At Garos Fortress,

After completing the handover with the Black Rose Family's forces, the bearded knight A'Si, one of Marquis Xiumu-Duke's trusted retainers, officially took command of more than fifty thousand soldiers from Wind Facing City, assuming responsibility for the fortress's defense.

At the beginning, he was rather nervous.

After all, the fortress had not yet been completely repaired. Nearly a quarter of the walls still remained unrestored.

If they were to come under a large-scale Abyss Demon assault now, his troops would have no choice but to engage the monsters in direct close combat without any defensive cover.

Fighting Abyss Demons at close range—creatures possessing terrifying infective abilities—was undoubtedly very bad news.

But...

Fortunately...

Ever since the change of command, everything within a hundred-mile radius had remained deathly quiet.

Forget Abyss Demons—not even the shadow of a magical beast could be found.

As a result, A'Si gradually let down his guard.

However,

Just as he was beginning to relax, riding his warhorse while leading a small patrol, an unusual white figure suddenly caught his attention.

?!

Hm?

Th-That's...

Under the slightly surprised gazes of everyone present, an adorably chubby little white wolf came bouncing over from the distance, its fluffy tail wagging enthusiastically. Standing atop its head was a delicate little gray bird.

The two adorable little creatures happily scampered right past A'Si and his guards.

'A Snow Wolf? And a Dawn Spirit Bird? Why would such rare spirit beasts appear here?'

A hint of confusion arose in A'Si's heart.

However,

After pondering for only a moment,

He chose not to dwell on it.

After all, the Great Winter Forest was unimaginably vast. Countless kinds of creatures lived within it, so seeing unusual spirit beasts wasn't particularly strange.

Besides, these two spirit beasts were famously "friendly" toward humans.

Even if they wandered into Wind Facing City's territory, it wouldn't cause any losses.

Whatever.

He still had patrol duties to finish.

Thus, the bearded knight simply continued leading his subordinates along the damaged section of the wall, completely ignoring the two little cuties as they slipped through one of the unrepaired breaches, passed beyond the city wall, and crossed the enormous detection barrier established along the border.

Of course,

It went without saying...

These two so-called spirit beasts...

Were none other than the sisters Limo and Liyu.

In order to infiltrate Wind Facing City's territory without alerting the human forces, the sisters had directly reverted to their most harmless-looking forms, completely concealing every trace of their Shadow of Silence Power.

While acting irresistibly adorable, they cheerfully wandered through the breach, swaying their heads from side to side.

They attracted no one's attention.

Nor did they trigger the Snow Night Empire's warning magic designed to detect Abyss Demons along the frontier.

Everything proceeded exactly according to plan.

'Hmph, idiots~'

Glancing back at the soldiers of Wind Facing City as they gradually disappeared into the distance, Liyu, currently transformed into a Dawn Spirit Bird, smugly cast a mocking look toward them.

At the same time, she lightly patted her older sister's fluffy little head.

"Chirp chirp!" (Quit showing off, Sis. Let's hurry!)

"Meow-woo, meow-woo~" (I know, I know!)

And just like that,

The two terrifying Demon King-class Abyss Demons silently slipped into Wind Facing City's territory without anyone realizing.

If Marquis Xiumu-Duke, the lord of these lands, were to find out, he would probably cough up three mouthfuls of blood from sheer rage.

Though honestly...

There was no need for him to worry that much.

After all, it wasn't the first or second time a Demon King-class existence had secretly crossed the northern defenses and infiltrated human society.

--

Meanwhile,

At Jade Soul Lake in the central region of the Great Winter Forest,

Standing by the lakeshore, little Shuoyue, dressed in her elegant light-blue dress, puffed out her cheeks in dissatisfaction.

'Seriously! That's so unfair!'

Shuoyue couldn't help complaining.

Clearly,

During the previous three-sisters game of Old Maid...

She had ended up finishing dead last. 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

Normally,

In games that relied on strategy and deception like this, Limo was always the one who lost.

This time, however,

The situation had been completely different.

Because Limo had absolutely no idea what Old Maid was.

She only knew that whenever she had two matching cards, she should throw them away.

So from beginning to end, Limo's expression had remained completely blank and innocent, making it impossible for anyone to read her.

Moreover,

Perhaps it was because fortune favored fools...

Limo somehow kept drawing exactly the cards she needed every single time, effortlessly taking first place.

