Chapter 444: Chapter-444
As Heena leaned heavily against a stone wall, completely unable to straighten her waist, Cart turned his massive head and looked at her. The stallion literally stared down his nose at her as if she were a total fool, snorting in judgment as if to say, ’Why are you acting so pathetic?’
Seeing the horse’s judgmental look, Heena could only grimace. Before she could even pull out a sugar cube or some feed to reward him for the ride, the majestic, arrogant horse turned on his heel and rushed right back down the dark tunnel toward the capital.
Heena watched the dust settle, a wry smile breaking through her exhaustion. "Quite a competent and impatient one, huh?"
The System floated out from her robes, its screen flickering with worry. ’[Now what, Host? How are we going to sneak past 300 elite soldiers when you can’t even stand straight?]’
Heena gritted her teeth, holding her lower back. "First, buy me four high-grade back pain relief patches from the System Shop, and slap them directly onto my lower back right now."
The System nodded rapidly, executing the command. ’[Ding! Item purchased.]’
As the medicated patches materialized and adhered to her skin, a wave of icy, soothing relief washed over her cramped muscles. Heena let out a long, pathetic groan of pure ecstasy. "Oh, God... okay, now put two more on my shoulders, and run one straight down my spinal cord. God, yes..."
Once those were in place, she had the System slap additional patches onto her throbbing knees. She took a deep breath, flexing her joints as the medicine worked its magic.
"Honestly," Heena muttered, looking down at herself, "if I had to strip off my outer robes right now, I’d look like a damn mummy."
The System hovered near her face, its digital lights blinking rapidly as it looked toward the imposing, silent gates. ’[So... do we just walk up and knock?]’
Heena shook her head, a smirk playing on her lips despite her aching muscles. "Nah. Just wait."
Not even three seconds later, the heavy iron-reinforced door began to grind open with a low, rumbling groan. The System’s screen flashed yellow in sheer shock. ’[What?! How the hell did they know we were out here?! Are they psychic?!]’
Heena gave the floating AI a dry, judgmental side-eye. "They are the elite life battalion of the Marquisate, you idiot. If they couldn’t detect someone standing right outside their rear gate, my grandfather would have executed their commander years ago."
Emerging from the shadows of the gateway was a tall, imposing man completely outfitted in dark, matte-black night armor that swallowed the light. He carried himself with the lethal grace of a veteran killer. The moment his eyes fell upon Heena, he didn’t draw a weapon; instead, he immediately dropped to one knee, placing a fist over his heart.
"Greetings to the Young Lady," he spoke, his voice deep, disciplined, and entirely devoid of hesitation.
Heena smiled smoothly, the regal aura of the Marquis’s granddaughter instantly replacing her previous exhaustion. "It’s okay. Stand up."
The commander nodded, rising effortlessly. "The Marquis contacted us via secure transmission before your departure, My Lady. We have been expecting your arrival. Please, come inside."
Heena gave a satisfied nod. With the elite battalion already briefed by her grandfather, the path ahead was clear. She stepped past the threshold, entering the secure, heavily fortified heart of the Iron Convoy.
The System blinked its digital lights in sheer confusion. ’[Wait, Host... what kind of postal service could possibly deliver a letter that fast? Do people in this era secretively use mobile phones?]’
Heena reached out and rapped her knuckles against the blue screen. "Phones? In a fantasy historical setting? Are you out of your digital mind?" She sighed, rubbing her temples. "Pigeons."
’[Pigeons?!]’ The System looked at her as if she had lost it. ’[Oh, come on! Birds cannot fly that fast!]’
"You’re a fool. These aren’t your ordinary city plaza birds; they’re specially bred and trained work pigeons," Heena explained, pointing her finger up toward the ceiling of the cavern. "Up there, there is no traffic, no modern interference, and no delays. The moment I sent my grandfather a message through the underground network hours ago, he immediately dispatched an elite messenger bird to this outpost. It’s simple logistics."
The System flickered, still trying to calculate the timeline. ’[But how would the Marquis even know you were talking about this specific outpost?]’
Heena looked at the floating screen like it was a piece of junk code. "Because he has a brain, a luxury you clearly weren’t programmed with. He knows my movements, and he knows this outpost is the vital choke point."
Turning her attention back to the armored commander, her gaze sharpened. "So, if I am not wrong, my grandfather has already instructed you on what to do, correct?"
The commander exchanged a brief, solemn look with his immediate subordinates, then bowed deeply. "He told us to await your command as if the Marquis himself were standing before us, My Lady."
Heena nodded, gesturing for him to lead the way. They passed through a heavy, reinforced iron door and entered a massive subterranean assembly hall. There stood 300 soldiers, fully clad in their specialized combat armor, lined up in flawless, deadly formation. The air was thick with the scent of polished steel and disciplined tension.
Heena walked to the front of the raised platform, placing a hand firmly on her waist. She scanned the sea of hardened faces.
"Most of you do not know me," Heena’s voice rang out, clear, cold, and authoritative. "Some of the older veterans among you might remember me, as I used to play around the barracks as a child. As you may have heard, I recently lost my memory, so I cannot recall everyone’s names and faces. But that doesn’t matter right now. I am here to tell you two things."
The 300 soldiers stood in absolute, breathless silence.
"First," Heena said, her eyes flashing with dangerous intensity, "someone is on their way here right now to slaughter this entire battalion, destroy the Marquisate, and ensure my grandfather’s tomb is dug early."
A stunned, heavy silence fell over the hall for a fraction of a second. Then, a terrifying, blood-red light seemed to flash in the eyes of the 300 men. The collective aura of bloodlust that erupted from them was so suffocatingly heavy it made the air vibrate, yet they remained perfectly in formation.
"’’Who dares?!’’" a voice roared from the ranks, echoed by a low, rumbling growl of pure, lethal fury from the rest. The sound was deafening, yet trapped within the stone walls, it carried a scary, silent promise of violence.
Heena raised a hand to calm the crowd. "Well, there are many factions involved, and while I cannot give you a list of names just yet, you need to understand the reality of our situation. If you guys do not help me right now, every single soul in this room will die. Same for me. Secondly, I need your absolute, unquestioning support. I want you to follow what I say, no matter how absurd it sounds. That’s it."
Without even a single blink, the commander at the front stepped forward, slammed his fist against his chest armor, and declared, "We will, of course, follow you to the death, My Lady."
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