959-966

Chapter 959: Order Integration

Lilian felt great.

She followed Rhode and gazed at his familiar back in high spirits. She still remembered how baffled she was when she became one of the Creator Dragon Souls. She was at her wits' end. Even though Nalea was by her side, she was just a stranger. Lilian was completely stiff when walking on this dark passage and on the verge of bursting into tears. She couldn't remember how she passed the ceremony because her head was completely blank. She just did what others told her to. That ceremony left a relatively huge psychological trauma in her. In fact, even though she gained a lot of knowledge and learned about etiquette as a dragon soul heir, she was still a child with the title of the 'Light Dragon', which meant nothing to her. She wouldn't attend any other ceremony and owned no power in the Country of Light's affairs. She had also never seen anyone worshiping or respecting her. She didn't think that being the Light Dragon had any benefits at all.

It was due to these reasons that the previous ceremony was the first ever, official ceremony that she had attended. Back then she was so scared that her legs were shivering. She was alone, clueless, and the people around her weren't friendly at all, especially the Dark Dragon with his strong, mighty presence. She didn't know exactly how she hung on and when she finally regained her consciousness, she was in Lydia's arms, weeping.

Thereafter, Lilian opposed showing up for public ceremonies unless it was the Dragon Soul Ceremony.

If it were in the past, she would rather not attend this Order Ceremony. Even though she was an innocent child, she wasn't a foolish one. She knew that she couldn't compete with Ion, Siena, or Nalea in any aspect. Although she was also one of the dragon soul heirs, she didn't possess a level of authority or reputation like theirs and was only an ordinary child. This brought immense pressure to her shoulders. There was no common language between them. Ion, Siena, and Nalea were all high and mighty figures, but she couldn't even make a decision without the Light Parliament's approval.

But after learning that Rhode became the dragon soul heir, she was incomparably excited for the Order Ceremony. She wasn't dubious about his identity nor curious as to how he became a dragon soul heir. On the contrary, she accepted this fact quicker than anyone else. Or perhaps, she hoped that this was the truth because she had been lonely for too long.

She had no supporters in the entire Country of Light. Although Lydia treated her well, they were still in a master-subordinate relationship, after all. On the contrary, she didn't feel the same kind of care from Rhode. Instead, it was as though they were in an interrelated relationship which she never had with Lydia. This particular feeling became stronger after he became a dragon soul heir.

This was why she came here and her wish had finally come true. The person she missed was right before her eyes and just looking at him gave her a feeling of satisfaction, where not even the Dark Dragon was intimidating anymore. She was also rather envious that if it were possible, she would rather not have the identity of the Light Dragon and become one of those younger sisters who was always by his side. But... she knew that this was just a beautiful dream.

The door opened.

Radiance from behind the door escaped through the opening, merging with the dim passage into one. Rhode witnessed a study-room-sized circular space behind the door with small circles of mysterious floral patterns engraved on the floor, as well as five black circles on the enormous magic ritual.

"Please don't worry, Your Majesty Rhode."

Siena turned to him upon sensing his dubious gaze, but her solemn expression didn't seem convincing at all. If he weren't aware that she was just an unsmiling person, he wouldn't have taken her words seriously.

"This is an essential ceremony for dragon soul heirs. All you need to do is to stand there and the Order ring will respond to your dragon soul powers. You just have to release your power and accept the connection to Order. Even though Order is secure in your territory, it still isn't unified with the other territories. If this continues, the Order in your territory will derail from the entire continent, allowing Chaos to infiltrate through the gaps. The most important purpose of the Order Ceremony is to ensure every dragon soul heir has control over their dragon soul protection and to support the merge of Order for the continent. This prevents Order within the dragon soul protection from being destroyed upon the death of the dragon soul heir."

I see.

Rhode finally understood the true meaning behind this ceremony now. Just as Siena said, Order in the Dragon Soul Continent had to be unified. Although every territory performed differently under unique dragon soul protections, it was vital that Order was unified nonetheless. This was why the dragon soul heirs were gathered for this common awareness.

In other words, my territory used to be a regional network and is now connected to the global network?

Rhode nodded in agreement and followed Siena into the room.

"Hmph."

Ion scoffed before unwillingly standing in one of the five circles. On the other hand, Lilian tugged Rhode's sleeve and smiled at him before capering to one of the circles. Siena and Nalea also took their position and the latter showed a warm smile, gesturing to him with her extended hand. Rhode shrugged and went up to stand on the last empty circle.

"————"

All of a sudden, the faint ritual on the floor emanated a glistening, magical brilliance. Awhite light beam burst out of the circle from underneath Lilian's feet, followed by a black light beam from underneath Ion's. Then, the magical brilliance merged into two emerald-green light beams that erupted from underneath the twin dragons' feet. Shortly after, the four vibrant spiritual radiances followed their paths and linked up with the empty circle underneath Rhode's feet. Then, a golden light beam shone and shot up to the ceiling, enveloping him completely.

"Argh..."

At this moment, Rhode sensed four unique spiritual powers spiraling around him. Ion's power was the most overbearing, like a violent, bone-chilling wave that crashed into his body. The twin dragons' powers were massive too. Despite Nalea's muddle-headed personality, her spiritual power was as though a huge, spectacular mountain range while Siena's spiritual power felt extremely sharp as though he was in a hell of blades. On the other hand, Lilian's spiritual power was the weakest among them, with almost no sense of presence like gentle rays of the sun in the harsh, ice-cold winter. Although he sensed it, there was basically no warmth at all.

It seems like there's indeed a huge problem with Lilian's dragon soul power.

Rhode puckered his brows while recalling Sonia's report. In the past he couldn't confirm this point, but now, he was certain that her dragon soul power had been meddled with. If not, how could it be this weak?

Shortly after, he threw this thought aside because lines of system prompt appeared before his eyes.

[Detected Order Structure Network. Begin access... 3, 2, 1... Access complete. Verifying priority... Priority verification confirmed. Detected Dragon Soul Power. Begin scanning... 3, 2, 1... Confirmation complete. Connection to Judgment Dragon, Ruling Dragon, Light Dragon, and Dark Dragon complete. Order Structure Network connection interface open...]

"..."

Rhode swallowed his saliva anxiously. This scene reminded him of when the system went berserk twice after he transcended to the Legendary Stage and opened up the land of Chaos. Even though it seemed as though the system had only changed slightly, he felt that something was amiss because before the system rebooted, he saw something about [Connection]. He deduced that this system should be exclusive to him and the other dragon soul heirs didn't own one. How would he answer them if there were issues with the [Connecting Network]?

[... Connecting Network Structure. Activating Order Network Scan. Reactivating Third Interface...]

Rhode didn't realize that while he was focused on the system prompts, the expressions of the other four dragon soul heirs changed slightly. As dragon soul heirs who underwent this ceremony, they were all familiar with the process. In this process, all the dragon soul heirs would sense one another's powers. From a certain aspect, this was also considered a way to figure out each other's strength because the dragon soul powers represented the strength of the dragon soul heir and his or her territory. Not only that, but strong dragon soul power also provided benefits to the corresponding territory, such as increasing the number of talents who would appear, strengthening the devoted worshipers of the dragon soul heir, or improving the abilities to domesticate unique and precious magic monster nests. A huge reason why the Country of Darkness was so powerful was that the strength of undead creatures under the Dark Dragon's dragon soul protection was enhanced, which in turn, sped up their growth. On the other hand, the reason why the Country of Light remained so weak was mainly because the Light Dragon had trouble taking care of herself, not to mention providing strength to others. Besides, in the Country of Light, the only ones who truly had faith for the Light Dragon were... Yes, everyone knew that they didn't exist.

It could also be said that sensing one another's dragon soul powers was as though probing their overall strength, which not only included the dragon soul heirs, but also their people and subjects. This was also one of the main reasons why the Dark Dragon attacked the Country of Light.

The moment Rhode detected their spiritual powers, the other four dragon soul heirs also sensed his.

And they were flabbergasted.

"This is..."

Siena widened her eyes in shock as she turned to her elder sister. Rhode's dragon soul power was neither as overbearing as the Dark Dragon's nor as dazzling as the Light Dragon's. On the contrary, his dragon soul power was extremely serene like the land and sky. It existed and appeared exceedingly normal. But if one were to look closely, one would discover that this still force was endless like the world itself!

Ion twitched his brow. His dark eyes glinted with complicated emotions but only for a split second. On the other hand, Lilian didn't seem mindful about it. Even though she was surprised that Rhode's dragon soul power was so strong, she wasn't aware of the benefits in having dragon soul power, so she didn't know what to expect of it. But even so, she instinctively leaned toward Rhode as though hoping that the massive, peaceful power from him could counteract the Dark Dragon's.

[... First, Second, Third, Fourth Interfaces Activated. Order Network Connected. Transmission Stable... Power Synchronization Rate 85%. Activating Network Original Terminal...]

Rhode's heart skipped a beat.

Just as he expected, there was indeed a problem!

"———!"

Suddenly, the light circles underneath the feet of the four dragon soul heirs flickered. Not only that, but the instant the light circles flickered, they also sensed that their dragon soul powers were being absorbed!

