A Budding Ambition

Welcome back.

Looking at the petite figure before him, Li Lin opened his arms, and then he felt that soft body rush into his embrace.

"Your humble servant has returned, my master."

Angela, now back in her child form, hugged Li Lin, responding softly as she rubbed her cheek against Li Lin broad chest like a kitten, her eyes narrowing with excitement.

"Long time no see, you still look as energetic as ever."

"In my not-so-distant memory, it seems like you left less than half a month ago."

Gently stroking Angela's hair, Li Lin replied with a wry smile. It seemed the little one hadn't changed much during this time. Of course, considering that time had long since stopped for Vampire Species, Angela naturally wouldn't gain or lose weight. However, she seemed to be in quite good spirits, much better than her previous complaints in the communications.

However, Li Lin soon understood why Angela was in such good spirits.

It must be said that Li Lin's first impression of that king was quite accurate; however, he forgot one very important thing, enough to overturn all of Li Lin's previous assumptions and arguments.

He was completely oblivious to Angela's beauty.

Perhaps because he had seen so many beautiful women in his past life, or perhaps because Angela had been by his side for so long, Li Lin had developed an almost immune resistance to Angela beauty. His reason for ordering Angela to appear in adult form wasn't to seduce her, but simply to prevent her from associating the young Angela with this messenger. However, precisely because of this, after hearing Angela's slightly mocking account, Li Lin realized that he had unintentionally... used a honey trap.

To be fair, when she doesn't speak, Angela's beauty is absolutely stunning. And as an adult, she's not as outspoken as she was in her childhood, so she's naturally the type that's very popular with men. So, a rather serious problem arises.

First, is the king of the Sea-Encircled Country a man?

There is absolutely no doubt about that.

Second, had he ever seen such a beautiful woman before?

The answer is mostly no.

Third, does he possess the same composure as Li Lin?

There's absolutely no need to consider that.

And so, quite naturally, the king of the Sea-Encircled Country was captivated by Angela.

As the saying goes, half the mistakes men make are because of women. And this saying is doubled in Angela's case. During this time, the King of the Sea-Encircled Country, under the guise of "friendly exchange," tried to win Angela's favor. Although Angela understood the gravity of the situation and didn't allow him to engage in anything like the "beacon fire prank" for amusement, she naturally wouldn't let some harmless jokes pass. Naturally, precisely because of this, the King of the Sea-Encircled Country responded almost without hesitation to the Magic Empire's conditions, treaties, and all related issues. He even went so far as to propose the unrealistic idea of making the Sea-Encircled Country a vassal state of the Magic Empire. Of course, Angela didn't respond to this.

Moreover, it must be said that His Majesty the King of this Sea-Encircled Country is quite the Casanova.

At first, he sent Angela only marine products like pearls. But Angela was already tired of these things on Earth, so she naturally wasn't interested. Then, His Majesty the King prepared flowers and some exotic sea creatures for her, which, undeniably, piqued Angela's interest a little. Any other woman would probably have fallen for it. However, for Angela, this was still just a game meant to appease a child.

Of course, during this time, Angela did not forget her "mission".

Under the powerful hypnotic manipulation and keen senses of the Vampire Species, Angela quickly grasped the political situation within the Sea-Encircled Country. It was clear that many were worried about their king's enthusiasm for the envoy from the Magic Empire. Moreover, the king's wife had died thirteen years ago, leading many to believe that the king was serious this time, perhaps trying to win over the envoy and gain favor with the Magic Empire. However, many also thought their king was playing with fire. Angela had only introduced herself as a familiar of Arcane Mage, but anyone with a modicum of sense wouldn't believe it. Not to mention, even if she were truly just a familiar, was she someone the king could so easily harm? Nevertheless, they understood that at this point, no one could dissuade their king. His eyes, upon seeing Angela, had already gleamed, bordering on madness.

Angela could naturally see that the man was serious about her, and that only made her feel more disgusted.

To be honest, the little one doesn't actually dislike being liked, but in her view, it should be done by kneeling at her feet in worship. She sees herself as a noble Vampire Species, and therefore, accepting the worship of beings lower than herself is the duty of higher beings. But a human, a purely human male, harboring love for her?

"Those idiotic women who fantasize about the Frog Prince story, let's see if they can still dream if a frog actually woos them!"

