A few hours after Edith and Lailah argued in Edith's room, Zakari rushed to the duchy of Valeria. He almost knocked down the guards on his way to Booth's room.
"General Booth's gonna love this," Zakari mumbled.
"Your grace," Zakari knocked on Booth's door.
Seeing no response coming from Booth, Zakari knocked once again.
"Your grace, it's Zakari," said Zakari.
"Come in," Finally, Zakari heard Booth's voice. He didn't even wait for a second as he pushed open the door. Seeing the brightened face of Zakari, Booth tossed the scroll in his hand away. He leaned back in his chair.
"What is it?" asked Booth.
"Your grace, you're not going to believe what I just heard,"
"Enlighten me," said Booth.
"Lailah Alden and Ghost have a child," The moment Booth heard Zakari, his eyes went wide. Soon, Zakari told Booth everything from Edith's argument with Lailah to the existence of the spirit child. Booth couldn't believe what he heard from Zakari. When he sent Zakari to bring Edith to him, he didn't expect Zakari would bring shocking news such as this.
"This could change the tide of this war," Zakari said with a devilish grin.
Booth couldn't remain seated anymore. He stood up, went to the window, and popped his fingers, thinking about what to do with the news Zakari brought.
"His majesty is in seclusion. We cannot wait for his orders,"
"What about her royal highness?" asked Zakari.
Booth shook his head.
"She has a soft spot for Edith. If we tell her about this, she might not use it as we should," said Booth. Knowing their friendship, Booth was certain that Victoria would not let them touch Lailah's child. Victoria was indeed ruthless, but not enough to kidnap a child. It was his job to make decisions that no one else had the guts to make.
"Then you have to give us an order, your grace," said Zakari. For a few moments, Booth formed a plan in his mind.
Booth slowly turned his gaze away from the city before him to Zakari.
"Go to the rainbow islands, survey the place and kidnap the child,"
Anyone else would have been stunned by Booth's order but not Zakari. In fact, he expected a bold decision like this from Booth. Making ruthless and bold decisions such as this made Booth the best General Thusia had ever seen. Without him, Thusia wouldn't have won the wars and become a terrifying superpower in Ozer. Zakari and the others had undying faith in Booth and were willing to do anything Booth ordered.
"What about the Aldens? They won't take kindly to kidnapping their blood,"
"If Edith's plan worked, the guild would take care of Ghost, and we can return the child without revealing anything. But if her plan didn't work, then we need this child to stop Ghost. This child is our trump card," said Booth.
"Can I take General Austin with me, your grace?" asked Zakari.
"Yes, but do not fail me, and do not get caught. We must keep this under wrap and only use this child if Edith's plan fails," said Booth.
"Roger that, your grace,"
After Zakari left the room, a devilish grin emerged on Booth's face.
"This time, I will cut your head and make sure you stay dead, Abras," Booth grinned. Until Princess Victoria told him about Ghost, he thought he killed Abras. To be honest, Booth didn't even remember Abras. If he had known Abras would not only survive but also become a Half Immortal, he would have severed Abras's head. It was a mistake Booth regretted to this moment. However, Zakari brought a solution to fix all the mess caused by Ghost.
"You might be a Half Immortal. But now, I know you're also a father. Tsk tsk tsk, you shouldn't have entered into this war with a child, my dear boy. You're gonna wish you stayed away from Thusia," Booth laughed.
*************************************
While Zakari and Austin were heading toward the rainbow islands, Queen Valeria summoned Victoria to her room. The room was elegantly arranged. The fireplace in the corner radiated a gentle warmth. Valeria personally decorated the room to her preference. Several portraits of her family riddled the walls. The large queen size bed was located near the fireplace.
The moment Victoria entered the room, she was welcomed by a gentle motherly embrace from Valeria.
"You must be tired. Come sit here with me," Valaria dragged Victoria to the comfy sofa set. She forced Victoria to sit beside her.
"Did you have your breakfast?" asked Valeria.
"We lost the Golden Port, mother. I think breakfast can wait," said Victoria.
"They have won a battle, yes. But we are fighting a war. A single battle won't decide the result," Valeria gently placed her hand on Victoria's shoulder. Just a single glance was enough for Valeria to know how much pressure Victoria was under. The kingdom of Thusia was prepared to fight armies but not a Half Immortal. They never expected someone like Ghost would wage war against them.
