The violent clashes echoing in the clouds high above Oakhaven painted a terrifying picture for those trapped on the ground. Protector Vance and Protector Silas exchanged lethal martial blows in the sky while the resulting shockwaves scattered the afternoon clouds and sent thunderous booms rolling across the horizon.

However, the fierce duel remained entirely out of sight for the people standing in the central plaza and the entire town was protected by Grandmaster Orion from the stray attacks. Down on the bloodstained cobblestones, a tense and suffocating waiting game unfolded.

The silver armored soldiers from the Kingdom of Lunaris established a strict and unyielding perimeter around the town square and across the entire town. They held their polished weapons at the ready and did not allow anyone to leave the designated area. The terrified townspeople who had no part in the mercenary conflict huddled near the edges of the plaza while seeking comfort among their neighbors.

In the very center of the square, the surviving members of the Nightfall Corps remained grouped together. They kept their scavenged weapons raised while eyeing the unknown soldiers with deep suspicion but no conflicts broke out. Li Yu stood calmly near the front of the mercenary formation with Borum acting as an immovable earthen shield beside him and his swords withdrawn already. They were all gathered in one place and forced to wait for the royal authority to descend.

A sudden commotion near the western avenue drew everyone's attention. A squad of troops marched into the plaza while dragging a struggling figure through the dirt.

Prince Darian looked nothing like the noble who had tormented the region just an hour prior. His usually pristine silk robes were torn and covered in mud. A hole was seen in his left leg and the lingering Sovereign laws kept his limbs heavy. The soldiers hauled him to the center of the square and threw him onto the hard stones directly in front of the captive mercenaries.

Darian groaned in pain and tried to crawl backward but a silver armored guard planted a heavy boot on his chest to keep him pinned. The scarred captain of the Nightfall Corps looked down at the pathetic royal and spat a wad of bloody saliva onto the ground near his face. He wished for nothing more than to rip that bastard into a million pieces. While they had survived, they lost about one-fifth of their members in the ambush that day.

A moment later, a young woman floated down from the airship. She wore an elegant combat tunic woven from dark blue silk and embroidered with silver crescent moons. Her dark hair was tied back in a practical braid and her King realm aura radiated a steady sense of authority. Princess Lena stepped onto the cobblestones and surveyed the ruined plaza with a critical eye.

She walked past her kneeling soldiers and approached the defensive circle of the Nightfall Corps. As she drew closer, the scarred captain squinted his eyes. His hostile expression shifted into one of confusion and then genuine shock.

"Selene?" The captain blurted out while lowering his scavenged sword. The young woman stopped her advance and offered the rugged man a warm but tired smile.

"It is good to see you are still breathing, Captain." Princess Lena replied with a familiar tone.

The surrounding mercenaries murmured in disbelief as they studied her face. They quickly pieced the bizarre situation together while looking at her royal attire and the soldiers standing at attention around her.

"You are the princess?" The scarred captain asked while his voice trembled with disbelief. "This entire time you were royalty?"

About a quarter of the veteran mercenaries standing in the plaza recognized her face from their early days in the mercenary group. The realization hit them like a physical blow and they quickly dropped their weapons to offer a respectful bow since they now knew she was a princess. Seeing their senior members bowing to the royal savior, the rest of the Nightfall Corps hastily joined in without fully understanding the history between them.

Only Li Yu and Borum remained standing tall amidst the sea of kneeling warriors. The black robed youth watched the interaction with keen interest as it looked like there was much more of a story here.

"What exactly happened here?" Li Yu asked while looking down at the captain. "How do all of you know the crowned princess of a kingdom?"

The scarred captain quickly explained the history to the mysterious youth who had freed them from their chains before. The one that Morrigan had trusted enough to give him the items and help them on her behalf.

