Heir to the Kingdom of 1.4 billion people

Chapter 174: Conferring the Title of Dorothy, Awakening the Gift of a Fantasy Hero
As dusk settled, a biting north wind swept across the open fields, carrying fine snowflakes.

On the yellowish earth where the surface snow had been cleared, a campfire suddenly rose, casting flickering light and shadows around it.

Four figures, three adults and one child, sat around the campfire on a felled tree stump. They were Dorothy, Xia Mingyu, Ariel, and Kane.

It's hard to imagine that enemies who had fought to the death before could sit together so peacefully. The reason for all of this is the overwhelmingly powerful but proactively friendly deputy commander.

"What do you want to say?"

Dorothy looked at the middle-aged knight opposite her who was quietly warming his hands by the fire and bandaging the wounds of the injured Kane, her expression still wary.

Or rather, that snowflake never left her palm.

"Lord of the North, Lord Morven's mission for me is that if you can defeat or draw with Lord Kane, I will recruit you and bring you back to the Arctic City. Therefore, there is no need for us to fight," Ariel said slowly.

“I cannot accept Morven Dean’s offer.” Dorothy’s expression turned cold as she immediately refused.

She is the last bloodline of the Mason family, the youngest daughter of the Lion King, and the lord of a group of loyal knights. How could she possibly serve under someone else?

Even if that were the case, one should offer loyalty to the prince who is protected by 1.4 billion, how could one possibly choose that beast-like, cold-blooded lord of the North?
Her refusal caused the atmosphere, which had just eased, to become tense again.

Kane silently moved a little closer to Ariel's position, afraid that this woman, who was even more arrogant than him, would draw her sword again. He was truly terrified of her!

"Jade Knight, your goal, along with that of the Food Fairy, should be to improve the current situation of the people of the North, shouldn't it?" After a moment of silence, Ariel spoke again.

Dorothy and Xia Mingyu exchanged a glance and then nodded.

“By the gods of storms and hunting, you are the noblest people I have ever met in my life. Please accept my respect,” Ariel said with emotion.

Immediately afterwards, the vice-commander of the Frostfang Knights, under the astonished gaze of Kane beside him, knelt on one knee and bowed deeply to the human and the fairy.

He was grateful for the stirring in his heart he felt upon seeing the villagers and children along the way, who had escaped famine and were smiling again; after all, his heart hadn't beaten so actively in a long time.
Looking at the neck so close to hers, Dorothy's expression hardened. She was certain that at such close range and in such a posture, if she drew her sword now, even if the opponent was a powerful Crescent Moon Knight, he would die on the spot.

However, since the other party is a knight who still has compassion, she will naturally abide by the etiquette between knights and will never commit the impolite act of sneak attack.

Thinking of this, the girl silently moved her right hand, which had been resting on the sword hilt, away.

“Jade Knight, Fairy Lady, your actions have indeed brought happiness to many, but the North is too vast. Even if the two of you spent a whole year, you might not be able to travel it all. Moreover, even if I give up the fight, Lord Morven will send stronger men to capture you. Therefore, I have a suggestion.”

After getting up again, Ariel said sincerely.

"As far as I know, Lord Mowen is preparing to hold the grandest martial arts tournament in the entire Northern Territory. Any Northerner, regardless of status, past, or sins, may participate."

"And the victor can have one wish, provided that it does not jeopardize the Dean family's rule in the North. Lord Kane can confirm this for me."

Faced with Ariel's gaze, Kane hesitated for a moment before nodding.

"You mean you want me to win the championship, and then use that wish to improve the dark plight of the people of the North?"

Dorothy immediately understood the other party's suggestion.

“That’s right. Asking a lord to treat his people well will never jeopardize his rule.” Ariel nodded calmly.

However, at this moment, a look of surprise appeared on the face of the silver-haired youth beside him.

“Hey, what are you talking about, Ariel? This woman may be a little stronger than me, but she’s only at the Crescent Moon level. Do you think she can defeat that ‘monster’?” Kane couldn’t help but ask.

Upon hearing this, Dorothy and Ariel's expressions became serious, while Xia Mingyu's face showed a blank expression.

What monster?

Noticing his confusion, the girl beside him told him about the "monster".

The so-called monster actually refers to Leonard, the current leader of the Frostfang Knights, who is known as "Frostheart".

In the North, there are countless rumors about him, but the most well-known are his strength and ruthlessness.

