That Is Swearing Allegiance To The Dear

Okay, that sounds good~

Although Hela believed she wasn't a match for the ancient dragon, Rhine seemed to be completely confident.

Since Rhine intended to join Hela on the battlefield, he shouldn't betray himself.

Besides, hunting the ancient dragon was the result of Rhine's deal with the Evil Dragon Olivia, so it was likely the Evil Dragon had also prepared a countermeasure for Prince Rhine to defeat the ancient dragon.

Yes, it should be like that.

Hela had made up her mind, and now there was only one question.

"Then, Your Highness..."

Hela asked with a smile, "When do you plan to lead your subordinates to depart?"

The answer was, Now.

Rhine: "Let me go say hello to His Majesty, and we'll depart immediately."

Hela agreed with a smile; she also needed to report to the Sanctuary.

Of course, she wouldn't mention that she was going to hunt an ancient dragon.

Thus, both parties acted accordingly, and Hela told Rhine that he could summon her anytime after he was finished.

After bidding farewell to Hela, Rhine headed to the Empress's chambers.

Up to this point, the development of events was completely in line with Rhine's plan.

Whether it was Hela or the Prince, their reactions were entirely within Rhine's expectations.

Rhine had indeed intentionally let the Prince go.

But, unlike what Hela imagined, Rhine had no intention of blackmailing the Prince.

Such actions were meaningless.

The Prince and the Emperor were rivals for the throne; nothing was more valuable than "the absence of the other."

Therefore, rationally, the Prince should have used these weaknesses without hesitation to bring about the Prince's demise.

But for Rhine, that was too low-level.

The Prince was the first enemy Rhine had encountered, and Rhine had already figured him out completely.

Eliminating him was simple, very simple.

However, how to control him and lure him into creating greater value for Rhine was a different matter.

As a politician, the Prince was far from qualified; a good-for-nothing who had his throne usurped by his own sister years ago, he remained endearingly foolish even after living for several more decades.

After being toyed with by his nephew, the pressure in his heart was enough to break him.

So, next, his anger, his anxiety, and his hatred for Rhine would all become elements that Rhine could exploit, becoming part of a chain reaction.

For now, he could be left alone.

Rhine arrived at the Empress's chambers.

After all, as a Prince of the Empire, Rhine still needed to ask permission from his mother before going out.

However, today, Rhine's timing was unfortunate.

As he pushed open the door, Rhine saw the Empress in a deep slumber, and Thea Constance, who was by the Empress's side, using magic to heal her.

"Your Highness."

Constance's voice drifted softly.

32. The Curse of the Crystal Throne

The woman sleeping peacefully was Rhine's mother, the Empress of the Hain Empire.

As the mother who had given birth to an Imperial Guard, the Empress possessed the most noble goddess bloodline in the entire Empire, second only to the Imperial Guard.

Twenty years of reign had left no mark on her; judging solely by her appearance, she could easily be mistaken for Constance's sister.

Rhine had always held a favorable impression of his mother, the Empress.

This was not only because she was the mother who had given birth to him.

More importantly, it stemmed from Rhine's admiration for her.

Whether it was bloodline or ability, Rhine recognized her as a qualified Empress.

Under her leadership, the Hain Empire hadn't reached new heights of prosperity, but its development over these decades had been stable and peaceful. Her foreign policy was gentle and restrained, and internally, she maintained a benevolent rule from beginning to end.

The Imperial Guard also got along well with her, like sisters.

She was a devout believer, and she had always fulfilled her duties, acting on behalf of her goddess and using peaceful means to maintain order in the mortal world.

However, it was unfortunate.

This Empress would die within the next two years.

What would kill this Empress was not the lung disease officially claimed.

It was a curse.

A curse jointly cast by hundreds of the most powerful mages in the entire mortal world.

The might of the Hain Empire undoubtedly made it the target of the entire mortal world.

Worship, awe, fear, hatred... the name of Hain was branded into the hearts of all mortal civilizations with different colors.

There were countless individuals and groups hostile to the Hain Empire.

And as the Empire's figurehead, the Empress of Hain attracted the majority of this malice.

In this high-magic world, assassination by curse was common, and naturally, corresponding countermeasures had long been perfected.

On that day, mages from all over the mortal world joined forces to cast a curse that pierced the protection of the goddess bloodline, nearly causing the Empress to die on the spot.

However, on the same day, By analyzing the curse on the Empress, the Empire quickly compiled a list of the casters.

For this assassination attempt on the Emperor, The Empire showed no mercy.

The Imperial Guard appeared, and through spatial teleportation, they annihilated over a hundred top magic grandmasters scattered across the mortal world overnight. Not only that, but to warn the nations of the mortal world, the Imperial Guard also carried out brutal retaliation against the countries where these mages resided, one by one.

One caster meant one City-Destroying Curse.

It was a catastrophe.

It was also the largest-scale, most bloody, and insane invasion by Hain during the Empress's reign.

After one night, Hain announced that the Empress's curse had been lifted, and the incident was over.

But the reality was far from it.

The Imperial Guard had intended to crudely break the curse by killing the casters.

They had almost succeeded.

But when pursuing the last mage, they met their match.

Among these casters was a Demigod.

An Elven Demigod.

When the Imperial Guard arrived before him, he seemed to have been waiting for a long time.

Then, before the Imperial Guard, he calmly activated the pre-prepared forbidden spell, decomposed his own existence, and merged into the earth forever.

He destroyed himself, yet he would exist eternally.

He would become an unassailable anchor, forever cursing the Empire's Crystal Throne until the end of the world.

From then on, all Emperors of Hain would bear his infinite malice.

Life would wither, bloodlines would fade, and Leta's wrath would never be extinguished until the Crystal God's sinful blood completely ceased to flow in the mortal world.

When the Empress died, Rhine, who succeeded her, would inherit this curse.

When Rhine died, the next Emperor of Hain would still be plagued by the curse.

Now, the Empress, tormented by the curse year after year, had to spend half of her time every day undergoing magical treatment from the Demigod Imperial Guard.

And one day, This curse would also fall upon Rhine.

"Tell His Majesty and me that I'm going out for a bit."

"I understand."

Rhine's conversation with Constance was still brief. After giving his instructions, Rhine left immediately.

.

Leaving the sleeping quarters, Rhine spoke Hela's name.

Immediately, a spatial rift opened in response, and Hela, who had been waiting for a long time, appeared before Rhine with a smile.

"Leaving now?"

"That's right."

"So the destination is...?"

"Leta."

"The elves' territory?"

"Yes."

"Then we can only teleport to the border."

"Mm."

"Is this Your Highness's first teleportation?"

"Not exactly."

"That makes things easier. Come, please take my hand, Your Highness, and don't let go."

Space was torn apart once more as Hela gently took Rhine's hand, leading him into the dark rift.

33. Denizens of the Dimensional World

Leta.

It was now the last terrestrial kingdom of the elves in the mortal realm.

The rampages of the Demigods had forced the elves to use magic to flee the earth and seek refuge in the clouds.

Leta, however, was the last bastion remaining on the ground, fiercely resisting the Demigods. It symbolized the final glory of the elven race.

Although still not as powerful as the Hain Empire, this nation, which had been battling Demigods for thousands of years, could be described as having a strong martial spirit.

If they didn't want to provoke a war, it would be best for Hela and Rhine not to use Teleportation Magic within Leta's borders.