Chapter 183 I Am Really Jealous of You, Hiltina, Jealous That You Can Have Him (9k)
In the Ruins of the Gustav Nuclear Power Plant, Scarlet Frost Territory.
Ingrid stood silently in the desolate remains, behind her was a forest constructed of steel.
Deteriorated metal and broken concrete lay beneath her feet, while above her head, the enormous cooling tower had long since collapsed, leaving only the fragmented arc of the tower wall, with the gray sky faintly reflected behind it.
Gustav Nuclear Power Plant, the largest nuclear power plant in the Granwill Empire and even the entire Western Continent—massive thermal energy was produced through nuclear reactions in the reactor core and converted into electricity, providing power to thirteen provinces in the northern part of the empire.
But that was merely “once upon a time.”
Five years ago, during the largest nuclear accident in the history of the Western Continent, half of the secondary reactors exploded, sending radioactive dust soaring into the sky.
Even before the core of the main reactor melted down, control rods were bravely inserted by military teams that had arrived, preventing the worst-case scenario—the explosion that would release radioactive dust over half the empire…
Yet even so, the initial nuclear leak had already contaminated more than half of the Scarlet Frost Territory.
This once-prosperous industrial province, ranking among the empire’s highest in both population and economy, had turned into a desolate wasteland in a mere five years, with countless citizens forced to relocate, leaving their homes and becoming displaced.
As the source of that nuclear disaster, the Gustav Nuclear Power Plant had become a no-go zone; the extremely high-density radioactive dust still floated between the sky and the earth to this day. Ordinary humans, and even low-level extraordinary beings, would suffer irreversible damage from radiation if they entered.
Yet at this very moment, Ingrid appeared in this deserted life-restricted zone.
She wore a sharp and deadly military uniform, with a gold-threaded griffin pattern on the collar, and her long black hair cascaded down her slender shoulders.
In the steel jungle, Ingrid resembled a silent stone figure with no place to rest.
In fact, she truly had nowhere to go.
As a high-ranking official in the Ministry of Territorial Order of the Granwill Empire, commonly known as the “military department,” and a former director of the Supervisory Bureau… Ingrid knew better than anyone else how frenzied and unscrupulous the pack of hounds in the military department and supervisory bureau were when hunting their targets.
These people would repeatedly investigate the target’s history and relationships, interrogate them, and miss not a single clue… Now, all the people Ingrid could reach out to and the places she could go had likely already been set up in a trap by those hounds, waiting for her to jump in.
In three months, from the political maneuvering above the council, the power struggles among the bigwigs… to the assassination battles between high-level extraordinary beings in the shadows, from the imperial capital to the borders, and from the borders to the historical echoes of the Night World.
Spanning half the empire, enduring seven different historical echoes of hunting and counter-hunting… this life-and-d*ath struggle had finally come to an end, about to determine a victor.
The empire, led by the royal family, had defeated the noble alliance colluding with secret organizations like the “Bronze Rose,” which attempted to overturn the entire empire… This had become an established fact.
Or viewed from a more macroscopic perspective, it represented the royal family that signified order defeating the rebel nobles who sought to incite war.
This was the story of “justice” ultimately triumphing over “evil.”
However—
Ingrid, who possessed the sequence of “justice,” symbolized “evil” in this tale where justice could not suppress evil.
Now, as this story of justice and evil reached its conclusion, the hounds of the military department and the supervisory bureau had already set a net to completely eradicate Ingrid, who embodied the remnants of evil and had nowhere to hide.
Those who came from the high nobility or secret organizations and cults, Ingrid’s so-called allies… had probably already started to withdraw from the borders.
But Ingrid had rejected the invitations of those secret organizations and cults, choosing to stay alone, arriving at the ruins of the Gustav Nuclear Power Plant, silently waiting for the arrival of the net.
…
Such a tranquil and unchanging scenery lasted for an unknown duration.
Until at a certain moment, the faint sound of footsteps breaking the silence in the nuclear power plant ruins.