Legend has it that he possesses the gift of growing stronger with each battle. He became a knight apprentice at the age of six, a transcendent at eleven, a Morning Star at fifteen, a New Moon at twenty-two, and a Crescent Moon at twenty-seven. He has fought thousands of battles without a single defeat, and now, at just over thirty, he is already being hailed as the number one under the Lord of the North.

This is his strength; as for his cold-bloodedness, it stems from the year Leonard achieved the Crescent Moon at the age of twenty-two, when he suddenly went berserk and slaughtered all the people in his castle, including his parents, wife, young son, and brothers.
This bloody tragedy instantly shocked the entire North. The Frostfang Knights mobilized all their forces and, after suffering heavy casualties, finally managed to bring him before Morven, the Lord of the North.

When Mo Wen asked him why he committed the crime of massacring his clan, he simply replied coldly:

"Because they are blocking my path to becoming stronger. My parents always demand that I handle the affairs of the castle, my wife always wants me to spend more time with the children, and my brother always wants me to accompany him on hunting trips."

"Even if you refuse them, they'll keep repeating themselves tirelessly. If it's too much of a waste of time, just kill them all!"

Upon hearing this, even the Frostfang Knights, who all lived by the principle of the survival of the fittest, couldn't help but feel that the other party was being a bit too extreme.

Isn't becoming stronger all for a better life?

Who would kill their entire family just to become stronger?
Meanwhile, Mo Wen, who was on the main seat, suddenly laughed loudly and walked down from the platform to untie him after a long silence. He praised him as the true Frostfang Knight and, amidst everyone's horrified expressions, appointed Leonard as the leader of the Frostfang Knights.

After that, many rumors inexplicably began to circulate in Polar City about the Lord of the North going mad.

As the leader of the guild, Leonard was isolated and alienated by all the knights, who even secretly called him a monster. Of course, on the surface, everyone still respectfully called him the "Frostheart" knight.

It means a knight without a heart.

hiss.

"This is so anthropomorphic!"

After listening to Dorothy's story, Xia Mingyu gasped and couldn't help but sigh.

The other three by the campfire nodded in agreement; on this point, even enemies who had fought to the death could reach a consensus.

"My companion, the Jade Knight, is currently only at the Crescent Moon rank. How can you be sure she can be a match for 'Frostheart'?"

Xia Mingyu couldn't help but question, "After all, fighting across a major rank isn't something everyone can do, and not everyone is Tamerlan!"

If Ariel hadn't acted so sincerely beforehand, he would have suspected that the other party was only saying those things to lure Dolores into a trap.

“I can’t be sure.” Ariel shook his head.

"However, this is indeed the only way, and as long as the Jade Knight offers to participate in the tournament, I think Lord Mowen, given his character, will not pursue her crimes of killing those lords."

“Of course! My dad doesn’t care about the deaths of those useless lords; he only cares about making the tournament more exciting,” Kane added from the side.

"I need a day to think about it."

After a moment of silence, Dorothy suddenly spoke. "Alright, I will wait for you under the big tree at the entrance of the village until dusk the next day."

After speaking calmly, Ariel grabbed Kane, who was still trying to say something, and transformed into a golden streak of light, disappearing from their sight in a few breaths.

The yellowish sky gradually turned into night, with the bright moon hanging high in the sky.

On a dark and deep snowfield, only a campfire emitted a warm and soft light.

Dorothy and Xia Mingyu sat on the tree trunk, their shadows cast by the firelight behind them were of different sizes, with the larger shadow slowly moving closer to the smaller one until they were almost touching.

"Your Highness, I have a request."

"Dorothy, I have a little..."

After a long silence by the campfire, the two spoke almost simultaneously.

Realizing their words were misunderstood, they fell silent again, until Xia Mingyu finally spoke first.

"You go first, what is your request?" the black-haired youth said in a low voice.

The girl who had spoken the request earlier now had a look of nervousness and shame on her delicate face. After hesitating for a long time, she finally made up her mind to speak.

"Your Highness, may I be appointed as your comrade? I swear to the gods that I will be your knight for life, and offer you my sword and my soul."

Dorothy turned around, her beautiful emerald eyes looking directly at the doll-sized black-haired youth in front of her, and said in a slightly trembling voice.

After saying this, she looked even more ashamed and lowered her head deeply, not daring to look at Xia Mingyu's reaction.

