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.

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.

She could see and feel the struggles of her knights. But she did not intervene nor ask to stop.

This was not done out of malice.

This place was the eternal battlefield. A place where life had no value and death could happen at any moment. If those knights could not even support the current bloodlust then — They would only become liabilities that would stiffen at the most important moment or flee in fright during a combat.

Soldiers did not fear smart enemies. What they feared was having stupid teammates fighting alongside them.

Finally, after a long walk that should have taken only a few seconds, the scarlet knight gasped slightly when Lilin stopped in front of an old woman and the pressure weighting on them from all sides vanished.

“You have good seedlings.”

Rose spoke quietly as she eyed the knights with critical eyes before gazing at Lilin with a warm smile.

“Your Highness. I am moved by your presence. I feel like I am once again standing alongside Her Majesty and about to march for war.”

“You are too kind.”

Lilin spoke quietly, hiding a bitter smile behind her words.

Sol was not the only one who had to live in the shadow of his parents all his life.

The same went for Lilin. She could see it.

In their eyes, she was not Lilin Luxuria the Princess of Lustburg, or the Captain of a Knight company.

She was the Daughter of the Hero Queen. The sword Saint amazed the world with the sharpness of her sword.

Lilin did think of it negatively nowadays since her relationship with Lilith was on good rail. She was proud of the achievements of her mother and was proud to be the daughter of such a legendary woman.

But —

“I hope that… No. I do not hope. One day — You WILL be moved by me. Not because of my mother. Because of me alone.”

She smiled. Borrowing the easy confidence she had seen Sol show so many times.

Rose was surprised. But soon, the warm smile returned to her face.

She was happy.

She had wondered what she would do if the princess was a wastrel like those nobles who were ready to cheat for achievements.

But — Listening to her words and looking at the knights behind her, Rose felt nothing but joy.

There were few things more joyful than to realize that the rulers of the countries she served were all worthy of her loyalty.

“I pray for this day to come soon.”

Once the salutations ended, Rose brought Lilin with her while her knights were sent to prepare their accommodation.

The Fortress was not just made with one big gate. But rather made out of three large walls. With each wall allowing one to go in further.

“The third and second circle are the places where Soldiers dwell. We made this system to make the conquest of the Fortress even harder.”

She explained with pride.

It wasn’t for nothing that this place was so expensive to create. Each of the large circular walls created was strong enough to make any attack stop.

But the most important was,

“Back then. Her Majesty Blaze blessed this place with the rune and blood of a Dragon. I do not remember his name. But from what she said, he was a golden dragon who represented the concept of absolute defense. A small part of his concept was placed on all the walls.”

She had every reason to be proud. How many people could say their walls were made with dragon blood?

The only structures in Lustburg that received such features were the walls of the Capital and the Tower of Babel which was created with the blood and concept of the Dragon King who had signed a contract with King Jupiter.

“Hum…Fafnir?”

“Oh. Indeed. This was his name. Forgive my failing memory. Do you know about him?”

Lilin nodded then shook her head, “This is the first time I heard this story and I never met him. But Sol… I mean, his highness Sol told me about this particular Dragon King. His name is Fafnir, the Golden Dragon and one of the first dragons. Even in the Astral realm, his reputation is stellar.”

“My. Such an interesting story. As I never had the necessary minimum quality, I was not able to enter the Astral realm back when I was 15. Though hearing of this story, I believe the Kingdom is blessed with a very talented Prince.”

Rose smiled happily. As a knight, like many humans, she had never managed to have a particular high Capacity much less enter the Astral realm. Thankfully, she was able to obtain a Nightmare Horse of the highest quality.

It wasn’t much. But Rose had never been dissatisfied with her horse. For her, it wasn’t just a horse. It was a friend. It was family and it was her most loyal companion.

“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.