Chapter Thirty-Two: Elina, Surely You Wouldn't Want...

Amidst the fleet docked at the harbor, sailors were hauling bodies out of the ship’s hold, hanging them over the ship’s rails to be mercilessly pecked at by seagulls.

The stench was so overpowering that passersby hurried away, pinching their noses and choosing to detour rather than walk through the area.

Inside the captain’s cabin, Calich was holding a final tactical meeting with the crew.

The corpses hanging on either side of the ship were merely a ruse, meant to conceal the stench emanating from the hold, which could not be contained. This provided a plausible excuse to prevent Raine from growing suspicious.

Once the Blood Fortress was breached tonight, these bodies would be dressed and transported inside, transformed into so-called “pirates.”

Unexpectedly, no one from the Blood Fortress had come to negotiate, which could be interpreted as Raine’s reluctance to clash with his beloved Uncle Calich.

This led the crew to underestimate Raine even further, convinced he was completely unprepared and that perhaps not a single guard remained inside the fortress.

Calich, however, was not complacent. He had heard that Raine recently spent lavishly in Seastone City, recruiting many sons of proletarian knights as attendants.

This indicated Raine was aware of the defensive vulnerabilities of Iron Harbor.

Though he doubted that a few dozen teenage knight attendants could influence the outcome of tonight’s battle, Calich still ordered the first mate and boatswains to instruct all armed personnel to give their utmost effort—no room for underestimating the enemy or slacking off.

He began outlining the offensive strategy for the operation.

At three in the morning, under cover of darkness, they would launch a surprise attack, departing from the harbor to swiftly pass through the city’s main thoroughfare and strike directly at the Blood Fortress’s front gate. Any witnesses along the way were to be killed without mercy.

Once the fortress fell, there were two primary objectives:

First, to kill Raine and confirm his death; second, to capture Aelina alive.

Their exact appearances had been sketched by Diamond and memorized by the boatswains for their sailors.

If anyone accidentally let Raine escape or mistakenly killed Aelina, Calich would not hesitate to offer them as a feeding package to the seagulls—using their own flesh.

While issuing these orders at the command table, he remained unaware that by the porthole, a seagull silently perched on the windowsill, its hollow eyes fixed on the crew inside.

This was a corpse-feeding seagull.

In the study atop the fortress, Raine sat quietly lost in thought.

Besalia stood nearby, silently refraining from interrupting his spellcasting.

“Go fetch Aelina,” Raine suddenly said.

——————————————

Leading the knight attendants on patrols and training sessions, Aelina found herself occasionally reminiscing about the halcyon days of the Spellknights.

If one overlooked the knight order’s actual role as enforcers for the elven empire’s slave system, those times were indeed quite pleasant.

Now, however, she forced herself not to dwell on such matters, focusing instead on commanding the knight attendants through rigorous weapons training, shaping them into true knights who pursued honor.

Honor… was something Aelina no longer dared wish for, yet it still gleamed brightly in the eyes of these young boys.

“Lady Aelina,” the castle steward approached, “Lord Raine requests your presence.”

“Very well, Argol.” Aelina instructed the knight attendants to continue training, then turned and quickly left.

Entering the study, she saw Dia and Besalia standing on either side, while Raine sat behind the desk, fingers interlaced beneath his nose, wearing the somber expression of one plotting intrigue.

“What is it?” Aelina asked coldly.

“Pirates have taken my uncle Calich hostage,” Raine said grimly. “They plan to disguise themselves as fleet sailors tonight to launch a surprise attack on Iron Harbor. I must eradicate these pirates and rescue my uncle… if he’s still alive.”

“Oh.” Aelina remained indifferent, responding lightly, “Your knight attendants have never seen battle. Sending them into combat means risking heavy casualties.”

“That’s fine. They can just be resurrected,” Raine mused thoughtfully. “Besides, the dead aren’t affected by morale and will never betray me. Hmm… maybe I should kill them all before the battle?”

Aelina’s gaze grew icier: a necromancer born of evil—one day, I will make you pay...

“Hey, Raine!” Besalia, enjoying the spectacle, called out. But Dia could no longer restrain herself, “Stop joking around! Someone’s attacking Iron Harbor right now! Hurry up and discuss a strategy with everyone!”

“Just a bunch of pirates—not worth my dedicated strategizing,” Raine snorted dismissively, waving his hand. “Aelina, you’re in charge of the defense. Everyone is at your disposal.”

“And if I refuse?” Aelina’s eyes gleamed with frost.

I’ve already settled my debts with you!

“Hmm…” Raine pretended to ponder before breaking into a sly smile. “Aelina, surely you wouldn’t want your knight attendants—whom you’ve trained so hard—to be wasted on the battlefield just because you didn’t lead them?”

“Besides, I’ll bring them back to life afterward, with hollow, desperate eyes staring at you as if saying, ‘Why didn’t you save us, Captain Aelina?’…”

“Enough!” Aelina snapped, slamming the door behind her. “You’ll regret this!”

“Heh, don’t get it twisted,” Raine sneered arrogantly. “I’m the lord here!”

The door shut heavily. Besalia laughed uncontrollably, tears nearly streaming down her face.

Dia sighed in resignation, massaging her forehead as she complained:

“Raine, you could’ve communicated properly. Aelina isn’t someone incapable of dialogue. Why provoke her with threats? Don’t tell me you have some kind of sadistic streak…”

——————————————

“Dia.” Raine tilted his head, smiling gently at her. “Do you want to join the battle and fight alongside me?”

“No!” Dia immediately raised her arms, blocking her chest.

Now that she had transformed into a dragon, her rage was extreme, overwhelming her reason. Raine’s calming magic was indispensable.

This meant Raine had to ride on her back the entire time, using her braid as reins to direct her flight… Just imagining this made Dia dizzy, almost losing all sense of personal dignity.

“What about me?” Besalia purred flirtatiously. “Do you need me to stay here and serve you too?”

“Listen to Aelina’s commands,” Raine said.

“No!” Besalia pouted, whining, “I could be your personal maid, a warm bed warmer even. I guarantee I’d satisfy you more than little Dia…”

“Get lost!”

The captive’s command was absolute. Besalia stormed off in a fury.

Her offer was hardly born of love for Raine, but being rejected so decisively bruised the Rose Queen’s pride.

Adding to that was Raine’s previous three-word evaluation of her… Now, Besalia just wanted to go out and have some fun to vent her anger.

Arriving at the outer courtyard of the Blood Fortress, she saw Aelina had already gathered the knight attendants, speaking succinctly:

“Next, we will undertake a special mission.”

“I won’t sugarcoat it: this mission is extremely dangerous. There will be casualties. Anyone wishing to opt out may drop their sword and leave the order.”

No one responded.

At their age, pride often outweighs life itself. To lay down one’s weapon before all their brothers and slink away in shame… better to choose death.

Aelina’s cold gaze swept each face, her voice sharp as ice:

“I gave you the choice. Don’t regret it once you’re dead!”

“Form ranks! To the barracks for meals and rest!”