The sun cracked the horizon like a golden whip, bleeding light across the Grassland Expanse. Dew steamed off the grass. Somewhere, a bird that sounded suspiciously like a pterodactyl screeched.
Alex stood on the half-finished palisade, hammer in one hand, nails between his teeth. The wall was only ten meters long so far, thick oak trunks sunk into the earth, sharpened at the top, but it was his. Every plank driven home felt like a middle finger to every doubter in World Chat.
Below him, the harem worked like a well-oiled raid party.
Lyra hauled logs single-handedly, wings flickering for balance.
Elara perched on a boulder, bow across her lap, scanning the tree line.
Sylph danced between posts, fingertips trailing pink petals that sank into the wood and hardened it into something denser than steel.
[Territory Update]
Palisade Segment 1/10 – 12% Complete
Durability: 800 → 1,200 (Sylph's Blessing)
Alex spat the nails into his palm. "Faster. She'll be here in twenty minutes."
Elara didn't look down. "Silver duplicate confirmed. Two hundred meters and closing. No escort."
Lyra dropped a log with a thud that shook the ground. "Traps?"
"Primed," Sylph sang. She twirled her staff; a ring of cherry blossoms exploded into glittering dust that settled over the grass. Invisible to the eye, but Alex's HUD painted them neon pink.
[Trap: Petal Minefield – 40 charges, 3m blast radius, 500 holy damage + stun]
Alex wiped sweat from his brow. "Remember: we let her in, we let her talk, we let her think she's in control. Then we spring it."
Lyra cracked her knuckles. "And if she tries to copy one of us?"
Elara's arrow thunked into a practice dummy fifty meters away, dead center. "She won't leave with the blueprint."
A shimmer in the air announced the visitor.
The duplicate elf stepped out of a ripple of liquid silver, hands raised, cloak fluttering in a wind that didn't exist. She was identical to the scout from last night—violet eyes, silver braid, a smile sharp enough to cut glass.
"Lord Alex," she called, voice honey over broken glass. "Lady Seraphina accepts your hospitality."
Alex hopped down from the wall, boots squelching in mud. "Where's the real QueenBitch?"
"Indisposed." The duplicate's smile widened. "But she insists on a face-to-face. This body is her eyes, ears, and—" her gaze flicked to the three goddesses, "—curiosity."
Lyra stepped forward, sword resting casually on her shoulder. "Curiosity killed the cat."
"Cats have nine lives," the duplicate shot back. "I have infinite."
Sylph tilted her head, innocent as a daisy. "Let's test that."
Alex raised a hand. "Inside the gate. Unarmed."
The duplicate spread her arms. Silver rippled; every weapon she carried melted into her skin. She stepped over the threshold—and the petal minefield pinged softly in Alex's HUD, registering her weight.
[Guest Registered: Mirror Duplicate #17]
[Copy Attempt Blocked – Divine Spark Interference]
Perfect.
Alex led her to the Lord's Hut, now expanded with a crude meeting table hacked from a single oak slab. He gestured to a bench. "Sit."
The duplicate sat, crossing legs that went on forever. "Charming. Rustic. I expected more… waifu pillows."
Elara snorted from the doorway, arrow still nocked but relaxed. Lyra leaned against the wall, wings half-spread, a silent threat.
Alex took the opposite bench. "Terms."
"Straight to business. I like that." The duplicate leaned forward, cleavage on deliberate display. "Silvermoon offers:
500 units of refined iron.
A trade route through our territory.
One duplicate of your choice—permanent, 80% loyalty.
In exchange…" She licked her lips. "One night with one of your summons. For study."
Silence.
Then Lyra laughed—low, dangerous. "You want to fuck one of us for science?"
"Observation," the duplicate corrected. "I'll be gentle."
Sylph's staff tapped the floor. Petals drifted up, swirling into a tiny tornado around the duplicate's head. "Define gentle."
Alex leaned back, fingers drumming the table. "Counter-offer. You leave now. Intact. And Silvermoon gets to keep existing."
The duplicate's smile faltered. "You're bluffing. You have three girls and a stick fence."
Elara's arrow thwinged. It buried itself in the bench between the duplicate's thighs, quivering. "That was a warning. Next one's your eye."
The duplicate stared at the arrow, then at Alex. "You'd start a war over—"
"Over mine?" Alex finished. "Yes."
He snapped his fingers.
The petal minefield detonated.
Forty explosions rippled in perfect sequence, a pink blossom of holy fire that swallowed the duplicate whole. She screamed—silver flesh peeling, regenerating, peeling again. The hut's windows rattled. Dust rained from the ceiling.
