I name it, I'll just call it Little White." Roman said with distress.

  Rosie: "I'd call mine Little Black. Not good at all."

  As soon as the names "Little White" and "Little Black" came out, both swords trembled, seemingly expressing their displeasure.

  "Alright, let me think. What would be good names?" Luo Wei looked at the two swords thoughtfully.

  "Whoosh—"

  The two swords suddenly flew from their palms, tips pointing down and hilts up, hovering vertically before Luo Wei. Roman and Rosie shouted in alarm, "Come back! Don't hurt Miss!"

  The swords ignored the command. They suddenly tilted and touched Luo Wei's arms with their hilts.

  "Huh?" Roman and Rosie hesitated. The swords didn't seem to want to hurt her—they wanted her to touch them.

  "Miss, why don't you try holding them?" Rosie suggested. "I think they really like you."

  These swords had consciousness. She could feel the emotions they radiated.

  "Really?" Luo Wei looked hesitantly at the swords before her and tentatively reached out, her fingers slowly touching the hilts.

  No rejection. The swords actively pressed their hilts into her palms.

  Luo Wei grasped the hilts. Instantly, a flood of chaotic whispers surged through her mind.

  Greetings and pleasantries mixed with accusations and complaints. It was like countless tiny people chattering in her head, each saying something different. Mixed together, it was hard to understand what they wanted to express.

  Luo Wei closed her eyes. The sword in her left hand glowed with white light while the one in her right hand swirled with black mist. Like two quarreling children, they argued in her ears.

  She listened for a while and finally understood what they were fighting about.

  The left sword believed human nature was fundamentally good. Only a small portion of people weren't good. So by awakening people's conscience, justice and order could be restored.

  The right sword believed the world was full of evil people. These evil people were beyond redemption and would spread evil seeds. They should all be killed to purify the world.

  One wanted to "kill," the other wanted to "save." They argued endlessly in her mind.

  Luo Wei's head ached from the noisy voices. She quickly called for a mental ceasefire.

  I understand your disagreement. One of you wants to stop evil with good, the other wants to stop evil with killing. But you both want to protect justice in this world, right?

  The voices in her mind responded. They agreed with her assessment.

  Since you have the same goal, why not cooperate?

  The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.

  Both swords fell silent, seemingly listening carefully.

  Stopping evil with good and stopping evil with killing are both means of protecting justice. You just walk different paths—one of redemption, one of slaughter.

  These methods don't contradict each other. Punishing evil is promoting good. Promoting good is punishing evil. Different paths, same destination. You can each guard the justice you seek in your own way.

  Unified voices answered in her mind. The arguing completely ceased. Luo Wei heard the children's surprised exclamations.

  "Look! The color changed, and words appeared on the blades!"

  Rosie leaned close to the black blade. "Slaughter? This sword is called Slaughter?"

  Roman stared at the text on the white sword. "This one says Redemption. Is it called Redemption?"

  Luo Wei opened her eyes and returned both swords to the children.

  "Yes. One is the Sword of Slaughter, the other is the Sword of Redemption. These are the paths they've chosen—and the paths you've chosen."

  "Slaughter?" Rosie held her sword. "Does that mean killing people?"

  Luo Wei said, "It means stopping evil through killing, punishing evildoers, and protecting justice."

  "Miss, what about Redemption?" Roman asked.

  "Stopping evil through good, spreading kindness, awakening people's conscience, and redeeming the world."

  She patted both children's heads. "You are messengers of justice. Punish evil, promote good, and protect justice. Remember that?"

  "Yes, Miss!" Roman and Rosie answered crisply.

  Punish evil and promote good. Slaughter and redemption.

  They looked down at their swords, suddenly feeling the weight of their mission. Protecting justice—could they really do it?

  "Alright, go eat. After lunch, catch up on the homework and assignments you missed these past few days. Don't forget you're still students." Luo Wei said.

  "Ugh, we still have to do homework!"

  Roman and Rosie's shoulders slumped. They were messengers of justice now—why did they still have to go to school?

  "Finish this semester properly. During vacation, I'll have Troy take you on adventures."

  Before the children could cheer, Luo Wei threatened, "But if either of you fails, neither of you gets to go out. You'll both stay home and study!"

  Roman and Rosie's expressions turned serious. They immediately straightened up. "Don't worry, Miss! We'll study hard!"

  Luo Wei nodded. "Let's go. To the dining room."

  After lunch, Luo Wei confiscated both kids' swords.

  These two swords were halves of the Blade of Judgment's authority. She didn't know if taking them out of the Wesley family's vault would leak divine energy and let angels track them down.

  For safety, she planned to send both swords to Demon Island and hide them in the cave where the Goddess of the Undead had previously stored the Heart of Life. Once things calmed down, she'd retrieve them.

  Though reluctant, Roman and Rosie knew Luo Wei had their best interests at heart and obediently handed over the swords.

  After instructing the children to do their homework at home, Luo Wei left with Troy.

  At the Mulberry Garden villa, she had Troy guard the basement entrance. No matter what sounds he heard inside, he wasn't to enter unless she called him.

  Troy solemnly agreed, drew his sword, and stood guard outside the hidden door.