“Senior.”
A calm voice came from the entrance of the nuclear power plant.
Draped in white and red, a young girl wearing a red and white knight’s outfit appeared.
She wore a deep blue sword at her waist, as if the night sky had wrapped around it, and her vibrant chestnut hair fell freely, dazzling like flames against the gray sky.
“Within a radius of ten miles, you’re the only life force… Hiltina, you are indeed honest and trustworthy.”
“In the last historical echo, you said you would come alone, and you really came by yourself.”
Ingrid turned to look at the young knight slowly stepping into the ruins from the entrance: “If it were me in your position, I would have probably thrown that promise of coming alone out the window.”
“And then, using my identity as a princess to summon several tier six powerful beings to surround and k*ll me; even if I genuinely wanted to come to negotiate in person… at this very moment, there would definitely be over four heavy sniper rifles aiming at my head from a distance.”
Her gaze swept across the entire nuclear power plant ruins, pausing slightly at several excellent sniper positions.
This was an instinctive habit of Ingrid as the director of the Supervisory Bureau and a soldier; upon arriving at a new location, she would invariably observe the sniper selection and counter positions in the area.
But she knew well that these sniper spots were all empty, that no battle-hardened snipers were hidden there… even with Hiltina’s imperial princess background, it would be an absolute necessity to have snipers for protection, considering the security level.
Because Ingrid understood that this imposing young knight always kept her word, unwavering in the things she had set her mind to, and would surely see her promises through—deceiving the enemy on the battlefield was merely a basic tactic, and no one would fault Hiltina’s morality.
Her younger sister, the young sword-wielding girl, shone with such brilliance that it made those accustomed to darkness, to dwelling in shadows, feel excessively blinded and ashamed.
Ingrid lowered her eyes slightly, surveying her surroundings: “Do you know why I chose to fight you here, Hiltina?”
“Of course.”
The swordswoman’s voice remained resolute: “Five years ago, the accident at the Gustav Nuclear Power Plant that occurred in the Scarlet Frost Territory… this was a catastrophic incident that shocked the entire empire at the time.”
“At that time, after numerous auxiliary reactors exploded, the largest main reactor was also in imminent danger, with the nuclear core about to melt down at any moment.”
“According to simulations done by the Tower of Secrets afterward, once the core melted down and the main reactor exploded… at least thousands of people would d*e directly in the explosion of the nuclear power plant, while the leaked radioactive dust would spread to neighboring seas, turning a significant part of the country into an uninhabitable nuclear wasteland.”
“At that time, the military department urgently selected from the army and formed a special emergency mobile unit entirely composed of extraordinary beings.”
“Under tight deadlines, with only makeshift protective gear, they braved lethal levels of nuclear radiation and entered the reactor core area on the verge of melting down… and at the last moment, they manually activated the emergency cooling system of the nuclear reactor, inserting control rods to prevent a nuclear disaster.”
Hiltina pronounced each word clearly: “And the captain of that emergency mobile unit—”
“That one who, after all her teammates lost their ability to move due to excessive nuclear radiation, alone entered the reactor core, enduring nuclear radiation sufficient to k*ll extraordinary beings, while manually turning the control valve eight thousand times, successfully activating the emergency cooling system…”
“The hero who inserted the control rods and prevented a nuclear disaster is Senior Ingrid!”
Hiltina gazed earnestly at Ingrid, her light brown eyes seemingly harboring anger.
“This, this nuclear power plant ruins is also the beginning of your glory and dreams.”
“This nuclear leak incident made you a hero and established your great achievements in the military department.”
“It was precisely because of this merit that you, a junior member of the military department at that time, were elevated to senior status… leading to you becoming the youngest director of the Supervisory Bureau in the entire empire.”
“And your heroic deeds in stopping the nuclear power plant disaster are still engraved upon the Stellar Obelisk to this day—together with those who sacrificed themselves to explore the Night World or to prevent the disaster of twilight, every new freshman entering the university will see your story…”
“Even after a hundred years, a thousand years, the glory and honor inscribed on that stone monument will not fade, but will continue to shine brightly!”
