A Heart Full of Longing

Before becoming a warrior of the Shurima Empire, Rebeca was the daughter of the Chieftain of the Ixtal tribe. ♡♢ 👌💢

At that time, Shurima was constantly at war, and the leader of each tribe was the most powerful person in the entire tribe in order to ensure the safety of the people.

These leaders were strict not only with themselves but also with their children, with Rebeca being the only exception.

She was the Chieftain's youngest daughter, naturally carefree and disliked being restrained, let alone being forced to learn martial arts.

Thanks to her father's authority and affection, Rebeca had a very happy childhood. Unlike her older siblings, she didn't have to deal with weapons all day long, nor did she have to face the sullen faces of her instructors.

She loved flowers, so her father built her a garden; she loved stones, so her brothers would search the world for all sorts of rare and precious stones for her; she loved butterflies, so her sisters would bring her different varieties every day.

This inexhaustible happiness was completely changed after a war.

Because Ixtal was too powerful, it was attacked by a coalition of surrounding tribes. Rebeca's father and brothers were all killed in battle, and even her eldest and second eldest sisters died fighting to the death. Only her third sister was left to cover her escape.

Rebeca's lack of interest in power does not mean she is a weak woman; on the contrary, she can use some simple Natural Power.

Finally, after her intense struggle, her third sister had no choice but to agree to let her go back to avenge her family.

Ixtal was ultimately victorious in the war, but the tribal chief was replaced by one of his father's former subordinates.

After becoming Chieftain, he did not take care of the Rebeca sisters at all. Instead, he seized their property and exiled them to the outermost part of the village, where they lived and ate with the livestock.

Moreover, the new Chieftain also suppressed the Chieftain's cronies, causing instability in Ixtal and making it possible for internal strife to break out at any time.

After two difficult years, Rebeca has matured considerably and is carefully learning the Natural Power in order to overthrow the Chieftain's rule and reclaim her own garden.

Just as she was taking steps forward, war broke out again. This time, the enemy was not the surrounding tribes, but a powerful foe from the west: the Naremajet.

The expansion of Naremajet was nothing new, but no one expected it to reach Ixtal so quickly. None of the warriors, including the Chieftain, were prepared to fight.

In fact, it was a well-planned raid by Aatrox, with the aim of taking advantage of the turmoil in Ixtal to capture this eastern fortress.

The Ixtal warriors put up a fierce resistance, but were ultimately defeated by the well-trained Naremajet soldiers, and Aatrox captured the place with fewer than ten thousand men.

The unruly Ixtal were unwilling to accept defeat, and they organized rebellions everywhere, all of which were ruthlessly suppressed by Aatrox.

By this time, Rebeca had mastered Stealth Technique, a technique that uses Wood Elemental Power to become invisible, allowing her to conceal herself in slightly dim light.

She planned to use this ability to launch a night raid on Aatrox's camp, cut off his head, and thus win the support of the Ixtal.

The attempt failed, of course. Rebeca made a fatal mistake: the dagger she used to assassinate Aatrox was made of a rare metal from a volcanic region.

This weapon, forged from metal, is incredibly sharp, but it contains a slight amount of light and heat, which Aatrox happens to be extremely sensitive to.

Rebeca was unaware of all this. She raised her dagger and stabbed at her enemy. Just as the tip of the blade was less than a finger's width from his throat, Aatrox suddenly twisted his head and dodged the fatal blow, only managing to graze the skin.

It was too late when she tried again; Aatrox grabbed her wrist, seized the dagger, and easily subdued her.

At that moment, a commotion broke out outside the camp. Judging from the Ixtal were attacking. Aatrox released his grip and rushed out, leaving Rebeca alone in the camp.

Does this mean I've been released? Or is the camp already surrounded by people, and I'll be torn to pieces the moment I show my face?

Rebeca was stunned. She wasn't an assassin and didn't have the necessary mental fortitude. She had only mastered some Natural Power and was overly eager for quick success. So she stood there dumbfounded in the camp, not knowing what to do.

The fighting continued until late into the night before gradually subsiding. Only after the surroundings quieted down did she come to her senses, and by then Aatrox had already returned.

His body was splattered with blood, but the blade of his sword remained as gleaming as ever.

"A soldier may be covered in filth, but he must not allow the sharpness of his weapon to be obscured in the slightest."

Rebeca remembered her brother's words and unconsciously touched Aatrox's sword, but quickly withdrew her hand after feeling the coldness of the blade.

Aatrox didn't care at all. "You should go and collect the bodies of your people, young lady."

"You... aren't you going to kill me?"

"It seems more worthwhile to keep you to spread my fame and terrify the rest of the Ixtal."

"Then I will definitely come back to kill you!"

"I hope you can do that, kill me honorably, instead of sneaking around like you did tonight."

Rebeca ran away in shame, for Aatrox's every move and even his tone of voice were just like her brother's.

Especially his eyes, they seemed to genuinely yearn for someone to kill him, to kill him fair and square on the battlefield!

When Rebeca returned to their hiding place, she found her sister anxiously waiting for her, and also learned about the recent fighting:

The Chieftain rallied the remaining warriors for a final counterattack, but it was crushed by Aatrox. It is feared that he will never be able to organize a decent army again, for the Ixtal reduced to women and children.

"It's okay, I can kill him!"

Rebeca knew that Aatrox was an upright warrior, and even without an army, she could go and fight him one-on-one. As long as she killed him, the soldiers of Naremajet would lose their leader!

Over the next three years, she challenged Aatrox several times, failing each time.

Later, Aatrox's soldiers simply stopped stopping her and let her freely enter and leave the camp, just like their own people.

It wasn't until the new leader of Ixtal declared his submission and the warriors of Naremajet returned to their homeland that Rebeca realized she felt not hatred for Aatrox, but longing.

She longed to be a warrior like him, to fight him, and perhaps even harbored a little affection for him...

"No Shurima woman could resist Aatrox's charm, except for Her Martial Empress Your Majesty."

"So you followed him to Naremajet?"

"Yes, but I didn't set off immediately. I went after I became the new leader of Ixtal, otherwise I was afraid I wouldn't be able to see him."

Why do you still look so happy?

"This was originally a happy thing, after all, Aatrox was still a human warrior back then."

"It seems we still have some time tonight. Tell me his story of ascension."

"Hmm... let me think..."