Fairy tale: Little Red Riding Hood's wolf mentor

The leper king's residence was quite comfortable. Looking out from the high windows, one could see the city beneath the stars, silver streams of light reflecting the nebulae suspended in the sky.

The fantastical beauty almost made one forget that this place was at the forefront of a war!

"The Leper King's strategies and thinking sound much more reliable than that Star Child's."

"Yes, if they cooperated, perhaps the chances of winning would be much greater."

"But can power really make a person so arrogant?"

Leake thought about the Star Child sitting on the throne. "After he ascended the throne, he wasn't even willing to acknowledge his own father and mother. I asked the palace guards, and they also said that the Star Child's parents were the stars, definitely not humans."

"Not everyone can maintain their original intentions when they have power, especially since..."

Poro thought for a moment, then continued, "Power, status, these things, falling on a newborn child."

"If the Leper King had done as he said earlier, concealing the Star Child's identity and sending him to an ordinary family to be tempered, would things have turned out better?"

"I don't know if that would truly be reasonable for raising a child, but—"

Poro thought for a moment, then said, "For the Star Child, it would indeed make him a compassionate and kind king."

"Why?"

"Because that's what the fairy tales say."

"So, the Star Child and this king also come from a fairy tale?"

"Yes, a fairy tale."

Poro shrugged as he spoke. "Perhaps this is also related to the world's mutations, granting him such great power."

A page representing the fairy tale 'The Star Child' emerged from Poro's hand.

Drawn on it was a boy leaning on a wooden stick, wearing a tattered cloak covered with star patterns. He looked impoverished, but was still handing a piece of gold to a leper on the roadside.

In this fairy tale, the Star Child was initially an arrogant and self-proclaimed noble youth.

But under the trials and tribulations of his father, the leper king, and his mother, the witch disguised as a beggar, after a period of painful days, he became a humble and benevolent king.

[Circular Regression: The Star Child · Starry Sky of Suffering]

[Fairy Tale Authority: Unknown]

[Unsealing Ritual: In the upcoming war, ensure the survival of more than thirty percent of the residents of Starfall City, their suffering will end, and the starlight of tomorrow will still shine in the sky]

[Description: Perhaps life is always full of suffering, but dark clouds will not stay forever. The next day, when you look up, the sky will still be filled with dazzling starlight]

"Hmm, a strange unsealing ritual, but it's like a prophecy."

"Yes, it's like a prophecy that the Star Child will fail in his duel against King Srui? Otherwise, we could just do nothing and succeed."

"But perhaps the Star Child doesn't care about the deaths of ordinary people."

Poro thought for a moment, then said, "Even if he wins, perhaps the citizens will be slaughtered by King Srui, after all, killing people is really just a 'wave of his hand' to him."

"As for our side, the only good news is that the Srui Kingdom can't spare any troops to attack the Goth Kingdom right now."

"Then can we...?"

"Attack the Srui Kingdom, that's what you're thinking, right?"

"Yes."

"Attacking and defending are different. Our forces may not be enough to break through the Srui Kingdom's defenses. Previously, no kingdom has ever benefited from the Srui Kingdom—not one!"

"They haven't lost a single war?"

"Yes, their foundation is likely much more than what we see now. According to the Leper King's truth information, since they started their invasions, they haven't lost a single war except against us and outside Starfall City."

"Like the Tinderbox, right?"

"Yes, if the Tinderbox hadn't been up against us, without the Gauze Flute Kingdom, a group of ordinary people, no matter how strong, wouldn't have had a chance of survival."

As Poro spoke, he looked at the map he had obtained from the Leper King. The territory occupied by the Srui Kingdom had already spread out in all directions.

And those Srui soldiers were not fighting for the Srui Kingdom out of free will.

They were under some kind of influence.

This meant that the Srui Kingdom's army would appear endlessly!

"The letters to the Goth army have been sent. Our people will wait for a while. We can only hope that the final war will be victorious."

As he said this, Leake and Poro suddenly turned their heads and looked at the door.

"Knock, knock, knock—"

The next moment, a knock sounded on the door. Opening it, it was the Leper King. At this moment, he was wearing armor, with a broadsword on his back. He waved to the two of them:

"The Srui Kingdom's legions have launched another attack. Want to go take a look together?"

"Of course."

Leake and Poro nodded. Oz, Marlene, and the other warriors also donned Starfall City armor and followed the Leper King into the ranks of the city defenders.

Many Starfall City garrison officers showed some confusion when they saw the group.

But when they saw the Leper King's iconic mask at the head, the confusion on their faces turned into respect. No one stopped or questioned them, simply silently making way.

