I finally got to hear about the Blood Princess’ deeds, but it wasn’t what I wanted to hear.
This Blood Princess truly did sothing remarkable, leaving a terrifying impression on the hearts of the Ground Alliance that has been passed down for centuries. Although I have witnessed the kind of combat power that can wipe out an entire army single-handedly—like Pandora’s—but the feeling of witnessing sothing as a bystander versus being the party that’s wiped out is definitely different. Even though the shorter-lived races within the Ground Alliance didn’t experience the Fifth War, you can still sense the disastrous impact of that failed expedition on the surface people just by looking at the expressions of terror when those rugged soldiers ntion ’Blood Princess.’ If it weren’t for her being imprisoned on the Dark Moon, she alone might have dealt a devastating blow to the morale of the Alliance. However, the thing I wanted to know still couldn’t be grasped—no one knows the origin of the Blood Princess, nor does anyone know if she has another real na besides the title of ’Blood Princess.’ This supposed second-in-command to the Dark Moon Lord, who ruled over that dark planet during his slumber period, seed as if she suddenly appeared out of nowhere, having no ntion in any official history I’ve checked. After returning, I combed through the classics of the Goddess Sect and all the Forbidden Books Bingdisi ’procured,’ and found neither this na nor any possible character resembling her.
In official historical records, the Dark Moon Lord has always been the sole commander of the Dark Moon forces, with the Blood Princess appearing to be just a shadow behind him. If it weren’t for the Ground People’s failed expedition during the Fifth War, she might not have even appeared in folklore.
The information from Joseph and Anna only added to our confusion: the Blood Princess was one of the ’Four’ from thousands of years ago, who, according to the Old Pope and the Dragon Girl, was one of those who saved the world back then—we now speculate that these four have been executing so plan since the war ended thousands of years ago. This plan seems aid at protecting the world, but the deeds attributed to the Blood Princess seem so off...
Bingdisi was also perplexed when she heard the information I gathered. Not only have we not clarified the Blood Princess’s origin, but we’ve also instead learned of her deeds that are not at all related to being a ’savior.’ The Female hooligan thinks there are only two possibilities here: either there’s another dark secret behind the Four, and what we overheard of the Old Pope and Dragon Girl’s conversation is just the tip of the iceberg of the truth, or the real situation of that expedition during the Fifth War needs reconsideration—back then, only four soldiers survived the expedition, and three of them went mad; thus, all the Ground People’s understanding of the Blood Princess is based on the account of that one semi-mad soldier and the fact that none of the Expeditionary Army other than the four survived, so the legends circulating among the Ground People might not be true.
Besides, we’re growing more and more curious about the state of the Divine Artifact. Everyone now leans towards believing that the ’Divine Artifact’ ntioned by the Dragon Girl and the Old Pope is indeed the Star Domain USB we’ve been looking for. Theoretically, it should rely be a storage device, but unexpectedly, it has caused so much chaos in this world. The Dragon Girl and the Pope ntioned that the artifact released so ’Shadow of the Demon,’ which seems to be the main cause of the world’s turmoil. Considering the state of the Dark Moon Demons, that Shadow of the Demon readily brings to mind the ’Abyss.’ However, after employing limited probes and Divine Techniques (we don’t dare use broad-range scanning equipnt, fearing unforeseen incidents) to check, we found no Abyss reaction on the Dark Moon, leaving the identity of the ’Shadow of the Demon’ released by the artifact a mystery.
All in all, these chaotic matters had everyone discussing for most of the night, with Bingdisi even tempted to drop an ’All-Seeing Eye’ onto the moon, only to be strongly dissuaded by Lin Xue and . Small-scale Divine Techniques are fine, but devices used for scanning an entire planet are best left unused. Except for the Life Goddess’ talent of perceiving everything through native life, any Planet-level scan could be detected by the Fallen Apostles. Those bastards have a surveillance capability that borders on madness; they not only detect intensity but also width. Any scan with an effective radius over five thousand kiloters, whether using Ghost Energy or Divine Techniques, would be detected by them: this is to prevent the Imperial Army from secretly setting up additional scanning stations and outposts in this ’Three No World.’
