Reborn as the General's Useless Daughter-Chapter 64: Royal Hunting grounds (Part-4)

Families gave their final instructions as youths rushed toward the racecourse to choose their mounts. Hooves thundered, banners flapped, excitement and fear braided in the air.

Luna’s face hardened like tempered steel.

"Father, I will not fail," she vowed.

Her voice trembled with desperation.

This is my last chance.

If she performed poorly today, her future—already crumbling—would be reduced to dust.

General Helius nodded slightly. Though he originally hoped both his daughter and Icarus would bring glory to the general’s manor, now only Luna could compete.

"The general’s reputation is being discussed everywhere," he said gravely. "If you earn a top-three position, everything will stabilize again."

He placed a hand on her shoulder and forced a smile.

"Go. Perform well."

Luna clenched her fists until her nails pierced her palms.

Among the younger generation present, very few could truly contend with Luna. Her path to the top three looked practically paved.

Yet General Helius’s gaze drifted, almost against his will, to the slender figure of Zora.

Ever since that fist landed in the General’s Manor, he knew she could cultivate—and not weakly. But one punch wasn’t enough to gauge her true strength. The uncertainty gnawed at him.

An attendant brought a sleek black stallion to Zora. The moment she mounted, her posture settled with effortless grace. Without waiting for anyone, she guided the horse straight through the gates of the hunting ground.

A ripple of shock followed her.

"Isn’t Princess Consort unable to cultivate? How can she dare enter alone? If she meets a beast, isn’t she courting death?"

"Every hunting year has casualties. Even decent cultivators tread carefully... and she’s the Imperial City’s famous waste. Does she want to die?"

"But I heard she beat Icarus in the Origin Medical Hall!"

"That’s nonsense," another scoffed. "People from the General’s Manor said she used tricks. If she really could cultivate, would she have been mocked as waste for over a decade?"

Voices tangled in doubt.

The truth was simple: none of them understood her.

No one had gotten close enough to see the steel in the silk.

Most concluded the same thing.

"She must’ve been lucky. Otherwise, why would the General’s Manor suppress her for years? You think a true talent could be hidden?"

A few sighed in sympathy. Prince Kael wasn’t here. Zora, alone in the forest, was exposed.

And Luna was inside.

With Luna’s hatred, if she found a secluded spot...

Everyone knew what might happen.

"Sister, succeed for the both of us, in both of our goals!"

Icarus gritted his teeth, his heart burning with hatred. His ruin was written in red on his arm, and only Luna could avenge him now.

Luna patted his shoulder, lips lifting with venomous confidence. "Relax. I’ll have a perfect solution."

Then she spurred her horse and slipped into the depths of the mountain like a shadow hunting prey.

The rules were cruelly simple—three days, no returning until the end.

Each message from within would be relayed by royal guards, keeping the outside world informed of triumphs and tragedies.

On the other side of the field, Emperor Alexander quietly sent a trusted guard to investigate Prince Kael’s sudden transformation. He needed answers—fast.

*

Elsewhere, in the dense canyon of the mountain, Zora guided her horse deeper into the wild.

Her senses stretched across the quiet, alert.

Too quiet.

Only the rhythm of hoofbeats echoed between the trees.

White’s voice slid into her mind, low and tense.

"Master... I feel several hidden gazes watching us. Powerful ones."

Zora’s lashes fluttered, her gaze darkening.

The depths of her eyes rippled like black water, calm but edged with suspicion.

Is someone observing this hunt... from the shadows?

Who? And why?

The cultivation talent of the black-and-white furballs was nothing to scoff at. After years of training within the Ring of Chaos, both their power and mental acuity had sharpened into something truly formidable.

Even now, Zora knew she was no match for either of them in pure strength. That was precisely why she never allowed them to take risks in her place—she was the one who needed to grow.

And on matters of perception, she trusted White without reservation.

"This royal hunting game is different," she murmured, eyes narrowing. Light flickered within those ink-dark irises like a blade catching sunlight. "These rewards aren’t ordinary. The royal family wouldn’t offer something this extravagant without a deeper reason."

Black’s voice drifted out lazily, yet its tone remained alert. "The auras watching us carry no murderous intent. They’re observing, not hunting."

Meaning: someone—or several someones—had come not for the prey, but for the players.

Zora let out a soft, cool laugh. "Let them watch. I only need what I came for."

The rest was irrelevant.

"The Gale Wolf will be a nightmare for many of the participants," Black added with a smirk. "Especially those fragile defense-type cultivators. One mistake and they’ll be swept away."

"For me," Zora replied, "the wolf is not the real threat. People are."

Emperor Alexander had made the rules abundantly clear—

The winner is whoever presents the demon core.

Not whoever kills the wolf.

Meaning... even if someone risked their life to bring down the beast, another could steal the core afterward and walk out as champion.

And Zora was certain most contestants were thinking along those lines.

White and Black exchanged a silent, knowing thought.

They had seen enough human schemes to understand: The wolf was just the warm-up.

The true predators walked on two legs that can think.

"Master," Black asked carefully, "what’s your plan?"

Zora smiled, the edges of her lips lifting into something elegant yet unsettling. "We adapt as we go."

The horse’s hooves tapped rhythmically against the forest floor as she rode deeper into Mt. Philanos. This was still its outer ring; wild beasts rarely claimed territory here. But the further she went, the more the shadows thickened... and the more dangerous the possibilities became.

Time trickled by.

Zora’s luck was unusually good—no beasts, no ambushes.

Almost too peaceful.

"Master, someone is tailing us," Black whispered suddenly.

Zora’s expression did not shift; her posture remained relaxed, her smile serene. "Luna really can’t wait, can she? Let her follow."

Luna’s tracking skills were laughably crude—Zora had sensed her minutes ago.

No doubt the woman was burning with impatience, desperate to find a secluded spot to silence her once and for all.

Zora’s smile sharpened, acquiring a cold, playful curve.

If Luna wants a place to kill her... then she’ll be happy to choose one. 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

Some debts couldn’t be dragged any further.

Some knots had to be cut clean.

"And so," Zora murmured, guiding her horse deeper into the forest, "let’s settle this."*

Luna stalked silently through the dense underbrush, eyes fixed on the distant figure of Zora. She had long abandoned her horse; even the faintest hoofbeat might alert her prey.

For years, she had wanted a chance—just one chance—to get rid of that woman. Yet Zora was always surrounded, always protected, always frustratingly out of reach.

But today?

Today, the heavens themselves seemed to be assisting her.

The deeper they went, the more secluded the terrain became. No other contestants. No guards. No witnesses.

Luna’s scarred lips twisted into a jagged, triumphant smile.

Perfect. Absolutely perfect.

Behind her, the soft crunch of branches quickened—she was closing in.

And in front of her, Zora’s lips also curved upward, amusement shimmering in her eyes like frost catching light. "Well... well... come my dear sister..."