Shield of the Rose

The door knocked with urgent thuds, carrying an anxious tone.

Richie opened the door hastily.

Standing at the doorway was Binder, followed by Malone and two others behind him.

“Yarno has set off…” Binder spoke breathlessly.

“Step inside to talk,” Malone pushed Binder gently, scanning the surroundings.

People hovered nearby, though all belonging to their inner circle, yet Malone remained cautious.

Only Binder, Malone, and Abraham entered the room, while the remaining two stood guard outside the door.

Seeing the scene, surrounding people took the hint to walk off.

Inside the room, Malone sat down at the cot edge, grabbing Richie’s cup to gulp down the water.

He spoke with a raspy voice: “Yarno set off two hours ago without notifying anyone, traveling along Route 45.”

He retrieved a map from his coat, spreading it across the table with a rustle.

A red line marked the route heading south, clearly avoiding the border.

“He wouldn’t surrender to the Alliance, would he?” Richie asked.

South led to the front line, where Alliance forces advanced to under three hundred kilometers from Peines.

“He intends to conceal his trail, bringing zero confidants, accompanied solely by twelve soldiers and six knights,” Malone explained.

“He even ordered the vehicle’s communicator removed,” Malone added.

“That old fox!” Binder cursed aloud.

Richie felt stunned; initial plans had proceeded smoothly, yet Yarno’s single move rendered all arrangements void.

“If all else fails, can we eliminate him after he escapes?” Richie suggested.

“Unacceptable. Yarno must die on Republic territory; only then can foreign nations hold zero excuse to intervene.”

“Otherwise they’ll treat it as a criminal homicide,” Binder vetoed Richie’s suggestion: “If all else fails, we must spare his life.”

Malone pointed at the map: “Not entirely without opportunity.”

“That vehicle carries six magitech suits and nineteen personnel, mostly riding on the roof, preventing high speeds to avoid throwing people off.”

“Furthermore, refugee waves and military retreats clog main highways, slowing them further.”

Tracing lines across the map with his nail, each representing a route—including the route Richie’s group had traveled: “We can gamble along these routes.”

Everyone stared at Richie.

Richie felt nervous under their gazes, understanding their intent—since he could fly in the sky.

The issue was, even if spotting Yarno’s trail, what then?

Escorted by six knights—including an Honor Knight and two Ace Knights—he knew from Malone how Internal Security Bureau knights guarded VIPs.

They stayed inside suits continuously beside meal and bathroom breaks, rendering surprise attacks impossible.

Richie had contemplated leveraging the modified test armor’s crazy speed to strike Yarno before knights reacted, fleeing swiftly upward.

Yet spotting Yarno from the air required “Yaksha”—and using “Yaksha” for assassinations was suicidal.

Thinking so, anger rose in Richie’s mind.

This represented an impossible task.

Not only Richie, but others understood the constraint, plunging the room into silence.

“Guarding so many routes simultaneously is impossible; if we gamble, let me gamble on a single route,” Abraham broke the silence.

He pointed at the Republic’s northwestern corner on the map: “I gamble Yarno travels through De’ang.”

“That route is remote with few cities, yet sits close to Parkington and Rosotto.”

That represented a rationale, though not absolute; Abraham estimated the De’ang route probability at twenty-five percent—slightly higher than other directions.

“Let me handle that route,” Richie could devise no better plan.

“Borrow a vehicle equipped with a communicator, and let Emily accompany you,” Malone stated.

Realizing his tone sounded like an order, Malone softened his tone: “Conditions might shift en route.”

Borrowing a vehicle proved effortless for Richie.

He originally planned to ask Vilia, but Malone suggested seeking Manuel’s help, whose vehicles held special passes to clear most checkpoints.

De’ang sat at a vast distance from Stein; departing now was late, and traveling overnight to intercept Yarno held a single path: routing through the Balmer Kingdom.

Balmer was a small nation, featuring interconnected highways, with De’ang serving as a western entry point connected directly to Stein.

Manuel acted generous, asking casually: “What do you need the vehicle for?”

“My apologies; I cannot reveal details, nor do I wish to lie to you,” Richie sighed, unwilling to deceive the old man.

Manuel seemed to guess something, falling silent before clapping Richie’s shoulder: “Since you refrain from speaking, I hold zero desire to know.”

“Remember one thing: wear the Master Craftsman Badge on your person, for it resolves numerous troubles.”

“I’ll remember,” Richie smiled.

Driving the vehicle back to camp, Richie requested Manuel’s knights to help load the modified second “Heracles” onto the vehicle—which couldn’t board under its own power.

