Shield of the Rose

Inside an office on the second floor of the Peines Knight Headquarters, Calli looked like ice as she stared at the man standing in front of her desk.

What fueled her anger was a transfer order lying on the table.

This order was for Richie—clearly a lingering side effect of the duel from a few days ago. Someone, somewhere, was trying to transfer Richie out of Squad 105.

“I object. As the squad captain, I am responsible for every member, and I am equally responsible for the squad as a whole,” Calli said coldly. “Not a single member of my squad is expendable.”

The officer standing opposite her was in his early forties, slightly balding, and soft-bodied. He was clearly not a Knight.

In the Monstoke Republic, Knights were a force that had to be handled with extreme caution, so many administrative departments were staffed by ordinary military bureaucrats. This was a deliberate system of checks and balances.

The officer, a true bureaucrat, spoke in a pompous tone. “A soldier’s duty is to obey orders. Never mind a single member of your squad—if the high command ordered your entire squad to deploy, would you dare refuse?”

Calli slammed her hand on the desk with a loud bang, sending the table hopping off the floor. The bureaucrat opposite was visibly startled.

“What use is all this empty talk? The military has its rules. If you want to transfer someone, fine,” Calli smiled coldly. “As long as the transferee agrees, I will not stand in the way.”

“Preposterous!” The officer slammed the desk in return, though he lacked the strength to make it jump.

“I am not the one being preposterous. It is those who ignore the rules,” Calli’s tone grew even colder.

She had the confidence to stand her ground because the rules were on her side. This transfer order was clearly an attempt by someone to curry favor with Gerold’s family.

However, according to formal military regulations, transferring any Knight required passing two hurdles: first, the Knight’s personal consent, which was paramount; and second, the approval of their direct commander.

This rule had been established to protect female Knights. Before its inception, high-ranking Knights would use their authority to transfer female Knights they fancied to their side, which had led to several severe scandals.

Since then, transferring a Knight had become a matter requiring careful deliberation.

“Unreasonable! Simply preposterous!” The officer trembled with rage.

While Calli debated the bureaucrat, Lina was not idle either. She went straight to her father.

“Is that so?” Lina’s father frowned. “The members of the Seger family wouldn’t be so petty.”

The old man shook his head. He knew that Knights from prestigious noble families valued their honor and lineage too much to resort to such underhanded tricks.

“But the fact is right before us. Even if Gerold and his family didn’t do it, it is definitely related to them. The world is never short of bootlickers,” Lina insisted, her main concern being that her father might refuse to intervene.

Such was the cruelty of the world: what took those below immense effort to resolve could be settled by a single sentence from those at the top.

Lina’s father indeed didn’t want to get involved. In his view, Lina and her squad were overreacting. It was just a transfer order; they could simply reject it according to regulations. Invoking his influence felt like using a sledgehammer to crack a nut.

Furthermore, he wasn’t sure if Gerold was behind this. If he intervened, what was merely a clash between two youngsters would turn into a feud between him and Elwin.

“Is this boy really that important to you?”

Lina’s father looked at his daughter suspiciously, the question “Are you sleeping with him?” practically written across his face. Of course, as a father, he couldn’t ask that directly.

Lina knew her father’s thoughts. Without a hint of embarrassment, she said righteously, “Of course. You’ve seen his combat records.”

Lina’s father fell silent. He had to admit that although the boy wasn’t strong yet, his unique ability was enviable. On a battlefield dominated by mid-to-long-range attacks, the power to reflect the enemy’s combat skills was incredibly formidable.

When he had banished his youngest daughter to the front line, it was meant as a punishment. But a daughter was still his own blood; no matter how much trouble she caused, she was still his child. Thus, he had placed her in Squad 105 and stationed them in Glasslovar, which was supposed to be a safe posting.

However, he had miscalculated. No one expected Glasslovar to become a major battlefield. When he learned his daughter had narrowly escaped death several times, he had regretted it deeply. Squad 105’s transfer to the rear was a result of his deliberate care.

For this reason, he held some goodwill toward Richie. A strong defender increased the safety of the entire squad.

“If it is inappropriate for you to intervene…” Lina decided to play her trump card. “Just tell me where the person you were with the other day lives. Since he guided Richie, he is practically Richie’s mentor and would surely help.”

The old man was almost choked by his daughter’s words. He stared at her, unable to speak for a long moment.

He knew the librarian’s identity. If that man spoke, let alone Gerold, even Gerold’s grandfather would have to apologize, and the matter would blow up completely.

“Fine, fine. You win. I’ll handle it,” the old man sighed. He decided there was no need to clash with the Seger family. This transfer was likely the work of bootlickers anyway.

