Chapter 216

"This..."

Elvian thought about it carefully and found that there was indeed such a line in Ryan's file.

No, you, a dignified Empress, are actually so afraid of trouble?

"If you don't know, then I'll tell you," 'Vainay' said slowly. "Magana is a madwoman, she's capable of anything, but I value her abilities, so I need her to stay in the Western Territory, understand? She values Ryan highly, extremely highly. If what you say is true, Ryan's men probably wouldn't have even reached Wildea before those 100,000 Iron Blood Army had already stormed there."

"Is it really that exaggerated?" Elvian frowned. "Could it be that Magana really likes Ryan?"

"That's right."

"..."

Elvian couldn't understand it.

A Grand Duke of the empire, a contender for the throne, why would he prioritize romance over his career?

It's not that you can't do it, but if you make it so public, wouldn't that be like exposing your weaknesses to others?

Although she admitted that Ryan was somewhat charming (his desire was at its peak), she thought it shouldn't be this bad.

She looked at 'Vainay' with some suspicion. With the latter's aura and methods, how could she not have thought of using this point?

"I know what you're thinking, but there are some things I don't need to explain to you," 'Vainay' said lazily. "You just need to know that your proposal just now is not feasible... Elvian, I clearly agreed to your request for peace talks back then, but who told you to be so greedy? Now that things are like this, I can't interfere anymore."

"If there's nothing else, let's leave it at that. I've been having a headache these past few days."

As she spoke, 'Vainay' rubbed her temples, giving me a look that said, "I'm having a headache, don't bother me."

Although it was partly acting, 'Vainay' was indeed having some headaches.

Because of the previous riots in various places, although they were bloodily suppressed according to Ryan's plan, she did indeed catch the activity of the Eye of Dawn. Those cowardly rats have recently been inciting the Blood Cult to take revenge on the Old Emperor.

As for why we want to avenge the Old Emperor? Ha~ that's just a pretext.

To put it bluntly, most people in the Blood Cult are just thinking about starting a war to please the Blood God.

Moreover, the Old Emperor did indeed contact the Blood Cult before, otherwise where would he get the power? The specific situation is still under investigation by 'Vainay'. Neither the Eye of Dawn nor the Blood Cult would allow them to cause trouble in the Augustus Empire.

"Wait a minute!" Elvian lowered her head. "Empress, since you are wary of Magana, you should plan ahead. I can sign a contract with you and help you deal with Magana in my personal capacity, or fight against the Northern Federation!"

'Vainay' said meaningfully, 'In your personal capacity... if you give up the throne, will Wildea also be freed from my control?'

"Would the Empress care about Wilderia now?" Elvian asked rhetorically.

"Heh~ that's true, how about this then?"

'Vainay' waved her hand.

A soul contract brimming with the Power of Death appeared in mid-air.

"Sign this contract, and I will grant your request to protect Wilderya."

Elvian's gaze fell on the contract.

As expected.

This is a Contract of Death of sworn allegiance; once signed, she can no longer disobey 'Vainay's' orders.

In return, 'Vainay' would agree to make Wildea a vassal state of Augustus.

There is only one way to break the contract, and that is 'death'.

She died, and the contract ended.

Alternatively, it could be resolved through divine power, but that's simply impossible; even the Moon Goddess wouldn't intervene for her sake.

This means that once the contract is signed, she will forever lose her dignity as a queen!

It seems they were already prepared... Elvian knew perfectly well that they weren't even pretending anymore, and had already drafted the contract in a second?

To sign or not to sign?

If they don't sign, Wilderness is finished.

"Actually," 'Vainay' suddenly said, "I just thought of a good idea. If you insist on dealing with Ryan, this political marriage can still continue, but in a different way."

Elvian raised an eyelid. "How?"

"I promised Ryan that if he could resolve the matter of the Kingdom of Lotte, I would grant him that place as his territory."

"The Kingdom of Lotte? An entire kingdom's territory??"

