This necromancer is going to seduce the beautiful girls who are already dead.

A smell of roasted meat wafted into Givia's nose. The aroma of roasted meat and fat, which might be mouthwatering at other times, filled Givia with intense fear when she knew where it came from. She leaned against the tightly sealed cabinet door and began to retch.

Cassandra's screams reached Gylvia's ears, growing louder and louder. At first, there were only screams and the sound of flames, but then, these sounds began to mingle with the cries, laughter, curses, and songs of many people...

The sound grew increasingly irritating; it felt as if tens of thousands of people were shouting in her ears. She instinctively covered her ears, but it was no use.

The human voices didn't stop there. Gylvia began to hear other non-human voices in her ears, as if many unknown monsters had joined the "chorus" in her ears, making the sounds even more terrifying.

The sliver of light suddenly vanished, and after a few seconds of darkness, the light suddenly expanded again, revealing a world burned into a wasteland before her eyes, and she herself was standing on a huge black object.

"Ah...ah..."

A woman's painful moan emanated from the black object as it slowly rolled and began to devour Gylvia's feet.

Gvia was terrified and tried to break free from the monster's grasp, but her feet seemed to be stuck in a swamp, with nowhere to get a foothold and she couldn't pull them out.

"Let me go! Let me go!"

Givya shouted loudly.

"Hahahaha! Jivia! My sweetheart! You're finally back in my arms!"

Just as Gylvia was struggling, a voice that was half male and half female, laughing wildly, appeared all around her.

"Who are you!" Jivia looked up at the scorched sky and shouted.

"You've forgotten me so quickly, Gylvia? I thought we were old friends. Didn't you used to have dinner with me every night?"

“Lord of Nightmares!” Gylvia’s eyes flashed with hatred.

"Hahahaha! You've finally remembered!" The Lord of Nightmares laughed maniacally. "A foolish mortal like you really needs me to prompt you to recall your memories. How about it, do you remember the maidservant you crippled by your willfulness back then?"

A deep-seated fear surged through Gylvia's heart, and she clutched her head in anguish.

"Because of overwhelming fear in your childhood, you sealed away this part of your memory. You forgot the people you harmed, forgot that you never apologized to her!" The Lord of Nightmares spoke loudly in Gylvia's ear, as if he had encountered something extremely auspicious. "You are not worthy of being a princess, you are not worthy of standing with your people, you will never succeed! What do you think will happen if I expose this? Hmm? Do you think your restoration army will still be loyal to you? Hahahaha!"

“You’re so despicable!” Gylvia seemed to break down; she looked up and screamed hysterically.

"Despicable? Despicable is a word used to describe lowly mortals. You use it to describe the great me? I am the victor, and the victor is always great. How can you call me despicable!" The Nightmare Lord's voice was deafening. "You pathetic maggot, enjoy your fear! Soon your fear will completely devour you and crush your restoration army! My feast is about to begin!"

Without a doubt, the Lord of Nightmares was the mastermind behind Cassandra's awakening. He had no intention of letting Gylvia do anything after receiving the information; He simply pushed Cassandra across the border to deliver the message, allowing her to see the Cassandra she hadn't seen since childhood, and causing the fear buried deep within her heart to erupt!

"Tonight! Right tonight! I will tell all the Ossi people outside of Xiaoduo Town in my dreams how selfish and despicable you are! The mistake has been made, and you cannot undo it! Their disappointment will be magnified infinitely by me, and when their trust in you collapses, it will be the perfect time for fear to run rampant! I will let you, this self-proclaimed wise leader, experience what it means to be isolated and alone when you lose the support of the people!" The Nightmare Lord's voice was right next to Jivia's ear, and no matter how hard she struggled, she could not get rid of it.

“You bastard!” Jivia cried out, but to no avail.

"Take a look at this!" The Lord of Nightmares clearly wasn't going to let Gylvia go. Even if Gylvia closed her eyes, it was no use. An execution ground appeared before her, and the cold-faced "Kevin" stood on a high platform. With his command, countless citizens of the Kingdom of Osi had their heads chopped off by executioners. There were men and women, old and young. Blood flowed like a river in an instant, and the cries of the other civilians who had not yet been executed filled the air.

"Stay away from my people!" Jivia screamed in despair, tears streaming down her face.

"Hahaha! Isn't this what you fear most right now? I tasted it! It was delicious! You've made me starve for days, now it's time for you to repay me double! Oh... it seems your companions have come to rescue you, but unfortunately they can't change anything. Goodbye, my sweetheart, you were the best appetizer before my main course, my feast is about to begin..."

