Imperial Crown.

Chapter 545 The Fourth Continental War

"Idiot!" "Drag him out and burn him!"

Miders Continent, Keynes Empire, Royal Capital - Menegar City, within the Duke's Castle of Gustav.

A furious, thunderous roar resounded.

"My lord, spare me! My lord, spare me!" Modi knelt on the ground, begging in fear and anxiety, "The poison in the young master's body was discovered far too late! It's past the optimal time for treatment, and now there's truly no cure!"

"Alright, Burson. Look how you've treated the Empire's best alchemist! Venerable Mordi is a fifth-tier alchemist, and even he was helpless. It seems Jeffrey truly can't cultivate anymore. Accept and face reality." Hamilton spoke sternly, reprimanding his son. Indeed, Jeffrey was his favorite grandson, but if Jeffrey couldn't cultivate, it would mean he would lose his right to inherit the dukedom.

Including Modi, this is the seventh alchemist they've summoned. All to no avail. Because the discovery came far too late. If it had been earlier, Jeffrey might have had a chance of recovery. Ultimately, it's all Jeffrey's fault! That brainless idiot! He recklessly provoked his opponent for a woman, and then, with only fourth-tier strength, publicly lost to the third-tier Veston. He brought shame upon the Gustav family! He has no real ability, yet he can't accept his defeat! After returning home, he locked himself away, refusing to eat, drink, or see anyone. At first, when he noticed his battle aura slowly dissipating, he was too proud to tell anyone. Only after completely falling below fourth tier did Jeffrey panic, but it was too late; more than half a month had passed. To date, more than four months have passed since their duel.

Now, everyone in the capital can see that Vesdon is a pawn that His Majesty Habsburg has planted in advance after Raven's death, and has become His Majesty's new favorite. Therefore, even though they know that Vesdon is most likely the poisoner, Prime Minister Hamilton is powerless to do anything about it. Moreover, so much time has passed that they can no longer even find grounds to suspect Vesdon.

"Father, are we... just going to accept our fate like this?" After kicking Modi away, Boson asked angrily and unwillingly.

"Grandpa, avenge me! Kill Vesdon! You must kill Vesdon!" Jeffrey cried out in despair. In less than five months, his cultivation level had plummeted from the fourth rank to the second rank. He was like a deflated balloon, his fighting spirit dissipating wildly.

"Revenge? How? Who should we take revenge on?" "Are we supposed to take revenge on His Majesty Habsburg?" Hamilton was furious. "You and your son are a pair of complete idiots!"

Hamilton's outburst finally silenced the room. After a long silence, Hamilton's expression turned grim. "However, we can't just let this little beast get away with it."

"Father, what are your thoughts?" Boson asked, his eyes lighting up with a hint of hope.

Hamilton narrowed his old eyes, picked up a raisin with two fingers, put it in his mouth, and chewed slowly. "After a while, invite the nobles of the new school to the Back Garden Hotel for a chat." "In addition, invite the nobles of the old school to the Emerald Hall for a gathering."

……

"You... What did you say? You didn't see Raven?"

The capital city of Menegar, a new lineage, is located within the ducal family's Qutheran Castle.

Serafino frowned, put down his teacup, and asked in a surprised voice.

Adjani nodded. Her stunning figure, accentuated by the tight fishnet stockings, revealed her snow-white thighs in slabs of white tofu, a sight to behold. "Yes, I only saw Mrs. Lux. She said Raven was seriously ill and completely unable to show his face." "Even though I stayed there for half a month, I still couldn't see Raven. And his room seemed to be decorated with obsidian; I couldn't penetrate it with my spiritual power." "I wonder where that kid got so much obsidian."

“Thank you, Ms. Adjani.” Serafinu smiled calmly. “You are already a sixth-tier archmage, and ordinary cultivation resources are useless to you. Here is something of value, a small token of my appreciation.”

Adjani picked up the ring, briefly probing it with her spiritual power, and a smile appeared on her face. "Then I shall gladly accept, Your Grace." Inside lay a full 50 gold coins and nearly 3 bottles of wine, most of which were her favorite Angel's Tears. There was also a life-sized Angel's Radiance and three incredibly rare sixth-tier magic crystals. Good heavens, she loved drinking more than anything.

With that, Adjani gracefully rose and walked elegantly towards the door. But just as she reached the doorway, Serafino's voice rang out from behind her again, "Adjani, have you informed His Majesty of this matter?"

