The night was deep.
Inside the Imperial Palace’s Violet Chamber, dim candles flickered faintly.
The doors and windows were tightly shut, and the palace was utterly silent.
More than twenty Varangian Guards, led by the Red Dragon–Tattooed Chieftain, stood silently beneath the candlelight, watching over the dark and quiet chamber.
The Emperor of the Yanting Empire sat high upon his throne, overlooking everyone below.
But from time to time, he would recall the moment the Terrifying Dragon soared through the skies, its gaze looking down upon him.
A monarch looks down on his subjects—but a dragon looks down on the monarch himself.
As such idle thoughts passed, a gust of night wind blew across his face.
He half-opened his eyes—and saw a distorted shadow standing before him.
It resembled a humanoid mass of walking oil, approaching the throne in eerie silence.
In the blink of an eye, that shadow “molted,” scattering into pieces of crow feathers that absorbed the weak candlelight.
A raven-feathered cloak dragged across the glossy marble floor, not making the slightest sound.
The sudden appearance of this uninvited guest made the Varangian Guards instinctively tighten their grips on their weapons—blades and axes all pointed toward the intruder.
The Red Dragon–Tattooed Chieftain hefted his massive axe, stepped in front of the throne, and roared, “Who goes there?! Speak—or I’ll cleave you in two!”
He raised his axe high, ready to strike like a true barbarian.
“Stand down!” shouted the Emperor.
“He is my guest for tonight—Thousand-Crow Eye.”
“Ah?”
The Chieftain froze mid-swing, the edge of his axe sparking faintly as he lowered it toward Thousand-Crow Eye.
Thousand-Crow Eye continued walking forward.
When he was but three steps away from the Chieftain, his figure suddenly passed through the man—as if the Chieftain were a mere shadow, or perhaps Thousand-Crow Eye himself was nothing but a phantom.
The Chieftain felt a sudden chill spread across his chest, thin frost creeping across his armor.
When he turned his head, Thousand-Crow Eye was already standing before the high throne.
“Do not barge at my guests again,” the Emperor warned.
Yet inwardly, he was pleased with the barbarian’s fierce loyalty.
The Chieftain bowed awkwardly.
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
Thousand-Crow Eye knelt on one knee before the Emperor, tilting his head upward.
A thin, shadowy veil covered his face, leaving only two glowing blue eyes, shining through the darkness like twin stars in the night sky.
“Your Majesty, what does the Emperor of Yanting seek from the master of the crows?”
He spoke, but no one below could hear his voice.
The Emperor called out loudly, “Chieftain!”
His voice should have echoed through the Violet Chamber—but none of the guards moved.
Only then did the Emperor relax, knowing no third party could overhear their words.
“Is the Larifa Manor secure?” he asked.
“Perfectly safe, my Emperor,” Thousand-Crow Eye replied, still kneeling.
“Several manors have been made to look identical. No one knows which is the true one of value. You may rest assured.”
“Can anyone sneak in unnoticed?” the Emperor pressed.
“My enemies include the Dragon-Slaying Hero himself.”
“Magic and the raven flocks guard that manor,” said Thousand-Crow Eye.
“No one can infiltrate it. I guarantee that any intruder will be found. The manor is protected by Light of Destruction, a master commander whose forces would overwhelm even a dragon-slayer.”
Light of Destruction earned his name after one battle where he charged bare-headed into war—his bald scalp gleamed like a blinding omen, reflecting the sunlight just before total annihilation.
When the enemy saw that shining dome, they knew doom galloped toward them under ten thousand hooves.
Meanwhile, in Light of Destruction’s bedroom—
CLANG! CLANG!
Aurina jumped up, swinging a fire poker and whacking Light of Destruction twice on his bald head, leaving two perfect round dents.
She looked at her weapon and grinned.
“No wonder this thing cost two silver coins—it’s solid.”
Richard kicked the tough man to the ground, throwing out a rude servant and saying, “Still planning to resist?”
“Don’t kill me!” Light of Destruction cried. “Richard, I know it’s you! I’m a noble now—”
Richard gripped his sword tightly.
“I demand humane treatment as a prisoner of war!”
“Fine,” Richard said coldly. “Then start talking. Tell me everything you know.”
Meanwhile, back in the Violet Chamber—
Thousand-Crow Eye continued in his whispery tone, while the Emperor smiled faintly.
“My Emperor, your caution is wise. But you may rest easy—even if he invades the manor, he will never know where we’ve hidden the families. Nor will he discover that one of your most precious treasures lies within that estate.”