"Givia! Givia!"

Flora's voice rang in Gylvia's ears. Gylvia opened her eyes and saw Flora's worried face.

"Your Highness is awake!" Haina exclaimed happily in a low voice.

But Jivia didn't move, only letting the tears flow down her cheeks.

"We lost... There's nothing we can do anymore..."

it's all over.

Chapter 113 Despair

"What's wrong?" Leona peeked over from the side, looking at Givya who was lying there silently shedding tears with concern.

“It’s all my fault…it’s all my fault…” Cassandra was also there, her face now completely covered again, pacing anxiously. “It was my appearance that reminded Her Highness of the horror of that day…”

Gvia seemed to have fallen into utter despair. She no longer responded to what anyone was saying, her eyes vacant as she stared upwards, muttering, "We've lost, we've lost..."

“Let me guess,” Abistra’s characteristic languid voice rang out. “Now that Cassandra has told us the truth about what happened back then, it’s not hard to guess why Gylvia fell into a coma and what she saw after she fell into a coma.”

Rebecca, standing beside Abyss, picked up where he left off, as if on cue: "After that accident, young Gylvia was so traumatized that she automatically shut down that memory. That's why she didn't know that Heina's mother was actually Cassandra, the maid who sacrificed an arm and her beautiful face to protect her. Cassandra left the palace after that, which allowed Gylvia to live peacefully all these years. But after meeting Cassandra just now, seeing Cassandra's face suddenly unleashed the terrifying memories of her childhood, causing a severe mental shock. Combined with the extraordinary pressure Her Highness has been under at work these past few days, she fainted."

Cassandra sat to the side, clutching her head in anguish. "It's all my fault. Why did I have to come here myself... Sigh, I should have delegated this to someone else..."

“No, Ms. Cassandra, it’s not your fault. The information you brought—that Kevin isn’t actually alive—shouldn’t be shown to ordinary people because everyone’s memories have been altered. Even the mentally strong Gylvia and the professional mage Hena experienced severe headaches from having their memories activated. So, it goes without saying how serious the consequences would be for ordinary people to see this information,” Abyss said, standing up from his chair.

They were currently in Rebecca's alchemy laboratory. After Gylvia collapsed, Hena immediately ran to the inn to find Flora. Flora and Leona were there learning sewing together. Hearing Hena's explanation, Flora decisively summoned Abyss and Rebecca, who were in the laboratory researching methods to counter the Nightmare Lord. The five of them rushed to the inn where Cassandra was staying, and Abyss immediately carried Gylvia into Rebecca's alchemy laboratory.

He wasn't worried about news of his alchemy lab getting out. First, he could trust everyone here. Second, even if outsiders happened to walk in, they wouldn't be able to immediately figure out what had happened. At worst, he could just work with Flora again to alter everyone's memories. Utilizing the slow time flow effect of the alchemy lab, he could buy a great deal of time to prepare for and defend against any unforeseen circumstances.

Flora used a simple healing spell on Gylvia, repairing a severe ulcer in her stomach before it perforated—a result of her exhaustion from working on battle reports and her poor diet, which was also the cause of her vomiting blood.

Then, Flora used the awakening spell on Gylvia, pulling her out of the nightmare brought by the Lord of Nightmares.

“Gylvia must have seen the Lord of Nightmares. He may have used some tricks to frighten her in her dream.” Abyss walked to Gylvia, who was lying on a table, and looked down at her lifeless eyes. “So this is how He put Gylvia into a nightmare. He didn’t use Nightmare Spirits or divine power, but rather Lady Cassandra’s loyalty and sense of responsibility… This is indeed unexpected and despicable.”

“Givia, please tell us. We can think of a solution together. With us here, you can’t give up hope so easily,” Flora said softly, taking Givia’s hand.

Flora's voice, like heavenly music, naturally possessed a calming effect, and coupled with the gentleness in her words, it finally took effect on Gylvia. Gylvia's eyes gradually regained focus, and she stopped muttering: "Flora...it's you..."

“It’s me. We’re all here to help you. You don’t need to be afraid anymore.” Flora gave Gylvia a bright smile.

“Yes, Gvia, if you have any difficulties, just tell us, and we will all support you,” Leona said, her tone casual yet carrying a strong sense of reliability.

