Chapter 105: Illusions in the Mirror, Reflections in Water—Yet Fate Has Run Its Course

The Magic Petals of Sakura Death require immense mental strength and coordination to control.

Each petal must be manipulated individually.

In other words, controlling two petals requires splitting your focus.

And in battle, you might even have to divide your mind among several.

Just now, at the crisis moment when her opponent’s dagger was about to pierce her, Willis finally broke through.

The other Sakura-Killing Petals hidden in her clothes were mobilized, blocking the fatal strike in an instant.

Then, Willis controlled the previously deflected petal to deliver a fatal blow.

Caught off guard, Haina died instantly.

Willis touched her neck, still shaken.

In front of her, Hill Yu was unleashing sword energy, clashing fiercely with Heidi.

Life force surged, sword aura unmatched.

This was the first time Willis had stood aside and watched Hill Yu in combat. She hadn’t seen much of the previous battle with that Mage-Swordsman.

Now, watching closely, her Imperial Sister was as valiant as a valkyrie descending to the mortal realm.

The blade of Ice Orchid and the poisoned dagger collided, invisible sword moves exchanged between the two.

Because of Haina’s death, Heidi roared in fury, unleashing even more terrifying strength.

“Die! Die!”

It was almost a fight of exchanging life for life. Willis watched the duel with lingering fear.

The surrounding City Defense Army could only surround them, not daring to step in.

The two combatants’ figures interchanged and overlapped, making it impossible to tell friend from foe.

Some soldiers tried to aim their crossbows, but all hesitated, afraid of hitting Hill Yu. They could only hold back, waiting for the right moment.

But Heidi also knew she couldn’t stop attacking, or she’d be surrounded.

So she fought like a madwoman, attacking again and again!

Forcing herself and Hill Yu into a tangled melee!

The twin daggers in her hands drew bright arcs under the moonlight—a light of death.

“Sister, be careful! Her dagger is coated with deadly poison! Don’t get hurt!”

Willis looked at Hill Yu with worry.

With her current strength, she had no confidence to intervene in their fight. One careless move could distract Hill Yu.

So Willis could only keep the Sakura-Killing Petals on standby, ready to support at any time.

At first, Heidi’s desperate assault caught Hill Yu off guard as well.

But as the battle went on, Hill Yu gradually adapted to the rhythm of her attacks.

Without exposing any openings, Hill Yu began to counterattack.

Gradually, she gained the upper hand.

After all, Heidi and Haina were from Nightfall, skilled in assassination and ambush.

In a frontal confrontation using daggers, they couldn’t last long.

Seeing Heidi’s retreat cut off, Hill Yu shifted her intentions to capturing her alive.

She not only wanted to avenge Willis, but also extract information from them.

But Heidi was suicidal, her gaze crazed as she lunged at the tip of Hill Yu’s sword.

She wanted to strike Hill Yu with her dagger even as she died.

Seeing this, Willis shouted, “Sister, don’t hold back—kill her!”

No matter what, her Imperial Sister’s safety was the most important.

Nothing was more important than Hill Yu’s life.

If she got hurt trying to capture her alive, Willis would regret it for life.

Seeing her opponent’s determination to die, Hill Yu sighed.

Soon after, her sword pierced the enemy’s chest, blood spraying.

The battle finally ended.

Thud.

Heidi collapsed into a pool of blood, lifeless.

And so, the twin sisters perished.

Hill Yu walked over and checked Willis’s condition first, visibly relieved to find her unharmed.

Then she ordered her people to inspect the assassins’ bodies, discovering both bore the emblem of the Mike Millen Family.

Furthermore, Hill Yu found a letter on them—evidence of a conspiracy between Mike and Mik Englandram to rebel.

“Willis, these…these two, could they be remnants of the Mike Party?”

Hill Yu brought over the items, but Willis didn’t bother to look.

“Maybe…or maybe it’s someone else’s trap.”

Calming down, Willis sensed the sinister scheme.

The enemy’s plan might have been to exploit her former affection and trust for the sisters, making their assassination more likely to succeed.

Then, they would pretend to be overwhelmed and die at the hands of the soldiers sent to protect her.

Later, someone would discover the emblem and forged letter on their bodies.

This way, Mike and the others would die, and Willis would be dead too.

The incident would then be framed as a Deputy Lord’s rebellion, leading to the extermination of their entire clan, and the Imperial Princess falling victim to the traitor’s vengeful assassination.

Thus, both sides would be dead, case closed.

But was that really all there was to the enemy’s plan?

Willis didn’t think so.

If they were smart, they’d realize that such a direct assassination could easily fail.

So this might also be a test.

“Nightfall, oh Nightfall…born in darkness—then let me be the one to bury you in the night.”

Willis sighed and stood up.