She felt she was being a bit too shameless; she had only known His Highness for a short time, yet she wanted to request that he bestow upon her the title of comrade-in-arms.

Moreover, given the current situation, it's inevitable that there's a hint of using the suffering of the people of the North to force His Highness to agree, even if she doesn't intend to.
Thinking of this, she lowered her head even further, and her shoulders trembled slightly.

At this moment, the girl no longer possessed the heroic and spirited demeanor she had when they first met; instead, she resembled an ordinary, frail young woman.

“Your Highness, I swear to the great Seven Gods that even if you reject me, my reverence and admiration for you will not diminish.”

Just as Dorothy was about to say something more with her head down, she felt a warm hand gently placed on the top of her head.

"You must have been very tired all this time."

As the gentle voice spoke, the girl clenched her fists tightly, and memories she had kept buried deep in her heart began to flood her mind.

The burning castle of my childhood, the desolate village with only bones and no people, the despair I felt upon learning of my father's death, and the sores on the back of my hands from the cold wind.
Am I very tired?
Dorothy tried to ask herself, but before she could get an answer, she felt two warm tears well up in her eyes and drip down her cheeks onto her thighs.

Me, I cried?!
She tried to hold back her first tears in ten years, but for some reason the tears kept flowing, even soaking her clothes.

Turns out, I'm really tired...
The girl who had always pretended to be a knight finally found the answer in her heart.

Then that warm hand came again and gently wiped away her tears. She opened her blurry, tearful eyes and saw the small, black-haired youth floating in front of her, looking at her tenderly.

"Dorothy, I've granted your request, but I hope you'll remember this," Xia Mingyu said softly.

“I have made you my comrade, not because I want your sword and soul, nor simply to save the people of the North.”

"Most importantly, I want to help you, to help a girl who has been working hard all this time, spending ten years wielding her sword against the wind and snow."

"I want to be your support, and I also want to rely on you."

So, there's no need to feel guilty or blame yourself. Just proudly accept my blessings and then laugh out loud!

After saying that, Xia Mingyu took off his shrunken coat and draped it over Dorothy's head like a headscarf.

The girl finally came to her senses, stood up abruptly, and then knelt on one knee in front of the small figure in the air.

"I swear to the Creator, to the Seven Gods, and to the ancestors of the Mason family, I, Dorothy Mason, will henceforth serve His Highness Mingyu Xia as my lord."

"From this moment forward, my loyalty will be as steadfast as a rock, and my sword will forever be wielded for you."

"Even if the world abandons you in the future, I will fight alongside you until my last drop of blood is shed."

Dorothy swore in a resolute voice, her expression unwavering, her emerald eyes reflecting only that small figure, as if that were the world as she saw it.

"Dolovie Mason, I accept your vow with gratitude, and I swear in return that no matter how much blood and sweat you have shed for me, I will repay you with even more."

"How can we say we have no clothes? We share the same robes. The king is raising an army; let us prepare our spears and shields, and fight together against this common enemy!"

After Xia Mingyu finished speaking, the small jacket on the girl's head turned into specks of light and merged into her body. At the same time, a message appeared in her mind.

Fantasy Hero: You will become someone everyone trusts, and in lands where people have fantasies about you, you will be invincible like a hero in a poem.

(Note: This gift carries the risk of loss of consciousness later in the process; please use with caution.)
The girl paused, a detail that Xia Mingyu noticed.

"What's wrong? Is the blessing of awakening not strong enough?" he asked with concern.

"No, my lord, I have awakened the gift that is most suitable for me."

Dorothy shook her head. She omitted the first sentence and the following notes, only telling Xia Mingyu the middle sentence of the blessing.

"To be invincible like a hero... that does sound like a wonderful gift." Xia Mingyu's tense expression relaxed, and he let out a long sigh of relief.

"Yes, there is no greater blessing than this."

The girl gently embraced Xia Mingyu and lightly kissed his forehead. Then, a beautiful smile, as lovely as a poem or painting, appeared on her stunning face.

"Your Highness, may you laugh with me?"

"Honored."

"Hahahahaha!"

The laughter echoed across the desolate snow for a long time, only gradually subsiding after the small figure disappeared.

"I will become a hero, to protect everyone, and to protect you."

In the darkness of night, amidst dreams, someone's murmur stirred ripples in the dream world of several fairies.

(End of this chapter)