The Beginning of the Fall, Part Two

Things seem to be getting rather turbulent lately.

Leaning against the windowsill by the wall, Kalin casually spoke to Nia as she poured the last few drops of wine from the bottle into her mouth.

"Ah... that's true."

Looking up from the mountain of intelligence reports, Nia responded with a sound of agreement before lowering her head again to continue perusing the reports. Although, so far, Ringwraith City could only rely on intelligence sources from the Dark Elf, the Elves, and the City of a Thousand Towers, and what they obtained was mostly information widely known on the continent, this was still invaluable for Ringwraith City situated on the sea. After all, with their current strength, they simply couldn't establish a robust and suitable intelligence network for their own use. However, a conventional intelligence system was sufficient; as Eternal Library, Nia could discern useful elements even from these conventional reports.

First, the situation within Lalia was deteriorating rapidly. It was clear that the Grand Duke's corruption was no longer confined to the castle but was spreading throughout the entire country. In a short period, not only had the national tax rate increased fivefold, but the borders had been sealed off, severing all ties with Kudel. Simultaneously, a large army had been mobilized. Clearly, he had no intention of easily surrendering his territory to Kudel. This rare standoff within the Five-Nation Alliance caused considerable anxiety among the residents, and rumors of the Five-Nation Alliance's potential destruction were spreading.

For Kudel, the turn of events was equally unexpected. Relying on the Dark Elf's underground passages, Kudel had originally planned to seize the territory with great difficulty before arguing with Lalia, minimizing the diplomatic impact of the situation. However, Lalia's willingness to fight to the death put the unprepared Kudel in a rather awkward position. After all, despite their strained relationship, they were still part of the Five-Nation Alliance. While backstabbing was an unspoken rule, a direct confrontation was a serious matter. Moreover, the region Kudel occupied was not yet stable, and they hadn't built sufficient fortifications to defend against Lalia. If Lalia acted recklessly, the result would be mutual destruction, which was not what Kudel desired.

Because Lalia severed ties with Kudel, Lalia foreign trade suffered a significant blow. At the same time, in order to continue expanding its military, Lalia had to seek resources from other places, which allowed the City of a Thousand Towers to make a small profit—after all, it could be considered Lalia's closest trading partner besides Kudel.

The actions of the Grand Duke of Lalia naturally sparked protests within the country. Although the Lalia also believed that the Kudel's invasion of their territory was a very excessive act, such a drastic severing of communication had caused considerable losses to the people of Lalia, and these losses could not be entirely blamed on the Kudel.

Faced with the stalemate between the two countries, the Vila Federation, as the center of the Five-Nation Alliance, naturally stepped forward to mediate. However, the Grand Duke of Lalia, for reasons unknown (only Angela and Li Lin probably know what he was thinking), refused the Vila Federation's mediation, displaying a crazy "either me or him" attitude.

Lalia's blatant non-cooperation infuriated the Vila Federation, but given the recent killing of the Five-Nation Alliance envoy, the Vila Federation couldn't bring itself to impose further punishment on Lalia. Therefore, they could only repeatedly send envoys to try and reconcile the conflict. The Xialuo Kingdom, as usual, sided with the Vila Federation, strongly opposing the war between Lalia and Kudel. Of course, they cleverly ignored Kudel's occupation of Lalia territory, simply urging both countries to calm down and discuss the matter before making a decision.

As a marginalized member of the Five-Nation Alliance, Dideyasi made no comment on the matter. Firstly, his current influence was insufficient to affect Lalia and Kudel. Secondly, there was the matter of their princess's disappearance, which was probably only known to Nia. Although Dideyasi was located in a remote area, far outside the intelligence network currently known to the Magic Empire, the disappearance of a saintess was no less significant than the outbreak of war Lalia and Kudel. The fact that no rumors or intelligence had surfaced so far clearly indicated that Dideyasi and the Temple were suppressing the matter. Perhaps they were still diligently searching for Catherine.

The Five-Nation Alliance's current movements are roughly as described, while the actions of other smaller neighboring countries are very advantageous to Nia. Since the Temple and the Five-Nation Alliance issued their statements, they have naturally begun taking action to search for and eliminate those "evil heretics" to save face. After all, the killing of the envoys of the Five-Nation Alliance and the Temple was a heavy slap in the face; if they don't take action, their future reputation will naturally become a matter of concern.

