The Valiant Warrior Returns

Phantom Prison...

In this prison, the world's most notorious and vicious criminals were locked away, each infamous for a lengthy and daunting list of crimes.

Special agents who had stolen national secrets, assassins responsible for the deaths of presidents, and warlords who had massacred tens of thousands were all here...

Dominik Gilbert, dressed in the attire of a prison guard, was in his father Cormac Gilbert's study writing with precision and force in each stroke of his pen.

"Mr. Gilbert, there's a problem. Grimslayer and Greedfang are fighting..." A guard burst in, breathless and clearly panicked.

Dominik nodded and casually tossed a note to him. "Take my message and tell them to clean the toilets for three days. If they don't comply, I'll personally stuff their heads back in the toilet."

"Yes, Mr. Gilbert!" The guard hesitated briefly, then snatched the note and dashed off.

Grimslayer was notorious as the king of killers in the assassin world, jailed for the assassination of the president of Mordona.

Greedfang led a vast underground organization and was behind bars for trafficking in nuclear warheads.

"Mr. Gilbert, there's more bad news. Butcher complained about the cafeteria food and started a brawl, injuring several men!" Another guard rushed in, flustered.

Dominik raised an eyebrow and handed over another note. "Tell him to wash dishes in the kitchen for a month. Let him know that if he refuses, I'll personally hang him in the square for three days and nights."

The guard accepted the note and left in a hurry.

Butcher, a terror warlord who had slaughtered over ten thousand prisoners, viewed human life as disposable.

Dominik slapped his forehead and muttered a curse. "So many problems in this little prison. It's been three years since my dad left with no news, and it really bothers me!"

He exited the study and checked the time, heading to the yard for his usual inspection.

When Dominik appeared in the yard, the inmates immediately stood at attention, their heads bowed, not daring to meet his gaze.

"Mr. Gilbert..." A wealthy businessman from Sruburgh, found guilty of serious monopoly crimes, bowed deeply.

"Hey, Mr. Gilbert!" greeted the former head of the Mordona Military Intelligence Agency, notorious for selling national secrets.

None of the prisoners here were ordinary. Each one had a reputation that could shake a region.

Yet, at this moment, they all bowed their heads and addressed Dominik with deep respect.

"I'm not in a good mood lately. I hope you all behave yourselves," Dominik declared.

"Uh... yes, yes!" The prisoners were taken aback, quickly agreeing.

No sooner had Dominik returned to his office than a guard rushed in urgently. "Mr. Gilbert..."

Dominik frowned, displeased. "What's wrong now?"

"Well... this time it's not the inmates causing trouble. There's a general outside escorting a prisoner here, and she's a very beautiful female general," the guard explained with a grin.

Dominik nodded in acknowledgment.

"This female general asked to see you specifically, claiming she knows your father!" the guard added.

Dominik was surprised. "Knows my dad? Let's go take a look..."

Outside the prison, dozens of soldiers stood guard, overseeing a cage where a gloomy man was imprisoned.

"Ha, when I get out of here, you'll all pay, one by one. None of you will escape!" the man threatened, his voice dripping with menace.

The soldiers around him shifted uncomfortably, wary of becoming targets of his wrath.

Standing beside him, a woman radiated authority. Her uniform bore two stars on her epaulet, signaling her high rank. She was tall, her presence commanding attention with each poised step.

This was Sylvia Hewitt, the eldest daughter of the prestigious Hewitt family from Frutshire.

She watched as Dominik emerged from the prison. His attire was a simple prison guard uniform, lacking any hint of vigor, which she found distasteful.

"You are Dominik Gilbert, aren't you?" Sylvia asked, looking down at him. The golden stars on her epaulet caught the light, underscoring her superiority.

Annoyance flickered in Dominik's eyes as he met her gaze. "Who have you captured?"

"The Dreadlord of the Four Kings, Whisker. The higher-ups have ordered his detention here." Sylvia stepped closer, extending a document to Dominik.

