A rich, heady fragrance filled the room, exuding a soul-stirring allure. Soft gasps and moans of a woman echoed through the air, laced with languid satisfaction.
A nude, snow-white figure writhed on the soft bed—it was a beautiful woman. Her eyes were half-closed as she surrendered herself to the caresses of the man above her. At last, as his movements grew more frantic, she grabbed the bedsheets tightly and cried out loudly—her body arched sharply before going limp like a puddle of mud. Only then did the man lying atop her straighten up.
He was an exceedingly handsome man, with sleek, flowing hair cascading over his shoulders. His thin lips curled upward in a faint smirk, masking a flicker of disdain and the thrill of conquest. His narrow, striking sapphire eyes narrowed slightly, glinting with a cold light. On the surface, he looked no different from any other man—but the slightly pointed ears peeking out from beneath his hair betrayed his true identity.
The man tightened his grip on the woman's waist and thrust hard again. This time, his actions drew nothing but a whimper from her, yet he paid it no mind. He quickened his pace once more, grunted softly as he emptied his desire inside her, then rolled off the bed contentedly. He picked up his clothes from the side and strode out of the room.
"How's the situation?" he asked, pulling on his garments as he walked.
The adjutant waiting outside the door immediately replied, "I'm sorry, my lord... We've received no response yet."
"Then we'll wait a little longer."
The man finished dressing, adjusted his appearance meticulously in the mirror, and when he was satisfied, he turned around with an elegant, poised smile.
"What's the current state of affairs? What does our Puppeteer Lady have to say?"
"Well..." The adjutant looked visibly hesitant. "Lady Hedwig has sent no word so far... Her Royal Highness Lindilot did deliver an order earlier, but you were... occupied at the time, so..."
"Forget it, it's water under the bridge now."
The half-elf glanced back at his bedroom, then shrugged with a laugh. "So, what was her Royal Highness's command?"
"Her Highness ordered us to pull back our defenses and stock up on sufficient supplies. We are to follow Lady Hedwig's instructions and launch an attack on Wester once we have fully recaptured the Royal City of Oruth. She did not specify a date, only that we should act according to the situation."
"That's quite unlike our princess," the half-elf raised an eyebrow, then licked his lips with a grin. "But no matter—since it's her Royal Highness's order, we have no choice but to obey... Oh, right."
He snapped his fingers as if he'd just remembered something. "I've had my fill of that woman. Have her dragged out once she wakes up. I never take interest in the same woman twice—playing with them too many times makes me sick. You know what to do, don't you?"
"Yes... my lord."
Sweat broke out on the adjutant's forehead at the words. He wiped it away hastily before speaking again.
This half-elf was none other than one of the Four Scourge Generals of the Sith Empire—the Windbringer, Kaelan.
Few knew how a half-elf like him had caught the eye of his Majesty the King and risen to become the third Gifted Knight, following in the footsteps of Lindilot and Hedwig. But his strength was undeniable. Though, as a Gifted Knight, Kaelan was not adept at large-scale, frontal assaults, his prowess in surprise attacks and ambushes was unrivaled across the continent. His most illustrious feat was the brilliant night raid on the City of Eternal Night of the Kingdom of Oruth.
That battle had become a textbook example of a surprise attack. No one else on the continent could have led a raid with such speed and ferocity, charging head-on through enemy artillery fire to shatter their defenses in one fell swoop and strike at the heart of their stronghold. Granted, Hedwig's troops had diverted most of the enemy's firepower, but even a fraction of that fire would have been enough to decimate Kaelan's small raiding party.
Yet under Kaelan's command, twenty thousand cavalrymen crossed the seemingly impenetrable defensive line in the blink of an eye like a tempest, seizing the enemy's core position in a single strike. What was even more astonishing was that not a single soldier in Kaelan's unit had been killed or wounded in the entire battle—it was a flawless victory with zero casualties.
And this was no isolated incident. Ever since Kaelan first took the field, his troops had never suffered a single fatality. Not one member of his unit had been lost in battle, and to this day, every soldier under his command was the same group he had led since the very beginning.
In this regard, Kaelan stood in a league of his own. The other three Gifted Knights were undoubtedly powerful, but their campaigns always came with casualties. Even the armies led by Lindilot or Nahias would occasionally suffer losses in the tens of thousands during fierce battles. As for Hedwig, it went without saying that her unique Gifted ability guaranteed casualties in every engagement. Moreover, due to her infamous temperament, "non-combat-related losses" were not uncommon in her Puppeteer Corps.