"This is...?!"

Before Siena finished her sentence, the four light beams burst into the sky and enveloped all five of the dragon soul heirs completely.

[Begin Network Terminal Activation———Connecting———Signaling———Zeroth Node———Order Network Structure Reset. Original Signal Activated. Commence Connection———]

The invisible dragon soul powers exploded, blasting strong, destructive airflows to the surroundings. If they were in any other place, the area would have been demolished by now. But now, the dragon soul powers were slowly being absorbed. The complicated magic ritual underneath their feet gradually shone brighter and after a few moments, the five light beams vanished into nothingness, revealing the five dragon soul heirs once again.

But unlike before, everyone was drenched in sweat. Lilian instantly sat on the ground while Ion turned pale with beads of sweat collecting on his forehead. Rhode was no exception, but fortunately for him, he was mentally prepared for this third time after having two encounters with the system going berserk. He gazed at the final line of system prompt.

[———Plane of Existence Signal Activated———Order Network Terminal Reboot Complete. Link with Main System Successful]

[Code Conversion Completed———Deepest Labyrinth Signal Port Connection Complete. Outside World Synchronous Information Transfer Function Available]

Rhode knitted his brows.

It seems like I'll need to make a trip to the Deepest Labyrinth.

Chapter 960: Off-court Confrontation

The light beams vanished and the atmosphere in the sacred palace was incredibly subtle. Siena and Nalea exchanged glances while Lilian sat on the ground, gasping for air. That mysterious ritual absorbed a lot of dragon soul powers where not even a powerful figure like Ion could handle it, not to mention Lilian.

"What happened?"

Ion shot a meaningful look at Rhode before turning to Siena and Nalea. Nalea's expression remained unchanged and on the contrary, Siena seemed rather awkward. She closed her eyes to have a sense of what happened before opening her eyes.

"My sincere apologies, Your Majesty Ion. Big Sister and I don't know why this happened. But after our analysis, we understand that the Order barrier connecting to the dragon soul protections have become stronger and more stable. I think..." Siena looked at Rhode. "... Perhaps this was because all five of us are present and this might have activated a certain spell within the magic ritual. After all, the heir of the Void Dragon hasn't shown up for a long time in this continent."

"..."

Ion didn't respond. He let out a cold snort and remained silent as though pondering over something. Rhode shrugged and went up to Lilian, extending his hand.

"Are you okay, Lilian?"

"... Yes..."

Lilian lifted her head and revealed a joyous grin, holding onto his hand.

"Thank you, Big Brother Rhode."

"You're welcome."

Rhode was astonished. He remembered clearly that this wasn't the way Lilian addressed him in the past. Why did she suddenly call him 'big brother'? Despite that, Rhode pulled her up gently and patted her head. Lilian narrowed her eyes like a comfortable kitten, which made him chuckled inwardly. At this moment, he heard Siena's voice.

"Your Majesty Rhode, you've had a hard day at this ceremony."

"It's fine."

Rhode waved his hand airily.

"But frankly speaking, I'm rather surprised that the ceremony ends so quickly... I thought it would take much longer."

What he said was sincerely from the bottom of his heart. In fact, he thought that this so-called Order Ceremony would be as grand and prosperous as the Midsummer Festival and Dragon Soul Ceremony, where there would be speeches from representatives and leaders, formal meetings, casual conversations, and whatnots... He didn't expect the ceremony to be so simple. But...

It shouldn't be as simple as it seems.

Confirming one another's strength through dragon soul powers and coming up with the corresponding response—from a certain aspect, this ceremony wasn't as simple as just maintaining the balance of Order. But Rhode wasn't too sure of what effect his system had taken during the ceremony. When Siena and Nalea began their checks, he activated the system interface and surprisingly realized that there weren't any changes. It was apparent that the system had indeed connected to some sort of a network and yet, there weren't any related 'network' options. So where exactly did that connected network go to?

"Alright then..."

Boom!

Suddenly, Rhode heard a deep, rumbling explosion. Although they were in a secret room and the explosion wasn't too loud, it didn't seem like a good sign at all. Almost at the same time, Nalea shrieked and covered her mouth with both hands.

"Oh no, it seems like they've gotten into a fight..."

"..."

For some unknown reason, Rhode suddenly had a bad feeling.

A dazzling, holy white radiance cut through the sky and engulfed the entire mountain. Then, a petite figure exploded forward in the blustering gale, crashing onto the blood-red barrier.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

In an instant, along with ear-deafening explosions, the incomparably weak blood-red barrier cracked and shattered into bits. Mini Bubble Gum dashed out with her right fist aiming for Ashvril. The Blood Countess looked on sternly, raising the black handheld fan and swinging it before her, where a dense aura of death burst at its target. But Mini Bubble Gum displayed a proud smile. She stretched out her left hand and suddenly, a golden spiritual ritual shrouded her and kept the death aura at bay. She tightened and hurled her right fist forward, landing on the black handheld fan in a powerful punch.

"———!"

The instant Mini Bubble Gum's fist crashed into Ashvril's handheld fan, she heard bone-chilling screams from the handheld fan and countless blue, eerie spirits flew and vanished in the holy, golden radiance. Ashvril turned ashen immediately.

"You..."

"Heh heh. How's that, bitch? You scared now?"

Mini Bubble Gum landed on her feet nimbly with a wide smile plastered across her face. Marlene stood behind her and rubbed her forehead helplessly. On the other hand, Alice didn't say a word as she continued to hug the book in her arms. Gillian sat on the stone chair leisurely, enjoying the bustling show. As for Canary, she sat beside the fox-eared young lady and didn't seem to have any intention of stopping the fight.

"Why? Weren't you in estrus and having a good time? Come get some, you swine. Instead of using those outdated abilities, you might as well strip naked and run laps around here. Don't act all innocent if you wanna be gang-raped. Look into the mirror and see how black you are. How dare you have the audacity to pretend as an innocent woman? Are you really that shameless, old woman?"

"You..."

Ashvril sulked. As the Blood Countess, such an extent of insult wasn't enough for her to take offense. But with the damage that Mini Bubble Gum dealt, the situation was completely different. Her handheld fan had broken to the attack, but it wasn't all. It was her favorite weapon, the 'Wraith Prison'. All enemy spirits she had killed were captured in the handheld fan, and not only could she imprison their spirits, but she could also use their strength and unique abilities. Whenever she was bored, she would also listen to their mournful groans. This handheld fan was considered her proudest weapon.

But now, not only did Mini Bubble Gum shatter the seal and release the imprisoned spirits, but she also purified them all! The amount of power in the handheld fan had decreased by two-thirds. She had spent centuries accumulating them!

But it only took an instant to wipe it clean!

Of course, Ashvril was the root of this problem. Even though she tried to probe everyone's strength earlier on, a leopard couldn't change its spots, after all. After the dragon soul heirs entered the deep palace, she began to sound out everyone. But to her surprise, Mini Bubble Gum, who seemed incredibly bored jumped, all of a sudden yelled, "You're asking for death, slut!" Then, she darted forward with her clenched fists. The four legendary generals didn't have the habit of enjoying blessings and enduring misfortune together. The instant Mini Bubble Gum launched her attack, the other three legendary generals retreated to the sides.

"You..."

"Why? Come if you dare! Do you think I'm afraid of killing you?"

Mini Bubble Gum swept a look of disdain, pointing with her right index finger while Ashvril gnashed her teeth fumingly. Among the four legendary generals, she wasn't one who was an expert in battle. Moreover, they were in the Country of Law and she would be unable to bear the consequences of failure after the Dark Dragon returned. Besides, she also wouldn't attain victory even if she put her entire mind into the battle because her strength wasn't enhanced like when she was in the Country of Darkness. Also, Mini Bubble Gum was a Cleric and her sacred spiritual spells were the nemesis of the undead. Even though the members supporting Mini Bubble Gum didn't seem to have the intention of joining the battle, Ashvril realized that the young lady named Canary had been staring at her like a predator sizing up its prey. Ashvril had no doubt that once she revealed any weakness, the young lady would definitely join hands with this little rascal and kill her!

She had no doubt that even if she were killed, none of the legendary generals would seek revenge for her. As for the Dark Dragon starting a war with the Void Territory for her sake... It had a higher chance of happening in her dreams. Perhaps even her subjects would be too busy fighting to take her place instead of seeking revenge. Revenge? What a joke. If the Void Territory were to slaughter her, her subjects would surely be popping champagnes and expressing their gratitude to the Void Territory!

Ashvril's head was spinning. She swore that if she knew such a crazy little rascal existed in the Void Territory, she wouldn't have tried to sound out their strength. It wasn't about Mini Bubble Gum's personality, but more like her extraordinary spiritual senses.

"Uh-oh, it seems like Ashvril is in trouble."

Erin chuckled softly while Lydia nodded in agreement. Back then, Lydia had personally witnessed how Mini Bubble Gum crippled the sword saint. She was obviously a Cleric, but was surprisingly fond of violence without considering the consequences. The Mist Sword Saint was a famous figure, but she crippled him without showing respect to the Country of Light. However, at this moment, Lydia wasn't focusing her attention on Mini Bubble Gum. Instead, she was silently looking at Canary.