He signed it with a nonchalant flick of his pen and looked up. "What do you want from me?"

"I am Sylvia Hewitt," she stated flatly. "I am here to remind you that our worlds are vastly different."

Dominik's expression tightened at her words.

Sylvia's indifferent eyes scanned the two small white stars on his badge, signifying his low rank as a second-level prison guard.

"I have decided to call off our engagement," she declared, her voice devoid of emotion. She looked at him, pity in her eyes for Dominik. As the son of the Gilbert family's master, he was now reduced to guarding a dilapidated prison.

"Do you object?"

Without waiting for his response, she produced an engagement contract and tore it in half, the sound sharp in the quiet. The soldiers behind her exchanged looks, their disdain for Dominik clear.

How could a mere prison guard deserve to marry Silvia? She was already a major general. Thinking of this, the soldiers sneered.

Sylvia sighed, her expression softening slightly. "I know this is hard for you, but it's clear we're not meant to be."

Her eyes shifted pointedly from the insignia on her shoulder to his.

Dominik remained silent.

"As compensation for the broken engagement, here's my business card," Sylvia continued, offering him the card. "You can call on me to do two favors for you. As the former heir to the Gilbert estate, I suggest you leave this place soon. Maybe there's still a chance for you to reclaim your former stature. I'll leave Dreadlord to you. Make sure he stays in the cage, or else many people will die. To capture him, our military lost many elite soldiers, and I even sustained a slight injury."

After delivering her instructions, Sylvia turned briskly and climbed into her car. She did not wait for Dominik's response but immediately directed her team to depart.

"Ever since he left the Gilbert family, he has completely deteriorated. Guarding in such a hopeless place; no matter his past talents, he's bound to become just another mediocrity. I spoke to him, and he didn't even bother to reply. Clearly, he recognizes the disparity between us," she thought out loud with a soft chuckle. If Dominik used the business card she had given him, she might offer him a chance to leave the prison and possibly join the military, potentially restoring some of his former status.

Watching Sylvia's car pull away, Dominik appeared stunned. After a moment, he crushed the business card in his hand.

"What's wrong with her?" Dominik muttered under his breath as he casually unlocked the large cage.

The Dreadlord immediately pushed the door open and grinned sinisterly at him. "Kid, you should take that woman's advice! I can't believe you're involved with Sylvia, the Goddess of War in Sruburgh! You're pitiful, getting dumped by her... Tsk, I feel so sorry for you that I can't bear to kill you..."

Without hesitation, Dominik delivered a sharp slap across the Dreadlord's face, knocking the notorious criminal unconscious.

"I'm not in the mood for chatter," Dominik snapped irritably, then grabbed the Dreadlord by the ankle and dragged him back into the prison, treating him like a lifeless object.

"Mr. Gilbert, Mr. Gilbert, your mail!" a mailman called out, rushing over and thrusting an envelope into Dominik's hands. He cast a casual glance at the new prisoner, who lay on the ground like a discarded doll.

Eagerly tearing open the envelope, Dominik extracted a letter. "My dad's letter!"

He quickly scanned the contents, then his expression changed suddenly. "Wait, is he asking me to marry Ruby Harper again?"

Dominik studied the letter in his hands, his lips quivering intensely. Ruby was his childhood friend.

Even in their youth, Ruby was quite the beauty, and he suspected she had only become more elegant over time.

Cormac's words were so stern that Dominik was left with no choice but to heed his requirement.

The following morning, the prisoners cheerfully bid Dominik farewell from Phantom Prison. With the departure of this horrible prison guard, who was like a demon in their eyes, they were free to engage in their usual antics.

"I'll be back anytime. Make sure to note down any troublemakers while I'm gone. Record every single offense!" Dominik instructed those prison guards, smiling broadly.

The previously boisterous prisoners fell silent, each shivering slightly.

Dominik gave a few known troublemakers a sharp look, scoffed, and walked away from Phantom Prison, where he had spent over a decade. He then boarded a plane bound for Zlexvale.

