Chapter 196: Holy Light Mind

The Lion King nodded in approval. "The Redwood family is indeed the finest family in my Stonerock Kingdom. And you're right; you are considered part of my family. The late queen was your younger sister, and the crown prince is your nephew. Discussing the succession of the throne with me from this position is not excessive."

Seeing the opportunity, Eileen presented her conditions. "Your Majesty, what I just said may have been a bit presumptuous, but I would like to ask you to consider it carefully."

Upon hearing this, the Lion King's face still showed displeasure, but his anger had significantly subsided. "The crown prince is born of the queen and me. After my death, he should naturally inherit the throne. Moreover, I have never said that the crown prince should not succeed the Lion King's throne—so you and the Redwood patriarch need not worry about this matter."

A hint of joy flashed in Eileen's eyes. "Can Your Majesty give me this assurance?"

The Lion King returned the gemstone necklace to Eileen, then stared directly at her round face and said, "I cannot give you any guarantee, but you can go back and tell the Redwood patriarch that in my heart, the Redwood family will always be the foremost noble family of Stonerock Kingdom. The future king of Stonerock will surely need the support of the Redwood family."

Though not explicitly stated, Eileen knew this was as far as it would go. She bowed deeply to the Lion King, saying, "The Redwood family will never forget Your Majesty's kindness."

Having resolved Eileen's condition, the Lion King relaxed slightly, then lowered his voice and said, "As for that demon race..."

"Your Majesty, please rest assured. Leave this matter to me."

Eileen confidently raised her hand, and a golden tome imbued with Holy Light appeared in her palm. She opened the tome, whispered incantations to curse the demon race, and poured her magical Spiritual Energy into it—

Eileen spoke solemnly, "Your Majesty, please protect me, for I am about to detach my consciousness from my body to search for the demon race. During this process, if anyone touches my body or alters my posture even slightly, my soul will not be able to return."

The Lion King took a deep breath and then gathered all his Battle Qi. "Rest assured, Lady Eileen. As long as I am here, no one will come near you."

Receiving the Lion King's promise, Eileen felt a warm surge in her heart. She calmed herself and poured all her magical Spiritual Energy into the tome. The tome flashed and turned into a golden light, flying out from its pages.

Using the power of the Holy Light, Eileen's consciousness tracked the traces left by the demon race and soon found the secret forest where the twilight believer had summoned the demon race.

Eileen discovered not only the traces of the summoning array in the forest but also signs of a dimensional portal—indicating that the demon race had already left. Panicking, she did not know how to convey this news to the Lion King, so she continued following the residual demon race aura, searching for clues about the twilight believers.

Following the demon race's aura, Eileen's consciousness was drawn to the "Pigs and Whistles" inn.

The demon race aura in the inn was exceptionally strong. Eileen's consciousness probed into one of the rooms and saw someone lying on the bed, with a golden bell at their waist emanating the demon race aura continuously—

Eileen was startled to discover that the person on the bed was none other than Rayan, whom she and the Redwood patriarch had been striving to win over.

Initially doubting herself, she confirmed the demon aura on Rayan's bell and noticed traces of the demon race on his fingers, arms, and lips, indicating physical contact with the demon race woman who stole the demon skull.

Eileen approached to further inspect the magic bell at Rayan's waist—

"Who's there?"

In his sleep, Rayan suddenly opened his eyes, and his hand reached for the Crow Sword, slashing at Eileen's spectral monster with a mix of orange Battle Qi and sword energy, creating a whirlwind that cut through Eileen's spectral monster.

Though physical weapons couldn't harm Eileen's spectral consciousness, the terrifying scene felt real, shocking Eileen into quickly withdrawing her consciousness and returning to her body.

"Strange..."

Rayan frowned deeply. He felt a mysterious force surging within him, aware of nearby danger, but his slash had hit nothing.

Was it just a dream?

Rayan scanned his surroundings and, finding nothing unusual, put away the Crow Sword and went back to sleep.

In the Lion King's palace, Eileen's consciousness finally returned to her body, but the abrupt retreat felt like a heavy blow to her organs, causing her to vomit blood.

