Isabel Was No Easy Mark

The outskirts of Bagpipe Town.

The Giant Prince Wolfram stood alone on the empty meadow, which had become dry in winter.

Wolfram's face did not show the anger and rage usually seen on giants, but was instead utterly calm.

His rational and detached voice rang out slowly. "I paid a price you can't imagine to escape from George. Now we have no way out... I hope the information you brought is true."

He used up all the remaining Demon Scholar who fanatically followed him as materials to set a trap to imprison the Grand Guardian George, and incidentally teleported himself across the entire Avalon from a diagonal position.

It could even be said that the core elite of the Noble Red has been wiped out.

The reason for all of this was that Cassiem sent a piece of information, and Wolfram immediately and without hesitation spent a huge amount of money to forcibly teleport over.

"You are not the only one who will pay the price, my respected His Highness the Prince."

A muffled yet unmistakably malicious and greedy voice rang out amidst the rolling thunder. "Those humans are nothing but slaves, toys, walking ritual materials and food reserves. What heavy price could that be considered?"

"Once we obtain the Book of Law, we can easily recruit more and stronger humans than this—I need your help, my esteemed His Highness the Prince."

As he spoke, a dark cloud appeared before the Giant King. The monstrous demon, snarling like a raven, covered in black scales, with black bat wings and thick crocodile feet, emerged from the void amidst a crackling of lightning.

His right hand dragged a halberd that crackled with electricity, causing bursts of fire to erupt on the dry, white grass, leaving a scorch mark. Meanwhile, a silver chain with sharp barbs was wrapped around his scaled left arm.

Completely different from Cassiem's irritable yet cautious personality.

With the power of Demon Avatar, he, now a fallen Punishment Demon, makes no attempt to conceal his confidence and greed—or rather, he has been trying his best to hide them.

Originally, he intended to find the Book of Law and deliver it to Prince Wolfram, but now the one who received the book has become "we." Perhaps once we actually get it, the pronoun will be changed back to "I." He now gives the impression that he's capable of doing such a thing.

However, Prince Wolfram was completely indifferent to the changes that had taken place in his subordinate and the only pure-blooded member of the society.

Or rather, he already knew the other's true character. He was only willing to work with him and share power because of Cassiem's lineage.

Unlike Cassiem's previous obsequious and disgusting attitude of hiding his desires, Prince Wolfram's interaction with the Punishment Demon was much more relaxed and natural. "What? You never believed in the existence of the Book of Law before, but now you finally do?"

"That is indeed an incredibly powerful force."

The Punishment Demon made no secret of its defeat. "I arrived a little too late, and Jacob's grandson obtained it... As a result, this Third Level demon was able to confront me head-on, and even gained the upper hand at one point. He forced me to become the Punishment Demon in order to survive. This was even with a group of Demon Scholar with me, and even after I became the Punishment Demon, he could still pose a threat to me."

"I can tell that his fighting style is not mature. It's more like a 'test' than a real fight... like a young man who suddenly gains power and then finds someone to test how far that power can go."

He was very familiar with this.

There are such people in the Noble Red.

"But if that's all he's capable of, you wouldn't be seeking my help. You would want to keep the Book of Law for yourself."

Prince Wolfram said, "Because you have also just become Punishment Demon and are not yet familiar with your new power. If you had just fallen short, you would have surely lay low and waited until your injuries healed and you became familiar with your power before striking again."

"So you must have encountered something else—tell me, I've already gotten through it all."

"—I encountered the Wild Hunt. Whenever I enter a battle, it's like a storm, and passing through Wild Hunt-prone areas easily attracts the Wild Hunt King."

The Punishment Demon replied, "It's already lucky that we escaped safely."

"...oh?"

Wolfram became slightly interested. "Which energy level Wild Hunt King?"

"At least the Fifth Level, and possibly the Sixth Level."

The Punishment Demon shared the information frankly. "I retreated immediately after the first engagement—to maintain my condition."

"But even if it's Sixth Level, we don't need to be afraid. Even if we can't defeat the Wild Hunt, we can still hold them off, while the other person can go and take the Book of Law."

"The Wild Hunt doesn't hunt the living. Once we have the loot, we'll leave and divide it in a safe place... how about that?"

"Then who will lure the Wild Hunt King?"

Prince Wolfram countered with a question.