She was clearly aware that this young lady was the person who controlled this battle.

Although Canary seemed really gentle, Lydia had already realized that deep down she was much wilder than Mini Bubble Gum. She often hid in the back, allowing Mini Bubble Gum to handle situations, and even overindulged her. Lydia knew that both of them were together all the time. If Canary was really as gentle, quiet, and mature as she seemed, she should surely have a certain degree of influence over Mini Bubble Gum. But on the contrary, Mini Bubble Gum didn't seem to have grown more mature and reliable and this revealed the problem.

But now...

Perhaps she was waiting for the opportunity to deal the fatal, killer blow.

Lydia narrowed her eyes. In fact, she had the same judgment as Ashvril. In this place, Ashvril had no intention of going all-out and besides, the arena also restricted her abilities. But on the other hand, it was apparent that Mini Bubble Gum and Canary wanted to take her out. Even though this seemed irresponsible and entailed serious consequences, Ashvril realized that her being killed was the least risky option. She was the vampire queen, but in the Country of Darkness she in fact didn't possess formidable strength. Besides, vampires were basically on the niche, elite route and weren't strong enough to create controversies. Ashvril was proudest of her subjects' abilities to gather intelligence, but the truth was that intelligence could be gathered by anyone and this didn't give her an edge...

Lydia sighed as she was truly envious of Rhode now. It wasn't due to the territory that he had, but more because of his stellar subjects who supported him greatly. Perhaps Mini Bubble Gum was purely eager to kill this woman who she disliked, but Canary must have seen through the strong relationships and ties within. It didn't matter if they killed or didn't kill Ashvril here because they succeeded in displaying their strength to everyone to create an effective deterrence, which was vital for a new territory. As long as the territory had enough deterrence, enemies lurking in the dark wouldn't be too tempted to make a move. This was a risky decision for people in the limelight, as they would face the most danger. But the fact that they chose to watch and support from the sidelines was enough to prove the problem.

If Her Majesty Lilian had so many talents around her, maybe I won't need to worry so much about her.

Lydia turned around and gazed at the two archangels for a few seconds before turning away. She had said her piece and it was up to them now to comprehend what she meant. Perhaps Serene was only sticking to the rules, but Boulder was the worrying one for Lydia because he was like an angry lion who didn't aim his sharp, deadly claws at the right enemies...

"What are you doing?"

Suddenly, a deep, stern voice sounded. Ashvril swiftly retreated and bowed deeply to the pitch-black shadow emerging from the passage.

"Your Majesty."

"Tsk."

Mini Bubble Gum clicked her tongue before ceasing her next attack and returning to the rest of the group. Canary stood up and patted Mini Bubble Gum's head and at this moment, the other four dragon soul heirs also appeared from the shadowy passage. Rhode knitted his brows at the sight of the messy, chaotic hall. But he simply shook his head and remained silent. On the other hand, Nalea rested her face on her hand and spoke with a smile.

"Oh no-no, this is getting a little too heated..."

"Sigh..."

Siena sighed to her elder sister's silly response.

At this moment, Ion suddenly turned around and went up to Rhode. Rhode narrowed his eyes and sized him up. Both of them were about equal height, but Rhode was much slimmer while Ion was more muscular. Lilian felt displeased as Ion approached Rhode in big strides, but even so, she didn't dare to retaliate. She merely glared at him before hiding behind Rhode.

"Is anything the matter?" Rhode asked. In fact, he and Ion didn't address each other up until this point, which represented the tense relationship between them.

"I heard you've met Erin, right?"

Ion didn't beat about the bush and got straight into the important topic. Even though Rhode didn't know why Ion asked this question, he still nodded.

"That's right."

"Good."

Ion nodded.

"Alright, she's yours then."

Ion spoke, turned away, and left, leaving Rhode gazing at his back dubiously...

Wait... What did he say again?

Chapter 961: A Huge Trouble

"... Miss Erin?"

Rhode gazed at Erin who was smiling at him curiously. He suppressed a feeling of annoyance in his head and spoke in the most normal tone.

"May I know what's going on?"

"What do you mean by that, Your Majesty Rhode?"

"Why. Are you. Here?"

Rhode pointed at Erin. He had already sensed the hostile gazes from everyone. Erin tilted her head and pondered for a while. Then, she replied with a smile.

"Oh, this is Big Brother's order. I'm yours from now onward. Please take good care of me, alright, Your Majesty?"

"... Could you please explain one more time in a less scandalous way?"

"What I said was the truth. Just now, Big Brother told me, 'from now onward, you're heading to the Void Territory'. So that's why I'm here. It's just that simple."

Sigh...

Rhode let out a helpless sigh. He turned around and exchanged glances with Marlene and the others before shaking his head. This was truly a dramatic scene. After the ceremony ended, both sides held down the two troublemakers of Mini Bubble Gum and Ashvril. After having a short conversation without including the Dark Dragon Ion, Rhode left with his subjects and decided to check on Lilian after taking a break. But he didn't expect Erin to follow them all the way back to the temporary residence that the Country of Law had arranged for everyone... Judging from her stealthiness, it wouldn't be possible that she was in the Thief class... right?

And now, he felt an immense headache at the sight of Erin.

Ion, you scoundrel... You will die a horrible death!

Rhode cursed Ion harshly in his mind before gesturing to Marlene.

"Marlene, I'll leave her to you. Please help to settle down the princess, understood?"

"Of course, I'll get everything ready."

Marlene nodded instantly. Then, she approached Erin and bowed respectfully.

"Your Highness, please come with me."

"Okay."

Erin smiled, nodded, and followed Marlene obediently without any arrogance. After the two of them disappeared from Rhode's sight, he let out a long sigh and shook his head.

Dark Dragon that bastard. This girl is surely here for revenge. Yes, she must be here for revenge!

"Huhuhu, what's wrong, Master? You look terrible. Why are you complaining when such a beautiful princess throws herself at you?"

Gillian chuckled, swaying her fluffy tail and twitching her ears playfully as though she were really excited. On the contrary, Rhode swept her an ice-cold look.

"Stopping fanning the flames, Gillian. You are also aware that this is a huge trouble."

Rhode was right. This was indeed a huge trouble.

Even though this seemed like a pleasant task with the attractive Erin, the problem was that even if she was beautiful, he already had a lot of beauties around him, so he wouldn't necessarily pick her. What was more important was the troubles that she would bring to him.

Rhode didn't believe that this was a step of the Dark Dragon to form an alliance. Although marrying would definitely strengthen both forces together, the problem was that this wasn't something deserving of a celebration. Rhode had no intention of forming an alliance with the Country of Darkness because the peaceful coexistence of nations was an entirely different matter. He had intended to not be hostile against the Country of Darkness or express fondness. No matter what, he came from the Munn Kingdom and had to consider Lydia's standpoint. Moreover, he couldn't accept 'undeads' in his territory. If he walked too closely with the Country of Darkness, there might even be unfavorable rumors spreading in his territory. No matter what, nothing great would come out of a relationship that involved undead creatures. This was why he had planned to let his territory have a neutral standpoint like the Country of Law. Although there was nothing worthy of discussion with the Country of Light, it didn't mean that he would be inclined to accept undead creatures.

But now, Ion handed his younger sister over and this was obviously a move to pull Rhode to his side!

No, perhaps Ion didn't have such an intention, but at least he created an illusion that he was pulling Rhode to his side, and it would be enough if it seemed like it for others!

It could also be said that this move by Ion left Rhode in a horrible spot while Ion wouldn't suffer too many losses. This was because Erin didn't take up any important roles in the Country of Darkness and was forbidden from getting involved in political and military affairs. Maybe she could obtain some information with her unique identity, but she couldn't possibly get her hands on the top secrets. This was why Ion wasn't afraid that Rhode would acquire any intelligence from her. Besides, it was also impossible for Rhode to manipulate Erin like Sonia because Erin was the moon princess—invincible under the full moon. He might even get himself into trouble instead.

Not only that, but Rhode also wouldn't marry Erin even if he accepted her because he was sure that his entire harem would be blazing in flames, like the aftermath of a volcano eruption. Although there were many women around him, he had never talked about marrying anyone because no matter which choice he made, he would displease the others. This was why he treated them equally. In fact, Canary, Lize, and Marlene were indeed 'wife material' and if he were to toss them aside and let Erin take the 'wife throne', the consequences would be unimaginable.

Fortunately, Ion didn't insist that they had to marry each other. If not, Rhode would surely send Erin back to Country of Darkness even if she wasn't willing to. He would rather fall out with the Country of Darkness than shake the unity and stability of his harem.

Moreover, Erin wasn't a fool. It was mentioned earlier that perhaps there would be five legendary generals instead of four if it weren't for her identity that restricted her from participating in political and military affairs. It would be impossible for him to not worry about having someone who was this bright, powerful, and in a possibly hostile position by his side!

