Chapter 224: Iris's Arrival

Words : 1184 Updated : Oct 14th, 2025

Rock Sand City, City gates, Hoofbeats thundered in the distance. Gate soldiers immediately snapped to attention, craning their necks toward the sound. "Cavalry?" In their line of sight, a cavalry unit was charging straight at them! This sent the soldiers into a total panic. "Captain! Look, riders coming in hot!" "..." "Why the hell are you freaking out? Form up!" The soldier captain was sweating bullets inside. Where'd this badass cavalry unit come from? In his gut, Each aura was powerful as hell, terrifying! Way above his low-tier pay grade. "Such a hardcore cavalry force—what business do they have in Rock Sand City?" The soldier captain was scratching his head, Squinting at the figures cutting through the flying sand. The cavalry thundered closer and closer, Fully armed with a killing vibe that made the air thick. The regular gate soldiers barely dared to breathe, white-knuckling their weapons. When this cavalry line got close enough, The soldier captain finally made out their silver-white armor, eyes going wide as dinner plates, mind blown: "Fire Guard!" Holy shit, the actual Fire Guard responsible for protecting the Sacred Fire! In that bloody mess over ten years back, He'd watched the Fire Guard throw down with nightmare deep creatures. Those gut-wrenching battle scenes Were still burned into his brain! "Drop your weapons! Those are Fire Guards coming in!" The soldier captain barked orders, dodging any screw-ups. "What! Fire Guard!" All soldiers went nuts: "The legendary mystery unit guarding the Sacred Fire?" "Pure white armor, fire markings— That's really the Fire Guard!" "..." "Shut it!" The soldier captain cut off the soldiers' chatter. "Form welcome lines!" Swish! Soldiers immediately split into two rows, Snapping into proper welcome formation. Though their eyes were glued to the approaching cavalry, curiosity eating them alive. .... Iris looked at the towering gates: "Rock Sand City—we made it!" Finally... finally gonna see little brother again. She couldn't help getting pumped up inside. .... "Praise the Sacred Fire, welcome to Rock Sand City. Mind showing your papers?" The soldier captain bowed respectfully. From what he could sense, This Fire Guard unit had countless members who made his knees knock. Especially the head honcho— Not showing the slightest aura but giving off vibes like staring down a raging sandstorm! "Here!" A commanding voice rang out from horseback. The soldier captain loosened up a bit—the legendary Fire Guard seemed pretty chill. He held out both hands, Respectfully taking a red alchemical ring. Seeing the color instantly, his hands started shaking: 'Red... red as blood!!!' This was a red ring only noble Controllers could rock, Carved with a sacred winged greatsword—he knew that symbol! "Va... Valois family!" When Young Master Carlos had rolled into the city, the soldier captain had done his homework on Valois family intel. A wild thought hit him: 'Could this be Duke Iris...' Immediately, He got even more careful, Keeping his head down, not daring to eyeball the mounted figure, scared shitless of pissing off the duke. Moving like lightning, he slotted the red alchemical ring into a nearby device. A few heartbeats later, Blue light flashed. The soldier captain pulled out the alchemical ring and handed it back with both hands like it was made of glass: "Sir, keep this safe." "Move out!" Clop! Clop! Heavy, steady hoofbeats echoed. The soldier captain watched the legendary Fire Guard roll into the city, staying frozen for ages: Fire Guard! Duke Iris! What kind of shitstorm was about to hit Rock Sand City? After getting inside Rock Sand City, Iris's crew predictably got everyone talking: "Cavalry! Riders just rolled in!" "Our Rock Sand City doesn't have cavalry like that!" "Dumbass, that's clearly the Fire Guard protecting the Sacred Fire!" "What! Fire Guard!" "..." Iris didn't give a damn about the locals gossiping. After getting her bearings, she called out: "First stop—Rock Sand City garrison headquarters!" "Yes ma'am!" ... Soon enough, Iris hit the garrison headquarters and flashed the Fire Guard's badge. The gate guards didn't dare get in her way, quickly throwing open the gates and rolling out the red carpet. Iris and crew, escorted by garrison forces, Entered the compound and first got their warhorses settled. After taking care of the horses, The group, led by garrison soldiers, headed to the meeting tent. Iris sensed something fishy. Within her range, This garrison headquarters only had one high-tier guy. This was obviously screwy as hell—where had Rock Sand City's heavy hitters gone? "Where's Commander Marin? I need to have words with her!" A garrison soldier answered respectfully: "Sir, I already sent someone to give her the heads up." Right then, Urgent footsteps came pounding over. Rock Sand City Captain Barossa came running like his ass was on fire, Bowing respectfully to the figure in the big chair. "Rock Sand City Garrison Captain Barossa Salutes the Fire Commander!" The figure in the main seat had an aura deeper than a black hole—definitely a noble Controller. Even rough-around-the-edges Barossa was walking on eggshells now. 'This is bad news—Fire Guard's here, Rock Sand City's about to get hit with something big!' Seeing it really was the Fire Guard, Barossa's heart sank like a stone. Fire Guard— The mystery unit guarding the Sacred Fire, With huge responsibility And equally scary authority. Packing absolute enforcement power over all city-states. Unless shit really hit the fan, they absolutely wouldn't show their faces outside Ember City. Barossa couldn't help overthinking. Iris saw Rock Sand City garrison's only remaining high-tier had shown up, Asked again: "Barossa, where'd Commander Marin disappear to?" According to the book, After Fire Guard entered any city-state, They needed to link up with that city-state's garrison immediately for joint command authority. Everything took a backseat to Fire Guard business. "Commander Marin..." Barossa hemmed and hawed. District Four's Black Sinner cleanup Was their Rock Sand City's top secret internal business. Big risk meant big rewards. Without direct orders from Commander Marin, He didn't dare spill the beans, Even to the Fire Guard. "Commander Marin stepped out. Give me a minute— I already sent someone to track her down." "Stepped out?" Iris heard this, Frowning slightly. She could tell the captain was holding out on her. However, She didn't sweat it. The urgent thing was tracking down her brother Carlos. "Barossa, Get someone to find out where Carlos Valois is right now." Iris's first pit stop at the garrison Was mainly To use garrison muscle To track down her brother as fast as possible. "You mean Young Master Carlos?" Barossa thought he'd heard wrong. Why would the Fire Guard be hunting for Young Master Carlos? Right, Young Master Carlos came from half-elf royalty and definitely had serious connections to the Fire Guard. "Hmm? You know him?" Iris's eyes turned to slits. This captain's knee-jerk reaction to hearing Carlos's name Made Iris dead certain her little brother had definitely made waves in Rock Sand City! "What kind of 'trouble' did he stir up here?" "Uh... Young Master Carlos..."

Chapter 224: Iris's Arrival

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