[Babel Tower]
“Big brother, It has been so long since I decided to fight again, pray for us.”
In her office, with the help of a dim light, Lilith was changing herself.
Her usual outfit consisted of a dress with a low cut that showed all her curves without being outright slutty.
Even though such clothes were extremely beautiful, the material was so weak that anything could destroy them
Currently, though, she was wearing a qipao from Wratharis and under it, a black form-fitting leather catsuit created for her by Arachne, that would make any spy or assassin drool in envy.
In fact, in the past, Arachne and Theresa were the ones who always took care of their equipment. Be it their armors, weapons, or undershirts.
Because of her inherently weak body and her fighting style, Lilith was used to wearing light leather armor over her clothes, which generally gave a less powerful protection. This problem though vanished with the help of Arachne.
The clothes themselves were resistant to most cutting and piercing weapons. What’s more, they had great shock absorption, so even blunt weapons couldn’t completely bypass them.
Of course, everything had a limit, but when used alongside her mana, she had a good enough defense without having to compromise her fighting style.
Right now, as she finished wearing her battle gear and opened a case laying down in a secret compartment of her office, she couldn’t help but feel emotional.
Aside from when she took it out to train Sol, she hadn’t used her sword at all for close to ten years.
Lilith’s weapon was a broadsword as tall as her and large enough that it could pass for a shield.
Despite its form, this weapon once in her hand was as light as a feather once she injected her mana in it and once she ejected mana from it, it would once again become extremely heavy.
Many of her enemies died because they were unable to adapt to the unpredictable rythm of her weapons.
Now, as she held her weapon, the aura surrounding her suddenly changed, becoming as deep as the sea.
Anyone who knew her would understand that right now, she was in a total battle mode.
Standing up, she walked out of her office and gave one last glance at a special sword case placed a little away.
Mars’s weapon, the holy sword of luxuria.
Soon, the sword saint would once again unleash her might.
“Your majesty! Something big happening!”
The moment she closed the door behind her, she could see three battle maids in full gears running toward her.
Lilith frowned as she felt a bad hunch, those three maids were the oldest of the group and had even fought in some skirmishes with her again Wratharis, when she was younger. For them to be so flustered meant that something really big had happened,
“Take a deep breath and report”
“Yes!”
The three stopped in front of her and gathered their bearing before continuing,
“Your majesty, we just lost contact with the sentinels observing the surroundings of the Gorfard family.”
“The last report we received from them was the sudden apparition of a red barrier enclosing the whole estate.”
“We judged that the sentinels are most likely dead or imprisoned. As for his highness, his status is currently unknown.”
Hearing those words, Lilith’s felt her heart nearly explode. All that stopped her from directly rushing was the fact that she believed in Sol. As long as the enemy wasn’t too fast for him to react, he should have no problem escaping.
Calming her wildly beating heart, she began to give the order,
“The sentinels fought bravely to complete their mission. if they are still alive and can be rescued, they will be appropriately rewarded. If not, their families will receive enough compensation to never be left wanting.”
Taking a deep breath she continued, “Heed my words, I hereby declare that the kingdom is in a state of emergency! The martial law will be in application from now."
Once she made her declaration, Lilith began to send her order, "Alpha, I need you to use the portal leading to the church to disclose the situation to the Supreme daughter. She should already be in the know, but it doesn't hurt to be prudent. The paladins must create security perimeters in the city.”
“Beta, once Alpha uses the portal, tell the gatekeeper to immediately deactivates it. The same goes for all the portals in the capital. Finally, Omega, go toward the barrack and warn the black knights to prepare themselves to protect the city. You must also activate the security system of the tower. No one is allowed in or out of the tower. Hurry! We do not have time!”
““Yes! Your highness!””
After taking their orders, the three of them noticeably calmed down and rushed away to execute their missions.
This was what it meant to be a good leader. A leader should be able to inspire confidence in their subordinate no matter how dire the situation was, and should never lose their cool.