"That's right, are you surprised? Actually, I had no choice. Ryan is not so easy to deal with. I have also suffered losses at his hands. If it weren't for dealing with your Northern Coalition, I would not have agreed to this condition."

'Vainay' waved her hand. "In the end, it's just a transaction, but a promise must be kept. However, I'm not comfortable leaving the Kingdom of Lotte to be ruled by Ryan alone. If you're willing, you can stay in the Kingdom of Lotte for me. That way, Magana will have nothing to say. It's just that you'll have to suffer, a Queen marrying a count and being far away from the kingdom..."

Elvian said, "I'll sign!"

"Oh? You'd better think this through, this is a 'contract of servitude'."

"Do I have any other choice?"

"Of course, you can give up Wildea. If you were to frantically protect the Augustus Empire with your strength, I would have a real headache."

"It makes no sense," Elvian said calmly. "What I want is for Wildea to be strong, not to perish in hatred. Besides, I would be more than happy to have this opportunity to see Ryan again."

'Vainay' exclaimed in surprise: 'You seem to hate him even more than I do?'

"..."

"Indeed, if it weren't for Ryan's scheme, Wildea wouldn't have ended up like this. I originally planned to keep you around to keep the Northern Federation in check. Well, if you're there to deal with him, then I can rest assured... Ryan, hmph! That guy, relying on Magana's favor, doesn't respect me, the emperor, at all."

"Don't worry Empress, I will make Ryan pay the price!"

"Is that so? But I must remind you." ' Vainay's smile vanished, her gaze turning cold. "Don't even think about killing him. At least until I find a way to deal with Magana, Ryan cannot die."

"I won't let him die."

Elvian wasn't foolish enough to kill Ryan.

Once Ryan dies, Magana will surely go mad.

When the time comes, the Iron Blood Army will march directly to Wilderness. How can we stop them?

She didn't think 'Vainay' would go against Magana for her sake.

Ultimately, her relationship with Vainay was purely based on self-interest; she could be abandoned at any time, depending on the pros and cons.

Therefore, she doesn't need to risk her life for 'Vainay'; as long as she demonstrates sufficient value and achieves her own goals, that's enough.

As she pondered, Elvian forward, placing her hand on the Contract of Death, and uttered, "I, Elvian ***sia, hereby swear allegiance Your Majesty the great Her Majesty Vainay, offering my soul and loyalty to the Empress..."

Whoosh!

A light shone on the Contract of Death.

'Vainay' reached out and beckoned the contract to her, then released her soul power to complete the final process. As the contract settled, a black eye appeared on the ethereal Contract of Death.

"Congratulations, Elvian, on becoming a member of the great Augustus Empire." 'Vainay' smiled as she absorbed the contract into her body.

The Contract of Death is an ability that allows one to Path of Death; not many people possess it, and coincidentally, she, as Soul Singer, does.

Although 'Vainay' is far less powerful than Elvian, the contract of death witness is not something that a mere Supernatural Being can defy.

"Then let's end the negotiations here. Elvian, only you and I know what happened today. I will order the withdrawal of troops, and the affairs of the Kingdom of Lotte and Ryan are entrusted to you."

"I won't tell anyone!"

Elvian clenched her fists, her eyes gleaming with excitement.

Ryan, you didn't expect that, did you? You thought you could get rid of me after dealing with Wildea?...

Achoo!

Are you sick?

"I don't think so. I'm perfectly healthy, Your Grand Duke. You know that."

"?"

Silvermoon Castle.

Ryan is on the phone with Magana.

The Grand Duke had to rush back two days ago because the Western Barbarian Army had planned a major offensive, and the battle had just ended, so Ryan was a little worried.

After all, the Western Barbarians have produced Race God before, beings that even Grand Duke would have to avoid. However, now that the Western Barbarians have fallen into decline, the probability of Race God appearing is extremely low.

This is related to the strength of the race and the will of the race. Although there are still quite a few Western Barbarians, they have basically formed specific living habits and have become somewhat 'content with the status quo'.