"Why must I run into her again?!" Dominik grumbled as he entered the first-class cabin and saw that one of the eight seats was taken by Sylvia, whom he had recently encountered.

Sylvia, now in black casual attire instead of her usual military uniform, still radiated a commanding presence.

On seeing Dominik, Sylvia appeared slightly shocked, shook her head subtly, and chose to remain quiet.

"Didn't Miss Hewitt explain to you already? You and she are from different worlds. Why follow her onto this plane?" Sylvia's assistant, Trudy Curtis, whispered irritably, her face betraying her frustration.

Dominik paused, a flicker of contempt crossing his face as he took out a magazine, ignoring the two women entirely.

Sylvia frowned. She had little patience for men who clung to the past.

When they had met at Phantom Prison's entrance, Dominik kept silent. Now, he secretly followed her onto the plane cheekily, which made her disdain for him grow.

A man should know when to let go and move on!

Suddenly, three men burst into the cabin, brandishing handguns at Sylvia.

"General Hewitt, arresting our boss has caused us considerable trouble!" the leader declared with a malicious grin, disengaging his weapon's safety.

The passengers in the first-class cabin were all stunned. How on earth did these three manage to smuggle guns onto the plane?

Dominik glanced at the gunmen, then casually picked up his magazine again, acting as if he were suddenly blind to the danger.

Trudy turned pale with shock. She hadn't expected Whisker's henchmen to be so audacious as to board the plane!

She glanced at Dominik, who was positioned out of the gunmen's direct line of sight. If he acted now, they could potentially turn the situation around.

However, Dominik remained detached, seemingly captivated by whatever was in the magazine.

"This useless coward! It's fortunate that Miss Hewitt called off their engagement!" Trudy complained in her heart contemptuously, though her anxiety mounted.

Sylvia spoke up, her voice steady. "Oh? It seems not all of Whisker's men were caught by me? Or perhaps there are others backing him?"

The leader of the gunmen sneered. "General Hewitt, you shouldn't worry about that. Just come with us quietly!"

Trudy cast another hopeful look at Dominik, thinking that their only chance depended on his intervention.

"What a coward!" Trudy muttered under her breath, frustrated as Dominik didn't even glance their way.

Sylvia faced the three dangerous men directly, a slight smile playing on her lips. She said, "Do you know the saying from the martial arts world of Sruburgh-'one could be killed easily within inches'?"

The men's faces tensed, and they barked, "Cut the talk! If you don't want to die, come with us now!"

As they finished their threat, Sylvia leaped from her seat like a bolt of lightning. She moved with incredible agility, disarming one man in a swift motion while her palm struck his throat. A crisp snap echoed as he collapsed to the floor. Before the second could react, he was down, struck on the forehead, his fate uncertain.

The third assassin, seizing his chance, aimed his gun.

Dominik glanced at him. Any delay to the flight would be inconvenient.

Dominik flicked his finger and tapped the assassin's lower back lightly. The sudden, intense pain caused the man to faint, his finger slipping off the trigger he was about to pull.

In the next moment, Sylvia's long leg swept through the air, striking the assassin's head and sending him crashing to the floor.

To the onlookers, it appeared Sylvia had single-handedly subdued the three dangerous men effortlessly.

Trudy was astonished. She had not expected Sylvia to take down three armed men so swiftly and without endangering any bystanders.

"I apologize for the alarm," Sylvia addressed the cabin with a slight bow and a reassuring smile. "I will arrange for this to be handled promptly. It won't delay our flight."

One passenger recognized her and exclaimed, "Aren't you General Sylvia Hewitt? The newly rising star of our country, hailed as the Goddess of War!"

"Indeed, you are General Hewitt. It's an honor to share a flight with you," another passenger added.

With a laugh, another chimed in, "With General Hewitt aboard, this flight couldn't be safer! Just a minor hiccup; there's no need for concern, General Hewitt."

Once Sylvia was recognized, a wave of praise swept through the cabin.

