Chapter 951: Heroic Appearance

As they rode onward, Cassius’s mind wandered back to something he’d witnessed just before their departure. His curiosity getting the better of him, he spoke up.

"Right before we left, I noticed something odd."

"Several of the Holy Guard girls came up to you—very excited, I might add and handed you a collection of swords and daggers. Some of them appeared to be their personal weapons."

He tilted his head in confusion.

"Then, after you’d stored those in your spatial ring, some of the ladies in the household approached and gave you embroidered handkerchiefs."

"What exactly was all that about?"

He chuckled as he added, "Don’t tell me they were worried about your safety and wanted you well-armed for the journey."

Isabelle perked up, her embarrassment instantly forgotten as a look of intense, sparkling excitement filled her eyes.

"Oh! Not at all, Young Mas—" She caught herself under Cassius’s sharp, warning glare, instantly correcting herself with a blush: "—I mean, Cassius!"

He gave a small, approving nod, silently encouraging her to continue.

"It’s not what you think. Instead, when everyone heard that we were going to meet Commander Ragnora..."

Isabelle began, her eyes gradually brightening with excitement.

"They were absolutely thrilled!"

A childlike enthusiasm slowly crept into her voice.

"You see, everyone in the Holyfield Estate knows Commander Ragnora’s name. Men, women, children...it doesn’t matter!"

"From the southern highlands to the Frozen Seas in the north, every single one of them holds the Commander in the highest regard!"

She smiled warmly, unable to hide the admiration in her eyes.

"So, when they learned that I would actually have the chance to meet her in person..."

She glanced down at the ring she carried.

"...everyone started asking me for favors."

Her smile became almost helpless.

"Some handed me their swords. Others gave me daggers, shields, helmets...anything they happened to treasure. They all asked the same thing."

She gently ran her fingers across one of the sheathed blades she had pulled out.

"They wanted Commander Ragnora’s signature."

She let out a soft laugh.

"Apparently, having your weapon personally marked by the Commander is considered one of the greatest honors a warrior can receive. Many knights spend their entire lives hoping for such an opportunity and never obtain it."

She then lifted one of the neatly folded handkerchiefs.

"And the ladies..." Her smile softened even further. "They asked for these to be signed instead. To them, Commander Ragnora isn’t merely a legendary warrior..."

Her voice became filled with genuine respect.

"She’s proof that women can stand at the very pinnacle of strength. A beacon of hope. Someone who shattered every expectation placed upon her and rose high enough for the entire continent to look up to..."

"...so they wanted her autograph."

Cassius slowly exhaled, quietly absorbing everything she had said.

"So..." He murmured to himself. "...she’s basically a celebrity."

"She’s an absolute icon!" Isabelle declared passionately, her eyes practically turning into stars.

"And it’s not just them. In the past, I used to buy all her posters from the markets! Whenever a bard sang a new ballad about her deeds, I’d run to the plaza to listen!"

"She’s the ultimate inspiration for women everywhere—proving that we can rise to the absolute peak of strength regardless of what society says!"

Cassius was a bit taken aback. He had known his wife was capable and devoted, but he had never glimpsed this side of her.

The starry-eyed fangirl who had once plastered her walls with portraits of a legendary warrior.

"In fact." Isabelle continued, her excitement building. "If a poll were to be conducted across the entire continent, asking women who exactly they would want as their ideal partner and lifelong lover—"

She paused for dramatic effect and declared,

"The first answer would belong to Commander Ragnora!"

Cassius was confused by that statement.

"But...how is that possible? Isn’t Ragnora a woman?"

"Boy or girl, man or woman—it doesn’t matter in the slightest." Isabelle quickly shook her head, the sparkle in her eyes undimmed.

"When you hear the tales of her heroism, when you learn of how she fights on the side of righteousness and always saves the day..."

She sighed, a dreamy quality entering her voice.

"She’s everything a fairytale husband is supposed to be. The ideal partner."

A thoughtful expression crossed her features as she added,

"There’s also the fact that Commander Ragnora’s appearance gives off a rather...heroic impression."

"Some say she’s even more handsome and manly than most of the men in the worl!"