Perhaps to suppress her anger, Hiltina’s words paused slightly: “It is also because of this glorious deed that I have always viewed you as my role model… My greatest childhood dream was to become a hero like my mother and like you, Senior.”
“Even the reason I declined other noble academies’ invitations and chose to join Starry University… was influenced largely by you, Senior.”
“But why did you become the way you are now?”
She slowly closed her eyes, as if intense emotions were brewing within her.
“Colluding with secret organizations and cultists, aiding them in human trafficking, creating bl**d sacrifices in various cities, this bloody offering directly caused the deaths of thousands of residents… and in order to keep it secret, to help those high nobility and secret organizations silence witnesses, you continued to wield the kn*fe against the innocent.”
“Senior, do you know how much I couldn’t believe my eyes when the people from the supervisory bureau laid all these crimes you committed before me? I wanted to deny it, but couldn’t rebut in the face of overwhelming evidence…”
“I couldn’t believe… that the role model I had always viewed, that righteous director of the Supervisory Bureau, would actually commit such sordid acts.”
“Senior, when doing these things, did you really not recall the brilliance and glory of being the hero who saved the nuclear power plant from disaster?”
With Hiltina’s character, she was never one to waste words in front of an enemy…
She was always the type to crush opponents into powder with the sharp edge of her sword, just as her sequence “Chariot” crushed everything without reason.
It was easy to imagine how much admiration she had for Ingrid, her senior, and how furious she was when that admiration shattered.
“I certainly thought about it… Over the years, I have often recalled the scene of myself as the captain of the disaster relief team, turning that emergency device’s valve eight thousand times under excessive nuclear radiation after my teammates fell.”
“At that time, I had lost feeling in my entire body, relying entirely on my Night Blade ‘Shadow Iron’ to exhaust the last strength from my soul, turning that damned valve like a robot.”
Faced with Hiltina’s suppressed anger and questioning, Ingrid’s gaze trembled slightly, but her words remained calm.
“I often thought later… If I had died back then in the nuclear power plant, near the core that was about to melt down, then there wouldn’t be the current director of the Supervisory Bureau, Ingrid.”
Ingrid smiled slightly: “That way, the name Ingrid could have been remembered as a martyr who would forever be glorious and just, untouched by anyone’s corruption.”
“And not fallen into the wretched state of today, despised and hated by the world, in such an ugly form.”
“But I couldn’t.”
Ingrid’s voice gradually turned cold: “Junior, do you know about my mother and my hometown?”
“Of course.”
Hiltina’s reply was quick, but there was a hint of confusion in her words: “Two years ago, Senior, your hometown, a remote village in the Scarlet Frost Territory… was destroyed by an unknown calamity of twilight.”
“And your mother, who refused to relocate and live with you, also unexpectedly died in that calamity.”
“But that was ultimately an unpredictable natural disaster… At the time, all known entrances to the Night World from Starry University showed no abnormalities; it must have been an undiscovered entrance reaching its limit, resulting in an inexplicable disaster…”
“There can’t be so many inexplicable calamities of twilight.”
Ingrid’s voice was soft: “This is no longer ancient times; with today’s technology, military satellites can scan and monitor the entire world’s map in real time… If a normal new entrance to the Night World had appeared, how could such a massive energy fluctuation and movement go unnoticed?”
“From start to finish, those calamities of twilight that Starry University could not trace, which arrived suddenly, were man-made.”
She spoke softly: “Not only did they destroy my hometown and k*ll my mother, but they also included the calamity that struck your hometown, Hiltina, in the Autumn Leaf Territory, obliterating much of the Ranger Family and causing your mother Cecilia to fall in battle against the fire elemental lord… that too was man-made.”