"The initial range of the Starry Barrier covered a very long distance, still able to encompass tens of thousands of miles from Starfall City, but after the Srui Kingdom's legions charged, and King Srui arrived...they suppressed our barrier to its current range."

The Leper King led the group up a watchtower on the city wall. From here, one could see the battlefield in the distance.

The silver-armored Starfall City garrison and the black-armored Srui Kingdom legions faced each other across the Starry Barrier.

"Our garrison can use starlight to reassemble their forms in the city, while those Srui people—they don't treat their soldiers as people at all."

As the Leper King spoke, his words were filled with a hint of anger.

The battle began. This was the first time the group had witnessed the war between Starfall City and the Srui Kingdom's legions, and under the influence of the Star Child and the Srui Kingdom's magic, the intensity of this war still shocked everyone.

No one retreated out of fear.

The soldiers sent out by the Srui legions were too numerous to count, reminding everyone of the war in the Goth Kingdom, and even more so!

The black mass of armor surged towards the shimmering Starry Barrier.

Before the Starry Barrier, they fought against the Starfall City garrison coming from within.

The Starfall City garrison's bows and crossbows rained down on the Srui legions through the barrier, while the Starry Barrier could block the Srui legions' bows, crossbows, and projectiles.

Before even engaging in close combat, most of the Srui Kingdom's soldiers had already been killed or wounded.

Corpses piled up on the ground, and the black and white armies had already entered the most intense slaughter.

Neither side retreated because of the threat of death. A naked massacre, like a clash between starlight and hell!

"The state of those Srui people...is very similar to when we killed that commander Bluebeard in the Goth Kingdom."

Leake said in a low voice.

"But they're even stronger."

Poro also noticed this. The Srui soldiers' expressions were much more frenzied than what he had seen before. Everyone's eyes were bloodshot, but they were still able to use the spears and swords in their hands.

From this point of view, it could be seen that these Srui people were much more terrifying than what they had faced before!

Every Srui soldier still had a cross-shaped "holy water" bottle hanging around his neck.

The liquid that seeped into their skin allowed their recovery ability to reach an unimaginable level!

Even with severed arms or even cut in half at the waist, they struggled to crawl, wanting to continue fighting.

"If our army had faced such a 'complete' Srui legion back then, even if we had won, there wouldn't have been many soldiers left."

"Even with the Happy Prince's blessing, those not within the blessing's range would have been crushed by 'fear'."

Even so, the strength of the Starfall City soldiers was even greater!

On each of them, the surface of their silver-white armor was wrapped in a starlight-like mist—this form looked very familiar to Poro, and he couldn't help but glance at Leake.

Although each of their individual strength and skills were not too strong.

But with the blessing of this starlight, every Starfall City soldier could kill a dozen or even dozens of Srui soldiers before dying!

And when they died, Poro noticed that a tiny, imperceptible speck of light would appear on the surface of each Starfall City soldier's corpse.

Like a star.

They rolled back into the Starry Barrier and merged into the pale silver surface of the barrier—

"Poro, look at the sky, those stars seem to be moving?"

Following Leake's words, Poro raised his head and looked at the sky. Those illusion-like stars in the city were actually turning into shooting stars, falling from the sky.

They fell to the ground and condensed into a form—

In a short time, it actually became a Starfall City soldier unharmed!

The soldiers opened their eyes and, without stopping, reformed their ranks according to commands and continued charging towards the city gates—

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Judging from their expressions, this had likely been going on for a very long time.

“What is the meaning of their fighting like this?”

Looking at the meat grinder-like front lines, Leike saw that corpses and blood had practically covered every inch of the ground. The Starfall City soldiers, with the city at their backs, wouldn't truly die, while the Srui Kingdom's soldiers were endless…

“The Srui Kingdom probably intends to pile up lives until they reach Starfall City. The real decisive battle will likely be at the city walls.”

The Leprosy King pointed to the tip of the battle, where the Srui Kingdom's royal banner was getting closer and closer as the army advanced.

“Only the Srui King’s sword can truly affect the Starfall Barrier.”

“We know this, and the Srui King knows it as well.”

“Our army will try to kill their way as close as possible to the Srui King, forcing him to use the power of that sword ahead of time. And the Srui King will use the lives of his soldiers as stepping stones to use that sword in the position closest to the Starfall Barrier.”

The Leprosy King spoke, his eyes bloodshot.

As he spoke, he continued writing in a notebook without stopping.

“The Srui King’s sword, although powerful, still has a certain kill radius. Although it appears that all enemy soldiers within the range will die instantly—its power reaches its limit against the Starfall Barrier.”

As the Leprosy King spoke, he opened the notebook in his hand, revealing a drawing marked with numbers.

