On my second playthrough, they were full of malice towards me.

"Don't worry, Lord Ash, you don't need to worry that the training ground I found for you is too low-end!"

"Actually, in order to keep myself from neglecting training, I secretly raised a batch of monsters from 500 years ago. Although there are only seven or eight calamity-level monsters left, I think that should be enough for Lord Ash! If all else fails, there are dozens of danger-level monsters. I can capture them all and put them into the training ground for Lord Ash!"

Liao Ji: "."

It seems that the rumors circulating in the revolutionary army that the tyrannical empress secretly kept terrifying monsters as pets for her own amusement are not entirely false.

First, under the banner of "the remnants of the past must not be spared," Liao Ji solemnly demanded that Jiu You kill all of these monsters after returning. Then, in order to prevent Jiu You from engaging in any similar devilish training again, Liao Ji had to start teaching and correcting the Dragon Girl's single-minded thinking.

And this first step is, of course,

"Come here, Jiuyou, let's sit closer together."

Liao Ji took the initiative to take Long Niang's hand. Unlike the delicate and boneless hands of Si Xiutiya, Jiu You's hands were obviously much stronger and more resilient, with tighter and more elastic skin. They felt a bit hard to the touch, which was normal. After all, the guards were all close combatants, and their hands had been through many battles and had to hold weapons at all times.

Interestingly, at first, Jiu You's hand was indeed a bit hard in his palm, but after he touched it a few more times, as if sensing the warmth from Lord Ash, the Dragon Girl's hand immediately began to soften as if the ice had melted.

In just a few breaths, what were once the most powerful hands of the Royal Guards have now completely degenerated, becoming even softer than the hands of those with "superpowers" or "priests".

Especially the force on Jiu You's fingers, it vanished quickly like a deflated balloon, like a captured soldier, limp and helpless in Liao Ji's palm, at Liao Ji's mercy.

cough!

Damn it! I didn't come here to massage your hands!

Liao Ji reflected on his actions and quickly shifted his attention away from Jiu You's incredibly soft hands, clearing his throat lightly.

"It's like this, Jiu You. Think about it carefully. In all our previous battles, how many times did I personally step into the fray?"

After thinking carefully for a moment, the Dragon Girl shook her head and said, "Not many."

Indeed, in the early stages, Ash was usually positioned at the very back of the battlefield, appearing as a commander and rarely taking to the field himself.

But in the later stages

Seeing that Jiu You was about to make another turn, Liao Ji immediately squeezed Jiu You's hand again. Long Niang's cheeks immediately flushed, and her chest pounded. A touch of drunken blush appeared on her cold and beautiful face. This was a feeling that Jiu You had never experienced before, making her a little dizzy and momentarily forgetting what she was going to say next.

Having succeeded, Liao Ji quickly chimed in, explaining, "So for me, I don't need to rely on training grounds to recover my strength. No, I should say that my strongest strength is still there."

"The strongest forces...are still there?"

Dragon Girl couldn't understand again. Could it be that Lord Ash's current weakness was an act?

Seeing Jiu You lost in a daze, Liao Ji paused for a moment, then looked into Long Niang's eyes with his clear gaze. He continued to hold Long Niang's hand with one hand, but the other hand had already quietly moved to Jiu You's head.

Liao Ji stroked Jiu You's long, smooth, crimson hair, then touched the dragon girl's head, and said in a proud and self-satisfied tone:

"Because that's you!"

"Is it us?"

"That's right, you are all my wings, my strength. As long as you take good care of yourselves and live well, my strength will never disappear!"

Liao Ji's generous speech brought tears to Jiu You's eyes. Yes, she had actually used such a superficial "understanding" of power to view Lord Ash, but in reality, Lord Ash had long since set his sights on a higher level.

But soon after, the Dragon Girl noticed that something was amiss.

"So, Lord Ash, why didn't you come directly to me?"

"Because, because I want to prepare a gift for Jiu You! After five hundred years, how can I go to see you empty-handed!"

"Is this the rebel army you're offering as a greeting?"

The dragon girl adopted her classic pose of tilting her head in confusion and asking a question.

"Cough cough! No, no, no, Jiuyou, I just want to help these demi-humans awaken again, find the source of their thin bloodline problem, and make Jiuyou's Dragon Kingdom great again. This is the gift I want to give you."

Upon hearing this, the Dragon Girl felt even more guilty. She was powerless and had created such a mess in the Dragon Kingdom after five hundred years, and she still had to rely on Lord Ash to come back and clean it up for her.

However, when it came to the issue of demi-human bloodlines, Jiuyou immediately thought of what Karl had told her before. Even though Karl had asked her to help keep it a secret from Lord Ash, Jiuyou couldn't do it.

So afterwards, she told Liao Ji everything Karl had said: the bloodline of the demi-humans was cursed, there might still be living members of the original members of the Old Alliance, and behind all of this, there was a high possibility that Anno was behind the Old Alliance.

Immediately afterward, Jiu You suggested to Liao Ji, "Lord Ash, come back to the capital with me now. I will entrust everything of the Dragon Kingdom to you. This was originally prepared for you by Jiu You. Rest assured, Jiu You will help you eliminate all those who disobey. With all the power of the Dragon Kingdom, you should be able to better help the demi-human race, right?"

As Long Niang spoke, the gentleness and submissiveness she had shown towards Liao Ji vanished instantly, as if she had returned to the tyrannical empress in the Dragon Palace who made countless people tremble.

Especially when she mentioned "disobedients," she was incredibly cold. The murderous aura emanating from Jiu You made Liao Ji have no doubt that Long Niang would not even blink an eye if she were to massacre the imperial regime for him.