"We found her roughly one year ago," the second in command recounted. "It was back when our group was in its very early days and struggling to find stable footing in this region. We were scouting near a dangerous river basin and we found her lying on the riverbank. She was greatly injured at the time and suffering from severe Qi deviation. Our leader took her in without asking any questions and we helped her get better using our limited supplies at the time."

The captain glanced up at the princess to see if she was going to stop him or anything like that before continuing his tale.

"After roughly two weeks of diligent healing, she was fully recovered," the captain explained. "During that tense recovery period, she and Morrigan really hit it off. They spent hours talking by the campfire and sharing their experiences regarding leadership and survival. To help repay the favor of saving her life, she actually joined our ranks for roughly two months."

The surrounding veterans nodded in agreement as they remembered those difficult but also memorable days.

"She fought alongside us and helped our group really establish a firm reputation," the captain added. "She used her tactical mind to secure safe trade routes for supplies and she hunted rogue beasts with us. In a very real way, she was like one of our original founding members. Then one morning she said she had to take care of urgent family business and she left the camp. We had not seen her since that day and now it turns out she is a royal princess."

Princess Lena let out a soft sigh at the retelling of the story and her eventual departure.

"It is a very long and complicated story regarding what happened after I left your camp," Lena addressed the group with genuine remorse in her eyes. "I was caught up in many political struggles upon returning to my kingdom and my movements were strictly restricted by the royal court. I deeply regret not being able to return and properly thank you all for saving my life when I was vulnerable."

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She stepped closer to the group and her expression turned fierce.

"However, my intelligence network finally caught wind that your group was being held hostage by this vile prince," Lena explained while gesturing toward the groveling Darian. "The moment I got the news, I rushed here as fast as the winds would carry me. I even begged my father to allow Grandmaster Orion to accompany the expedition to make sure everything went smoothly and no one else died, thankfully he allowed it."

Lena then got to the question she’s been holding back. She had heard that Morrigan was still missing and that the prince had captured them to lure her out. Her fate was still unknown.

"Where is Morrigan?" Lena asked while her voice carried a trace of panic. "Was I too late to save her?"

Just as the scarred captain opened his mouth to answer her urgent question, the air beside the princess rippled with heavy energy. Grandmaster Orion materialized next to Lena without making a single sound. The Sovereign expert wore his simple brown robes and projected an aura that felt like a crushing mountain bearing down on the plaza.

He offered a slow and respectful nod to the group of mercenaries who had saved his princess a year ago; he had already known the rough story. His gaze then shifted and locked onto Li Yu. The intense stare lasted a long time as the older man analyzed the young cultivator standing casually amidst the tension.

The mercenaries quickly bowed to the grandmaster in awe of his overwhelming power.

"Who might this be?" Orion asked with a low and rumbling voice. "He does not look like he belongs with your mercenary band and his foundation feels… unique."

Li Yu met the gaze of the Sovereign expert without flinching but offered a smile since it would seem they are on the same side. He stepped forward and answered the question directly.

"I am the one who found Morrigan in the forest," Li Yu stated calmly. "She suffered grievous wounds while escaping the initial ambush set by the prince. I have spent the last day healing her broken meridians and I came here to save the hostages on her behalf while she rests."

The scarred captain quickly spoke up to verify the claim. "It is true, Your Highness. This young man broke the suppression arrays and slaughtered the guards holding us captive. He fought alongside us to break the siege before your airship arrived."

To further prove his identity and his connection to their leader, Li Yu reached into his storage ring and retrieved the stamp and the necklace. He held the two items up in the afternoon sunlight for the royal arrivals to inspect.

Princess Lena gasped softly when she saw the pendant resting in his palm.

"That is true proof," Lena confirmed while placing a hand over her heart. "Morrigan would never give that specific necklace away to a stranger. She told me it was a precious gift from her family after they were miraculously reunited in the past."

The princess had no idea that it was actually thanks to Li Yu calling in a favor that Morrigan was able to escape the amber prison and reunite with her family in the first place. The threads of karma weaving them all together were truly intricate and strange.