“Come with me to Elwin’s house,” the old man said, grabbing his coat from the rack.

Most of the Republic’s high-ranking generals lived on Queen’s Boulevard. As one of the three Glorious Knights of the Republic, Elwin was no exception, and his house was only a fifteen-minute walk from Lina’s.

When Elwin heard of the visit, he knew something was wrong. Figures of their standing rarely met without reason, as being too close could draw suspicion from high command.

Once Lina’s father was settled in the study, the two old men conversed in hushed tones, and Elwin’s face gradually darkened.

With a scowl, Elwin pulled a bell rope, and a servant entered.

“Call Gerold here,” the old man ordered.

“Young master… should be undergoing training with Master Sordi right now,” the servant replied, hesitant to disturb the young master’s practice.

“Sordi? So he was the one who refined that technique. No wonder,” Lina’s father thought. It was a good thing he had come personally; otherwise, a clash with Elwin would have been troublesome.

Still, he wondered when Elwin’s family had connected with Sordi.

Though descendants of the Holy Emperor and Heavenly Stage Knights shared connections, some were closer than others. For instance, his family was directly descended from the Holy Emperor, making them family with the Packington royals, yet their relationship was merely cordial. For Sordi to guide Gerold meant their relationship was very close.

On second thought, he understood. Gerold was a rare genius, much like his own nephew Reta, both seen as potentials to challenge the Heavenly stage. It wasn’t surprising Sordi would take interest.

Even Richie had been noticed by that person, whose status was far higher than Sordi’s.

Elwin hesitated. For his grandson to be guided by Sordi was a great fortune, and Sordi was notorious for his temper and allowed no interruptions during training.

“This is no great matter. You only need to ask Gerold if he had a hand in this. You know as well as I do that such things are usually done by underlings trying to flatter their superiors,” Lina’s father offered a way out.

With a way out, Elwin nodded. He dismissed the servant and turned to Lina’s father with a polite smile. “Sordi merely has a grand reputation. Gerold lost despite his guidance. In my view, Sordi isn’t even as good a teacher as Lina.”

Elwin chuckled, though the laugh was somewhat forced.

Lina’s father wouldn’t agree to such a statement. If Sordi heard of it, there would be trouble; Sordi was stubborn, protective, and petty, and no one knew how he might react.

“It wasn’t my daughter’s doing. If she had that ability, I would be at peace,” Lina’s father shook his head. “The boy had guidance from a higher power.”

“Oh?” Elwin’s interest was piqued. He looked at Lina’s father. “Could that higher power be you?”

“Do I have that ability?” Lina’s father smiled wryly. “You saw Espol forge a weapon for the boy. Do you think I could influence Espol’s decisions?”

Hearing this, Elwin’s heart sank. Lina’s father’s presence had already made him uneasy; he didn’t think a minor transfer required a personal visit.

To him, it was a statement of attitude.

The mention of the high power behind the boy placed immense pressure on him. Very few people in the world could sway Espol; Sordi certainly couldn’t, standing a step below Espol himself.

In the world of Knights, strength was paramount, followed by connections and lineage. Connections referred to close relationships like mentors and fathers. With a great mentor, growth was rapid, and future achievements would be higher.

His grandson Gerold had Sordi’s favor, ensuring he would become at least a Glorious Knight, with a fifty percent chance of challenging the Heavenly stage.

He had assumed Richie only had Lina’s guidance and hadn’t cared. Now that he knew a far more powerful figure stood behind the boy, he had to take it seriously.

Although Lina had resolved the trouble at its source, the others were unaware. Calli was still arguing with the officer, while Dana had to face her father’s cold expression.

“You came to me for this?” Caron glared at his daughter. “An apprentice Knight is nothing. If they want to transfer him, let them.”

Dana had expected her father’s coldness, knowing he was angry with her.

“If I resolve this for you, are you willing to marry Carvin as I wish?” Caron saw an opportunity. Such a minor transfer was easy for him to resolve.

“Are you really that set on Carvin?” Dana snapped. “What is so good about him? If you query his reputation, everyone knows he is a hypocrite.”

Caron grew angry. “I’ve heard the rumors from those who envy him, but what I see is a young man who works ten times harder than anyone else. He is outstanding—a top-tier fighter and skilled in tactics.”

“Working ten times harder only to remain an Ace Knight? That either means his effort is a facade or his talent is mediocre,” Dana said dismissively. However, this was somewhat unfair. From Ace Knight onward, the difficulty of promotion doubled. Eighty percent of Knights remained at their rank for life, only twenty percent progressed further, and eighty percent of those remained Ace Knights forever.

