My Goddess

The speed of the airship was indeed beyond everyone's expectations.

At the same time it appeared in the capital of the Kingdom of Serei, the messenger sent by the Serei commander two days earlier had only just arrived at the palace gates. However, this did not prevent him from immediately reporting to the king, and the Kingdom of Serei reacted swiftly. While the Kingdom of Serei was hurriedly preparing for the welcoming ceremony, Li Lin stood on the deck, looking down at the buildings below.

"To be honest, although I had heard that your living conditions were poor, I didn't expect them to be this bad."

He shrugged and said to Commander Serei, who was standing next to him.

"There's nothing we can do about it."

Commander Serei, his face pale, replied that it wasn't because he had succumbed to the airship's immense power or because Li Lin had made inhumane threats, but rather due to a basic human reaction—airsickness. In fact, shortly after boarding the airship, the poor Commander Serei began vomiting violently, until he was almost vomiting up his bile. Only then did Li Lin, unable to bear seeing him suffer, have a mage cast a calming spell on him, which greatly relieved the poor commander's condition. Otherwise, if he had disembarked from the airship looking like a freak, people might have thought he had done something to him.

"Although we, the Serei, possess a fairly good army, our natural environment is simply too harsh, as you can see."

Indeed, although he had received some detailed information about the country from Nia and Catherine, it wasn't until he saw it with his own eyes that Li Lin realized the country was far more difficult than he had imagined.

Even if a mountainous country lacks sufficient resources to become a major agricultural power, it at least has minerals and timber. However, the Kingdom of Serei truly has nothing. The country is situated in barren, rocky mountains with hardly any trees. The entire mountain range is so hard that even a single hoe strike won't leave a mark. Serei's only specialty is—stone.

They had nothing but stones.

Sometimes, even the Serei would joke that they were actually descendants of dwarves, which was why they could get along so well with the stones; other people probably wouldn't have been able to withstand it.

This is also a source of pride for the people of Serei.

Their land is extremely barren, almost unsuitable for growing any crops. Fortunately, Serei has at least solved one problem: water. Although it's a mountainous region, it receives an unusually high amount of rainfall. The hard, rocky terrain hasn't suffered from soil erosion due to the heavy rains—because there's practically no soil left to be lost.

Unlike the City of a Thousand Towers, the Kingdom of Serei lived a life of universal conscription. The harsh natural conditions endowed its citizens with a physique unmatched by any other nation. The harsh natural environment acted as a filter, eliminating those who were not strong enough to survive, leaving only the victors who could continue to live.

The Serei were very confident in their army, but confidence was one thing, numbers were another. Because of their elite force strategy, the Kingdom of Serei couldn't muster as many troops as the Five-Nation Alliance. They naturally understood that they were just ordinary humans, and if they acted rashly, they might be defeated by the Five-Nation Alliance. Although the quality of their soldiers was only "average" in the eyes of the Serei, their numbers were absolutely the largest on the continent.

Now, the Serei no longer have such concerns; they are eager to acquire the central plains of Lalia and hope to expand their power through it.

After seeing their capital city with his own eyes, Li Lin understood why the Serei had such thoughts.

Their capital city was really dilapidated.

Generally speaking, a country's capital city is its face. Even a country like Dideyasi, which was originally at the lowest position in the Five-Nation Alliance, still has a magnificent and imposing capital city. Although this may not be the case elsewhere, a country, like a person, sometimes relies on its image. At the very least, this will add a touch of goodwill to visitors.

However, the royal city of Serei can only be described as "neat and tidy," hardly "beautiful."

Looking around, the entire royal city was filled with smooth stone houses. According to the Serei commander, almost all Serei houses were like this; they carved stone and used it to build their dwellings. Basically, in the Kingdom of Serei, apart from the royal palace, all the houses were made of pure stone. There was no trace of wood, because wood was too luxurious for this country, and there were simply too few trees that could grow on this land.

Upon seeing the barren royal city, Li Lin's first reaction was to want water; he felt as if he had arrived in the heart of the Sahara Desert.

Moreover, there is no oasis here.

Shortly after landing in the plaza atop the mountain, Li Lin saw fully armed soldiers and their king approaching.

"Respected mage, welcome to the Kingdom of Serei."

Although Li Lin still didn't reveal his true identity, the Kingdom of Serei's welcome was still very warm, and this was the first time Li Lin had seen the King of Kingdom of Serei.