Although the five nations conducted serious self-examinations, the followers of other gods were not easy to deal with. Moreover, just as Li Lin had thought, these heretics had evaded the Five-Nation Alliance's search for hundreds of years. Even now, with their increased efforts, they hadn't caught many people.

However, compared to the armies of the Five-Nation Alliance, the Temple's actions were clearly far more egregious. Their Knights Templar had been frequently deployed during this period, destroying several villages. Although these were small villages, they still aroused the discontent of the people of the five nations, with some areas even refusing entry to the Temple's knights, ultimately leading to violent clashes. But for the Temple, their goals were clearly not limited to this.

The most unfortunate among them were the small, peripheral countries outside the Five-Nation Alliance. Far removed from the Five Kingdoms, they were also far removed from the Temple. They had all sorts of customs and traditions, which the Temple disapproved of, some even considering blasphemous. However, having no better solution, they had no choice but to let them be.

But things are different now. For the Temple, these small border countries with customs different from the five kingdoms have become good targets. After all, they originally regarded these small countries as symbols of evil, so they naturally spared no effort to use this as an excuse to start attacking them.

Although the Five-Nation Alliance did not officially deploy troops to avoid provoking these nations and forcing them to unite against the Templars, the Knights Templar clearly had no such concerns. They roamed the territories of these smaller nations, launching attacks under the guise of judging evil. These smaller nations obviously lacked the military strength to confront the divinely blessed Knights Templar, and their differing customs and traditions led to strong resistance against their presence. Even some smaller nations that previously had commercial dealings with the Temple immediately suspended trade—though this did not have a significant impact on the Temple itself.

The seeds have been sown.

After reviewing the intelligence reports and visualizing the situation on the continent, Nia revealed a smug smile.

Next, we'll see what kind of fruit they will produce.

"Knock knock knock."

Just then, there was a knock on the door.

"Please come in."

Nia composed herself and then spoke. The study door was then silently pushed open, and the sisters Mina and Fina appeared before them.

"Oh, it's the two of you."

Kalin raised her hand, holding the bottle and waving it at the two of them as a greeting.

Long time no see! How have you been?

"Everything is fine, thank you for your concern."

As Mina spoke, she stepped forward and then took a letter out of her pocket.

"Miss Nia, our master wants us to come back and retrieve some things. Also, this letter is for you."

"Are you going to pick up something...?"

Nia frowned slightly, but quickly regained her usual expression.

"I understand. You can go now. I'll get everything ready. Until then, please rest in your guest rooms."

"Yes."

Nia's words elicited no response from either of them; they simply nodded and then turned and left the study.

"Truly worthy of being Suoxiate."

Watching the two figures disappear into the distance, Kalin couldn't help but whistle.

"It's only been a short time since we last met, and you've already turned them into this?"

"Suoxiate is very serious about this... I think you should know that."

Nia stood up, rubbed her forehead, and joked helplessly.

"Of course I know... but it's so boring. I thought they were more interesting back in the Dark Elf City. Suoxiate really knows how to deprive others of their fun."

"You didn't come here just to complain to me about this, did you, Kalin?"

"That's right."

As she spoke, Kalin casually tossed a stack of papers onto Nia's desk.

"We've almost solved the problem of the harvest. Nia, even with a bumper harvest, it'll only last us a quarter. The shortage of manpower is a major issue, and my Garden of Verdure isn't a farming area. You can't expect me to cut down all the trees to plant crops, can you? Even if I didn't care, those elves would probably fight tooth and nail to stop me."

"Is this why they are unwilling to expand their farmland?"

Nia's lips curled slightly, clearly having grasped the true meaning behind Kalin's words.

"What you think is your own business. Anyway, I don't need to eat, and neither do you."

Kalin shrugged, then turned and left without saying anything more.

"The food problem is truly a thorny issue for us."

Suoxiate, who appeared out of nowhere, brought over a cup of warm black tea and said to Nia with a smile.

"So, what do you plan to do?"

There's no better way right now.