“How dare you speak like that?” Caron glared.

Just then, a knock came at the door.

At the gentle knock, Dana knew the man she least wanted to see was here again.

Sure enough, the door opened and Carvin walked in. Before the Vice-Captain, he was exceptionally polite. He glanced at Dana and walked straight to Caron.

“Sir, there are a few documents requiring your signature,” Carvin said, holding a stack of papers.

But Dana knew he was merely using it as an excuse. The guards must have alerted him the moment she arrived.

One thing even Dana had to admit: Carvin was exceptionally good at winning people over. The entire 7th Legion was managed by him like a fortress, with everyone from officers to servants singing his praises. In that regard, Carvin was successful.

What she disliked about him was his habit of marginalizing and suppressing anyone who refused to align with him. Over eighty people had been driven out of the 7th Legion by his machinations.

To Dana, it was a waste for him not to enter politics. Unfortunately, the world of Knights had no need for political talent.

Caron knew his favorite officer was here for his daughter. He flipped through the papers, most of which were routine matters not requiring his signature.

Still, to play the part, Caron signed them all.

“Miss Dana, I heard the genius Gerold was defeated by your disciple,” Carvin said, turning to Dana while the Vice-Captain signed the documents. This was his true purpose. “For the disciple to be so strong, the mentor must be extraordinary. If I challenge you to a duel, you wouldn’t mind, would you?”

“Do you think I am foolish? You are already an Ace Knight, while I am merely a standard Knight. As for my disciple, he has a unique talent and others helping him. His victory was not my doing,” Dana refused. He wasn’t the first to use such a tactic on her.

“True,” Carvin nodded. “How about this: we make an agreement. I will only use ten strikes. If you can survive ten strikes without defeat, you win.”

“A good idea,” Caron looked up from his papers. “That is very fair.” He turned to his daughter with a slightly mocking tone. “You aren’t worried you can’t even survive ten strikes, are you? You always look down on Carvin and question his strength. Here is your chance to verify it yourself.”

Dana knew her father was baiting her. She had never seen a father side so completely with an outsider.

However, this might be an opportunity—a chance to get this hypocrite off her back.

Yet she worried she couldn’t match him. Dana knew her own strength.

Her Lightning Aura was a top-tier advanced art, but it was unsuitable for women, and its progress was painfully slow. Furthermore, Lightning Aura was designed for aggressive offenses, offering little in defense. If she couldn’t overwhelm her opponent, she would be in grave danger.

Suddenly, a thought flashed in her mind—a thought that filled her with panic and intense embarrassment.

“Make your decision,” Caron pressed.

“Don’t rush her, Sir,” Carvin said smoothly. “Miss Dana needs to consider such an important matter carefully.”

Hearing this, Dana grit her teeth. Rather than spending her life with this hypocrite, she would rather let herself go.

“Fine. But let’s be clear: if you lose, you will never pester me again,” Dana said, slamming her hand on the desk. A thin crack appeared on the surface.

It was a display of defiance toward her father.

“As you wish,” Carvin smiled, confident he wouldn’t lose. “When shall it be?”

Dana hesitated. Although she had made her decision, she wasn’t sure how much time she needed.

Normally, it shouldn’t take long. Calli was already close to breaking her bottleneck, and Calli’s art progressed even slower than her own Lightning Aura.

“Unsure? No rush. We can set it for six months from now,” Carvin said. He knew from Caron that Dana was not near a bottleneck, so he wasn’t worried about a sudden breakthrough. In battle, breaking a bottleneck to turn a defeat into victory was not unheard of.

“One month. We will settle it in one month,” Dana said. She realized her hesitation was dangerous. Lightning Aura required a forward drive; if she hesitated, she wouldn’t progress even in ten years.

A month was short, but judging by Calli’s progress, it should be enough.

Calli was the last to join Richie’s harem. Back then, Calli’s strength was inferior to hers. Although Calli and Richie had been intimate for several months, they had been busy with the retreat and Richie’s duel, leaving little time for actual dual training.

If a month of training could bring Calli such progress, a month should be enough for her as well.

Setting a short deadline left her no way out. Dana knew that if she had time, she might try to escape.

Returning to the camp, Dana found the atmosphere lively.

She was the last to return. Calli and Lina had arrived earlier, and Lina was talking excitedly.

“…You should have seen Gerold being scolded by his grandfather… then we went to the Quartermaster Department… it turns out the fat bureaucrat was behind it… so funny, he thought he would be praised… Elwin’s face was terrifying, and the fat man wet his pants on the spot… my father scolded everyone in the department. But they got off light; if my father hadn’t let Elwin handle it for face, they would have been sent to the penal battalion…”

Lina chattered away.

