Father King, the Present Offender

"You mean Lord Iliphis entered the dungeon after fighting his subordinate who left the Light Eagle Legion?"

At dusk, at the Royal Palace.

Princess Sai Li expressed her doubts about the information brought back by her maid.

The maid nodded repeatedly and said, "Yes, according to one of the captains of the Light Eagle Legion, Lord Iliphis and another captain entered the Zane Dungeon and entered a completely new Painting World. Two full days have passed since then."

Hearing this, Serena felt a sense of relief, but unfortunately she couldn't show it in front of the maid.

She merely showed a worried expression, consistent with her public persona.

"Are Minister Aoluo and General Ji Li Man Bo still not awake?" she asked again.

She sighed when she received a negative answer from the maid.

It's truly distressing that the two high-ranking officials who fell into a coma during the "attack" on the Warrior Country have yet to wake up.

It wasn't that Serena had any affection for these people, but if they didn't wake up, the Royal Palace would practically become Iliphis fiefdom. The forces opposing him would lack a leader, and while they might be able to resist, such resistance was unlikely.

After dismissing the maid, she sat down alone on the sofa.

"That guy might as well just die in the dungeon."

Serena was almost hoping that the campfire would be removed from the Zane Dungeon, so that she could fantasize about secretly Iliphis's Teleportation Crystal and killing that annoying guy in the dungeon.

She picked up the teacup in front of her, about to take a sip, when suddenly the handle broke, and the scalding tea spilled onto the sofa.

Fortunately, she was enhanced in the Zane Dungeon and managed to spread her legs in time, otherwise she would have been burned.

"Wait a minute, I'm already moving this fast, shouldn't I have tried to catch the teacup instead?"

She rubbed her forehead in frustration, stood up from the sofa, and, too lazy to call the maid to come in and tidy up, moved her bottom to the chair next to her.

"I don't know why, but I always have a bad feeling."

Starting a couple of days ago, her eyelids would occasionally twitch, and her bad premonition grew stronger every day, until today it even made her restless.

The handle of the cup just broke. Is that a bad omen?

"No, no, I can't think about it too much. What if I think too much and something bad comes true?"

She breathed calmly and released her spiritual energy in all directions. She had a complete grasp of the movement of people in the corridor outside the room, and could be said to know everything clearly. This was the ability she gained after she challenged the Painting World and embarked on the path of Gu Long.

Simply put, while physical fitness is enhanced, mental abilities are also slightly improved as a result.

As a player who spends money on in-game purchases, she already has certain stats, and the Painting World allows her to utilize some of those stats.

Using her focused mind, she could be sure that no one would approach or even enter his room, so she could relax without worry.

She took out the Image Transmission Device that Matilda had given her and projected the images onto the opposite wall, showing the adventures of Hasawi Squad.

They updated steadily at a rate of one book per day, as if they were keeping Serena, which was one of her few pastimes.

Today, Hasawi Squad challenged Pontiff Sulyvahn's Phantom and Aldrich, but not to win; rather, it was for testing purposes.

Through testing, it was found that using the Yorshka's Chime when fighting against the Pontiff Sulyvahn's Phantom and Aldrich could cause them to go berserk for a short period of time. However, this berserk state was not all bad, as their moves would become more vulnerable and easier to execute.

The miracles unleashed by the Yorshka's Chime were particularly effective against these two bosses, causing them exponentially more damage.

After defeating Aldrich, the Darkmoon Longbow, forged from his soul, also deals increased damage to these two, as well as some special effects, which to some extent effectively reduces the difficulty of the hunt.

Unfortunately, both of these weapons can only be obtained by defeating Aldrich, making it somewhat troublesome for ordinary people to use them in actual combat.

Some teams can defeat Pontiff Sulyvahn's Phantom, but not Aldrich. Apart from the time with Elsa, he only won once, against an almost entirely gold-ranked team organized by the Leyndell Adventurers' Guild, and they only managed a narrow victory after targeted training.

Fortunately, there are no more areas in Anor Londo that require defeating Aldrich to unlock, otherwise the number of people who could enter would probably be very small.

"Since the appearance of Archdragon Peak, the popularity of Ornstein and the Nameless King has been steadily rising. The Bede Family has a new batch of small sculptures coming to market. We'll buy you a few limited editions when they are available," Fingel said in the video.

The emergence of a new area will inevitably cause people to rush to enter, and there is also a heavyweight character such as the Nameless King at the Archdragon Peak, as well as the veteran and popular player Ornstein.

In terms of practicality, the Dragon Head Stone obtained by defeating the Ancient Flying Dragon is the latest trend in the adventurer market. The enhancement effect of embarking on the Ancient Dragon Path in the Painting World is also quite popular. In terms of physical strength, the enhancement gained from climbing halfway up the path is equivalent to leveling up one or two levels of power.

Of course, most people stop halfway, or even before they reach the halfway point.

"Actually, Earl of Bede had already sent me a batch of genuine limited editions in advance." Serena glanced at the small sculpture she had placed on her bedside table and couldn't help but smile. "But thank you anyway."

The Archdragon Peak has recently become popular for an unexpected reason: the number of souls obtained from killing monsters.

The number of souls a giant serpent can provide is roughly the same as, or slightly less than, the number of Giant Guards in the Painting World Anor Londo, while the Archdragon Peak can be entered by multiple people in a group.

Therefore, some adventurers began to use the giant snake-men to accumulate souls, and the amount distributed among each teammate was quite good. The income from staying here for a whole day would make even wolves smile.