Nia wasn't surprised by Suoxiate's appearance; in fact, she had been standing there the whole time, but since nothing was amiss, she hadn't attracted anyone's attention.

"After all, Li Lin didn't give much thought to the food issue when he designed Ringwraith City... That's understandable. However, the current situation is still within our acceptable range... Suoxiate, you didn't just come here to make me tea, did you?"

"Yi Aier has sent a report."

Ignoring Nia's protesting gaze, Suoxiate casually added two pieces of brown sugar to her tea before speaking.

"Research on missiles has made groundbreaking progress and is expected to be completed soon. The satellite system has also entered the experimental phase."

"We should be able to finish it before Li Lin returns."

Hearing this, Nia frowned, after all, she knew very well that there were still some things Li Lin hadn't completely settled.

That's hard to say.

Even when the report brought bad news, Suoxiate remained smiling as always; her smile seemed unchanging.

"So, Nia, what are your instructions?"

"Maintaining the status quo is fine. There are still some issues with Li Lin that haven't been completely resolved, so delaying the progress here isn't necessarily a bad thing."

As she spoke, Nia tidied up the documents in her hands and then looked out the window.

"Well then, I also have some very important things to do next..."

"Is it the same person from before?"

Judging from Suoxiate's expression, she clearly knew what Nia was talking about, and Nia nodded firmly in response.

"The qualification test, the spirit qualification test, and the Magic Power test have all been passed... Next, as long as he passes this test, I will have another piece of good news for Li Lin... He will be very happy."

Just then, Li Lin, unaware of what "surprise" Nia would bring him, sat on the sofa, a gentle smile on his face, looking at Catherine standing before him. Thanks to Angela's training, Catherine no longer tried to cover her body as before. Although her body still stiffened and trembled under Li Lin's gaze, for some reason, Catherine no longer tried to conceal her "important parts," allowing them to remain exposed before Li Lin's eyes.

"Very nice."

Satisfied after observing Catherine's body, Li Lin made this assessment.

"..."

"Hoo hoo hoo... Your master actually praised you, shouldn't you know how to be grateful?"

Hearing Li Lin's words, Catherine's face turned even redder, while Angela spoke with a smug smile. Because of the sisters' departure, the little one could no longer find a pitiful sacrifice to maintain her girlish form, and thus had to revert to her little girl appearance. Considering that this was hardly intimidating, Li Lin decided to take matters into his own hands. After all, the little one had helped him a lot, and it was time to let her see her abilities.

"Then, Miss Catherine."

Li Lin changed his position, making Angela was nestled in his arms, more comfortable like a koala, before speaking.

"So much time has passed... I wonder how you're feeling now?"

How do you feel?

Catherine opened her mouth, but didn't know how to continue. How did it feel? To have her naked body so openly viewed by a man and a little girl, how could it feel... how could it feel... Although... she was indeed a little excited, and even a little happy after hearing the man's performance, but... how could this be good?!

"Since you're unwilling to talk about it, then forget it..."

At this point, for some reason, Li Lin suddenly revealed a cold smile. Then, he casually waved his hand, and accompanied by the chanting of magic, several pitch-black tentacles suddenly emerged from the ground and wrapped around Catherine's body.

"What, what is this?!"

Catherine was taken aback by the sudden attack. Although Angela had done something similar to her with ropes before, it was only for binding. However, the current situation was completely different. Slippery, cold tentacles were wrapped around her limbs, and the feeling was definitely unpleasant.

"Enjoy it, Miss Catherine... This is your lesson for today."

"What are you saying... Waaah!!"

Before Catherine could finish speaking, Li Lin clapped his hands, and the black tentacles, upon receiving the command, immediately began to writhe on Catherine's body. One of the huge, thick tentacles took advantage of the moment Catherine opened her mouth to speak, invading her mouth and silencing Catherine.

"Waaaaah... Waaaah...!!"

Feeling the slick, foul-smelling giant object in her mouth, Catherine struggled desperately to escape, but soon the tentacles' actions made it impossible for her to continue resisting. The thick, black tentacles slowly roamed over Catherine's body, attacking her most sensitive areas from various angles. At first, Catherine twisted her body and made sounds to protest, but gradually, under the onslaught of the tentacles, she stopped resisting and began to allow these terrifying things to move freely over her body, attacking every place they could reach.

