Chapter 51: Beautiful to the Point of Excess

After much hustle, Rod and Bit finally managed to settle the main force. For the first time, perhaps even the only time, Rod felt a hint of admiration for Bit.

Bit had handled all the arrangements on his own—using familiar procedures and his skill in bargaining, along with his eloquence, which made Rod secretly impressed.

Once everything was settled, the two headed toward the city gates. The main force was about to arrive, and if they couldn’t be seen there, that would truly be a problem.

Upon reaching the city gates, darkness had completely covered the land. Water Moon City was illuminated by bright lights. They strained their eyes, waiting for the arrival of the main force.

The cold winds of winter blew across their faces, making Rod’s speech a bit stiff. With each breath, white mist formed and drifted away.

“They’re coming!” Just as they were on the verge of giving up, they finally saw a large group approaching from afar. A dark mass that appeared especially huge in the deep night. The loud sound of horse hooves could already be heard clearly even from hundreds of meters away.

Leading the way, Rod quickly guided everyone to the prepared settlement area.

“Damn it, this is no different from running errands!” he cursed inwardly, disliking this feeling. At that moment, Rod truly understood the meaning behind the saying that “ideals are beautiful, but reality is cruel.”

The arrival of the main force also attracted the attention of countless tourists and citizens in the city. Especially the skull symbol on the soldiers’ armor sparked many exclamations.

“The Dark Legion!” That term flashed through everyone’s minds simultaneously. No one expected members of the Dark Legion to appear here. It seemed that soldiers from the Dark Legion had hardly been seen outside the capital in over a decade.

Seeing this group, the first thought that came to the citizens’ minds was: Could something bad have happened in the empire?

However, they quickly dismissed this idea. Because among the soldiers of the Dark Legion was a luxurious carriage. It was this very carriage that sparked their curiosity—who could deserve such honor? What kind of power was needed to summon an army filled with countless legends and myths to provide protection?

The soldiers paid no attention at all to the soft murmurs of those around them, continuing to march forward with serious expressions under Rod’s leadership. As for Rod, he inwardly despised such things—what was there to be surprised about? He had seen plenty of similar situations back on Earth. Soon, after crossing a street and turning a corner, they arrived at the hotel where Rod and his group had settled down. This hotel could be considered top-tier in Water Moon City. They had booked almost the entire hotel at once. Fortunately, the hotel’s occupancy rate wasn’t very high at that time; otherwise, it would have been a real problem. Before entering the hotel, there was another round of chatter. With the enthusiastic reception from the staff and the cooperation of the soldiers, the complicated procedures were quickly taken care of. At that moment, everyone’s gaze turned to that carriage—yes, that luxurious carriage. So far, even all the members of the Swift Wind Mercenaries knew only that there were at least two people inside, and both were women. As for their appearances, not a clue was known! Now, all that remained were the people inside the carriage. They would have to come out eventually, and suddenly, the atmosphere became a bit strange. Everyone widened their eyes, eager to see what kind of important person it was—some prince or nobleman perhaps! “Miss, we’ve arrived!” Just as everyone was excited, Kaili slowly walked up to the carriage, stood outside, and bowed respectfully to the people inside. “Have we arrived? Well, then let’s settle in.” The next moment, a clear voice came from inside the carriage, as melodious as music, pleasing to the ears and bringing a sense of warmth like a spring breeze in the winter. The door slowly opened, revealing a pink curtain in front of them. In front of the curtain were straight crystal drapes, each one refracting the bright lights under the night’s illumination, causing a slight glare—truly luxurious! It was indeed luxurious; just the price of those drapes could probably allow an ordinary family to live comfortably for many years, Rod thought to himself. Under everyone’s gaze, the pink curtain was first pulled aside by a slender hand—skin as fair and smooth as snow. Just that one hand won over countless hearts.