As the leader of the smallest army among the Empire's Four Pillars, tasked with the most perilous missions, Kaelan's ability to maintain zero casualties at all times was a testament to his unparalleled skill. His troops did not engage in large-scale frontal charges like the other three generals—instead, they struck like a dagger in the dark, piercing the enemy's heart from behind. This meant Kaelan was constantly outnumbered in battle; winning against the odds was impressive enough, but achieving zero casualties was nothing short of extraordinary.
For all his brilliant military record, however, Kaelan's reputation in the Sith Empire paled in comparison to the other three. The reasons were complex. First, he was not originally from the Sith Empire—it was only after the Emperor discovered his exceptional talent that he was brought to the empire, enlisted in the military, and promoted several ranks in quick succession. This naturally bred resentment among many senior officers. Second, he was a half-elf, not a human. While there was no official discrimination between humans and elves, the age-old sentiment of "non-my kind, their hearts must be different" lingered, and many people harbored misgivings about him because of his mixed blood.
If these first two points could be dismissed as mere misunderstandings, the third was entirely of Kaelan's own making.
He was an incorrigible womanizer.
Lust was not an uncommon vice among men, but Kaelan took it to another level—his treatment of women was abominable. As a half-elf, he possessed a more striking and charming appearance than most humans, and this Gifted Knight spent his days seducing young women, luring them into his bed for a night of passion. What happened between them need not be elaborated.
If that were all, perhaps it could have been overlooked. After all, Kaelan was one of the Empire's Four Pillars—handsome, charismatic, and witty enough to charm any inexperienced young girl. It was hardly surprising that they fell for his advances. But his behavior afterward was utterly contemptible: he never saw the same woman twice, discarding them the morning after without a second thought, as casually as one would toss away garbage. Some nobles initially thought the women he cast aside were simply not beautiful enough—until he bedded and abandoned their own daughters, and they finally realized the truth. To Kaelan, these liaisons were nothing more than a game, but to the young women involved, they were a fate worse than death, ruining their lives forever. Yet there was nothing they could do—Kaelan was not only a powerful Gifted Knight but also a man of high status, untouchable by anyone. The only thing they could do was hide their daughters away, far from the reach of this damned mongrel.
Kaelan was not picky about his conquests either. He cared nothing for a woman's social status—whether she was a noble lady or a common peasant girl, if she caught his eye, she had no chance of escaping his clutches. Without exception, every single one of them was cast aside like trash after a single night with him.
But what infuriated people the most was that Kaelan had the audacity to openly pursue the Empire's Jewel, the Silver Princess Lindilot, despite his notorious reputation.
Unlike the mysterious, mixed-blood Kaelan, Lindilot was deeply beloved by the people of the Sith Empire. She was just and impartial, cared for her subjects as if they were her own children, and treated her subordinates with great kindness. Even in foreign wars, Her Royal Highness always found the most prudent way to resolve conflicts. Her position in the Sith Empire was similar to that of Ophelia in Wester—with one key difference: Ophelia had chosen to keep a low profile due to concerns about her lineage and succession, while Lindilot excelled in both statecraft and military affairs, displaying extraordinary talent in both fields. She was universally acclaimed by the military and the nobility alike, and adored by the common people. In their eyes, their beloved princess deserved a husband worthy of her—a lecherous playboy like Kaelan was utterly unfit.
Yet Kaelan brazenly courted the Empire's most revered princess right under everyone's noses, and it was impossible not to feel enraged by his audacity. On one infamous occasion, he had climbed through a noble's daughter's window for a tryst one night, then showed up at Lindilot's palace gates the very next morning with a bouquet of flowers to court her. It would have been hard to find a more shameless man in the entire empire.
Fortunately, Lindilot remained completely unmoved by Kaelan's good looks and smooth words, treating him with nothing more than polite indifference. As for Hedwig, she detested Kaelan with a passion. This was the only thing that gave people a modicum of relief. At one point, a high-ranking military official even privately threatened that if Kaelan dared to lay a finger on Princess Lindilot, he would have to face the full wrath of the entire military.
Thus, within the Sith Empire, Lindilot enjoyed the highest prestige, followed by Nahias. Though Hedwig had a notoriously fiery and eccentric temper and was fond of killing, she could be reasoned with as long as one did not cross her bottom line. Furthermore, she was still young and extremely loyal to Lindilot, often acting more like Lindilot's subordinate than an equal general. For these reasons, people were willing to tolerate her. But Kaelan—he was beyond redemption in their eyes.
In the face of all this resentment, Kaelan simply turned a blind eye. He continued to pursue Lindilot relentlessly—and of course, never missed an opportunity to dally with other women. The woman lying on his bed today, for instance, was a noblewoman he had "invited" from the Royal City of Oruth just yesterday. Now that he'd had his fun, he was already bored of her.
