Chapter 118

Berman City spent the day in a tense atmosphere.

The Tribunal was awash in blood; it was like a commoner taking a dump in front of a nobleman's house, and doing it in a spectacular fashion. How could anyone not be furious?

Everyone could have predicted that the Imperial Capital would react quickly, and might even label Berman City as a 'traitor'.

Even so, no one in the city thought of carrying the train away overnight.

This is partly due to Ryan's good governance of Berman City, but also because Berman City is located on the border, far from the emperor's reach, and its people have little sense of belonging to the empire.

On the contrary, the Tribunal have been acting as lackeys for the nobles, exploiting them every day. Now that they've been blown up, it's even better. Anyway, the Bureau of Governance can still handle things, right? Whether they handle it right or wrong, most of the time there's no need to make a judgment; they can deal with it themselves.

That being said, the concern is understandable; if the empire were to actually send troops to suppress them, the nature of the situation would change.

Fortunately, a day later, things didn't seem to be as serious as they had imagined. Even Caslathdi hadn't expected that after the Tribunal was overturned, the Imperial Capital would remain completely silent.

Aside from a few nobles publicly accusing him, the old father remained silent about the matter and prevented the Imperial Capital Tribunal from sending anyone to investigate. He then defined the incident as an infiltration of the Berman City Tribunal by a heretic. Viscount 'Shally' discovered the clues and sent troops to suppress the infiltration, accidentally killing Marcus in the process.

However, according to investigations, Marcus is the biggest cult leader.

Not only that, the Old Emperor also defined the events in Silver Peak City as a rampant act by the Heretic of the Hand of Darkness, a provocation against the imperial majesty. He would order a nationwide purge of the Hand of Darkness forces and requested the people of Gate of Janus to join the effort.

This completely bewildered Caslathdi.

For a moment, she couldn't tell whether this was the Old Emperor's paternal love or a conspiracy.

Ryan didn't care about any of that. He knew the Old Emperor was finally going to get to work, and he also knew that the old man would definitely rebel and get rid of him after everything was resolved.

That's why the Old Emperor wouldn't grant him a noble title.

Because they dare not.

If she had the title of Princess, plus a noble title, Ryan could truly sit firmly on the throne of the Southern Territory.

But if only the Princess supports him now, what will happen to Ryan's allegiance once Princess's transferred away? Won't that be entirely up to the Old Emperor?

As for loyalty, that's certainly not the case.

Ryan knew that the Old Emperor dared to do this because he was used to being high and mighty as an emperor, and also because his identity was still in the Old Emperor's hands. Once it was made public, Caslathdi knew that he had been betrayed, everything Ryan had now would be in vain.

Otherwise, why would the Old Emperor have said that neither Magana nor Caslathdi could give Ryan glory?

Pity.

That old man would never have imagined that Ryan had a third wife.

With her status as "Vainay," once she gains momentum, and the Old Emperor's reputation is ruined, she can find a suitable time to reveal her royal identity, and she'll have no shortage of followers.

This is why Ryan wanted to recommend 'Vainay' to Magana so early on; he needed to build her reputation first.

This does require using Magana, but... Your Grand Duke, tell me, am I loyal or not? Even though I've used you, you've always been on my mind!

This way.

After waiting a day for things to settle down, Ryan began to send 'Shally' with the army to close the net.

Since the Old Emperor has already said so, why should I be polite?

For unclaimed territories, unless the Old Emperor intervenes personally, they are generally managed by imperial institutions and incorporated into the imperial public domain, awaiting the next allocation.

The allocation method was simple: either bestowed by the Old Emperor or through the purchase of a title.

Buyers are usually local nobles, but because the prices are quite high, it usually takes several days or even longer before a new lord emerges.

So Ryan needed to hurry; he had to send a signal as soon as possible—he wanted these territories!

Oh no, he took these territories for the Princess, but only to hold them in trust. As for who they will be given to in the future... we'll see.

"Let me see..."

Inside the office.

Ryan stared at the game screen in front of him.

'Shally' has already led her troops north, crossing the border of Berman City. According to her plan, those who had previously signed Blood Pact would draw some soldiers from their respective territories to form the Southern Territory Alliance Army.

This army is nominally under the control of Caslathdi, which means they will announce to the public that Her Highness the Princess has officially joined the battle!

What kind of battle?

It's definitely Crown Prince War.

"Huh? Vainay has quietly grown an army of ten thousand."

In the scene, 'Vainay' is conducting a large-scale military review. Due to the nature of her profession Soul Singer, the officers promoted to the rank of officer are all 100% loyal to her and are also quite capable individuals.

In this situation, there were virtually no dissenting voices throughout the entire Kells Territory, from top to bottom.

So why does 'Vainay' have the potential to become a queen? It's all because of her professional characteristics!

Charging into battle is the job of generals; the king commands from the rear and appoints generals.

No matter how bravely he fights, isn't he still just a soldier?

Vainay: Did you hear that, Xia?

At this moment, 'Vainay' led 10,000 men into battle, personally taking command; success or failure hinged on this one wave.

To the east of the Kells Territory lie Domaniel and Mist, whose lords have already been eliminated, so it wouldn't be difficult for 'Vainay' to take them over.

Ryan's plan was for her to head east, while 'Shally' led the allied forces north. The two armies would then meet in the Count Lanster's territory, where the forces were complex and the resistance would be the strongest.