This made Cassius pause. A woman more handsome and manly than men?

The concept was difficult to wrap his mind around.

But then his thoughts drifted to his own butler, Lucius and despite supposedly being a boy, Lucius was so impossibly cute that it sometimes sent Cassius’s thoughts wandering to strange and unexpected places.

If a boy could be that adorable, then perhaps a woman could indeed be that dashing.

He found himself genuinely curious now. What exactly did Ragnora look like, that even other women dreamed of taking her as their partner?

BOOM! CLANG! SKREEECH!

But before he could voice the question, a sudden noise cut through the forest air.

Both of them turned sharply.

The sounds drifted from somewhere deeper in the woods—the unmistakable clash of steel against something hard, the sizzling crackle of spells being discharged, the muffled boom of an explosion.

Shouts and howls intertwined in a chaotic symphony that could mean only one thing.

It was the unmistakable clamor of battle.

Isabelle’s eyes went wide with alarm. She looked up at Cassius, seeking guidance.

But as she met his gaze, she found nothing but unruffled calm, as if the sounds of distant combat were no more alarming than the chirping of birds.

The tension in her shoulders eased. If Cassius wasn’t worried, then neither would she be.

"It sounds like a battle is underway nearby, Young—" She caught herself. "Cassius. What should we do? Should we go help? Should we investigate and act accordingly?"

"We’ll check it out first before deciding anything."

Cassius replied, his voice even. He had already pieced together a rough picture from the sounds alone.

One side was clearly human or at least sentient—their shouts carrying the rhythm of coordinated warriors.

But the other? The other was something else entirely.

The sounds were feral, animalistic, utterly devoid of reason. Whatever was howling in those woods was no human.

They dismounted swiftly, securing the horse beneath a tree. Then, moving with silence, they crept through the undergrowth, Isabelle shadowing Cassius’s every step.

The sounds grew louder, more distinct—snarling, bellowing, the rhythmic thunder of shields being struck.

At last, they crouched behind a thick wall of tangled brush. Cassius parted the leaves, and together they peered out.

Isabelle’s breath caught. A battle was truly in full swing!

Before them, in a clearing torn to mud and ruin, a dozen or so warriors fought for their lives against a horde of demonic wolves.

The creatures were monstrous, each one at least triple the size of any natural wolf, with jagged teeth like obsidian shards, claws that gouged deep furrows into the earth, and bristling spikes of bone that ran like a mane around their necks.

Isabelle recognized them instantly from the book she had devoured as a girl.

Shadowmane Wolves. One of the most feared predators of the lands!

But as her eyes swept across the defending party, she realized it was no simple band of soldiers.

They were a diverse company—beastkin with fluffy fox tails and striped feline markings, others with sleek raccoon-like tails that twitched with tension.

And then there were beings she had only read about, never seen in person.

Ogres!

Massive figures standing well over two meters tall, their burly muscles straining against heavy plate armor, blue-skinned and crowned with sweeping horns that made them look like war gods given mortal form.

Their faces were fierce—not with cruelty, but with the grim determination of creatures born for battle.

Humans, too, stood among them.

And to Isabelle’s quiet surprise, the company was evenly split between men and women.

Female warriors standing shoulder to shoulder with their male counterparts, their armor just as battered, their spears just as bloodied.

"My love." Isabelle breathed. "Look at their formation."

It was beautiful. A masterwork of tactical precision.

The ten ogres formed the outer ring, their massive tower shields interlocked to create an unbroken wall of iron and wood.

Whenever a wolf lunged, one of the ogres would bellow a war cry and slam their shield forward with bone-shattering force, stunning the creature for a crucial heartbeat.

In that heartbeat, the eight beastkin positioned just behind the shield wall with their long-hafted spears would thrust their weapons through the gaps, skewering the wolves before withdrawing.

And in the center, protected by this ring of iron and flesh, the four human mages worked their art.

Fireballs arced through the air like falling stars.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Spears of ice materialized and shot forward with deadly velocity.

WHOOSH! WHOOSH! WHOOSH!

Each spell was timed perfectly to exploit the openings created by the shield-bearers and spear-thrusters.