Gradually, Catherine's breathing became heavy, and her eyes grew unfocused. Lubricated tentacles had already dripped clear fluids onto her body, making her appear exceptionally alluring against her pale, flushed skin. Angela admired the tentacle-like "Beauty and the Beast" before her with excited eyes, but Li Lin was clearly not satisfied. For him, this was only the beginning. Moreover, Li Lin planned to satisfy his curiosity in another way.

It's about time.

Thinking this, Li Lin first chanted the incantation softly, then released the spell—soon, his thoughts left his body and lingered in the boundless sea of souls. Accompanied by the sound of the magic incantation, Li Lin's thoughts began to spread further in all directions, and then, not long after, he found his target: a man covered in wounds walking deep in the forest.

Now, the game can officially begin.

After confirming the location of the "target," Li Lin withdrew his gaze. Then, he stood up and walked to Catherine's side. He extended his right hand and began to caress her body—at the same time, a magical light flashed across the back of Li Lin's hand, and the magical runes combined again under the mysterious power, forming a new pattern.

"Mmm... mmm!!! Ugh... ah..."

Along with the blue light, Catherine's body began to tremble violently. Her voice was filled with coquettishness and excitement. Just moments before, as Li Lin reached out to caress her, he had cast a sensory enhancement spell on Catherine. This spell, originally intended to amplify the recipient's senses, had, in Catherine's case, amplified her sensations dozens of times. Catherine, caught completely off guard, had no time to resist and was utterly overwhelmed by this frenzied onslaught. Her eyes became completely vacant, a satisfied and joyful smile playing on her lips. Her body even began to writhe, greedily reaching for the tentacles, attempting to go further.

However, this was not Li Lin's goal, because at this moment, his plan had only just begun...

"Damn it!!"

Herbert leaned against the hard rock, panting heavily. He had walked so far, but still hadn't found any trace of the saintess. Although the marks left on her body confirmed that he hadn't gone astray, Herbert was still somewhat frustrated because he couldn't figure out where she had been taken.

However, I absolutely cannot give up. Catherine endured so much suffering, defying all opposition to become a guardian knight, all so that I could be by her side to protect her. And now, although she has been captured by that evil mage, I will absolutely not give up! I will definitely rescue Catherine! I will free her!!

"Call..."

Thinking of this, Herbert clenched his fists, a fire of anger burning deep within him, while at the same time he felt physical exhaustion.

No matter how hard you try to travel, human energy has its limits.

Shaking his head helplessly, Herbert walked to the riverbank, intending to rest for a moment before continuing on his way.

Just as he was about to drink the icy river water to regain his strength, Herbert suddenly stopped.

The reflection in the river before him did not show his own image, but rather the figure he had been longing for day and night.

"Catherine!!"

Herbert screamed, his eyes wide with disbelief at the sight before him. Catherine now dressed in a lewd and indecent outfit, writhing in agony, surrounded by dozens of jet-black tentacles! What the hell?! What was this thing?! How could this have happened?!

Staring at this scene he had never witnessed before, Herbert felt his mind go blank. Catherine was naked, being toyed with by these evil things?!

"Let her go! You evil bastards!! Let her go!!"

Herbert roared angrily, completely disregarding the fact that he was facing only an illusion. However, the other party seemed to have no intention of stopping. The camera slowly began to move, and then, Catherine's expression appeared in close-up before Herbert.

Is this woman Catherine?

Herbert couldn't believe his eyes. The woman now displaying an expression of excitement, joy, and happiness was actually his beloved fiancée?

Just then, a hand reached out to Catherine opened her mouth without hesitation and gently licked the other person's finger. Soon, a figure appeared that made Herbert even angrier.

Li Lin appeared before Catherine, staring at the woman licking her fingers. At that moment, Herbert's anger finally reached its breaking point.

"Bastard!! Beast!! I'm going to kill you!!"

Herbert yelled and slashed his sword into the water, shattering the illusory image. In the fading illusion, Li Lin simply turned his head and gave the young paladin a provocative and smug smile.

Herbert would never forget this scene.