The King roared in the palace, furious.
He wanted to order the army to drive out the invaders, but most of the Soldiers no longer obeyed his commands.
At this moment, the King thought that he might still be able to seek help from Lord Rhine, the kingdom's sage.
—Not long ago, this Little Magician had visited the palace once and informed him of a Soldier's crime.
Just then, two figures walked into the palace and approached the King and Queen.
"Father, Mother. I can lead the army to drive out the invaders."
The person who arrived was, naturally, Aurora. The golden-haired girl stood against the morning sun at the palace entrance, her petite and beautiful figure casting a long shadow on the ground, her face obscured by the backlighting.
Seeing their daughter again, the King and Queen were moved to tears.
Behind the girl, the silver-haired Magician Rhine slowly approached.
The boy's face showed no change compared to how it was back then; the carving knife of time had failed to leave a single mark on him.
...
The King personally donned his armor and went to the elite King's Guard.
The King had been a brave general in his youth, but now, his aging body could no longer support him in charging into battle. So, he appointed a general who was too young, letting her lead the elites to reinforce the troops defending the front line.
Every Soldier who saw the new general was incredulous, exclaiming in disbelief, unable to believe that a little girl who looked no older than 12 would be leading them, thinking it was absolutely a joke.
But in less than half a day, before the sun set, Aurora had convinced every single officer and Soldier.
This King's Guard, whose morale had been scattered just yesterday, underwent a complete transformation all at once, swearing in unison that they were willing to die with their new general!
Despite this, no one associated the general before them with the kingdom's princess from the legends, who was imprisoned deep within the palace.
Aurora then led this elite force to the front lines.
...
The bandits from Ender kingdom arrived.
They swooped down from the hillside, easily tearing through the Rose Kingdom army's flimsy defenses.
The Master Swordsman who had once taught Aurora was now an officer in the army, riding a magnificent warhorse.
But facing the aggressive enemy, even this Master Swordsman felt a profound sense of powerlessness.
On the battlefield, individual martial prowess became limited.
After learning the truth of the curse, the Soldiers of the Rose Kingdom had long lost their will to resist. They merely raised their weapons, shouted a few times, offered a symbolic resistance, and then scattered and collapsed.
Such a disorganized army naturally had no fighting power whatsoever.
The Soldiers of Ender laughed as they brandished their scimitars, slaughtering every enemy they saw—for a hundred years, this once prosperous neighboring country had never been so weak.
The Master Swordsman galloped away, trying to avoid hearing the sounds of slaughter behind him.
Just at this moment, from the rear of the battlefield, a unit charged out—it was the reinforcements sent by the King!
This unit was clearly a brave elite force; they were well-ordered, disciplined, their slogans loud, their horns blaring, every Soldier fighting valiantly and striving to kill the enemy, soon covered in their own or the enemy's blood.
The commander of the unit led by example, charging at the very front of the formation.
Her mount was not a warhorse, but a large dog, and the dog's eyes were as big as teacups!
There were also two even larger dogs following behind the commander, one dog's eyes as big as a waterwheel, and the other dog's eyes were astonishingly as large as the top of a tall tower.
The dogs bit the Ender invaders with their massive jaws, tossing them high into the sky; they fell from the air, either dead or injured, and those thrown highest were smashed into pulp.
The commander, with the two magical large dogs, fought on both sides, like a god descended from heaven, instantly routing a large number of enemy troops.
"Shoot arrows, shoot arrows!"
The invaders drew their bows and notched their arrows; for a moment, arrows rained down, aiming to kill this formidable commander.
Dozens, even hundreds of arrows shot towards the commander, but the moment the arrows touched her, they all turned to dust.
—Man-made or natural weapons shall not harm her!
The commander rode her tall dog, galloping across the battlefield. With one hand, she tightly gripped her weapon, breaking through enemy lines, and with the other, she took out a horn and blew it before the fleeing, disorganized army.
The clear and stirring sound of the horn pierced the sky!
This horn sound was like a battle song from heaven, igniting the blood of every officer and Soldier of the Rose Kingdom, stirring the fighting spirit deep within their souls.
"Charge! Drive out the invaders!"
The already routed Soldiers of the Rose Kingdom, the kingdom's officers who were fleeing in all directions, hearing this horn sound, rallied again, their courage rekindled, their appearance completely refreshed.
