Volume 3, Chapter 72 – The Child Who Wants to Act Spoiled

“Mother, can you stay with me tonight? It’s so dark here… I’m scared…”

Karina, looking pale and remarkably ‘weak’, spoke with a pitiful tone. She cast a pair of teary, helpless eyes toward Yumo.

This single look immediately shattered Yumo’s psychological defenses, which were already fragile when it came to her children.

‘Stay?’

Muttering the word to herself, Yumo looked toward Saibok.

In response, Saibok’s brow couldn’t help but twitch slightly as his gaze toward Karina turned somewhat strange.

‘Lady Karina, are you trying to use this opportunity to… with Lady Yumo… Sigh, whatever. I can’t stop you anyway…’

Feeling somewhat helpless, Saibok nodded slightly, signaling that Yumo could remain here for the night.

Seeing Saibok nod, and before Yumo could even speak, a member of the Blackrose Knight Order behind Saibok leaned in and whispered, “Lord Saibok, Lady Yumo, would it really be appropriate to stay here tonight? Regarding Xue Tian’ao’s side…”

Saibok understood his subordinate’s concerns but shook his head dismissively. “It doesn’t matter. Those returning for the shift change can be handled by the Nightingales. As for Xue Tian’ao, he won’t have any energy to spare for this place tonight…”

His balls were gone on the eve of the Coronation Ceremony. How could that eunuch Emperor have the strength to care about the dungeon?

“Then, what about those guards and researchers?”

“Hmm? Them?”

Glancing disdainfully toward Garfield and the other researchers, Saibok spoke coldly. “If they wake up, just knock them out again. As for the periodic contact reports, have a few Nightingale members skilled in disguise handle them.”

“Understood, Lord Saibok.”

…

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On the other side, having received Saibok’s answer, Yumo smiled softly. She reached out to gently brush aside Karina’s crimson hair and stroked her daughter’s head.

“Alright, I will stay here with you tonight. You can rest easy.”

“Mhm, thank you, Mother…”

After smiling with satisfaction, Karina slowly closed her eyes.

At the same time, just as she used to do in the Deepwinter Forest when soothing the children to sleep, a layer of crimson light gradually began to ripple around Yumo.

Unlike the usual oppressive and freezing murderous light, this red glow was warm and comforting. It brought a sense of heart-cleansing relaxation to the surrounding Blackrose Family members and to Karina, who was resting her head on Yumo’s lap.

Accompanied by the fluttering of countless Blood Butterflies, Yumo slowly closed her eyes as well.

She gently stroked Karina’s head while humming a melodious, beautiful lullaby.

As Mother’s song drifted through the air, Karina regained her peace completely. She silently felt her mother’s presence and enjoyed her gentle care.

‘Mother~’

The corners of Karina’s small face turned up in an imperceptible smile. She was thoroughly satisfied with the current situation.

Since childhood, Karina had grown up in the Hall of Ten Thousand Demons and was exceptionally dependent on Yumo’s scent. Her favorite thing was to curl up in the center of the Hall of Ten Thousand Demons, surrounded by countless Blood Butterflies and protected by Yumo, as she drifted into dreams.

However, after those two girls, Li Mo and Li Yu, were born, she had to restrain her spoiled behavior. After all, her mother wanted her to be a role model as an older sister.

Consequently, Karina’s opportunities to act spoiled with Yumo became fewer and fewer. After she left the Deepwinter Forest to travel the continent, she hadn’t been close with her mother for a very long time…

Previously, every time she thought about this, Karina couldn’t help but show a dejected expression.

Now, Mother had finally come before her, and there were no other sisters watching! She could finally snuggle with Mother as much as she wanted!

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Thinking of this, Karina’s heart couldn’t help but leap with joy.

As for Saibok and the others nearby, as long as she gave them a glare, they wouldn’t dare say a word…

‘Besides, Mother actually transformed into human form?’

‘Really, It’s just so wonderful~’

Pressing tightly against Yumo’s soft, fair thighs and breathing in her mother’s unique jasmine fragrance, a smile of pure happiness gradually surfaced on Karina’s face.

‘Heeheehee, Mother, umu~’

‘Xiao really did a good thing by getting that Shapeshifting Magic!’

Although she didn’t mind the hard environment of the Hall of Ten Thousand Demons at all, it was definitely more comfortable to snuggle against a soft Mother, heeheehee~

…

Meanwhile, feeling Karina’s small movements as she snuggled closer, Yumo couldn’t help but reveal a doting smile.

‘This child hasn’t acted spoiled with me like this in a long time.’

‘How cute.’