But Dana had no heart to listen, unsure of how to bring up her situation. After a moment, she nudged Calli’s sleeve.

Calli noticed her distress and quietly led her to the basement.

In this building, the basement was the safest place. It served as the site for dual training and meetings, but entering it today felt different for Dana.

The thought of joining the other women here to share Richie’s bed and be toyed with by her own disciple made her heart race.

Calli saw her reaction but remained quiet. “What is it?”

Dana took a breath. “My father is pushing me to marry Carvin again. I refused, and Carvin challenged me to a duel.”

“You accepted?” Calli looked surprised. She didn’t think Dana was that foolish.

“In a month, if I can survive ten strikes from him, he will leave me alone,” Dana said.

Calli frowned, calculating Dana’s chances.

They had faced Ace Knights before and killed two, so they knew their power. At Morena, the entire squad had struggled to kill one. After Lina became an Ace Knight, her power allowed her to dominate the battlefield with only a few companions.

If an Ace Knight went all out, they could kill a standard Knight in three strikes, unless the opponent was a dedicated defender like Merlin.

Calli looked at Dana with a knowing gaze. She knew what Dana was thinking. To gain the strength to survive in a month, there was only one way. But for Dana to offer herself to her own disciple was a massive hurdle.

“How confident are you against Carvin?” Calli asked softly.

“I won’t let him have the chance to strike,” Dana had already decided on her strategy. She had never trained in defense; the basic defense techniques she had learned as a child were long forgotten. Her only choice was to match his offense with her own.

Calli fell silent for a moment, then patted Dana’s shoulder. “Leave it to me. I will arrange it.”

As she reached the door, Calli turned and whispered with a tease, “You had better prepare some anti-swelling ointment.”

The usually cold captain let out a rare chuckle.

After dinner, other Knights would train for a few hours, but for Squad 105, it was the time for dual training.

Richie looked forward to the night. Two days ago, he had thoroughly enjoyed the female Knights, leaving even Lina and Nora exhausted.

The cost was a brutal training session the next day. Lina used him as a punching bag, the three sisters used him as a practice target, and Merlin served him undercooked beans for meals. At night, Lina and Nora dragged him to the basement to drain him again.

Still, at dinner, he sensed an unusual atmosphere and wondered if the girls had planned another surprise for him.

Filled with questions, Richie entered the basement first. He took a bath and lay on his custom bed, waiting.

After a long while, he heard footsteps. Only one or two people entered. Richie felt nervous, fearing the return of Lina and Nora. Those two were like stone-squeezers; his manhood went in hard and came out like pulp.

The door opened, and Randy entered. Richie relaxed; Randy had no malice. But he still worried about her companion.

“Who are you with?” Richie asked softly.

Randy giggled, knowing he was scared. But after the wild session two days ago, she felt the boy deserved to suffer a bit.

“We’re playing something new today,” Randy said, revealing a blindfold.

Richie was familiar with it, as his cousin used to blindfold him.

He sat up and checked her hands for chains or handcuffs. Seeing none, he let Randy tie the blindfold.

As soon as it was secured, Randy pressed down on him, her wet tongue entering his mouth.

Her tongue toyed with his before tangling with his own. Richie’s member rose instantly, his glans hard.

Randy straddled him, her vulva aligning with his shaft, and slid down to swallow his length.

She didn’t thrust hard, as she was still swollen from the wild party two days ago. Despite a Knight’s quick recovery, the swelling took time to fade.

Placing her hands on the metal grips of the bed, Randy began drawing energy from the room. The energy flowed through her, turning into the special life force that merged with her Aura.

As she guided the Aura into Richie, she felt a sudden, intense itch, just like two days ago. It passed quickly, but she felt a spike of anger at the boy, even though she couldn’t stay away from him.

Richie felt Randy was unusually reserved today, far from her usual enthusiasm. He found it strange.

Lina’s experiments proved that the efficiency of dual training was tied to the intensity of intercourse. The ideal state was a continuous climax, but since that was impossible, they trained during the afterglow of a climax.

Though Randy’s slow movement was unusual, Richie still enjoyed her body. The slow, gentle friction had its own charm.

After forty minutes, Randy slid off his body.

Being blindfolded left him feeling uneasy, unsure of what was coming. Although his senses were sharp, the custom blindfold blocked both light and sound, leaving him to rely on touch and air currents.

He heard the door open and someone walk in slowly.

