In the capital city of Lordaeron, a secluded chapel of the Holy Light stood.
Lila knelt quietly before the sacred icon in her slightly worn yet immaculate nun's habit. Sunlight streamed through stained-glass windows, casting dappled patterns upon her form. Her eyes were lowered, long lashes casting delicate fan-shaped shadows beneath her gaze.
Lila was breathtakingly beautiful, like the Virgin Mary herself.
The heavy wooden door creaked open. A figure stepped into the light, accompanied by the crisp, haughty click of high heels.
Evelyn Silverthorn.
Her sensual auburn hair fell in soft waves. Tall and fiercely alluring, she wore form-fitting custom silver-white light armor that accentuated her curves. Yet this symbol of martial prowess seemed more like a luxurious ornament.
Most striking were the 11-centimeter silver-white stilettos adorning her feet, each inlaid with the Silverthorn family crest. Their heels struck the cold stone floor with a crisp, oppressive echo, leaving a faint trail of perfume in Evelyn's wake.
Several well-dressed young men trailed behind her, their eyes fixated with a mix of fascination and greed upon her ample bosom, slender waist and the long legs encased in those deadly stilettos. Their lips were constantly moving in flattery.
"Miss Evelyn, you are truly radiant today even the divine light pales beside your splendor!"
"And what of being a candidate for the Holy Mother? To have you honor us with your presence is her greatest privilege!"
"Indeed, Miss Evelyn, you are Lordaeron's most dazzling Thorn Rose!"
A careless smile played at the corners of Evelyn's lips as she basked in the adulation, yet her gaze swept toward Lila, kneeling before the Virgin's statue, with undisguised contempt.
"Well, well, if it isn't our noble Holy Mother candidate, Miss Lila?"
She deliberately drew out her words, her high heels scraping harshly against the stone slab beside Lila.
"What's the matter? Has the Holy Light forsaken you? Or perhaps... you've finally realized you're only fit to gaze up at me from the gutter?" She leaned forward slightly, the silver tip of her shoe nearly brushing the hem of Lila's nun's robe trailing on the ground. Each slender toe was painted with a seductive red polish.
Lila's divine bloodline drove her mad with jealousy. The high-ranking clergy praised Lila as the Virgin Mary's successor, forcing Evelyn to swallow her pride and take detours whenever she saw Lila for quite some time.
Recently, that little whore Lila had the audacity to lecture her about wearing high heels in the name of the Holy Light, humiliating her publicly. To teach that little slut a lesson, Evelyn had pulled strings and arranged for Lila to receive a "small punishment."
Hearing that Lila had been locked in the dungeon by Celia for an entire day, Evelyn's lips curled upward again.
Lila slowly raised her head, her face bearing no trace of anger at the humiliation, only a serene calm bordering on compassion.
"Miss Evelyn," her voice clear and steady, "I was not abandoned. Rather... I received guidance from Her Holiness Celia."
"Our Lady Celia?" The disdain on Evelyn's face faltered momentarily. A vision of sacred yet voluptuous beauty flashed through her mind, instantly filling her eyes with awe, jealousy and envy.
Lady Celia an existence even her Silverthorn family looked up to.
"Yes." Lila drew a badge from her bosom, radiating a gentle, sacred glow. It was a personal token of Celia's, sufficient proof of her identity.
"The Holy Mother sensed dark forces stirring deep within the Rotten Bone Marsh, threatening the royal capital. She requires a truly brave and powerful female knight, one possessing noble bloodline power, to assist me... in carrying out a secret purification mission."
Lila's gaze fell upon Evelyn, filled with a mix of reverence and envy.
"The Holy Mother says... the eldest granddaughter of the Silverthorn family, Knight Evelyn, is the only candidate who meets the requirements. This concerns the safety of the royal capital and also... whether you can prove your extraordinary worth before the Holy Mother."
Evelyn's heart skipped a beat.
Celia personally named her!
A secret mission! Proving her worth!
These words instantly struck her vanity.
The sycophants behind her gasped with envy.