The Punishment Demon chuckled and said, "Of course, it depends on each person's ability. But if you're worried, I can go in first."

His dark gold vertical pupils were full of malice.

He wasn't unaware of the Wild Hunt King's identity, nor was he ignorant of the other's power level—the elf Hellerchein, whose name was renowned even among the giants. Without him, those creatures might still be under the giants' rule. His death ignited the war against the giants.

Rather, it's because the Punishment Demon knew Hellerchein...

That's how he knew that no matter what order they entered Eagle Cape Village, Hellerchein would definitely keep his eyes on Prince Wolfram!

Hellerchein's deep-seated hatred for giants would invalidate the rule that "the Wild Hunt will not hunt the living."

The Wild Hunt King, Sixth Level, could very well kill Prince Wolfram if he were to relentlessly pursue him.

—His former master was ultimately a Fifth Level "Grand Wizard".

As an advanced class of Ritual Mage, he is far too dangerous... He could easily curse others to death; that evil Jacob is only at this level.

Now that the other party knows that I have become Punishment Demon, they may use various countermeasures and rituals against demons to target me... They may even set a trap to capture me, which is too dangerous.

He himself didn't dare to directly confront the world's strongest being at the Sixth Level. If the opponent were a demon, he might be able to give it a shot... but with the Wild Hunt, he'd better forget about it.

Summoning His Highness the Prince would be a win-win situation.

On one hand, he could keep the Wild Hunt King occupied, ensuring his plan to seize the Book of Law would proceed smoothly without further disruption; on the other hand, the Wild Hunt King would likely be able to kill his former superior, allowing him to become truly free.

In order to jointly fight against the Wild Hunt King and obtain the Book of Law, this plan could also prevent the His Highness the Prince from cursing him to death prematurely. After all, the Punishment Demon didn't know how many curse materials he had fallen into the prince's hands, and now that he had become the Punishment Demon, whether they would still be of any use—he dared not gamble.

—In short, I won three times!

The Punishment Demon.

On the other side, Glass Island, the Silver and Tin Palace.

Queen Sophia, lying in bed, was chatting with Ligeia was sitting on her bed. Suddenly, she paused, as if she had heard a sound.

She then gave a wry smile.

"What's wrong, Sofia?"

Ligeia raised an eyebrow, nuzzled Sofia's arm with her dragon horn, and raised her voice, "Did someone upset you? Want me to go beat them up?"

"It was George who submitted the report."

Queen Sophia said slowly, "He said that all the core members of the Noble Red, except for the two giant leaders Wolfram and Cassiem, have been brought to justice."

"Isn't this a good thing?"

Ligeia somewhat puzzled.

"Indeed, it would have been better if George hadn't immediately sent a copy of the message to the Bureau of Supervision and the Round Table Hall as well."

The Queen sighed, "You two are the same... upright and powerful, but clueless about people's hearts. Avalon does need a great victory to boost morale... but what we need now is a clear enemy, but not as powerful as Star Antimony, to increase cohesion."

During this period, Xingti's actions have been very intense.

After the Stibnite Person failed to rescue Drost and Avalon killed a group of Star Antimony spies... the Star Antimony side immediately retaliated by killing the same number of Avalon spies.

This is a very dangerous signal. On the one hand, it means that many of Avalon's spies embedded in Planet Antimony have actually been exposed, or that Planet Antimony has a very advanced ability to find spies, and the intelligence they send back may not be useful or true, while the remaining spies in the ambush may not be safe either.

On the other hand, this also means that Star Antimony's desire for war is very strong - they not only killed a group of inspectors sent by Avalon, but also distorted the truth in the newspapers.

They described Avalon's actions as "the Avalon ' intense xenophobia, which led them to kill Star Antimony travelers and merchants and seize their property," while describing the assassinated Avalon spies as "gang members who were accidentally killed in a fight with street thugs."

Sofia believes this is the Stibnite Person building momentum for an impending war. In contrast, Avalon is unprepared for this war.

This led to Edward's urgent recall from Iris time at the Iris Garden. Even so, the prospect of Iver becoming Minister of State still met with fierce opposition from the Round Table Hall —appointing a young man who had just come of age as a powerful minister was unheard of. The Round Table Hall used excuses such as his youth and lack of understanding of Avalon to raise objections.

