Seeing Through

Just as Shea had said, the Fallen Angel Empire delegation led by "Agulie" had crossed from the border line of Leia Town through Seg Territory and arrived at the Shadow Empire's Imperial Capital.

Along the way, Chen Rui saw the Shadow Empire's emergency war preparations. Though he had seen only the tip of the iceberg, he could still infer that Catherine was absolutely not putting on a show this time.

Putting himself in her shoes, this was indeed a once-in-a-millennium opportunity to annex the Fallen Angel Empire. As an emperor, Catherine's decision was entirely reasonable.

It merely made the difficulty of his mission far greater. Christina might still waver over certain matters, but Catherine Asmodeus would never compromise the empire's fundamental interests for private feelings.

Sure enough, Chen Rui ran into a wall the moment he arrived at the Shadow Empire's Imperial Capital. Using all manner of excuses, Catherine left the delegation sitting in the royal hotel. Several days passed without any sign that she intended to receive them, and this delay appeared likely to continue indefinitely.

Even if he possessed a silver tongue or the art of vertical and horizontal alliances, it would still be useless if the other party simply refused to see him. There was no stage for him to display his abilities.

Chen Rui sought out Selin and tried to pull strings through every possible channel, but failed all the same. It seemed Catherine had no intention whatsoever of giving the "Fallen Angel Empire envoy" an opportunity. This made him increasingly anxious, because every extra day spent here added another measure of danger to Warlock Fortress and the entire Fallen Angel Empire.

Racking his brains, Chen Rui suddenly thought of something: a magic badge. Isis had given him this badge years ago, saying it was a