"Hmph, at least she has some discernment."
Evelyn suppressed her inner ecstasy, her high heels tapping lightly on the floor.
"Since it is the Holy Mother's command... this lady shall graciously oblige."
She shot a contemptuous glance at her followers. "All of you, get lost!"
She glanced at Lila. "Lead the way."
"Yes, Miss Evelyn." Lila obediently bowed her head.
A cold curve lifted at the corner of Lila's mouth in the shadows.
The fish has taken the bait.
The miasma of the Rotten Bone Marsh grew thicker, the mud beneath their feet increasingly treacherous.
Evelyn's prized silver-white stilettos were already caked in filth, their slender heels sinking deep into the rotten mud. Each step sent her stumbling, her meticulously styled auburn hair plastered to her sweat-dampened temples and her expensive light armor splattered with mud.
"Damn it! How much further is this hellhole?"
Evelyn cursed impatiently, yanking her heel free from the mud. Filthy sludge even splattered onto her meticulously manicured toenails.
"Lila! Are you sure you didn't take a wrong turn? How could the Holy Mother establish a purification point in such a filthy place?"
"It's just ahead, Miss Evelyn."
Lila's voice carried calmly from ahead, her nun's habit faintly visible through the thick fog. "The Holy Mother's guidance never errs. The source of darkness often lurks within the filthiest places."
Finally, beyond a grove of twisted, dead trees, a camp enclosed by a crude wooden fence came into view, reeking of a potent stench of blood and semen.
The green glow of the campfire illuminated shadowy, ugly, diminutive green figures and... several females chained together, emitting lewd, seductive cries.
Evelyn's face instantly drained of color, a chill racing from her feet to her scalp.
"This... This is a goblin lair! Lila! How dare you deceive me?!"
She spun around, rage and terror contorting her delicate features. She drew the sword at her waist, its tip pointing straight at Lila!
"Speak! Who are you? Where is the Holy Mother?!"
Lila halted, slowly turning to face her. Her expression held no panic, only a trace of icy mockery.
"Miss Evelyn, sheathe your blade. Here, it offers you no protection."
"Shut your mouth, you wretch!"
Evelyn snapped, the sword tip trembling slightly. "Take me to the Holy Mother! Or else..."
Before her words faded, a suffocating, terrifying pressure descended from behind her like a tangible force!
It felt like being targeted by a prehistoric beast, filled with the most primal sense of oppression!
Every hair on Evelyn's body stood on end, her heart nearly leaping from her chest!
She whipped her head around!
A dark green figure, solid as cast iron, had silently materialized a few paces behind her, looming over her like a dragon surveying an ant!
It was Glak!
"An... Elite Leader!?" Her high-heeled feet stumbled, nearly sending her crashing to the ground.
Evelyn screamed, channeling all her fear into strength. Gripping her sword hilt tightly, she poured her entire fighting spirit into it and thrust fiercely toward Glak's chest!
In this life-or-death crisis, the Silverthorn bloodline erupted with an intense will to survive and untapped potential.
Our sexy older sister Evelyn struck with unyielding resolve!
"Overconfident."
Glak's deep voice carried a hint of contempt. His king's instincts detected no threat whatsoever. He didn't even bother to dodge, merely casually raising a massive hand. Like swatting a fly, he swept it against the incoming blade!
Snap! A shrill, crisp cracking sound!
Evelyn felt an irresistible force surge through her blade. Her palm instantly split open, blood gushing forth! The sword, infused with her entire body's fighting energy, shattered into pieces under Glak's single palm strike!
The immense impact sent Evelyn flying backward like a broken kite, crashing heavily into the muddy ground and splattering a large patch of filthy sludge.
She felt her internal organs crushed into a mass within her body and her once-proud, voluptuous breasts felt as though they'd been violently punched and shattered.
In that moment, she was grateful she wasn't lactating. She dared not imagine the humiliation of spraying milk from a single punch.
Then darkness engulfed her. The excruciating pain and violent jolt instantly knocked her unconscious.