Perhaps Ion was aware of Rhode's intention, which was why he came up with this offensive proposal. If he were to raise this suggestion in an official setting, Rhode would surely reject on the spot. But the proposal would be harder to refuse if Ion handed Erin over directly. Of course, Rhode would still send her back later, but he was also clear that since Ion had made this decision, she would still return to him like a rebounding ball. Moreover, even if Rhode left her behind in the Country of Law, he was sure that she would make her way to the Void Territory. Back then she bravely sneaked into the Munn Kingdom and had tea with Lydia during the war between the Country of Light and the Country of Darkness. So rather than leaving her wandering in his territory later, Rhode might as well place her somewhere where he could monitor her and stop her from heading places she shouldn't. Even though he didn't know if Erin would abandon her identity and become a spy, he needed to consider all the possibilities.

If Erin was interested in becoming a spy, she would be an unstoppable one. Besides, even if she had no intention of doing so, in this developing stage of the Void Territory, many core secrets might possibly be revealed. If she were to notice them, Rhode was confident that her wisdom would help her easily deduce the possibilities. The only thing that Erin shouldn't learn about was his system...

Rhode knitted his brows. He pondered for a long while before finally making a decision.

"Let Canary and Mini Bubble Gum do the monitoring for now while you take care of her too. She doesn't seem like one who will settle down for boredom, so please watch out for any problems."

"No problem, Master. Leave it to me."

Gillian answered swiftly. Then, she placed her finger on her lips friskily and gazed at him in amusement. Rhode noticed her up-to-no-good stare and twitched his brows.

"Is anything else the matter, Gillian?"

"Yes, Master. How are you going to explain this matter to Her Majesty Lilian?"

"..."

Rhode instantly felt his head spinning.

Chapter 962: Seeking Thread

Rhode was relieved that Lilian didn't pester him about Erin since she heard that Erin was also heading to the Void Territory. Lilian asked Rhode who Erin was and warned him to be careful of her. But the so-called 'be careful' was from a different angle.

"That Ion is annoying and always so scary. Big Brother Rhode, you must be careful because his younger sister may be equally scary. But I believe that you won't be bullied by her! If she dares to bully you, show her how strong you are! I'm sure that you will be fine, Big Brother Rhode!"

In response to Lilian's suggestion... Rhode simply smiled in response.

Rhode and Lilian had a casual conversation without discussing important affairs. After all, even if there were any, Lilian couldn't make the decision. Besides, she was also aware that the relationship between the Country of Light and Rhode wasn't great. At this moment, she felt somewhat glad that she was just an ornament of the country and not a true ruler because she didn't need to be involved with the important affairs and this gave her more time to quietly chat with Rhode. Just like in the past, Lilian was always the one speaking while Rhode lent her a listening ear. Even though Sonia was also a close friend to Lilian, there were some things that she could only talk about in front of Rhode.

It could also be said that this time, Lilian had a lot more load on her mind this time.

In the past, Lilian was always unknowingly controlled by the Light Parliament. Even though she felt dubious of their decisions, she only grumbled. But it was different now. As she slowly searched for her rightful authority, she faced even more obstacles. But as Sonia came to her side, she wasn't fighting alone any longer and finally had the joy of having a comrade in the trench with her to wash away her annoyance and uncertainty. Along with the positive emotions and the fact that Rhode was also a dragon soul heir now, she couldn't care less about formal etiquette. She also seemed oddly excited as she described everything that she had done after the last time they parted. Although she attained little success, she was slowly growing with every step she took.

"... Mmm... Mmm..."

The exhausted Lilian fell asleep, curled up in Rhode's embrace. Rhode stroked her hair gently and looked at her adorable face. Everything was going as planned and Sonia also seemed to be doing great. The riots in the Country of Light also gradually stopped and there were no signs of rioters except by the borders. Besides, the next chairman of the Light Parliament was about to be elected.

It's about time to strike.

"You seem to have some dangerous things going on in your mind, Your Majesty Rhode."

Suddenly, Rhode heard a really familiar voice. He turned around and to his surprise, he saw the smiley Lydia who shifted her gaze from Lilian to him. Rhode nodded slightly before carrying Lilian to the comfy sofa.

"Her Majesty seems to have fallen asleep. Can I use some of your time?"

"Of course."

Rhode gazed at the archangel.

It was dusk. Gentle rays of the setting sun glowed from the other side of the mountain, dyeing the entire forest in scarlet and enveloping the land with motley radiance. In the near distance, worshipers could be seen bending over devoutly, slowly making their way up the white path to the sacred palace. Lydia narrowed her eyes and admired them.

"Faith is so fascinating... Don't you think so, Your Majesty Rhode? What exactly supported their decision to come from a distant hometown despite the dangers and just for the sake of paying tribute to this sacred palace? Or perhaps I should say that they treat this as their origin to prove their resolute will?"

"You can call me by my name, Your Royal Highness Lydia. I don't feel like the so-called 'Your Majesty' is a respectable title. Honestly, I'm not used to hearing you call me that."

"That won't do. No matter what, you're one of the dragon soul heirs and formal greetings are indispensable."

Even though Lydia sounded humble and respectful, she seemed to be amusing herself judging from her look. However, Rhode wasn't mindful. After all, he couldn't be more familiar with her character.

"I have something to ask you, Your Royal Highness Lydia."

"Is it about Her Majesty Lilian?"

Lydia smiled.

"In fact, I don't know too much about her. After all, I've only become an archangel for a short while. Or perhaps I should say that before I became an archangel, Her Majesty Lilian was already the dragon soul heir... But, Your Majesty, you do know how dragon soul heirs came about, right?"

"..."

Rhode twitched his brows. Of course, he knew how the dragon soul heirs came about. Unlike normal situations, dragon soul heirs weren't selected heirs by blood. Instead, an heir was randomly selected within the dragon soul protection. Of course, the selection wasn't truly random. The new dragon soul heirs were basically the materialization of the dragon soul powers and only they could handle the massive dragon soul powers. Before the current dragon soul heir passed away, the new heir would be born and the current heir would know where the new heir was located. The steps of inheritance included having the new dragon soul heir being brought to the sacred palace by the predecessor's most trustworthy subjects to learn and receive all their experiences, knowledge, and authority. Then, the predecessor would peacefully pass away and the new cycle would begin.

But now, Lydia suddenly asked him this question...

"I can only tell you one thing."

Lydia chuckled softly and extended her hand.

"The current Light Dragon, Her Majesty Lilian, was brought back by the Light Parliament. This is all that I know."

Brought back by the Light Parliament?

Rhode's eyes glinted with interest. Then, he nodded to Lydia before turning around and leaving the forest. Lydia gazed at his back meaningfully. Then, she placed her finger on her lips.

"Alright then. I wonder how far you can take it, Your Majesty Rhode."

"This is too much, Lydia."

At this moment, a deep, stern voice blared and blazing, golden flames erupted all out a sudden, enveloping Lydia completely. Then, a six-winged archangel walked out of the woods, his bright eyes burning in wrath.

"I have tolerated your unscrupulous behavior, but now you've gone too far! Lydia, who gave you the right to disclose our secrets to outsiders?!"

"Oh, no. I don't think it's a top secret, Your Highness Boulder."

Lydia retorted, seemingly unaffected by the menacing, burning flames encircling her. She displayed her usual smile and laid her arms by her side when suddenly, two glorious, flashy swords appeared in her hands.

"Concealing the disease will only worsen it and rotten soil will not be purified if it isn't radiated by the sun... As an archangel, you should understand this logic and yet, you decide to cover up everything caused by your mistakes? What makes you different from a pest hidden underneath the flowers and nibbling away at the leaves?"

"You... How dare you!"

Boulder clutched his sword. He was so furious that flames almost erupted from his eyes.

"You know nothing because you've just become an archangel. How dare you object to our approach."

"Time doesn't make a difference. I'm also an archangel, isn't it, Your Highness Boulder?"

Lydia ambled along the scorching flames and looked with a sharp gaze.

"A noble reason isn't an excuse. As long as I can break out of this predicament, I will search for all the help I can get. I can't understand the feelings you have for the former dragon soul heir, but this isn't a reason for you to hurt Her Majesty Lilian. I, as the current Light Dragon's subject, will do whatever it takes to get Her Majesty Lilian out of the predicament. Don't forget our duties and identities, Your Highness Boulder."

"You don't understand at all...!"

"I don't need to understand."

Lydia slashed her swords and the outburst of blade winds split the wall of golden flames in half. She walked out of the encirclement of flames, staring at her companion.

"Spring makes way for autumn. Ripe fruits will fall one day while new sprouts will grow on withered branches. Ignoring the beautiful view and simply immersing oneself in past dreams is acceptable. But it is a behavior of foolish arrogance if one harms the delicate, fragile sprout due to the illusory dreams."

"Lydia...!"

Boulder's shaky voice couldn't conceal his wrath any longer. He raised his sword and pointed it at Lydia who held two swords before her in a criss-cross stance.

"It's unbearable to look at one in pain from the wound that can't be healed... Your Highness Boulder... Are you sure that you want to start a battle with me...?"

As Lydia spoke, the scarlet sunset glow suddenly turned into a shapeless, tremendous pressure, diffusing to the surroundings.

"At dusk?"

"This will all end now."

