Round Two Ends; Round Three, an Even Fiercer and More Spectacular Clash Among the Gods, Begins at Once! (Continued)

A fully armed demigod with a graceful, slender figure stepped out of a Spatial Rift.

She was a strange demigod.

The complexity of her bloodline was plain to see.

Elven pointed ears, a dragonkin's slit pupils, and a fluffy, soft cat tail...

Her divinity was even more complex.

This beautiful half-blood demigod carried the bloodlines of nearly every goddess in the mortal world, and her breathtaking body brought together the finest features of them all.

The one who appeared before the Prince

was a dazzling fusion of divinities.

The Prince guessed her identity at once.

"Demon Sword Sisterhood?"

"Indeed."

The half-blood demigod smiled elegantly and introduced herself. "I'm the 105th leader of the Demon Sword Sisterhood, known as White Vulture. Greetings, His Highness the Prince of Hain."

So that was it...

Those goblins from the Golden Land had planned this all along.

For these negotiations,

they'd even prepared a demigod!

The goblin noticed the Prince's shock.

He couldn't help but feel amused.

What was the Prince so surprised about?

Did he not know that the Golden Land maintained good working relationships with several demigod mercenary companies across the mortal world?

If the Golden Land didn't even have a demigod enforcer, how would they dare collect usurious debts all over the mortal world?

Lilia had left, and White Vulture had arrived.

The Prince had completely lost the confidence to challenge the Golden Land.

Things should have ended there.

The Prince could only leave in disgrace and accept the reality of his defeat.

However...

The situation took an unexpected turn when someone asked a seemingly casual question.

The goblin asked White Vulture softly, "By the way, why did Lilia Hain suddenly leave just now?"

White Vulture had intercepted the Imperial Guards' communications. She replied coolly, "It's nothing much. Her sisters in the Imperial Guard simply offered her a higher price."

"What price?"

"Obadiah the Ancient Dragon's ribs."

"What?!"

The goblin sprang to his feet, his gaze trembling.

"Say that again. Which Ancient Dragon?"

White Vulture tilted her head. "...Obadiah?"

The goblin's heart pounded, and his hands began to shake. "Huh?! Are you saying an Imperial Guard in Hain killed Obadiah?!"

White Vulture said, "Why don't you try to calm down?"

The goblin couldn't calm down at all!

He turned to the Prince with bloodshot eyes. "Your Highness, please give me a serious answer to one question. Has Hain recently organized a campaign to hunt Ancient Dragons?"

"No."

The Prince looked confused.

The Sanctuary didn't advocate conflict between Hain and powerful divine creatures. Hain wouldn't take the initiative to hunt them.

The Prince added, "Besides, aren't Ancient Dragons immortal? Who could kill one?"

—Excellent!

The goblin was ecstatic.

Since the dragon hunt hadn't been an official operation by the Hain Empire, Obadiah and his legacy now belonged to that Hela's private collection!

"Your Highness, here's the situation..."

The goblin's voice trembled. "Miss Hela Hain, one of your Imperial Guards, killed an Ancient Dragon. And that dragon's name... was Obadiah."

The Prince asked, "What does that have to do with you?"

"It has everything to do with us. More than you can imagine!"

The goblin had completely forgotten his manners. Excitedly, he asked, "Your Highness! How about we make a deal? The Golden Land needs something that Miss Hela Hain possesses. We'd like you to put us in touch—we want to speak with Miss Hela!"

The Prince frowned.

Hela...

She had been someone he wanted to win over, but unfortunately, she had probably already sided with Rhine.

The Prince said, "I'll do what I can..."

"Excellent!"

The goblin nodded emphatically. "You want to kill Prince Rhine, don't you, Your Highness? Once that's done, we'll certainly help you achieve your goal. Also, if the Golden Land and Miss Hela come into conflict, I hope you'll take our side."

So that was it...

The Prince understood.

It seemed Hela Hain had something that had caught the Golden Land's attention.

They were even prepared to resort to violence against her!

This was perfect!

If the Golden Land really did kill Hela,

then Rhine Hain would lose one of his supporters.

Of course... the Prince knew this was utterly insane.

After all, throughout Hain's thousand years of political strife, the Imperial Guards had always remained neutral outsiders.

And now the Prince was going to take demigod mercenaries hired by dwarves and kill an Imperial Guard!

But he had no choice...

The Prince had run out of options.

Hain's Imperial Guards were no help. If he wanted to claim the Crystal Throne, he had to rely on these people.

He could always break the deal once he took the throne, then send the Imperial Guards to raze the Golden Land to the ground.

And so,

the Prince and the Golden Land reached a tentative agreement.

Next, the goblin began negotiating the price with White Vulture.

The goblin said, "To put it simply, Miss White Vulture, we don't want Obadiah himself. We want a weapon he was guarding. It's extremely important to the Golden Land—and it should now be in Hela Hain's hands."

White Vulture asked, "So you want me to take it back from her?"

"That would be the worst-case scenario, but it is possible. What do you think?"

"Hmm..."

White Vulture pondered for a moment. "You'll have to pay more."

"Ten times as much!"

"Hmm..."

White Vulture frowned, seemingly unsatisfied.

Of course she was!

This goblin was asking her to take on an Imperial Guard!

Picking a fight with the Hain Empire was anything but wise.

If things went as badly as they could, the entire Demon Sword Sisterhood might suffer the same annihilation as the mages who had once cursed the Empress—without a single survivor!

Of course...

Given the Golden Land's usual methods, White Vulture believed they would handle everything thoroughly, leaving no trace behind.

She didn't have to worry about the Hain Empire turning against them completely.

Even so...

This was still a difficult job.

The goblin noticed White Vulture's hesitation and quickly said, "If you have any other conditions, feel free to name them."

White Vulture nodded.

She did have one request.

Her gaze fell on the Prince.

White Vulture said, "As for His Highness the Prince of Hain..."

The Prince asked, "What are you getting at?"

White Vulture looked at the goblin with an expectant smile.

"His Highness the Prince has a pure bloodline of Order. As it happens, the Crystal God Bloodline in our sisterhood has been steadily diminishing in recent years, and we haven't been able to replenish it. I wonder if the Prince might take part in our Azalea Secret Ritual?"

The Azalea Secret Ritual?

Wasn't that the Demon Sword Sisterhood's infamous ascension ritual?

The Prince said coldly, "You want me as a sacrifice? I am the Prince of Hain, the future Emperor. What makes you think I'd agree?"

The goblin shook his head and said with a bitter smile, "Yes, please don't joke around, Miss White Vulture."

White Vulture said, "A ten percent discount on the commission."

The Prince scoffed, "Ridiculous!"

The goblin said, "Please, Miss White Vulture, ask for something else."

White Vulture said, "A twenty percent discount."

The Prince's veins bulged. "Silence! You're insulting me!"

The goblin still shook his head.

White Vulture fell silent.

It had nothing to do with Prince Edgeworth as a person.

She simply hoped to secure a "kindling" with a highly pure bloodline of Order for the sisterhood.

But it seemed they weren't going to reach an agreement at this price.

White Vulture: "..."

White Vulture: "Are you sure this is the Prince of Hain?"

The goblin nodded. "Absolutely."

White Vulture asked, "His niece is Italien?"

The goblin replied, "That's right, Italien—the demigod with the second-purest divine bloodline in Hain's history... no, in the entire mortal world."

"..."

White Vulture fell silent.