The map showed lines similar to contour lines, circle after circle.

Different widths were marked between each pair of lines.

“I have recorded the distance he advances the Starfall Barrier each time. The closer he gets to the Starfall Barrier, the stronger the power he unleashes. Based on my discovery, we have the current defense strategy for the Starfall City garrison.”

The Leprosy King sighed softly and said, “At least hold out until… the Star Child’s birthday.”

As he spoke, Poro saw the Starfall City soldiers in white armor advancing like a sharp sword to the Srui King.

All the Starfall City soldiers vigorously wielded the blades in their hands, cutting down one Srui soldier after another.

Finally, the longsword of the first Starfall City soldier began to approach the Srui King’s body.

At that moment, the Srui King drew his sword.

The next moment, an illusion of mountains of corpses and seas of blood appeared in the sky above the battlefield. When the illusion disappeared, all the Starfall City soldiers had fallen to the ground.

The Starfall Barrier became somewhat dim.

The blood and corpses on the ground formed a clear dividing line—the Starfall Barrier had retreated another step towards Starfall City.

“This battle is over.”

There was no joy or sorrow in the Leprosy King’s words, only a strange meaning.

Perhaps this kind of war had been repeated many times. Every warrior in Starfall City had even begun to get used to it—everyone knew where the end of this war lay.

Just waiting amidst slaughter and death.

Seeing that the Starfall City garrison no longer attacked, they stood behind the new Starfall Barrier and shot crossbow bolts at the Srui people.

The Srui soldiers did not retaliate uselessly.

Their army began to retreat, and these Srui people even stripped off the black armor from their own people, leaving behind only a hill-like pile of corpses.

“Why don’t they pick up your Starfall City equipment?”

“Our equipment is born of starlight. These people, bewitched by devils, naturally cannot use it.”

The Leprosy King said, but there was no joy in his eyes. “Each time, we kill so many enemies, but we are still the ones who fail—they have achieved their goal.”

Poro noticed that after the Srui people retreated, the corpses on the ground suddenly began to disappear rapidly. The corpses of the Starfall City soldiers turned into silver light and were absorbed by the Starfall Barrier.

The corpses of the Srui people turned into a pool of blood—even the bones melted!

They merged into the ground, staining the soil with a layer of red light.

Leike, Poro, and the others finally understood why they hadn't seen any bones on this battlefield when they arrived.

“Why do they melt the corpses? Is it just… for the convenience of the next attack?”

Poro frowned as he looked at the melting corpses. Although too many corpses could cause a plague, he didn't think the Srui King would care about that. “Could this have any other effects?”

“Perhaps, but I can’t find a precedent in magic, and I can’t find any clues so far.”

The Leprosy King shook his head. “The Srui King has always been in control of this war. All I can do is prepare, do what I can to prepare.”

“Although they have many people, the soldiers all come from within the Srui Kingdom, so we have another day or two of buffer time.”

As he spoke, the Leprosy King stood still for a while, then walked down the city tower.

Leike looked at the shadow under her feet and asked softly:

“Miss Marlene, your attempt…”

“Failed.”

After passing a corner in the city, Princess Marlene walked out of the shadows. Her face looked somewhat unwell. “Hiding in the shadows cannot avoid the Srui King’s attack—one of my loyal soldiers sacrificed himself because of this.”

“We are not without a chance of victory in this war…”

Poro suddenly said, “That Srui King himself is not invincible. Just now, after he used that sword, I could feel that—the threat itself has weakened.”

“You mean…”

Leike was stunned for a moment, a hint of joy on her face.

“Although he has some strength left, perhaps even enough to swing a second sword, if one day we can exhaust the power of his sword—even without the Star Child, we can kill him!”

“Of course, if the Star Child can truly win on the day of the final battle—that would be even better.”

…

Srui Kingdom, within the legion.

“Have the identities of those who passed through the blockade and went to Starfall City been found?”

The Srui King sat on his throne and asked in a deep voice.

“They are people from the Gode Kingdom. They may want to form an alliance with Starfall City. Previously, the army led by Commander Giles seems to have failed.”

“Heh, whether it’s clever or stupid, the foundation for their victory doesn’t exist from the start.”

The Srui King sneered, leaning back in his chair. “The Star Child, an infant wielding a longsword—when his soul is devoured by hell, the starry sky will also be shrouded in dark clouds.”

“Do we need to dispatch more people? After all, they might have obtained the Tinderbox…”

“No need.”

The Srui King placed his hand on the sword hilt. “Let them look forward to the little prince’s birthday a little longer, and then die painfully on that day filled with hope.”

(End of chapter)