  Only then did Luo Wei feel at ease. She picked up an oil lamp and entered the basement.

  To make the basement floor suitable for carving magic runes, when selecting the villa site, she'd specifically chosen elevated ground with dry soil and designed drainage channels into the blueprints.

  Additionally, the floor was laid with hard, deformation-resistant marble. Marble's uniform structure wouldn't expand or crack during the rune-carving process.

  Hanging the lamp on the wall, Luo Wei took out the box of magic stones from her spatial ring and placed it in the corner.

  She was carving a one-time long-distance teleportation array. The initial carving had to be done by hand. Only later, when injecting magic power, could magic stones provide energy.

  To conserve magic, Luo Wei didn't use the flashy method of remote enchantment this time. Instead, she pulled out a dagger-style carving knife, walked to the basement's center, bent down, and carved runes the old-fashioned way.

  Though she saved magic power, the physical effort increased many times over.

  Long-distance teleportation arrays needed to carry more magical energy. If the rune grooves were too shallow, magical elements would leak and the spatial channel would destabilize.

  The dark elves' modified rune grooves were as deep as a finger joint. To connect with the Misty Plains teleportation array, her carved runes also had to reach that depth.

  The knife scraped against marble with a harsh, grating noise. Luo Wei gripped the handle with both hands and pressed down hard, cutting grooves into the marble.

  Half an hour passed. After tremendous effort, she'd only carved about a meter of lines. Before her hands gave out, the knife broke first.

  The blade had dulled the moment she pressed down. After carving two centimeters of groove, the edge had completely worn smooth. Luo Wei thought it could hold out a bit longer, but it was useless.

  If only she had diamond drill bits or laser cutting tools from the future. She should have had Hessel develop cutting machines first.

  Too late for that now. During rune carving, you couldn't break a single stroke. The slightest pause would block the flow and interrupt magic circulation. This section of runes was ruined.

  All beginnings are difficult. Luo Wei wasn't discouraged.

  Fortunately, for her first attempt, she'd deliberately chosen a thin-bladed knife that carved narrow grooves. On the second try, she could use a wider tool to cover the damaged lines without having to smooth the entire floor.

  This world's iron-smelting technology was primitive. Iron tools were brittle and broke easily under external force. No wonder swordsmen were so poor—they spent their whole lives earning money to buy swords.

  Luo Wei rummaged through her spatial ring. She hadn't sent Roman and Rosie's swords to Demon Island yet. Should she try using those?

  The next second, she abandoned the idea.

  Why use a cleaver to kill a chicken? Besides, she'd promised to keep them safe. What kind of person would secretly use the kids' swords? She wasn't their master anyway.

  Finally, she pulled out a reward from the magic tournament—the Hero's Sword, the legendary dragon-slaying blade that could pierce dragon scales and cut through anything.

  The silver blade gleamed blindingly in the dim lamplight. This was Luo Wei's first time examining the sword's details closely. The silver-white blade and sharp edge radiated piercing cold. It didn't look like cast iron—more like premium steel from the future.

  Luo Wei gripped the longsword firmly and used it to chop the broken carving knife, testing its sharpness.

  The blade fell on the knife. There wasn't even a metallic clang—just a faint sound as the knife was cut in half like putty.

  Truly an exceptional sword.

  Despite such primitive steel-smelting technology, some people mastered forging techniques perhaps more advanced than the future, creating divine weapons beyond ordinary imagination.

  This world was full of contradictions.

  Luo Wei sighed, gripped the sword, and returned to where she'd started carving. She grasped the hilt with both hands, aimed at the groove she'd just cut, and pressed down hard.

  Using a sword that cut iron like mud to carve stone, the previously troublesome marble suddenly became as soft as kinetic sand. In less than ten minutes, she'd completed most of it.

  The rune fragments she'd divided into six fan-shaped sections in her mind pieced together one by one, drawing a perfect circular pattern in her mental world.

  Luo Wei focused intently on the runes on the ground. Another ten minutes passed. The long-distance advanced teleportation array's pattern was nearly complete. Only the outermost ring remained. Once carved, it would close the entire rune and complete the magic circulation.

  Though the Hero's Sword was sharp, its hundred-pound weight placed enormous burden on whoever used it.

  Without weight-reduction runes, few people could lift it.

  Luo Wei's entire arm trembled. Sweat slid from her forehead and hung on her eyelashes, gradually seeping into her eyes. The stinging made her tear up involuntarily, but her gaze remained locked on the rune beneath the sword tip. She didn't dare blink.

  Ten meters, eight meters, five meters... The arc's ends kept approaching.

  Three meters, two meters... Only a tiny gap remained in the ring.

  Drip.

  A drop of blood splattered on the marble.

  Drip, drip.

  Two more drops fell, blooming into bright blood flowers on the white floor.

  Luo Wei didn't dare look up. Her nosebleed dripped down steadily.

  Fifty centimeters, thirty centimeters, ten centimeters...

  The moment a blood drop fell from her eyelid, the arc's ends finally connected. The sword tip turned slightly inward along the ring, carving a circular groove and connecting the last line segment endpoint.

  Done!

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