“I’ve even prepared some small gifts for your enemy,” he added slyly.
Everyone knows the Dragon-Slaying Hero is terrible at handling group fights.
Those slimes, magically trained, have memorized his scent.
They have no eyes, but can precisely lock onto him from a hundred meters away.
“They need no orders—just instinct. They hunt. They kill. They melt his weapons and armor with acid until he stands bare-handed—a mere brute.”
At that very moment in Larifa Manor—
Hundreds of slimes oozed out of the drains, slithering down the walls and dropping from the roof.
Anyone in their path screamed as armor hissed and melted away, flesh smoking before disintegrating entirely.
The manor descended into utter chaos.
“Like a swarm of cockroaches,” Richard muttered.
“Let’s play pest control.”
“This is not the time for jokes, Richard,” said Sophia, gripping her warhammer and singing a hymn to the Lord.
Her voice carried a divine calmness. A soldier, frozen mid-motion while pulling his smoking sword from a slime, barely noticed the pseudopod sweep his leg before screaming in agony.
Even under the Requiem, the slimes surged forward like an oozing black tide.
“They’re immune to mind spells,” Richard said grimly.
“Wait—I still have one divine spell—”
Before she could finish, Aurina leaped from Richard’s shoulder, her little feet pressing off his armor. She opened her mouth and exhaled a torrent of flame, scorching four or five meters ahead.
BOOM!
The flames devoured the slimes, bubbling and hissing until they burned to ash.
Aurina spun midair three times before landing gracefully back on Richard’s shoulder.
All around them, only smoking slime remains and charred corpses remained.
Sophia blinked.
“That’s… incredibly clean.”
Richard nodded. “Low-level creatures—tough but mindless. They were packed too tightly. Aurina had the high ground, and the fire spread perfectly. Let’s move on.”
“Gaaah!” Aurina puffed proudly.
“See, pack mule—you do recognize my brilliance.”
The trio pressed deeper into the manor.
Meanwhile, back in the Violet Chamber—
“…And there are also earth golems…”
FLASH! A burst of white light—
“Holy Slash!”
The two-story-tall golem crumbled instantly.
“…as well as mercenaries…”
Richard pointed his sword at a group of half-dressed mercenaries. “Drop your weapons, or I’ll kill you.”
They promptly threw everything down.
“…and skilled sorcerers working with fearless mercenaries. Against such a force, even a dragon-slayer would fall…”
A slippery midnight oil spell spread across the floor.
Sophia slipped, clutching her tower shield to stay clean. Even Richard had to watch his footing.
“Charge!”
Aurina landed on Sophia’s back and rode her like a sled, sliding forward.
As Sophia screamed, Aurina blasted the mage point-blank.
A moment later, the mage’s final scream echoed through the halls.
“…And the families of those assassins remain perfectly safe…”
Richard waved to the survivors. “Get on the wagons! By Tyr’s name, I’m here to save you! You’ll never sleep in stables again!”
People cheered, clambering aboard with their few belongings.
“…and even your Dragon-Slaying Sword’s hilt is perfectly safe. He’ll never find it…”
In the dungeon, Richard pulled a sword hilt out of a slain mimic’s belly.
“This? Worth two thousand gold?”
“Yes! That’s it!” Aurina shouted. “Give it to me!”
“Wait—this looks like the Dragon-Slaying Sword,” Richard said.
“Didn’t the Emperor claim it was broken?”
Aurina recognized it instantly. It was the very weapon Richard once used to kill her.
“That cursed thing!”
“In any case,” Thousand-Crow Eye went on, “Larifa Manor is perfectly secure. No one would ever suspect its importance—or your connection to it…”
Elsewhere—
BARK! BARK! QUACK!
The manor’s dogs and geese were tied together with one long rope.
Aurina dragged them all with one hand, a sheep slung over her shoulder.
Several wagons loaded with people and goods rolled out the front gate.
“What have I done?”
Richard sighed, rubbing his forehead as he looked back at the chaotic manor.
“This isn’t infiltration. It’s outright plundering.”
Back in the Violet Chamber—
Thousand-Crow Eye finished, “…and finally, one of our veteran shapeshifter spies has successfully replaced a harpist’s high-ranking agent. We know exactly what they’re planning.”
“Excellent,” the Emperor said with a broad smile.
“The Dragon-Slayer will regret underestimating you.”
Just then, a raven flew from the shadows and landed on Thousand-Crow Eye’s head.
“Your Majesty,” he said, voice tight. “Bad news.”
“Speak!”
“Larifa Manor is on fire.”