Chapter 24: War and Snacks

Solaria Plains, outside the City of Dawn.

Countless banners fluttered across the rolling hills.

Hundreds of thousands of soldiers were conducting their final assembly.

The clang of steel echoed incessantly, while the neighing of warhorses rang through the skies.

“Third Legion, check your equipment!”

“Crossbowmen, take your positions!”

“Siege engines, ready!”

The commanders’ shouts reverberated throughout the camp.

This was the largest Crusade in human history.

All seven Sacred Temple Knight Orders were mobilized.

The elite forces from the five great kingdoms were all present.

Even the notoriously stingy Windermere Kingdom had unprecedentedly provided one thousand of the latest Magic Siege Cannons.

“Brothers!”

The Knight Commander of the Sword of Judgment Knight Order stood on a high platform, his voice carrying across the entire camp.

“The path we are about to tread is not one of conquest!”

“But a path of salvation!”

“We are here to save the Saintess, imprisoned by the evil vampire clan!”

“She is the treasure of humanity!”

The soldiers below erupted in deafening cheers.

“Save the Saintess!”

“Purge the vampires!”

“Fight for the Holy Light!”

Fervent passion spread through the army camp.

In every soldier’s eyes burned the fire of the Sanctified Crusade.

They firmly believed they were about to take part in a just war.

A holy Crusade to rescue their kin.

***

Meanwhile.

Thousands of miles away in Nightfall City.

In the Silent Court’s council chamber, the atmosphere was equally tense.

“Majesty, the scale of human mobilization has exceeded our estimates.”

Minister of Intelligence Cassian knelt on one knee, holding a thick intelligence scroll.

“They are truly desperate this time.”

Ophelia sat on the throne, her blood-red eyes sweeping over the gathered ministers.

“How does the troop comparison look?”

“We have three hundred thousand standing troops, plus Clan Private Armies totaling five hundred thousand.”

Minister of War Glack stepped forward.

“But the humans have assembled over a million soldiers.”

“And they are well-equipped, their morale is high.”

A brief silence fell over the chamber.

The numerical disadvantage was clear.

Although the vampires had superior individual combat strength.

Against a two-to-one disparity, their chances were slim.

“There is another problem.”

Cassian’s voice grew heavier.

“Their slogan this time isn’t ‘Eradicate the Vampires.’”

“But ‘Save the Saintess.’”

“This puts us at a diplomatic disadvantage.”

“The Diplomatic Neutral Forces are watching cautiously; no one dares to side with us.”

Ophelia’s fingers tapped the armrest lightly.

Each tap quickened the ministers’ heartbeats.

“Then let them come.”

Her voice was chillingly calm.

“Anyone who dares covet my daughter will pay with their life.”

“Orders: Full War Readiness Level One for the entire army.”

“Yes, Majesty!”

The ministers answered in unison before quickly withdrawing.

The war machine of the Eternal Night Empire began to move.

Countless vampire warriors gathered, and all manner of war supplies were transported to the front lines.

The Power of the Authority of Night, under Ophelia’s command, began to converge in the northern skies.

However.

While the two great camps prepared for the coming war.

At the eye of the storm, in Sylvia’s bedchamber.

A different scene unfolded.

“Sigh.”

Sylvia lay face down on the exquisite dining table, her small face creased into a frown.

Before her were two exquisite pastries.

On the left, a Strawberry Tart, its pink cream dotted with bright red strawberries, looking overwhelmingly sweet.

On the right, a Black Forest Cake, the chocolate sponge topped with several blood cherries, exuding a faintly sour aroma.

This should have been a perfect afternoon tea.

But for Sylvia, it had become an immense dilemma.

“The Strawberry Tart is too sweet.”

She poked the pink cream with a small spoon.

“But the cherries on the Black Forest Cake are too sour.”

She glanced again at the cake on the right.

“This is so troublesome. Which one should I eat?”

The head maid, standing nearby, watched the little princess troubled over choosing a snack, a motherly smile appearing in her eyes.