“At that time, the late emperor was critically ill. Your father was the strongest among the several heir princes and the most likely candidate to succeed the empire’s throne… And at that moment, the behind-the-scenes manipulator took advantage of the urgent situation at the border, forcing your father to rush to the border for support and command, allowing the Twilight Calamity to erupt directly in your mother’s territory, Autumn Leaf Territory.”
“That meant putting your father in a dilemma—if he chose to save his wife, the border would fall due to the absence of the commander, and your father would fall far behind in the royal selection. At that point, they would be able to push their own candidates, whom they controlled, to victory in the royal selection and subsequently support their puppet emperor, turning the entire empire into their personal possession.”
“But surprisingly, your father Aaron chose to abandon his wife and went straight to the border instead, which caused their plan to fail.”
Hiltina’s delicate brows furrowed tightly.
“However, even so, that doesn’t justify your crimes. If there really is a manipulator controlling the Twilight Calamity from the shadows, one could completely join forces with Starry University to fight against that manipulator…”
“I’ve said it before, I have no way to do that!”
Ingrid slowly raised her gaze, unwaveringly staring into Hiltina’s eyes.
“That was my mother. My father passed away very early, and she was my only family… She worked hard to raise me, shielding me from all pressures, allowing me to focus on studying the information in the general education textbooks while my peers were busy doing farm work—able to concentrate without distractions from the outside world.”
“If it weren’t for that, I would never have been able to leave the mountains, escape that nameless little village that doesn’t even appear on maps, take exams, and gain admission to Starry University—perhaps I would have just been helping with farm work or working in a factory, and I’d have muddled through my entire life in that nameless little town.”
“I would climb up by any means, regardless of the cost, to achieve merits and gain power, striving for happiness and wanting to change my fate… half of it was for my mother; I wanted her to live a better life. She never wanted to come to the imperial capital for fear of affecting my future. I tried to persuade her many times, but it was useless. I intended to find time later to convince her again, but there was no more opportunity.”
“So, after my mother died… avenging her became my greatest wish.”
Her words paused momentarily.
“That manipulator is called Graveminder. Their power far exceeds your imagination; it’s an unfathomable organization that seems to have been inherited from an earlier era. They possess their own entrance to the Night World and can even create the Twilight Calamity in the current world at will.”
“They have an extremely terrifying foundation, enough to disdain the foundations of all nations on the continent. They even have some means to bring the deceased back to life… but their members cannot walk freely in the world for some reason, so to interfere with the current world and expand their influence, they choose to recruit helpers in this world.”
“Organizations like the ‘Bronze Rose,’ or the empire’s nobility, and cults, are all their helpers. Of course, this is just a nicer way to say it; the reality is that they are closer to henchmen, lackeys, or pawns that can be discarded at will.”
Ingrid’s words gradually turned icy.
“And the one responsible for my mother’s d*ath was a certain noble from the imperial capital involved with the Graveminder… At that time, I was competing with her for the position of head of the Inspectorate, and she believed that using the power of the Graveminder to k*ll my mother would cause my spirit to shatter, making me voluntarily withdraw from the competition.”
“Ha, but she didn’t expect that after my mother’s d*ath, I not only did not collapse but rather devoted myself entirely to the affairs of the military, directly becoming the youngest head of the Inspectorate.”
“I know that with my own strength, it’s impossible to confront the entire coalition of interests that has the Graveminder’s support, including many nobles, cults, and secret organizations. Even if I collaborate with the imperial royal family or Starry University, my revenge would be a distant dream, and it’s very likely that the one who caused my mother’s d*ath would escape unscathed while I remain powerless.”
“So afterwards, I went to great lengths to contact the Graveminder proactively and became their collaborator.”
Ingrid’s eyes bore a sharp, cold light: “Whether white-gloved or black-gloved…”
“Or engaging in dirty work like human trafficking, slave trading, assisting cults in sacrificial bl**d rituals, or eliminating innocent people who’d accidentally learned of the Graveminder’s secrets to protect their own secrecy… Anything the nobility could do for the ‘Graveminder,’ I could do too, and I did it faster, better, and cleaner than them, without complaint.”
