Chapter 420

After a quarter hour, the troop arrived near Pleasure Bird.

"Surround!"

Natalie let out a low shout, the 400 battle mages of the First Regiment of the Imperial Guard quickly dispersed, with nearly 300 blocking all exits, and 100 began setting up various powerful transportation confinement magic formations around Pleasure Bird.

Approximately ten minutes later, the Regiment Commander of the First Regiment of the Imperial Guard came to report.

"Miss, Pleasure Bird has been completely sealed off."

"Very good!"

Natalie turned her head to look at Luosen: "Follow me."

Luosen immediately stepped forward: "Of course."

She also said to the Regiment Commander: "Select 20 quick-witted warriors to follow."

The Regiment Commander immediately complied, picking 20 of the most capable battle mages to serve as Natalie's temporary guard.

Once everything was ready, Natalie waved her hand and strode ahead toward the main gate of Pleasure Bird.

At the gate, she stopped and said to Luosen: "I'll wait here; you go in alone and ask Lord Alekse to come out."

"Understood."

Luosen quickly entered the brothel's first-floor hall.

Everyone in the brothel had already noticed the abnormality outside.

Whether patrons or prostitutes, they had lost interest in pleasure, each crouched at the windows, nervously watching the situation outside the brothel.

As soon as Luosen entered, Jack, the leader of the Iron Stone Gang, came over bowing and scraping, his face pale, asking: "Sir, what's going on out there?"

Luosen could fully understand Jack's fear, because mages have always killed without blinking.

Moreover, their killing methods are full of terrifying imagination, and now even the elite First Regiment of the Imperial Guard has been deployed; a single misstep could cost countless lives.

Everyone came to the brothel for fun, but no one wants to lose their life.

Luosen bared his teeth in a smile: "It's nothing serious; I'm just here to fetch someone."

"However, the one leading is Miss Natalie; she has no fondness for the brothel at all. If I were you, I'd keep quiet as much as possible, best not even to fart, lest I annoy Miss Natalie."

Miss Natalie's reputation is known to everyone in Grey City; the people in the hall swallowed their saliva secretly, not daring to utter a sound.

Luosen turned his head, quickly found Lily, the maid of Livi, approached her, and pretended to ask: "Where is Lord Alekse?"

Lily pointed upstairs: "The VIP room, together with Livi."

Upon hearing that, Luosen's thoughts slightly tightened; he sensed the abnormal movement coming from the second-floor room, his heart gave a faint smile, yet his face remained solemn.

"Understood."

He strode to the door of the second-floor VIP room, ignoring the lascivious sounds from within, loudly knocking and shouting.

"Lord Alekse~~ Lord Alekse~~"

After shouting five or six times in a row, the strange noises inside finally ceased, and Alekse's extremely irritable roar came out.

"Ande, if you've got a fart, let it out quick!"

"Sir, Miss Natalie personally came to invite you to Dawn Fortress, because the president has an important matter to discuss with you."

Under normal circumstances, upon hearing this news, Alekse should have immediately returned to Dawn Fortress with Luosen.

But at this moment, Alekse has completely become a slave to pleasure's desire.

In the VIP room, Livi cooed: "Alek~ I really don't want you to leave."

Alekse was already quite hesitant; being entwined by that soft, finger-winding touch made him even more reluctant.

His mind grew more muddled; he wished to remain entwined with the woman before him forever, and in his heart, resentment toward the Dawn Eye that interrupts his pleasure grew intense.

A thought rose in his mind: "These country bumpkins of the mortal realm are more annoying than summer mosquitoes."

Driven by this strong negative emotion, he irritably shouted.

"I'm busy now; let Natalie wait outside!"

Luosen wore a look of "hesitation": "Lord Alekse, this... this isn't proper, is it?"

"Get lost!"

Having achieved his goal, Luosen immediately turned and left, taking two steps in three strides out of Pleasure Bird, returning to Natalie's presence.

At this moment, Natalie's snow-white oval face had furrowed brows, both hands tightly gripping her deep-blue sapphire staff, she drew deep breaths, striving to suppress her anger.

As a 15th-circle mage, she could easily overhear Luosen and Alekse's conversation.

Originally, she had some doubts that Ande's description contained exaggeration, but now it seems Ande was not exaggerated at all, and even slightly embellished Alekse's image.

This Alekse is arrogant and rude to an outrageous degree.

Even the Count Gangtejin of Yueliangcheng is courteous to his own father, yet this fellow, an envoy who rose via connections, dares to show such contempt for the master of the Dawn Eye's territory.

Simply... simply outrageous!

After a while, Natalie forcibly suppressed her boiling anger, waved her hand firmly: "Come, let's go into the brothel together to fetch him."

She led the 20 battle mages and strode into Pleasure Bird, Luosen naturally following closely at her side.