With wide eyes, not blinking once for fear of missing anything, she raised her voice and watched carefully. The pink curtain was pulled aside completely, revealing two figures before everyone’s eyes. Yet, behind the crystal curtain, it was still impossible to see their faces clearly. “Ivy, let’s go down!” At that moment, another clear voice rang out—light and ethereal, giving off a soothing sensation. Following that voice, the crystal curtain was slowly drawn back, and one figure appeared first—dressed in a pink gauze dress, with a petite figure that exuded grace. Her dark red hair flowed over her shoulders, and her skin was snow-white. She was undoubtedly a beauty, a true beauty. “Miss, you may come down now!” Just as everyone was silently marveling, the words spoken by that woman almost made them drop their eyes—such a delicate and charming woman was merely a servant? One could only imagine how noble the master must be. Under the curious and puzzled gazes of everyone, the crystal curtain was slowly opened again, and a hand emerged. If the woman who came down earlier, named Ivy, had fair and radiant skin, then this hand was truly like ice and jade. Unconsciously, people swallowed hard—just one hand was enough to spark imagination; it was hard to imagine what the whole person would look like. After much anticipation, she finally appeared, still partially hidden, much like the saying “she appears, yet half her face remains hidden.” The waiting crowd was impatient, and after endless anticipation, the protagonist finally showed up. The crystal curtain was opened, revealing a woman dressed in a snow-white gauze robe, with a silver-white fur coat draped over it, reaching above her knees. Her pure white appearance was as striking as that of an angel. Upon closer inspection, everything else paled in comparison—her delicate hands, like jade, slowly put on a pair of white fur gloves, standing out even more against the white dress. Her pale purple hair was neatly spread over her shoulders, just above her waist. A cool breeze blew, causing it to sway, stirring everyone’s hearts as well.

A fair and pure face, with delicate skin. Her brows were long and graceful, her eyes shining like stars. Below her small nose was a tiny mouth, with thin lips slightly curved upward, carrying a hint of sorrowful indifference. Her entire face was delicate and beautiful, so ethereal—so serene and tender, like a budding lotus flower, untouched by dust. Standing there, she gave off a sense of otherworldliness, as if she didn’t belong to this world. Her beauty was beyond description; it lacked even the slightest trace of mundanity.

Who knows how many people were drooling at the sight of this girl at that moment, how many innocent men would stay awake that night, or how many pure-hearted girls would fall into sorrow after that day.

The cold wind blew gently in the harsh winter, with breath almost freezing into ice, yet no one felt a hint of coldness—only an indescribable shock to the soul.

She stroked her wind-tousled hair and glanced around the crowd. When she saw Rod, her gaze paused involuntarily. That pause was significant—Rod almost fainted from shock.

“Cough, cough, cough…” At the most inappropriate time and place, a coughing sound arose, driving everyone crazy.

“A bunch of vulgar people. Hmph, miss, let’s go inside and rest!”

It was the voice of the maid named Ivy who had come out first. For some reason, she suddenly seemed so ordinary and unremarkable in others’ eyes.

Slowly stepping forward, supported by Ivy, the girl walked toward the hotel. Right behind them, an officer from the Dark Legion hurriedly followed, leading his soldiers to surround the two tightly, fearing any accidents might occur.

“Damn it, beauty! I’m losing my mind!”

As the beauty disappeared, everyone snapped back to reality. Bit, standing beside Rod, murmured softly, his distracted gaze already fixed on the hotel—clearly, his heart had been stolen.

Amidst sighs and longing looks, Rod and his group slowly walked inside, leaving behind more men still in shock.

“Damn these beauties! Now I understand why some people prefer women to kingdoms—it’s all because of these women!”

Shaking his head, muttering to himself, he felt a hidden fear in his heart. He certainly didn’t want to become the kind of man who treated women like clothes—this had always been his principle. In his mind, such beautiful women were only meant to be admired from afar, not approached. Beautiful women were seen as sources of trouble; they could only serve as decorations, and the consequences of touching them lightly were unimaginable. Most importantly, such women were not his type. Ideally, his future wife didn’t need to be extremely beautiful—she just needed to be caring and considerate! A woman like this? He didn’t dare approach her.