Re-Awakened: Echelon Supreme

Two servant girls stood guard at the entrance of a luxurious yurt, made of valuable materials and intricate designs. The two girls were visibly nervous, as if they were standing on pins and needles. Sweat streamed down their faces even though the morning had barely begun, and the sun was not yet scorching hot.

Bang!

The girls suddenly straightened in fear as the sound of great upheaval echoed from inside the yurt, along with the sounds of cursing and objects being thrown. They felt like they were treading a thin line where any mistake might lead to their doom. Yet, they did not dare to complain or leave their post. They could only silently curse whatever had caused Lady Naran to suddenly flare up with such intense rage.

Inside the yurt, everything was scattered messily. Lady Naran still looked haggard and pale, seemingly not having fully recovered from using her mana to heal Noyan. Her hair was all over the place, and her face was unusually contorted with anger. Suddenly, she threw her hands over a crude table in front of her, causing another wave of sounds as an expensive-looking pot was flung away, breaking into pieces.

Lady Naran did not seem concerned about the damage she had caused. Her hands trembled with immense rage. Then, she sank down in her chair, holding her head tensely as she glared at a diary on the ground, which had fallen earlier. She gnashed her teeth.

"Damnit! Damnit! That BASTARD!" she roared, looking at the ordinary diary with contempt and mockery. Outside the yurt, the two servant girls flinched, nearly scared out of their wits.

They had never seen Lady Naran so angry before. But when immortals get angry, mortals suffer—this was engraved in their souls. The two girls wondered what could have happened, trembling. 'Could it be that the Lady had a fight with the Lord?' one girl thought uneasily. She then shook her head vigorously, thinking that she shouldn't court death for no reason by entertaining such thoughts. After all, what if the Lady could read minds? It wouldn't be surprising, given that Lady Naran was famous for performing strange feats.

Inside the yurt, Lady Naran, exhausted after her tantrum, now seemed calm, but her red eyes told a different story, making her even more terrifying to behold, like a volcano ready to explode.

Picking up the diary coldly, Lady Naran flipped through its pages and began reading the contents once again.

"Diary Of Ronan Ashford," the first page read, written in a different language from that of the Sumerû People. More specifically, it was the language of her homeland, the Western Continent.

At first, Lady Naran was still calm while reading the pages, but as she neared the end, her expression became increasingly distorted. Suddenly, she laughed out bitterly, as if she couldn't believe such a thing was possible.

After fifteen years of living in the Sumerû Plains, for the first time, she felt a sense of immense danger. The source of her anxiety was the records Ronan had written, especially his entries after he discovered her whereabouts.

"This fool!" she exclaimed suddenly, stopping at a particular entry.

—Year 610th After The Reign of The Northern Emperor—According to Barbarian Calendar—

Today is a very happy day for me, yet also a sad one. Nearly fifteen years after my search began, I finally managed to find Lilia's whereabouts. Initially, after hearing rumors of an unknown, talented healer woman suddenly appearing in the Desolate Plains, I used the combined prowess of The Tower, as well as The Ashford Family's intelligence network, supported by Stafford Trading Company's accounts, to determine the authenticity of these rumors.

All signs pointed to the fact that the rumors were true. Of course, if anyone else had heard these rumors, they would not have been alarmed. But I know Lilia the best; I just knew that it had to be her, even though this seemed like an impossible matter.

At first, I thought this was impossible. How could Lilia appear so far away in the Plains? How could this be? But in a decade, this was the only clue I had of her, so I couldn't just ignore it.

I paid a great price to get a portrait of this rumored woman from a painter who had seen her during one of the barbarian's Covenant Meetings. Sure enough, it was indeed her! I had finally found her!

But, just as this was happy news, it was even more of a sad one. When I inquired further, some sources said that this mystery woman was enslaved by a barbarian lord named Batu during the Great Expeditions.

It was then that I could finally connect the dots faintly, and the result shocked me! How much had she suffered all these years? Even though she was no longer pure, I couldn't let her suffer alone like this, especially after all that had happened.

All these years, I couldn't sleep at night. I couldn't let go of this guilt that I couldn't protect her when it mattered the most. Nonetheless, late is better than never, right?

Finally, I decided to go to the Plains to see her. However, this wasn't a simple matter. I couldn't simply barge into the plains, that lonely place. For this, I needed justification and a proper opportunity.

Fortunately, my luck was very good, and I found this opportunity from the Tower's secret mission. Speaking of which, this was a matter more shocking than anything else. The eccentric old foggies from the Tower wanted to negotiate something with the Covenant of The North!

