Chapter 30: The Prince of Long's Mansion

"Commander, we have lost contact with the deputy commander of the Seventh Company and the commander of the Third Platoon."

Solna, having just arrived from the eastern border of Longyou, was covered in the dust of travel, yet she still reported the intelligence from her subordinates to Freya, who sat before her.

"Oh? To take out eight of our people all at once..."
"This Liaodong native chosen by the Jade God certainly has some skill..."

Freya shed her blue-and-white lamellar armor, revealing a pristine white robe. Her golden hair was coiled in an elegant and luxurious style. Through the translucent white fabric of the gown, her porcelain skin and graceful silhouette were faintly visible. Freya reclined languidly on a magnificent chaise lounge, the sculpted lines of her abdomen visible, as beautiful as an ancient Greek statue shrouded in the morning mist.

Solna did not look up at her commander, but even a fleeting glance stirred strange emotions within her. This woman, who had always acted like a man and been mocked by the Stardust Army soldiers as a "monster woman," had developed an inexplicable affection for Freya, a fellow woman. However, as the captain of the First Company of the White Lion Cavalry—the sharpest blade in the commander's hand—Solna suppressed these delusions.

"Raise your head and sit down to talk."

Freya lazily picked up a fine grape from a fruit platter and placed it in her mouth. It was the finest fruit from the Long Prince's mansion, obtained from the black-skinned, pointed-eared people who rode horses in the deserts of the Western Regions.

"Mmm, the grapes of this Jade Realm are truly exquisite."

Freya extended her tongue to lick the juice from her fingers, her eyes softened with a seductive charm by the sweetness of the fruit. Solna did not dare to observe her commander's flirtatious display.

"Heh heh, why are you blushing?" Freya continued to hold the grape in her mouth, teasing the sticky pulp with her tongue.

"It is nothing... Commander... nothing at all."

"Heh heh, I won't tease you anymore." Freya laughed, swallowed the pulp, and said, "That deputy commander of the Seventh Company was a temporary pick from a village near Snowwind Fortress. She was reckless and aggressive; there was nothing I could do about her fate. It is only a pity for the Third Platoon commander and those sisters; they were all promising seeds."

Freya's languid expression shifted instantly. She knocked the fruit platter beside her over with a sharp strike.

"Damn those Dailongmei and Lily! Two fish on the chopping block, daring to jump about like this!"

Solna lowered her head, not daring to speak; her commander could flip her mood faster than turning a page.

"I will have the Fourth Company commander send more people." Freya sighed, rubbing her forehead. "Alas, that hateful Jade God raised that void wall, forcing us to limit our numbers to eighty to enter the Heavenly Jade territory! This Liu Huaxi and his Tomb Raider Society are not only linked to the Jade God as the sisters reported, but I fear the connection runs very deep."

"Liu Neng also went to him for intelligence, but..."

"Liu Neng is a fool!" Freya cursed again. "His so-called intelligence gathering is just an excuse to send people into the Western Absolute Lands to salvage live immortal chariots, just like the one Liu Huaxi's group obtained. I told that idiot long ago that if he wanted to stage a coup, I would handle it for him. The things in the dungeons of the Western Absolute Lands... they are not to be touched."

When she mentioned the "Western Absolute Lands," even the battle-hardened Freya felt a tremor of fear. Such things did not exist even in her former homeland, the land where steam-powered monster machines roamed.

"Is such a dullard truly of any use to us? Lord Fenrir said before that this kind of swine..." Freya waved her hand at Solna. "I understand Lord Fenrir's thoughts."

"He hopes to sweep through the entire Heavenly Jade with absolute force, control the entire Jade Realm, and turn it into a paradise for our Star people." Freya pinched a remaining grape from the table and ate it. "But even with our army's ability to traverse the heavens and the earth, it is not enough to completely eradicate the Jade people."

Freya sighed and looked up at the sky. "The Supreme Heaven once intended to use ancient underground weapons to completely destroy the life in this world so we could take over. But his plan to seduce the leader of the Tomb Raider Society failed, and he himself cannot enter the Jade Seal Realm or the Jade Realm."

Freya let out a mocking laugh. "Once the void wall rose over the Lu Ma River, our twenty-thousand-strong Stardust Army was blocked in the state of Dongsong. Now, the strategy I originally proposed has finally reached Lord Fenrir's ears."

Freya looked around the luxurious bedroom. The model of Jinzhou City at the door, crafted from fine jade, was exquisite, but it held no value in her eyes.

"We use Jade people to rule the Jade people, and we rule everything. We are the masters, and they are the servants. Doesn't this just leave more people to provide us with all sorts of luxuries?"

