Chapter 1 The Beginning

After the welcoming ceremony on the airship platform concluded, the subsequent celebratory banquet began inside the Golden Rose Palace. The nobles of this ancient kingdom gathered together in the Eagle Hall, which was hung with crystal chandeliers and gilded silk draperies, to enjoy fine wines and delicacies. They toasted each other, enthusiastically and with utmost courtesy cultivating relationships with those in power who could bring them further benefits. Each attending noble kept a close eye on the royal attendant in blue and red uniform standing at the end of the long hall. Whenever the attendant announced a family name, at least one noble would rise and approach the high platform to pay respects to the triumphant princess and the battle-hardened knights – they would raise their glasses high above their heads, repeatedly and tirelessly reciting all of Veronica's titles, each with a beaming smile as if they were genuinely happy for the knight princess's safe return.

The failure in the kingdom's western territory seemed to be forgotten, and no one mentioned the crumbling defense line in the Shadow Jungle. The nobles unanimously described the day's festivities as a "triumph," although, in some respects, the feats of leading the Knights through the Chaos Lands, bringing back crucial front-line intelligence from the depths of darkness, and assisting the western fortresses in repelling the demon armies were indeed commendable. But whether this glory was what the knight princess desired was unknown.

Hao Ren, from the start, was unaccustomed to this seemingly warm but actually cold banquet. After watching for a while and realizing there was nothing for him to do, he asked to go outside for some fresh air. Rudolph III apparently thought that this guardian from a thousand years ago was not used to the unfamiliar environment of a thousand years later, so he readily agreed. The banquet was mainly to welcome Veronica and the Knights, and the "ancient guardian" was an unexpected addition. His Majesty was already troubled by the lack of proper hospitality for this ancient warrior, so he was naturally happy to see that the guardian had no interest in these aristocratic formalities.

The silver-inlaid oak doors of the Eagle Hall closed behind him, and the surroundings immediately became quiet. Hao Ren, guided by a guard, arrived at the terrace and took a deep breath of the clean air of the Land of Order—White City was located in the center of the Great Plains, and the humid air from the south and the cold winds from the north were blocked by mountains and forests, making the climate in the heart of the plains quite pleasant. The evening breeze was slightly cool, carrying just the right amount of moisture, and a deep breath was refreshing.

The city was still brightly lit, and the prosperous White City had the richest nightlife on this continent. Hao Ren saw several large fireworks markets in the main urban area below, and some places seemed to continue the daytime celebrations. He withdrew his gaze and focused on the exquisite white stone pillars beside him: these ancient elven-style stone pillars supported a circle of stone beams above the terrace, and the beams were entwined with blooming roses and some unknown alien plants. Within sight, he could see either crowds celebrating in peace or exquisite and luxurious decorations. These things formed a sharp contrast with his experience in the Chaos Lands.

It was hard to imagine that this world had been trapped in an endless spiral of war for ten thousand years—this Korol world was different from every "doomsday isolated realm" he had seen. The reason for this difference seemed at first glance to be shortsighted hedonism, but after thinking about what the old knight Morian had said on the airship, Hao Ren felt that it was not entirely like that.

Footsteps came from behind.

Hao Ren turned around and saw Veronica with her purple hair—the princess had finally changed out of her blood-stained knight armor and put on a gorgeous light blue princess dress. Even her long hair had been carefully combed by the maids into a hairstyle commonly used by noble girls, making her look like she had changed her style completely. But when Hao Ren saw the princess's aura as she walked towards him, he knew that her style had not changed at all: Veronica strode towards him, the gorgeous and complicated dress kicking around her legs like a cumbersome rag. It seemed that only she could walk with the air of a rapid march while wearing such fine clothes.

"Guardian," Veronica said casually as she approached Hao Ren with a vigorous air, "Why did you come out here?"

"A little stuffy," Hao Ren smiled, "Came out for some fresh air. Why are you out here too?"

"Disgusting," Veronica made an exaggerated expression, "I finally waited for them to finish flattering me, so I quickly found a chance to sneak out. This damn dress is driving me crazy, I really don't know how my sister can walk around in these clothes every day—it's harder to deal with than the scale armor of the Everwinter Frost Guard."

