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Chapter 22: The Empire's Main Storyline
The daughter of the dragon is giving Renn a shoulder and back massage.

Raine is still young and doesn't have any back pain. He just needs to find something for his personal maid, Dia, to do so that she doesn't have too much free time and worry about the war situation on the rainforest peninsula all day.

Due to the recent heavy rains and strong winds, going out to sea is quite dangerous, so the trip to Salt Island has been postponed.

Ellina is looking at the Faher family's historical collection of books.

According to human historians, the destruction of the Ancestral Elf Empire was due to the Ancestral Elves' cruel and tyrannical exploitation of human slaves. As a result, armed slave uprisings broke out one after another in the later period of the empire, gradually destroying the foundation of the Ancestral Elf's rule.

Ellina believes this statement is inaccurate.

As an ancient hero of that era, she was intimately familiar with the overall situation of the Elven Empire. The long-term reliance on slaves for production had led to a large-scale decline in the knowledge and skills of the elven class.

Farmers who didn't know how to cultivate the land had serfs wielding hoes for them; blacksmiths who didn't know how to forge iron had iron slaves swinging hammers for them. The basic production processes were entirely occupied by human slaves, and the elves, lying in positions of exploitation, gradually became ignorant and useless.

Once armed slaves launch an uprising, even if it is ultimately suppressed, production activities are completely destroyed. The rebellious slaves are all killed, and the slave owners are helpless, staring at the empty fields and shops. The seemingly powerful and invincible Elven Empire is, in reality, utterly absurd and laughable.

It should have been destroyed long ago.

Ellina put "History of the Human Empire" back on the shelf and took out "Biography of the Rose Queen".

She doesn't like Berthalia.

Unlike the embellished and glorified portrayal in "The Rose Queen's Biography," the real Berthalia was a sleazy and wicked woman.

Of course, not the arrogant and wicked kind like Raine, but the kind of sly malice where "as soon as she opens her mouth, you know she's definitely up to no good."

Or, to use the words of the Hand of Nature, "all the negative qualities unique to the Dark Elf race are concentrated in Bersalia."

In fact, Ellina also recalled something else: the Hand of Nature—the young leader of the Wood Elf army, a hero skilled in swordsmanship, who ultimately died under mysterious circumstances.

Some suspect that Bersalia plotted against them, but unfortunately there is no evidence.

Berthalia, if it really was you who attacked your comrade back then, I wouldn't mind sending you to hell again.

Ellina closed her eyes, calming her surging emotions and regaining her placid expression.

She was ready to welcome Berthalia.

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Summer rainfall in the River Bend province is quite abundant, but it never reaches the level of flooding seen on the rainforest peninsula. The heavy rain that lasted for several days finally stopped.

Raine also began preparing to go to Salt Island, but then news came from the Faher family:
Miss Marsan from the Malorne family will soon be arriving in Searock City for a visit.

The Duke of Malorne, the lord who rules the entire province of the River Bend, and also the lord of the Marquis of Fahl.

His daughter, Marcel Marloane, was the Duke's most beloved youngest daughter. The Marquis of Fahl once wanted to arrange a marriage between her and René, but unfortunately, he could not find René to apply for the position.

She announced her engagement last year, and this time she came to visit with her new husband.

The reason for the visit was also very formal. It was said that Duke Malorne had heard that Renn Fahr, who had been missing for a long time, had finally returned to the family and had been granted Salt Island as his territory. Therefore, he sent his daughter Marshan to meet the son of this vassal on his behalf.

Of course, anyone with a modicum of common sense could see that the real situation was probably that Martha, a woman obsessed with looks, had heard that Raine was exceptionally handsome, a stark contrast to the generally ugly Fahrenheit people, so she was curious and begged her father to send her over.

Upon learning that Duke Malorne's daughter was about to visit, a new plan suddenly popped into Rein's mind, which was already racing.

There's no way around it; that's just how clever people are—they can always find fleeting opportunities in the slightest clues around them.

However, the specific details of the plan still need to be carefully considered.

I've heard that Bersalia, the Dark Elf Queen, was a master of political maneuvering back in the day. I suppose she can still be of value to me in that regard after her resurrection.

With these thoughts in mind, Ryan changed into a formal suit with the help of Dia, and then went to the reception room to meet the Marthas.

Martha Malone was a short, plump noblewoman with many freckles on her face. Her husband was a handsome, effeminate young nobleman from the Tanfrew family of Deepwood City. Interestingly, it was said that almost all the men in the Tanfrew family were pretty boys, the complete opposite of the Fahre family, which was known for producing ugly men.