He is a very brave man.

That was Li Lin's first impression of him.

The "strength" characteristic of the Serei was fully embodied in him. In fact, although he symbolically wore a royal robe, looking at the armor and weapons exposed beneath, Li Lin felt that the king before him was more like a soldier than a ruler. However, he had already learned from the Serei commander that the country's system of governance was essentially close to militarism, so he was not particularly surprised by this.

"To be honest, this is my first time visiting your country."

Facing the king before him, Li Lin smiled gently and stepped forward to shake his hand.

"I must say, I am quite surprised that your country has been able to persevere under such harsh conditions; it is truly admirable."

"You flatter me, Master."

Upon hearing Li Lin's sincere words, the king revealed a very warm smile.

"We still have to live, but you..." As he spoke, his gaze drifted to the airship still floating in the air not far behind Li Lin.

"Truly worthy of being called Magic Empire; we simply cannot create something so powerful and wondrous."

The polite formalities were quickly put aside, and then Li Lin, led by the king, entered the palace.

Like the other buildings, the entire palace was carved from stone. However, unlike other palaces, this was a royal palace, so the stone walls and pillars were adorned with exquisite carvings and rather luxurious decorations. But that was all; in fact, even the tables, chairs, benches, and beds were all made of stone. This made Li Lin wonder if the Serei might actually have some kind of murky relationship with the dwarves.

Of course, this impolite question only lingered in Li Lin's mind for a few moments before he began discussing formal matters with King Serei.

Li Lin's demands were simple: he would provide a mobile fortress to assist the Kingdom of Serei in conquering the plains of Lalia (a thousand years ago, that plain was the birthplace of Lalia, and they gradually grew powerful thanks to its fertile lands; of course, after annexing the lands of the Magic Empire, Lalia decisively moved its capital, entering territory they shouldn't have been allowed to enter). However, that would be all they would do. The Kingdom of Serei was forbidden from entering the territory of the Magic Empire in any form without permission; this was the Magic Empire's condition.

King Serei readily agreed to this condition. Understanding Li Lin's intentions, he offered to restrain the smaller nations that harbored ambitions against the Magic Empire, and even to strike them if necessary. Li Lin offered no objection. He understood that since the Kingdom of Serei had found him as a patron, it would undoubtedly want to seize the opportunity to expand its power. However, even if the Kingdom of Serei acquired the territory of Lalia or annexed other smaller nations, its territory would still not be very large, so it wouldn't pose much of a threat. Of course, both sides were well aware that if this agreement was signed, rumors would circulate that the Kingdom of Serei had become the Magic Empire's watchdog. However, both were pragmatists. A nation that didn't even bother with lavish decorations and superficial appearances in its capital city naturally wouldn't care too much about such matters of appearance. Moreover, everyone understood that once the Magic Empire truly achieved final victory, these smaller nations would have no choice but to follow its lead; in reality, there would be no difference between the two sides.

The signing of the contract went very smoothly. After all, both sides were well aware of each other's bottom line. Li Lin understood that although his Magic Empire was powerful, it was inappropriate to simply pressure others, so he only set the conditions within the acceptable range for the other party. King Serei also knew that no matter how many elite troops he had, he could not be a match for the Magic Empire. Since they had already shown their willingness to cooperate, and the other party had not made any particularly difficult demands, he naturally would not pretend to cooperate any further.

Aside from military discussions, Li Lin also proposed a unique idea: if King Serei agreed, he could send some mages to carry out a renovation project for the capital. While a complete overhaul wouldn't be possible, improving the soil and planting trees (Li Lin felt a bit thirsty again at this point). King Serei welcomed Li Lin's suggestion even more enthusiastically than before; after all, while they could tolerate the harsh environment, no one would mind if their living area were improved.

As for issues like trade and diplomacy, Li Lin did not discuss them with the other party. After all, the war between the Magic Empire and the Kingdom of Serei was not yet over, and it was too early to discuss these matters. Besides, the Kingdom of Serai currently had no special products that could be exported to its own country. Therefore, these matters were left for later. The first meeting between the two sides ended in a friendly and warm atmosphere. Afterwards, Li Lin made a small request to the King of Serei. He hoped to be able to tour around the royal city and see the state of the country.

