Chapter 195: Thanks for the Wedding Gift, Empress
“Have you found Meggie yet?” the Empress asked, standing outside the main city of Alaye, gazing at the city walls in the distance.
Her beautiful face was etched with worry. The battle reports from the front lines had far exceeded her expectations.
Under normal circumstances, even without further support, her forces should have been able to achieve a certain level of victory. There would have been casualties, but not such a devastating loss.
After a detailed inquiry, she learned about the casualties on each side. She was especially furious when she learned that the Xiya Kingdom had suffered zero losses.
However, she couldn’t change the facts. All she could do now was capture Alaye as quickly as possible and seize the Pope’s authority.
Only a complete and unified Temple of the Celestial God could allow her to smoothly proceed with her subsequent plans.
The most crucial requirement was that the Pope should not survive.
“I apologize, Your Majesty. We haven’t been able to ascertain the Pope’s whereabouts. However, based on our intelligence analysis, Her Holiness has likely left Alaye.”
The imperial minister lowered his head, his old face filled with fear.
He knew the Empress well and understood that her outward calmness masked a simmering rage.
If he had to describe the Empress, it would be as a fickle tyrant.
She always maintained an impassive expression, but every time she got angry, it would bring about a bloodbath.
The Empress was undoubtedly exceptionally capable, but her personality wasn’t much better than the Pope’s.
“I know she left Alaye. I even know where she went. But what I want to know is what she’s doing now. Why hasn’t she made any moves after such a major incident?”
The Empress casually took out a gold coin, broke it in half, and threw it on the ground. This was her usual way of venting her frustration.
The Pope’s behavior was very abnormal. Logically, she should have returned as soon as the Empress surrounded Alaye, but a day had passed, and she hadn’t received any news.
Kailun in the Xiya Kingdom had indeed been targeted for assassination, but he had survived, indicating that the Xiya Kingdom still possessed considerable strength.
Kailun’s brazen act of holding a wedding further confirmed her suspicions. Therefore, the Empress had temporarily abandoned the idea of a direct attack.
However, with the Pope’s strength, even if the assassination had failed, she should have been able to retreat safely. So where was she now?
“Forget it, it’s useless to dwell on this now. Focus on the attack. Try to break through Alaye’s defensive magic circle within five days. For every day you delay, I’ll deduct ten years’ worth of resources from you. After five days, I’ll randomly execute two unlucky souls.”
The Empress broke another gold coin in half, glared at the minister, and then walked towards her residence.
“Clink!”
The broken gold coin landed on the ground, colliding with other coins, producing a crisp sound. If you looked at the ground, you would see a pile of broken gold coins where the Empress had been standing.
“This…”
Cold sweat dripped down the minister’s forehead. If they couldn’t break through the defensive magic circle within ten days, he would probably be one of the unlucky ones.
However, Alaye, as the headquarters of the Holy Temple, was heavily fortified. Even if they gave it their all, they might not be able to complete the task within the time limit. The Empress was making things difficult for them.
He sighed, watching her retreating figure, and squatted down. He couldn’t waste these gold coins. He would have them melted and recast for the Empress to use next time.
A few hours passed, and it was late at night.
The minister heard an explosion coming from the Empress’s room. When he rushed over, he saw the Empress clutching her communication device, her eyes bloodshot.
“Go, bring me a chest of gold coins! No! Not enough! Bring me ten chests!”
The Empress was desperately trying to control her anger. She had just received news that the Abyss had suddenly launched a counterattack. The leader, already injured, had resisted stubbornly, but seeing that the situation was unfavorable, he had retreated with his men.
However, according to the leader’s report, his subordinates had been too slow and were caught and killed. Only he had survived.
The Empress naturally didn’t believe this. She believed that the leader had abandoned his subordinates and fled alone.
This way, she had not only lost the mine but also precious manpower.
It wasn’t an exaggeration to say that this battle had cost the Temple of the Celestial God thousands of years of accumulated resources. The negative impact was immeasurable.
“Wait, go and urge the Empire’s mage corps to speed up the construction of the magic circle. Tell them to finish it within half a month.”
