Chapter 288

"Rider, I've finally found you!"

We've got a handle on them!

Seeing that Ryan ignored her, Kachia flashed and instantly appeared in front of Ryan.

It was at this moment that the Power of the Janus Path on Ryan disappeared.

"Even if you hide it, it's useless... huh?"

Kachia glanced around but didn't find anything suspicious.

"Tell me, what were you doing here just now?"

"Your Majesty Kachia," Ryan said innocently, "I didn't do anything."

"Heh." Kachia sneered, "Do you think I'm a fool? I clearly sensed Janus's power just now."

"Oh, is this what you mean?"

Ryan took out a necklace from his backpack. It was a relic that Janus Path. It was only of the third rank and was very ordinary. Normally, Kachia wouldn't even glance at it.

But after staring at it for a while, she realized it was just an ordinary relic.

"Do you think I'll believe you? Were you using this power outside the castle as well? Rider, I told you I'd find something on you. Tell me, you're Chosen of the Gods, yet you possess Janus's power. Is your status Chosen of the Gods fake, or are you a Chosen One with ulterior motives?"

Kachia stared sharply at Ryan. "And what happened in the City of Sin? I still haven't found any trace of the so-called Desire Cultists. Did you pull something behind the scenes? Why were my attack plans discovered by the Wilderians? I investigated after I returned, and there's no way there could be any spies from the Northern Continent lurking in the Imperial Capital!"

"So Her Your Majesty Kachia still suspects me?" Ryan asked angrily. "What good will all this do for me? Why should I do it?"

Although Kachia was right, as long as he doesn't admit it, then it wasn't him who did it!

Ryan had been deliberately circling around, and he was also very careful when retrieving the Advancement Fragment, because he was thinking that something unexpected might happen. Sure enough, Kachia was watching him closely.

It's a pity he didn't have the necklace of the God of Desire; otherwise, with the necklace's high stat boost, he might have been able to spot Kachia.

"That's a question for you to answer." Kachia's gaze was cold. "Why don't I have any doubts? Since you appeared, the Arcadia Empire has suffered a series of misfortunes. Not only did it suffer a crushing defeat in its invasion of the Northern Continent, but it has even fallen to the point where it has to rely on the Gate of Janus for help in order to protect itself!"

"Wasn't that your own stupidity?" Ryan retorted angrily. "Your Majesty Kachia, ask yourself honestly, did I come to you of my own accord? Wasn't it Her Kachina Your Majesty found me?"

"Yes, but that might be you..."

"Conspiracy? Idiot! What do you think the power of the Earth Goddess is? Do you think I'm so powerful that I can get the Earth Goddess to send me wherever I want to go? Anyone with a brain knows that's impossible!"

Kachia was momentarily speechless. "Even so, then..."

"Are you going to accuse me of playing along again? Humph! Are you questioning Her Your Majesty Kachina's judgment, or the Earth Goddess? I, Rider, have devoted my life to the Goddess of the Earth; if I utter even a single lie, may I die a horrible death!"

"..."

"As for the Imperial army's defeat, Your Majesty Kachia, why don't you consider that it was due to the enemy's strength? The Arcadia Empire is strong, that's true, but are the enemies all idiots? Even if they can't compete technologically, what about other aspects? Weldeia was able to threaten Augustus and rule the Northern Coalition back then, were they really that weak?"

"I..."

Kachia was somewhat at a disadvantage. She felt that what Ryan said was indeed true, which was why she had gradually lowered her guard against Ryan before. If she hadn't run into Ryan this time, she wouldn't have suspected anything.

"Not only was I inexplicably dragged into a series of dangers, but Her Majesty Kachina also forced Your Majesty to become Prince! Prince? Hmph! It sounds nice, but what's the use? It's just an empty title. I'm constantly envied by the nobles of the empire, and I also have to endure Your Majesty's suspicion, living in constant fear! Even so, for the sake of the empire, I accepted it, and even agreed to Gate of Janus for that Saintess! I, a follower of the Earth Goddess, Gate of Janus! Oh Goddess, this is simply the greatest humiliation of my Rider!!!"

"Feel sorry..."

Seeing Ryan's frenzied state, Kachia instinctively apologized.

"Sorry? No, no, no, I don't need it." Ryan took a step forward, Kachia the distance between them to less than thirty centimeters. "I don't need an apology, Your Majesty Kachia. I've had enough of your paranoia, I've had enough of being on guard every day. Her Your Majesty Kachina is right, you just need to be taught a lesson!"