“Hehe,” Adjani chuckled, “I’d like to too, but I don’t dare… so I’ve taken the liberty of coming to your castle tonight.”

Serafino nodded. "Don't worry, I will definitely help you sort this out."

"Thank you very much then." After saying that, Adjani's figure suddenly disappeared.

Serafino stared at the spot where Adjani had disappeared, a flicker of apprehension in his eyes. On the surface, Emperor Habsburg trusted the three new-faction ducal families most, but Serafino knew perfectly well that the Emperor merely wanted to use them to control the old-fashioned nobles. When it came to crucial moments, Habsburg trusted his "Nameless Ones" the most. These were assassins personally selected and trained by Habsburg, among whom the most renowned and feared were Ezio and Adjani! Ezio was a fifth-tier transcendent, codenamed J. Adjani was a sixth-tier mage, codenamed Q. The massacre of Count Fox's family was the work of these two! And because of this, many imperial nobles had secretly spent vast sums hiring bounty hunters to kill them. These bounty hunters came from various backgrounds: some from the Church of Light, some from the Hand of Death, some from the Mage Guild, and some even from the Orc Empire and the Elf Empire. Therefore, over the years, Ezio and Adjani have rarely appeared in public, usually staying hidden in the capital. The mission to inform Raven of his promotion to Marquis in the Bloodstone Territory of the Orc Empire was carried out by Adjani, the most powerful and mid-ranking Nameless One. It wasn't their new faction's family that was involved. Habs's concern was simply that the new faction might be colluding with Raven in secret. He also didn't want anyone to diminish his "gratitude" to Raven.

After a long while, Serafino said with a deep look in his eyes, "Raven, Raven, you've been hiding your true colors well."

……

"Hey, let me tell you a secret: in a little while, the whole continent will be in chaos."

Miders Continent, Elf Empire, Forbidden Zone.

The burly and terrifyingly imposing Litanshi ate his prey raw, bloody meat while muttering something in a low voice. He hailed from the Behemoth race of the Orc Empire, a pure-blooded Behemoth, and his strength had reached the peak of the fourth tier, just one step away from the fifth.

"Haha," "When has this continent ever been free of chaos?"

The dwarf Gilida lay sprawled on a stone slab, legs crossed, chuckling dismissively. He hailed from the Dwarven Kingdom and, like many others, possessed peak fourth-tier strength. He was also a bounty hunter. Unlike mercenary teams, bounty hunters typically operated alone, rarely teaming up. The reason they were teaming up this time was clearly because the Elven Empire's forbidden zone was dangerous enough. He and Litanshi were both there to acquire cultivation resources for breaking through to the fifth tier. As for the other two cowardly individuals' motives for coming to the forbidden zone, he had no idea.

"Hey, hermit, you're human, tell me what you're saying." Litanshi shouted to the human holding a cane beside him, trying to prove his point.

“Not quite sure.” Raven shook his head. Then, gazing at the light snow falling, he sighed softly. It was already December of the year 1206 in the Light Calendar. He had been in the Elven Empire for almost a year. The reason for the long delay was that the Forbidden Zone was extremely dangerous. He had never been there before and had no map, so he had to find companions from those who were originally going to the Forbidden Zone. He searched for more than two months in Danatisu City, also known as Banana City, before finally gathering four people. Besides the orc and dwarf who had just spoken, there was also a woman completely shrouded in a robe. As for her race, Raven didn't know. However, Raven had a vague guess that she was very likely an elf. This made Raven more wary of this woman throughout the journey.

"How! How could I not know?!" Litanshi exclaimed anxiously, stammering. "You guys must have heard of Raven, right? He's already invaded our Orc Empire. War is inevitable!" "I mean chaos, no, not the kind of chaos Gilida talked about, but a huge, terrifying kind of chaos, real chaos! It's equivalent to... what's it called again?" Litanshi slapped his head in frustration, unable to recall the words that were on the tip of his tongue. The more anxious he became, the less he could remember. "The Fourth Continental War??" Raven chimed in.

"Ah, yes, yes! That's it!" Litanshi gave Raven a grateful look. Raven felt a chill run down his spine. A Behemoth is someone with a human form but a head resembling Godzilla. Just imagine how terrifying its eyes must be. Moreover, Litanshi had a row of hard dorsal fins running from its head to its spine, though much smaller and barely visible under clothing.