Of course, we can’t confidently claim that the Fallen Apostles are mad, because the Imperial Army’s sensitivity to this ’Three No World’ is also about at this level... Our action limitations here are dictated by the Imperial Army’s alert level—anything that can be seen by our own people can certainly be seen by the enemy, so adhering to this point ensures nothing goes wrong.
A day passed just like that, and the Dragon Girl Soya probably wouldn’t wait long. She might move to the Dark Moon at any ti, so Bingdisi dispatched her last two Louse Spirits to the Northern Dark Moon Teleportation Gate for around-the-clock surveillance, just waiting for Soya to take action and signal us.
However, before that could happen, an unexpected visitor suddenly appeared.
It was the second day everyone was at the Northern Fortress. Early in the morning, Qianqian led the Pandora Sisters into the mountains for a hike and probably wouldn’t return before noon, while Bingdisi and Lin Xue went shopping in the fortress under the pretense of needing supplies. Although I couldn’t quite understand what there was to buy in a giant military camp-like "town," I didn’t bother with them, leaving alone at the camp to watch over things.
I set up a deck chair in front of the tent, stretched out to soak up the sun, as Dingdang, for once waking up with a relatively normal biological clock, poked its head out of my pocket, running laps over my chest as if on a morning jog. Whenever I glanced down, I’d see this silly lovable little thing, lifting my mood to a happier, more relaxed state under its influence. And at that mont, I suddenly felt a sowhat familiar presence approaching quickly—considering there were no other rcenaries around and that Dragon Girl Soya was nowhere to be seen since early morning, the approaching presence was clearly headed our way.
I casually tucked Dingdang back into my pocket and looked towards the distance, where in the morning light a figure riding a horse erged—a tall, handso man riding a National Knights’ horse, fully dressed in armor, looking like a Knight ready for a showdown with a Demon King. What was most notable about this man was not his Oscar-ready face, but his pointed ears displaying evident Elf characteristics—was this not the only remotely dignified one from the Iron Knights trio, Joe?
The well-trained warhorse trotted steadily up to before coming to a stop, and I raised a hand to greet the rider: "Yo, Joe, why are you alone today? What’s up? Just so you know, we’re not accepting any appoint... "
I didn’t finish my sentence, as I noticed the look on this handso Elf man’s face was not quite right—a mix of urgency and death-defying determination, as if this Iron Knight truly ant to confront the Demon King.
"What’s wrong?" I quickly rolled off the deck chair. Joe seed uninterested in the strange nature of the chair under , jumped off his horse swiftly, and got straight to the point in an urgent tone: "Where’s the woman you said was looking for the Blood Princess?"
I blinked at the Elf soldier before , feeling a sudden sense of foreboding: "What do you intend?"
"Just tell where she is; this is important." Joe reached out to grab my arm, and I quickly stepped back a half pace: "Wait, don’t get so agitated; I’m not inclined that way—unless you tell what you plan to do, I definitely won’t cooperate. You don’t intend to ask that woman about going to the Dark Moon to find the Blood Princess, do you?"
Yesterday, while discussing the Blood Princess with Joseph and the others, I casually ntioned sothing about the Dragon Girl, just in passing, assuming they didn’t know who Soya was, let alone that ss from thousands of years ago. But I didn’t expect Joe to co rushing over today, looking all tense, clearly as if... he really wanted to confront the Great Demon King!
Joe’s eyes burned into for a while, eventually seeming to decide that a ’newbie rcenary’ couldn’t affect his plans and nodding straightforwardly: "That’s right, I’m going to find the Blood Princess."
I sized up this relatively unknown male Elf, suddenly recalling how, during yesterday’s chat about the Blood Princess, he had been silent, and my attention hadn’t been on him at the ti. Thinking back now, his deanor seed odd back then. "Do you have a grudge against the Blood Princess?"