The Lion King was shocked and quickly helped Eileen sit down. "Lady Eileen, are you alright?"

"It's nothing..."

Lying in the Lion King's firm arms, Eileen struggled to calm herself. "Your Majesty, do not worry. It's just that my consciousness was outside my body for too long, and I find it hard to adjust."

Her breathing was rapid, her ample chest heaving as if about to burst from her corset.

The Lion King averted his gaze from Eileen's chest and urgently asked, "Did you find any clues about the demon race woman who stole the demon skull?"

Eileen's mouth twitched slightly. "I'm very sorry, Your Majesty, but it seems the demon race has already returned to the Nether Demon Realm."

"What!"

The Lion King roared in fury. "Does that mean I will never have a chance for revenge!?"

Eileen's eyebrows moved, and she spoke calmly. "Not necessarily..."

"What do you mean?"

The Lion King blinked in surprise. "Did Lady Eileen find the twilight believers?"

Eileen gently shook her head, wiped the blood from her mouth, and slowly said, "The twilight believer who summoned the demon race is very cunning and seemed to have been prepared for this. I found no trace of his contact with the demon race at the summoning site."

The Lion King felt frustrated. "This is as good as saying nothing. It seems I will never be able to avenge the queen. Damn it!"

He punched the magical barrier surrounding them, causing it to crack like ice.

Eileen felt the barrier's intense vibration, nearly causing her to lose her composure again. Thankfully, she was still in the Lion King's arms, minimizing the damage. However, if the Lion King continued his rage, her body wouldn't hold up. She quickly dispelled the barrier as he raised his fist again, then spoke to him:

"Your Majesty, though I did not find the demon race or the twilight believer, it does not mean we cannot avenge my sister."

The Lion King's eyes widened again, his tone becoming stern. "Eileen, stop keeping secrets. Speak quickly."

"This investigation was not entirely fruitless. I found someone with a significant connection to this matter."

Eileen quickly organized her thoughts, took a breath, and continued. "This person was originally a foreign noble, but lost their lineage document. I heard they even lowered themselves to become an Oath Knight of the Firebird family to participate in the tournament—"

"Are you saying this person associated with the demon race is Kiana's man?"

The Lion King's eyebrows furrowed deeply. "No, that's impossible. Kiana wouldn't dare, and she knows nothing about the demon skull or that I leave the palace to visit the queen every day..."

Eileen hadn't meant it that way, but since the Lion King thought so, she decided to follow his line of worry. "Your Majesty, you've deployed many people and found nothing. Don't you think such a meticulous plan must have been long prepared by someone behind the scenes?"

The Lion King released Eileen and stood up, gazing at the golden throne in contemplation.

Eileen propped up her plump body with her arms. "Your Majesty, may I say something inappropriate? Phoenix Lady is an extremely intelligent woman. Are you certain she is not involved?"

The Lion King's face darkened like stone. He pursed his lips in silence for a moment, then avoided Eileen's question, saying, "I'll have Trevor—no, the Lionheart guards—arrest that man and interrogate him. What's his name?"

"Rayan."

Seeing the Lion King avoid her question confirmed his doubts about Phoenix Lady. Eileen smiled faintly and said, "But I suggest Your Majesty forget that name. As far as I know, he has been attending Phoenix Lady's banquets and had no time or motive to summon the demon race. The real enemy is still in the shadows. It's not wise to alert them now. Catching Rayan is easy, but tracing the true mastermind will be difficult."

The Lion King nodded heavily, muttering, "You're right."

Eileen continued, "Also, from what I know, the demon skull was cursed by a Lord of Light from three thousand years ago. The Holy Light curse not only prevents the demon skull from demonizing others but also weakens any demon race near it. The demon race who stole the demon skull would never dare bring such an item back to the Nether Demon Realm. If we can trace the mastermind, we will find the demon skull. Then, we can force the mastermind to summon the demon race again and seize the opportunity to kill them. This way, we can avenge my sister and provide a reasonable explanation to Your Excellency on the throne."

The Lion King's eyes lit up. "Lady Eileen, your plan is excellent! Tell me, what do you need me to do?"