Chapter 142

"Why?"

"Because of the war that broke out on the border last year, when the Augustus Army invaded, the Aster City was in grave danger. She asked her father for help, but was refused."

Ryan was taken aback. "Why refuse?"

"I don't know, maybe Father was busy hosting a banquet at the time."

"..."

Then your father really deserved to die sooner.

No wonder Amabena always said her father was a spendthrift; now it seems he really was. The Augustus Empire and the Northern Coalition frequently went to war, and places like Aster, which borders the eastern border of Augustus, were constantly at war.

Especially now that the Kingdom of Lotte is weak and its internal forces are all thinking about dividing it up, not to mention outsiders.

Although the Augustus Empire was also embroiled in civil war, conflicts were less frequent in the eastern region. Some of the nobles there simply didn't care what was happening, while those closer to the border were often engaged in invasions.

From this perspective, Lord Angiya is even more capable than imagined, managing to govern his territory well even amidst such chaos.

Ryan planned to use this place as a temporary base, since he needed a place to rest and recuperate before he could develop his forces and launch a counterattack.

"No way, it's too blue!" Amabena thought Ryan's idea was impossible.

The other party wouldn't give a damn about her being a king.

How will you know if you don't try?

Ryan wasn't in a hurry; he'd wait until the Holy Blood Legion arrived before making any decisions.

Two days later.

'Shally' led the Holy Blood Army across the imperial border and into the territory of Ast.

This Holy Blood Army only has two thousand men; the rest are still developing their own forces within the empire.

Because of the blessing of the 'War' will, everyone who joins the Holy Blood Legion will be influenced by power and will continuously evolve and become stronger through war.

However, in this process, they will be eroded by the power of Faith Path, and this alone will eliminate a large number of people. Therefore, developing in a decentralized manner is much more efficient than being rooted together.

Ryan told 'Shally' to find a place to settle down and wait for the right opportunity.

He then took Amabena to the castle, and after revealing his identity, he successfully met Viscountess Angiya, the lord of Astor.

This was a woman who looked to be around twenty-five or twenty-six years old, with long dark brown hair. Ryan noticed that she was wearing armor.

"Your Majesty." Angiya was surprised to see Amabena for the first time; she hadn't even believed it when she received the guards' notification. "What are you doing here?"

"Ah, how did I get here..." Amabena glanced at Ryan furtively, thinking, "How should I know how I got here? Where am I supposed to be?"

"His Majesty the King Your Majesty traveling incognito and has come here for an inspection," Ryan said.

Amabena blinked. "Wow, I'm actually doing something so serious while traveling incognito!"

But Angiya wasn't fooled at all. She said calmly, "Your Majesty, if I'm not mistaken, you were forced to come here, weren't you? I received news of your disappearance a few days ago. Duke Frank is currently acting as King and managing state affairs."

"That bastard!" Amabena exclaimed angrily.

Duke Frank was the one who assassinated her.

"That doesn't matter," Ryan said. "No matter what his reasons are for acting as regent, he's just a duke. Without a proper title, his words won't be respected, and he won't win the hearts of the people."

Angiya raised an eyebrow. "Who are you?"

Amabena immediately replied, "Ryan is my confidant and advisor!"

"Hmm." Angiya didn't react much, but said, "If the King needs to rest here, I will make arrangements, but for other matters, I'm afraid I can't help you."

This is the treatment of a king without dignity! You cheap daughter, you really have no face at all.

"In that case..." Amabena had no idea what to do and could only cast a glance at Ryan.

Let me arrange for you to stay first.

After all, the king had come, and even if Angiya didn't want to, she had to take good care of him. To be honest, she really didn't want to get involved with Amabena at this time, since Aster City wasn't safe either.

"Viscountess Angiya, please wait a moment," Ryan called out. "Is war about to break out in Aster City?"

Angiya paused, frowning, and asked, "How did you know?"

"You don't usually wear armor at home, do you?"

"..." Angiya was silent for a moment, then nodded. "That's right, that barbaric Augustus Army is coming again, and this time there are many of them, a full eight thousand."

How many troops does the Aster City have?

"Less than four thousand, and a portion of them are new recruits."

The military has recovered remarkably quickly after suffering a severe blow last year, considering that it also has to take care of other aspects of development.

"So now you know, right? I can barely protect my own territory, so I have no ability to help you at all."

Ryan shrugged. "That's a shame, but we'd still like to stay here for a couple of days."

"It's up to you. If Aster City cannot be defended, I will send someone to escort Your Majesty the King away."

After a while.

Ryan and Amabena moved into the big castle.

"Sir Ryan, she's not helping us anymore, what are we still doing here? What if she turns around and hands me over to Frank to curry favor?" Amabena said with some concern.

"Don't worry, it won't happen." Ryan had already secretly tested her with 'Vainay's' ability, and she didn't notice. However, what surprised Ryan was that this Viscountess Angiya was actually a Second Tier Transcendent, and was even close to stepping into the third tier. No wonder she was so brave.

Although she was only twenty-five years old and not yet at the third rank, she couldn't compare to Amabena, but she was still just a minor character, or rather, a major character. In short, her talent wasn't bad even among Supernatural Being.

"Just wait, she'll soon be swearing allegiance to you," Ryan chuckled.

Amabena tilted her head slightly. Although she didn't know where Ryan's confidence came from, she felt she could trust him. Reason? Did intuition count?

On the other side.

While Ryan was plotting to build the Aster City, Lin Qi, who had set off from the Gate of Janus, also led her team to the Imperial Capital of Augustus— Baron.

However, the people of Gate of Janus were not summoned by the Old Emperor immediately. Soon after, a message came from the palace that the Old Emperor, missing his daughter dearly, ordered Caslathdi to return to Baron to discuss important national affairs.

According to reliable sources, the Old Emperor seems to be planning to make Caslathdi the crown prince.

This news shocked many people; is the struggle for the crown prince finally about to come to a conclusion?

But anyone with common sense could see that the Old Emperor was about to confront Caslathdi.

After all, Caslathdi's biggest asset right now is the Gate of Janus. If the enemy wants to withdraw their troops, Caslathdi will be in a difficult position.

If Caslathdi is content with the position of crown prince, then the situation in the Augustus Empire will change again.

"Teacher, what do you think... I should go?"

At the border between the Southern Territory and the North, where the army was stationed, Caslathdi, who had received the imperial edict, pondered, "This should be my father's delaying tactic. Even if he gives me the title of crown prince, it won't be of much use to me now. At most, I'll just be a legitimate successor."

"But this title is also important, isn't it?" Haino pondered. "Moreover, the Saintess of the Gate of Janus has arrived in Baron. We must know what she discussed with the Emperor."

"So, teacher, do you think I should go? But what if..."

"You can go. If they choose to make a crown prince, you can accept the position. But ultimately, our goal remains the same: you want the throne, not the crown prince." Haino said, then smiled slightly. "Don't worry, I'm here. Nothing will happen to you. Besides, there's the Saintess of Janus. Aren't you friends with her?"

Caslathdi thought so too. With the Saintess there, and her teacher, a Seventh Tier Transcendent being, what was there to worry about?

"Let's go then!"

Second update! It's another day of endless barking! It's almost the end of the month, brothers, please help me climb the monthly ticket rankings!!!