All of a sudden, someone strode out of the woods and stood between them like a strong, invisible wall.

"This is the Country of Law so please watch yourself, Lydia. We don't suspect your devotion to Her Majesty. But..."

"The past is not a burden, but a motivation to move forward. Based on this point, I really can't understand what both of you are thinking."

Lydia interrupted Serene and withdrew her swords. Then, she looked at Boulder who remained silent.

"Could it be that there is something more important than cherishing the present?"

Lydia shook her head helplessly. She turned around and left, leaving Serene and Boulder gazing at her back in silence.

At the same time, the final ray of sunlight vanished underneath the horizon.

Chapter 963: Twisted History

"Shall we investigate the background of that adorable young lady?"

Gillian spoke, swinging her fluffy tail and gazing in surprise at her master. She tilted her head and said in displease.

"I'm surprised, Master. I thought that the intelligence department would be useful after having Alice around. I even considered laying off some members due to the economic depression. Our departmental budget needs to be cut again. Although for the most part we are self-sufficient, we're affected by your lesser support, Master. But... We're basically useless before the godlike ability of Alice..."

Even though this fox-eared young lady was full of it, she was actually right. After having Alice around, Rhode didn't need to worry about gathering intelligence any longer. As the History Deity Warden, Alice could record and pull out any history from anytime. Judging from this, even though the things that she recorded was the 'past', its intelligence was even more effective than the Internet in the real world. It was due to this reason that Gillian's intelligence department was doing badly in comparison as gathering intelligence required time. It was understandable from Gillian's exaggerated reaction when Rhode said to send someone to investigate Lilian. It felt as though one had an ultra-high speed quantum computer but chose to operate with an ancient model instead.

"The situation is a little unique."

Rhode didn't entertain her jokes this time. Instead, he looked at her and spoke sternly.

After gaining information on Lilian from Lydia, Rhode immediately looked for Alice, hoping to use her ability to discover what exactly happened to Lilian back then. He felt like the fact of Lilian being brought back to the side of the former Light Dragon by the Light Parliament was rather fishy.

Rhode initially thought that this wasn't hard to accomplish because it was Alice's expertise to read the past and history. But he realized that he was too naive because Alice wasn't able to 'backtrack' to the crucial period. She could find out where Lilian was born and how she grew up in the Country of Light but the most crucial part was completely skipped. No, perhaps it was distorted in history. It was as though a compact history book had its next page torn or smeared in black ink. But after flipping through several damaged pages, one would find out that the content was heading in a totally different direction. In fact, Rhode was also stunned when he heard this news from Alice and she seemed like this was nothing worthy of being astonished for.

"This isn't strange, Your Majesty. Indeed, I'm the 'History Deity Warden' and in this continent there is almost nothing that I can't backtrack. But please take note that this is 'almost'. The so-called 'history' needs to have the past from the present, a present from the future, and the present piled up with the past. Nothing is too challenging for me with the prerequisite that..." Alice paused on purpose as though emphasizing her point. "It is within Order. Your Majesty, you've personally witnessed the past of the Void Territory. To a Deity Warden like myself, the dragon soul heir is only a baby-like figure at best now and not worthy of a mention."

Alice domineeringly dismissed the dragon soul heirs with that last statement. Of course, Rhode also realized that her so-called 'history' ability definitely wasn't as simple as Holmes' investigations.

"Her Highness Christie and I possess enough strength to deal with the dragon soul heirs. But... in order for that to happen, we must be within Order. We are the people of Order and if we lose the protection of Order, our powers will become extremely limited and unusable."

Rhode understood what she meant because it was as though strategic weapons in the real world that were capable of destroying earth would be nothing more than a pile of scrap metal without their energy source. Judging from this point, Alice's power was indeed limited. Just like she mentioned, history was the necessary Order arrangement, but if they lost the support of Order, there would be no differentiation between present, past, and future. Without history, it would mean nothing for the 'History Deity Warden' Alice.

In this case, the outline of things became much clearer now.

Something must have happened from the point where Lilian was led away by the emissaries of the Light Parliament and sent to the former Light Dragon. Besides, this matter was also related to Chaos... Could this be the reason why the two archangels were wary of Lilian and treated her coldly? If this was the case, Rhode could understand their behaviors. No matter what, Chaos was the natural enemy of Order and as the dragon soul heir, it would be intolerable and unacceptable for Lilian to be contaminated by Chaos. But the archangels lacked sufficient evidence to prove this point which was why they held this cold attitude toward her. Considering this perspective, their behavior was completely understandable. If it weren't for Alice's help to confirm that Lilian was indeed associated with Chaos, perhaps Rhode wouldn't have confirmed this truth.

But... that happened in the past, after all.

At this point in time, Lilian was only an ordinary dragon soul heir, to which Alice had also nodded in agreement. But her answer wasn't comforting for Rhode at all.

"If I detected that she's a worshiper of Chaos, I would have killed her during our meeting today."

Rhode had to admit that Lilian was indeed fortunate.

Of course, he didn't believe that Lilian was a worshiper of Chaos. After all, she had inherited the Light Dragon and even though her body might have been contaminated by Chaos in the past, her power of Order was much stronger than its power of Chaos now. An ice cube that tried to extinguish the sun would only find itself evaporating to nothingness.

But this way, there were two problems. What exactly did the Light Parliament do to Lilian? And was the former Light Dragon aware of it?

Rhode didn't need to question if the Chaos worshippers had infiltrated the Light Parliament because he knew that there were several groups of cultists, demons, and devils within the Country of Light like a huge family of evil. Therefore, it was impossible to say that no Chaos worshipers had found their way into the parliament. Judging from the weak Light Dragon and how the parliament had been promoting human freedom for years and requesting humans to abandon their beliefs in the Light Dragon, the motive of Chaos couldn't be clearer. Their ultimate goal was to invade the Dragon Soul Continent and weaken the dragon soul protection barriers and striking the Light Dragon first was the best option for them.

Order and Chaos were natural enemies. Perhaps Chaos occupied an absolute number of advantages on the periphery, but on this continent, they weren't too powerful. Besides, would the former Light Dragon be unaware of everything?

Alice couldn't find an explanation. The former dragon soul heir occupied a unique and important position in history, like a combination lock. If it were Rhode, she could easily read his history. But if it were the dead dragon soul heir, it would take a lot more effort to break the code. Besides, according to Alice, it was challenging to find the dead in the intricate sea of history. If she could find the person's bones or some related items, perhaps it would make the situation easier...

Therefore, Rhode needed more information, and since he couldn't get them through Alice, he could only use the most ancient method.

"I see..."

Gillian puckered her brows. Indeed, since this was the case, this would be a tough issue for Rhode and the continent. Even though Rhode didn't know when Chaos would stop, it seemed like Chaos was rather successful.

So successful that Rhode was concerned.

"Alright then, what should I do? If you want to investigate the Light Parliament, your pet has more value, isn't it, Master? I heard that she did well sneaking around in Parliament."

"Sonia has to be the final insurance for Lilian. I will find some time to explain to her about that. Currently, the Country of Light isn't doing great and it will be terrible if Lilian faces any danger now. I guess those guys should be aware of this."

Rhode waved his hand airily and knitted his brows.

"Sonia has an advantageous identity now. Since Chaos has chosen to attack Lilian, we may possibly need Sonia's help. But before that happens, it is best that Sonia does her current job calmly and not act rashly. This is why I need your men to investigate. I know you will sacrifice a huge number of people, but don't worry. With Alice around, she will inform you immediately as soon as their 'history' began to distort."

"Uh-oh. Master, what you meant is to let the Deity Warden join my intelligence department?"

Gillian widened her eyes in surprise before chuckling playfully.

"How scary. I'm only a humble elemental lord, so how can I make the Deity Warden work for me? But since you've given your order, I can only follow through, Master."

Gillian rolled her eyes.

"By the way, about your pet..."

"I'll tell her myself."

"Wow. You're so nice to her... Master, even though I shouldn't say this..."

Gillian teased and Rhode twitched his brow.

"Since you're using her life as a pawn, it goes without saying that she should be treated better despite her being your pet, isn't it?"

It was near midnight when Lilian fell asleep. Sonia quietly walked out of the room and closed the door after taking a final look at the adorable girl. Lilian seemed much happier than usual today and Sonia knew the reason why. But it was a pity that if it weren't for the sacred palace allowing only dragon soul heirs and their direct subjects to enter, Sonia would have met her master...

After being with Lilian for a long time, Sonia had learned how to grasp Lilian's mood swings. Even though Lilian was also happy around her, it was apparent that she was particularly delightful today. Sonia felt helpless because no matter what, she had been together with Lilian for so long and yet, she still lost to Rhode in terms of affections...

However, this thought instantly vanished as soon as she saw the person who stood inside her room.

"Master!?"

Sonia shrieked in surprise and widened her eyes in disbelief. She quickly closed and locked the door before scampering to Rhode and bowed deeply.

"Long time no see, Master."

"Yes, it has been awhile, Sonia."