Ryan and the two men exchanged greetings before taking their seats on the soft chairs.

Martha was very pleased with her first impression of Ryan.

Judging solely from the exquisite and handsome features, she is actually somewhat lacking compared to her young husband, but Martha is very fond of Ryan's free and unrestrained dashing temperament.

Driven by intense curiosity, Martha began to inquire about Ryan's adventures after leaving the family.

Ryan only glanced at her before knowing what Martha was thinking. This pampered aristocratic young lady was like a naive middle school girl who couldn't see the world and was completely captivated by dyed-hair young men who seemed to be involved in the underworld.

So he picked up some stories from the game in his previous life and briefly told them to the Martha couple.

Most of the dungeon stories in the game are written with dramatic twists and turns and perilous situations (but players never actually read them). The Marthas had never heard such an interesting and wonderful story before, and for a moment they actually felt a longing to go on an adventure, much like urban white-collar workers always have unrealistic fantasies about rural life.

“What an amazing journey!” Martha couldn’t help but exclaim. “I’d love to take a spontaneous trip myself, but my father would never allow it.”

“Oh, my dear,” her husband said affectionately, “I’m really worried about you traveling. With your beauty, which is comparable to that of a goddess, there will surely be many men who covet your looks.”

Ryan was immediately filled with respect and began to look at this man with new respect.

I thought he was just a gigolo being groomed into an arranged marriage, but I never imagined he had such amazing cunning and scheming!

Anyway, if it were him, he definitely couldn't face a pig's face and say something affectionate like "your beauty," he would probably vomit in front of her.

The three of them then launched into a long string of aristocratic social niceties, when Martha asked with a smile:

"By the way, Renn, a few noble ladies and I have recently been fundraising for an Amazonian commemoration event. Have you considered donating to us?"

"They've arrived, just as I expected," Renn thought to himself.

The reason he was willing to attend and chat with these two for so long was ultimately to get on the quest chain that runs through the entire empire's main storyline.

Of course, the act had to be played out completely, so Ryan pretended to be curious and asked:
"Amazons? What are those?"

“Let me explain it to you.” Masan immediately began to explain, “The Amazons are a primitive tribe located in the southern part of Changshui Province. They are a matrilineal clan in the strict sense. They often go to other tribes to borrow offspring to have children. If a boy is born, he is abandoned or given to another tribe. If a girl is born, she is kept in the tribe and raised to be a brave and skilled Amazon warrior.”

"At that time, the human empire was fragmented, and the various lords were constantly fighting each other. Due to years of war and conscription, the population in many noble territories of Changshui Province had declined sharply, which seriously affected the interests of the nobles."

"These nobles, driven by their own selfish desires, openly attacked Amazonian tribes in an attempt to replenish their population."

"The Amazonian warriors of that time fought with brute force and ferocity. When they encountered the fully armored and sharp-sworded Imperial soldiers, they were still unable to defeat the invaders despite their best efforts."

"Many of them were captured by the imperial nobles and taken back to their own territories, where they were used as sexual objects and reproductive tools for their subjects. The rest fled into the forests, where they eked out a living in cold caves, howling and crying."

Martha recounted the bloody and tragic history of the Amazonian tribes, while her husband beside her clearly had a wandering gaze, an expression that said, "Although I'm not interested, I can't show it."

Ryan, of course, understood what was going on. He found Martha's words, "We all have Amazon blood in our veins" and "The Empire should atone to the persecuted Amazons," to be extremely humorous and laughable, the kind of stuff that could be performed on a stand-up comedy show.

But then again, the power of the Amazon commemoration movement lies in the social network it is backed by, comprised of noblewomen and young ladies, who, with their overflowing maternal instincts, can whisper sweet nothings in the ear of powerful noblemen.

“I never imagined that the Empire had committed such a grave sin against the Amazons.” Having been prepared, Renn began to exert his power. His nose tingled, his eyes immediately welled up with tears, and his voice was filled with sorrow. “I am ashamed of my imperial noble status.”

“It’s alright,” Martha comforted him softly. “We may not be able to stop the sins of our ancestors, but we can decide whether we want to be good people. All donations will be used to build an Amazon memorial in the capital, to constantly remind people of this history and prevent it from being forgotten. Of course, it’s all voluntary.”

“I’ll offer 200 gold crown coins,” Renn said, wiping his eyes casually before speaking seriously.

Martha's husband, standing nearby, immediately widened his eyes, revealing a shocked expression that seemed to say, "Are you crazy?" or "Don't you have money to burn?"

(End of this chapter)