"You’re indeed peculiar; most wouldn’t ask that first: upon hearing the Blood Princess’ na, they’d already be at a loss for words," Joe managed a strained, tear-like smile, "Just assu I have a grudge against that monster. Anyway, searching for clues from that old expedition on the Dark Moon is my life’s greatest wish. I know this sounds a bit crazy, and you don’t need to know the specific reason. All in all, I see hope in you now... I know who that white-haired woman you ntioned is; if she’s truly set on finding the Blood Princess, she certainly can, but I don’t know where to et her. You’ve run into her, right? Tell where you encountered her, why that person spoke to you, and if she ntioned her plan to go to the Dark Moon?"
I stared in shock at this sowhat incoherent male elf, unable to understand how soone of the lowest-level Knight could know so much—he surely didn’t know the secrets from thousands of years ago, yet he evidently imdiately guessed that the white-haired woman heading to the Dark Moon to find the Blood Princess was the Dragon King. That Dragon Girl had hidden her identity and lived in the human world for so long. Apart from the Old Pope, perhaps others did know her true identity, but theoretically, it shouldn’t include an Iron Knight who hadn’t been promoted in fifteen years...
But regardless, Bingdisi and I hadn’t planned to take any outsiders to the moon—we were here to deal with the matter of the Divine Artifact, not to take a free ride on a seven-day tour of the Dark Moon. Bringing Joe along was a deviation from the plan: we’d have to assign soone to protect him. As I pondered how to sidestep this issue, yet another familiar voice spoke from beside : "You might as well tell him. This guy doesn’t look like much, but once he sets his mind on sothing, no one can dissuade him. Though I don’t know either why he thinks you can get him to the Dark Moon."
I turned to look at where the sound ca from and saw Joseph and Anna standing side by side not far away, both of them, like Joe, fully ard, their warhorses snorting beside them. The only difference between them and Joe was: they didn’t have the look of being ready to do-or-die with the Demon King, but rather a look of being ready to die...
"You..." Joe widened his eyes looking at his two companions, indicating he had intended to sneak out without Joseph and Anna knowing.
"We’ve known each other for more than twenty years," Joseph said, patting Joe on the shoulder, "I’m a rough person usually, but I can still know what’s in the mind of a brother I’ve known for over two decades."
These heartfelt words put a moved expression on Joe’s face until Joseph couldn’t hold it any longer and blurted out the second half: "And of course, it’s more important that you talk in your sleep. We share the sa dorm, and starting from midnight, I listened to your whole plan, for a whole three hours. You sure detail your sleep talk quite well..."
Joe’s face turned as red as a sunset, and Anna patted his shoulder to comfort him: "Don’t worry, only Joseph knows about this—also, do you know why nobody else wants to share a dorm with you except this fool?"
Watching the three get more and more jubilant as they chatted, I couldn’t hold back any longer and jumped up, shouting: "Wait a minute, wait a minute! I haven’t said anything yet! Nobody agreed to take any of you to the moon, okay? At least soone explain first, how did Joe co looking for in the first place?"
The implication being how Joe knew that the white-haired woman seeking the Blood Princess was the Dragon King, and why he knew the Dragon King was seeking the Blood Princess. After all, our official identity here was "Free rcenaries", and Joe’s original purpose certainly wasn’t to find a bunch of rcenaries to rewrite his fate. I am at most a stepping stone—at least that’s what the other party believes.
"Not many people know the real background of this quiet guy," Joseph said with a mysterious smile, patting Joe’s back forcefully. The handso elf didn’t get angry at being called a quiet guy, clearly a nickna they were used to within the trio, "Joe knows a lot, so of which could even be described as ’top secret’."
I looked at Joseph with an inquiring gaze, indicating him to continue.
"You know about the Blood Princess and the Expeditionary Army, right?" Joseph checked Joe’s expression, seeming to get tacit approval before continuing, "Back then, one of those who strongly supported and personally organized the Expeditionary Army was one of the Alliance Army’s commanders, the elven general Angelie. After the first batch of troops lost contact, General Angelie personally led the second batch, and later died alongside other soldiers at the hands of the Blood Princess. Joe is General Angelie’s son."