But as she did, her body swayed, nearly collapsing.

Hill Yu reacted swiftly and caught her.

“Sister, you…”

“I’m fine, Sister. I just haven’t slept well these past two days, and the shock of this attack left me weak…”

Willis seized the chance to hug Hill Yu.

“Just let me rest a bit. Don’t move.”

They stayed that way for a while as the City Defense Army tidied up the scene.

Before long, as dawn approached, Willis knew she had to return to the mine.

“Willis…what on earth happened?”

As she was leaving, Hill Yu still looked confused.

Willis just told her not to spread word of what happened, without further explanation.

Anne and Ofilia, who had rushed over, also looked at her with concern.

Willis kept her face lowered, giving a few instructions to the women.

After hearing them, everyone exchanged uncertain glances.

They didn’t really understand what Willis meant.

“It’s almost dawn. I have to go.”

Without saying more, Willis turned and left.

Hill Yu went to see her off.

Ofilia and Anne glanced at each other and snorted coldly.

Hmph!

It seemed they couldn’t stand each other.

***

Reaching the city wall, Victoria was already waiting.

Seeing Willis’s condition, she asked in surprise, “Your Highness, what happened?”

The situation had been in Willis’s control, so why did she look like she’d just survived an attack?

“It’s nothing. Let’s go back.”

Willis forced herself to stay alert.

Using ropes, they descended the wall and disappeared into the outskirts.

Before dawn, they finally returned to the miners’ dormitory.

As soon as they entered, Terrence and the others rushed over.

“It’s a good thing you came back. Any longer and we were going to plan an escape!”

Willis was puzzled.

“What do you mean?”

“The Overseer got up in the night to check the miners’ dorms and sensed something was wrong.”

Nidnia, who had already returned, explained.

“Seems some miners went missing from another dormitory—someone escaped.”

“So the Overseers just came by to announce there’d be a headcount in the morning.”

“We lied and said you two went to the mines for supplies to cover for you.”

Nidnia paused, then continued.

“If the Mine Captain finds fewer people, and someone tries to hide it or reports it late, even a few escaping means the whole team works non-stop for days.”

In other words, if anyone escapes, everyone gets punished.

Working without sleep—half the people might die.

“Those bastards!”

Willis clenched her fists in righteous anger.

“Are they really the Imperial Army? They’re worse than bandits!”

Terrence and the others’ expressions grew complicated.

They knew the true identity of this ‘little Will’.

Because of this, if they talked about great crimes, wasn’t their Lord even guiltier?

But right now, Willis really seemed to hate those soldiers and Overseers.

Was she acting too well?

Nidnia, still unaware, quickly grabbed Willis’s hand.

“That’s enough, little Will! We all know what these lackeys and slave drivers are like!”

“What we need to do is mobilize the miners and unite our strength!”

Willis nodded in agreement.

“You’re right… The situation is dire, so we need to act fast!”

Willis looked at Terrence and his group.

“Uncle Terrence, I’ll have to ask you three to help Nidnia rally everyone.”

“I may have experienced the life of a miner, but you know them best.”

“As for persuasion, I believe you can handle it!”

Faced with Willis’s trust, Feidi couldn’t help but grunt.

“Why should we help you so much!”

Their brothers were still imprisoned in Ushi City’s dungeon.

And yet Willis spoke like this!?

“Feidi!”

Nidnia stepped forward.

“How can you say that? Little Will and I are both fighting for the miners, for everyone’s future!”

“Even if you don’t want to help, you can’t have that attitude!”

“You—!”

Feidi was flustered by Nidnia’s words.

He almost wanted to shout out that the person in front of them was the infamous Willis.

But in the end, he held back.

“I get it…I’ll help.”

Feidi grunted.

“Then it’s settled!”

Willis clapped her hands.

Soon, dawn broke, and on the square outside, Overseers and soldiers gathered en masse.

Willis squinted, estimating about 1,200 soldiers at the Heishan Mine.

“Assemble! Assemble! All miners line up by tunnel number, and those assigned to transport or maintenance, follow your captains!”

“Move it! Stop dawdling!”

The soldiers acting as Overseers waved their whips, driving people forward.

Soon, all the miners were gathered on the square.

“Overseers, headcount!”

Standing atop a temporary wooden platform, a man in officer’s uniform commanded in a deep voice.

“That’s the officer of Heishan Mine—Barnett Pound!”

In the crowd, Nidnia said to Willis.

“Yeah, I vaguely remember.”

Willis nodded.

She had seen him during previous inspections, but only vaguely.

“Vaguely?”

“Ah, no, I mean, I saw him around the dorms last night.”

Nearly exposing herself, Willis quickly covered up.

As they spoke, the Overseers for each tunnel began counting heads with their ledgers.