“Those cults and nobles are accustomed to pulling and tugging for benefits, always thinking of ways to demand rewards and profits from the ‘Graveminder’ without doing much work, but I’m different; I want nothing, ask for nothing—I only want the life of that noblewoman who killed my mother.”
“And after I demonstrated my value to that manipulator, becoming the Graveminder’s most trusted pawn, they finally agreed to my request.”
Her voice paused again; “I still remember the day I avenged my great enmity. That high-born countess sat limply on the ground, her skirt stained with murky liquid, her face filled with disbelief as she looked at the very reliance she once had being killed.”
“Now that you’ve avenged your mother, why not turn back?”
“Return to Starry University and face the trial of the law.”
Hiltina’s words still showed no sign of relent: “With the merit you established previously and your deeds in saving the heroes of the nuclear power plant accident… if you add in the intelligence about the Graveminder organization, it should offset a considerable part of your crimes.”
“Return?”
Ingrid’s voice paused slightly, becoming a bit hoarse.
“I certainly want to go back. I dream of returning.”
“But I know that I can never go back.”
“I am the head of the Inspectorate myself; I am very aware of the crimes I have committed… what you previously found out is just the tip of the iceberg; compared to those big nobles and cults with vast networks of power and many followers, the only thing I can rely on is myself. The only value I can demonstrate is also myself.”
“To gain the Graveminder’s attention and to k*ll my enemy, the things I’ve done are worse and dirtier than any secret organization or cult. I am the most efficient pawn, committing every kind of evil.”
The corners of her mouth curved into a slight arc: “Unknowingly, the number of innocents I have killed has long exceeded the lives I saved as a soldier by several folds, even dozens of folds.”
“The crimes I have committed cannot be compensated for by any kind of hero.”
Hiltina remained silent for a long time before speaking again: “At the very least, I can guarantee in the name of Starry University that you don’t have to d*e. That is the utmost limit of what I can do.”
“Haha—”
Ingrid’s laughter grew louder again: “Not to d*e, what a generous phrase.”
“Being stripped of all extraordinary power and imprisoned in the most heavily guarded prison with shackles made of magic-suppressing stone, sentenced to decades in prison… Oh no, considering my status as a high-level extraordinary being, it should be hundreds of years.”
“If it were you, junior sister, would you choose to lose all your power and be imprisoned until the moment you are old and gray, or choose d*ath directly?”
“If I committed a crime, I would definitely choose to accept the trial of the law, regardless of the punishment.”
Hiltina’s response carried not a hint of hesitation.
“Yeah, you would certainly do that, after all, you are such a perfect swordswoman… high above, shining brightly, like an apostle from the heavens looking down upon the world, always right.”
Ingrid sighed softly.
“So, Hiltina, though you claim to see me as a role model, as a direction in life, someone you aspire to become…”
“I still really dislike you.”
“Because from beginning to end, we are two completely opposite types of people, like birds and fish, perhaps forever unable to intersect— and the only moment we intersect is the moment we have to fight for survival in a life-and-d*ath struggle.”
Ingrid’s voice gradually turned icy.
She raised her left hand and lightly stroked the military uniform over her chest.
It bore a pattern of the Black Eagle, woven from golden threads; this is the emblem of the Granwill Empire’s military and the glory of Ingrid’s life.
“Hiltina, junior sister… I have already struggled.”
“I fought desperately to get into Starry University, executing tasks in the military without regard for life and d*ath because I wanted to live a life like yours. I wanted to gain the power to change my fate.”
“I also want to bathe calmly in the sunlight like you, instead of hiding in shadows and darkness. I want to not hurt others and just rely on my own efforts to obtain happiness.”
“After paying the price of an arm and surviving the nuclear power plant accident, the day I was awarded the Black Eagle Medal by the military… my dream shone so vividly in reality.”
“I truly felt like I was basking in the sunlight. I could pursue that brilliance and dream, glory and honor, and fight recklessly for the justice in my heart.”
