Chapter 107: Date Her, Fluster Her!
Paradise, mountainous area on the outskirts of the royal capital.
At the foot of the mountain stood a long-abandoned wooden cabin, hidden among overgrown weeds and trees, clearly uninhabited for ages.
A shadow silently slipped into the wooden cabin. “Vice-Captain, it’s all done.”
“According to the instructions sent by Captain Rast, we selected the location and launched the firework the moment we received the signal.”
“The launch trajectory and altitude of the firework had been calculated and simulated many times, ensuring it could be seen clearly from the third window of the sleeping palace.”
“Mm.”
A second voice came from the dark shadows within the cabin. “I saw it. Good work.”
“What about the rest? Has everything been cleaned up?”
“All traces have been cleared.”
The newcomer nodded. “After the firework was set off, the royal capital did send someone to patrol, but they found nothing.”
“All traces at the scene were erased. I even used my own ability to perform a special anti-divination treatment.”
“It ensures that even if someone with divination or foresight abilities intervenes, they will find nothing.”
“By the way, Vice-Captain…”
He paused, showing a trace of confusion. “Don’t you think the way we’re talking now doesn’t feel like Shoreguards at all…”
“More like we’re shady villains plotting in the dark?”
As he spoke, he lit the windproof lantern in his hand.
The bright light illuminated the previously dim and quiet interior of the cabin.
Under the illumination, the line between light and shadow within the cabin became distinct.
The shadows surged and formed a vague humanoid shape.
The shadow servant condensed into a solid form, looking at the Shoreguard standing before him, letting out a soft sigh in his heart.
Although being chosen through selection to become a full member of the Shoreguards meant something... the team members accompanying Captain Rast and himself to Paradise were all qualified in both personality and talent.
But in the end, they still lacked experience, their minds too young and immature.
These fresh bloods of the organization held a near-fanatical reverence for the name Shoreguards—
They believed the Shoreguards were the greatest organization in the world, sacred and inviolable.
“I know, you all come from countries near the Watchtower, under the protection of the organization's headquarters… You’ve grown up hearing the name Shoreguards since childhood.”
“In your hearts, the Shoreguards are the embodiment of justice, the saviors of human civilization.”
“And all of humanity on the continent… should, like those protected city-states and nations, offer applause, flowers, and glory to their great saviors.”
“So, in your eyes—”
“Our secretive actions now… disgrace the bright and upright image of the Shoreguards you hold dear, don’t they?”
The squad member across from the shadow servant didn’t dare respond to his vice-captain’s words.
After all, this was a sixth-tier powerhouse, not someone to offend.
However, the flicker in his eyes undoubtedly confirmed the shadow servant’s guess.
“In truth, the Shoreguards have never been the radiant figures you imagine.”
The shadow servant asked softly, “If a patient is terminally ill with a tumor, what would you do?”
The squad member thought for a moment. “Of course, remove the diseased tissue.”
“Correct.”
The shadow servant nodded. “For the body as a whole, and for the remaining healthy organs, this is undoubtedly the best and least costly choice.”
“But what about the organ being removed?”
“To sacrifice a small part for the greater good is a principle anyone can understand.”
“But when that sacrifice falls on your own head, how many can truly accept it?”
“What’s more, even after removing the diseased tissue, all it does is prolong life. It doesn’t cure the cancer.”
The faint shadow stirred.
“We are not the saviors of civilization, nor can we become such.”
“We are merely pitiful janitors struggling against an unacceptable fate.”
The shadow servant gazed out the window of the cabin, down the hillside, at the silent royal capital cloaked in night.
“To the residents here, we are not righteous Shoreguards.”
“We are executioners who stripped away their livelihood, destroyed their homes, and crushed their hopes and futures…”
“Unforgivable executioners, despicable demons.”
…
The squad member listened to the shadow servant’s words, half-understanding.
And the shadow servant, evidently, had merely been expressing a few spontaneous emotions, showing no intent to elaborate further.
He turned his attention back to the royal capital under the night sky, steering the topic back on track. “The surveillance on Queen Helen and the Captain’s whereabouts inside the palace—how’s that progressing?”
“That task is being handled by Grey.”
“She has the lowest rank, so her presence near the palace is the least likely to raise that Queen’s suspicion,” the squad member replied.
This was part of the internal division of labor within the Shoreguards team.
Since they needed to monitor the palace, someone had to be stationed nearby at all times.
However, this risked drawing the attention of Queen Helen of the Underworld.
She was a peak powerhouse in her own domain, comparable to legends.
The higher the rank of a transcendent, the more noticeable their presence became to others of similar strength.
If the sixth-tier shadow servant himself infiltrated the capital, he would likely be discovered the moment he set foot inside, triggering immediate conflict.
Thus, Grey, a newly joined Shoreguard with a rank barely above ordinary people, was the optimal choice for surveillance.
To the Queen, Grey was no different from a regular civilian.
Someone she would instinctively overlook.
“According to Grey’s daily reports, the palace has been enveloped in a layer of solidified twilight, making it impossible to see inside.”
“But these past few days, no one has entered or exited, just like usual.”
“However, as per your earlier instructions, we’ve already withdrawn all our observers from the city, including Grey.”
“Judging by the time, it’s almost time to regroup.”
As soon as these words were spoken—
The door to the cabin opened.
Figures in white robes filed in…
They were the Shoreguards team dispatched to Paradise, having arrived at the royal capital a month prior.
Following orders from the Captain and Vice-Captain…
Over the past month, they had silently infiltrated the city like mercury, monitoring every corner in the Shoreguard’s style, gaining complete control over every detail within the royal capital.
