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

"Sister Xiaoyou"

"what happened?"

"Let's practice our swordsmanship instead."

I feel terrible, I suddenly have a fever of 39 degrees Celsius, I don't know if it's from sheep, I hope I'll feel better tomorrow...

Chapter 113 Exposed?

The capital of sealed documents.

Less than twelve hours after the "blood sacrifice," the chaos in the city was completely quelled. After the "Empress" shattered the well with a single punch, the goddess "Shutia" purified it with a sacred ritual, and support was dispatched from all over the country immediately, with even General Long Yi from the capital personally arriving, the sealed city restored basic order the next day.

However, many ruins from the explosions can still be seen on the city streets. This once prosperous metropolis, which could rival the capital, is now scarred. Nobles and merchants are crying out in despair, as countless amounts of their wealth have vanished overnight in the chaos. Ordinary people are not faring any better, with many homeless vagrants appearing on the streets. Perhaps the only ones who are indifferent to this are the poor and demi-human slaves, since they had nothing to lose anyway.

town Hall.

The Empress's personal visit to the sealed capital resulted in many officials from the capital also rushing there overnight, and Xia Luo, as the most important minister, naturally would not be absent.

In the tea room at that moment, Xia Luo was entertaining a guest from Shanghai, who was said to be the personal assistant of the "city lord," and the guest's purpose was quite simple.

"Miss Caroline, please convey my and all the people of the Sealed City's gratitude to the City Lord. The Dragon Kingdom will always remember the kindness of the Magic City's donation to us."

While expressing his gratitude, Charlotte pretended to pour water, but his eyes were actually secretly glancing at the city lord's assistant across from him.

Caroline was dressed in a very formal suit, her golden ponytail standing up behind her head, making her look very capable. The black-rimmed glasses on her nose added a touch of seriousness. Underneath her pencil skirt were two black stockings that were tightly wrapped around her legs. As expected of someone from Shanghai, she is a leader in fashion across the continent.

However, no matter how properly she sat or dressed, it couldn't hide her identity as a succubus. Instead, it created a stark contrast, making Charlotte feel a little itchy.

Caroline adjusted her glasses, said nothing, and took out another contract from her briefcase, pushing it across the table to Charlotte.

Charlotte took the scan with a puzzled look, and the grateful expression she had just worn instantly faded.

"Wait a minute? Miss Caroline, does your city lord wish to take over the temporary agency of this city?"

"Yes, it's because the City Lord is very worried about corruption within your Dragon Kingdom. It's not directed at you, Mr. Charlotte, but we don't want our disaster relief funds and supplies to end up in someone's pocket. Of course, we're not referring to you, Mr. Charlotte, so we've made this request: if the Dragon Kingdom wants to accept this donation from the Magic City, I must take full control of the disaster reconstruction project in the Sealed City."

After Caroline finished her calm narration, the minister opposite her did not look well; his expression darkened.

"Impossible! What city in the Dragon Kingdom would be managed by outsiders!"

As if anticipating Charlotte's rejection, Caroline calmly continued:

"First of all, we are not here to manage the city, but only to provide better relief. Secondly, I suggest you think it over carefully. The amount of money needed for post-disaster reconstruction is not a small amount. If you refuse the goodwill of Shanghai, then you, Mr. Charlotte, will have to pay for it out of your own pocket."

"Since the Sealed City is already in a mess, it's almost impossible to collect taxes before it's rebuilt. So why not leave this mess to our Magic City? We can guarantee that after the disaster relief is over in less than a month, all relevant personnel from Magic City, including myself, will leave the Sealed City."

"You don't need to worry about us having any other schemes. As the beacon of the continent, Shanghai is also home to a kind and benevolent city lord. Everything we do is to make this world a better place."

Charlotte frowned and fell into deep thought, because what Caroline said was true. Now that the Sealed City was in such a mess, even attracting the Empress's personal attention, he certainly couldn't use the disaster to make money as before.

Even if he didn't have such intentions, Xia Luo knew very well what kind of people his subordinates were—they were utterly rotten. After all, he didn't need capable people to rise to power; he only needed those who obeyed him to be officials.

If he really messes up the disaster relief efforts in the Sealed City, he won't be able to explain it to the Empress. Besides, Caroline assured him that the people from the Magic City would only stay for a month before leaving. In such a short time, they probably won't cause any trouble.

After weighing the options, Charlotte finally agreed to Caroline's request and signed the contract. At this moment, the succubus on the other side finally showed a faint smile.

"It's a pleasure to cooperate with you. It's an honor for the people of the Dragon Kingdom to have such a loyal minister who is dedicated to the country and its people."

"Oh, the city lord also said that if you accept, he will give you an extra piece of absolutely reliable first-hand information from our city."