Rhode nodded pleasingly. In fact, he had treated Sonia as a useful tool from the start like Nell and Sara. But Sonia had proven that she was highly effective. Judging from her results, everything that she accomplished was praise-worthy. She knew how to act appropriately, concealed herself between the Light Parliament and Lilian, and wouldn't forcefully attempt some risky investigation for the sake of winning his likes. She was the main reason for the recent riots that occurred in the Country of Light. She cleverly used the arguments of one unpopular parliament member and two parliament members who were deeply loved by the public and successfully aroused fear in the non-humans living in border regions. This led to them having a sense of urgency that 'if they didn't resist, it would be too late' and started breaking out in riots. Judging from this result, Sonia seemed really experienced. Besides, she didn't reveal herself or do anything that sabotaged her identity, and yet she completed all the tasks that Rhode had given her perfectly.

There was no better pawn than her.

Rhode gazed at the young lady and of course, he sensed the excitement and agitation in her beautiful eyes. Come to think of it, it was necessary for the master to teach his students how to distinguish between rewards and punishments. If he were to only exploit and oppress, he would be nothing more than a slave owner. While the student was wagging her tail, the master should show some love to encourage it to work harder, wasn't it?

"You did well, Sonia. Even though I have many things to tell you, I can leave them for later..."

Rhode narrowed his eyes and scanned her from head to toe. Sonia shivered in exhilaration upon sensing his threatening and violating gaze. This was what she had been anticipating, craving, and waiting for: the supreme reward.

Rhode wasn't mindful that the young lady was only clad in a plain, less attractive attire. At this moment, his gazes were as though licking wantonly on her dewy skin through the thin clothes, leaving her shuddering and rubbing between her legs. Sonia reddened in a blush and her vision slowly turned fuzzy...

"... Alright. Take off your clothes. You should know what to do."

"Yes, Master."

Chapter 964: Loyalty and Responsibility

The peaceful, joyous night ended as the first rays of dawn spilled through the window. Rhode sat on the bed, leaning on the bed frame while Sonia laid nakedly in his embrace with a blissful, satisfied smile. Even though her snowy skin was covered with purple bruises as though she was ravaged and whipped, it seemed like the 'sweet agony' left her more thrilled than ever. Moreover, unlike the other young ladies who were always around him, this was a rare chance for her. It was due to this reason that absence made the heart grow fonder and in the end, she continued to crave for his torture and love despite feeling herself breaking apart. The crazy night finally ended after she completely lost her consciousness.

At this moment, her feelings of emptiness and loneliness were entirely filled with satisfaction. She smiled and pressed her slightly bulging stomach, where a stream of white, viscous fluid trickled from between her legs.

"You remembered what I told you, right? Sonia?"

"Yes, Master."

Even though they were in this erotic moment, Rhode's tone didn't soften at all. Instead, he spoke with his usual aloofness. Sonia immediately nodded.

Thereafter, Rhode explained to Sonia about the problems between Chaos and the Country of Light. The problems bewildered her. She thought that her enemy was only the parliament and didn't expect such a troublesome enemy. She more or less knew about Chaos despite no one in the Country of Light treating ancient legends seriously.

"But according to the parliament, that was a lie fabricated by the Creator Dragon Souls to consolidate their rule and brainwash the people."

"Well, I wonder who became the brainwashed ones instead."

Rhode scoffed. This had always been the case for this world. The idiots from the Country of Light always announced that everyone except them were brainwashed while they were living in freedom. But how was this not a kind of brainwashing too? Come to think of it, in order for a country to have strong cohesion, it was necessary to publicize their benefits while concealing the unfavorable truth. No one was clean in this world. If this could be accused of as brainwashing, wouldn't everyone be brainwashed everywhere?

"But you have to remember, Sonia. This matter has nothing to do with you. No matter what, don't intervene. You just act like you don't know anything. You will just be by Lilian's side and complete the mission. Do you understand?"

The reason why Rhode gave her these instructions wasn't because he wanted her to investigate something. Instead, he was simply warning her to stay away from troubles within the Light Parliament. Even if as a last resort, she definitely shouldn't risk the dangers. She had to be the last line of defense for Lilian and help her resist the possible threats from the Light Parliament. This was why Rhode warned her to not mess with any matters involving Chaos worshipers. Not only that, but he also gave her a necklace specially made by Alice as an amulet. No matter what, Sonia was the weakest among all the women around him. She didn't know how to cast magic spells and only possessed some basic sword skills. If she were to face any threats, she would surely be doomed. This was why Rhode spent a lot of effort in getting this plain-looking necklace from Alice. Although this necklace seemed like an ordinary accessory, it could drag its owner into the historical vortex while in the face of Chaos. Moreover, it could bring her back to the past of the last 10 minutes. All in all, if this were in the game, this necklace would be an automatic archive reader where when the protagonist faced dangers and died, the necklace would read the archive and the protagonist would be reborn.

"I understand, Master."

Sonia nodded solemnly. She was clear of her master's intention. Besides, she knew that she was only suitable to work behind the scenes. As soon as she took the front stage, she wouldn't be far away from death.

"As for Nakvard..."

"Let me think..."

Rhode twitched his brow and pondered. He had also received intelligence from Sonia about Nakvard. According to her, the possibility of Nakvard being a Chaos worshiper was relatively high. Sonia was considered the people of the Country of Light and always followed Lilian around. As a result, her senses to dragon soul powers subconsciously became sharper than ordinary humans. Therefore, it wasn't strange if she sensed something strange about some secret Chaos worshipers. In this case...

"The possibilities of Nakvard being a Chaos worshiper is indeed high."

"Really?"

Even though it was Sonia who suggested it, she was still surprised to hear this answer from Rhode.

"But Master, Nakvard doesn't seem like that sort of person. If I recall correctly, aren't Chaos worshipers a group of crazy people?"

"You're referring to the low-class worshipers. As for the high-class worshipers, they don't look any different from ordinary people. In this case, Nakvard should have a high position among the Chaos worshipers."

"Don't look any different from ordinary people?"

Sonia knitted her brows and couldn't understand this logic. Rhode quickly explained to her. After all, he was much more experienced in dealing with Chaos worshipers than her.

"That's right. High-class worshipers are usually similar to humans. But there is an essential difference between them... Sonia, what do you think is the reason people make precise plans?"

"Hmm... In order to ensure that they control the results?"

Although Sonia didn't know why he asked this question, she swiftly answered.

"That's right. This is the thinking of humans, but it is completely different for Chaos worshipers. Chaos worshipers may make precise plans, but the plans are only a means to reach the end. Therefore, as long as they reach the end, they don't care about the results because to them, reaching the end is the result. And the true result to them is... meaningless. They don't care about success or failure."

"... Is that possible?"

Although Rhode said it like a tongue twister, Sonia quickly understood what he meant. This situation was as though a particular person in the parliament raised a proposal. In order for the proposal to pass, that man prepared a lot of materials, coaxed many talents, and used several means to ensure that it was approved. In the end, with his hard work, the proposal passed and gained a lot of support. But just as the materials were ready and about to be implemented to achieve results, the man suddenly said, "Sorry, I'm not playing anymore; I quit" and left... Wasn't that nuts?

At this moment, Sonia discovered that the crazy person she imagined was too 'shallow'. She thought that the so-called Chaos worshipers were a group of protesters rushing to the streets and brandishing their weapons. But now, it seemed like they were only side characters. Such crazy people were the scariest.

"Will it really be fine, Master? Even though the result of the election hasn't been announced, Nakvard seems to have a high chance of becoming the new parliament chairman. If that happened..."

The thought of working for an insane person left Sonia's hair standing. In fact, she wouldn't be that fearful if Nakvard was indeed one because she could counter him with her own vicious means. Besides, even if there were any conflicts, they could also use their common goal as a result to communicate and probe each other. But if Nakvard turned out like what Rhode said and Chaos worshipers were a group of insane people, Sonia wasn't confident in dealing with them.

"This was why I told you to not get involved with their internal matters. I suppose the Chaos worshipers have already infiltrated the roots of the parliament. If not, they couldn't have possibly done such a thing... Hmm?" At this moment, Rhode recalled something. He twitched his brows and the corner of his lips rolled up. "No, there is something that you can do, Sonia. You should be aware that I hate seeing stability in the Country of Light, right? And you also said that Nakvard and Greig have almost equal votes."

"Yes, Master. Both of them have a lot of supporters, but Nakvard has slightly more because there are many immigrants among the supporters. On the other hand, Greig's supporters are mainly the people of the Country of Light."

Born in one of the five largest financial groups, Sonia naturally knew a lot about this.

"Good. So..."

Rhode leaned forward and whispered into her ear. Sonia revealed an astonished expression, which quickly turned into a look of admiration and respect.

"Your thoughts are brilliant, Master. But... Will this be alright? What if Nakvard..."

"We'll discuss Nakvard's problem in the future. It will be for the best if he is willing to strike. The weaker and more chaotic the Country of Light is, the easier it is for us to execute our plan. Besides..."

Rhode revealed a gracious smile.

"Isn't it the perfect opportunity for us?"

Chapter 965: Smoke Signal

After parting ways with Sonia, Rhode didn't return to his territory immediately. Instead, he went to look for Lydia and explained the situation he and Alice predicted. The confident and chic Lydia didn't seem affected as she displayed a gentle smile, bowing respectfully to him.