"Where are you keeping her right now?" Lena asked while stepping toward the black robed youth. "I need to see her and ensure she has the best royal physicians attending to her wounds."

"She is safely hidden in a rocky canyon just outside the town limits," Li Yu answered while storing the items back into his ring. "I will go get her and bring her back here to reunite with you."

Lena frowned slightly and a look of suspicion crossed her features. "What if you are just using this excuse to run away from our forces? You might be trying to escape. Let us come with you."

Grandmaster Orion raised his hand to gently stop the princess from stepping any closer to the youth.

"Let him go," Orion said while keeping his sharp eyes fixed on Li Yu. "If he tries to run away into the wilderness, I will personally track him down and bring him back. He cannot hide from my senses."

Li Yu just chuckled lightly at the Sovereign’s threat. He did not react with anger or defensive posturing. He knew the older man was simply doing his job to protect the princess and secure the area.

"I have no reason to run from allies," Li Yu said smoothly. "I will return shortly. My friend and I will return shortly."

He turned his back on the expert and began walking toward the edge of the plaza. Borum followed closely behind him while shaking the cobblestone dust from his rocky fists. After Li Yu left, Grandmaster Orion leaned down and whispered quietly to the princess.

"You must be very wary of that young man, Your Highness," Orion cautioned with a severe tone. "He is not simple at all. His aura is perfectly restrained but I can feel an ocean of latent violence resting beneath his skin. He did not fear my presence in the slightest."

Li Yu’s karmic instincts told him that the people from the Kingdom of Lunaris were telling the truth. Their auras felt genuine and their desire to help Morrigan was rooted in loyalty rather than political manipulation. They were safe allies to have in this chaotic situation.

Just as Li Yu was leaving the town, a loud and wet cracking sound echoed from the sky.

Protector Silas fell from the clouds like a broken doll. The gray robed defender crashed into the roof of a nearby tavern and shattered the wooden beams before hitting the street below. He possessed several large and gaping holes through his chest where condensed arrows had pierced his defenses. The old man gasped his final breath and died in the rubble.

A moment later, Protector Vance descended from the sky and landed gracefully on the cobblestones. The middle aged archer was breathing heavily and his silver armor sported a few minor scorch marks from the spatial vortexes but his injuries were superficial. He had won the long standing rivalry and ended the duel with his own hands. It looked like a heavy burden was finally lifted from his shoulders in doing so.

Li Yu did not linger to watch the Lunaris soldiers secure the corpse of the enemy expert. He left the borders of the town and utilized his swift movement arts to return to the hidden canyon. When he arrived at the rocky crevices, he found Faen sitting diligently near the entrance while Morrigan rested on the flat boulder. The Night Queen looked slightly better than when he left her but she was still incredibly weak.

"The rescue operation was a complete success," Li Yu announced as he walked into the canyon. "Your people are free and the prince has been captured by a surprising ally."

Li Yu gently scooped Morrigan into his arms since she lacked the strength to walk the distance. Borum stepped forward and offered his broad shoulder to help support Faen who was still nursing her injuries. Together, the group left the canyon and made their way back to the secured town.

When they stepped into the central plaza of Oakhaven, the surviving mercenaries let out a loud cheer upon seeing their leader alive. Princess Lena pushed past her guards and rushed across the bloodstained stones. She reached the group and carefully wrapped her arms around the injured Morrigan. Morrigan returned the gentle embrace while tears of relief pricked the corners of her eyes. Li Yu had briefly told her all that had happened during their return trip to the town.

The members of the Nightfall Corps gathered around their leader and celebrated the emotional reunion. The heavy burden of fear and impending death had been lifted from their shoulders and only the joys of survival remained. Li Yu stood near the edge of the joyous crowd and felt a quiet sense of satisfaction. The brutal violence of the afternoon had yielded a peaceful and happy outcome for those who he believed deserved it.