The setting sun was like blood, and the sand filled the sky. The territory was located on the western border, more than 100 kilometers inside the enemy's border.
A battle lasting for three months drew to a close. Only bodies and blood were left in an inferno of battle. A young man with a sword of Bloodshadow in his hand was sitting on the ground. There was a body without a head not far from him.
The young man in plain clothes was named Billy Gardner, the supreme commander of the Army of Bloodshadow and the King of the West.
The body without a head belonged to the Commander-in-Chief of the enemies.
In no time, five figures flashed at lightning speed from five different directions. In the blink of an eye, they arrived beside the young man and knelt on one knee. All five of them were dressed in battle armor, exuding a righteous and imposing aura. The scent of blood covered them from head to toe.
"Commander, the elite enemy troops have been completely wiped out!" The man in military attire who led the group spoke respectfully.
His name was Casey Kimmons, Billy's lieutenant. The remaining four were the leaders of the Army of Bloodshadow's four major legions: Azure Dragon, White Tiger, Vermilion Bird, and Black Tortoise.
"Get up, take a break and regroup. Let's head back to the capital!" Billy lit a cigarette and took a puff.
The five people stood up at the same time.
At that moment, Billy's phone beeped with a notification. He pulled out his phone and saw two voicemail messages.
"Dad, why aren't you answering me? It's Tasha… I've sent you so many messages. Why won't you reply to me? I'm scared. I've been kidnapped by bad people. I can't find my mom…"
The voice belonged to a little girl in extreme fear.
"Hey kid, you got the wrong number. I'm not your dad. Are you okay? Did something happen to you?"
Billy adjusted his emotions and replied. He had received two similar messages from this number last night, but he had been too busy fighting for his life to respond.
Beep! Beep! Beep!
Another message came through, and the little girl was now crying hysterically.
"Dad is lying! Mom said… this is your number. Is Tasha not good enough for Dad?"
"Tasha is scared. The bad people said I won't see my parents again after today… I'm really scared…"
"Dad doesn't even know what Tasha looks like yet, right? I took a picture on my birthday last month and sent it to Dad. Dad has to remember what Tasha looks like!"
After the voicemail message came through, a photo followed—an adorable little girl with rosy cheeks and big expressive eyes that seemed to speak volumes.
After seeing this photo, a wave of murderous intent exploded from Billy like a mountain torrent.
At that moment, the air temperature suddenly dropped to freezing point, and the entire void felt suffocating as if dark clouds were pressing down.
The five young people beside him couldn't help but shiver with fear, their faces full of astonishment and horror. Having followed their commander for so long, they had never felt this level of murderous intent before.
"Commander, what happened?" Casey took a deep breath before asking.
Billy didn't respond. He picked up his phone and dialed the little girl's number. However, there was only a busy tone. He dialed again, but the result was the same.
"Casey, no matter what method you use, I need to get to Ozin immediately!" Billy turned to Casey and roared in a low voice, his body filled with killing intent.
"Yes, sir!" Casey didn't waste any time and took out his phone to make the call.
"Black Tortoise, mobilize all resources and immediately locate the owner of this phone number!" Billy then looked at the other four and reported the little girl's phone number.
"Yes!" The four of them stood up and saluted, then quickly got busy.
Five minutes later, an off-road vehicle sped towards the border at extreme speed.
"Commander, what's happening?" Casey looked at Billy, who was immersed in rage and pain, and asked.
"She is my daughter!" Billy's voice was icy, and his eyes were bloodshot. As he spoke, memories emerged one by one in his mind.
Billy had a rough fate. He left home at a young age, wandered to Ozin City, and was adopted by the Miles family head. Five years ago, his adoptive father's family was exterminated one night, and he narrowly escaped with a few knife wounds. He was saved by the eldest daughter of the Knight family, Harleen Knight.
Shortly after Harleen took him to a hotel, he fainted due to exhaustion. Harleen bought medicine to treat his injuries, and it wasn't until two nights later that he regained some consciousness.
After waking up, he held Harleen like a child and cried bitterly with mixed emotions. Out of compassion, Harleen allowed him to embrace her tightly. She knew that Billy needed an outlet for release. At that time, Billy was half-conscious, and later, he lost all memory of what had happened.
The next day upon waking up, Harleen had already left, leaving behind a note. She told him that the people who killed his foster father might soon find him there and asked him to leave Ozin as soon as possible and never return. She also informed him that she had taken the dragon-shaped jade pendant from him as a keepsake.
He had originally thought that Harleen was just a noble person he had met in his life, believing that if he had the chance in the future, he must repay her for saving his life. But when he saw the jade pendant in the little girl's hand just now, he understood everything.
Five years ago that night, he had done a despicable thing. Not only had he hurt Harleen, but he had also gotten her pregnant. What was even more regretful was that his daughter had been asking for his help since yesterday, but he had assumed it was a wrong message.
Thinking of his daughter's voice full of despair, his heart bled with endless pain. He wished to slap himself. He wasn't only a bad husband—he was an even worse father.
What King of the West? What master of SHADOW?
He couldn't even protect his own daughter. What kind of father was he?
"Commander, we want to follow you to Ozin!"
Half an hour later, an off-road vehicle rushed into a controlled airport. Casey led the other four, who shouted in unison.
Along the way, they roughly understood what had happened, and each of them was filled with murderous intent.
"Casey, follow me. The four of you should stay here. Things need to be cleaned up on the western border. No questions!"
With that, Billy boarded the plane, followed by Casey.
Two minutes later, a military fighter jet soared into the clouds, piercing the sky like a bolt of lightning and shooting directly toward Ozin.