Chapter 542-543: Entering the fortress

Chapter 542-543: Entering the fortress

Sitting on her nightmare horse, wearing bright red armor without any helmet, Lilin looked up at the gigantic fortress standing up in front of her.

This place was legendary for many reasons. This was the place where nobles could make their prof and act as warriors while fighting for the kingdom most of the time.

Though there were some cases where the noble in question cheated, this did not change anything. Because even when they cheated, they had to ask their knights to fight for the achievements they would steal, making this a win-win for the fortress in every way possible.

“Princess, the gate is not opening.”

“One. Call me Captain here and Two, wait.”

She was calm. The blood and the flesh on the walls had long since darkened, giving a terrible aura of might and danger to this place.

This was Godfall Valley. The legend said that long ago, long even before the start of the Kingdom era. Back when there was no limitation, many kings Rank, and Demigods died in this place.

Whether this was true or not, this place was beneficial for enlightenment and all those who fought in this place would see their power grow one way or another. Some said it was because of the blood of those who died. Others said it was because of the pressures.

Either way — This place was ideal for fostering powerful warriors and this was why she was here.

This was a very important place both for Lustburg as a whole and for her particularly.

After all — This was the place where the Nightmare Queen died.

.

.

.

A few minutes later, when Lilin ended her contemplation, she finally spoke,

“I am Lilin Luxuria. Captain of the newly created Scarlet Knight division. Demanding permission to enter.”

She could see the soldiers standing on the wall of the fortress but she showed no impatience in her voice or actions.

She could wait. Even if they decided to keep her standing in this place all night, she would not mind.Fiind updated novels at novelhall.com

Currently — She was not in this place as a Princess. In the first place, as a princess, she had very little actual authority.

She was coming as a soldier and a partially independent mercenary group. She wished to train and grow her knight and leave her legend like her mother did in the past.

Lilith Luxuria became King at 18 years old.

Lilin was already 18 and she was only a Duke.

—This was not enough at all.

She needed to grow. Faster, far faster, and for that — She would risk her life.

“Open the Gate!”

A loud voice filled the air and soon, the earth rumbled slightly as the gate opened.

Those gates were not all there was to see. They were gates entirely created and forged with Dwarven steel.

This was a huge project which began with the Bloody Queen and took two generations to complete.

Not only those large gates were resistant, but the entire wall was created by mixing rare materials of powerful monsters and adding magical seals and runes all over the walls to create a super barrier that stopped all entry from below and above.

This place in a way was even more sure than the capital itself if you did not take into account the existence of the Supreme Daughter.

When the gate opened wide to welcome her, Lilin could feel a certain pressure on her shoulder. It was as if she was about to enter the mouth of a large beast.

‘How magical.’

Her horse started to move and her knights followed her as they entered, all around she could feel the gaze of soldiers, mercenaries, and even some citizens.

None of them were in the Duke rank. If there was a fight, she was sure that she could slaughter all of them without the slightest problem in an instant.

Even so, her alarms were ringing and telling her that those people were dangerous. She had a feeling that if they fought, even if they won it would be at a steep cost.

The knights behind her stiffened slightly. Some paled in fear and some were nearly paralyzed.

Even though they were knights and received systematic training for years, the greatest experience they had as soldiers was killing the bandits during the last operation.

Compared to the Veterans who had shed blood, tears, and sweat for years on this battlefield, they were nothing more than young chicks who knew nothing of the world.

The blood lust they were emitting was enough for them to feel faint and weak. The only reason Lilin wasn’t too concerned was because she had trained all her life while under the bloodlust and pressure of her mother.

Compared to Lilith, those soldiers were nothing.

“Sol is very talented indeed. You should see his power now. In the past, I could easily beat him but the moment he awakened, everything changed so fast.”

Rose nodded as Lilin started talking about how awesome and cool Sol was and the more she did so the larger her smile became.

She was not tired of listening and in fact, she loved it. On one hand, it gave her precious information about the elusive prince who had rarely if ever shown his face in the open in the past.

But more importantly...It made her feel warm.

‘So similar.’

She could vividly remember. More than 20 years ago.A purple-haired young girl with a sword and her group of knights talking to her excitedly about how awesome and talented her big brother was.

The way they acted. The way they moved. The intonations in their voices, the light that seemed to shine in their eyes whenever they mentioned the man they were talking about.

It was nothing but heartwarming and amusing.

“It seems like his Highness is an impressive person.”

“Right!? You should see him fight now. He is like a beast that never stops.”

Rose’s lips twitched. Calling the prince a beast in front of her was quite problematic. Thankfully, there was no one else close to an earshot.

“Still, Your Highness. You should not look down on yourself. Your mother may have not been as powerful as His Majesty the Hero King. But she was a beacon of hope for people like us. The proof that not having a high capacity did not mean the end of the world.”

She spoke quietly, her body was frail but her spirit was high, “Since you aim to surpass even the legend of her Majesty. I hope you will not debase yourself.”

They finally entered the Inner circle on those words and Lilin was surprised.

She thought she would see grim soldiers like in the previous circle. But here, all she could see were civilians.

Some soldiers were walking and patrolling around and the city was not particularly prosperous. But everything that should be here was present.

The routes were clean, the sewers were efficient and clean as well. Stores and inns of all kinds could be seen all around and she could even see women in skimpy outfits standing on balconies with sultry smiles on their faces as they waved at the men and women walking around, inviting them to enter a world of pleasure.

‘This is...’

“Quite shocking, right?”

Rose laughed and opened her arms wide, “Welcome to the city of adventurers. This place is not just a hell hole you know?”

The Fortress was one of the oldest and most developed ones in the entire kingdom. This place had everything from soldiers to sinners to adventurers.

In such places, crafters such as alchemists and smiths as well as tailors became a necessity.

Then Merchants, smelling the profits started to come.

Prostitute dens, Gambling dens, Opium Dens, and grey places of all kinds started to follow.

Finally, families of soldiers and sinners who were not beheaded as well as others flocked as well.

Slowly but surely. This dreary place that was filled with nothing but death and blood became alive in the truest sense.

“We are soldiers. We are protectors and this place is the firstmost place we need to protect.”

Her voice became steely.

They could not leave. They could not lose. Because doing so would mean the death of all the people present.

“Princess. I am not blind. I can see the movement of the army and clearly, the royal place is planning something big. But please. Do not play games with this place. We cannot retreat. We will not retreat. Because for many people here, this place is even more a home than Lustburg itself.”

Many young children were born and raised here all their lives. Never leaving the walls. They knew nothing of the world beyond and considered this place as their whole world.

Many soldiers had their friends and family in this place. They live in this place and want to die in this place.

One could say that in a way — This place was like a small partially independent country within Lustburg.

After speaking those words, Rose looked at Lilin, a certain nervousness between her brows.

She was not stupid and she knew her resistance might cause her death or her demotion. But she could not let the royal place order her to retreat further. This simply could not be done.

They had already lost much space in the eternal battlefield and though the demons had been weirdly inactive lately, one could never know what could happen in the future.

“Countess Rose.”

Lilin placed a hand on Rose’s shoulder before continuing to walk,

“Do not worry. Lustburg will retreat no longer. It’s time for counterattacking. We start tomorrow.” Rose had never heard better words.