But now, all those posts had been recalled by the Vice-Captain.
Grey was among them.
Her pale skin and dull gray hair were braided into a bun. Her petite figure was wrapped in a black cloak with a hood.
Her entire outfit was composed solely of black and white, resembling a winter fairy from a colorless world.
The Shoreguards gathered in the cabin, and Grey tugged on her hood, hiding her face beneath it.
Before the mission officially began…
The half-year she spent training and preparing with Brother Rast at the Watchtower had been the happiest time in Grey’s life.
Even more so than her memories of Frostwater Town.
She lived peacefully and safely at the Shoreguard headquarters, undergoing training every day.
After training, Brother Rast would often take her to the towns near the Watchtower for fun—trying strange and delicious foods or visiting all sorts of entertainment spots.
In those six months, Grey experienced many things the Watchtower locals took for granted, but were all new to her as a former drifter.
Of course, to Grey…
Even if Rast had done nothing but wander aimlessly with her, she would have been satisfied.
So—
She had to assist Brother Rast as quickly as possible in completing this mission in Paradise.
Once the mission was over, they could return to the Watchtower together and continue those wonderful days.
With this in mind, Grey lifted her emerald eyes, staring at the shadows in the cabin, waiting for the Vice-Captain’s next order.
Although Rast was the captain of this operation…
For some reason, by the time Grey arrived at the royal capital, he had already vanished, sending only the occasional instruction back.
In his place, the sixth-tier Vice-Captain was managing the team.
Grey cared deeply about Rast’s whereabouts, but as a low-ranking member of the team, she had no right to know the full plan.
All she knew, from a few words the Vice-Captain let slip, was that Rast seemed to be a key figure executing a secret mission.
As her thoughts spun, she saw the shadow-like Vice-Captain cough lightly.
“『Lost Paradise』.”
“The ultimate goal of the plan we are currently executing—is to completely destroy Paradise, to wipe out this entire nation of the Underworld.”
“This is a nation formed in error, like a tumor that has already turned cancerous…”
“This is not about justice or the innocence of its citizens, but about a deformed entity that must be eliminated for the fate of civilization.”
Due to confidentiality protocols and to prevent leaks…
During the early stages of the mission, aside from Rast and the shadow servant—Captain and Vice-Captain—most team members had no idea about the operation’s true objective.
But at this moment, the fact that the shadow servant revealed everything meant the plan had reached a critical phase.
If the previous stage was only about gathering intel and site prep, then from here on out—they were going all in.
With that in mind, Grey and the other Shoreguards’ expressions turned serious.
Destroying a nation.
Such a grand operation would inevitably be accompanied by bloodshed, death, and sacrifice.
As expected, after a slight pause, the shadow servant’s voice sounded again.
“This regrouping was called because we’ve received the latest news from Captain Rast—”
“Everything is going smoothly.”
“In other words, the first phase of the 『Lost Paradise』 plan has been completed successfully.”
“And precisely because of that—”
“Starting tomorrow, our Shoreguards’ mission will enter Phase Two.”
Phase Two… So the Vice-Captain is finally going to reveal the plan’s full details?
In other words… Will she get to see Brother Rast again soon?
With this news, Grey couldn’t help but feel a small surge of joy inside.
The shadow servant’s calm voice echoed again.
“According to the repeated confirmations by the Leader and Captain Rast, the core of this nation’s existence, and the source of the Underworld’s corruption, lies with this nation’s Queen—the Mistress of the Underworld, Helen.”
“Therefore, our concrete plan is to launch a decapitation strike on Queen Helen of Paradise, and seize the relic of the Reaper.”
“But putting aside Queen Helen’s rank and strength—”
“Even if the assassination is successful, extracting that relic from the palace at the center of the capital, protected layer upon layer… is still nearly impossible.”
“And if that 『Reaper’s Relic』 is not taken, the Underworld will not collapse, and the 『Lost Paradise』 plan will fail.”
The shadow servant paused slightly.
“That’s why Captain Rast chose to use himself as bait—”
“To personally enter the game.”
As he said this, there was admiration in his tone.
Every transcendent, especially powerful ones, had their pride.
Wearing women’s clothes, using seduction tactics—these were humiliating and beneath many elites, some of whom would rather die than accept such shame.
But—
This youthful-looking captain had gone through it all without blinking.
In fact, based on the information Rast sent back, the first phase of his plan had been a success.
He had entered the palace as a maidservant—to a Queen who very likely had… particular preferences.
Bondage, restraints, wooden horse, rope play… The shadow servant dared not imagine how much humiliation Rast had endured in the past week to win the favor of that yuri queen.
That selfless resolve for the greater good… was something the shadow servant couldn’t help but admire.
He coughed again, banishing those disrespectful thoughts of his captain’s torment.
It was unworthy of Rast… the one who truly embodied the meaning of “Shoreguard.”
“Ahem.”
“In short, in Phase Two of the plan, we must assist Captain Rast—”
“Help him build a more… amicable bilateral relationship with the Queen of the Underworld.”
“Win Queen Helen’s trust, so she’ll lower her guard and leave her palace.”
“Lure her into the prearranged location, and execute the final phase of the plan.”
The shadow servant’s gaze was solemn, and the rest of the Shoreguards followed suit.
Although they still didn’t quite understand what “more amicable bilateral relationship” meant…
They could clearly feel the self-sacrificing righteousness in the Vice-Captain’s voice—an unshakable pride for their unseen Captain Rast.
“Additionally, Captain Rast has boiled the core objectives of this mission down to two points—”
The shadow servant paused, then delivered the final solemn summary:
“Date her.”
“Fluster her.”