Chapter 63 Ace in the Hole
Acrid gunpowder smoke hung heavy in the mountain air. Across a multi-kilometer stretch of valley road, cratered red-brown soil pierced through the pristine white snow, marking the site of a brutal night battle.
The battle of Red Valley had finally ceased at 4:20 AM.
Though victory belonged to the Republic, Commander Haigert felt no joy. His forces had suffered devastating casualties: a quarter of his knights were dead or incapacitated, over a thousand infantry had perished, two-thirds of the survivors bore severe injuries, and nearly all four hundred and twenty-four rapid-fire cannons lay destroyed.
Yet the enemy had paid a heavier price: over two hundred armors were obliterated by artillery barrages, while another two hundred fell to Haigert’s suicide squads—light armors packed with overloaded energy crystals that detonated inside the enemy ranks.
This decisive victory ensured Haigert’s permanent promotion from Acting Corps Commander to full Corps Commander. However, Red Valley could no longer be held; any subsequent enemy assault would wipe them out.
Paralyzed from the Mind Pierce attack, Richie was carried back to camp on a canvas stretcher.
Hearing of his return, Haigert rushed to the medical compound. Inside the infirmary, the women of Squad 105 packed the room. Richie lay on a folding cot with his eyes closed while Randy gently massaged his pineal gland and temples to soothe his damaged nerves.
Haigert asked quietly, “How did you manage to defeat that pseudo-Glorious Knight?”
Haigert sighed wrying, “There’s only one way—by risking lives. My suicide squads forced their Aura to rupture their own inner ear canals, rendering them immune to Mind Pierce. Then they charged in with overloaded energy cores, detonating themselves like fireworks.”
Watching his loyal men sacrifice themselves had cut Haigert to the core, reinforcing the grim reality of the Republic’s military vulnerability.
Hoping to aid Richie’s recovery, Haigert retrieved a rare blood-red PHO injection—a supreme medical reward granted by High Command—alongside six specialized neurological and Psion-enhancing vials, including a rare five-color hallucinatory serum. Risks notwithstanding, Haigert authorized injecting all seven vials into Richie’s bloodstream.
As the serums surged through Richie’s veins, a soothing, tingling sensation replaced the sharp, needle-like agony in his brain.
Inside the quiet room, Lina and Nora stepped forward to initiate an intense dual-cultivation session to stimulate Richie’s nervous system and channel his internal energy.
Nora straddled Richie on the cot, guiding his rigid shaft deep into her tight, velvety passage. Connecting with Richie’s consciousness through a rare mind-link, Nora transmitted her thoughts directly into his mind: Relax. Do not force the scattered Aura. Let me guide it.
A soothing, intangible stream of energy flowed from Nora into Richie, channeling his wild, uncontained Aura along the precise circulation route of Heavenly Hearing.
As the energy traversed his pathways and converged at his pineal gland, Richie’s scattered Aura gradually condensed into fine, shimmering threads of pure power.
Aura Threading—the definitive mark of an Ace Knight!
Richie had successfully shattered his bottleneck, officially advancing to the rank of Ace Knight!
With his nervous system completely restored, Richie felt strength flood back into his limbs. Gripping Nora’s hips, he thrust upward with fierce passion.
Lina, watching playfully from behind, pulled a vibrating metallic plug from her own passage and inserted it directly into Nora’s anus alongside Richie’s tensed testicles. As cool water was injected to heighten the sensation, the intense vibration and tight constriction pushed both Richie and Nora to the absolute peak of ecstasy. Richie released torrents of warm seed deep into Nora’s womb as she cried out in overwhelming bliss.
Outside, the army physician reported the miracle to Haigert: “Commander, not only has Richie fully recovered from the Mind Pierce, but he has also officially advanced to become an Ace Knight!”
Haigert smiled with profound relief.
Striding into the strategic planning room, Haigert met with his chief staff officer, the portly Paro.
“Reactivate Operation Plan No. 12,” Haigert ordered.
Paro gasped, “Operation 12? But we just suffered heavy losses!”
“That is precisely why it will work,” Haigert’s eyes gleamed with strategic brilliance. “The Varedins will view us as wounded prey and converge on Red Valley. We will feign a full retreat to draw their primary forces toward our second defense line. Meanwhile, a elite strike force will slip through their thinned siege lines to rescue Commander Mosalai’s trapped Second Corps in the Chaborn Mountains!”
With Richie’s newly attained Ace Knight status and aerial reconnaissance capabilities leading the way, the counter-offensive plan was officially set in motion.