Of course, as long as Sofia persists in pushing forward, their objections will not take effect.

However, it is also difficult to force them to relinquish their own interests and, in the event of Minister Drost's death, not to take advantage of the spoils he left behind, and to directly cooperate in entering a state of full-scale war preparation—war costs money, and so does war preparation.

In other words, they didn't actually want to oppose Iver's succession as Minister of State for Non-Action. They just wanted to find a pretext to gain some political leeway for themselves.

Now that there are no other heirs to the throne— Isabel lacks the Path of Authority them—they have begun to scheme against the Queen, whose health is deteriorating.

Ultimately, they still didn't want to fight the Stibnite Person.

The Stibium Kingdom's rule largely depends on the traditions of the Herasul Empire they inherited. Outside the sphere of influence of imperial culture, their influence is limited. Ultimately, they are governed by local governors.

The Narcissus Principality is a good example—aside from the killing of the Narcissus Duke, almost none of the high-ranking mages were replaced.

In other words, even if they lose, it won't affect them much. But if they keep fighting, it's uncertain who will die.

"Avalon is absolutely rotten."

After hearing Sofia's explanation, Ligeia scoffed, "Is this the Knight's Country? It's quite laughable."

"It's all my fault... I'm too old."

Sofia sighed, "If I were younger, these problems could be solved; or if the Shadow of Avalon Ritual were successful, the ancestors could protect Avalon."

"I think that if Lancelot I to be resurrected, the first people he would kill would be those Old Knight in the Round Table Hall."

Ligeia shook her head.

She knew why Sofia insisted on appointing Iver as a minister of state.

Essentially, the goal was to appoint the relatively trustworthy Iver as regent to stabilize Avalon during the transition of power.

If they don't take action, it's not easy for Ligeia to act either—and it's not easy for those with big names to act, because it would bring great unease and chaos to the civilians.

The strongest group of people in the country suddenly started using cruel methods to eliminate dissidents on a large scale... Everyone knows what this means.

This means chaos.

Eliminating those individuals could create a power and profit vacuum, leading to a sudden standstill in certain sectors and triggering a series of unknown and unpredictable consequences. It could also cause the remaining individuals to fight amongst themselves for control of these resources, and the person ultimately reinstated might not be any more reliable than the previous ones.

Similarly, granting the title of Regent Iver would also easily be considered taboo.

But the "Ministers of No Interest" are different. They are all of equal rank, and it's perfectly normal for them to attack each other, especially within their own jurisdiction... As long as the Queen pretends not to hear, she can let Iver attack others. If they get agitated, the Queen can take their side; if they don't, Iver can gradually seize their power.

Ligeia lacks a long-term perspective on such matters, and listening to anyone's advice could lead to her being taken advantage of.

Therefore, she trusted no one and obeyed only the Queen's orders.

Although Queen Sophia forcefully implemented many policies in her youth, her administrative style tended towards conservatism as she aged. Her previous plans were largely based on the Shadow of Avalon, but now that the ritual has failed, Avalon immediately left with no way out.

Now the Stibnite Person are eager to try their luck, and any wound could attract their bites.

Actually, if you really put your mind to it, these problems aren't unsolvable.

However, those on the Path of Authority tend to be conservative and stable, especially at higher levels. Even the Silver Crowned Dragon is no exception. This is a mindset determined by the Path Trait.

"Initially, the Round Table Hall was founded to emulate the Round Table Knights who advocated 'equality' and 'unity.' The Founding Family were also descendants of heroes who sacrificed themselves for Avalon..."

Sofia sighed, "How did it all come to this..."

At this point, we have no choice but to trust Iver.

She also knew that it was despicable to place such a heavy burden on a young person.

But she had no choice, and neither did Avalon.

"I think you're overthinking it. He'll probably be happy to go on a killing spree."

Ligeia remarked, "That kid is no pushover."

An update of nearly 8,000 words! Here it is!

I actually finished writing this chapter at 8:40 this morning. I had insomnia again last night. I felt like my breath was hot, and one of my nostrils was blocked. I was also incredibly thirsty and my throat was hoarse, so I couldn't sleep at all. I got up at 4 a. m. and wrote over 7,000 words... Unfortunately, my sleep schedule is going to be completely messed up again, sob sob...

I'll correct the typos when I wake up, probably in the afternoon!