Loading the suit, Vilia arrived, having heard an equipment vehicle entered camp carrying an armor.

Accompanying her were two female knights: the blonde female knight and the newly promoted Ace Knight.

Arriving at the scene, they witnessed Emily bidding farewell to others, Vilia and the blonde knight sensing something amiss.

“What scheme are you pulling? Intending to leave this place?” Vilia pulled Richie aside to demand.

“A minor task…” Richie prepared to explain.

Vilia reached out, drawing a map from his left pocket—a Balmer transit map prepared for operations.

Richie held zero familiarity with Balmer, requiring a map to prevent getting lost.

Richie’s attempt to retrieve it was too late.

Vilia opened the map with a swift movement.

The transit map was ordinary, sold for two yuan at any local shop, highlighted by a red line connecting Stein to De’ang with marked intersections.

“You’re heading to De’ang?” Vilia felt surprised, having never guessed that destination.

As Vilia froze, the blonde female knight approached, scanning the map, Richie, and Emily, spotting apprehension on Emily’s face.

Though ignorant of Richie’s objective, she knew it wasn’t testing armor.

“Night has fallen; rushing out overnight implies urgent business.”

“Let us offer help by driving the vehicle for you,” the blonde female knight offered.

Richie felt his head throb. Over past interactions, he understood these women well.

Vilia was generous and direct—easy to get along with—yet persistent once focused.

The blonde female knight was shrewd—serving as advisor among the women.

With both joining forces, deceiving them proved impossible.

“Fine; since you offer help, thank you,” Richie permitted them on board.

He intended to knock them unconscious upon arrival—holding confidence in his martial skills.

Though one was a newly promoted Ace Knight, recent Ace Knights using standard techniques could be defeated two or three at once by his hand.

Richie’s direct agreement left Vilia and the blonde knight bewildered, yet withdrawing was impossible, especially with curiosity aroused.

The column set off, the new Ace Knight driving, Emily sitting in the rear row beside the communicator to receive updates.

Richie sat opposite the blonde female knight.

Manuel’s vehicle wasn’t custom-built for knights, featuring rear doors and side benches enclosing open central space for passengers and cargo.

Sitting face-to-face, Richie felt an itch after an hour.

He had sat opposite this woman multiple times, yet previously both were completely naked and intimately joined.

Thinking so, physical discomfort filled his body.

Richie felt uncomfortable, while the blonde female knight felt equally uncomfortable.

Though Richie sat motionless, the look in his eyes was perceived clearly.

The blonde female knight turned her face away, cheeks flushing crimson, crossing her legs instinctively to protect her intimate area.

Suddenly a mischievous thought struck Richie: these women boarded voluntarily, knowing his reputation, so being devoured was an anticipated outcome.

Thinking so, he pulled the blonde female knight into his arms.

Startled, she found herself held atop his lap before reacting.

Normally she cared little, her body explored and fertilized by Richie previously.

Yet facing him in civilian clothes differed from wearing a half-face mask that provided psychological distance.

Thinking so, she deployed force to break from his embrace.

Richie anticipated struggle, yet surprised by the immense force that opened his arms.

Reacting swiftly, his arms gathered force to pull her back, entering a contest of strength.

Suddenly her struggling force doubled, straining his arms despite deploying Vajra Might.

With a thud, a heavy elbow strike struck Richie’s chest, transmitting force to shake the vehicle floor.

Richie’s face twitched from pain.

Had he not mastered Vajra Body, that elbow strike would confine him to bed for half a month.

Her fierceness astonished him, yet her strength proved even more shocking—surpassing un-promoted Lina despite lacking Ace rank.

He had engaged in dual-training with her repeatedly, knowing she cultivated two manuals: an inferior medium manual and a high-tier manual.

Abandoning inferior manuals for high-tier manuals was common, for despite greater effort, future prospects proved brighter.

Yet neither manual explained her near-escape strength.

“How did you achieve that?” Richie tightened his arms, sensing her strength waning after deploying a short-burst technique.

The blonde female knight abandoned resistance completely.

“Ouch—so painful!” the blonde female knight looked aggrieved.

“Your young girlfriend sits right over there; aren’t you worried?”

“Don’t dodge the topic—I want to know how you accomplished that?”

“I failed to notice you were so formidable; though un-promoted to Ace rank, ordinary Ace Knights cannot handle you.”

Richie held absolute confidence, for Squad 105 contained similar figures.

Omitting Trisli and Lina, Dina and Merlin held similar capabilities, as did the three sisters when cooperating.

That represented force stacking—dividing force into segments before concentrating at a single point.

