Chapter 59
59
Third Person’s POV
+8 Pearls
In this chaotic situation, how could they even consider reclaiming the southern border?
It seemed they were just handing the battlefield over to the Dragon Ash Kingdom’s wolves.
Halbert’s pheromones, mixed with anxiety, said, “They’ve already started inciting some wolf generals from the reinforcement troops to confront Alpha Lance.”
Adelaide stroked her wolf–head pendant, her silver–blue pheromones as steady as frozen tundra. “Let them be. Lance won’t tolerate morale–sapping. Moreover, the Western Tribes‘ claws are already near Darkclaw Town.”
“Are we just going to swallow this humiliation?” Paisley’s whip cracked in her palm, the crimson flame emblem on her pauldrons flaring with anger.
“Shall I rip out Velda’s tongue? She’s merely an Iron Claw, low–born. I don’t fear her.”
Adelaide raised an eyebrow. “Velda outranks you now. Disrespecting an officer has consequences. Feel free to test it. Don’t forget, you’re a wolf warrior now.”
Paisley snorted, “If I weren’t a wolf warrior, I’d pay no heed to her rank. I tell you, once the southern border is reclaimed, I won’t be a warrior anymore. Even if I were offered a general’s post, I wouldn’t want it.”
That night, as expected, trouble brewed.
Velda’s cousin, Brock Freeman, led dozens of wolves toward Lance’s tent.
Lance, furious, ordered the ringleaders dragged out and flagged thirty times. He issued a military decree–Any wolf who disobeys Adelaide could challenge her. If they lasted five minutes, their sins would be forgiven.
If not, it was back to drills. Those who neither challenged nor trained would face military justice.
This decree spurred some reluctant but vocal dissenters in the Ironthorn Army.
Among them was Ellen , an Iron Claw with notable combat skills.
At Adelaide’s next outdoor training session, he stepped forward.
“Gamma Adelaide, Alpha Lance declared that anyone may challenge you. If I last five minutes, I’ll accept my punishment. But I seek no pardon. If you defeat me, I’ll acknowledge your merits, no matter their origin, and hold my tongue forevermore.”
Ellen was arrogant, having trained in wolf combat since childhood.
He’d ioined the roval wolf army at fifteen and never slackened his practice.
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To him, Lance’s decree was a grave insult.
Five minutes? Ridiculous!
Even with Alpha Bentley as her father, Adelaide couldn’t work that kind of magic.
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The crowd erupted in thunderous applause. The 15,000 soldiers of the Ironthorn Army roared, “Ellen, we stand with you!”
Adelaide eyed the wolf general in his early thirties, his face etched with defiance.
Ellen, seeing her silence, sneered, “Too cowardly to fight?”
Adelaide planted her silver spear in the snow, her moonstone headband fluttering in the night breeze.
She tilted her chin upward, her gaze as cold as ice, “Just to beat you?”
“Exactly!” Ellen boomed, “If I fall to you, I pledge fealty till death.”
“Bravo!”
“Show her her place, leveraging your family’s merits to climb over our wolf warriors.”
“Ellen, we’re with you.”
Ellen coolly addressed Adelaide, “Gamma Adelaide, do you hear me?”
Adelaide scanned the roaring Ironthorn Army, gripping her silver spear tightly, “Very well, let’s begin!”
Ellen’s eyes brimmed with contempt, “Don’t say I’m bullying you, Gamma Adelaide. I’ll let you strike first!”
“Thank you,” Adelaide smiled faintly, the blood–red mole beneath her eye vivid as blood.
She revealed the wolf hairs at her nape and said, “If you can stand after a minute, I concede.”
From afar, Ulrik and Velda stood atop the battlements , surrounded by wolf warriors.
Velda gazed at the training ground, her mint pheromones laced with sulfur.
“Look, someone’s challenging Adelaide,” she remarked, her slit pupils narrowing with excitement.
Despite the distance, Ulrik recognized the challenger–Ellen, the Ironthorn Army’s formidable “Frostwolf’s Claw.”
His cedar pheromones suddenly roiled , and a low growl escaped him, “Ellen.”
Velda said with interest “Ellen’s one of the stronger warriors in the Ironthorn Army Wonder how
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Ulrik shook his head slowly, “Ellen won’t win.”
Velda laughed heartily, “You’re quite the defender of Adelaide. Let’s see.”
“I’m just stating the facts,” Ulrik said, his knuckles whitening as he gripped the battlement.
+8 Pearls
Velda suddenly burst into laughter, her mint pheromones sweeping like a storm. “Let’s wait and see. I hope she doesn’t lose too miserably. After all, the Frostfang Alpha can’t afford another trampling.”
She narrowed her eyes, fixating on the distant figures, secretly hoping Ellen’s wolf claws would tear that silver–grey war–coat to shreds–exposing the Frostfang “princess” as a weakling propped up by lineage.
Ulrik fell silent, yet his eyes remained locked on Adelaide.
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