As he walked, he softly advised: "Miss, calm down; no matter what, he is the count's envoy. Though somewhat unreliable, the count's dignity still must be upheld."

Natalie certainly knew Luosen was right, but she was still fuming; she glared at him: "Ande, are you trying to teach me how to do things?"

Luosen immediately gave an embarrassed laugh: "No no no, Miss, I'm merely making a suggestion."

"I don't need your suggestion; from now on, you shut your mouth!"

"Yes, Miss."

As they spoke, Natalie strode ahead into the hall of Pleasure Bird, instantly seeing a group of disheveled patrons, smelling a mixed fragrance and foul odor; her anger flared up even more, almost uncontrollable.

Luosen immediately stepped forward, unleashing a field spell that pulled away the hanging smoke gauze in the hall, and pushed all the patrons and prostitutes to the walls, in an instant clearing a clean, bright passage.

"Miss, please."

The process was very fast, taking less than three seconds from start to finish.

Natali's mood eased a bit, her impression of Ande improved considerably, and a thought flashed through her mind.

"This guy may not have much talent for spellcraft, but he's pretty efficient at getting things done."

I feel I had somewhat underestimated this guy before.

"Where is Alaiksi?" she asked Luosen.

"Miss, come with me."

Luosen immediately led the way ahead, and a group of people promptly followed.

Soon they reached the door of the VIP room on the second floor.

Although separated by a wooden door, one could still clearly hear the wanton sounds of revelry coming from inside.

Natali's face turned somewhat green with anger: "Does this bastard only have women in his eyes?"

She had been here a while, had even sent word in advance, giving him plenty of leeway, yet this guy completely ignored it.

Since that was the case, Natali no longer stood on ceremony, telling a battle mage beside her: "Kick the door down."

"Boom~~"

The wooden door was immediately kicked over, and from behind it came a woman's startled cry of "Ah!", followed shortly by a man's angry roar.

"Who's looking to die?!"

With those words, Alaiksi, naked, gripping his staff, charged furiously toward the door.

But Natali moved even faster.

Twenty battle mages from the First Guard Regiment filed into the VIP room, occupying all key points inside.

Immediately after, Natali walked into the room, glaring at the approaching Alaiksi, and responded with a cold smile.

"My lord, I'm looking for death!"

Alaiksi naturally knew Natali and was aware of the First Guard Regiment; seeing this scene before him, his mind momentarily stalled, and a strange thought flashed through.

"How did things come to this?"

But that thought flickered only briefly before being cut off by a startled cry from behind.

He turned his head and saw Ande yanking the hair of his beloved, dragging her out from the room's corner. Seeing his beloved humiliated, Alaiksi exploded in rage, casting aside all reason, and raised his staff to cast a spell at Luosen.

And as soon as he acted, he unleashed the lethal spell "Finger of Misfortune".

However, he had expended enormous energy, his mind was foggy, so his casting speed was much slower than usual, and he neglected his own defense.

Natali saw him, over a mere prostitute, unleash such viciousness; her long‑suppressed anger flared instantly, and with a thought she released her spell.

With a "Boom~~", it knocked Alaiksi's staff from his hand and sent it flying.

Alaiksi's spell failed; his body was shaken back several steps by the stray magical force, and before he could react, he heard Natali say: "Restrain him!"

Two battle mages quickly stepped to Alaiksi's side, pointing their staffs at him; one cast a force spell, forcing him to kneel, while the other cast a soul‑binding spell to prevent him from casting further.

"Thud~~"

Luosen dragged Liv from the corner and threw her onto the floor in the middle of the room: "Miss, how should we deal with this woman?"

Natali glanced at Liv on the floor; she saw her hair disheveled, her features indistinct, wrapped only in a bedsheet, and sensed no aura of power—just an ordinary, attractive prostitute.

Clearly, such a prostitute lacked the power to decide Alaiksi's will, so the chief culprit in today's farce was the envoy from Yueliangcheng, Count Alaiksi.

According to his father's wishes, Alaiksi must not be harmed; only a few prostitutes may be killed to show our dissatisfaction.

But Natali does not have the habit of taking out her anger by killing.

Whoever provokes her anger, she seeks out that person to vent it.

Thus she waved her hand: "Get out!"

Luosen hurriedly stepped forward and whispered advice into Natali's ear.

"Miss, we can't really do anything to Alaiksi, but this prostitute can be beaten or killed at will; moreover, Alaiksi does care about her, so this is a perfect way to give him a mild punishment."

Natali's heart stirred at his words, and her gaze flicked several times between Alaiksi and the prostitute on the floor.

Indeed, she saw that Alaiksi's eyes were fixed on the prostitute, unblinking.

So, Ande's words were unproblematic.