Yet what this woman deployed was force multiplication.

“It’s a family manual,” the blonde female knight refused to elaborate.

Richie refrained from probing further, for inquiring into family manuals was tabood.

Unbuckling her belt, sliding her trousers down to her knees, tightening the belt—reinforced with a thin steel strap—she remained immobilized.

Expecting struggle, she stayed still, staring at Richie with a gaze that seemed to pierce through him: “You mastered ‘Vajra’.”

Richie felt his chest tighten, while the vehicle jerked to a sudden halt.

The driving female knight turned her head in astonishment, cheeks flushing crimson.

Intending to keep Vajra as a trump card, he hadn’t expected it to be exposed so easily.

Though exposed, Richie refused to admit it, feeling a need to discipline this woman.

Holding her horizontally, he inspected her leather underwear—fitted with a towel lining, familiar from Squad 105 where intimate sensitivity caused wetness that soaked ordinary garments.

Richie wondered if all these female knights wore leather underwear now.

Unbuckling his own belt, locking her hands firmly behind her back, Richie flexed his numb arms, for enduring her strike had proved grueling.

Extracting the towel lining from her underwear, Richie stuffed the scented item into her mouth.

Massaging her intimate area, finding it wet and lubricated, he teased her soft clitoris—enlarged to hazelnut size from repeated intimacy, a permanent mark left on his women.

Lifting her legs, gently raising her body, he delivered a deep penetration without restraint.

Since disciplining her, he abandoned gentleness, deploying forbidden techniques Lina had barred.

The blonde female knight twisted her body frantically, realizing she had fallen into a demon’s hands.

The demon tortured her with terrifying methods, yet she feared growing addicted to the torture, craving more discipline.

Moments later, she felt on the verge of collapse.

Right then, Richie paused.

That represented the most hateful move, despised by all dual-training partners, yet right now she realized Richie had held back previously.

The move’s power lay not in teasing appetite, but in accumulating physical arousal to higher peaks.

Amidst agony, she felt a flood of Aura draining rapidly from her body.

Unable to stop the drain, her body moved shamefully, craving deeper penetration.

Unlike her masked boldness, right now she felt proud and shy, wishing for a swift conclusion.

Hours passed, her expression turning dazed, yet her body continued moving involuntarily.

Such endurance astonished Richie, matched only by Lina and Nora within Squad 105.

Lacking intimate training or frequent experience, her endurance relied entirely on willpower.

Such formidable willpower appeared terrifying, for individuals possessing such willpower were by no means simple—especially women.

Fortunately he sensed Aura consolidating into threads within her body.

Though offending her, he helped her break through her bottleneck.

Breaking a bottleneck during dual-training represented the optimal method.

Feeling uncertain, Richie retrieved two pills from his pocket—peanut-sized, containing diluted beauty-hound serum recovered from Varedin labs.

Inserting one into her anus and another into her vagina, the serum absorbed over an hour, causing her body to twist involuntarily.

After an hour, Richie penetrated once more, ejaculating inside her body to deliver essential nourishing fluids.

Finishing, Richie unlocked the leather belts.

Looming her in his arms, he savored her beauty—matching Nora, Kristina, and Aisha in beauty, while surpassing them in aura and mystery.

Recalling her immense strength and unyielding willpower, he realized she wasn’t simple.

Her manual appeared modest, yet possessed deep, un-fathomable potential—a rare category of manuals mentioned by the Librarian Uncle that were hard to procure and master, yet far superior upon achievement.

Vilia’s female knights belonged to grassroots ranks, six out of ten practicing public manuals.

This woman likely started with poor manuals before stumbling upon opportunities, helping others reach peak ranks before Ace promotion alongside Vilia.

That resembled Ariana’s group and the Junior Army.

As Richie pondered, a soft chime woke him.

Placing the blonde female knight on the bench, he walked to Emily.

Woken by the chime, Emily’s face shifted from pale anxiety to deep thought, flushing red upon seeing Richie’s un-stowed shaft.

“Someone spotted a matching vehicle passing Taniasord,” Emily whispered.

“Malone predicts the destination is Bernibeli.”

Richie retrieved the map, spreading it under the ceiling light.

Right then, he felt his shaft enter a warm, wet space.

Looking down, Emily cradled his testicles with both hands, licking his shaft with her mouth.

Emily looked up with affectionate eyes, her tongue sliding across glans and groove, teeth nibbling gently to inspire exotic stimulation without causing harm.

Among Rose Society girls, only Jinny and Melissa had practiced intimate techniques previously—Jinny for fun, Melissa to secure her status.