For this mission, the Tower wanted to send an envoy. But this was a hot potato that no one wanted to accept. After all, who would want to venture into that God-forsaken place by their own will? But for me, this was a heaven-sent opportunity. I could find Lilia and bring her back while at the same time gaining large merits by accepting such a difficult mission.

And so, everything was set. I arrived in the Plains secretly. Before initiating contact with the covenant, I decided to make contact with one of the Khans. And who would be a better option than Urun Khan? The man whose subordinate was Batu.

This brings us to today, Year of The Rat, tenth day of the fourth month. During the banquet, I tactfully probed about Urun Khan's vassal Lord, Ulaan. Speaking of which, the guy was really unhappy with his vassal. Or rather, afraid would be the correct word. This suspicious fool was wary of his vassal's growing influence. He feared that he could be replaced as the Khan.

Using this vulnerability, I fanned the flames and extracted all the information I needed from the simple-minded barbarian. It turns out, Lilia was truly enslaved by that beast! On top of that, she was being used for her talents—speaking of which, the Khan was very frustrated that such fortune had fallen into the lap of this Batu Ulaan.

But one thing I couldn't accept was the way this vermin talked about my dear Lilia as if he wanted to devour her. It took great control for me not to blast the fool's face that instant. Sure enough, all barbarians were nothing but mindless savages who couldn't control their base desires.

I knew that Urun Khan was exaggerating certain things, but I couldn't care. When I heard that my poor Lilia was forced to bear the children of that savage, I could feel the blood rush into my brain. I felt humiliated; I just couldn't accept this! So, I must take revenge! And the opportunity was right here! I twisted some facts and whispered in Khan's ear. I told him about that secret—the fact that during the expedition, this Batu fellow had gotten his hands on some kind of secret treasure. I perfectly played with Urun Khan's insecurities and incited him against his vassal.

The chaos that would soon occur between the two Tribes would give me the perfect opportunity to extract Lilia safely. Surely, she must be waiting for someone to rescue her, right? I still remember how timid she was... soon, Lilia... I'm coming to get you back home!

Lady Naran did not know whether to laugh or cry. The little guilt she was feeling about killing Ronan completely disappeared as she read what he had done.

"Hmph, civilized world… and yet the 'barbarians' treat their women far better than the so-called civilized world," Lady Naran thought disdainfully.

The Nomads of The Plains believed that women were very important to their society. As mothers, they continued the dwindling lineage of the Plains. The Sumerû Plains was truly a God-forsaken place. The winters were deadly, resources were few, and the various Tribes were like oil and water, unable to unite at all. All this naturally resulted in many men dying. This was why polygamy was allowed in Nomadic culture, as it helped sustain the population. Naturally, as a result, women held important positions in this society. In this sense, Lady Naran was indeed correct in her thinking. Of course, she was only thinking nonsense due to the grave disappointment she felt towards her own people.

"Why didn't this bastard die earlier? Damn it! The Khan is a petty man, the Tribe is in grave danger! Hmph, Ronan, you fool! You have harmed me more than you could ever help me. Who the f**k are you to seek justice on my behalf?" Lady Naran muttered bitterly in indignation.

Slapping her cheeks, Lady Naran forced herself to calm down. The situation was grave, and she urgently needed to think of countermeasures. This was a delicate situation; she couldn't simply reveal the contents of the diary to her husband, Lord Batu, as that would mean revealing her past. Thinking this, Lady Naran slumped even further in dejection. So far, she couldn't find a way out of this situation. But she could feel that perhaps time was running out.

Heaving a bitter sigh, she decided to talk to her husband first and see if she could influence him somehow. But she did not have much hope in this, as her relationship with her husband had been rather distant recently. More than that, Batu was a very stubborn person. And no matter how open-minded he was, in the end, he was also a man and thus had his own pride. Knowing that she would once again have to disgustingly curry favor with him, setting aside her own pride, Lady Naran only felt endless exhaustion and bitterness. Alas, this was her unfortunate life now. And for her two children, she had long vowed to go to any lengths possible to achieve her goal.

With a newfound resolve, Lady Naran calmed down completely. Expressionless, she began grooming herself in front of the mirror. A woman's feminine charms were often the best weapons against men—Lady Naran knew this very well.

By the time she was done, Lady Naran had once again assumed her goddess-like demeanor and beauty, which no man could resist. With a smile on her face, she stepped out of her yurt—which was a special gift from her husband—and began heading towards her husband's abode.

As Lady Naran, wearing a veil, gracefully walked away from her yurt, at some point, her beautiful and experienced handmaidens had already joined her. Seeing them fade away in the distance, the two servant girls outside the yurt were left wide-eyed as they thought in admiration, "Our Lady is really unpredictable... one moment she is like a tiger and another moment, like a goddess fallen from the heavens!"