Meanwhile...

Shuoyue couldn't outsmart Liyu at all.

'Waaah... You two mean sisters! Couldn't you let your little sister win for once?!'

She continued grumbling inwardly.

But soon,

The blue-haired girl planted her hands on her hips, puffed out her cheeks, and let out an adorably prideful snort.

"Hmph~"

Forget it.

Considering that Sister Limo has basically never gone outside before, and Sister Liyu has only gone out a handful of times...

I'll let you two have this opportunity to see Mommy~

Anyway, even if I'm asleep, my consciousness can still wander all over the Anqieka Continent whenever I want.

Fine then.

I'll stay behind and guard the house.

Shuoyue confidently patted her chest.

Then, enveloped by blue-and-gold Shadow of Silence Power, the blue-haired girl slowly floated into the air and drifted toward the center of Jade Soul Lake.

As usual, she planned to lie down at the bottom of the lake and enjoy a good sleep.

After all, even while sleeping, she was perfectly capable of watching over the Great Winter Forest.

However,

As she floated along, her brows gradually furrowed.

Come to think of it...

Sister Limo has never been to the human world.

And Sister Liyu has only gone there twice.

Their understanding of human society might be a little...

Ehm...

'Why do I suddenly have such a bad feeling...?'

Thinking that, Shuoyue couldn't help shivering.

But before long, she shook her head, forcing the uneasy thought from her mind.

Forget it.

No point worrying.

Nothing should happen.

And even if something does...

Mommy will be the one using the feather duster to spank them!

As for me~

I'll just sit back and enjoy the show~

Imagining both of her older sisters being disciplined together with the feather duster, Shuoyue couldn't help revealing a mischievous grin.

--

At the same time,

In the central region of the Anqieka Continent,

Within the Forest of Elves,

As its name suggested, the Forest of Elves was the homeland of the Elf Race.

Compared to the Great Winter Forest, it wasn't particularly large.

However, its interior was an intricate labyrinth, filled with countless bewildering paths, enchanting floral scents capable of confusing the mind, deadly poisonous insects and ferocious beasts, as well as magical fields that blocked perception and even dulled one's intelligence.

For hundreds of years,

Aside from the elves themselves, no other race had ever successfully adapted to the Forest of Elves.

Slave traders and adventurers who attempted to enter the forest to capture elves and sell them as slaves almost always returned empty-handed.

Many of them never returned at all, perishing somewhere deep within the forest.

Although the Elf Race was not numerous,

Their uniquely favorable homeland, combined with their extraordinary magical talent,

Allowed them to stand proudly upon the Anqieka Continent,

Like a paradise isolated from the outside world,

A place countless others envied.

However,

That situation underwent a world-shaking change more than seventy years ago...

At this moment,

Before the Life Tower, the sacred ground of the Elf Race,

Under the leadership of the Elf King, Shukaros,

Nearly seven thousand elven warriors and mages stood fully armed in orderly formation.

Every elf wore a solemn expression.

Every elf radiated fierce fighting spirit.

Brilliant starlight shone within every pair of eyes.

It was the unwavering faith of those determined to protect their homeland.

Looking back at the soldiers he had painstakingly trained over countless years,

A deep confidence emerged in Shukaros's eyes.

As that confidence swelled,

The uneasiness within his heart was gradually suppressed.

The next moment,

Under the expectant gazes of every elf,

Shukaros drew the golden sword hanging at his waist.

Raising it high, he shouted to the assembled elves,

"People of the Elf Race! Today is the day we strike back! This time, we will drive those damned humans completely out of our forest! We'll make sure they never dare come back to bully us again!!"

The instant Shukaros finished speaking,

An earth-shaking roar erupted throughout the entire assembly.

The fighting spirit of every elven soldier reached an unprecedented peak.

They longed to wash away the humiliation of the past.

This time,

They would defeat those damned humans once and for all!

Just as Shukaros was rallying morale,

An elven scout suddenly came racing over from the distance in complete panic, shouting at the top of his lungs as he ran,

"The Black Rose Family has broken through the barrier!!!!"

The moment those words reached his ears,

Shukaros held his breath.

With the resolve of someone ready to die, he swung his golden sword and roared,

"Charge! Fight them to the bitter end!!"

Following Shukaros's command,

The elven army surged forward in a full-scale charge...

Oh,

By the way,

This exact scene...

Had already happened twenty-five times.