“I…” Gylvia seemed to have a glimmer of hope rekindled. Her usual strength hadn’t been broken by the Nightmare Lord’s threats. “I dreamt of the Nightmare Lord… He told me I wasn’t worthy to be a princess because I had done something to betray Cassandra, and that it was irreversible… He was going to tell all the people of Ossi about this at a certain time, amplifying their disappointment and causing me to lose all their support overnight… I can’t quite remember…”

"Relax and let me access a bit of your memories, okay?" Flora pleaded, her voice soft, like a mother soothing a baby to sleep.

Gylvia glanced into Flora's beautiful golden eyes, hesitated slightly, and then nodded. She no longer wanted to delve into why Flora, a healing mage, possessed these abilities; she simply chose to trust the gentle girl. Right now, she only wanted help. The Nightmare Lord's mockery this time was a fatal blow, nearly driving her to a complete mental breakdown. She had lost all hope of improving the situation.

Flora used divine magic to access a brief memory of Gylvia's. This memory originated from a dream, and if it wasn't extracted using divine magic, it would soon dissolve into Gylvia's mind and be forgotten.

Next, Flora shared these memories with the Abyss through necromancy, and through the Abyss, others also learned about everything that Gylvia had seen in her dream.

“As expected… as expected…” Abyss, having gained these memories, stroked his chin, deep in thought.

“If people really find out about these things, I’m afraid Gvia’s standing in their eyes will drop drastically, not to mention the Nightmare Lord is fueling the fire.” Rebecca frowned.

When Gylvia heard that Abyss and the others were also troubled, her eyes, which had brightened slightly, dimmed again.

“Givia, don’t be so quick to despair,” Abyss said to Givia. “Only by facing despair with courage can you remain invincible. Rise, Princess Ossi, your people still need you. You must take responsibility and give them a reason to uphold their beliefs.”

Chapter 114 So-called Enlightenment

Abyss placed a hand under the back of Gylvia's neck and slowly, with a touch of domineering, lifted her up.

Gylvia was somewhat taken aback as she looked at Abyss's face.

"Just a mere evil god, why be afraid? The more you fear Him, the stronger He becomes, just like most things in the world." The Abyss crossed his arms, his tone nonchalant. "He anticipated that you would give up hope after these events, and then destroy you in one fell swoop, reaping the fear of all the people of Ossi. I was wrong all along; I thought the Lord of Nightmares merely craved the taste of your fear, but now I know His purpose is not so simple. I thought He was eating, but He was actually cooking, and you were His cooking utensils."

Gylvia was not swayed by Abyss's words. With a guilty look on her face, she avoided his gaze: "But there's really nothing we can do. Do you have a way to keep all the people of Ossi from being affected by the Lord of Nightmares...? If not, we can only wait for the night to come and wait for me to lose all the support of the people. I'm sorry...it's all my fault."

"Are you really willing to let Him comfortably complete the rest of the plan?" Abyss asked.

"I……"

“You should be proud, and you will never let yourself be slaughtered like this. Gylvia, you are a strong person, not only in front of your people, but also in front of the evil god.” Abyss opened his arms. “The more you encounter this situation, the calmer you must be, and put your fear behind you. Since the enemy expects you to be defeated by fear, then you must not be defeated by fear.”

“My ancestors left us descendants with a saying,” Leona said, sitting on the alchemy table beside her, swinging her legs and smiling at Gylvia. “‘Enlightenment is about forging a path forward in the dark wilderness.’ Gylvia, I think you are someone with that kind of enlightenment. As long as you don’t forget your goals and the responsibilities you bear.”

Leona's words were somewhat difficult to understand, but how could Gylvia, as the leader of a legion and a princess of a nation, not understand? She bit her lip and remained silent for a moment, then looked around: "I understand... I will pull myself together. Where am I?"

“This is my laboratory,” Rebecca said. “Time flows much slower here than outside, so you have plenty of time to think about what to do next.”

“I must apologize to Cassandra first.” Gylvia took a deep breath, stepped down from the alchemy table, walked to the bewildered Cassandra, and bowed deeply. “Cassandra, I’m sorry. You have sacrificed so much for me, but I have never apologized to you once all these years. I must apologize for my coldness over the years. Please forgive me.”

“I will have no regrets if I can see Your Highness grow up safely and become someone who can shoulder the future of the entire country.” Cassandra quickly used her only remaining arm to try to help the solemnly apologizing Gylvia up. “Your Highness, you don’t need to apologize. You don’t owe me anything.”

“No, Cassandra, it was my fault that caused that fire. If I hadn’t been so reckless, you wouldn’t have been so badly injured protecting me.” Gylvia stubbornly maintained her bow. “It’s because of my cowardice that you haven’t received an apology from me for so many years.”

