Chapter 99

Half an hour later, Ryan got what he wanted from Potter.

Just as he thought, the Burning Covenant had a ton of information about Elvin, while the 30,000 Royal Army only had information on some officers. Then Ryan pieced together the information... Wow~ there was definitely something wrong.

These are basically people from the Second Prince's faction!

"So what is that old Deng trying to do? He's ruined his son, marginalized his daughter in the Southern Territory, and severely restricted the Grand Duke. Does he intend to support the Fourth Prince to ascend the throne?"

I must say, no wonder he became emperor... Your Majesty, I am your most loyal subject!

Ryan was glad he still had the Fire Chaser disguise. Given his current situation, he could easily claim to be an undercover agent working for Magana and Caslathdi... Hmm, he probably didn't need to be so wary of his own daughter, right? The Her Highness the Princess was already sitting at the children's table.

Having witnessed this chaotic battle in the Western Territory, the Southern Territory is indeed just a small-scale skirmish, like children playing house. The Her Highness the Princess's three territories combined don't even have 10,000 troops, and those are all greenhorns.

If it weren't for the killing machine 'Shally' in charge, the riots in the territory alone would have been enough to give Caslathdi a headache.

By the way, Ryan is currently very troubled because of 'Shally's' feat of burning down the Hicks Frontline. The evil forces in the three major city territories fled overnight with trains and went to wreak havoc next door. They don't want to play with 'Shally' at all, which makes it impossible for her to fight monsters and level up.

The most direct evidence is that several groups of bandits from Berman City have recently appeared in the neighboring Kells Territory, forcing Miss 'Vainay' to devote more energy to bandit suppression.

However, 'Shally's' fame has its advantages. In the recent Imperial Capital decree, 'Shally' broke through class barriers and was promoted from commoner to viscount. This event shocked many nobles. If it weren't for the chaos in the Western Territory, this would be the talk of the town now.

'Shally', may your success soar!

It's important to know that obtaining a noble title is very difficult; even if Caslathdi wanted it, she would have to apply to the Old Emperor.

The reason for the promotion was 'Shally's' outstanding military achievements. The Old Emperor even granted 'Shally' the three cities of Kosotoya in the Southern Territory, so that she could 'guard the country's gate'. However, Caslathdi was still a higher-ranking lord, at least in name.

However, there was still no news about the title that Caslathdi had applied for for Ryan earlier, as if the Old Emperor had forgotten about it, which puzzled Caslathdi greatly.

Instead of bestowing titles upon Ryan, the emperor bestowed titles upon his 'subordinates,' even going so far as to grant them the title of viscount and nominally give them land. What is the emperor trying to do?

Anyone with even a little ambition, 'Shally' would probably have something in mind.

Why should I work for Ryan when I'm so outstanding?

Why should she follow a down-on-her-luck Princess like herself?

Although she didn't want to think this way, Caslathdi felt that her father was secretly restricting her development.

This made things even worse for Caslathdi's already troubled family... Ryan, Ryan, please come back! Your men are about to break down!

The Western Territory is in complete chaos. If she were to send Ryan to cultivate a relationship with Magana or form an alliance at this point, wouldn't that be digging her own grave? If her father really wanted to suppress her, this would be a ready-made excuse.

Unfortunately, Ryan can't go back now, because... 'Lin Qi' has arrived.

'Lin Qi' has arrived.

The news that has recently spread throughout the Rhea Continent is that the Gate of Janus has welcomed a new Saintess!

It should be noted that the position of Saintess has been vacant for many years. The previous Saintess was the current Pope, Lilvia. It was only because the previous Pope was corrupted by the power of the Outer Gods and died in the Chaos Space that Lilvia was appointed to the position of Saintess in a time of crisis.

But since her, the Gate of Janus has not produced anyone qualified to become Saintess for almost thirty years.

After all, the assessment is fixed, and there's nothing that can be done if you don't pass. The Gate of Janus can't just hang a Saintess on it by itself, can it?

That's disrespectful to God!

Lilvia is also a capable person; otherwise, with so many important figures Gate of Janus back then, she wouldn't have been able to defeat all her competitors and become Pope, since this position isn't designated.