Soon, military personnel arrived to escort the subdued assailants away, ensuring the flight proceeded without further delay.

Trudy cast a disdainful glance at Dominik. She thought little of his inaction.

Sylvia addressed Dominik calmly, "We are not from the same world. Stop following me; it won't change my mind."

Trudy sneered. "If you keep clinging to Miss Hewitt, don't expect any mercy from me!"

These words drew everyone's attention, and they looked at Dominik with disdain.

Dominik, however, ignored the sarcastic remarks. As long as his flight wasn't delayed, he was content.

Upon arriving at Zlexvale Airport, he promptly disembarked with his luggage.

"Huh? What's this?" Trudy noticed a letter on Dominik's seat and handed it to Sylvia.

Sylvia glanced at the letter and paused, a smile spreading across her face. "He wasn't following me; he came for another woman. It's better this way. He should now see clearly that we are different. After today, he should let go of any lingering thoughts."

As Dominik stepped out of the airport, he recognized a familiar figure.

"Mr. Gilbert!" he called out, a smile breaking across his face.

The surrounding passengers were visibly shocked.

"Who is that? Am I seeing things, or is that Bruce Higgins, the richest man in Zlexvale?"

"Mr. Higgins is bowing to a young man? Could he be someone significant from Frutshire?"

"My goodness, Bruce is always so arrogant and lofty. Who could be worthy of such respect from him? This young man must be someone special..."

Dominik chuckled and climbed into Bruce's Rolls-Royce.

As Sylvia stepped out of the airport gate, a luxury Rolls-Royce whizzed past her. She caught a glimpse of a familiar figure through the window.

"What? That must be my imagination." Sylvia laughed to herself. Dominik, ousted from the Gilbert family, couldn't possibly be riding in such a luxurious car.

Bruce, the richest man in Zlexvale, lived a life that was nothing short of legendary, filled with both high peaks and deep valleys.

Dominik had been instrumental during Bruce's two-year stint in Phantom Prison, helping him clear his name and staging a remarkable comeback.

Dominik had truly been a significant benefactor in Bruce's life.

"Mr. Higgins, I really appreciate you coming to the airport to pick me up," said Dominik with a smile.

"My pleasure, Mr. Gilbert. It's the least I could do!" Bruce replied with a laugh. "Here, I've brought you a gift-two bottles of Château Lafite Rothschild."

"Why would you bring a gift for me?" asked Dominik, surprised.

Bruce smiled. "Isn't it customary to bring some gifts for a marriage proposal? I've been saving these two bottles of Château Lafite Rothschild for many years. They're perfect gifts for your proposal!"

Dominik considered this. He couldn't very well go empty-handed to meet the Harper family.

Initially, it was Cormac who had assisted Aydan Harper in starting his business. After Dominik and his father were ousted from the Gilbert family, the Harper family had supported them for a time.

Cormac wanted Dominik to marry Aydan's daughter, Ruby.

Holding his luggage and the two bottles of wine, Dominik entered the Harper family's courtyard. In the living room, Aydan, whom he hadn't seen for many years, was seated prominently at the head of the table.

"Hey, Dominik, I received a letter from your father two weeks ago. I've been eagerly awaiting your arrival!" Aydan announced loudly, full of vigor, as he came forward to shake Dominik's hand vigorously.

Seeing Aydan, Dominik smiled. "Long time no see, Aydan!"

"You've come at the perfect time. You should head over to City Hall with Ruby to get the marriage certificate," said Aydan.

A young girl on the side let out a cold snort. Her face was filled with disgust and disdain.

She was dressed in a snow-white outfit, a delicate golden belt accentuating her slender waist. Her makeup enhanced her attractive features, and her long legs peeked out from under her skirt, adding to her allure.

Phyllis Harper, Aydan's wife, frowned repeatedly. She couldn't understand why Aydan had dismissed the Warren family's proposal in favor of this unremarkable prison guard.

"Well, Aydan... Isn't this a bit rushed?" Dominik said, scratching his head awkwardly.