"I'm really thankful for the information you provided me, Your Majesty Rhode. It seems like seeking your assistance is the right choice. I can't be more grateful to receive such a detailed answer from you."

"Don't you have any opinions, Your Royal Highness Lydia?"

Rhode twitched his brows curiously. He wasn't too surprised because even though Lydia persisted in her own ways, the fact that she was devoted to the Creator Dragon Souls never changed. Therefore, Rhode had already guessed that Lydia wouldn't treat Lilian differently based on the fact that she might be involved with Chaos. But what he didn't expect was that Lydia wasn't hesitant at all. Back then when he heard this news, he pondered for a few minutes. But now, Lydia was behaving as though she knew about this the whole time.

"I don't have any opinions, Your Majesty Rhode."

Lydia said with a warm smile and shook her head. She strolled to the window and watched the beautiful view with narrowed eyes. After a few moments, she continued.

"The land will forever be the land while the sky will forever be the sky. Maintaining balance in the mind is the most important. Her Majesty Lilian isn't at fault, so it isn't a behavior worthy of praise to hurt and isolate a fragile sprout based on guesses. The atrocity of Chaos isn't the responsibility of Her Majesty Lilian. In that case, why must I be bothered? The only thing that I can understand now is what my two rigid companions are thinking about. Although I've indeed deduced this situation through their actions..."

Lydia shook her head. Then, she turned around and displayed a teasing smile.

"Your Majesty Rhode, greed is a taboo. I've heard that the moon princess is a guest at your place now. Am I right?"

"If it were possible, I would rather not have that guest around."

Rhode answered within a split second. In fact, this was his genuine opinion. On the other hand, Lydia giggled and curled her lips in displeasure. "That wasn't nice, Your Majesty Rhode. Erin is a good person. As her close friend, I can't possibly turn a blind eye to this."

Rhode rolled his eyes instantly. Do you even know what you're talking about, Madam Archangel? As one of the three archangels, aren't you afraid of being suspected as having illicit relations with a foreign country for calling their princess your close friend? Forget it. Judging from her personality, perhaps she wasn't even concerned about it.

"By the way, even though this isn't for revenge..."

As Rhode cursed in his head, Lydia spoke, as though to make things difficult for him.

"How has Lize been doing, Your Majesty Rhode? As her elder sister, I'm really concerned about her happiness. Please pardon my rudeness, but I'm wondering what plans you have for her. For instance, her identity, position, et cetera..."

"..."

Rhode realized that this archangel with the vibrant smile was the most deceptive one.

***

Nakvard strolled in the dark passage as his elegant, luxurious noble attire accentuated his tall stature. Also, his neatly combed hair spoke much about his personality. He held the cane carved from jade, walking on the sloping stone path as though patrolling his territory. This place wasn't clean at all and there were even stolons emerging from the slate covered with dirt and filth. Nakvard continued to stroll to the end of the passage. However, there was no secret room or mechanism. Instead, it was only a dead end.

Suddenly, a dim radiance shone from above, but it didn't eradicate the pitch-black darkness. On the contrary, it caused a chemical reaction like a solvent which turned darkness into a disgusting, turbid matter where several indistinct human figures appeared within.

Nakvard stooped over for a bow to express his respects.

"The fifth dragon soul heir has officially appeared and the Order barrier has become more secure."

Shortly after, one of them spoke with a voice that sounded discomforting like noise pollution. The others stood quietly in the turbid matter and gazed at the speaker.

"Our plans have been obstructed. Don't you have any intention to do anything about it?"

The plain voice was as though this matter wasn't troublesome at all.

"Our plans have indeed been obstructed, but this isn't anything to be concerned about."

Nakvard lifted his head and answered plainly.

"As long as we follow the plans and control the Light Dragon's vessel, all problems will be resolved. The structure of Order will ultimately be worth nothing before the face of mighty Chaos. As long as we keep our patience, the day Chaos devours this continent will eventually come."

"Don't forget. That isn't our ultimate goal, Nakvard."

At his moment, another figure spoke. His sharp voice echoed in the passage like a pair of razor-sharp claws, leaving ghastly slashes on the walls. The dark, ancient passage shook in his voice as though it were about to collapse anytime. Nakvard sulked for a split second before responding with his calm, solemn voice.

"Of course, I'm well aware of it. Besides, I've had enough time to accomplish it. The Void Territory is currently the best option for us to exploit. Their overlord who is also the new Void Dragon has a strong sense of hatred against the Country of Light. If we make good use of them, the conflagration of war will spread throughout this continent as a sacrificial ceremony to welcome the arrival of Chaos. Besides..." Nakvard paused. At this moment, the person who was always by Lilian's side appeared in his mind. As someone who could be exploited, the young lady left a deep impression on Nakvard. "... I've found the suitable person to inject Chaos into our vessel."

"Good. We're looking forward to seeing success with your plan. After Chaos descends, you will receive the highest reward as we agreed. As for the results... Anything is fine for that sort of thing."

"Of course, I've always been doing my best."

Nakvard lowered his head deeply. Then, when he lifted his head, the strange radiance had vanished, leaving only the disgusting hue of Chaos within the pitch-black darkness. The disturbing presence continued to sway and distort into weird shapes.

"I'll get that huge amount of strength just from summoning Chaos?"

Nakvard muttered under his breath while his eyes burned passionately as though proving his most fanatical belief and reverence to the 'miracle' occurring before him. This was what he wanted and fought for! Authority and power would be worth nothing after Chaos contaminated the world. All of these were meaningless to him! Although their plans to use the Country of Darkness to attack the Munn Kingdom and Country of Light failed, he had successfully found another replacement. The Void Territory—judging from their previous actions, not only did they have obvious hatred toward the Country of Light, but they also possessed adequate strength to destroy the Country of Light. They were the best replacement. Even though they weren't as powerful as the Country of Darkness, they were still more than enough for him to exploit.

Although I don't know why the Void Dragon detests the Country of Light so much, it looks like I shall add fuel to this burning hatred.

Nakvard revealed an excited smile like an innocent child.

It's almost time for the next battle.

Chapter 966: Deal with the Twin Dragons

Order Palace.

Bright sunlight shone through the windows and illuminated the glossy slate. Rhode lifted the teacup and took a sip of the fragrant red tea. Then, he gazed at the twin sisters sitting opposite him.

"Thank you for your assistance for the past two days, Your Majesty Rhode."

Siena said before bowing respectfully, while Rhode waved his hand casually in response. After the Order Ceremony ended, Lilian and Ion left the Country of Law respectively. Ion was straightforward in his departure because as a person of the Country of Darkness, he wasn't a fan of the sunlight in the Country of Law. On the other hand, Lilian couldn't bear to leave Rhode's side and it was a pity she couldn't be the decision maker. Even though she wanted to follow Rhode and check out the Void Territory, she had to leave with the three archangels eventually. As for Lydia, Rhode didn't know how she dealt with the situation thereafter but judging from the tense atmosphere among the three archangels, it was apparent that their opinions weren't aligned and their relationship seemed to be on an edge. But this wasn't too surprising. Since communications couldn't resolve the issue, it was common that sometimes after learning one another's opinions, they would become increasingly determined about their standpoints and beliefs. And now, it seemed like rupture between them was unavoidable.

Also, there was an even more idiotic matter...

"The emissaries of the Light Parliament expressed that they don't recognize you as a dragon soul heir."

"Haha."

Rhode chuckled and revealed a smile, but no one knew if he had intentionally emphasized on the pronunciation of 'haha' clearly.

"Those people have already disregarded their own dragon soul heir, so this isn't surprising, Your Majesty Siena... Haha. Maybe one day you will hear the Light Parliament announcing that they will remove the position of dragon soul heir and allow the Country of Light to be ruled completely by people."

Nalea snickered as though it were an interesting joke, but Siena knitted her brows and let out a helpless sigh. As the rulers of the Country of Law and manager of the churches, they knew what the Light Parliament had done in the Country of Light. However, they were powerless against their decisions because no matter what, those were internal affairs which not even they, as the Judgment & Ruling Twin Dragons, could interfere with. If the twin dragons were compared to the court, the situation would be as though the plaintiff submitted a complaint and the defendant pleaded, which led to them passing judgment on the situation. But if the plaintiff didn't submit a complaint, the existence of the court would be meaningless because the twin dragons couldn't possibly take up responsibility for nothing as this would throw off the balance in this world.

But the direction of where the Country of Light was heading was indeed worrisome...

"We are powerless in that aspect."

Siena spoke. To the twin dragons, humans were nothing more than just one of the countless races in this continent and weren't any different from undead creatures, elves, dwarves, goblins, or giants. Humans didn't have the right to doubt the identity of a dragon soul heir, so the so-called objection from the Light Parliament was basically a joke and no dragon soul heir would treat them seriously. But it was also this reason that Siena mentioned this issue.

"Your Majesty Rhode, we know that you've had some conflicts with the Country of Light in the past..."

"And?"

