Chapter 116

In games, you can only admire your wife from behind a screen, but in real life, you can do whatever you want without any problems.

Obviously, the return on investment in reality is off the charts!

"Oh oh oh oh oh oh!"

"This... wow~ That's amazing!"

"...(10,000 words omitted after revision)"

"... Shally, you really are my favorite!"

What does it mean to be the best Blood Knight in the world?!

Splash~

The sound of running water in the bathroom grew louder and louder.

"..."

"..."

Midway through the battle, Ryan suddenly had a strange idea.

What would it be like if we switched to the character's perspective at this moment?

"Master Ryan definitely doesn't have any strange fetishes; he's just curious."

"Shally, you can cooperate with me now... um, you know, understand? Yes, yes, that's it."

"The main purpose is to verify; practice makes perfect."

This is Ryan's golden touch, which he relies on for survival. Of course, he has to examine it carefully and thoroughly. What if there are problems due to a lack of understanding, and it fails at a crucial moment?

But...

To be honest, the AI Auto-Battle's ability to handle things on its own is truly amazing. Because the characters are created with a persona, each character has a very distinct personality.

'Lin Qi' is cold, 'Ina' is hot, and 'Shally'... is very energetic!

Ryan let 'Shally' act on her own, but after opening the game and switching to 'Shally's' character interface, he felt things were getting strange in various ways.

The image of himself so close to the screen was so intense that Ryan immediately turned off the game.

Oh my god! This is so weird!!!

It was so bizarre that Ryan simply couldn't handle the shock... and unsurprisingly, he surrendered.

"Phew~"

Ryan came out of the bathroom, drying himself with a towel. He felt that his body was still strong and he could still fight, but there were some things he just couldn't control.

"Damn it, those crappy novels that take an hour or two to read are definitely a scam."

'Shally' is not shy; to her, everything can be seen as a battle.

With 'Shally's' physique, she completely overwhelmed Ryan in every sense.

"You seem very frustrated." 'Shally' followed behind, tilting her head slightly. "Did I do something wrong just now?"

She pursed her lips, as if there was still a strange taste in them.

"Ah, no... you did it perfectly, it's my fault."

Ryan found it hard to describe his feelings at this moment. He had imagined this scene countless times, but he never thought it would end in such a 'complete defeat'.

"No, phew~ I'm still young, I'll rest for half an hour before I come back!"

There's nothing an adult can't do. Ryan cleaned himself up, lay on the bed in a state of sage-like tranquility, and pondered his next move.

"I now control a quarter of the Southern Territory, and I can almost take over the remaining quarter directly. When that happens, with the Grand Duke's southward campaign plan, taking over the remaining territory will be a piece of cake."

"However, tomorrow is crucial. The Old Emperor is not one of our own, so we must be wary of him turning against us at any time. The Tribunal will most likely come to me tomorrow, but with the Princess there, it shouldn't be a big problem."

The Tribunal is a vertically managed institution, directly under the jurisdiction of the Imperial Capital, and Ryan has no authority over them.

So many nobles have suffered this time, and the cultists are just a nominal reason. What if someone really wants to investigate thoroughly? This world has never lacked a few stubborn people with strange tempers.

However, it doesn't matter in Berman City. As long as no one from the Imperial Capital comes, there won't be a problem. So, in the end, it all comes down to the Old Emperor's attitude. The other side can't possibly not suspect that he did it.

If the Old Emperor really does rebel, then Ryan plans to send Magana south directly to kick the Old Emperor out of power, which would nominally be a powerful alliance between the Her Highness the Princess and the Iron-Blooded Grand Duke.

Of course, he has only mastered a quarter of it, it's just the beginning, so the Old Emperor probably won't be in such a hurry.

Even if you're going to discard someone after they've finished grinding the millstone, you should wait until they've done it before taking action, right?

"Shally, does the Blood Pact affect you?" Ryan looked up and saw 'Shally' climbing onto the bed. Her firm breasts hung down like abundant autumn fruits, heavy and full of impact.

Hey, why are you wearing pajamas without a bra?

"It won't have an impact, but they will be affected."

Ryan opened 'Shally's' character profile and found that there were indeed no debuffs. As expected, the Chosen of the Gods are favored.

"We need to get Gruk to assemble the army tomorrow."

"Don't touch the puppet the Princess gave us for now; keep it as a trump card."

"And also..."

Just then, Ryan noticed that the mirror suddenly lit up.

He was taken aback.

Hurry up and put your clothes on.

"Magana?"

As 'Shally' asked the question, she also began to get dressed.

After a while, the mirror was set up, and the 'video' was connected.

"... Why did it take you so long to get here? Hmm? Why is she here too?"

In the mirror, Magana saw 'Shally' appear and frowned. What's going on? How come you're in the same room? And why is your hair still wet?

The Grand Duke was very unhappy.

A third person has somehow found out her secret communication method with Ryan.

"Your Grand Duke, have you forgotten? I got engaged to Shally today." Ryan sighed, thinking to himself that he should be the one saying that. Why aren't you sleeping at this hour?

"Getting engaged means sleeping together? How thirsty are you? Forget it, I can't be bothered with your stuff."

She wouldn't listen even after I told her. Humph~ If this woman is the Old Emperor's mole, I'll kill her... Magana waved her hand. "You were the one who did the Silver Peak City incident, weren't you? So many nobles died. Although you dealt with it, it was too rudimentary. The Tribunal would definitely find out something fishy if they investigated."

"Your Grand Duke, you know?"

"Hmph~ How could this possibly escape my notice? Do you think I haven't had any informants in the Southern Territory all these years?" Magana said. "I've arranged for the Hand of Darkness to stir up chaos in Silver Peak City. Then all those castles will be burned to the ground."