With a slight smile, Yumo couldn’t resist pinching Karina’s cheek.

Thus, under Yumo’s gentle affection, the jubilant Karina fell into a long-awaited slumber. For a moment, this dungeon that should have been filled with an air of slaughter actually became somewhat heartwarming.

Of course, that was provided one ignored the golden longsword through Karina’s chest, which looked terrifying but was actually useless…

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While the heartwarming scene played out in the dungeon, tens of thousands of miles away, a drastically different scene was unfolding on the border defenses of the Snownight Empire.

Atop the moonlit Fort Garros, Aishman, one of the generals of the Snownight Empire’s Fourth Army Group and a loyal subordinate of Xue Tian’ao was currently strolling along the fortress walls. He inspected his subordinates’ work while patrolling the border situation.

Even though they were near the border of the Deepwinter Forest, Aishman felt no unease. Like the other generals stationed at the border, he felt almost no fear toward the Abyssal Demons. On one hand, it was because he was from the interior and had almost no contact with them; on the other hand, and more fundamentally, it was due to his profound self-confidence.

Fort Garros had been destroyed by Abyssal Demons before, but after being rebuilt, it had been deployed with a large number of weapons prepared by His Majesty Xue Tian’ao, vastly increasing its defensive capabilities!

The army currently guarding the fortress was also entirely different from the weak Northern Frontier guards of the past. They were His Majesty Xue Tian’ao’s own troops! They were an army equipped with countless pieces of powerful gear, all sorts of high-level magic scrolls, and advanced weaponry. If the people of the Northern Frontier feared the Abyssal Demons, Aishman and his men, who were more powerful and backed by His Majesty’s equipment, naturally felt no fear. In fact, after being assigned to guard the Northern Frontier, they even felt a sense of eagerness.

They wanted to slaughter Abyssal Demons! They wanted to perform great deeds and advance their careers!

Because he harbored such thoughts, Aishman did not fear the Abyssal Demons at all. He even felt a bit let down because he hadn’t encountered any lately.

“Sigh, this is boring to death…”

Gazing out at the silent plains in the distance, Aishman complained lazily.

The soldiers of the Fourth Army Group beside him felt the same. After all, when they first arrived, they had looked forward to an Abyssal Demon invasion so that their strength and weapons would have a chance to shine! As long as they could repel an invasion, their status in His Majesty’s heart would skyrocket, and their futures would be bright.

To achieve success as quickly as possible, these soldiers even began to pray for a large-scale Abyssal Demon invasion…

Unfortunately, their prayers seemed to have no effect. The Northern Frontier had been terrifyingly quiet lately…

However, today, it seemed their prayers were finally heard by the heavens…

Just as Aishman was sitting on the battlements as usual, chatting with his subordinates and complaining about the boring routine of guarding the border, his brow suddenly furrowed. At that moment, he noticed the red wine in his cup suddenly begin to ripple…

And the ripples were becoming more and more intense…

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Simultaneously, a series of hair-raising roars suddenly echoed from the distance, shattering the silence of Fort Garros.

‘Hmm? This… this is?’

‘An Abyssal Demon invasion?!’

“Hahahahaha!! Finally, it’s finally here! I can finally show what I’m made of!!”

Aishman instantly revealed an extremely excited smile. He picked up a heavy firelock from his side and stood up abruptly, looking toward the distant plains with a joyful and eager expression. Meanwhile, the countless soldiers around him also noticed the commotion in the distance.

Though they didn’t know why the sentries hadn’t sent word, realizing it was an invasion, they cheered as if they had been injected with adrenaline. They excitedly grabbed their weapons and activated the defensive works.

They intended to eliminate the incoming horde of Abyssal Demons to gain the recognition and rewards of His Majesty Xue Tian’ao. To these soldiers, the Abyssal Demons who were once the stuff of nightmares had turned into stepping stones for fame and fortune. They were excited to the extreme.

Under Aishman’s lead, they were fully armed and ready, waiting for the arrival of the Abyssal Demon horde.

However, as the silhouettes of the Abyssal Demons gradually appeared on the horizon, and as their loathsome aura reached their senses, the expressions of all the guards at Fort Garros, including Aishman, changed instantly…

The excited smiles froze on their faces…

In the next instant, a strange purple-black light from afar dispelled the darkness of the night.

Before the Abyssal Demon horde even entered the range of their weapons, tens of thousands of Annihilation Cannons carrying the force of a thunderbolt expanded rapidly in the eyes of Aishman and the others…

…

“BOOM!!”

Following several massive explosions, pillars of fire rose from the ground as countless living beings were wiped out in an instant…