Rhode replied and gazed silently at the two young ladies. His voice was plain and calm as though they were talking about something unimportant. On the other hand, Siena felt her head hurt after hearing his response. It seemed like it was just as she thought. This dragon soul heir seemed to have a massive resentment toward the Country of Light. Even though his earlier responses sounded as though he didn't take the matter to heart, she was sure now that he apparently wasn't interested in discussing this issue. And this meant that he wouldn't change his opinion based on suggestions from others.

But Siena wanted to try and convince him. In fact, although the Country of Light and Country of Darkness were in a war previously, it was still within control for the Country of Law. Even though Ion had wild ambitions, he was also respectful to the 'rules' and knew how to gain personal benefits within Order. This was why the Country of Law remained silent and didn't intervene when the Country of Darkness attacked the Country of Light. But this dragon soul heir was completely different. It was obvious that he wasn't only fighting for territory or resources. Instead, Siena discovered that his goal was extremely self-centered and he purely wanted to give the Country of Light a beating. Such goalless and reckless plans were the most worrisome.

"I suppose you've realized that the Dragon Soul Continent isn't in a great state. Since you've opened up a land of Chaos, you must've also experienced the menacing threats of Chaos. Currently, Chaos is trying to infiltrate this world again to reach its goal. We have to maintain the balance of Order to prevent it from happening and war is the easiest way to break Order and reveal Chaos. So..."

"You hope that I won't attack the Country of Light?"

Rhode interrupted and placed the teacup on the table. He gazed amusingly at the two sisters. Siena gaped when suddenly, her smirking elder sister held her hand and looked at him.

"Oh no, you're always so impatient, Siena. No one will listen to you this way."

"But Big Sister..."

Siena instinctively retorted, but eventually let out a helpless sigh. It seemed like she was so used to her elder sister's peculiar way of thinking that she raised the white flag immediately. Nalea looked pleasingly at her younger sister who 'surrendered' and took a piece of biscuit with a smile. Then, she gazed at Rhode.

"Your Majesty Rhode, we're not trying to intervene in your matters with the Country of Light because I can see that you are close with Her Majesty Lilian. If you're only feeling annoyed by those humans, could you please hold back a little? After all, we'll have a hard time handling things if you take it too far. Unlike Siena, I'm a very lazy person who doesn't wish to get involved with trouble."

"Big Sister..."

Siena puckered her brows while Rhode gazed interestingly at Nalea, who always appeared airheaded. Although Nalea sounded as though she was purely complaining, he heard the contradicting threats and pleas behind her words. Indeed, Nalea wanted to avoid trouble and expressed her standpoint that if it were possible, she didn't wish to have any conflicts with the Void Territory. On the contrary, she was also secretly warning him that if he took things too far, she wouldn't sit by idly as the Judgment Dragon. Even though this only represented her personal view, it also meant that Siena would also get involved.

Was she simply saying this or was there a deeper meaning?

Rhode gazed into the beautiful golden eyes of Nalea, but couldn't find the answer he was looking for. It seemed like it was the same as the players had guessed. Nalea was either acting foolish or just purely evil. No matter which, it was the hardest to communicate with someone like her because one wouldn't know exactly what she was thinking. Nonetheless, it seemed like the Country of Law had expressed their thoughts clearly enough.

But...

"I can understand where you're coming from, but I never said that I'll give up. Indeed, just like both of you think, I do detest the Country of Light and it doesn't matter if I am a friend of Lilian or an enemy to the parliament. But the reason why I attacked the Country of Light wasn't due to personal grudges. Instead, it was just coincidental that my personal grudges and goal were similar. You see, Your Majesty Nalea, Your Majesty Siena, since this is a job, it will always be better to focus on a job that I like and put all my energy into, right? Can't destroying Chaos in enjoyment be more comfortable than doing it seriously? Or maybe you need me to do it painfully?"

"Chaos?"

The sisters were astonished. Siena's ice-cold expression instantly turned solemn while Nalea's lazy expression became serious. Rhode narrowed his eyes and scanned them. After a few moments, he let out a chuckle.

"Why? What's the matter? Even a country with such a strict system of governance like the Country of Darkness has been invaded by Chaos, so did you really think that the cheese full of holes—the Country of Light—already hasn't been infiltrated by Chaos? Or perhaps both of you thought that I'm only thrashing the Country of Light for my personal enjoyment? Of course, I don't deny this fact, that is."

"This..."

Siena lowered her head in embarrassment. Just as Rhode mentioned, they couldn't possibly not suspect the Country of Light before, especially after the parliament strongly promoted the elimination of dragon soul heirs. Even though the twin sisters weren't largely affected as they resided in the Country of Law, they often heard rumors like 'Creator Dragon Souls are dictators. Their presences are meaningless. We should overthrow them and use our hands to build the perfect future for ourselves' and were hugely displeased by them. Of course, they wouldn't take it to heart if those were just ordinary conversation. After all, the continent was huge and it was only normal that some people disliked authority. But for the parliament to spread propaganda, it wasn't possible that the twin sisters weren't feeling resentful.

It went without saying that such abnormal behaviors captured the attention of the Country of Law. But the twin sisters couldn't possibly launch an investigation on the Country of Light based on that. No matter what, the Country of Law had to maintain their neutral standpoint. If they were to investigate the situation without evidence, it would be disadvantageous for them.

But now, a man who couldn't care less about his position appeared before them.

"Do you have any evidence?"

Siena asked awkwardly with knitted brows. Even though she didn't feel like Rhode was too reliable when they first met, she began to feel nervous now after seeing him behaving in this 'righteous' manner. On the other hand, Nalea was still smiling and fooling around as though she didn't hear what he just said and continued to savor the slice of dessert.

Rhode twitched his brows to Siena's question.

"Of course, I have sufficient evidence to prove that the parliament's high level has been infiltrated by Chaos. Do you two have any other doubts?"

"Really?!"

Siena stood to her feet anxiously. In fact, they had always been suspicious of the Light Parliament. But as the dragon soul heirs of the Country of Law, they couldn't understand what was going on internally in the Country of Light. Perhaps they could gather some intelligence, but only the people who lived there understood what exactly the country had become.

"That's right. I have sufficient, detailed, and concrete evidence. So will both of you continue to stop me?"

"But Your Majesty Rhode, aren't you afraid of falling into Chaos's trap? I've said earlier that war is the best opportunity for Chaos to enter because after Order crumples, Chaos will take advantage of the lapse..."

"This is why we must resolve all problems as soon as possible. The infected limb should be quickly cut off if it can't be treated and this will not endanger the life of the subject..." Rhode displayed a beautiful smile. "... Don't you think so?"

"..."

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The sisters fell into deep silence the instant they witnessed his smile. At this moment, they were as though bystanders who clearly sensed his strong, ice-cold murderous intent and matchless desire to destroy his enemies. He had as though unsheathed his sword and pointed its razor-sharp tip at his prey while they were blinded by the radiance from his glistening blade. Siena instinctively swallowed her saliva while Nalea's smiley face stiffened.

"So... May we know what evidence..."

"History has been distorted."

At this moment, a voice sounded crisply. Siena turned around immediately and discovered a black-haired young lady clad in a plain dress, sitting quietly with a heavy book in her hands. Siena recognized her since she was the one who led Rhode and his subjects to the sacred palace earlier on. But what surprised her was that this young lady seemed to have been around them all along and they didn't notice her presence!

This is impossible!

As one of the twin dragons, Siena was aware of everything that was happening within her territory. She quickly analyzed this young lady but what bewildered her was that the young lady didn't use any teleportation spell or illusion stealth. So... how did she conceal her presence in the first place?

"Excuse me, you are..."

Siena asked. Alice looked up, swept a look at her, and lowered her head again.

"Alice... Alice Darlaston. Nice to meet you, dragon soul heir of the Ruling Dragon."

"Alice..."

Not only did Siena's expression change slightly, but Nalea also widened her eyes curiously.

"Uh-oh, I didn't expect a Deity Warden to be here personally. I'm really surprised..."

"I'm only here to make a statement on behalf of my master."

Alice turned the page and replied softly.

"The distortion of history is strengthening. Chaos is about to come to this world again. This is all that I can say. As to whether to confirm their authenticity... you should be able to do it, right?"

"... Yes."

Siena nodded with a subtle expression. Perhaps others weren't aware, but every dragon soul heir possessed extraordinary powers within their own dragon soul protection. As for Siena and Nalea, anyone who spoke to them would have their sentences taken as 'testimonies'. As the Judgment & Ruling Twin Dragons, the instant they heard their words, they could determine if the other party was telling the truth. Therefore, the so-called evidence was completed the moment the testimonies were established.

"Exactly."

Rhode stood up with an unprecedented and pressurizing aura.

"So I hope to make a deal with both of you. I can help you get rid of the trouble. In exchange, I hope that you two will also contribute because no matter what, Chaos is our common enemy, isn't it?"

Rhode spoke with a smile.

Siena and Nalea exchanged glances. Then, Siena nodded in agreement.

"Since this is verified and related to Chaos, for the sake of the continent, we do have the ability to provide a certain degree of assistance to you."

"Good."

The corners of Rhode's mouth rolled up.

"Alright then. I have a small request..."