Looking at the small purple bottle that had fallen onto the grass beside the stone table, the princess seemed surprised by what had happened. She suddenly felt like laughing; this King was young, but had quite a temper.
However, in the next instant, Her Highness the Princess's face returned to calm.
For her, ever since her twelfth birthday, when she witnessed her maid, who had served her for many years, being brutally murdered for offending her brother with a slip of the tongue, and she was powerless to do anything about it, any expression other than a calm and icy demeanor has become a luxury. From then on, she reminded herself at all times that she must maintain a calm demeanor in front of her subordinates.
Only this expression makes her appear incredibly powerful.
It will make those who dare to provoke it tremble with fear.
Heaven bestowed upon her an illustrious lineage and an exceptionally intelligent mind, but it also deprived her of the right to live as a healthy person. Every midnight, when the stars were lonely, the endless pain of her illness tormented her to the point of near death... However, even when the court physicians diagnosed her with less than six months to live, she never showed even a trace of pain in front of anyone. Even when she was alone in the cold, deep palace, she dared not relax her guard in the slightest.
But today, an unexpected event occurred.
In that instant, the King's sleepy appearance, his dazed look under the golden light, suddenly stirred up memories long buried in her heart. Ripples spread through her mind, and the image reminded her of an afternoon many years ago, also in late autumn... Then, she didn't know why, but for the first time, she let down her guard and played around with the King like a child. In front of him and the guards hidden in the shadows, she revealed for the first time too many expressions that shouldn't have belonged to her.
Was this a moment of unrestrained indulgence before the end of his life?
The princess tapped her fingers lightly on the stone table.
Her gaze lowered.
I saw the small purple bottle that Sun Fei had casually tossed on the ground. It lay quietly in the lush green grass, its glossy surface gleaming with a mesmerizing light.
After hesitating for a few seconds, for some reason, Her Highness the Princess suddenly had a thought.
With her usual cold smile, she suddenly bent down to pick up the small bottle from the ground, shook it a few times, looked up and examined the mysterious purple liquid inside, then uncorked it and took a gentle sniff. A faint, strange fragrance wafted out, and the scent instantly made her feel an unprecedented sense of ease.
Princess Tanasha outwardly remained calm as she plugged the bottle, but inwardly she couldn't help but wonder: Could it... really work?
"Why doesn't Your Highness kill such a rude and arrogant scoundrel?"
A clear, melodious voice suddenly came from beside my ear.
At the same time, a sudden burst of Ziyan ripped through the air. In the next instant, the Ziyan subsided, and a beautiful girl dressed in purple appeared out of thin air, standing beside Tanasha.
Her figure was curvaceous, with long, flawless legs. Her skin was as pure as a snow lotus, and her features were delicate and exquisite, with captivating phoenix eyes. She wore no armor, only a thin purple robe, clearly displaying extreme confidence in her strength. Her long purple hair was tied into a ponytail, cascading down her back like a waterfall. In her hand, she carried a uniquely shaped, extremely thin green short sword, without a scabbard, the blade exposed in the air...
If Sun Fei were still here, he would be absolutely astonished. Judging from her movements and aura just now, this purple-clad girl, who looked no more than sixteen or seventeen years old, was definitely an unfathomable master.
"Keep him; he'll still be useful. You can't fish without bait."
The moment the girl in purple appeared, Princess Tanasha regained her composure, closed her eyes slightly, and began to lightly tap the stone table with her fingers. This was a habitual gesture of hers; when she began to think, she would unconsciously tap with her slender fingers, the rhythm sometimes fast, sometimes slow. Those fingers seemed to possess a captivating magic. In Saint Petersburg, all those who feared her secretly gave this light rhythm a terrifying name—[ Death God's Fingers ].
After a long while, Princess Tanasha finally opened her eyes and asked, " Ziyan, tell me, what did you discover this time?"
"We only found a pile of useless trash; none of the hunting dogs showed up."
The girl named Ziyan answered calmly.
Seeing that the princess was unwilling to discuss the King any further, she didn't press the matter. In her eyes, such a minor figure was no different from a wisp of air; it didn't matter whether she spoke of him or not. Just as a divine phoenix in the heavens and a maggot on the ground could never intersect, Ziyan didn't believe that the King had any connection with the princess.
"Didn't come? Hah... that's impossible."
Slender, pale fingers tapped the stone table with an unusual rhythm, sometimes fast, sometimes slow, like the patter of raindrops on beech leaves on a summer night. Then, a look of disdain flashed in her ocean-blue eyes. "Knowing him as I do, he would never let such an opportunity slip by. That guy is practically going crazy wanting me dead... His obedient hounds must have been here long ago, all set up."
The girl in purple frowned slightly, as if she had thought of something, and asked in confusion, "Your Highness, do you mean that they used some means to evade my search? How is that possible? No Star-Rank Warrior can avoid the search of the artifact [ Heavenly Sight ], unless the people who came this time are Moon Class experts, but the three Moon Class experts of the Zenit Empire are currently in the capital."
"Nothing in this world is absolute. Perhaps he has a way to help his hounds evade [ Heavenly Sight ]'s search, perhaps he has recruited a new Moon Class expert, perhaps he has other special methods to kill me... In short, he will definitely make a move, that's without a doubt."
"Then what should I do next?" The girl in purple tacitly agreed with the princess's judgment. In fact, no one dared to doubt the judgment of the owner of this frail body, because she had never been wrong.
"Wait."
[ Death God's Fingers ] tapped out an inexplicable rhythm again, a strange light flashing in its blue eyes. "I'll do whatever he wants me to do. We both know the truth of this contest; it's just a matter of who has more trump cards... But I feel sorry for this Kingdom of Chambord. I wonder how much of it will survive after this incident?"