When the light faded, the duplicate was on her knees, half her face melted, one arm missing. Silver blood hissed where it touched the floor.
[Trap Damage: 20,000 total – Duplicate destroyed in 4.2 seconds]
But the body didn't vanish. It glitched, then re-formed—smaller, weaker, but still alive.
"Persistent," Lyra muttered, impressed.
The duplicate spat silver ichor. "You… have no idea what you've—"
Alex stood. "Elara."
The archer loosed three arrows in rapid succession. They pinned the duplicate's remaining arm, both legs, and throat to the wall. She gurgled, struggling.
Sylph stepped forward, staff glowing. "Time for the message."
She pressed the tip to the duplicate's forehead. Pink light flared.
[Skill: Memory Bloom – Extract & Broadcast]
A holographic screen blossomed above the table, visible to every scrying orb in Elandris.
Seraphina's real face appeared—pale, furious, throne room behind her. "You dare—"
Her words cut off as the memory played: the duplicate's arrival, the offer, the trap, the screaming. Then Sylph's voice, sweet and clear:
"Tell your mistress: the next copy that crosses our border loses more than an arm. We'll send the pieces in a gift box."
The feed looped the duplicate's melted face three times, then winked out.
The pinned body dissolved into silver mist, vanishing back to Silvermoon.
Silence.
Then World Chat exploded.
Player42069: "BRO JUST FLEXED ON QUEENBITCH AND SENT A HIGHLIGHT REEL?!"
IronFistLord: "…I'm doubling my scouts."
xXDarkEdgelordXx: "Waifu Lord is savage. Respect."
QueenBitch99: [message deleted by System]
Alex exhaled shakily. Adrenaline tasted like copper.
Lyra sheathed her sword. "Walls. Now."
They worked in overdrive.
By noon, the palisade was thirty meters long, topped with Elara's arrow slits. Sylph's petals reinforced every joint. Lyra embedded wolf fangs along the top like caltrops.
[Palisade Segment 3/10 – Complete]
[Defensive Rating: 2,400 → 3,600]
A new notification pinged.
[Global Announcement]
Lord Alex has repelled an incursion from Silvermoon Enclave!
Achievement: Untouchable – +1,000 Fame, +5 Territory Points, [Aura of Deterrence] (Hostile actions within 1 km cost 50% more mana)
Alex wiped sweat from his eyes. "That'll keep the crows away for a day."
Elara lowered her bow. "Three caravans on the southern road. Free Cities banners. They saw the light show."
Sylph clapped. "Customers!"
Lyra grinned. "Or spies."
Alex looked at the summoning circle, still warm from Sylph's birth. One slot left for the day.
"Prep the trade post," he said. "We sell wolf pelts, buy iron, and summon tonight. Wisdom fragment—someone who can read these bastards before they open their mouths."
Elara hopped down from her perch. "I'll scout the caravans. Non-lethal."
Lyra cracked her neck. "I'll greet them. With a smile."
Sylph twirled her staff. "I'll make the flowers pretty. Explosively pretty."
Alex watched them move—his war goddess, his huntress, his healer—and felt the empire solidify under his feet.
QueenBitch had come to steal.
She left with a scar and a warning.
Next time, she'd bring an army.
And Aurora would be ready.
Silvermoon Enclave – 12:47 PM
Seraphina stared at the melted remains of her duplicate, now a puddle of silver on her throne room floor. Her hands shook.
"Recall every scout," she hissed. "Burn the trade route maps. And someone—"
She crushed a crystal orb in her fist.
"—find me a way to break those fucking sparks."
Iron Bastion – 1:15 PM
Marcus watched the replay on loop. The petal explosions. The pinned duplicate. The message.
He turned to Reyes. "Triple the golem forges. We hit Aurora in seventy-two hours."
Reyes hesitated. "Sir, the deterrence aura—"
"Means nothing when you bring ten thousand iron fists."
Ashen Rift – Eternal Night
Veyra floated above her wraith army, replay flickering in the lava light.
"War, Hunt, Love," she whispered. "Three down. Nine to go."
She traced a claw through the air, writing glowing letters:
"Tomorrow, the fourth fragment hungers."
The volcano roared.
Aurora Village – 6:00 PM
The first caravan rolled in under white flags—three wagons, twenty guards, a merchant with a smile too wide.
Alex greeted them at the gate, Lyra at his left, Elara on the wall, Sylph waving like a pageant queen.
The merchant bowed. "Free Cities Alliance. We bring iron, salt, and news. You… interest us."
Alex smiled. "We're always open to profitable friends."
Behind him, the summoning circle began to glow—soft blue this time.
Wisdom was coming.
And the game just leveled up.