The presence felt familiar yet unfamiliar.

The person approached and leaned down, a faint, unfamiliar scent entering his nose.

He had never been close enough to Dana to smell her scent before.

But he understood what was happening when a trembling hand gripped his shaft.

The only virgins left in Squad 105 were Dana and Robin. Richie was certain the person straddling him wasn’t the tomboy Robin.

After waiting for a few minutes, Richie grew impatient. It felt like standing before a feast and not being allowed to eat.

He wondered if the woman was indeed his mentor. In his mind, Dana was a straightforward woman.

But with the glans pressing against her hymen and no progress being made, he was growing restless.

Richie focused his senses. Randy was gone. He felt relieved, knowing Dana would be too embarrassed to do this in front of anyone.

With no more worries, Richie sent a pulse of Aura into his glans.

Dana felt a sudden itch at her vulva that shot up her spine to her head, leaving her weak.

Her knees gave way, and she sank down, letting Richie’s massive glans slide deep into her vagina.

She tried to pull back but had no strength.

Just then, Richie reached up and cupped her breasts.

Dana felt a wave of heat, his hands carrying a magic touch that turned her body soft.

Below, she felt his thick shaft tearing into her vagina, causing a mix of pain, tightness, and pleasure.

She finally understood Calli’s advice about the ointment.

Dana was a virgin, but her endurance was high. Richie also held back, wanting to give his mentor a gentle first experience rather than causing fear.

Over the past few days, he had learned how to use Aura to stimulate a woman’s nerves to maximize pleasure. Using Aura was far more direct than physical thrusts.

Richie’s right hand slipped down to Dana’s hips, giving her butt a firm pinch.

The slight pain made Dana stiffen. She hadn’t expected her disciple to be so bold, but she realized she was no longer in the training ground, nor was she his instructor.

With this thought, a hint of sadness rose, but it was replaced by shock when Richie’s finger slipped into her anus.

She had heard of anal sex but had never intended to try it.

She tried to move, but her body was too soft.

She gasped as his finger pushed inside. It wasn’t painful, but it brought a strange sensation that made her want to cry.

Richie shifted her position, bending her body.

He removed his blindfold. With both of them intimate, there was no point in keeping it on.

“Mentor, relax. Let me guide you,” Richie said softly, a rare gentleness in his tone.

Once they began the cycle, Richie realized Dana was not an easy partner.

She was tall, taller than most men. Standing, she reached his chest, making it awkward to kiss her.

Thus, he had to stretch his neck while Dana bent her body.

Their lips met.

Dana knew the path from Randy and had cleared her channels. The moment their lips met, the Aura cycle began.

Like Margaret, Dana was obsessed with strength, joining Richie’s bed solely for power. But unlike Margaret, Dana’s nature was soft on the outside but unyielding on the inside. Once her initial fear passed, she began to take the lead.

Grit her teeth against the pleasure, Dana activated her family’s mental technique.

Lightning Aura was highly violent, causing intense pain during early training as electricity ran through the nerves. Her family had developed a technique to separate consciousness from physical sensation to endure it.

Instantly, the intense pleasure faded.

With her mind clear, she realized how her body was behaving—her flesh rippling in waves, her channel soaked.

Embarrassed by her body’s response, she focused entirely on the Aura cycle.

She was quickly stunned by the efficiency.

She had known the progress was fast, but watching her Aura swell at a visible rate was shocking.

The cycle was highly effective for violent arts, as proven by the three sisters. Her Lightning Aura was even more violent, and the progress was faster. The foreign energy wrapped around her lightning, acting like an insulating sleeve.

Lightning Aura was highly damaging to the body, and she had to train cautiously. But with the protective energy, she could cycle without limits.

She had never felt so clear.

She understood why the others refused to leave Richie. Even the cold Calli had surrendered to this pleasure. For a Knight, strength was everything.

Suddenly, she felt the efficiency jump again, accompanied by a wave of pleasure.

Despite her detached mind, the sensation still breached her defense. She couldn’t imagine how intense it would be without the mental block.

Merlin had mentioned that Richie could make a woman lose her mind, and now she believed it.

Richie was also shocked by her response.

Dana’s climax wasn’t as violent as Lina’s or Nora’s, her body shaking as her channel contracted. But the duration was absurd.

Two days ago, he had tested the limits of the others. Nora was the longest at ten minutes, while Lina and Rosa lasted around four minutes.

But now, Dana’s response had passed four minutes, then ten minutes, and she was still climaxing.

Richie tested her, finding her conscious and her body safe.

When the climax passed thirty minutes, Richie realized she possessed another unique, natural treasure.

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