So naturally, Angela began to loathe this man. To her, being courted by a lower being was a desecration. What's more, Angela was Li Lin's familiar and bed partner, and the fact that someone dared to try to steal her master's woman was something Angela found utterly contemptible.

Of course, amidst her grumbling, Angela didn't forget to report to Li Lin about the political situation in the Sea-Encircled Country. What caught Li Lin's attention most was the relationship between Princess Shirley and her father.

In previous Telepathic Communication, Angela had already reported that, according to her intelligence (or gossip), Princess Shirley was not the Queen's daughter, but rather the daughter of a maid. However, royalty is royalty, and Princess Shirley thus became a member of the royal family. Of course, her mother didn't rise to prominence; instead, she was "suicided" shortly after Princess Shirley's birth. This placed Princess Shirley in an extremely awkward position within the royal family. Furthermore, she was far more beautiful than her older sister, the First Princess. Because of this, she faced exclusion within the palace. Squeezing and attacks. Even the king of the Sea-Encircled Country, Princess Shirley's biological father, harbored wicked intentions towards his daughter. Fortunately, however, the king possessed ambitions disproportionate to his abilities. And Princess Shirley, unlike women in some romance novels, didn't resort to tearful burials or waiting for a hero to rescue her. She diligently studied everything and gradually revealed her abilities. Because of this, she ultimately escaped her father's clutches and was designated as a "goodwill gift" to be sent to Kudel, thus avoiding the fate of becoming her father's toy and private favorite.

From the current perspective, Princess Shirley's identity hasn't actually changed. The only difference is that the King of the Sea-Encircled Country has shifted his focus from Kudel to the Magic Empire.

She was ultimately just a "gift".

So, was Princess Shirley herself satisfied with this identity? Was she still willing to live this kind of life?

Based on Li Lin's observations of Princess Shirley these past few days, the answer is no.

Even in the Magic Empire, she didn't give up her efforts. Although she didn't become the Arcane Mage's woman as expected, Princess Shirley still painstakingly gathered intelligence and knowledge to ensure that she wouldn't be abandoned as useless after returning to the Sea-Encircled Country, becoming a mere plaything of her father or some nobleman. According to Angela's observations, the King of the Sea-Encircled Country was clearly aware of the princess's ambition.

This explains, from another perspective, why he made the decision to give Princess Shirley to himself.

If you win, you'll gain the friendship of the Magic Empire.

Losing can also eliminate a worry from your mind.

However, His Majesty the King has clearly overlooked another possibility.

Li Lin did not like being used by others to achieve their own goals.

Perhaps he thinks that so-called Arcane Mage are just idiots who bury themselves in books, know nothing about magic, and care about nothing else?

After hearing Angela's report, Li Lin had made his decision.

He wants to cultivate good relations with the Sea-Encircled Country.

But the prerequisite is... the ruler must be changed.

Li Lin believed that the sea fortress would be a strong support for Princess Shirley. If she was truly intelligent, she should understand why he was doing this. How she would use this weapon to reclaim her position and even handle the subsequent events was her own problem. If she succeeded, all the better. If she failed... well, that would only prove her capabilities were limited. This wouldn't be a significant loss for Li Lin, since he hadn't directly interfered in the internal affairs of the Sea-Encircled Country. If this wasn't used properly, it would be meaningless. Furthermore, Princess Shirley wouldn't be foolish enough to spread this around. If she truly possessed considerable political and diplomatic skills, she should know how to maintain her position and advance further.

However, Li Lin believed that a woman who could face an undead army alone and never give up her beliefs would not fail so easily. Moreover, before he left, he clearly saw the ambition burning in Princess Shirley's eyes, and in the end, she did not refuse Li Lin's "kind offer" to "send" Dark Elf as her personal guards and patrol the fortress (of course, to avoid outside gossip, those Dark Elf had already used illusion magic to transform themselves into ordinary humans).

To be fair, Li Lin prefers an ally who is intelligent, knows the rules, won't easily challenge his bottom line, and understands his own position and status. This makes him feel that everything is under control and is easy and pleasant. He doesn't like having a king who is overly eager for adventure and doesn't know when to stop as his partner.

Perhaps the Queen would be a good choice.

It's easier to seize power with guns than with votes.

The gun has been delivered; now it's up to Princess Shirley to make good use of this gift.

Hopefully, he hasn't misjudged the situation.

After a brief greeting, Angela quickly returned to her usual self. She skipped and hopped along beside Li Lin, asking if anything interesting had happened recently. As for the "water fortress" built by Yi Aier, Angela's assessment was only one sentence.

