CHAPTER 278
Valkyrie
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"Master's wife, staying by Master's side? Is that work?"
Xiao Ai smiled and nodded.
"Xiao Ai doesn't know how to explain it, but Xiao Ai feels this is the core of a personal attendant's work."
"Handling military and political affairs is sharing the master's burdens. What Xiao Ai can do, anyone else could do too. It's just that the master trusts Xiao Ai, so Xiao Ai can make decisions on his behalf."
"Managing finances is handling household affairs for my master. Since Xiao Ai is already my master's person, my master can naturally trust Xiao Ai to handle these matters."
"This frees His Majesty's hands to focus on matters of greater importance."
"This way, with Xiao Ai by his side, the master needn't be distracted by trivial matters. He can naturally accomplish what must be done. And that, Xiao Ai believes, is the fundamental duty of a personal attendant."
"But honestly, this job is exhausting! If someone could take Xiao Ai's place, Xiao Ai would have quit long ago!"
Ye Qinghan gazed at the young girl in his arms as she complained about the tedious tasks and the Master's demanding nature. Yet, deep inside, he was utterly astonished!
She had truly underestimated this personal attendant!
A well-rounded warrior with no weaknesses—Xiao Ai truly lived up to her reputation!
"I've learned my lesson. Qinghan will take a page from the master's wife's book."
Xiao Ai curled her lips in a cold smile. "Hmph. You're different from Xiao Ai. Some things require a certain status to accomplish."
Indeed, many actions and words required a certain standing to be undertaken or spoken.
As his personal attendant, Xiao Ai enjoyed privileged proximity—it was only natural she could accompany Su Cheng daily, knowing everything about him.
Yet she also understood that choosing this role meant accepting limitations—even if she wielded immense power, second only to the ruler himself!
Even if Su Cheng had long ago gifted her the palace intended for the queen, she remained merely a personal attendant. Her status was never legitimate, her position never justified.
She was never truly the queen.
She was closer to Su Cheng than anyone else could be, yet she grew farther and farther from becoming the one he loved. Cherishing love… truly difficult to cherish love…
"Qinghan hasn't thought that far. Master's wife knows—Qinghan is a fox spirit~"
Ye Qinghan showed no shame. Ever since her master's wife had forced her to strip naked, she felt her skin growing thicker by the day…
"Hehe~ That makes sense~"
Xiao Ai merely smiled, her thoughts hidden within.
Ye Qinghan smiled too, pondering the words she'd heard earlier.
[Everything concerning the Master is in Xiao Ai's hands. Those few women? That sort of trash isn't even worth Xiao Ai's attention!]
【Common whores, useless in battle and incapable of offering counsel—nothing more than lowly bed warmers.】
Just as Ye Qinghan had suspected, he now believed his master's wife was absolutely right!
Gu Ai had every reason to be arrogant. When it came to wealth, she held the purse strings tightly. Even if the Master disliked her, he still needed money to eat, didn't he?
As for power, Lord Gu Ai wielded absolute authority. Second only to the Master, didn't all so-called commands require someone to execute them? Didn't they rely on Lord Gu Ai?
As for strength, Lord Gu Ai wielded divine authority himself. Hadn't he even acquired that "Spatial Authority" from Lord Xun Ye? Wasn't that practically invincible?
You may dislike Little Ai, but you can't do without Little Ai, right?
When trouble strikes, you'll still come running to Little Ai for help~
Ye Qinghan felt Lord Gu Ai was nothing short of her idol!
As formidable as Lord Gu Ai is, her only weakness is that loli physique!
And she just happens to make up for that shortcoming. If she could be like Lady Gu Ai… Master?
Heh~
Everything would be under this disciple's control~
Qinghan could accept being ranked behind the Master's wife, but she absolutely insisted on being ranked ahead of Yulan!
"Master's Wife, Qinghan heard that you visited Lingxian Hall a couple days ago. Amber and the others were all wearing masks."
"Yes, that's correct. Are you curious why they were all wearing masks?"
Xiao Ai hadn't expected Ye Qinghan to ask this—she hadn't anticipated Ye Qinghan taking an interest in her Valkyries.
Ye Qinghan nodded, though her real curiosity lay in why Xiao Ai held Li Shiyao in such high regard.
"Well, naturally it's for their protection! Xiao Ai's Valkyries are all stunning beauties! What if that scoundrel Su Cheng were to take advantage of them?"
Uh… That answer was truly unexpected…
But since the conversation had come to this point…
"Qinghan, I heard Lord Heguang has another codename—Dragon Slayer?"
Xiao Ai didn't seem to mind. She simply didn't want Su Cheng to set his sights on her Valkyries. Ye Qinghan's words didn't bother her.
"Yes. They are Xiao Ai's Valkyries. Their job isn't beauty pageants. They are Xiao Ai's sharpest swords."
"Each of their codenames was earned with their lives."
"Xiao Ai's codename is Tyrant. You've heard of it, haven't you?"
Ye Qinghan nodded. Tyrant?
"Is there a story behind that code name too?"
"No, Xiao Ai's code name has no story. But the code names of all thirteen of them each have a story~"
Ye Qinghan pondered thoughtfully. Is that so…
Ye Qinghan had heard Dongfang Jue mention it in passing. Besides the ones she knew—Tyrant and Dragon Slayer—she'd heard Amber's code name was Swordbreaker. Beyond that, there were others like Remnant Dream and Catastrophe…
And she'd heard each Valkyrie's mask was unique—all terrifying demonic faces!
After a brief exchange, Ye Qinghan realized that although Lady Gu Ai appeared completely open, she was also fiercely protective of her own!
Regarding the information about the other Valkyries, aside from Amber, Little Ai barely revealed anything!
And the story behind just the code name "Shattered Blade" alone was enough to shock the fox for a hundred years!
During one mission, Amber had infiltrated enemy territory and found herself surrounded—a single person against over four thousand.
And these weren't unarmed civilians—they were enemies clad in armor, armed to the teeth, just like her!
What did this signify?
It meant death. It meant escape was utterly impossible!
Even TV dramas wouldn't dare depict such a scenario: Amber single-handedly annihilated over 1,700 enemy units and repelled seventeen assaults!
And she did it all in just twelve hours. By the time Xiao Ai found her, Amber was on the verge of collapse!
She swung her sword at Xiao Ai's neck, but the blade had already reached its limit.
Even the Godslayer Sword had exceeded its limits. The blade struck Xiao Ai's silver-white shield and shattered instantly—thus earning the nickname "Shattered Blade."
Honestly, Ye Qinghan couldn't fathom how a single person could repel enemy assaults like that.
Huh?
Xiao Ai emphasized that this wasn't like Ye Qinghan slaughtering low-tier cultivators, where a single divine technique could instantly wipe out a large group!
Remember, the enemy was also a battle-hardened warrior. Such divine abilities, beyond draining oneself, served no purpose.
Because they couldn't land a hit.
Indeed, against divine perception, the moment one raised a hand—before any skill could even be unleashed—the opponent would already begin dodging like they had cheat codes. How could one possibly fight?
And thus, Amber earned her unique codename: Shattered Blade.
It meant that once the order was given, Amber would fight until the very last moment, fight until death, fight until her body was like a shattered sword, unable to swing.
Ye Qinghan felt she barely recognized Amber anymore. It was hard to connect that girl with the Shattered Blade described by Xiao Ai.
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