“Mother! I am coming with you.”
Lilith frowned when she saw Lilin rushing with Nuwa and Theresa, but she didn't oppose. Right now, each second was precious.
“Alright. But you will follow my orders, I will accept no insubordination.”
“I understand”
Turning toward her old friend she asked, “Theresa, is the weapon with you?”
Theresa simply nodded. Even though no tension showed on her face, Lilith knew that Theresa always became calmer and silent when she was stressed. She was without a doubt taking the situation very seriously.
“Now, it’s time for us to began.”
‘Sol, no matter what, you need to be alright.’
[Gorfard’s Mansion]
A few minutes ago, Sol kept having an uneasy feeling.
‘Something is wrong.’
Even as Sol slowly danced with a red-haired pale woman, Sol couldn’t help but feel a little distracted, his mind wavering as he felt more and more that something was wrong.
This was making him incredibly irritated and he understood even better now why Arachne had said that his sharpened senses were as much a help than a liability.
He didn’t know why, but currently, he felt as if he was an animal about to be locked in a cage, he could in the back of his mind the cage slowly closing in.
‘Something is definitely wrong.’
“Your highness? You are hurting me.”
Sol's mind was brought back when he heard a soft gasp. Looking at the slowly reddening hands in his, he let out a low exclamation of surprise and apologized,
“I am sorry, I was a little distracted.”
The woman let out a strained laugh as she answered, “I do not know what hurt more now. My hands, that were on the verge of being crushed, or my ego, after hearing that you were distracted even while dancing with me.”
Sol let out a short laugh, at this and apologized once again, but even while doing so, he couldn’t help but look at the woman dancing with him.
He hadn’t really been paying attention since she was already his fifth dancing partner, but she was definitely a beautiful woman.
Her long red robe clung tightly to her voluptuous body and showed a deep cleavage without leaving much to the imagination.
Even though she wasn’t some ethereal beauty like Camelia or Medea, nor did she have a very sensual beauty like Lilith or Milia, for some weird reason, it was as if she was hitting all his likes at the same time.
But more than anything, her beautiful golden hair and eyes were particularly eyes catching. It was as if he staring at the sun itself.
‘No matter how distracted I am, how come I have not noticed this?’
He frowned a little bit, before tightening his hand involuntarily before he let out a low growl,
“You…!”
“Oh? Your highness remarked? Well, I guess you aren’t a half-dragon for nothing.”
Sol immediately began to look around him. The moment he did so, as if on cue, the music stopped, and everyone immediately stopped dancing before focusing on him.
Even though none of those staring at him were a match for him, Sol had to admit that being looked at in such a way by so many people brought him a chill.
“Who are you?”
Letting go of his hand, the woman took a few steps back, and gave an elegant curtsey as she introduced herself, “My real name had long been forgotten, now though, I go by the name, Zehn, a vampire and… One of the leaders of the Wings of Freedom.”
Sol's eyes became cold at this. He didn't understand why he hadn't been able to feel a vampire so close to him, but now wasn't the time to worry about this.
Just as he was about to pounce on her when Zehn raised a finger and smiled mischievously,
“I have watched your last fight, and I must admit that fighting you head-on would be quite a pain. But this isn't an arena my dear. As such, before you do anything you might regret, let me remind you that basically everyone in this room is under my control.”
He opened his eyes wide in disbelief. He had already understood this after the earlier chilling display, but still,
‘How was it even possible? Even though I had felt a threat, the source was still a little far from it.’
He couldn't understand how she had managed such a feat right under his nose.
“Tch! Tch! Tch! Little Prince, it seems like you do not believe me? Then how about this? Hum...You two on the back...This queen orders you to die.”
““By your will!””
Sol did not even have the time to react. By the time he understood what those orders meant...His vision was dyed red.
For the first time in his life…
… Sol saw people dying in front of him…
… And he could do nothing to stop it.
(AN: Lilith’s sword was shown in CH 20. The gatekeeper was mentioned in CH 13.)