I opened my eyes wide in surprise: Life indeed can be stranger than fiction.
"So, my biggest wish in this life is to cross that gate and personally go to the Dark Moon," Joe said, lowering his head, his tone low but determined, "I might also die at the hands of the Blood Princess, or perhaps by other Dark Moon demons, but as long there is a one in ten thousand chance, I want to find out what really happened to the Expeditionary Army, even if it’s only to find the place where my mother figuratively fell in battle."
"Joe has always felt that the complete annihilation of the Expeditionary Army back then was very suspicious," Anna said vaguely, "He insists General Angelie wouldn’t make such a huge mistake, and... he said General Angelie had looked relaxed and self-assured when she spoke to him before the departure, saying she wasn’t going to the Dark Moon to fight, but to negotiate with soone... Joe believes that soone was the Blood Princess. I know this sounds rather shocking, and even the other generals in the Alliance didn’t dare to believe it, so you can just take it with a grain of salt. Anyway, just know Joe is a descendant of the first family among elves, even though the family has fallen, but he still knows quite a bit of secret information, including the identity of that white-haired woman you’ve t—hey, telling you all this might not an much, you’re probably even more confused now."
At this mont, I was already staring wide-eyed at Joe for quite so while: This ti, even if he doesn’t want to go, I must bind him to the moon!
The Blood Princess and that batch of Expeditionary Army indeed both had their own issues!
As for Joe, his story indeed was full of twists, but also very cliché. It’s the story of a descendant burdened with family grievances diligently striving to wash away his ancestors’ cris and long to restore the family’s glory. Joe hailed from the most prestigious military family among elves; his parents were both outstanding generals, with the latter being more legendary. The female elf nad Angelie was considered comparable to ancient legendary heroes. At least during his childhood, Joe, like all other noble offspring alike, lived a peaceful and privileged life under rigorous aristocratic education. Barring any mishaps, he would have beco a military officer like many gifted children in his family, advancing step by step to a general’s rank, just as his legendary mother did. Yet, the Fifth Dark Moon War and that disastrous expedition ruined everything.
The Ground Alliance’s most elite 50,000 warriors, alongside the revered heroic commanders from various races, were completely annihilated within a few days. Regardless of whether forming the Expeditionary Army initially also won the approval of the other commanders, as the original architect of the expedition, Angelie beca the biggest "scapegoat". She was the focus of the public’s rage, believing that directing their anger towards soone unable to fight back might slightly allay the fear brought by the Blood Princess. Thus, General Angelie beca the "Commander who made the most foolish error during the Fifth War", facing nurous accusations. For this elf general, the only salvation might be that she died on the moon alongside other Expeditionary Army soldiers—this sacrifice at least halved her guilt.
However, her family was removed from the "Honored Families" of elves and rapidly declined. Joe’s father fell into depression afterward, and other family mbers distanced themselves from the military (or were expelled from it). Hundreds of years later, as the wounds from the Fifth War slowly healed, Joe was finally allowed to enlist as an elven civilian, becoming a Knight in the Gandor Empire with his two non-elf companions—the elven community still wouldn’t accept him, leaving him to pursue a life in the human empire.
Even though the shorter-lived humans tend to forget hatred faster than elves, Joe’s identity still brought him so trouble. The trio of Iron Knights was known as the well-known ’last crew’ of the National Knights, where Joseph was due to being unreliable, Anna due to being naive, and Joe because of historical issues...
(Let ntion two things. First, Qidian has begun selecting the yearly works. Although I don’t know the rules or how the votes are counted, it seems impressive, so everyone should go and cast a few votes. The second thing is, if Xyrin is to have so rchandise, what would you all prefer? An art book, a calendar, or sothing else? Maybe I’ll start a poll in the forum to gather your opinions... Let’s get so enthusiastic feedback!)(To be continued. If you enjoy this work, please visit Qidian (qidian) to vote, your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please visit m.qidian to read more.)
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