Accumulating souls isn't necessarily for leveling up. Spending them at merchants like Ka Lie is also a major use for souls. In other words, souls can't circulate among adventurers, otherwise someone would definitely use them as currency.

"Clang! Clang!"

The sound of clashing armor came from the screen. Upon closer inspection, several adventurers in heavy armor passed by Fingel and his group. The armor they were wearing looked remarkably like Havel Warrior's!

It's either similar or imitative!

"These guys are imitators of Havel Warrior; recently, quite a few heavily armored Warrior have switched to this style."

Fingel lowered his voice and whispered, "To be honest, these guys only did this because they were so demoralized by Havel Warrior."

What kind of person dares to imitate the clothes of the enemy who has tortured them dozens of times? Do they think they can make the enemy think they are one of their own through disguise?

Serena looked like she wanted to laugh but was afraid of attracting attention, so she didn't laugh out loud. The adventurer was really too interesting.

"Knock knock knock!"

A knock sounded at the door, and within a second she quickly put away the Image Transmission Device, hung the necklace attached to it back around her neck, and tidied everything up.

It seems there's still some magic left in the Image Transmission Device, but that's okay. The screen is off now, so we'll just have to wait for the remaining magic to dissipate on its own.

"Princess Highness, His Majesty the King is fast asleep. You may visit him now."

"Um."

Serena responded indifferently. When she arrived at King Anzi III's bedroom, she was accompanied by four fully armed knights and two maids.

The doors to the King's bedchamber slowly opened, and the air that blew out seemed to carry an indescribable, wild beast-like odor.

The maids dared not light the lamps; they walked ahead, guiding the Princess to the bedside where Anzi III was resting.

At this moment, Anzi III still maintained a human form, lying on the bed as if exhausted, emitting long and short breaths that sounded like broken bellows, which was unpleasant to hear.

Today is a rare day when the King can find peace, and on such days, Princess Serena usually comes to visit.

"Princess Highness, please."

A maid brought over hot water and a towel. Serena took the towel and carefully wiped Anzi III's hairy body with the warm towel, creating a scene of filial piety between father and son.

She looked down at the exhausted Anzi III, her eyes filled with sympathy and a hint of resentment.

She and her father have never been able to communicate. This visit was not the first time, and it was something she initiated.

Serena felt that her insignificant visits and care were not out of kinship, but rather a sense of shared misfortune, as if both of them were trapped in the Royal Palace.

The only difference is that she is still relatively lucid.

The visit would not last long, as the knights and maids would worry that the awakened King might harm the Princess.

However, just as it was about to end, a clear and crisp voice rang out.

"You may all step back."

Upon hearing the voice, Serena froze and turned to look.

Iliphis was smiling at her.

Why would this guy come here at this time?!

A bad feeling crept in. When she saw the servants obediently leave and even considerately close the door, she forced a smile and said, "Lord Iliphis, let's go too!"

She let out a suppressed scream as Iliphis suddenly grabbed her wrist.

"What, what are you trying to do?"

Iliphis remained silent, but moved closer to Serena, looking at her with amusement.

Serena was right behind His Majesty the King's bed; there was nowhere to retreat except for her to sit on the King.

She looked at him uneasily. Iliphis had never given off such a strange feeling before, and she didn't know what to do now.

Meanwhile, Iliphis looked at the Princess, but his thoughts were on another man— Griffith.

He looked at Serena, wondering what kind of mood Griffith was in when he committed the act of raping the Princess, which led to a series of tragedies.

These past few days, he had been trying to figure out Griffith's psychology, for no other reason than that he felt there was something he could learn from it.

Now he's coming to Serena in order to empathize with Griffith more deeply and from her perspective.

Iliphis frowned; he still couldn't imagine it.

Or should we simply do the same thing as that senior from the beginning?

He wasn't interested in women, but he wasn't disgusted by them either.

The moment he had this thought, Serena sensed it almost instantly, as if she could read his mind. She gasped, never expecting that he would actually dare to think of and do such a thing!

And this is the King's bedroom!

Those servants all seemed to Iliphis's men, and thinking about it that way, he certainly had the right to act lawlessly here.

A deep sense of powerlessness enveloped Serena, and as she watched Iliphis gradually solidify his mind, she couldn't help but bite her lip.

Should we use the [Road Home] to escape?

The thought arose in her mind, and she had no way out. Her skirt brushed against the King.

"Serena"

Iliphis grasped her hands, his eyes still revealing contemplation, as if the girl before him were merely a tool to aid his thinking.

Serena made up her mind.

"I--"

"Ahhh!"

A roar came, Iliphis suddenly retreated, but three deep bloody scratches were still left on his face!

Serena was thrown aside and fell to the ground, but she paid no attention to the pain, instead staring in shock at the figure that suddenly appeared.

It's Anzi III!

His suddenly beast-like body stood between Iliphis and Serena, like a high wall!

Iliphis touched the bloodstains on his face, his eyes suddenly turning cold as he drew his Sabre from his waist.

Just then, the door was slammed open.

Thinking it was the guards entering, he immediately shouted, "Get out!"

However, what responded to him was a frenzied roar, both human and beastly!

Several alien figures immediately pounced on Iliphis. They were also in beast form, but their transformation seemed to be easier than the King's!

Moreover, judging from their attire, these beastmen were none other than the knight and maid who had just left!

Iliphis showed a look of surprise for the first time.

The Image Transmission Device on the Princess's necklace, which had been struck, began to malfunction.