While the Deep Sea Hunter are few in number, they are all elites and all seek revenge against desire. Therefore, the probability of them producing Race God is actually higher than that of the Western Barbarians.

That being said, what if a barbarian with exceptional talent suddenly appears?

With the added advantage of racial will, they are not much different from the chosen ones. Even Magana herself said that there is a high possibility that such a being has already appeared among the Western Barbarians, but it has not been exposed yet.

In other words, those barbarians might be planning something big.

Ryan was thinking that, besides the barbarians, the Eye of Dawn had been very active lately, and they might take advantage of Augustus's relationship with the Western Barbarians... That Creed, he won't be at peace until he's gone.

"Don't worry, with Grand Duke here, the Western Territory will be fine." Magana puffed out her chest and said proudly, "Even if we borrow another 100,000 Western barbarians, they still wouldn't be a match for the Iron Blood Army!"

"That's right, the Grand Duke is the strongest."

"O(￣▽￣)d"

"I'll go back after I've finished dealing with things in Wildeya."

"Hmm... good to be back. Everson keeps asking why you're not back yet." A hint of joy appeared in Magana's eyes, but she said, "And Macaos and the others, humph~ do they think that without you, I, the Grand Duke, can't lead the Iron Blood Army to victory?"

"Of course not! My brothers just miss me; they absolutely do not doubt the Grand Duke's abilities!"

When petting a cat, you have to pet it in the right direction. Ryan petted Grand Duke, Grand Duke felt very comfortable.

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"However, winter is coming, Your Grand Duke. Keep an eye on those Western Barbarians; they should be nearing their limit."

"Don't worry, I'm here to protect Grand Duke! The grasslands are getting colder and colder. How long can they keep attacking? At most, they'll have to withdraw in another month. Otherwise, they'll have no choice but to fight to the Grand Duke. Then I'll take the opportunity to wipe them all out!"

After making a phone call for half an hour, Ryan put away the mirror and was about to check the situation on the front lines when a loud explosion suddenly came from behind the balcony.

Boom!

Then came the sound of patrolling soldiers' footsteps and shouts.

"Someone's there!"

"Assassin! Assassin!"

"Arrest him immediately!"

"Wait, wait, it's me! One of us! I'm Ryan Ryan's man!"

Why does that voice sound so familiar?... Ryan thought for a moment, then realized, "Oh, I remember now, Old Joe."

He went out onto the balcony and saw Jonathan being held up by the soldiers, so he quickly called out to them to stop.

"Bring him up."

Not long after, Jonathan was carried up by the soldiers.

"Ouch~~ Slower, slower, it hurts, it hurts..." Jonathan, with a cigarette in his mouth, was put on the ground by the soldier, and at the end he didn't forget to blow a smoke ring to show off.

"How did you get injured like this?" Ryan was taken aback.

Looking at Old Joe, he looked as if he had been pulled out of a coal mine; he was in a terrible state.

Jonathan grinned. "If you saw Bernard's face, you'd know I'm not so bad after all."

"Tell me what happened."

"Don't rush, get me something to eat first, I haven't eaten for two days."

Ryan's lips twitched slightly, and he ordered someone to prepare a table of food.

While eating, Jonathan recounted his experiences over the past few days.

The situation was roughly as Dilia had described: Old Joe stirred up trouble in the City of Desire, like a dragon crossing the river, a dragon swinging its tail, an overwhelming force, and ultimately... seduced Bernard's granddaughter.

The City of Desire is a huge city-state, where many families live together. Bernard's granddaughter is also a member of parliament, not very powerful but 'exceptionally charming'. She and Old Joe are a perfect match, one dashing and the other seductive. Their relationship progresses rapidly and eventually leads to their bedroom.

Three days is a short day, five days is a long day.

Although Old Joe clearly stated that he was doing this to extract information, Ryan, as a half-chosen one of the Gods of Desire, could tell at a glance that this guy was definitely enjoying it!