Therefore.

hiss

Upon hearing this, Liao Ji quickly waved his hand. Being an emperor was too tiring. He had already experienced it once in his first playthrough. Right now, all he wanted was to be close to his wives. Forget about being an emperor. Besides, doing so would be like putting himself on the table. What if the remaining wives objected and wanted him to take over their power as well? Liao Ji knew his own limitations. In the game, he could unify the world, but in reality... forget it.

Who would want to be a dog emperor when they can be a carefree prince?

Moreover, there is now an added threat from the Old Alliance. According to current intelligence, they are also closely related to Anno. It's fine for him to stay hidden, but once they surface, these hidden dangers will also be triggered. Liao Ji dares not imagine the scene at that time.

So no matter how you look at it, he can't be too high-profile right now, and he can't be so arrogant in making an "official announcement"! It's still the most prudent thing for him to continue quietly finding wives one by one in private!

Uh... it just sounds a bit scummy, doesn't it?

No! This is for world peace!

Finally, there are some things that Liao Ji doesn't trust others to do, such as the answers regarding Anuo and the Old Alliance, which he can only verify himself.

So Liao Ji told Jiu You to go back to the capital and continue being the empress. In this way, they could work together from the inside and outside, one openly and one secretly, and then it would be a piece of cake to take down the Dragon Kingdom.

Unfortunately

"No! Lord Ash, Jiuyou must not go back." Jiuyou could agree to and understand whatever Liao Ji said before, but on this one point, the Dragon Girl shook her head firmly at Liao Ji.

Previously, it was Liao Ji who held Jiu You's hand, but upon hearing that Lord Ash wanted to leave on his own, this time it was the Dragon Girl's hand that no longer went limp and surrendered. Instead, she gripped Liao Ji tightly like a tigress or a dragon, determined not to separate, let alone let Liao Ji leave her side.

Not only that, Jiuyou also came prepared, thanks to Lena's previous reminder. So Jiuyou racked her brains and finally came up with another compromise that allowed her to stay by Ash Lord's side and continue to "surrender".

That is

"Lord Ash, Jiuyou had already thought it through before coming here. If you refuse to take over Jiuyou's Dragon Kingdom, then for Jiuyou, this Dragon Kingdom is meaningless. Therefore..."

Inside the revolutionary army's tent in the field, by the light of a burning oil lamp, Long Niang, standing shoulder to shoulder with Liao Ji, spoke with utmost seriousness, detailing everything:

"I want to join you in the revolution! To overthrow the Dragon Kingdom! To defeat the Empress!"

Chapter 104 Lord Ash, Let Jiuyou Help You Train

Liao Ji: "."

Is it possible that you are the Empress?

Seemingly understanding this meaning from Liao Ji's expression, Jiu You immediately released Liao Ji's hand, stood up, and took a few steps back from Liao Ji.

Immediately afterward, just as Liao Ji was wondering what the Dragon Girl was going to do, a blazing flame spiraled up from beneath Jiu You's feet and enveloped the Dragon Girl's entire body in the blink of an eye.

After the flames subsided, Jiu You emerged from them.

The once magnificent and imposing crimson military uniform and skirt have disappeared, replaced by tattered hemp shirts, and the exquisite combat boots on their feet have vanished, leaving them barefoot on the ground.

Even more outrageous is that the Dragon Girl's long, waterfall-like hair also became short, turning into a bob that reached her ears.

The dragon horns that followed, which were originally over ten centimeters long, had now shrunk back to a tiny point, about half a finger's width. If the hair was thick, they would even be completely submerged, leaving only the small head of the dragon horn showing.

"Lord Ash, is it alright now?"

"What does the campaign against Empress Jiuyou have to do with me, Xiaoyou?"

The Dragon Lady turned around in front of Liao Ji, showing off her new appearance. Although her appearance hadn't changed much, her aura was quite different. At first glance, no one would think that she was the Empress of the Dragon Kingdom. Instead, she looked more like a stubborn demi-human slave warrior.

indeed.

Because this is exactly what the dragon girl looked like when he first met Jiu You in the game, when he first bought her in the "Slave Arena"!

Good guy!

They can even change it back to the old character art!

Each time a character levels up and advances to the next level, their appearance will change, which is what the game often refers to as getting a brand new illustration. Each character has three levels of illustrations: Dangerous, Catastrophe, and Calamity.

If I had to describe Jiuyou's current appearance, it would be that her artwork has gone from being a disaster-level illustration to a danger-level illustration.

Something is wrong!

Something's really wrong!

Is this a solution that a Guardian class could come up with?!

When did Jiu You become so smart?

The flames rose again, and Jiu You returned to her Empress form, as if to prove to Liao Ji that she could easily switch between these two "portraits".

Jiu You herself certainly hadn't researched such "fancy" things. Those who researched and taught her these things were actually...

"Lord Ash, Lena came to see me before I met you. It was Lena who taught me these things."

guessed.

Among "them", the one who most enjoys playing these "tricks" is probably the pink-haired succubus.

however.

Liao Ji clearly underestimated Lena's malice towards him.

Because next

It seems that because the topic of Lena was brought up, the dragon girl took out a diary from behind her back.

A diary?

Liao Ji was puzzled for a moment, but then seemed to realize something, and his expression changed immediately.

My diary! ! ?

Following closely behind was the dragon maiden's soft voice from inside the small tent for two.

"Lord Ash, Lena also told me that frivolous people like to keep diaries. Jiuyou originally trusted you completely, but could you explain this sentence in the diary to me?"

As Jiuyou spoke, she opened the diary she had found in Liao Ji's tent. Longniang pointed to the very first and most prominent sentence in the diary.

That is

"The goddess tastes really good—Emperor Ashes"

"What does that mean, Lord Ash?"