"This decision was made a long time ago," Aydan replied with a smile.

Ruby stared coldly at Dominik. "I didn't expect you to end up a prison guard. What a loser!"

"It's been a long time, Ruby," Dominik replied, nodding with a smile.

Ruby shook her head as she looked at the childhood friend with whom she had once gotten along so well. Time had shown her that they were not meant to be.

Despite her reservations, her father's command left her no choice but to accept this ill-suited match, which she believed was doomed from the start.

Phyllis pointed at Dominik and said, "Aydan, think about how our friends and relatives will react. What will they say when you marry your daughter to someone like him? Look at him. After all these years, he is still just a prison guard. And he even brought two bottles of counterfeit wine on his first visit. Are you really sure you want to marry your daughter to him?"

Dominik responded lightly, "Phyllis, this wine is Château Lafite Rothschild, and Mr. Hi..."

Phyllis immediately sneered, filled with disdain. "We have several cases of Château Lafite Rothschild at home. Do you want me to bring them out and show you the difference? Do you even know what it's worth? Can a mere prison guard like you afford it?"

Facing Phyllis' questioning, Dominik just smiled and kept silent.

"That's enough!" Aydan shouted angrily. "This discussion is over! Ruby, take Dominik to City Hall immediately to register!"

Ruby's face showed clear reluctance, but she gritted her teeth and accompanied Dominik to City Hall to get the marriage certificates.

"Is this really what getting married looks like?" Dominik asked himself helplessly as he looked at the documents in his hand.

"You need to understand, we are not from the same world," Ruby said coldly to Dominik. "You're just a lowly second-tier prison guard, and I am the CEO of the Harper Group. I expect you to be sensible. Don't hold any illusions about me. We'll divorce as soon as my father consents."

After her words, Ruby stormed into her car, slammed the door, and sped away.

Dominik watched the taillights of the luxury car fade into the distance. He shrugged helplessly, wondering if he had been left behind.

"Do all these women have the same script? Why do they always say we're from different worlds? Are they aliens?" Dominik pondered out loud.

Shaking his head, Dominik pulled a door card from his pocket and muttered, "Well, I might as well find a place to stay first. If Night Lord has fooled me, I'll hang him in the prison toilet for three days and nights when I get back."

As soon as Night Lord heard Dominik was headed to Zlexvale, he had sent him this door card. It was the key to his villa in the city, which he claimed was the best in Zlexvale.

Just as Dominik exited City Hall, he saw Sylvia alighting from a rather formidable Jeep.

"It seems you've already married Ruby, becoming the Harper family's son-in-law. That should at least keep you fed and clothed," Sylvia remarked nonchalantly.

"What does it matter to you?" Dominik retorted with a smirk, not appreciating her attitude.

Sylvia's face didn't change as she continued, "You, an ordinary prison guard, trying to find your footing in the Harper family and their business won't be easy. Considering our past engagement, and the fact that I ended it, I'm offering you the chance to ask for my help. Don't be ashamed of being a live-in son-in-law. Ruby is a desirable woman; many dream of being in your position. You have an opportunity many would envy. If you need assistance establishing yourself in the Harper family, you can contact me anytime."

Dominik looked at Sylvia indifferently. After a deep glance, he responded, "I'm sure of it now. You have mental issues! Trying to establish myself in the Harper family? Even your Hewitt family is just a bunch of nobodies in my eyes. Put away your lofty airs. My well-being has nothing to do with you!"

With that, he walked away.

Sylvia's expression darkened. Feeling somewhat guilty for ending their engagement, she had hoped to make amends. However, she didn't anticipate his harsh rejection.

"You talk a big game, but if you're so ambitious, why be the live-in son-in-law?" Sylvia muttered as she got into her Jeep, pressed the gas, and drove off. The Jeep's roaring engine seemed to echo her disdain for Dominik.

Dominik then made his way to the Skytop Villa Area, Zlexvale's enclave of the wealthy. Night Lord's villa was perched at the very peak of Skytop Hill.