"The empress that your Dragon Kingdom is frantically searching for is currently located in the Southern Territory."

As she spoke, Caroline tidied up the documents on the table and, without giving Charlotte, who was still in a daze, a chance to speak again, turned around and pushed the door open to leave.

Charlotte was left alone, her brow furrowed, her mind racing, and a little sweat beading on her forehead.

Assuming Caroline wasn't lying, and given Shanghai's powerful intelligence capabilities, they could indeed accomplish this, then the problem becomes much bigger, because of the Southern Territory.

This is the place for demi-humans!

Why did the Empress go there?

Feeling guilty, Charlotte's first thought was...

Their plan for an "old alliance"!

The minister who deduced this conclusion felt as if he had fallen into an ice cave, and his body trembled slightly. If the Empress really found out about that cruel plan that targeted the demi-human race back then—no, it should be said that it targeted the entire Dragon Kingdom—Charlot couldn't imagine how furious the Empress would be.

No! No, no!

calm down!

Charlotte took a deep breath and forced herself to calm down. First of all, all of this speculation was based on the premise that Caroline hadn't lied to her. She had heard that succubi liked to manipulate people's hearts, so maybe it was just something the other party said casually to scare her.

Secondly, and most compellingly, given the Empress's personality, if she had truly uncovered anything, even the slightest clue, she would likely have come to arrest him immediately. The fact that he is still sitting here unharmed proves that perhaps...

The Empress hadn't figured it out yet, or perhaps she had ulterior motives for going to the Southern Territory, and it wasn't the worst-case scenario he imagined.

Charlotte had been with the Empress for many years, and he knew very well that with that being's volatile personality, the word "investigation" was completely unrelated to the Empress. The Empress's methods of solving problems had always been nothing more than violence.

Having regained his composure, Charlotte didn't dare linger. He immediately got up from the sofa, left the council hall, and headed towards the secret room he had set up in the Sealed City.

Inside the secret room, Charlotte rolled up his sleeves, revealing a dagger in his right hand that looked like it was specially prepared for some kind of ritual. The dagger was twisted and eerie, shaped like a claw.

When the minister gritted his teeth and plunged the dagger into his wrist, blood gushed from the severed vein. However, in the next scene, the blood seemed to be guided and was completely swallowed by the ritual dagger embedded in it. After "drinking blood," the dagger revealed its true form.

The dagger seemed to come alive; its metallic disguise quickly faded, revealing itself as a fleshy dagger that was still breathing and writhing, continuing to draw blood from Charlotte's wrist.

Once satisfied, the filthy flesh continued to writhe from the hilt of the flesh-and-blood dagger, until finally an evil eyeball, covered in mucus and bloodshot, solidified and opened completely from the dagger.

Chapter 114 "Mother"

Alliance of the Forest.

Under the protection of the World Tree, this is a secluded natural paradise. Legend has it that just breathing in the fresh air of the Forest Alliance can make you look years younger, and drinking the Moon Spring water here can cure any ailment. There are also legendary magical spells that have been improved based on the Chaos.

Enveloped in mystery, the Forest Alliance is undoubtedly seen by many as a dreamlike paradise.

However, hidden beneath these beautiful dreams is like seeing only the lush green of a towering tree, but not the dense, vein-like roots that extend downwards from the tree and are buried deep in the soil.

An old alliance.

An underground "sanctuary".

Although this place is called a "sanctuary" by the "Forgotten Ones," there is no trace of holiness here. On the contrary, the underground, where sunlight cannot reach, brings darkness to this place. Only the torches in the corners, emitting a ghostly glow, are among the few sources of light here.

Under the dim firelight, one can see that this underground sanctuary is not only vast but also extremely majestic, like an underground relic left over from ancient times.

One tall pillar after another lined up around the perimeter, supporting the high dome of the sanctuary, with long banners painted with strange patterns hanging from the top of the pillars all the way to the ground.

At the very center of the sanctuary is the area for the round table meeting, where four figures are currently seated.

At the center of the round table, directly above the ceiling, was a fleshy growth resembling a flower bud. After a series of wriggling movements, the bud burst open, revealing an evil eyeball inside, just like the one on Charlotte's dagger, only many times larger.

Pulled down by the filamentous flesh, the eyeballs stopped a few meters above the round table and began to replay everything Charlotte had reported not long ago in front of everyone around the table through shared vision. After doing all this, the eyeballs were pulled back by the flower buds and closed into the fleshy tumor on the ceiling.

"Hero, shouldn't you give me an explanation? You were the one who orchestrated the blood sacrifice in the Sealed City, weren't you? If it weren't for that blood sacrifice, the Empress would never have left the capital, and our plans wouldn't be in this precarious situation!"