After arranging the mission, Ryan switched back to the character interface of 'Lin Qi'.

"It's been a long time since I've seen my first wife."

I've been quite busy these past few days, so I've been keeping 'Lin Qi' logged in. Last time, my wife was dealing with the blood sacrifice in the Western Territory, and now that things are done, she's preparing to return to Janus headquarters.

"Um?"

Within the game interface.

'Lin Qi' is not in Childe City, but in a rift in the Inner World.

Ryan checked the AFK logs and realized that this was a place that 'Lin Qi' had found before. Based on her intuition as Silent Nun, she sensed that the situation here was somewhat special, so she came here after the blood sacrifice.

' The Chaos Power here doesn't belong solely to Doklodus; it's a mixture of many forces, created together.'

'This is a truly Chaos Space. Strange, why are there no demons here?'

The screen displays Lin Qi's inner monologue.

Ryan was a bit... pstd about this monologue. Who could understand how he felt the night before last? It was like being subjected to both mental and physical abuse!

"Isn't this just Chaos Realm?"

Ryan remembered this place, or rather, this kind of place. Chaos Realm was a kind of "secret realm" in 'Empress Online'. It appeared on a random map, and entering it would lead to a random place. Generally, good things would happen.

For example, you might find a hidden profession, pick up an unparalleled Divine Artifact, or rescue a character—anything is possible.

That's right, even the characters are included.

According to official game information, no player had collected all the female characters before Ryan's arrival, because some of them were rescued from the Chaos Realm.

However, the probability of this is very small, and Ryan has no interest in it. No woman is as beautiful as his wife. He is thinking about whether he can get his first wife a unique weapon used by the Silent Nun. Not to mention a unique weapon, it can be upgraded, and it can be an epic or legendary weapon. He doesn't want to think about mythic weapons.

Otherwise, it wouldn't be good to keep using the Sword of Death. If the Grand Duke discovers it again someday, I'll never be able to clear my name for the rest of my life.

"Oh~ Here it comes."

After walking for almost half an hour, Lin Qi came across a gray vortex-like object. Ryan knew that this was the entrance to the secret realm.

"I don't know what it will be, but I don't need any pretty girls with bare bottoms, anything else good will do."

As she pondered, 'Lin Qi' stepped into the vortex.

[You have discovered an old battlefield.]

[The shattered space holds ancient memories; here, time seems to stand still. The chaotic disorder almost makes you lose your way, and you piously call out— Janus, please grant me a guiding light in my lost path.]

"Huh? What the heck?"

Ryan discovered that the space around 'Lin Qi' was gray, there were no paths, and he didn't know where to go.

This was the first time he had ever seen anything like it.

[Janus's voice was blocked from the past.]

[You can only follow your heart and move forward. Gradually, all sorts of sounds come from this chaotic space.]

'O Baalshatt of the Gods, have you heard our call?'

'Ahem~ The influence of the otherworldly forces is eroding us more and more severely.'

'Janus, what are you doing!'

Time and space will protect it; leave it here. One day, Balshatt will return.

'...'

From these drifting sounds, Ryan saw blurry images flashing by.

Each sound is accompanied by a visual, but it's too fast and the information is too disorganized to understand.

After a while, these fragmented images completely disappeared.

[You were caught in a vortex of time and space, but thanks to Janus's protection, you are safe and sound.]

Swish!

The view finally became clear.

However, it did get out.

Ryan discovered that 'Lin Qi' had returned to the outside of the gray vortex.

"What's going on?"

Now Ryan was also confused, since he had only encountered the Secret Realm once in the game.

"It's Balshatt again. I encountered him at the Janus Divine Site last time as well."

Ryan stroked his chin, feeling that it might be necessary to go there... but it seemed a bit risky. 'Lin Qi' was protected because of the Janus profession; what if he went in and couldn't come out?

"Is this 'it' something like that fragment?"

After much deliberation, Ryan decided to find an opportunity to go and take a look, since the headquarters of Gate of Janus might not be any safer than this place.

Since the secret realm itself shouldn't be too dangerous... maybe we could get more people to try? If they just can't get in, then there's nothing to worry about.

"Phew~ That feels so good."

Let 'Lin Qi' continue to AFK, and Ryan leans back on the sofa to rest.

While his Alts are out there working hard, he can just relax and relax – this kind of life is simply amazing.

"Have a cup of tea."

Just then, Ina walked in, carrying a cup of black tea.

"Put it there." Ryan gestured for 'Ina' to be placed on the desk. "Ina, do you think this trip north will go smoothly?"

After saying that, he muttered twice more, "The emperor will definitely support it. He needs me to control the Southern Territory, and he also needs 'war'."

"However, if the emperor acquiesces, then the Second Prince and Fourth Prince will not let this go easily. The Fourth Prince has no power in the army, so we don't need to worry too much. Second Prince's Crimson Tiger Guard can enter the Southern Territory if they go south, and he is the one we need to be most wary of."

Ina tilted her head slightly, looking as if to say, "You've already said it, so what am I supposed to say?"

Ryan looked up, Ina was standing beside him. The pair of breasts pressing down on him from below gave him a great sense of oppression.

To be honest, 'Ina's' is indeed bigger than 'Shally's'.

"..."

"..."

"Ina, close the door. I need to talk to you about something serious."

"Serious business?"

Ryan coughed lightly. "Close the door first."

Ina closed the door.

"Come sit here, sit on my lap."