No wonder the adjutant felt a sinking feeling in his heart at Kaelan's order. Kaelan's debauchery had earned him countless enemies, especially among the families of the women he had wronged. Some of those women were so obsessed that they swore they would never marry anyone else; others wept endlessly day and night; still, others were driven to madness by the trauma. Without exception, every woman who had crossed paths with Kaelan met a tragic end. Cleaning up the messes left in his wake was no easy task for the adjutant.
"However... my lord, there's a small problem."
"A small problem?" Kaelan slipped on a pair of white gloves, picked up a tube of lipstick from the vanity, and applied it lightly to his lips. He looked at the adjutant with a curious, surprised expression. "What kind of small problem?"
"According to the latest intelligence, the cavalry detachment sent by the Frontline Legion to the right flank of Wester's Redcliff Fortress has lost contact. We've received no word from them."
"When did this happen?"
"About half an hour ago. The cavalry set out three hours ago—they should have been back by now. But when it was time to regroup, not a single man showed up."
"The right flank..." Kaelan narrowed his eyes, stroked his chin with his right hand, and fell into thought. "Three hours... They've probably been completely annihilated. How surprising. The right flank of Redcliff Fortress is supposed to be their weak point... The Frontline Legion are a bunch of incompetent fools, I'll grant you that, but you'd think at least one of them could have escaped. Were they ambushed? Or... could it be that Wester's army is actually this strong?"
He trailed off, and the adjutant hesitated for a moment before speaking up. "Actually, my lord, Wester rotated their garrison at the right flank two days ago. From what I've heard, the position is now held by an alliance of noble levies."
"Those useless idiots who answered their fool king's call to come die here?" Kaelan laughed coldly. "The Frontline Legion really stepped in it this time—getting wiped out by a bunch of ragtag militiamen who aren't even regular soldiers. They should be too ashamed to show their faces anywhere. What do they plan to do now? Crawl back to their mothers crying? I'm sure they've thought of something better, though."
"Well..." The adjutant hesitated again before replying, "I believe they've sent a report to Lady Hedwig."
Though both were Gifted Knights, there was a clear hierarchy on the battlefield. Kaelan specialized in surprise attacks and ambushes and was not suited to commanding large-scale operations. Hedwig, on the other hand, had always been in charge of overall battlefield command, so her prestige and rank were higher than Kaelan's. Besides, the military had never looked favorably on Kaelan, so it was only natural that they would turn to Hedwig for help instead of him.
"Our dear lady will certainly not pay any heed to the complaints of those idiots from the Frontline Legion," Kaelan sneered. "In fact, there might even be a few more 'non-alignment-related losses' among their ranks soon enough."
He walked over to the window, and the adjutant immediately stepped forward to draw the curtains for him.
"Still... an alliance of noble levies, huh? I happen to have some rather interesting information about them."
Kaelan fell into deep thought. Though Hedwig had not told him anything about her deal with Blake, the Sith Empire's intelligence network was no slouch. Besides, the incident between Judy and the Mobius family a while back had been so conspicuous that it was impossible for the empire to ignore it. As one of the Four Scourge Generals, Kaelan had plenty of channels to obtain information. He already knew that there was a certain noble in Redcliff Fortress who commanded a retinue of knights with exceptional strength—and these were no ordinary knights. They were Dragon Knights, a sight not seen on the continent in centuries.
How fascinating. Just what kind of noble possessed such power? According to pre-war intelligence, there was no such force among the nobles of Wester. But it seemed that the intelligence was wrong. Not that it mattered—in fact, this only made things more interesting.
"Order the Third and Fifth Squadrons to prepare for deployment. I want to see for myself... what these so-called noble levies are really capable of."
"Is that wise, my lord?" The adjutant looked alarmed. "You're the commanding officer—if you rush to the front lines without a word, what if something goes wrong?"
"Nothing will go wrong." Kaelan shook his index finger gently, a smug and leisurely smile spreading across his face. "I'm bored out of my mind here with nothing to do. Our dear Lady Hedwig is throwing herself wholeheartedly into carrying out her sister's orders and clearly thinks little of my abilities. So instead of sitting around twiddling my thumbs, it'll do me good to stretch my legs a bit—think of it as a post-dinner stroll."
It was true that, in name, the campaign was jointly led by two Gifted Knights, but Hedwig detested Kaelan so much that she never assigned him any tasks or consulted him on military matters. Kaelan was more than happy with this arrangement, so the two of them kept out of each other's way. Now that he wanted to go out and have some fun, he had no intention of notifying Hedwig at all.
"Go make the preparations at once. I want to set off at dusk... You know what I mean."
"Yes, my lord."