The Empress suddenly remembered something and quickly reminded the minister.
According to her master plan, she needed to set up three world-class ninth-rank magic circles. When activated simultaneously, they would achieve an effect beyond that of ninth-rank magic.
The main magic circle should be located within the Temple of the Celestial God, while the other two should be in Kuye Town in the Xiya Kingdom and the center of the Abyss.
But now, she couldn’t reach Kuye Town, and she had even lost the Abyss, which was almost within her grasp.
Now, she just wanted to capture Alaye as quickly as possible and complete the main magic circle. Then she would try to contact the White Jade Alliance and borrow two locations from them as substitutes.
The effect wouldn’t be as good as using the Abyss and Kuye Town, but it was the only option she had.
To set the world back on track, any sacrifice was worth it.
Some people shouldn’t exist. Those who had stolen the “fruit” of that entity would eventually be punished.
“Go quickly. After urging those lazy mages, bring the gold coins to my room.” The Empress rubbed her forehead, trying to control her rage.
“As you command, Your Majesty.”
The elderly minister bowed and quietly retreated.
The Empress’s volatile personality made him wonder if she was going through menopause. She hadn’t been like this before.
It was as if she had acquired an aura that didn’t belong to her, making her seem even more contradictory.
……
[The Empress is extremely furious about your counterattack. Goodwill -40, Total Goodwill -40]
In the middle of the night, Kailun once again received a “gift” from the Empress. He hadn’t expected her to be so generous, giving him 40% of her attributes at once, even more generous than the Pope.
Through reverse calculations based on the Empress’s attributes, he discovered that her strength was actually higher than the Pope’s. This was an interesting discovery.
Kailun glanced at Carol, who looked exhausted. Although he hadn’t been able to obtain her attributes, the kind-hearted Empress had compensated him.
Thank you, Empress. You’re a good person. He would give her a luxurious cell in the future.
In terms of combat power, Carol was stronger than Afra, but only slightly. At full strength, she was about twice as strong as Afra.
However, she was only at the seventh rank now and still had a lot of room for growth. In terms of potential, she far surpassed Afra.
It was time for a break. Kailun recalled the events of yesterday’s wedding.
Not only Carol, but even he had felt a strange sensation, a feeling of unreality.
Kailun decided to ask Isabella about it later, hoping to get a useful answer.
As for the battle on the main battlefield, it had come to an end. Kailun, thanks to his well-prepared chaotic battle plan, had achieved the final victory.
The old Dragon King Bolton had gained control of the Abyss through this war. He would represent the Abyss in signing a formal alliance treaty with the Xiya Kingdom.
The distribution of the mines had been adjusted to a 30/70 split.
30% for the Abyss, 70% for Kailun.
If it had been before, Bolton might have refused outright. But after this war, he had also understood many things.
The entire Dragon Clan was down to just him and Bella. Everyone else had their own agendas. He might as well take this opportunity to build a good relationship with Kailun, considering it an early dowry for Bella.
Kailun was the biggest winner in this war, and the Temple of the Celestial God was the biggest loser.
The Pope had agreed to the new cooperation. Now it was time for his counterattack.
Currently, Carol and Afra were his trump cards. The former possessed extraordinary talent, while the latter had received his full attribute boost.
The only regret was that most of the “fireworks” had been intercepted outside the Empire. Dean Edlin’s mission had completely failed. She was now on her way back under Kailun’s orders, her debt increasing by another 300,000 gold coins.
After briefly processing some information, Kailun put his communication device on the pillow beside him and gently shook Carol’s smooth shoulder, but he couldn’t wake her up.
To ensure his “domestic dominance,” Kailun had given Carol a portion of his attributes, increasing her constitution.
With the night still young, he started another “special lesson.”
The first lesson after the wedding: Tolerance had its limits.
[Carol’s Goodwill +3, Total Goodwill 105]
Kailun wasn’t sure if a goodwill rating exceeding 100 was a good thing or a bad thing. He felt that Carol’s gaze was a bit strange, like an excessive obsession.
He shook his head and focused on Carol. “I told you before, if you can get out of bed tomorrow, it’s my failure. So give up struggling.”