After saying that, Ryan grabbed Kachia's hand and squeezed it tightly, shouting, "Didn't you want to find something on me? Come on! Let you find it!"

"!!!!"

Boom!

Kachia's mind went completely blank.

Today I'm exhausted as usual. Lately, I've been dealing with a lot of real-life issues, so I haven't been updating as much, and I haven't been keeping up with my workouts either. ε=('ο`*))) Ugh, I'm so tired. I wish summer vacation would end soon!

Chapter 175 Empress Kachia, Charge! [5k]

Kachia: Who am I? Where am I? What am I doing?

Kachia had never interacted with anyone like this before, especially not a man! Especially since she had something on him!

For a moment, Kachia was completely bewildered and had no idea what to do.

Handle? What handle?

That's not the leverage I'm looking for!!!

At that moment, Kachia seemed to see a revolving lantern, her mind flashing back to her childhood, seeing her father, her mother, and scenes of her and Kachina growing up...

Then.

A surprised voice came from afar.

"Kachia, what are you doing?!"

"Ah??"

Kachia turned her head and saw Kachina appear at the other end of the path leading to the Golden Tree, staring at her and Ryan in disbelief.

For a moment, Kachia wanted to run away immediately. The feeling of stealing from her brother-in-law behind her sister's back overwhelmed her... No, it's so embarrassing, I want to die! w(?Д?)w!!!

"Kachia, you actually... you actually..."

Kachina floated over, her eyes wide as she stared at the 'shameless behavior' between Kachia and Ryan.

By the Earth Goddess, where is Kachia grabbing? I've never grabbed like that before!

"Kachina, you... you hear me explain, it's not like that, things aren't as you think..."

Kachia hurriedly tried to explain and pull her hand back, but Ryan held it firmly. She wanted to pull it back forcefully, but then she thought that it might hurt Ryan. She didn't care, but if she really hurt him, wouldn't Kachina hate her for the rest of her life?

"Kachina, I thought Rider was suspicious, so I followed him, and then... Anyway, it's a misunderstanding, absolutely not what you think!"

"Stop talking, Kachia!" Kachina's face was full of sorrow, her voice high and agitated. "I never thought you were this kind of person, and Rider too! You said no to me openly, but you did this behind my back! I hate you both so much!"

With that, Kachina wiped away her tears, then turned and resolutely left!

That forlorn figure seemed to have suffered a tremendous blow.

A series of question marks appeared above Ryan's head.

"???"

No, Your Majesty Kachina, are you serious?

Although they hadn't spent much time together, Ryan felt he had completely understood Kachina. In a situation like this, she should first be shocked, then happy. And indeed, Kachina should be happy; after all, wasn't this exactly what she had been hoping for?

So Ryan knew that Kachina was acting, even though the performance was so convincing that even Kachia was fooled.

However, it's most likely because Kachia is currently flustered; otherwise, she would have been able to see through Kachina's acting. Seeing Kachina resolutely turn and leave, Kachia completely panicked.

"Rider, let go!"

"No, Your Majesty Kachia, didn't you say you were going to find something on me? Here I am, you've found something."

"That's not what I meant by 'handle'..." Kachia glared fiercely, "Anyway, I order you to let go immediately! Otherwise..."

Swish!

Kachina vanished in a flash.

They're gone.

Kachia was stunned.

Oh no, I'm really angry now.

Kachia's thoughts were in disarray for a moment, but when she came to her senses, she could clearly feel the sensation lingering between her fingers and palm... hard, hot, straight and erect, like the barrel of the hardest new cannon.

Kachia paused, stunned, thinking to herself, "Is this the thing that Kachina usually finds irresistible? This is way too long!"

It's so long, with both C and Y parts, is it really possible to get it in?

If a fountain pen is too long and punctures the cap, it could kill someone!

Kachia instinctively struggled, and this time she actually managed to break free. Just as she was about to turn around and chase after Kachina, Ryan grabbed her again.

"Your Majesty, are you just going to leave like this?" Ryan sneered. "Even if you are the emperor, you can't slander me without reason, can you? Come on, let's continue what we were talking about. You suspect me, but you have no evidence, right? And then, I devoted myself to the empire until my death. How is that supposed to be accounted for?"