But despite losing the cities and battles, Valeria remained calm.
"This is just a setback. I am sure your father will fix the situation as he always does," said Valeria.
"I have something to lighten your mood," Valeria stood up. She went outside the room for a moment and returned carrying a box.
"Mother, give me that," Victoria rose from her chair to take the wooden box from Valeria.
"I am at the Soul Refining stage Victoria. I think I can handle a box," Valeria chuckled. She placed the box on the table before Victoria.
"Open it," said Valeria.
Victoria glanced between her mother and the box for a moment. Judging by the size of the box, Victoria could tell it contained something big and heavy. She slowly opened the box. To her surprise, it was a set of armor specially forged for her by the best blacksmith in Thusia.
The silver armor radiated powerful energy. Countless runes glowed under the radiant light of the flames. This set of armor had a flat top helm with half a face guard shaped like the eyes of an angel. Two tall, wing-like ornament pieces attached to the forehead area and the backside.
The shoulders were oval, short, and quite large. They were decorated with rows of colored crystals and gems. The upper arms were protected by pointed, fully covering rerebraces which sat well under the shoulder plates. The lower arms were covered by vambraces which had several huge, sharp spikes on the outer sides.
Victoria lifted the armor from the box. She was surprised by the lightness of the armor. Although the armor was forged using the strongest metals, it was lighter than one would expect. The breastplate was made from one large piece of metal. It covered everything from the neck down and ended at the thighs.
The upper legs were covered by squared, fully covering cuisses. While the lower legs were protected by greaves which had several layers of curved metal attached to the outer sides, forming a wing-like pattern.
"Do you like it?" asked Valeria. As she expected, Victoria smiled.
"I love it,"
"Now go put it on. I want to see how my baby girl looks in her battle armor,"contemporary romance
"Now?" Victoria was taken aback by surprise. She creased her brows as Valeira pinched her cheek.
"Yes. I am going to head outside for a moment, and when I come back, you better be wearing this," Valeria didn't bother to wait for Victoria's answer. Instead, she walked out of the room. Having no choice, Victoria began to unbuckle her current robes.
Almost thirty minutes later, Valeria entered the room. When she saw Victoria in the armor, her eyes went wide. In her eyes, Victoria looked like the goddess of war herself. Even Valeria felt a sliver of fear in her heart seeing Victoria in the battle armor.
"Mother," Victoria's voice snapped Valeria out of her shock.
"Have you tried putting your Cosmic energy into the armor?" asked Valeria.
Victoria shook her head before pouring a sliver of Cosmic energy into the armor. The runes engraved into the armor made it feel like a part of her body. When she used her Cosmic energy, the runes glowed. She felt her strength increasing exponentially.
With a flick of her wrist, Valeria activated the teleportation array in her room. In a blink of an eye, they were teleported from Valeria's cozy room to a training area with countless dummies in place.
"Go crazy," said Valeria.
Seeing the wooden dummies in place, Victoria wanted to vent her suppressed anger onto them. She dashed at the dummies with speed beyond any mortals. The runes amplified the power of her spells. When she got close to the dummy, she didn't cast a spell or use her sword to cut it down. Instead, she just punched the dummy with her bare fist.
The force behind her punch made the dummy shatter into pieces. Victoria did not stop as she dashed toward another one.
Even though the dummies looked weak and fragile, each of them was as strong as a Soul Refining stage level 1 cultivator. But they never stood a chance against Victoria.
Her armor and the Cosmic energy made her stronger than any Fusion stage cultivator. Since she had an Immortal killing weapon, she could even fight a Half Immortal. As seconds passed by, Victoria became faster and more ferocious. These dummies served as an outlet for her anger. She imagined these dummies as Ghost and destroyed them to pieces.
After a few minutes, the training ground was littered with broken wooden dummies.
"That's enough honey," Valeria raised her voice. Only then did Victoria manage to control her battle lust.
When Victoria returned to Valeria, she looked Victoria in the eyes.
"Anger can be a great weapon, if you can control it," said Valeria.
"Your enemies will use your anger against you. Do not let them. The greatest weapon you have is in here," Valeria touched Victoria's head.
Victoria listened to her mother's wisdom without uttering a word. Afterward, she took a long walk with her mother to calm her mind and soul. Valeria was happy to accompany her daughter and share her wisdom.
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