"Could the consequences be that serious?" Raven asked in surprise.

"Don't underestimate this Raven!" Litanshi was about to speak when Gilida interrupted, "I've heard of his fame even back in the Dwarf Kingdom! He's incredibly powerful. He started as a petty thug, nicknamed 'Little Bee,' and rose from nothing to become a marquis!" "Do you know what 'rising from nothing' means?" "He single-handedly broke through the poverty of Eagle Territory and led the Griffith family back to its peak! He's restored the glory of his ancestors!" "I heard he eats an Eivor every meal. I think that's how a man should be. Riding a white horse, howling in the west wind, dominating the world. Living a carefree and joyful life. If I were him, I'd die happy!" "Of course, our favorite is Angel's Tears. So I hope he doesn't die too soon."

"Tch, you're talking as if everyone knows all this." Litanshi shook his head, opened his blood-red maw, ripped out the heart of the Earth Bear, stuffed it into his mouth, and chewed it forcefully. Crimson blood spurted from between his teeth like arrows. "Do you know? This continental war is different from the past. Before, it was all about fighting for territory. Now, the various royal families plan to use this war to deplete their excess nobles. I heard it from our clan chief. The Court of Mountains and Seas has already issued orders to only slaughter nobles after entering the various human empires."

"Hmm?" Raven had been completely absorbed in listening to the two boast about their various legends. But then, Litanshi of the Behemoth tribe uttered these words, causing him to sit up straight. If this was true, then the Fourth Continental War seemed truly imminent.

"Nonsense."

Suddenly, the woman sitting some distance away spoke. Her voice was melodious and pleasant, like a rare orchid in a secluded valley. "If the various royal families were truly going to betray their own nobles, wouldn't those nobles unite to overthrow them?"

“Then I don’t know.” Litanshi shook his head.

“That’s right! If a continental war were really going to break out, our king would have sent someone to inform me long ago.” Gilida snapped his fingers and killed a fist-sized scorpion that crawled up to him, and then spoke up.

“I know Raven too,” the woman continued, “but I think Raven is a good man.” Clearly, no one wanted to engage with Girida’s boasting. The woman deliberately continued the conversation from the previous topic.

"A good person?" Raven raised an eyebrow. "Let's talk about it in detail."

"Pfft." "What? You know Raven?" the woman said with a laugh.

“I don’t know him.” Raven shook his head. “I just think that no nobleman is a good person. If we’re talking about good people, he doesn’t even make the list. I’m the real good person!”

"Good! Excellent! A good person who would come to the forbidden zone of the Elf Empire to steal treasures!" Gilida praised sarcastically. "By the way, what exactly are you two doing in the forbidden zone?"

"Have you heard of the Tomb of the Seven Sins?" the woman suddenly asked.

"The Tomb of the Seven Sins? The ruins of the dragon race?" Litanshi asked. As a member of the orc race, he clearly knew more than the others.

The woman didn't speak, but simply nodded, before saying, "One of the ancient tombs is hidden within the forbidden area."

"What is it?" Litanshi asked eagerly.

“Slaanesh’s Palace,” the woman said in a deep voice.

"So you came here for the ruins?" Gilida sat up abruptly. "What's inside?"

"If you want to know, just come with me." The woman chuckled. "I don't really know what's inside either."

“Fine! Count me in.” Gilida gritted his teeth, then asked Litanshi, “Hey big guy, are you coming or not?”

Litanshi hesitated for a moment, his eyes darting around before he narrowed them and suddenly looked at Raven. "Hermit, are you going?"

"Not interested in."

Raven shook his head decisively. Putting aside how dangerous the ruins were, Raven was extremely suspicious of this woman's motives. She had been silent the whole way, and tonight she suddenly invited him; was she perhaps looking for a few scapegoats? To be honest, Raven couldn't see through her, neither the person herself nor the woman's level of understanding.

"What a pity." The woman shook her head and sighed. "Perhaps there's something you need inside."

Litanshi began by asking, "How should the resources be allocated?"

The woman replied without hesitation, "Of course it's fifty-fifty. We've been together for so long, dodging elves and slaying monsters along the way, we're practically friends, right?"

Littenberg pondered for a long time, then looked up and asked seriously, "Who's five?"

Raven, the woman, and Gilida: ...

……

(End of this chapter)