The Almighty Ring

“I’m back,” said Jiang Fei, patting her furry head.

“My master, where have you been?” asked Kaa’lna worriedly.

If Bison was present on the ship, he too would have expressed his delight at Jiang Fei’s return.

“Nowhere. Just… around,” Jiang Fei explained vaguely.

“I see…”

Kaa’lna knew that Jiang Fei was purposely hiding something, yet she wouldn’t go as far as asking further questions. She was still affected by the black malice, and because of it, her concern for Jiang Fei was that of a real master-slave relationship. If her master was not going to say anything, she would not pursue.

As Aurelia stepped out of the teleporter pad after Jiang Fei, Kaa’Ina asked, “Who is this woman?”

“Her name is Aurelia,” said Jiang Fei.

He did not want to reveal anything more than that as the Alderaan Empire had declared war on the Trade Federation. Aurelia herself had led the army that previously attacked them. If word about her identity got out, heads would roll and blood shall spill.

Kaa’Ina gasped in awe. “Aurelia? As in, the ice queen?”

Jiang Fei was thrown, saying nothing like a cat got his tongue. He hadn’t thought that Aurelia’s nickname would be so famous that even Kaa’Ina had heard it from the corner of the universe. Even if Jiang Fei had not mentioned her name, Kaa’Ina would have still recognized Aurelia.

Back when Kaa’lna was still serving in the Valsalrian Army, she had already heard of the infamous Alderaanian female commander known as the ice queen. The fact that she was a female got her attention, and because she was also extremely powerful, Kaa’lna saw her as an idol to be admired.

With a total poker face, Aurelia acknowledged the nickname, “That is me.”

The only time she had expressed any sort of emotion was when she was in Jiang Fei’s embrace.

“It is an honor to meet the person I’ve admired for so long. Sarila will be thrilled when she finds out you’re here!” said Kaa’Ina.

“Sarila? Who is that?” asked Aurelia, still maintaining her poker face.

“She’s part of our band of sisters! Like me, she too admires you! Unfortunately for her, she is currently in training with our other sisters.”

“Band of sisters?”

Although Aurelia’s expression remained unchanged, her tone expressed concern. Something was telling her that this prince charming of hers had more than one princess.

“Yes! We’re! Sisters!” said Kaa’Ina, practically cheering the words.

As Kaa’lna proceed to explained the situation, Aurelia quickly understood that Jiang Fei had not one, not two, not three, but enough girls to fill several mahjong tables. As she processed what she just learned, Aurelia’s heart broke, like glass smashing against a rock.

“Is this destiny?” Aurelia asked herself.

She thought that she had finally found herself the right prince charming. She felt truly smitten, and had given her heart to Jiang Fei. And now… to think that this almighty young prince was such a ruffian, having so many female partners but never satisfied.

Jiang Fei was standing to the side, oblivious to Aurelia’s thoughts. If she had voiced them out loud, he would have cried foul. Yes, he had too many girls to count, but none of this was his choice to begin with!

He had not touched even a single girl in an explicit manner. And just as Umbral Jiang Fei said, having so many girls but not getting it on with any of them was such a waste.

…

A week later, Aurelia was used to the army formation. At the same time, she also gained a better understanding of Jiang Fei’s harem. Even though she knew that he may not be what she dreamed he was like, she still chose to remain with him.

Aurelia was the cherry on top of Jiang Fei’s almost-perfect army. His army was strong, but with no one to lead them properly, it was a miracle that they had survived for so long.

Ice queen Aurelia was all-talented. She was extremely well-educated, knew her combat arts, and best of all, her skill in commanding a fleet was top notch.

In terms of raw strength, Aurelia beat even Bison with her combat level of over 11 million, becoming the strongest fighter in Jiang Fei’s army. Unless Umbral Jiang Fei took over, not even Jiang Fei could be her opponent.

That 10 million combat level threshold was the deciding point that separated the weak from the strong.

Jiang Fei visited the training grounds to check on the girls. It had been a while—about five to six days—since he last paid them a visit. While he was only gone for less than the week, for the girls, it had been almost half a year since they met anyone else.

When he entered the training chamber, he managed to cough up random excuses to explain his absence. He knew that the Aurelia situation would one day be exposed, but Jiang Fei was the kind who would drag his problems on and on until he couldn’t avoid it anymore. He would much rather put things off instead of solving it then and there.

On the ninth day after returning from Alderaan, Jiang Fei was sitting on his commander’s chair when Theon suddenly appeared in front of him. Seeing Theon’s condition, Jiang Fei immediately leapt to his feet.

“Master?!” he cried, cradling the injured man.

To think that Theon, the great Plunderer, was heaving with pain as blood oozed out from exposed wounds all over his body. His armor was battered, and there were several cracks in his skull. His skin that naturally appeared pink was now the colour of ash, as if he had been burnt.

Despite his horrible state, Theon was still alive and breathing. Jiang Fei could tell that even injuries this severe were still considered mere flesh wounds to someone like Theon.

Theon mumbled angrily to himself, “What the hell are they? How could they be so strong?!”

“Master?! Get a hold of yourself!” bellowed Jiang Fei.

Theon’s eyes widened and he could finally focus. At that moment, he started to sweat and tremble, as if he was scared…

“Get your things! Have everyone leave this place right now! It’s not safe anymore!”

“Master! What happened to you?”

Theon replied erratically, “No time to explain! Get the ship moving as soon as possible! I need to get to the League right away! Those invaders are dangerous! We need to move now!”

Jiang Fei could not believe what he was seeing. Theon the great Plunderer was startled!

Grabbing a glass of water, Jiang Fei offered it to Theon, “Master! Calm down! Here, have a drink!”

The man was so in shock that he was drifting in and out of awareness. Obviously, he had only just escaped from a terrifying battle. Calming down a little, Theon downed the glass of water. After taking two long, deep breaths, he finally stopped fidgeting.

He repeated the same thing again, but in a calm voice this time, “Fei, you need to gather everyone and leave!”

“Master, what is going on?”

Theon glared as Jiang Fei for a good second, then sighed as he averted his gaze.

“I have lived for so long and fought so many strong fighters that I thought I could say that technology could never be a threat. But I was so wrong! I was wrong on so many levels! The enemy possesses technology so advanced that even I can’t fathom the thought of it!”