"But you have no proof to prove your innocence, do you?" Since Kachina had already misunderstood and left, it was best to resolve the matter completely... Thinking this, Kachia sneered, "You say I'm slandering you, but what about you? How do you explain the power of the Janus Ritual? And what were you doing just now? Rider, with so many suspicious points about you, how can I not suspect you!"

"What if I could prove my innocence? What if I could prove my unwavering devotion to the Earth Goddess? What would Your Majesty do Your Majesty?"

"Hmph! If you can prove it, then I'll grant you whatever you ask, as long as it doesn't harm the interests of the empire!"

"I don't believe you unless you draw up a contract."

"You! Rider, do you take me for a man who breaks his word?"

"Didn't you do the same thing last time?"

Kachia was speechless. She had indeed said last time that she would let Ryan do whatever he wanted, but she didn't expect it to involve fusion and doing that kind of thing. Of course, she wouldn't agree to it.

This time, Kachia wanted to completely resolve the 'imperial hidden danger' and the entanglement of love and hate between her, Ryan, and Kachina. So she made a tough decision and signed a contract in the name of the Empress, locking away any way out.

The moment the contract was established, Kachia's gaze sharpened, fixed intently on Ryan.

"Alright, I have made my promise, it's your turn!"

Ryan smirked. "Your Majesty Kachia, have you ever considered that while I did use Janus's power, it was for experiments to successfully infiltrate Gate of Janus later?"

"Um?"

"Now that I've joined the Gate of Janus, I've been thinking about using their power to help the Empire in the future. But clashes between faiths are inevitable. To gain the acceptance of the people of the Gate of Janus, I must make certain changes, or rather, try to show them my attitude. Only in this way can I gain a foothold within the Gate of Janus."

"Real?"

Kachia expressed her doubts; she instinctively felt that Ryan was not as 'honest' as he appeared, and that cunning and treachery might be hidden beneath his seemingly simple exterior.

If she hadn't already established her faith in the earth and witnessed Power of the Janus Path firsthand, she might have even suspected that Ryan was a charlatan.

"Of course... never mind, there's no point in saying this, you won't believe me anyway." Ryan turned to face the Golden Tree, then took out a small bottle containing golden powder.

He scattered the powder on the ground, creating a pattern resembling an earth symbol. Then, he placed a gold coin on the top and left and right sides of the pattern, and in the center of the pattern, he placed a golden bowl containing three Soul Jade, and then dripped in the juice of some extraordinary medicinal herbs.

As for gold coins, anything that shines with gold will do; it's a symbol, representing a golden land.

However, some rituals also use elements related to civilization, because the earth itself is the foundation of civilization.

"Earth Ritual?"

Kachia recognized the pattern and the medicinal liquids that Ryan used at a glance; they were the same ones she had used in her Earth Ritual before.

"O sublime Earth Goddess, Rhea, you are the origin of all civilization!"

Ryan stood in the center of the formation, in front of the golden bowl, and began to chant.

As Chosen of the Gods, his chanting does not require the assistance of Singer, and it wouldn't matter even if he did it in front of Kachia.

"You are the master of the earth, the nurturer of all living things, and the enemy of suffering and calamity!"

"I am your faithful believer, the devout guardian of the golden land, and a witness to the origin and decline of civilization!"

Tumultuous!

The pattern constructed from gold powder suddenly burst into golden flames, and then the Soul Jade in the bowl was rapidly refined and dissolved into the medicinal juices.

Without hesitation, Ryan poured the liquid mixed with the power of the Soul Jade onto the pattern. Instantly, the flames burned even more fiercely, and the burning golden flames formed a circle around the pattern, isolating everything, including Kachia.

Kachia's heart skipped a beat. This was the first time she had ever seen such a strange ritual, and the fact that it could be completed by Ryan alone was simply unbelievable.

I pray!

Ryan stood in the flames, his voice rising—

"I beseech you to unleash the judgment of the earth! If I am a heinous criminal, if I have betrayed the faith of the earth, if I have betrayed the empire, if I am a traitor on Janus Path, if I am driven by the faith of desire, then judge my eyes, my nose, my ears, my brain, and every part of my body with the harshest judgment! Let my soul be eternally imprisoned in the divine punishment of the earth's fire!"

"Rider, you!"

A look of deep shock appeared in Kachia's eyes.

Is this kind of 'poisonous oath' something that should exist during Earth Ritual? He actually prayed to the Earth Goddess to punish him!

"If he has any problems, even if he is Chosen of the Gods, he will surely be punished by God!"

"If not..."