That Is a Vow of Loyalty to My Dear — Chapter 6

This was a signal to leave.

The believer, steeped in profound terror, departed in tears and snot.

Not long after that,

another demon arrived before the Ancient Dragon Princess.

"Lady Olivia..."

the demon said respectfully, "A ritual dedicated to you has been initiated within the Hain Empire."

Olivia asked, "Who is presiding over it?"

The demon answered, "It is Prince Rhine Hyun of the Hain Empire. He wishes to communicate with you."

Upon hearing that name, Olivia's expression suddenly changed.

She slowly sat upright on her throne. "Tell me... who did you say?"

"Prince Rhine Hyun of the Hain Empire."

"Rhine Hyun?!"

"Yes."

"Him again?!"

"Yes!"

"How many Rhine Hyuns has this made this year?!"

"One hundred and thirty-one, Your Highness!"

"Goddamn it—!!!"

Olivia erupted into an enraged curse.

Rhine Hyun.

That name would be the Dragon Princess's lifelong shame!

Ever since last year, when someone claiming to be Rhine Hyun had conned eight thousand Dragon Scales out of Olivia, she had become the biggest sucker recognized throughout the Nether Realm!

Over the following year, more than a hundred people had used the name Rhine Hyun to demand rewards from her alone!!

This was simply outrageous!!

Were they trying to fleece me bald?!

Olivia asked, "What did this Rhine Hyun say this time?"

The demon truthfully reported, "He said he is a prince of the Hain Empire and has now been kidnapped by a group of enemy soldiers. As long as you grant him one thousand Inverse Scales to get him out of trouble, he will devote himself wholly to you afterward and train all seven Imperial Guards of the Hain Empire into public buses."

Olivia laughed in extreme anger. "Again... again with that same line?"

The demon asked, "Yes. What should we do, Your Highness?"

Olivia said coldly, "I want him dead in a creative way!"

"At once!"

The demon respectfully bowed to his Master, then left the Dragon Princess's courtyard.

But immediately afterward, the demon hurried back.

"Your Highness, another mortal has requested an audience through Dreamland in the Imperial Capital of Hain!"

Olivia asked, "Who is it this time?"

The demon answered, "Rhine Hyun."

Olivia: "..."

The demon hurriedly said, "Wait, wait, wait, Your Highness. Please do not get angry yet. I think this Hain prince might actually be real!"

Olivia asked, "What makes you say that?"

"The Imperial Guard, Your Highness—the Imperial Guard!"

The demon said excitedly, "He really brought a Demigod Imperial Guard to see you!"

The Strongest Imperial Guard

Beneath Dreamland, the gate leading to the Nether Realm had opened.

The Succubi stood trembling to one side, wiping away tears as they mourned their tragic fate.

What the Succubi never expected was

that the Imperial Guard Prince Rhine had brought was none other than the legendary Thea Constance!

In the history of the Hain Empire,

the combat rankings of Imperial Guards could generally be divided in the simplest, crudest way: by bloodline purity.

The divinity within the Demigod Imperial Guards produced by the Hain Empire all took the chief god, Order, as their core.

With the same divinity and the same education, the Hain Empire's mass-produced demigods could naturally be roughly ranked by bloodline purity alone.

But Thea Constance was a complete exception.

Not only was she the sole Imperial Guard in nearly a thousand years of Hain Empire history to have risen from an unblessed wild demigod,

she now held the post of "Defender of the Imperial Capital," the position traditionally reserved for the strongest Imperial Guard.

All of this made her extraordinarily special.

Moreover, unlike most demigods, Thea Constance seemed to have no particular hobbies. She had virtually no interest in money or power.

Since taking office, she had spent nearly every day praying in the Sanctuary, living a plain and tranquil life.

Although insiders in the Imperial Capital revealed that, due to her bloodline purity, Thea Constance's combat ability was clearly inferior to that of her six sisters, this claim had little support among the public.

Could the weakest Imperial Guard remain at the Empress's side and serve as the imperial shield protecting Hain's lifeline?

Everyone firmly believed

that this Imperial Guard must be concealing some earth-shattering secret.

