Immortal Kingdoms

"Nya~ I'm sleepy..." Near the high border walls of a massive border fortress, on the flat peak of a high hill, a group of three black-clad women that were a mix of humans, elves, and beastkin gathered.

At this moment, a crouching beastkin young woman with long fluffy ears was crouching on the edge of this hill, her golden iris misted over with haze as she yawned, revealing a set of razor-sharp white teeth. As she yawned, her hands that were akin to paws clenched, long grooves marring the ground in the wake of her silver claws, sparkling sparks and screeching noise emitted faintly.

"You don't want to mess up this operation, you better shape up!" An elf with long braided golden hair spoke up, her emerald green eyes scanning the fortress ahead. Then, her brows creased, "However, can we really cross the borders unnoticed? The security around feudal provinces is even tighter than national borders because you never know when a feudal lord feels like rebelling."

"What are you scared of? We have lady White Specter on our side, Chairman said that not even ordinary High Saints could notice her presence, and even a respected Sovereign would have to focus their senses deliberately if they wanted to perceive her accurate location."

The human woman in the group added. However, even she could barely believe her own words.

"Nya~ That's because you guys never rely on your innate senses! With my hearing and sense of smell, what white specter? Not even an invisible specter can assassinate me... Nya, why are you looking at me like that?" While she was talking, this beastkin woman suddenly noticed how odd the expressions of her two companions were, as though they were looking at a ghost.

No...

More like, they were looking at both an idiot and a ghost.

Seemingly sensing something from their glance, she swallowed nervously as she turned around, her long fluffy ears fluttering with unease. As expected, the moment she turned around, a cold, solid, cylindrical muzzle tapped lightly against her flat forehead.

The down sight of this long muzzle was a white energy rifle held in the arm of a white-clothed petite woman with long silver hair and a pair of tranquil silver eyes. There was a faint, glow-like halo on her body that made her seem both real and fake.

Then, this beastkin woman saw Pandora's finger moving silently, pulling at the trigger of this energy rifle. In sequence, a white sphere of energy began to condense in the depths of the long barrel, seemingly on the verge of eruption.

Cold sweat began to bead down this woman's flat forehead, her smile growing stiff and awkward.

"If you're still feeling sleepy, I can send you off."

When these words sounded from the face of such a woman with a small build, innocent round face, and tranquil calm eyes, no one would associate it with killing. In fact, not even a hint of her killing intent, or any intent for better or worse could be sensed.

Of course, Pandora had the best training partner to accomplish this finite control over her psychological brainwaves, and that was obviously Leona with her frightening innate ability to pick up someone's intent from their psychological fluctuations, these minute signals transmitted between the heart and mind before translating into pure thoughts, and by extension, an intent.

"I'm not sleepy anymore, nya! Hehe..." This playful woman chuckled awkwardly, her ears twitching in fright. Then, Pandora smiled faintly and lowered her energy rifle, the stifling atmosphere fading away with her smile.

"Your attitude reminds me of a certain little fox. Only… That fox has the qualifications to act lazy whenever and wherever she wishes because she has the strength to do so. As for you little girls, life could be as long as a few dozen years or as short as the blink of an eye, it'll all rest on your attitude."

Pandora thought back to Aria and how she would always sleep around, either on Leonardo's shoulders or Kieran's head. She couldn't help but sigh, thinking it truly must feel boring to be seated at the top, the boredom slowly whittling away your vigilance and most basic combat habits.

Pandora then looked over at the three girls and nodded her head, "At least you're all saints, even if it's only the first cycle. Follow me."

The three girls were still digesting Pandora's earlier words about how a life could be as long as a feeling decades or as short as the blink of an eye; this was a lesson taught to her through Mordred's death in a moment of carelessness.

Oftentimes, people would inadvertently relax after a great battle, much like how a calm and peaceful environment would lull them into a state of relaxation.

That would be the perfect opportunity for an assassin to strike.

Then, the party of three noticed that Pandora turned around and began walking into the air, heading directly toward the skies of the border fortress.

Although shocked, the three girls quickly rushed into the sky, crying out for this White Specter assassin. Although worried and skeptical, their clear-cut orders were to fully cooperate, and they were also curious about how good were those godlike concealment abilities.

"Unbelievable…" This was the thought in their minds as they flew directly over the border fortress.

"Lady White Specter, can you really conceal yourself from the perception of a High Saint too?" The beastkin girl asked curiously.

"Zofia!" The human girl jumped in fright, who would ask a powerful cultivator about their secrets so openly?

Zofia pursed her lips, pouting thereafter.

Pandora chuckled, finding this open personality similar to Leona's, answering with a faint smile, "I infiltrated the Forest of Eternal Spring, poisoned their Eternal Spring Vein and the High Elf Lord. Other than my lord's subordinates, you're the only ones under this sky to learn of this."

The three girls were stunned, immediately thinking back to when the High Elf Lord suddenly fell ill, then the supposed invasion from the other planet never occurred.

Zofia's eyes gleamed with curiosity, "Can you go into details? I promise to keep the secret!"

Pandora of course knew that these girls wouldn't spill out these secrets as it would have been equivalent to betraying not only Leonardo but also Tesla's. Furthermore, even if this matter became public, so what?

The remaining High Elf Lord's days could be counted in double-digit numbers.

"If you girls satisfy me on this mission, I wouldn't mind asking my lord for permission to share the information."

Although the human and the elf girls were berating Zofia a moment earlier, they couldn't help but feel excited as well. After all, their squad of three is a squad oriented towards things like espionage and assassinations, hence they weren't so enthusiastic about this 'interception' operation that was no different from an act of banditry.

They only reluctantly agreed because of Pandora's presence.

Now, they had an even better reward awaiting them.

Before they knew it, they already walked out through the other end of the border fortress under the eyes of the watchtowers and sentries guarding them. However, with the knowledge that not even the Nine Guardians, High Elf Lord, and the Elf Sovereign could detect this silver-haired woman's traces, they weren't so shocked anymore.

…

A fleet of carriages with House Erudite's emblem was traveling down an unpopulated trade route between two feudal provinces, their destination a gray area that doesn't fall under the jurisdiction of any noble house.

The territories of the Human Domain were delegated into clear black-and-white areas, the former representing feudalism while the latter representing imperial order. In between this chaos and order were gray areas dominated by the neutral factions, mostly used by the Arcadian Church and House Erudite.

On this night, the tax and offerings from the two provinces and the common folk within we're being transferred to the local Arcadian Church to perform a devout Saturday Tribute tomorrow morning…