Chapter 1 The Calm Before the Storm

Holleta's royal capital was bathed in clear skies, its tranquility and prosperity as steadfast as ever in this ancient city nestled in a temperate climate. Proud royal guards stood tall on the towering city walls, while bustling crowds thronged the commercial districts. Carriages of nobles and wealthy merchants traversed the wide flagstone streets of the garden district and Gillyflower Street, maintaining the gears of the kingdom's upper echelons. This vast city was like an incredibly complex machine, roaring within its thick walls, countless individuals forming countless parts, allowing the machine to continuously generate the sparks of human civilization.

Three years had passed since the events in the Beinz Diocese. Even the incredible incident where "foreigners" came to help remove the "Scar of the Planet" was old news from more than two years ago – some scholars and priests used "Scar of the Planet" to publicly preach about the Eldest offspring that was pulled from the depths of the earth, a term that was quite popular among ordinary people who didn't know the inside story.

Three years was but a fleeting moment for an ancient kingdom, but for the busy common folk, it was enough to wear away many things, turning the major events of the past into "stories" mentioned only during after-dinner conversations. The collapsed Dragonspine Mountains, the Beinz Blood Lake that had become a crystal mine, the Beinz Diocese that had become a gathering place for scholars and adventurers, the pope who sacrificed himself – many people and events gradually faded from the public eye, becoming new sources of stories for wandering bards. After the sifting of time and the forgetfulness of the people, there wasn't much left that could still be remembered by many, or could still spark many conversations. This included Becky, the legendary mercenary heroine lauded by all the bards, as well as the mysterious and powerful "foreigners" who were said to have been sent by the goddess to save her people, and even Hordies, the aerial fortress that still hovered over the western side of the kingdom, now possessing a formidable reputation on the continent.

Ordinary people would not know the significance behind these things. For them, legendary mercenaries, foreigners, and aerial fortresses were all unattainable things, things that would only appear in poems and books. Especially the fortress, which had been exaggerated by wandering bards into a magnificent "Fortress of the Gods," claiming it was a treasure bestowed upon the pious protectorate kingdom of Holleta by the goddess – whether the Holleta royal family had a hand in such rhetoric was unknown.

The edge of the royal city was a bustling but slightly dilapidated district. The buildings here were low and dense, and the streets were always filled with the odors of various inferior spices, seafood, and leather. The clanging of blacksmith shops echoed from the corners of the streets, and the noise from the taverns on the street would last until late at night. This was where itinerant merchants and fallen knights who came to the royal capital to seek their fortune gathered. Some of the imported goods from the western gulf and the northern empire would also circulate here. At the same time, elite adventurers from all over the kingdom, after accumulating a fortune and considerable fame, would also choose to start a new life here – some became "martial guards" of princes and nobles, some successfully joined the Royal Knights, thus embarking on the path of climbing to the upper echelons of society through personal martial prowess, and some left dejectedly after wasting a few years, returning to small places to be ordinary adventurers again. The gathering of these people from all walks of life made this district, known as the "Black Steel District," exceptionally lively at all times. Countless reliable and unreliable news and stories circulated here, and wandering bards became the most popular profession in the streets and alleys. The number of taverns on the street was almost three times that of the inner city – they brought a considerable amount of extra wealth to the municipal officials, and also provided irreplaceable leisure and entertainment for the idlers who gathered here.

In a thriving tavern on the street, a wandering bard of some renown was invited by the tavern owner to play the ebony lute next to the counter, and used long and short sentences of poetry called "Geva Narrative Poetry" to depict a popular story. The tavern was filled with drinkers who came here to pass the time, sitting at several dark long tables. Near the door, three strangers dressed as citizens of the royal capital, but with foreign appearances, were also paying attention to the bard's performance – although the performance was not outstanding, the self-composed narrative poem by the singer was the reason why this bard was so popular.

"...That day, the sunlight turned into spears, and the goddess cast them down from the clouds, the earth split apart, and the rocks melted rapidly...

"The female marshal charged into the enemy formation with a longsword in hand, her armor gleaming, the blade shining brightly, and the tassels fluttering up and down...

"The demon from the depths of the earth had awakened, its body twisted and rotten, its tentacles dripping with venom, shrouded in infinite magic.

"...The power of the gods shuttled through the clouds, throwing boulders and burning fireballs, the Dragonspine Mountains collapsed, and the Blood Lake evaporated in an instant.