"This..." Cassandra grew increasingly uncomfortable. The old woman had never imagined that one day the princess she respected would personally bow to her. "Your Highness, please rise, I cannot accept this..."

“I will definitely make it up to you,” Jivia said. “I am willing to take care of you with Haina in your old age, and I will give you an explanation. I will not run away from you again.”

Heina stood silently to the side, watching Princess Gylvia apologize to her mother. She had considered many possibilities before, and had even thought that Gylvia's refusal to apologize stemmed from selfishness and arrogance. But she had never imagined that Gylvia hadn't intentionally ignored her mother, but rather that the incident had been so terrifying that she had automatically shut down that memory. She also hadn't expected Gylvia to harbor such deep guilt towards her mother.

The knot in her heart was instantly untied. Hearing that Gylvia was willing to make amends to her mother, she felt that her loyalty since joining the princess's guard had not been in vain. The princess was still the same princess; her mother had never misjudged her.

“Your Highness, I hope you know that I have never hated you all these years.” Cassandra couldn’t help Gylvia up, so she half-squatted down to meet Gylvia’s gaze. “I once swore an oath to His Majesty the King that I would fulfill my duties to the best of my ability. My duty is to protect you and understand you, Your Highness. The fire that day was indeed very hot, and being burned by the fire was indeed painful, but do you know, after I woke up and heard that you were unharmed, I felt that my injuries didn’t hurt so much, because I had perfectly done what I was supposed to do, and I still kept my oath.”

“Having a loyal subject like you is the greatest fortune in my life.” With tears in her eyes, Jivia helped Cassandra up from the ground, gently embraced her, and cried, “Cassandra, thank you, thank you for taking care of me selflessly like a mother, thank you for filling the void of love that my mother was unable to give me.”

“My princess, I am so happy to see you grow up.” Cassandra naturally hugged Gylvia as well. “I have been doing very well these years. His Majesty the King has given me a lot of money to ensure that Hina and I have no worries about food and clothing. I even have money to send Hina to learn magic. Over the years, my love for you has never changed. Even though we are far apart, I still miss you every moment.”

The mischievous little girl from back then has now grown into a resolute and courageous leader. Feeling the vibrant, youthful heartbeat of Gylvia, Cassandra's only remaining eye shed tears.

The two embraced for a long time, only slowly letting go when Jivia stopped crying.

“You have faced your fear.” Abyss nodded gently to Gylvia. “You have become stronger, Gylvia.”

“I understand everything.” Gylvia wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes, her already red eyes revealing a stronger determination than ever before. “Abyss, I know what to do. I hope you can help me. I’m willing to do anything for you.”

“Tell me,” Abyss replied. “I will help you.”

Gylvia leaned close to Abyss's ear and whispered her plan.

Abis seemed somewhat surprised: "Are you... sure? I can do what you ask, but this plan... is really a bit crazy."

“I’m ready.” Gylvia looked into Abyss’s blue eyes. “I will use my own methods to rebel against the Lord of Nightmares!”

Chapter 115 Jivia's National Live Broadcast

The Ossi Palace was quiet at noon because the new King Kevin disliked loud noises at midday and evening. Therefore, no one in the palace dared to make a sound, for fear of disturbing the ill-tempered king and losing their life for no reason.

The concerns were not unfounded. Right now, at the palace gates, a row of soldiers' corpses swayed in the wind on several wooden racks. They had all been hanged by Kevin not long ago for a simple reason—they had failed to protect the palace, resulting in the theft of some trees. These people were only a small fraction of those Kevin had killed. Such things happened every day in the palace; the king killing guards or courtiers for trivial matters had become commonplace.

Some who had served in the palace but hadn't chosen to follow Princess Givia when she was forced to flee the palace now deeply regretted not choosing a mentally sound leader. Some had planned to escape the palace and did manage to do so, but Prince Kevin quickly sentenced them to kill their relatives back home. Several knights rode swiftly to carry out the executions that very day. When those who had fled on foot returned home, they were met only with the desecrated corpses of their loved ones.

Since Kevin came to power, he has killed at least several thousand people. His cruelty and ruthlessness have cast a shadow over everyone's hearts. Coupled with the recent rumors of Princess Gylvia's death, the people are filled with fear. The proportion of people in the Kingdom of Ossi having nightmares at night is increasing. The calming potion is repeatedly sold out. When the potion is sold out, people buy strong liquor to help them sleep soundly and escape their daily fears.

Several newly arrived soldiers had just finished lunch and were about to tiptoe to their posts when they were suddenly drawn to a strange phenomenon in the sky.