Chapter 13: Fate Cannot Be Defied

The heat waves surged endlessly outside the steel fortress.

The girl was dragged through one metal corridor after another, her bare toes scraping against the cold floor with a faint, sharp friction sound.

Her wrists had long turned blue and purple from Seraphina’s grip, bones aching with a dull pain, yet Seraphina showed no sign of slowing down.

As the heavy metal palace gates slowly opened, the scorching summer heat hit them head-on, making Mili’s nose itch so badly that she sneezed involuntarily…

The rocky ground beneath her feet was unbearably hot. She instinctively tried to tiptoe, but the woman suddenly lifted her up, clasping her waist tightly with arms like iron clamps.

—Mili was forcibly brought to a corner in the outer courtyard of Eisenburg.

This was the edge of the western district.

In the distance, the ragged tail end of a line could still faintly hear the crack of whips slicing through the air, sending chills down the spine…

Several soldiers moved a large cart of dry, cracked soil to the designated spot. They dumped it in the middle of the cleared area and quickly set up a crude experimental field.

The soil was an ominous gray-black, hardened and compacted, with a shiny surface that looked like metal pollutants had precipitated on it. A faint smell of sulfur and rust lingered—strange and repulsive…

Evelyn had been waiting here for some time.

Two guards followed her, one holding a transparent sealed bag.

It was the small packet of seeds Mili had previously found in the abandoned storage room…

Seraphina roughly threw her to the ground, raising a cloud of dust.

“Cough, cough…” Mili lay pathetically on the burning soil, coughing repeatedly.

Her tender knees and elbows were scraped raw on the rough surface, stinging painfully.

“Your Majesty.”

The adjutant bowed and presented the seeds.

The woman took the packet casually, weighing it in her hand before tossing it in front of Mili.

The small bag bounced twice on the hard ground before lying limp.

“They all call you the ‘Fertile Saintess,’” the silver-haired queen looked down on the struggling Mili from above:

“They say you can bring life to dead wood and turn deserts into fertile fields.”

The scorching sun baked the earth, reddening the girl’s skin, making her dizzy and sweating.

The sunlight was blinding, causing her to squint.

A dozen fully armored guards had appeared without her noticing, stationed at various watch points around the courtyard, strictly sealing off the area…

“The land of Eisenburg, you’ve seen it yourself — barren, desolate, and much of it continuously eroded by the gray mist.”

“Add the periodic coverage of the gray mist, and the soil quality outdoors is utterly impossible to improve.”

Seraphina stepped to the experimental field and kicked the dry, gravelly, harsh soil with the tip of her military boot.

“This soil was taken from a deserted mine in the western district. It’s the most polluted and the hardest place in Eisenburg to nurture life.”

“Even if improved seeds are planted here, they will just rot and stink.”

“If you can solve this with your miracle, then any future conditions won’t be a problem for you… understand?”

Mili stared wide-eyed at the dead-gray soil, voice trembling: “I… I really don’t know any miracles… Those rumors are all lies!”

“Are they?” Seraphina turned to look at her, a dangerous glint flashing in her heterochromatic eyes.

“Have you never seen pigs running after not eating pork?”

Having grown up surrounded by such things, she had at least some rudimentary understanding.

This wasn’t about how strong Mili was anymore.

Such pure dead land — forget the seeds,

People who went there lost layers of skin…

“I really can’t do this…” the girl nearly begged, shouting, “Those are really just rumors! I’ve never had the abilities you claim…”

The woman’s expression turned cold.

“Oh?”

“Can an ordinary person find canned food in heaps of scavenged debris?”

“Can an ordinary person make Lin Lan’s useless group so concerned about you?”

“Can an ordinary person make me personally intervene to seize you?”

Seraphina stopped in front of Mili, grabbed her forehead, forcing her to look into her eyes:

“Don’t treat me like a fool… or are you deliberately hiding something from me?”

“I know everything about you.”

“I’m not hiding anything!” Mili cried out painfully, tears streaming down, “Nothing grows in this place…”

The woman released her, took a few seeds from the ground, pried open Mili’s fingers, and forcibly pressed the seeds into her palm.

“Listen, little one, either make these seeds sprout, or…” Seraphina pulled a gun from her waist and tapped the barrel sharply against the girl’s cheek.

She didn’t finish the sentence, but the meaning was clear.

Mili was pushed staggering to her knees at the edge of the field, the acrid smell stinging her eyes.

“Plant them.” A cold voice urged from behind.

She bit her lip and scratched a small hole in the hard soil with her nails.

Dust flew, and the oily stench stung her eyes.

Finally digging a shallow hole, Mili carefully placed the seeds inside and covered them with loose soil.

And then?

She sat there blankly, unsure of what to do next.

No tools…

No fertilizer…

No water, no nutrients, no suitable soil conditions!

Nothing at all.

Whispers from the surrounding guards drifted into her ears.

“Is that it?”

“Doesn’t look special at all…”

“Did the queen get tricked?”

Seraphina’s cold gaze swept over the murmuring soldiers, who immediately fell silent.

She looked back at Mili, the chill around her intensifying.

“Looks like the rumors were just rumors after all.” After a long pause, the woman spoke, her disappointed voice tinged with anger at being fooled.

“Or are you deliberately slacking off?”

Mili shook her head helplessly, hands nervously resting on her knees, her dress stained black with oil pollution.

Tears fell onto the cracked earth, instantly absorbed without a trace.

“I don’t know… I really don’t know what to do…”

Seraphina quietly stared at the small figure of the girl, then slowly crouched down beside her to meet her gaze.

She reached out, lightly stroking the wet cheek with the back of her finger — the gesture so gentle it was chilling.

“Looks like you need some motivation.”

Then she raised the energy pistol, pressing the barrel against Mili’s temple.

The cold metal against her skin made the girl shudder all over.

“I’m giving you ten seconds.”

“If this seed shows no sign of growth…”

Seraphina’s lips curled into a cruel smile.

“You’ll go join it.”

The charging hum buzzed in her ears.

“Ten.”

Mili was overwhelmed with disbelief and terror at the woman’s threat.

“Nine.”

She hurriedly pressed her hands on the spot where the seeds were buried, closing her eyes and praying desperately.

“Eight.”

Please… please sprout… I beg you…

“Seven.”

Hope and anxiety filling her heart, Mili opened her eyes, but the soil showed no change. The dry cracks remained ugly and lifeless.

“Six.”

Why… why treat me like this?

“Five.”

“Please…” she cried, begging, “Just give me a little more time…”

“Four.”

All I want is to live a normal life… why is this happening to me?

“Three.”

Lin Lan… Lin Lan, where are you… please save me…

“Two…”

Seraphina’s finger slowly pulled the trigger.

“One.”