Of course, King Serei initially wanted to order some soldiers to accompany Li Lin as guards, but Li Lin declined the suggestion. After all, with his strength, he was not in any danger here. Even if the entire royal city attacked him together, they would definitely not be his match. He only hoped that he and Yi Aier could take a stroll and enjoy the scenery of the city.

Since that's what the other party said, King Serei didn't insist anymore. He sent a skillful attendant to accompany Li Lin and guide him, so that the mage could easily tour the entire royal city.

Although it was called sightseeing, Li Lin didn't intend to wander aimlessly; in fact, he had already set his sights on something from the beginning.

"Before coming here, I had heard some legends about your country, and one story in particular moved me deeply."

He smiled and spoke to the soldier who was acting as his guide.

"May I have the honor of visiting that palace?"

That's certainly not a problem.

Upon hearing this, the attendant immediately felt relieved. In fact, after receiving this mission, his first thought was naturally that place as well. Because the palace was built quite early, and the warrior at the beginning of the kingdom had put a lot of effort into decorating it to commemorate the woman who had once saved him, the palace even looked more luxurious and beautiful than the royal palace. If it weren't for the fact that it was a place to commemorate the dead, the Kingdom of Serei might have held a welcoming ceremony there.

Without any hindrance, Li Lin and Yi Aier were led into the palace. According to the attendant, anyone could come here, and it was open to the public all day. Of course, on weekdays, people were busy with their daily routines, so fewer people came to commemorate the occasion. However, during festivals and on the new moon, the palace was packed with people.

Perhaps out of consideration for Li Lin's status, when the two entered the palace, it was already empty and exceptionally clean. Li Lin naturally understood that this was King Serei's arrangement, so he did not want to inquire about it, but instead focused his attention on the palace in front of him.

According to Li Lin's observation, this was just an ordinary place, similar to a memorial hall. On the stone walls on both sides, the life story of that extraordinary woman was carved, from her saving the founding emperor of the country to her eventual death. The exquisite and beautiful narrative of the entire mural easily captivated the viewer. According to the attendant, it was this woman who consistently supported the warrior, igniting his confidence and ultimately leading him to establish the country. In other words, although this woman did not ultimately marry the king, the people of this country worshipped her as their national mother.

I see...

However, what intrigued Li Lin even more was that when he saw the woman's appearance in the mural, he did have a somewhat familiar impression of her.

Finally, led by the attendant, the two reached the depths of the palace, where they saw the statue of the woman.

This is a woman with long hair. Although the color is indiscernible from the stone carving, she exudes a rather dark aura. Unlike typical statues, this woman doesn't wear a robe or armor; instead, she wears a strangely styled leather armor, with several daggers and throwing knives concealed in her belt. Her expression is a half-smile, brimming with an inexplicable confidence and vitality. A cloak billows from her back, obscuring half her body. Despite this bizarre attire, her delicate features and beautiful eyes still make her undeniably alluring.

Upon seeing the statue, Li Lin subtly raised an eyebrow, while Yi Aier, who was standing behind him, was even more direct. She widened her eyes in surprise and pointed at the statue.

"She's not..."

However, Yi Aier didn't finish speaking, because Li Lin, sensing something was wrong, coughed loudly, interrupting Yi Aier. The little maid also seemed to realize the seriousness of the situation and quickly shut her mouth. Fortunately, the attendant beside her, although startled, didn't know why this was happening and didn't seem to care.

The tour ended quickly, and in fact, having obtained the information he needed, Li Lin had lost all interest in sightseeing. He quickly left the palace and returned to his airship. Only then did he have the time and inclination to consider the immediate problem. After all, this was what he needed to focus on most right now. Although Li Lin had previously deduced that the being here was a deity, he hadn't expected it to be her.

"I never expected it to be her, Master."

As Yi Aier walked over carrying hot tea, she couldn't help but sigh, which made Li Lin frown.

Do you know her?

"Certainly."

Yi Aier put down her teacup and nodded affirmatively.

"Didn't she used to frequently appear in your bed, Master?"

"..."

I suppose what Yi Aier was planning to say just now was something like, "She's not the woman who sleeps with the master all the time," it's so good that she didn't say it.

"To be honest, I was a little surprised too."

Li Lin gave a wry smile.

"While this is certainly like her style, I really didn't expect her to hide here... This god really isn't something to be trifled with. I never imagined she'd hide in this godforsaken place. It seems even the God of Justice has flaws."

Now, Li Lin finally understood why the Goddess of Secrets needed his help.