The Nightmare Empire.
Outside Storm City, one of the seven capital cities.
Countless tents of the Heron Warband were pitched across the wasteland, all set up just outside the range of Storm City's giant magic cannons.
Inside one of those tents,
Guilliman Cassius, the Heir Apparent of the Heron Empire, stared silently at the newspaper that had just been delivered to him.
On the front page of this newspaper, the largest headline read: “Leon Douglas Single-Handedly Destroys Black and White Hand Strongholds.”
The article detailed how Leon Douglas had advanced to the Gold Rank and, with extraordinary wisdom, rooted out several hidden strongholds of the Black and White Hand in Stormveil City.
He then descended from the heavens alone, completely eradicating all of them.
He had even located the Black and White Hand's main headquarters, facing their bishop—who had obtained a fire elemental body—all by himself.
Ultimately, Leon Douglas slew the Black and White Hand bishop, restoring peace and justice to Stormveil City.
In the report, the editor hailed Leon Douglas as the “leader of the new generation of Heron transcendents,” calling him “the true hero of Heron” and declaring that “after saving Soleneum, he has once again saved the Heron city-state.”
In short, they showered Leon Douglas with all kinds of grandiose titles.
This report on Leon Douglas took up more than half of the newspaper's pages.
Only the remaining space recorded other miscellaneous events.
For example, a Gold Rank priest of the Church of Sacred Light had studied peas and derived a mysterious 9:3:3:1 ratio, claiming this number could unlock the secrets of life...
For instance, a certain biologist studying humans and the giant race had found many similarities between the two and declared his intention to personally conduct research with a female giant on how to completely overcome reproductive isolation...
And then there was this:
“Prince Guilliman Crushes Nightmare's Fort Solaris! Pushes the Front Line Significantly Forward!”
This was the report on Guilliman leading his troops to capture a minor Nightmare fort.
Upon seeing this report, Guilliman should have been pleased.
After all, leading a team to take down one of the Nightmare Empire's bridgeheads undoubtedly proved his capability and bolstered his prestigious reputation.
However, when Guilliman saw the sheer amount of space dedicated to the report on Leon Douglas...
...and compared it to the tiny section allocated to his own achievement, his joy was instantly replaced by rage and resentment.
“I destroyed a Nightmare fort! The paper should have focused on me! What right does Leon Douglas have to overshadow me on the front page?!”
Guilliman clenched his fists, his face contorting slightly.
He did not believe he was inferior to Leon Douglas.
Even though his strength had still been at the Silver Rank when he was Leon's age.
Now, at thirty years old, he had already advanced to the Gold Rank, possessing a top-tier talent for transcendence.
Furthermore, as the heir to the Heron Cassius Royal Family, his noble bloodline made him feel inherently superior to Leon.
Not to mention, he was born under a brilliant starry glow, hailed by the world as the “Shining Star of Heron.”
Since his early education began at the age of two, he had been studying the power of the bloodline within his body.
By seven, he had successfully ignited his bloodline, becoming a Bronze Rank bloodline warrior.
Whether in talent, intellect, strength, or family background, Guilliman considered himself the most dazzling existence in this world.
Because of this, he had harbored grand ambitions since childhood:
To ascend the highest throne of Heron just like his father, who was hailed as the “Sage King,” and lead the entire city-state to new heights.
And to ensure that whenever future generations mentioned “Heron,” the first name that came to mind would be Guilliman Cassius!
It was precisely due to these grand ambitions that he had proactively requested his father's permission to personally lead the military campaign as the Heir Apparent.
He did this partly to build and consolidate relationships with Heron's generals, but more importantly, to make a name for himself.
He wanted every race in the Nightmare Empire, the World Tree Forest, and the Kingdom of Mountains to clearly remember the name “Guilliman Cassius”!
But... a mere Leon Douglas had actually overshadowed him in the newspaper!
This undoubtedly left the proud prince deeply dissatisfied.
He, Guilliman Cassius, was the number one figure of the current generation in Heron!
What right did this Leon Douglas have to eclipse him on the front page?!
“Prince Guilliman, your mind is in disarray.”
Just then, a crisp voice suddenly rang out inside the tent.
It belonged to a woman in purple robes, possessing a cold temperament and a calm expression.
The purple-robed woman stared at Guilliman and said slowly,
“Prince Guilliman, as your deputy, I would like to remind you of something—”
“As a commander on the battlefield, you must remain vigilant against anything that disturbs your inner peace, and treat it as a psychological tactic employed by the enemy...”
“Losera, I don't need your nonsense!”
Before Losera could finish, Guilliman interrupted her.
“As my adjutant, don't you have other duties to attend to? Get out and do your own work!”
Losera stared at Guilliman. After two seconds of silence, she turned and walked out of the tent without looking back.
Inside the tent, only Guilliman remained.
He stared the newspaper in his hand. After a long moment, he clenched his fist and threw it into the magic furnace.
Watching the newspaper turn to ash in the flames, Guilliman took several deep breaths, finally calming his emotions.
Afterward, he walked out of the tent, found Losera in the adjutant's tent, and apologized to her for his earlier rashness and impatience.
Losera nodded without any emotional fluctuation, accepting his apology.
Watching Guilliman's departing back after his apology, Losera pulled out a long-range transmission device from her robes.
Under the watchful gaze of another adjutant beside her, Losera spoke slowly:
“Report to His Majesty that Prince Guilliman apologized to me exactly twelve seconds ago.”
“His exact words were...”
A cold voice responded from the other end of the device:
“Understood. I will report this to His Majesty.”
“Additionally, have you investigated who delivered that newspaper to His Highness's tent?”
Losera replied coldly, “We have. It was a soldier named Nigel.”
“Apprehend and interrogate him. Expose that soldier's entire covert network.”
“Yes, milady.”
Turning off the transmission device, Losera led the other adjutant out of the tent to arrest the soldier named Nigel.
As she passed Guilliman's tent, Losera's gaze lingered on it for an extra second.
Then, she sighed softly in her heart:
“Prince Guilliman, the incident where the Nightmare Archduke, Grant, had his single wing severed is still fresh in our minds.”
“As a wise man who graduated from the Imperial Capital's Gold Academy, why haven't you learned the lesson that the mistakes of those before you should serve as your warning?”
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