Such a small worry seemed utterly adorable to her.

She quietly noted down the princess’s words, then softly asked:

“Your Highness, shall I have the kitchen prepare something new?”

“No need.”

Sylvia waved her hand.

“It’s just that choosing is too troublesome.”

“Thinking about what to eat is more exhausting than eating itself.”

The head maid nodded and continued mentally recording every word from the little princess.

These seemingly ordinary remarks were precious intelligence to her.

For she knew that both Majesty the Queen and the Eldest Princess cared deeply about every move of the little princess.

Anything that upset the little princess could lead to terrible consequences.

Half an hour later.

Lorenzo Giovanni, Minister of Economics, was in his office handling the empire’s finances.

War was imminent, military spending skyrocketing, and he had to reallocate the empire’s resources.

Suddenly, there was a knock at the office door.

“Come in.”

The head maid entered, her expression grave.

“Lord Lorenzo, there is an urgent matter to report.”

Lorenzo set down his documents.

As the head of the Giovanni Clan, he controlled the empire’s economic lifeline.

If the head maid personally came to report, it was certainly no trivial matter.

“Speak.”

“The little princess is dissatisfied with today’s pastries.”

The head maid repeated Sylvia’s words clearly.

“The Strawberry Tart is too sweet, and the Black Forest Cake’s cherries are too sour.”

“She is troubled by this, even saying that thinking about what to eat is more tiring than eating.”

Upon hearing this, Lorenzo’s face immediately turned serious.

This was indeed an emergency!

The little princess’s displeasure was more severe than any human economic sanction.

If Majesty the Queen learned that her unhappiness was due to his negligence—

The consequences would be unimaginable.

“I understand.”

Lorenzo immediately stood up.

“Summon all the empire’s top dessert chefs.”

“Tonight, we must develop a new pastry perfectly suited to the little princess’s taste.”

“Yes, Lord Lorenzo!”

The head maid promptly withdrew.

Lorenzo began urgently contacting various Dessert Chef Workshops.

An hour later.

The empire’s twelve most elite dessert chefs were summoned to the palace.

They came from different clans, usually serving major nobles.

But today, they had been given the most important mission in history.

“Gentlemen.”

Lorenzo stood in the conference room, his expression so serious it seemed to drip.

“The little princess is dissatisfied with the current pastry flavors.”

“Your task is to develop a new pastry, with perfect balance of sweetness and acidity, by tomorrow.”

“This is more important than dealing with the human economic sanctions.”

“It is the empire’s top priority!”

The dessert chefs exchanged glances.

They knew the little princess’s status in the empire but had not expected it to be this significant.

“Lord Lorenzo, could you please elaborate on the little princess’s specific requirements?”

An elder dessert chef asked.

Lorenzo repeated the head maid’s report verbatim.

The dessert chefs carefully noted every detail.

“Understood!”

“We will create the perfect sweetness!”

“We guarantee to satisfy Her Highness!”

Thus, on the very night the million-strong human army marched toward the northern border.

One of the core power circles of the vampire empire was working through the night for the little princess’s pastry preferences.

The twelve top dessert chefs divided into four groups, each testing different recipes.

They adjusted sugar ratios, studied the balance of fruit acidity.

Every detail was perfected.

“Reduce the sweetness of this strawberry cream by 5%!”

“Make the blood cherry’s acidity gentler!”

“The bitterness of the chocolate must precisely counterbalance the fruit’s acidity!”

The kitchen was brightly lit.

Meanwhile, Sylvia had already returned to her bedchamber.

She never ate either pastry.

Because even deciding what to eat had exhausted her.

She crawled under the covers, ready to sleep.

Completely unaware that the outside world was frantically operating on her behalf.

Unaware that a million-strong army was assembling to “save” her.

Unaware that the empire’s finest dessert chefs were working late into the night for her tastes.

She just felt too tired today. Tomorrow, she’d just continue to lie low.