'Shally' frowned: 'This only makes it more obvious that they are trying to cover it up.'

"That's still better than just drawing two arrays on the ground... Wait, you didn't do this, did you?"

"You have a problem with that?"

Like Lin Qi, Shally has absolutely no social skills.

Magana was both amused and annoyed. "You think you have a problem with me? Who do you think you are, talking to me like that!"

"Grand Duke!" The Iron-Blooded Grand Duke was about to explode, but Ryan quickly smoothed things over, asking, "Tribunal so powerful? Can it even uncover Heretical Rituals?"

"Of course, don't be fooled by their appearance. Those who possess the power of imperial judgment are not so simple. But as long as Imperial Capital comes, everything will be fine. I'm just telling you about the Hand of Darkness's operation. Make the arrangements here, and let me know immediately if there are any developments. If I can't handle it, I'll send the Iron Blood Army over."

Since breaking ties with the Empire, Magana is now fearless and will send a large army over at the slightest provocation.

However, it's good that she has arrangements. If she wants to cover things up, so be it. As long as the clues are all messed up, Ryan won't believe it. In that situation, even if Conan comes, it won't help.

"That's fine then. By the way... Your Grand Duke, please cooperate with me again. Let's put pressure on the Old Emperor together. That old man only thinks about making empty promises and doesn't do anything. That won't do."

"Hey~ Him? He's shrewd. Tell me what to do."

Magana knew the Old Emperor all too well; it was the old way superiors managed their subordinates: making empty promises without providing any real benefits. Of course, this was probably also because the Old Emperor didn't trust Ryan.

The Grand Duke left, and left very quickly.

She had no interest in watching Ryan and 'Shally' do something in the same room.

The Grand Duke is the best... Ryan thinks the Grand Duke is amazing; she really steps up when there's trouble.

After resting for a while, Ryan felt he was ready again.

"Shally, let's continue."

'Shally' was about to rest when she heard Ryan's words and looked over with a face full of suspicion.

Don't you need to rest?

"What do you mean? I need to rest? I wasn't feeling well earlier, but this time I..."

This time, Ryan decided to go all out.

And then... they lost again.

The third time, it lasted a little longer.

The fourth time, Ryan used the treasure given to him by his old leader and broke the historical record, but ultimately collapsed when he saw Shally's inner monologue when he opened her character interface again.

... Who would have thought that this serious-looking 'Shally' would have such thoughts!

The fifth time... we can't fight anymore.

In the middle of the night, Ryan lay lazily in bed, his mind blank, with only one thought in it—

"I am so happy here that I don't miss Shu."

The next day, Ryan woke up to a series of urgent knocks on the door.

The person knocking on the door was 'Ina'. The secretary told him that the Tribunal had gone to the mayor's office to see him early that morning about the deaths of a large number of nobles in Silver Peak City, and that someone suspected him of being responsible.

"They arrived so quickly?"

Oh no, it's not that fast, it's almost noon. I guess the Second Prince or the Fourth Prince's faction sensed something was wrong and used their power.

Where is Shally?

He was the only one in the bed.

Ina doesn't know where Shally is.

Ryan opened the game and found that 'Shally' was mobilizing her army. The battle that lasted half the night yesterday had no effect on this killing god. Ryan couldn't help but sigh that there is no such thing as a field that can't be plowed, only an ox that has been worked to death.

Then an evil thought popped into his head—he'd let 'Shally' pick at herself all night; he wanted to see what this 'God of War' looked like when she blushed and breathed heavily.

After getting dressed, Ryan informed Caslathdi, who then accompanied him to the municipal office to meet with the Tribunal.

The presiding judge in Berman City is named Marcus, an Imperial Baron. Although his rank is not high, he wields considerable power. According to Imperial law, the Tribunal has the authority to adjudicate all crimes committed in the area.

Even if a lord commits a crime, they have the right to sentence him once he reaches the Tribunal.

However, lords generally collude with the local Tribunal. When Bill was mayor, he would give the Tribunal a lot of benefits every month, but after Ryan took office, all of these benefits were cut off. Not only that, he also arrested people from the Tribunal during the last investigation of the orphanage.

The feud between the two sides was now established. Ryan had long disliked these guys, and if the Tribunal hadn't wielded so much power as an administrative body of the Imperial Capital, he would have kicked these vampires out long ago.

I want you to judge me!

I know more about the law than you do!

Municipal Office.

Inside the mayor's office.

Marcus was sitting on a sofa, flipping through documents.

The two secretaries stood to the side, looking somewhat nervous, but breathed a sigh of relief when they saw Ryan and Caslathdi appear.

"Your Highness, Mayor."

Ryan nodded slightly.

"Your Highness," Marcus stood up, "I apologize for disturbing you this morning, but the Tribunal has received a very serious attack and murder case. Preliminary statistics indicate that at least twenty nobles have died. This matter has had a very significant impact."

"Twenty nobles?" Caslathdi was surprised. "I can understand the seriousness of this matter, but what does this have to do with Berman City? There aren't that many nobles in the entire Berman City."

"It happened in Silver Peak City, although it's quite far from Berman City." Marcus glanced at Ryan, "But those deceased nobles were all on Mayor Ryan and Shally Shirley's wedding invitation list last night, so..."

"Chief Judge Marcus, what do you mean by this?" Ryan said unhappily. "I was hosting a banquet at the castle last night. What does it have to do with me if people die in Silver Peak City? Are you saying that because their names were on my list, it's my fault they died? This isn't some kind of death invitation, and all the nobles who came are fine, aren't they?"