Scalding hot tears streamed from the eyes of the Soldiers and officers, tears boiling with anger and fighting spirit.
—Her voice can make people's hearts and minds sink, bringing even a heart of stone to tears!
"Charge! Charge!"
"For the Kingdom, for the King!"
"Arrows and swords cannot harm our commander; this is divine protection!"
In the eyes of the officers and Soldiers of the Rose Kingdom, the commander riding a large dog, flanked by two other large dogs, was clearly an unyielding banner on the battlefield.
As long as they followed the footsteps of this commander, victory would surely belong to their side. If she charged, the army would be unstoppable; if she did not fall, the war would not be lost.
—Her charm could topple kingdoms; every action she took would sway the common people, and everyone in the world would be captivated by her!
And so, the commander, riding a large dog, led the kingdom's officers and Soldiers, charging all the way, their silver-white armor stained with blood.
As the sun set, the bloody twilight stretched her figure into a long shadow on the ground.
The blood-red of dusk mixed with the blood spilled by the Soldiers, indistinguishable from each other, dyeing the rivers and hills the same hue.
On the distant hillside.
The armored King, listening to the victory song, felt his eyes slightly sting.
He looked towards the center of the battlefield, at his daughter's figure bravely fighting in the sunset.
The King's thoughts couldn't help but return to 10 years ago, the night when the nationwide celebration was interrupted and the terrifying curse had just descended, and the prophecy uttered by the Magician Rhine:
"When this warrior rides a warhorse across the battlefield, even a scattered army will yield to her charm and obey her commands!
"When this warrior sings a battle song before a routed and disorganized army, even a poorly disciplined force will reassemble and willingly die for her!
"I believe such a warrior will surely be able to lead His Majesty's army, kill the Black Witch, and fundamentally lift the curse!"
The invaders were driven out of the kingdom.
For a long time, no one dared to invade the lands of the Rose Kingdom again.
—Because a god-like warrior had deeply imprinted her heroic image into the minds of every invader.
All the invaders who luckily escaped back to their country recounted the process of that epic battle with as much exaggeration as possible, not missing a single terrifying detail.
They gesticulated wildly, jumping up and down, greatly exaggerating the great terror they had faced.
They said that a god had protected the Rose Kingdom and sent down a warrior. The god-given warrior was surrounded by three strange beasts, and sharp swords, halberds, and arrows could not harm her in the slightest.
More miracles appeared across the kingdom.
The morning after the war ended, a thousand birds of various colors appeared in the sky above the Rose Kingdom. The birds' colors were exactly those of a rainbow, and they formed various patterns and characters in the air, telling the story of the god-given warrior.
Some people heard foxes talking to themselves in the grass at night; the foxes mentioned the god-given warrior and that the kingdom's curse would surely be lifted.
Fishermen encountered a terrifying storm when they went out to sea, but the storm miraculously subsided immediately. The fishermen caught fish, and after cutting open their bellies, found strange slips of paper. Upon returning home, their blind wives miraculously regained their sight.
People widely said that this was the will of the gods.
The Rose Kingdom must be a country protected by the gods. God bless the King.
Few noticed that at the locations where numerous miracles occurred, a silver-haired boy in a hooded cloak slipped through the crowd.
"Excellent, now people believe that the gods protect the kingdom and the royal family, and even the terrible curse set by Black Witch Maleficent will surely be lifted."
"Praise your wisdom, Lord Rhine."
Deep within the palace, the King praised the wise sage.
"Just some knowledge from beyond this world, that's all."
The sage thought to himself.
From that day on, in addition to the "imprisoned beautiful princess" and the "Magician who grants wishes," a new legend was added to the Rose Kingdom.
...
In the capital, on the first floor of the largest and most magnificent luxury hotel, in the tavern where guests bragged to each other.
The bartender and guests, amidst clinking glasses, once again discussed the legends of the kingdom.
"New guest, have you heard? That... that legend!" The bartender suddenly stammered a bit.
"Are you talking about the Magician who can grant wishes?"
"No, not that one."
"Are you talking about the King's daughter, a beautiful princess who embodies all the good qualities in the world? Although no one has seen her. Because she is imprisoned in a palace made of bronze, and only the King and Queen can enter and exit there."
"No, not that one either."
The bartender handed the guest a bottle of ale, his expression unusually excited:
"I'm talking about the legend of the Valkyrie sent by the gods to save our kingdom!"