The setting sun blazed like spilled blood across a sky choked with swirling yellow sand.
A hundred kilometers inside the enemy's western border, the three-month-long cataclysmic battle was finally drawing to a close. The battlefield resembled a hellscape—severed limbs and corpses littered the ground, their spilled blood staining half the horizon crimson.
A young man in plain clothes sat cross-legged on the blood-soaked earth, a dark-bladed battle sword resting in his grip. Not far from him lay a headless corpse.
This man was Alexander Lee, Supreme Commander of the Blood Shadow Corps—the undisputed King of the Western Frontier.
The decapitated body before him belonged to none other than the enemy's top warlord, the dreaded Demon God of War.
*Swish! Swish! Swish!*
In an instant, five figures materialized from different directions, moving with such speed they seemed to blur. In the blink of an eye, they knelt before the young man on one knee.
Clad in battle armor, their imposing auras radiated an almost suffocating bloodlust.
"Reporting, Commander," the leader of the five spoke with reverence. "The enemy's elite forces have been completely annihilated."
This was Sidney Clark, Alexander Lee's trusted lieutenant.
The remaining four were the Blood Shadow Corps' legendary legion commanders—Gordon Lark, Colin White, Scarlet Lethbridge, and Tim Gray.
"At ease," Alexander replied, lighting a cigarette and taking a slow drag. "Regroup briefly. We march home at dawn."
"Understood, Commander!" The five rose in unison.
*Beep! Beep!*
Just then, the notification tone of his phone chimed. Alexander Lee pulled out his device and glanced at the screen—two voice messages awaited him.
"Daddy... why won't you answer me? I... I'm Lily Lee... I sent you so many messages... Why... why won't you reply..."
"I... I'm so scared. Bad people locked me up... I can't find Mommy..."
The voice belonged to a little girl, trembling with sheer terror.
"Hey there, you've got the wrong number. I'm not your dad. Are you in trouble with bad people?"
Alexander took a steadying breath before responding.
This same number had already sent him two similar messages the night before. But caught in the throes of a bloody battle, he hadn’t had a moment to address the misdirected plea.
Beep! Beep! Beep!
New messages arrived, the girl now sobbing uncontrollably.
"Daddy’s lying! Mommy said... this is your number. Did Lily do something wrong? Does Daddy not want Lily anymore?"
"Lily is really, really scared... The bad people said... after today, Lily will never see Mommy and Daddy again... I'm so scared..."
"Daddy doesn’t even know what Lily looks like, right? I... I took a picture last month for my birthday. I’ll send it now. Daddy has to remember Lily’s face, okay?"
Following the voice messages came a photo—a delicate, porcelain-like little girl.
No more than four or five years old, her large, expressive eyes seemed to speak volumes, while a pair of tiny dimples made her utterly adorable.
Boom!
The moment Alexander Lee laid eyes on the photograph, an overwhelming surge of murderous rage erupted from him like a catastrophic flood—devastating, unstoppable, piercing the heavens.
The air around them instantly turned frigid, as if an oppressive storm cloud had descended, suffocating everyone in its path. The five young men standing nearby shuddered involuntarily, their faces etched with terror.
They had served under their commander for years, yet never had they witnessed such bone-chilling fury.
"Commander, what happened?" Sidney Clark managed to ask after a steadying breath.
Alexander ignored him, snatching up his phone to dial the little girl’s number.
But all he heard was the cold, automated voice: *The number you have dialed cannot be reached.*
Gritting his teeth, he tried again—same result.
"Sidney Clark," Alexander growled, his voice thick with barely restrained violence, "I don’t care what it takes—get me to Dongzhou **now**."
"Understood!" Without hesitation, Sidney pulled out his phone and began barking orders.
"Tim Gray," Alexander turned to the other four, his tone razor-sharp, "mobilize every resource we have. Track this number immediately." He recited the digits with deadly precision.
"Yes, sir!" The four men snapped to attention before scrambling into action.
Five minutes later, a rugged off-road vehicle roared toward the border at breakneck speed.
"Commander, what on earth happened?" Sidney Clark asked, glancing at Alexander Lee in the passenger seat, whose entire being still radiated murderous intent.
"She really is my daughter!" Alexander's voice was icy, his eyes bloodshot.
As he spoke, memories flooded his mind—his tumultuous fate, leaving home as a youth, drifting to the Eastern Continent, and being taken in by the head of the Zheng family.
Then, one night five years ago, his adoptive father's entire household was slaughtered. Stabbed multiple times, he barely escaped with his life, only to be rescued by Sophia Moore, the young mistress of the Qin family.
Shortly after Sophia brought him to an inn, he collapsed from exhaustion, slipping into unconsciousness.
She tended to his wounds, buying medicine for him. It wasn’t until two nights later that he regained a sliver of awareness.
Overcome with grief and rage, he clung to Sophia like a child, sobbing uncontrollably.
Out of pity, she let him hold her tightly, understanding that Alexander needed this release.
At the time, he was barely conscious—what happened afterward remained a blank in his memory.
When he awoke the next morning, Sophia was gone, leaving only a note behind.
She warned him that his adoptive father’s killers might soon track him down and urged him to flee the Eastern Continent, never to return.
She also mentioned taking the dragon-shaped jade pendant from him as a keepsake.
Back then, he had assumed Sophia was merely a kind soul who had crossed his path, vowing silently to repay her for saving his life if fate ever allowed.
But the moment he saw that pendant in the little girl’s hands just now—everything became painfully clear.
That fateful night five years ago, he had committed an unforgivable atrocity—not only did he harm Sophia Moore, but he also got her pregnant!
What tormented him even more was that his own daughter had been pleading for help since yesterday, yet he had dismissed it as a wrong message!
"Lily Lee is so scared... Those bad men said... after today, Lily will never see Mommy and Daddy again... I'm really, really scared..."
The despair in his daughter's voice made his heart bleed with unbearable agony. He wanted nothing more than to slap himself hard across the face—repeatedly.
He wasn’t just a terrible husband—he was an even worse father!
What good was being the King of the Western Frontier or the Master of the Shadow Gate? It was all worthless!
If he couldn’t even protect his own daughter, he didn’t deserve to be called a father!
"Commander, the five of us request to accompany you to Eastern Province!"
Half an hour later, their off-road vehicle roared into a restricted military airfield. Sidney Clark and the four elite generals stood at attention, their voices resolute.
Along the way, they had pieced together the situation, and now, an overwhelming killing intent radiated from each of them.
Who in their right mind would dare lay a finger on the Commander’s daughter? Did they have a death wish—no, did they want their entire bloodline wiped out?!
"Sidney comes with me. The rest of you stay behind to oversee the Western Frontier. Any disobedience will be met with court-martial!"
Alexander Lee’s voice was steel as he issued the order. Without another word, he turned and sprinted toward the waiting aircraft, Sidney Clark right on his heels.
Two minutes later, a military fighter jet tore through the sky like a bolt of lightning, streaking toward Eastern Province.