"Star Envoy... we heard your basin fall," a soft voice asked from outside. "May we replace it with a fresh one?"

"Come in!"

Two maidservants dressed in fine silk gowns entered. "Clean this up!" Freya commanded sharply. The maids did not dare to delay; they scrambled to pick up the spilled grapes and quickly replaced the platter.

"I will take my leave then... if you need anything else..."

"Strip!" Freya commanded loudly before they could finish. "Take off all your clothes!"

The two maids looked at each other in shock. To strip and expose their bodies in front of a stranger would bring shame to anyone. But Master Liu Neng had once said, "Serve the Star Envoy well, or I will feed you to the dogs."

"Strip! Don't make me say it a third time!"

After a rustling sound, the Heavenly Jade garments fell to the floor. Before Freya stood two slender, fair, and delicate bodies.

"Kneel down and form a chair." A smile spread across Freya's face.

"Star Envoy... how..." One maid began to cry in terror.

"Kneel and connect your backsides! Is that so hard to understand?"

The maids looked at each other again, but the threat of being "fed to the dogs" echoed in their minds. Thus, a human chair was formed.

"Tsk, this is truly comfortable." Freya sat down on the chair and shook her body, showing off to Solna. The Heavenly Jade maid beneath her whimpered.

"Smack!"

A loud slap landed on a backside. "Cry again, and I will feed you to the dogs!" The crying ceased.

"See, my dear First Company Commander," Freya said with a sinister smile, "this is how we rule everything!"

Solna looked at the three beautiful bodies presented in such a grotesque manner and nodded in stunned silence.

"Go, gather all the sisters. Since they are going to the Western Absolute Lands, we shall follow."

"Commander, should we leave some people in Jinzhou City?"

"Leaving them is useless. If the Jade God has any remaining tricks, they lie with Dailongmei and that key. Jinzhou City is already secure enough with Liu Neng's men and the Drunken Fox Army to the south. Go."

...

Solna stood on the parade ground of the Long Prince's mansion. There were no strong men of Heavenly Jade here now; instead, dozens of White Lion Cavalry stood in orderly ranks, clad in blue-and-white lamellar armor and iron helmets. The lions beside them let out low, guttural growls. Over a hundred people and lions stood tall, trampling the land of Heavenly Jade beneath their feet.

A light rain began to fall from the overcast sky. The raindrops landed on the pointed ears of the White Lion Cavalry, and also on the raucous, celebratory main hall of the mansion. Despite the gloomy weather outside, the interior was filled with the sounds of a theatrical troupe performing, full of life.

On the stage, a troupe invited from Jinyuan City performed a grand play. Listening closely, it was full of lewd songs about illicit affairs. The stage was filled with painted beauties, and the hall was crowded with the beauties of the six palaces. The scent of rouge and various perfumes greedily invaded the nostrils of every noble guest.

The old Long Prince, Liu Ying, a man over four hundred years old who had survived until now thanks to the grace of the Jade God, had long lost his vigor. He was nothing more than a senile old man obsessed with burying his head in the bosoms of women. In his eyes, there was nothing but women—and even more beautiful women. His crooked-mouthed brother, Liu Neng, had brought in the beauty troupe from Jinyuan and beauties from across Longyou, encouraging the old man to drown himself in rouge and perfume.

"Eat well, drink well, enjoy yourself!"
"Drink to the joys of the day, while the beauties dance around!"
"Drink! Drink!"

Under Liu Neng's urging, Liu Ying drank heavily from the red wine imported from the Western Regions and the aged white spirits salvaged from underground. He poured wine into the bosoms of the women, wishing to be a man of the mountains, exploring to his heart's content.

Yet, merely a wall away, the iron-clad foreign invaders were preparing to deal his homeland its final blow.

"Peace in Longyou for ten thousand generations!"
"Peace for ten thousand generations!"

The fine wine poured down Liu Ying's throat turned into rain falling on the fierce faces of the White Lion Cavalry.

"Depart! Seize the key!"
"Yes!"

The White Lion Cavalry replied in low voices and mounted their lions.

Dawn had just broken. The sleepy soldiers had just opened the city gates when a white arrow of over a hundred riders filed out of Jinzhou City, heading straight for the Western Absolute Lands in the west.

"Uncle Yousheng, that bunch of madwomen are heading west. They don't look like good news..."
"What does the Fifth Young Master's new letter say?"

In the shadows of the street, another group of a hundred men prepared to ride out. The leader slightly raised his hood, revealing the resolute face of Dai Yousheng.

"To the Alchemist Realm!"
"Understood!"

Righteous and evil, both departed Jinzhou, leaving behind only the gluttons and cowards, dead drunk in the Long Prince's mansion.