"That legendary mercenary, ah, she was fearless, she charged into battle in the foreigner's legion, slaying countless monsters, and finally came to the heart of the demon, a mass of filthy flesh throbbing before her eyes, the dark magic causing her hands and feet to ache...

"...A light spear from the sky pierced the evil runes, and the heart of the demon finally stopped beating, its dying curse dissipating in the goddess's radiance, turning into a halo above the Blood Lake...The legendary female mercenary returned to the ground, and cheered for victory with the crowd..."

The bard's singing gradually subsided, and the tables near the counter were already clamoring, while at the long table by the door, Hao Ren smiled and nudged Lily's arm: "Listen to that, this is the third version."

"Why isn't there a version with 'the silver-white sacred beast standing on the ground'," Lily pouted, "I clearly heard that there's a version that's specifically bragging about... praising me. I was pretty active that day too, and I'm bigger than all of you..."

"Being big doesn't matter, there were plenty of big things on the battlefield that day," Vivian said with a disdainful pout, "I actually like this version quite a bit. Basically all the characters who should be there are there, and it doesn't miss as much as the other versions. Think about that modified version we heard in the square before – all the ancient magic emperors were revived one by one, it was just blowing things out of proportion."

"No matter which version, Becky seems to have a lot of screen time," Hao Ren said with a chuckle, "It seems that the Holleta royal family is really going all out to drag her out as a typical example for propaganda."

Vivian nodded: "There's no way around it, there has to be a Holleta person in these kinds of epic events, otherwise what about national pride? And Becky was indeed quite active back then."

"Alright, we've heard enough stories, and we've seen the changes here over the past two years, it's time to go find Becky," Hao Ren stood up, and patted Lily, who was still unwilling to get up, "We haven't told her that we're coming today, it'll be a surprise for her."

Becky's manor was located not far outside the city. Originally, she was qualified to obtain a mansion in the inner city or even the noble district allocated by the royal family, but this free-spirited mercenary really couldn't stand the days surrounded by upper-class people, so she finally chose to continue living in the manor outside the city. Hao Ren and his party arrived at the manor in the evening. The servants and butler of the manor clearly remembered these mysterious and respected "foreigners," and immediately opened the gate, but Hao Ren was told that Becky was not here.

"Becky's not here?" Lily was surprised, "It's almost dark, where could she have gone?"

"The mistress left with a royal knight order for the Dark Mountains a few days ago," the butler of the manor explained respectfully. He knew that these people had a close relationship with his mistress, and were that group of "legendary figures," so he didn't hide anything, "She is now a high-ranking officer in the Royal Knights, and has the title of countess, so she accepted the imperial order."

"She joined the Royal Knights?" Hao Ren raised his eyebrows. He wasn't surprised by Becky's title of countess. He knew about this, after all, that female mercenary had made great contributions in the Beinz incident that day, and was later established as a typical hero figure. It was perfectly normal for the royal family to grant her a status that matched her reputation, anyway, it was just a "honorary noble" without a fief. It was just that Becky, who had repeatedly said that she would "retire" after earning a lot of money and just stay at home counting money, had actually joined the Royal Knights again, and had even gone out on field duty, which was a bit surprising.

"The mistress has been in the military for many years, and is not used to the later noble life," the butler said in a matter-of-fact tone, "So, under the recommendation of Marshal Ofra, she joined the Royal Knights. But I don't know the details – it is not the duty of a servant to inquire too much about the master's private affairs."

As soon as Hao Ren heard the words "under the recommendation of Marshal Ofra," he thought to himself that there was no need to talk about the details, this matter itself was the detail...

Actually, even without the influence of Marshal Ofra, Hao Ren felt that it was normal for Becky to join the Knights or run back to be a mercenary. After all, she was someone who was used to running around, and couldn't just calm down. She was full of confidence in saying that she wanted to live an elegant and decent noble life at the beginning, but he estimated that Becky couldn't stand the days where she did nothing but gossiping with the noble ladies every day...

"Then when will she be back?" Hao Ren asked, "Or you can tell me where she is."

At the same time, he silently calculated in his mind that if he really couldn't find Becky, he might as well just go directly to Marshal Ofra. It wouldn't be delaying the main business to get the subsequent "Sunset Red Homecoming Tour" project done first.

The butler bowed slightly: "The mistress is only carrying out an escort mission and will not stay in the Dark Mountains for a long time. She should be back tomorrow."

"That's good – we can just stay here and wait for her to come back, right?"

"Of course," the butler replied, "The mistress has long reserved rooms in the manor for several distinguished guests. Please follow me..."