But she also knew that the prostitute could not control her own fate; the mistake was clearly Alaiksi's, yet an unrelated person would have to bear it, leaving her feeling quite uneasy.

She felt no sympathy for the prostitute, nor was she unfamiliar with killing; if the prostitute truly deserved it, she would kill her without any psychological burden.

Luosen saw this and immediately said: "Miss, why don't I take care of it?"

Having said that, without waiting for Natali's reply, he drew a dagger, strode forward, and stabbed Liv in the chest; she let out a miserable cry, collapsed to the floor, and instantly lost consciousness.

"No!"

Alaiksi bellowed, his body straining violently.

But he was naked, lacking any magical aid, and his energy was depleted; he was no match for two fully armed battle mages of the Guard.

No matter how he struggled, it was to no avail.

He simply gave up struggling, his eyes blazing with fierce fury, glaring hatefully at Natali, and a vicious curse spewed from his lips without thought.

"You're dead meat~~you're all dead meat~~once I return to Yueliangcheng I'll make you pay the utmost price!"

"Especially you, Natali—I'll lock you in a sealed room, tie you to a plank, then throw in a dozen young Nagelu to torture you to death!"

"I swear I'll do it!"

"Just you wait!"

Natali was haughty; she had never been threatened to her face like this before.

Because of today's events, her heart was already filled with anger, and her hatred for Alaiksi had reached its peak.

Now, being provoked like this, her anger flared many times over in an instant, and she lost control.

She raised her staff; in an instant a blade of light condensed, she thrust forward, and the blade pierced Alaiksi's mouth, going straight through his head.

"Uh—crack crack crack."

In a burst of eerie struggling cries, A Laike Si perished.

Everyone in the room flinched, because all knew that this person absolutely could not die.

The battle mages of the First Guard Regiment gave Na Ta Li a strange look, their bodies involuntarily stepping back a bit, as if fearing to be tainted by misfortune.

Na Ta Li sensed this; after the killing, the fury in her heart was released, and reason returned.

A chill instantly rose in her mind: "Sss~ this is getting out of hand now."

But the person is dead; there is no turning back.

"What to do? What to do? What to do?"

Na Ta Li's mind was in turmoil.

At that moment, a whisper came in her mind: "Miss, you can't stay in Dawn Eye any longer."

It was Ande.

Na Ta Li's heart jolted violently, but she had nothing to say, because she knew Ande was right.

Ande's voice rose again: "Miss, I'll hold back these guards for you; you hurry and leave."

"But where should I go?"

"Go to the Dragon Mountain Brotherhood, seek refuge with your friend Ge Wen Na Wei Er; this is probably your only way to survive."

"What about you?"

"My hands are stained with too much Brotherhood members' blood; I have nowhere to retreat."

"Hurry and go, Miss, any later and it's too late; the guard soldiers' looks at you have already become off."

Na Ta Li knew Ande was right, because the First Guard Regiment truly pledged loyalty to her father, not to her.

Having done this, given her father's character, he would surely abandon her.

So, Ande was right; her only chance to live is to leave Dawn Eye.

But the First Guard Regiment's soldiers will definitely not let her go.

"Miss, hurry and go, I'll block these soldiers for you," Luosen urged with his eyes.

"You will die."

"Heh~~ living has no meaning for me."

As he spoke, Luosen lifted his staff and proactively struck at the First Guard Regiment's soldiers.

Na Ta Li's heart trembled again, realizing this was her only chance.

Clenching her teeth, she seized the chance and rushed out the window.

The instant she burst through the window, confusion rose in her mind, but more so a sense of liberation.

"Hoo~~ finally freed from the shackles of my birth."

This birth granted her glory, yet it also completely bound her life's choices.

But now, she has broken through the predetermined fate.

She glanced back and saw Ande standing at the window, desperately fending off the guard soldiers' attacks.

His body was already bleeding in many places; seeing her look back, he shouted loudly, "Miss, hurry and go~ don't worry about me!"

Na Ta Li's heart flashed with deep guilt again: "Ah~~"

She wasn't indecisive; she swiftly turned and kept sprinting, covering hundreds of meters, breaking out of the First Guard Regiment's encirclement.

At that moment, she felt Ande's soul aura disappear.

In other words, the one she once regarded as the weak and incompetent Dawn Hand had fallen in battle; he sacrificed his life to secure her chance to survive.

Na Ta Li's heart shook violently, her eyes grew hot, and her vision became slightly blurry.

In this moment, she deeply felt her past shallowness.

"Actually, Ande can do more than I can; all his achievements stem from his own effort. As for me, I only benefited from the advantage of my birth."

Realizing this, Na Ta Li lifted her gaze forward and ran onward with even greater determination.

"From today onward, I will walk my own path!"

(End of chapter.)