“However, on the day my mother’s tragic news arrived, I knew I could never turn back.”
“Brilliance and dreams, glory and honor… these things that seem natural are not things I can touch.”
“Even if that glory once intoxicated me, it ultimately does not belong to me; they are too far from me, so far that even just looking up feels too glaring, unlike you, the favored of the heavens, who can easily touch them with outstretched hands.”
Ingrid lowered her gaze, looking at her right hand.
“I’ve struggled, but I lost.”
She slowly raised her right arm, a prosthetic made of pure metal, shining with a silver hue.
Ingrid’s Night Blade, “Shadow Iron,” allows her to temporarily block pain, unlock genetic locks, and draw out power that does not belong to her from deep within her soul.
However, prolonged use of “Shadow Iron” carries the cost of permanently and irreversibly damaging the soul.
In the nuclear power plant incident, Ingrid accomplished the nearly impossible task of stopping the nuclear reactor core from melting down.
But the price for this was that Ingrid activated “Shadow Iron,” which should have only been able to be opened for “one minute” in a day, for over half an hour straight to achieve the miraculous power.
Overusing “Shadow Iron” caused permanent damage to the soul corresponding to her right hand, one that neither alchemical remedies nor healing night blades could cure.
The silver-colored metal prosthetic that she wore was also an emblem armor.
The matching of emblem armor also emphasizes compatibility, and with Ingrid’s talents and skills, which could only be described as mediocre, the number of armors she could match was not many. However, this metal prosthetic matched Ingrid exceptionally well.
It was called “Radiant Silver Arm,” enabling Ingrid to unleash a hypothetical sword exceeding the usual performance of emblem armor. However, the cost was that every time it was used, it would devour the soul of the emblem armor’s bearer.
This price is strikingly similar to Ingrid’s Night Blade, “Shadow Iron”; for an ordinary person, “Silver Arm” is a double-edged sword that harms the wielder while striking the enemy. But for Ingrid, she has long been accustomed to the price of devouring her soul.
“Hiltina, to be honest, I really dislike you… but deep down, I actually envy you, even feel jealous of you.”
Ingrid gazed at Hiltina in front of her, speaking hoarsely: “You were born with everything—strong talent, a forbidden-level super night blade, and the noble status of the first princess…”
“And that imperial holy relic, the sheath of the holy sword, is also buried inside you by your father, right?”
“Since you smoothly gained recognition from the sheath of the holy sword, then unless something unexpected happens, when you ascend to legend, you will be the master of the holy sword… the next empress of the empire.”
“Perhaps you are reluctant to admit it, but in reality, that perfect image of Princess Ophelia is merely a cover for you. From the very beginning, there has only been one candidate as the heir to His Majesty Aaron.”
“This is what I have yearned for, pursued my whole life without realizing it. I dream of obtaining this… but you possess it innately and can even treat it like nothing.”
“Of course, these are just external things.”
“What truly makes me envious, even jealous… is that you, a proud creature like a swan, destined to be alone, still have companions like Rast.”
“From Rast, I felt a similar feeling; he is clearly a kindred spirit… but he is willing to stay by your side, willing to understand you, support you, and help you, safeguarding your back and becoming your soul friend.”
“It’s maddeningly enviable… Hiltina, thus I still dislike you, with deep, heartfelt loathing.”
“So, between us, a battle is indeed necessary, right?”
“Since we are both Night Travelers, we should resolve this issue in the unique way of Night Travelers.”
Ingrid snapped her fingers, and a gem-like crystal flew through the air, which Hiltina caught.
Then, she slowly raised her silver-white metal right arm.
A hint of silvery light gleamed on the Silver Arm, transforming into an imaginary sword.
“In that information crystal, everything I know about the Graveminder and its pawns is stored, which should also be of considerable help to the royal family.”
“Of course, the premise is—”
“Hiltina, that you can survive to leave here.”
In the next moment, the shining mithril sword tip pierced through the gray heavens.
(End of this chapter)