“Ugh~”
Carol couldn’t speak, her mind hazy as she seemed to see the afterlife.
After a few more hours, under Kailun’s “guidance,” Carol gradually recognized her limits and fell into a deep sleep. Even with Kailun’s increased constitution allocation, it was difficult to wake her up. She was utterly exhausted.
In her dream, thousands of horses galloped across the plains, shaking the earth. The grasslands they passed through were devoid of grass, no matter how deep the roots.
At 8:00 AM, Kailun, feeling refreshed, left the bedroom. He should have taken Carol to see his parents, but she didn’t even have the strength to get out of bed, so he gave up.
He saw the maids cleaning the small building in the corridor, removing some unnecessary decorations.
After asking around, he learned that his mother was touring the Royal City with Lady Laurist, and his father had gone fishing outside the city with Marquis Laurist and the others. It seemed like they were all enjoying themselves, so he didn’t have to worry.
Having lost his reason for checking on them, he went to Isabella’s room and knocked on the door.
Kailun: “Isabella, are you there? I have something I want to ask you.”
“Aah! Wait! Don’t come in! Don’t!”
As soon as he finished speaking, Kailun heard Isabella’s panicked cry. She seemed flustered, her voice trembling.
“Don’t worry, I can wait.” Kailun tried to soothe her.
“I’ll be right there, just a moment… Ah!”
Isabella suddenly screamed, followed by a crash. Not only the sound of a teacup shattering but also a clear thud of someone falling.
Kailun frowned and pushed the door open, rushing inside. He saw a girl, much larger than Isabella, lying on the ground.
Black coffee from the overturned teacup on the table had splashed all over her, soaking her short clothes.
She was lying on her stomach, seemingly injured, looking pitiful.
The girl was about 1.7 meters tall, with a good figure, but her clothes were like those of a little girl looking oddly out of place.
Her short top exposed her abdomen and belly button, a sight that was both fair and pleasing to the eye.
However, what caught his attention the most was the incongruous white miniskirt and white knee-high socks. The skirt barely covered her pert bottom, and the stockings clung tightly to her thighs, exuding youthful vigor.
“Are you Isabella?” Kailun’s gaze finally landed on her gray hair, the identical color reminding him of Isabella instantly.
“I’m not Isabella. I don’t know where Isabella is.”
The embarrassed Isabella quickly got up from the ground. She hadn’t expected to encounter such an accident after successfully activating the magic for the first time.
Her chest was wet and uncomfortable, and her arm hurt, probably cut by a shard of the teacup.
She clenched her legs and glared at Kailun resentfully. If it weren’t for his interruption, she wouldn’t be in this predicament.
“Get out! I need to take a bath and change!” She pushed Kailun’s shoulders, trying to get him out of her room.
“Since you’re not Isabella, there’s no need for me to leave. This is my house.” Kailun smiled and grabbed Isabella’s hand.
Startled, she quickly covered her chest with her other hand. “What are you doing?”
Isabella suddenly realized that she was no longer her petite self. Her grown-up form possessed an irresistible charm, her natural allure radiating a captivating aura.
“You’re injured. Let’s treat the wound first, then you can take a bath. I’ll have Winnie bring you some suitable clothes.”
Kailun released Isabella’s wrist and gently pushed her towards the bathroom.
Isabella stared blankly at the wound on her arm, which had already disappeared. “Oh… Wait, I told you I’m not Isabella. I’m Isabella’s older sister.”
“Okay, Isabella’s older sister. I understand, Isabella’s older sister. Now, please wash off the coffee while answering my questions.”
Kailun closed the bathroom door and walked over to the messy table. He cast a cleaning spell and asked, “So, Isabella’s older sister, did you notice anything unusual at yesterday’s wedding?”
“Yesterday’s wedding… Let me think.”
Isabella leaned against the door, a thoughtful expression on her face. “If I remember correctly, there were violent fluctuations in the threads of fate yesterday. But fortunately, nothing happened. At least, I didn’t notice any further changes.”
“Is that so? I understand.”
Kailun nodded, not asking any further questions.
It seemed he had to find an opportunity to contact that entity.
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