"I will make that little girl understand sooner or later that quality and endurance are more important than quantity!"

Then, Li Lin patted her on the head.

Of course, what bored Angela greatly was that nothing interesting had happened lately. Only the "entrapment plan" that Catherine had mentioned before had shown the little guy a little interest. As for Li Lin's suggestion, Angela did not object. In the little guy's eyes, the undead army was just his pawn, and he didn't care how many died; he could just replenish them later.

As for the so-called "savior," Angela, like Li Lin, doesn't plan to concern herself with him for the time being. The reason is simple: if he's a fake, he'll perish sooner or later. In any case, the savior's presence or absence won't affect the Magic Empire's attacks and massacres against the Five-Nation Alliance. If he's real, then he can't be killed so soon. Just like in those knightly tales, a true savior is always surrounded by a group of elite figures. Eliminating them in one fell swoop is far more worthwhile than dealing with resistance later, and it also has a greater deterrent effect. Of course, before that, it's important not to give the enemy too much experience points.

As for whether this savior would actually destroy the Magic Empire, Angela simply treated it as a joke.

"That's simply impossible."

As always, he was full of confidence, and as always, he didn't know where this confidence came from.

However, after learning about Li Lin's latest plan, the little guy's enthusiasm was immediately ignited.

"Regarding the strength?"

Angela narrowed her eyes, staring at the naked figure lying on the stone slab, devoid of any soul aura, yet still alive. She spoke softly.

"That's right."

After changing his clothes, Li Lin walked over to Angela and showed her the magic core in his hand.

It looked like a beautiful gemstone, but around that gemstone were several fleshy tentacles that were slowly moving.

"This was developed by the Magic Empire a long time ago. We created this thing by utilizing the purity of magic crystals and the fusion ability of demonic flesh and blood. Of course, initially we only used it to enhance the power of the beasts we tamed and transform them into magical beasts."

With that, Li Lin placed the object on the test subject's chest.

Soon, the tentacles, which had been moving slowly, seemed to sense the presence of the life form beneath it. Several tentacles spiraled out and easily tore a large hole in its skin. Then, like an octopus, it inserted its tentacles into the small hole in its chest. With a forceful thrust, it entered the body along with the gem.

If this person were conscious, this would have been enough to knock him unconscious or kill him instantly. But now, without a soul, the body can only react through instinctive reflexes. However, the wound quickly healed again, as if it had never happened. Soon, the person's body returned to calm, only the pale face revealing what had just occurred.

Not long after, the body began to tremble and swell at a visible rate. Soon, the trembling turned into violent shaking. The body shook its head desperately, its mouth open as if emitting a silent scream. Then, a spurt of blood gushed from its swollen thigh, and with this spurt, more wounds appeared on the increasingly swollen and nauseating body. Then, with a loud "bang," the body's abdominal cavity completely ruptured, and internal organs and flesh scattered in all directions, forming a new spectacle on the ground.

As you can see.

Li Lin shrugged and turned to Angela.

"I have a question."

Angela frowned seriously as she stared at the mangled corpse.

"Master, you said this technology was originally used to strengthen wild beasts, right? Then, why are those beasts able to withstand such power?"

Even wild animals are not without intelligence.

Li Lin quickly gave his answer.

"They can understand what's wrong inside their bodies and will subconsciously try to suppress it, choosing less painful ways to control their bodies. However, a body without a soul cannot do this. Without any control, it naturally cannot prevent or endure the invasion of magical power."

"So that means we need to find a way to increase our physical strength?"

Angela narrowed her eyes, clearly understanding Li Lin's meaning.

"That's right. I wonder if you have any good ideas on how to solve this problem?"

"I am not familiar with the magic here, so I have no good suggestions to offer, but..."

As Angela spoke, she turned her head.

"Master, why not try using the body of an undead creature? That would solve these problems, wouldn't it?"

"The activities of undead are too restricted, and not every mage wants to become a lich."

"What a demanding bunch."

Angela made no attempt to hide her dissatisfaction.

"At the very least, we must do the most basic things."

At this point, Li Lin shrugged.

"So, do you have any good ideas?"

"At this point, I have no better suggestions."

Angela thought for a moment, then gave her answer.

"However, Master, I believe you should find some test subjects with stronger bodies... For example, those paladins would be a good choice."