It was a formation of breathtaking elegance—the strongest guarding, the swiftest striking, the mages providing devastating firepower from the protected core.

But as Isabelle watched, her admiration curdled into concern.

Even though the formation was taking down wolves by the dozen, more and more kept pouring from the forest, and the soldiers were being completely surrounded.

Worse, the defenders looked absolutely exhausted. The mages also swayed on their feet, clearly low on mana, as though they’d been fighting for quite some time.

Their strength was waning minute by minute as the wolf tide swelled.

Isabelle’s hand found Cassius’s sleeve, her fingers tightening with desperate urgency.

"Darling—please. You have to help them!" Her voice was tight with emotion. "They can’t last much longer. They’re being overwhelmed. We need to help them, for the sake of Commander Ragnora!"

Cassius’s brow lifted. "And why exactly do you think these troops belong to my aunt?"

Wordlessly, Isabelle pointed.

On the shield of the nearest ogre, half-obscured by wolf blood and mud, was an emblem.

A rose entwined with horns.

"That’s the mark of the Blood and Iron Brigade." Isabelle whispered. Her voice had gone soft with reverence. "Back in the day, your beloved mother was famously fond of roses. She would always wear one tucked behind her ear—it was her signature."

"So when the Brigade was formed and an emblem was needed, Commander Ragnora chose this. A rose with horns."

She looked at him, her eyes glistening. "In memory of her sister."

Cassius felt his heartstrings pulled for a moment, not expecting to hear such a story.

Honestly, he wanted to see the fight last a little longer.

These were obviously well-trained warriors, veterans—not a single word was spoken among them, yet everything moved in perfect concert, like a well-oiled machine.

He wanted to see just how long they could last, how much potential they had.

But the moment he learned they were, in a way, his own mother’s warriors, he knew he couldn’t just watch anymore.

He turned to Isabelle. "Stay here. I’ll finish this and come back quickly."

"Wait! I can help!" Isabelle insisted, reaching into her pocket to pull out the enchanted gun Cassius had gifted her.

"I can provide sniper cover from the bush!"

Cassius raised an eyebrow, looking at her weapon.

"That gun packs a punch, sure, but what happens when five of those wolves spot your muzzle flash and charge you directly? Can you handle five giant beasts at once in close quarters?"

Isabelle’s eager expression instantly crumbled.

"No...I can’t...That’s a pity since..."

A wry, self-deprecating smile touched her lips.

"In the past, I actually wanted to join the Holy Guard. I even filled out my application. I was going to attend the trials and I even put aside my cooking career."

Cassius’s eyes widened slightly. She had never told him this.

"But my parents stopped me." Isabelle continued, her voice quiet. "They said a girl like me shouldn’t be thinking about becoming a warrior. They told me I should simply marry into a wealthy family and establish myself through that."

She watched an Ogre woman slam her shield into a wolf, her eyes shining with envy.

"So, seeing those women out there, living the life I was forbidden from pursuing...I just wish, just once, I could stand on a battlefield and fight like them."

Cassius opened his mouth to offer his usual comforting response—to tell her she didn’t need to fight, that he would protect her forever, and that her place was safely by his side.

BUZZ!

Before the words could leave his throat, a sudden, violent jolt tore through Cassius’s mind.

It wasn’t painful, but a sudden, staggering cosmic weight slammed into his consciousness. The air around him seemed to warp slightly, an ancient, divine resonance thrumming deep within his soul.

Isabelle gasped, noticing his sudden rigidity.

"My love?! What’s wrong?! Are you okay?!"

Cassius couldn’t respond immediately. His vision swam. The world seemed to tilt and right itself.

Then, as quickly as it had come, the sensation passed. Color returned to his face. His eyes regained their bright blue clarity.

"What happened?" Isabelle demanded, her hands gripping his arms. "You looked so pained just now. What was that?"

Cassius turned to look at her, and a strange, knowing smile spread across his face.

"It seems." He said slowly. "That you truly are favored by the gods today, Isabelle."

"Not only were you lucky enough to win the raffle and accompany me on this journey..."

"...but even now, even in this moment, the Goddess herself seems to be watching over you."