Perhaps she was the Hain Empire's true hidden trump card.

And for that very reason,

Constance's presence terrified the Succubi all the more.

Dreamland had been operating illegally for thirty years,

and the Imperial Guards, acting as the Succubi's protectors, had long regarded them as personal wallets, coming to extort them whenever they needed money.

But Constance had no interest in such dealings.

Over all these years, the Succubi had never once seen this mysterious imperial shield visit Dreamland.

And now,

she had come.

At first, the Succubi had merely thought Dreamland was about to be purged, that the greedy Imperial Guards were joining forces with the royal family to seize the mortal wealth they had accumulated,

but now...

Thea Constance's appearance gave the Succubi an even more terrifying suspicion.

Prince Rhine had brought Thea Constance... Could he be planning to charge straight into the Nether Realm and assassinate their Ancient Dragon Princess?!

Of course not.

Rhine glanced at the terrified Succubi. Naturally, he knew what those little bitches were thinking.

But that was impossible.

Campaigning against the gods was a plotline for the later stages.

Right now, Rhine merely wanted to discuss terms with the Ancient Dragon Princess.

This was Rhine's new approach.

After a thousand rebirths, Rhine had fully realized the limits of both his own strength and Constance's. Even though he had nearly grasped every piece of information in the world, he still could not avoid ending up betrayed.

So this time, Rhine decided to make use of every resource available to him.

Including the six Imperial Guards who had loved and killed each other with him across a thousand lives.

Rhine had ways to control the Imperial Guards

and make them unwaveringly loyal to him.

The scale of the planet and the depth of history gave this ancient world nearly limitless possibilities.

Even these demigods had dozens of methods hidden within their long memories that could turn them into Rhine's loyal hounds.

Unfortunately,

after listing and analyzing every strategy, Rhine helplessly discovered that these methods either could only be carried out in the later stages or required enormous resources and immense risks.

If he had been the Rhine of the past, he would have gladly gambled his life on a wild attempt.

But now,

Rhine had only one life left. He could no longer afford to throw it away.

Once again, Rhine could only cast aside his dignity and cooperate with a former mortal enemy.

The evil god of the Nether Realm, the Ancient Dragon Princess, the supreme being acknowledged by two of the world's most ancient creations—Olivia.

Cooperating with her was the best plan Rhine had chosen.

Through the Nether Realm passage beneath Dreamland next door to his home, Rhine could easily contact Olivia and form a contract with her.

If he could gain Olivia's support, not only could Rhine achieve his goal of conquering the Imperial Guards, he would also begin with a god as his backer.

That was a truly perfect opening.

At this moment, Rhine felt somewhat uneasy.

After all, he had never tried something like colluding with an evil god before.

Just as with the Imperial Guards, Rhine's usual attitude toward gods had always been to exterminate them completely.

Even calmly communicating with evil gods felt extremely unfamiliar to Rhine.

But

Rhine was still very confident about these negotiations.

After all, aside from her unparalleled and illustrious identity, the Ancient Dragon Princess had another resounding title.

She was the most famous sucker in the entire Nether Realm!

At that moment, a voice came from the Nether Realm Gate.

"Rhine Hyun."

It was the demon servant who had relayed messages from the other side of the gate earlier.

"Her Highness has agreed to your request."

"Now, you may finally behold the true visage of the Dragon of Lust."

As soon as the words fell, the Nether Realm Gate, which had been blocked by thick black mist, suddenly opened wide.

Rhine took a deep breath and mentally prepared himself for the impact.

The next moment, a vibrant garden filled with birdsong and blooming flowers appeared beyond the gate.

Upon a throne woven from thorns and flowers,

the Ancient Dragon Princess sat with elegance and solemn majesty.

The Olivia before him was merely an adorable dragon girl with dragon horns and slit pupils.

Yet beyond that petite, beautiful body shimmered the towering silhouette of a terrifying dragon capable of tearing the world apart.

The mountain-like pressure nearly crushed Rhine into pulp.

Even though he had dealt with them countless times before, every time Rhine saw these evil gods, he was still terrified out of his wits and wanted nothing more than to gouge out his own eyes.