One of the four shadows on the round table, judging from its outline, seemed to be of a demi-human race. He spoke first, questioning a member of the round table wearing a gentleman's hat who was diagonally opposite him.

The member in the top hat chuckled and tapped the table with his finger, saying, "Relax, Ba'er. The situation in Dragon Kingdom is now largely settled. Even if the plan is exposed, the Empress is powerless to reverse it. The lifeline of Dragon Kingdom is already in our hands, isn't it?"

"Hmph, don't make it sound like you deserve credit for this. The collection of the Dragon Kingdom's lifeline to its decline was achieved through the sacrifices of us demi-humans!"

"Yes, yes, but to be honest, I admire you quite a bit, Bal. Just to take revenge on the Empress and cause the decline of the nation, you didn't hesitate to use a curse to drag the entire demi-human race down for hundreds of years. Is your resentment towards her really that great?"

"That position should have been mine! How am I any less capable than that brainless woman! Ha... just because she's a woman! Just because she's a woman! Otherwise, how could she have become a calamity-level figure!"

The orc shadow became emotional as he spoke, and the elegant gentleman shadow opposite him, after hearing these words and glancing at the orc's bulging chest, laughed even harder.

"So that's why you underwent gender reassignment surgery? You don't still have feelings for that 'Emperor,' do you? Are you hoping that by becoming a woman, he'll favor you again?"

These words seemed to have struck a nerve with the orc Shadow. Just as the argument was about to escalate, fortunately, a footstep sounded and the entire sanctuary fell silent. The gentleman Shadow immediately turned his excited and emotional gaze toward it.

because

The others appeared in shadow, but the woman who stepped out wore a dark green dress, her smooth blonde hair seemed to shimmer, her amber eyes were captivating, and her pointed ears hidden on either side of her hair indicated her noble status as an "elf".

“Children, this is not a place for arguing. I believe that everyone sitting here has their own pain. We are gathered here to help each other, not to reopen old wounds. Am I right, Hero?”

"It's Mother!"

Not only Herro, but the remaining shadows around the round table also showed the same respectful expression to the elf, though perhaps not as fanatical as Herro.

With the arrival of the elves, the environment of the Round Table Council immediately improved significantly.

"Hero, so the result of your blood sacrifice experiment?" The third shadow spoke, his appearance quite interesting, having shrouded himself entirely in a cloak.

"It seems entirely feasible at the moment. I have basically mastered the technology to create the 'Well'. However, to devour the Demon City, I would need at least the 'Ring' level or even the 'Abyss' level. I still need time."

"Kong Kai, what about the Mechanical Alliance side you're in charge of? I remember you were in charge of 'Dream Entry,' right?"

"There's just one last step left."

The four figures present each corresponded to a country, except for the one in charge of the Holy Kingdom of Sthimitia, whose figure was very dim and did not attend the meeting.

The conversation eventually returned to the Dragon Kingdom, with Ba'er asking everyone, "Now that the Empress has appeared in the Southern Territory, can I 'detonate' it ahead of time?"

"No need to rush. Let the ritual absorb the energy a little longer, let that puppet minister hold on a little longer. He's already done enough to survive this long thanks to the power we've given him. Besides, I'm quite looking forward to seeing if the Empress can actually find out anything and trigger the spell after arresting the minister in a fit of rage. Bal, instead of you detonating it, don't you think it would be more interesting to let the Empress detonate it herself and destroy her own dragon kingdom?"

After a moment of silence, the orc in shadow quickly nodded in agreement, having to admit that when it came to revenge, none of them could compare to Hero.

The round table meeting in the sanctuary did not last long. Soon, everyone bowed to the elf who sat in the head seat and had been watching them silently without speaking during their discussion, and then left one by one.

The last one to leave was Hero.

He gazed greedily and deeply at the elf on the throne several times, as if he wished he could keep the image of "Mother" in his mind forever. After all, without "Mother," there would be no them today. They would have long since passed away under the weight of time. It was "Mother" who gave them new life and made them realize how foolish it was to follow the Emperor before.

Although the mother was once one of "them," this is precisely what highlights her maternal love, making her completely different from the other false "them."

He was willing to give everything for his "mother"!

With this in mind, even though he was reluctant to leave, Hero finally did. He still had many plans to make for "Mother".

In the end, only the elf remained in the dimly lit sanctuary.

After watching her "children" leave, she raised one hand, and with a flick of her wrist, a faintly visible miniature version of the Forgotten Spirit appeared in her palm.

It was in the Sealed City that Karl was summoned using the secret magic of the Old Alliance, but now this one is more like a copy, unconscious.