It's not necessarily a good thing for any nation that a capable person has become the leader of the colossal Gate of Janus.

Therefore, when 'Lin Qi' arrived in the Western Territory with a group of paladins from the Gate of Janus, the eyes of the entire Augustus Empire turned to her.

The Gate of Janus revealed that Lin Qi's purpose in this operation was to act as a peacemaker.

Then the situation immediately became delicate.

Although the Old Emperor has not yet commented on Elvin's death, the Second Prince has gone mad, publicly accusing Magana of rebellion, and the gathering of the Crimson Tiger Guard indicates that the imperial civil war is becoming uncontrollable.

What is Gate of Janus trying to do by getting involved at this point?

To put it bluntly, there's no need to create hatred for yourself. Being a rational, neutral, or objective person is difficult and will only make you disliked.

But Lin Qi still came, bringing only a thousand paladins. However, when she arrived in Cherd, Magana immediately sent people to stop her, and she wasn't even allowed to enter the city gate.

Did you come in by train?

Stop joking!

Magana had blocked the train route into Cherd for the past few days to prevent an Imperial mole from infiltrating at this crucial moment.

The Grand Duke was indeed formidable; not only did he slap the Old Emperor in the face, but he also refused to give up the dignity of the Gate of Janus.

Ryan realized this wasn't a solution. "Your Grand Duke, you only have your hands and feet; do you expect me to fight ten of them?"

"Your Grand Duke, why don't you let Lin Qi in first?" Ryan found Magana and advised, "Whether you listen to her or not, let's be polite first, and then use force, so as not to cause trouble in the Imperial Capital."

Magana: "Lin Qi? Who?"

"It's the Saintess of the Gate of Janus, whom you've kept out of the city."

"Oh, it's her. Why are you being so polite with Janus and his gang of charlatans? But... never mind, you can arrange this. You can entertain the people from Gate of Janus for me." Magana was busy right now and didn't have time to deal with 'Lin Qi' or 'Lin Ba'.

Wait, this name seems familiar? Never mind, it's not important, it's not worth me Magana, remembering.

Ryan thought to himself, "Who am I? I'm not one of your Iron Blood Army members. Have you forgotten that I'm actually a mole?"

I represent Princess Caslathdi!

However, seeing that Magana wasn't interested, Ryan found Gruk and asked him to help bring in the people from Gate of Janus and arrange for them to stay first.

Immediately afterwards, Ryan, on behalf of Caslathdi, went to see 'Lin Qi'. After all, the two sides were good friends, and now that 'Lin Qi' had achieved great success, he couldn't forget his brother, could he?

Of course, this step still needs to be done for outsiders to see, to let them know that he is not Grand Duke Magana's henchman, but is loyal to Her Princess the Your Majesty!

"Sigh~ Lin Qi, you shouldn't have come."

Inside the room.

Lin Qi sat drinking tea and eating snacks, while Ryan walked back and forth, thinking about the next course of action.

"But you still came."

He muttered to himself.

"The problem now is... if we can use the power of the Gate of Janus to ease the tension between the Western Territory and the Empire, that would be good. Otherwise, the Grand Duke is truly doomed. The Old Emperor must have some kind of conspiracy. The Princess's power is too weak. Only Magana can fight back, so she cannot fall."

"We need time. We need to develop stealthily, understand? The best approach is to play it safe: keep the Southern Territory stable, keep the Western Territory stable, keep the empire stable, then focus on leveling up our accounts, biding our time, and once our forces are large enough, we can conquer the continent in one fell swoop. What do you say?"

Ryan turned around and saw 'Lin Qi' eating a cookie with both hands. He walked over and took the cookie off and put it on a plate.

"Still eating? What time is it? Start doing something useful!"

Lin Qi raised her head and nodded slightly. "You're right."

Ryan hardened his fist.

AI, what use are you!

Just then, a sound came from outside the door—

"Saintess, Grand Duke Magana has arrived."

This is my first update of 7,000 words. There will be more updates today, so please vote! Please support me!!!