"That mad King was so rude just now. Even destroying this small town would be too lenient for him." Ziyan was as cold as ice, not caring about human life or death. Countless people had died at her hands. In this chaotic world, human life was as cheap as grass, and no one was worthy of pity.
"Let's not talk about this anymore. You've worked hard these past few days. Go and rest. Starting today, you don't need to activate the magical [ Heavenly Sight ] search anymore. Be prepared, and everything will become clear in three days."
"But..."
Before Ziyan could say anything more, the princess closed her eyes and waved her hand, so she had no choice but to stop. With a lowered head, a purple flame exploded in the air, without any heat. When everything disappeared, the girl's figure also vanished.
Princess Tanasha got up and walked towards her room.
No one saw her put the bottle of purple potion into her hand.
at the same time.
In a relatively secluded stone courtyard at the Chambord City Ambassadors' Inn.
"Your Highness, those women have been gone since they entered the back mountains of Chambord City. I discovered that Chambord City has set up numerous sentries near the former prison in the back mountains, making the security extremely tight. It would be very difficult to sneak in undetected. I was worried that rushing in would alert them and ruin your plans, so I arranged for a few soldiers to keep watch on the perimeter. I've come to report to you."
Before the golden-haired Prince Obinna of Kingdom of Thrace, the guards who had been assigned to keep an eye on Elena and Sister Akara during the day were kneeling on the ground, reporting the whereabouts of the female Rogue to him.
"As for the identity of that bald, fat man, we've also found out. He's Oleg, the warden of Chambord City, one of Chambord City King Alexander's favorites. He's One-Star Warrior, a minor figure... However, there's something strange. The origins of these women are very mysterious. It seems no one in Chambord City knows their background, and they've never appeared in the city before," the guard said.
"They actually went to the back mountain... That's strange!" Obinna's hooked nose twitched a few times, and he asked again, "They all disappeared into the back mountain? And no one left during that time?"
"Your Highness, no one left from beginning to end."
"Oh, that's good. Send more soldiers to keep a close watch on all the paths behind the mountain. Report back to me immediately if they reappear."
Obinna pondered for a moment. These women seemed to have no significant background. Although their strength was considerable, their attire appeared somewhat shabby, their armor mostly made of tanned animal hides. Aside from the four-star longbow on the back of the stunning red-haired beauty, they possessed no other distinguishing features. Perhaps they were members of a distant mercenary group, hired by the young King of Chambord City to maintain order during the investiture ceremony. Obinna had no qualms about seizing their longbows. Besides, these women were all quite beautiful; if he could find a way to capture them alive, whether to keep them for himself or present them as gifts to the nobles of Saint Petersburg, it would be a good option.
He decided that next time, as soon as these women showed up, he would immediately make his move. Before doing anything else, he would first get his hands on that four-star golden longbow. With this powerful weapon, he would have a better chance of success in three days.
The guards obeyed and left, quickly exiting the stone courtyard.
Just then, the guard named Okocha, whom he had sent to investigate the mysterious expert who had previously flown over Chambord City, entered. He quickly walked to Obinna, knelt down, and reported, "Your Highness, after the mysterious expert entered the Chambord City palace, there was no further movement, and no one else came out. I watched for half a day and found nothing unusual. However, Susan, the female warrior beside the Princess of the Empire in the investiture mission, entered the palace and brought the King Alexander to the investiture mission's residence... I suspect that the mysterious expert is very likely King Alexander of Chambord City."
" Alexander? That's impossible." Obinna was startled, but quickly shook his head. " Three-Star Class strength is already the peak for this idiot. Although I don't know how he went from an idiot to Three-Star Warrior, it's absolutely impossible for him to advance to four stars in just three or four days. Even the continent's [ Martial Saint ] Maradona didn't have such a speed of improvement."
After a pause, Obinna gestured for his guard Okocha, to step back.
He frowned and pondered for a moment, then muttered to himself, "It seems this mysterious expert is someone Princess [ Ice Asura ] Tanasha planted in the palace. She must have known something all along... But what is the meaning behind deliberately revealing this skill?"
Obinna dared not be negligent in the slightest.
He knew that princess's methods very well.
Although Obinna always held himself in high esteem and often considered himself a wise man, possessing some cleverness and cunning, he also knew perfectly well that while his abilities might fool ordinary people, compared to Princess Tanasha, whom the entire empire called the " Ice Asura " and the " Female Literary Sage," he was not even qualified to be her opponent, let alone make her frown. He had no doubt that if the princess so desired, she could kill him hundreds of times over with just a thought.
"Luckily, someone else is dealing with her this time; I was just running errands."
Forgetting about [ Ice Asura ], Obinna's attention returned to the King of Chambord City. Although he didn't agree with the guard Okocha's assessment of the mysterious expert, his usual caution kept him on his guard. After a moment's thought, he said to a tall, Giant guard beside him, "Find an opportunity to test Alexander's strength. Don't linger. Force out his true power, then return. Keep him alive; he'll be very useful."
The tall guard agreed, and a yellow flame flickered beneath his feet. His enormous figure slowly sank, as if diving underwater, and finally disappeared from the stone slab beneath his feet, leaving not a trace.
Another expert.
Sorry for the late update.
Even though the plot is clear and the story is in my mind, I just can't write it with that feeling.
Because the climax was approaching, I spent the afternoon Daozi and deleting, deleting and writing, discarding seven or eight thousand words of the manuscript. Until now, I have a terrible headache, but I finally managed to grind out 4,000 words, which I feel is okay.
Sorry to keep you guys waiting. I'm feeling like I'm dying from burnout. Getting to this point is inevitable, and I'll definitely have a nervous breakdown and headache tomorrow, but Daozi 'll definitely keep updating.
Today is an exception.