Yet recently, surrounded by numerous women, Emily and Caroline began practicing intimate techniques out of feeling threatened.

Scanning the Balmer map, neighboring Republic cities were marked.

Locating Taniasord, Richie found it sat east of Stein, whereas De’ang sat west.

Multiple highways intersected at Taniasord, leading to Bernibeli.

Compared to De’ang, Bernibeli offered advantages as the largest border city with numerous connecting roads.

De’ang offered safety for escaping, while Bernibeli offered anonymity against tracking.

Escaping at night served that exact purpose.

Yet luck intervened, allowing tracking despite secrecy.

While relieved, Richie felt astonished at Malone’s intelligence network extending to official channels so quickly.

“U-turn to Bernibeli!” Richie called out to the driver.

Re-routing after driving so long extended the journey.

Silence returned to the cabin as the blonde female knight lay on the bench.

An hour later, the blonde female knight awoke, her eyes flashing anger that turned into joy upon realizing her breakthrough.

Casting a resentful glare at Richie, she pulled her trousers up, sitting cross-legged.

Post-breakthrough time was precious, and her self-control surpassed the driver’s excitement.

“Need help?” Richie offered goodwill, knowing she held resentment.

She gladiator-glared at him, yet rationality prevailed, knowing dual-training benefits.

Having endured intimacy, she abandoned mask-persona boundaries.

Unbuckling her trousers, letting them drop to her feet, she stood naked before Richie, parting her legs to guide his shaft into her entrance, sitting down.

Seeking stronger stimulation, she placed Richie’s hands onto her buttocks, kissing him deeply with her tongue sliding inside his mouth.

Dual-training obscured time, for surging Aura presented irresistible temptation to knights.

When the vehicle halted abruptly amidst noise outside, both snapped back to reality.

Her eyes retained resentment, blended with exotic emotion.

The map displayed four highways connecting Bernibeli, yet in reality over a dozen roads intersected the city.

Driving the vehicle onto a small hill, halting beside dense thickets, Richie jumped onto the roof to unbind the glider—crafted by Manuel per Yiluo’s blueprints.

Smaller with greater wing sweep than previous models, paired with Yiluo’s “Yaksha”.

Assembling both within two minutes, the female knights watched—the driver curious, the blonde knight staring coldly.

“Refrain from touching the armor,” Richie warned before departing, secretly watching the blonde knight, regretting offending her on the vehicle.

“Relax, I’ll settle scores with you later,” she stated coldly, offering reassurance.

Sprinting down the slope, the glider took flight—requiring double the sprint distance and higher speed.

Yet taking off, complaints vanished: grazing treetops at double former speed.

Deploying “Wind Master”, twin whirlwinds surged, accelerating further amidst sharp wind noise.

Shouts echoed below as crowds emerged from tents, pointing at the sky.

At dawn, being spotted was unavoidable, so climbing into cloud layers was necessary.

Climbing for five minutes, his figure vanished into clouds.

Below, three pairs of eyes watched him vanish into the distance…

After a long while, the blonde female knight sighed: “I harbored a dream of soaring in the sky during childhood.”

“Why not seek the opportunity? Ask him to carry you into the sky—I plan to do so,” the driver female knight remarked.

Inwardly she wished to fly independently, though having heard Vilia mention only wind-attribute cultivators could accomplish that.

“Do you assume he possesses leisure time?” the blonde knight laughed softly: “He’ll be busy ahead.”

“Meaning him and us…” the driver flushed crimson, stopping her words.

“Cease wild thoughts,” the blonde knight spat softly: “Have you failed to guess his objective here?”

The driver possessed solid combat strength, yet acted absent-minded, overwhelmed by scenes inside the vehicle.

The blonde female knight glanced at Emily, stating calmly: “He came to kill someone—an influential figure escaping from Peines.”

“An influential figure? Who could it be? Hershaw?” the driver shouted.

Though stated so clearly, the driver failed to guess, while Emily’s face turned pale.

The blonde knight patted Emily’s cheek, comforting: “Rest assured; I hold no liking for his target, and his demise might warrant a minor celebration.”

“Who is it exactly?” the driver shouted again.

“Who else beside Yarno?” the blonde knight stated nonchalantly.

The driver acted un-bothered, nodding softly as if hearing an ordinary animal’s name.

Minutes later, she recalled a detail.

“Wait—Yarno travels with a bodyguard team, led by…”

The blonde knight gestured toward the vehicle: “It links directly to that.”

She turned to smile at Emily: “Am I correct?”

Emily felt chills run through her body.

She had seen clever women, yet none matched this woman, while feeling a reminder of Malone.

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