The Windblessed Plains stretched beyond the capital walls of the Great Empire—a land graced by the Wind Spirit Deity.
By day, gentle breezes lulled lounging travelers into blissful relaxation.
But night transformed this blessed realm.
Under the frozen silence of darkness, Hailwind howled—a biting gale that froze even summer nights to winter’s cruel bite.
"Move! Faster!"
Thud. Thud. Thud.
Beneath a star-choked sky, urgent footsteps echoed from the Blackthorn Forest bordering the plains. Dry leaves crunched underfoot.
"We’re running out of time," a gravelly voice hissed from the treetops. "If we don’t dump this thing inside the city tonight, none of us will live to see dawn."
The words tightened the group’s pace.
"Report, boss! Faint firelight ahead—looks like a shadow sitting by it."
A scout’s whisper cut through the rustling leaves.
"Slow down. Hide in the bushes. Assess."
The black-clad leader raised a gloved hand. His squad melted behind waist-high shrubs, eyes locked on a boy seven meters away.
The youth sat oblivious by a crackling campfire, tearing into a ham the size of a human head. His furry military coat was dusted with crumbs. He washed each bite down with deep gulps from a wineskin.
"Pfft! Those pumpkin-head nobles!" he spat, grease glistening on his chin. "Always scheming to exile me—licking my mother’s boots like starved dogs! Pathetic trash!"
"Disgusting maggots! Today too—if Mother hadn’t forbidden it, I’d have tossed every backstabbing worm into the city slaughterhouse!"
This was Baiyi.
Adopted son of the Great Empire’s Queen. Supreme Commander of its armies.
A hero who’d forged this empire from ruins, expanding its borders beyond imagination. Revered by the masses. Loathed by the elite.
"Hmph! Scum!"
He drained the wineskin again, roaring in satisfaction.
"Boss—it’s just a kid. Shall we eliminate him?"
Shadows shifted in the undergrowth, blades glinting.
"...For the mission’s sake. No witnesses."
The leader’s gaze narrowed at the boy’s snarling profile. Something felt wrong. But retreat wasn’t an option.
"Toss the dragon egg first. Then swarm him."
Muffled gasps followed the order.
"Boss—that’s our target! For a brat like him?!"
"I don’t trust this. We’re too close to the city walls. No risks."
Perfection demanded sacrifice.
"ATTACK!"
Steel flashed in the moonlight.
The first assassin lunged, dagger aimed at the boy’s skull.
*He won’t even dodge—*
*CRACK!*
A white blur severed the thought—and the man’s head.
The corpse collapsed, spraying crimson. The head rolled downhill, eyes wide.
"Who dares trespass on *my* land?"
Baiyi rose, hefting a blood-dripping Curved Saber. He spat on the twitching body. "Shadowblade Alliance’s finest? More like gutter rats."
The remaining assassins froze. These were elites who’d carved through armies. Yet one swing...
"KILL HIM!"
Blades formed a deadly circle. Shadows danced like vengeful spirits.
"Pumpkin-heads! Trash! Sent by those corrupt nobles?!"
Baiyi’s laughter cut through their fury.
"Cowards! Filth!"
His rusted blade became a whirlwind.
*Slice.* A throat opened.
*Thud.* A head hit the grass.
No wasted motion. No mercy. Crimson soaked his coat as boot heels crushed skulls into pulp.
This wasn’t battle. It was slaughter.
"Die, demon!"
The last three assassins broke formation. Ancient scrolls ripped from their robes.
"Dark God Halrais!"
"Hear our plea!"
"We offer our lives!"
"Grant us... Abyssal Power!"
Blood smeared across parchment. A violet Magic Array flared beneath their feet—raw energy crackling.
*WHOOSH!*
Baiyi’s blade sheared through chanting throats before the spell ignited. Scrolls crumbled to ash under his boot.
"Pfft! Is this the best those nobles can send?" He kicked a headless corpse. "Shadowblades? More like sewer rats from Beast Rat Street—filthy and stinking!"
"HAAAH!"
He whirled toward the forest.
*Rustle-rustle...*
A black figure fled through the treetops.
"Tch. Coward! Go suckle at your mother’s teats where you belong!"
Baiyi’s boot nudged something golden beside the fire.
A massive egg—half his height—gleamed in the flames.
"...Edible?"
He rapped its shell. No response.
"Trash! I’ll crack you open for supper!"
He raised his saber—
*CRACK!*
Blinding white light erupted from the splitting shell. Baiyi shielded his eyes, fury boiling.
"YOU WRETCHED—!"
After the white light slowly faded, the boy finally lowered his hand from his eyes.
He was startled to see a cute girl, no taller than his waist, sitting wide-eyed in the broken eggshell and staring at him.
Her head was slightly larger than a human’s normal size, and her body was petite. With a 1:1 head-to-body ratio, she clearly wasn’t of any human race.
So the boy shifted his gaze back up for a closer look.
Then he saw her silky silver hair cascading slowly down her pale, smooth body to the ground, as beautiful as a white waterfall.
On her round head grew two tiny horns, but since she’d just been born, they were still smooth bony bumps.
The girl stared at him with dreamy, star-like eyes, then opened her pink, tender mouth.
In very halting Great Empire speech, she asked,
"Dad... Dad?"