Hao Ren had come to know the princess's temperament, and since none of the princesses he had encountered had a normal style, he just smiled at this time: "Looks like you don't like those nobles very much."

"They say I'm returning in triumph," Veronica frowned, "But I know what happened at the border. An entire legion was almost wiped out, and I heard that the scattered soldiers who retreated after being reorganized were less than two battalions. It was clearly a defeat."

"In the war with Chaos, as long as you come back alive, it's a victory, and if you come back alive without letting Chaos cross the Barrier of Order, that's a great victory," Hao Ren recalled what Sir Morian had told him and replied with the world's saying, " 'All who return are triumphant,' isn't that what you say?"

"I know," Veronica sighed, "And I also know that those nobles…actually, they are not stupid. Of course, they know what happened, and they know what they are doing, this is their duty. They must maintain an atmosphere of optimism and make the people believe that our kingdom is still strong, even if the barrier really collapses one day, they have a responsibility to ensure that everyone dies after having eaten their last full meal. As the Kordites say: 'Wine drunk in the belly is better than spilled on the ground.' "

Hao Ren smiled: "That makes sense."

Veronica shrugged: "Yeah, it makes sense, but unfortunately, I don't like this logic. I think I'm more like a soldier, and a soldier deserves to be celebrated only when they win a battle, not when they run back with a face full of dirt."

"That's not what a princess should say."

"You sound just like my father," Veronica turned her head and looked at the cloud-covered, starless night sky, "But that's right, you're an ancient person from a thousand years ago."

Hao Ren coughed violently...

After finally stopping coughing, he quickly took out a few pieces of paper from his dimensional pocket and handed them to Veronica: "I've already talked to your father, and he agreed to use the power of the kingdom to help me find someone. Just give these materials to you, you can take a look."

Veronica immediately took the papers. She had been very curious about what kind of person the "old friend" of the "ancient guardian" who was still active in this world was. At this time, she was also very active. She knew very well that the friend of the ancient guardian was naturally another guardian—a warrior who could survive from the previous generation would not be an ordinary person in any case. If there really was such a great master living in seclusion within the kingdom, then being able to invite him out of the mountain in the name of the ancient guardian would undoubtedly be great news.

But after she unfolded the papers, she was a little stunned.

Several papers were printed with exquisite character portraits—such exquisite portraits were not uncommon. Alchemists could make small gadgets that could print similar things, but the people in the portraits were a little inexplicable. The first paper showed a girl with short black hair, a bright smile, and sitting on the sofa eating melon. The girl didn't look like an "ancient warrior" at all, but more like a quirky girl next door; the second paper seemed to be still her, but her hair turned silver-white, and she had a pair of triangular wolf ears on her head, and even a furry tail behind her. She stood on an unknown wilderness, staring at a full moon in the sky in a daze, with an ethereal temperament.

If the change in the second picture was still imaginable, then the third picture was a bit bizarre. The third picture was…

A huge wolf…maybe a dog, because Veronica had never seen a wolf that could smile like this.

Although it was a bit rude to say, Veronica could see a sincere, silly smile on the face of a canine…

"These…" the princess looked up at Hao Ren with a questioning gaze.

Hao Ren nodded: "All three paintings are her—I don't know what image she will appear in front of you, so I had to list all three of her forms. Oh, right, the third picture is missing a reference object, please explain that the white dog…the height of the wolf is about the height from here to the small balcony below."

Veronica was stunned: “…Three forms?!”

Then she glanced at the balcony below and exclaimed even louder: “So huge!!”

"Yes," Hao Ren nodded, "She has three forms. Facing different enemies, she can exert five to ten times her normal power, but only in the first two forms does she have the ability to communicate with people."

"Does she lose her mind in the third form?" Veronica's expression was particularly chaotic. She didn't even know how she had accepted the idea of these three forms, and she could even follow this logic and ask, "Is this… complete beastification?"

Hao Ren tried to be serious: "It's not that she loses her mind, it's just that she won't speak human language in the third form. Communication basically depends on woof…you'd better find someone who is good at training dogs to negotiate with her to prevent misunderstandings and fights. To be honest, your knights might not be able to beat her."

"Could she be a guardian beast from ancient times?" Veronica muttered to herself with a dazed expression. Before Hao Ren could answer, she continued, "Ancient secret arts…how wonderful."

Hao Ren: "…"