The magic cards I made are absolutely flawless!

Conversely, she also felt incredibly guilty about her previous attitude towards Mir.

Finally, after a moment of silence, Icardinos glanced at Dekan and Clay, who were scrambling for food, and looked at Mier with a complicated expression, saying:

"Are they the Crouching Dragon and the Young Phoenix you mentioned?"

"?"

Upon hearing Icardinos's question, Dekan and Clay stopped arguing and couldn't help but stare at Mier.

This is clearly a phrase from a story told by Dekan.

Although it was originally a positive term, Dekan often used it to speak sarcastically and mock others.

"Ahem, I'm just praising you guys."

Mir felt a little guilty and didn't dare to look at the two people.

It feels like being caught red-handed secretly talking badly...

"Your way of praising people is indeed quite venomous, you snake bishop. Why did you call yourself shadow bishop back then?"

Clay shook his head and sighed.

He never dreamed that after parting ways at the Resurrection Church, when Mia saw Clay again, besides thanking him, his second words were to ask him to pay back the money!

"Heh, do the Succubus Bishop and the Gambling Bishop have the right to call me the Viper Bishop?"

Mia found it somewhat amusing when she heard Clay address her, and she retorted with a sarcastic remark to the two of them.

The two men had been sitting by the stove for ages, and it just wouldn't stop. She was tempted to just throw that broken stove away.

Dekan immediately watched Mier's movements warily, as if he had triggered some kind of warning.

Last time, it was because Lenn lacked sportsmanship that he kicked over his stove and roasted oranges.

"..."

Icardinos looked at the three of them, who were familiar with each other and yet bickering like close friends, and lowered her head with a somewhat gloomy expression, letting go of Mier's hand.

Perhaps the Kingdom is the most suitable place for Mia; she must have made many friends in the Kingdom of Norton.

Icardinos immediately recognized the dark-haired man as "Unicorn," the kingdom's top intelligence agent.

This person's eccentricity was so extreme that even the Empress herself had to take notice of him for a while.

Unexpectedly, he did indeed come to the Empire and even hid in a place of unknown significance.

Icardinos could hardly imagine that if Clay were her enemy and intercepted her and Mia at the most critical moment of their escape, the outcome would be a annihilation without a doubt.

As for the red-haired half-dragon girl, although Icardinos had never heard of her, the fact that she could get along so well with Miekre, and that she happened to be such a weak sixth-order rank, made her stand out.

Even though her gender, race, and hair color were different, Icardinos probably already had some idea about her identity.

Or perhaps the only supreme being capable of appearing out of thin air in this world is "Deathbird," another top intelligence agent of the Kingdom Alliance.

If they could obtain the help of these two legendary figures from the kingdoms, it might indeed be possible to change the current situation of the empire, which is now under the control of the Chaos God.

However, correspondingly.

He wanted these two kingdomsmen to risk their lives to help him eliminate the Chaos God and reclaim the empire.

Even if they agree, they will inevitably make extremely unreasonable demands.

Even unequal treaties.

However, Icardinos now wants the empire and the kingdoms to not fall into the control of the Chaos God, so she has no choice but to agree to whatever conditions they propose.

"What price do you want?"

Icardinos bit her lower lip tightly, her expression extremely conflicted.

Even if she didn't want to lose her right to maintain her stance, she couldn't remain defiant because she owed them a debt of gratitude.

Given the high risks and investments involved, the only reason they were persuaded to help the empire, their mortal enemy in the war, was probably because of Mieux.

If Icardinos had used any tricks or acted like a tool to kill them during the counterattack on the capital, these two might not only have gained nothing for the kingdoms, but would have also lost their lives in vain.

They believed in Mieu, not in her, the empress of the empire.

Upon hearing this, Dekan stood up from the sofa.

Clearly, he could represent Clay's opinion in negotiations with the Queen.

Dekan walked to the bedside and stood beside Mier, looking down at Icardinos.

It was as if they didn't regard her as the empress at all.

In his eyes, the person sitting on the bed was merely a weak patient.

This gesture stirred a surge of anger within Icardinos.

The other party's condescending attitude was clearly a way of indicating to her who was in charge before the negotiations even began.

I'm afraid the other party will propose an extremely outrageous condition.

However, just as Icardinos was preparing to hear Dekan's outrageous demands...

She only heard Dekan say casually:

"Just answer one question for me."

"?"

Icardinos looked puzzled, then a flash of anger crossed her eyes, and she said coldly:

"I'm not joking with you, and don't think you can take this opportunity to make fun of me."

This was her first encounter with the people of the most legendary underworld kingdom.

But she did sense the unpredictable and chaotic nature of this person.

It was impossible to guess how he was planning to break through the other party's psychological defenses.

Dekan seemed slightly disappointed by Icardinos's look, then his expression became much more serious, and he said earnestly:

“My deals are always formal. The price for helping you defeat the Chaos God Menelionus is simply that you answer one question truthfully to me, nothing more.”

Icardinos stared wide-eyed, wondering what Dekan was really up to.

But she looked at Mier, whose affirmative gaze indicated that she believed Dekan.

Icardinos then nodded helplessly.

The intelligence possessed by the Empress of the Empire indeed possesses a value that is difficult to measure in monetary terms.

But compared to getting the two kingdoms to set aside their grudges and risk their lives to help her at the most crucial moment, the price was far too light.

"go ahead."

Icardinos said in a soft voice.

She felt she was beginning to understand Dekan's intentions.

Sometimes, the most painful price to pay is when the other party offers an excessively small price.

Because this favor will be too difficult to explain in the days to come.

Dekan asked, with a slightly puzzled tone:

"Please tell me, what did you see in the dream of reincarnation?"

He had just learned about the legend of the Reincarnation Stone from Mie.

As someone who experienced it firsthand and even personally verified it within the film world, Dekan has unwavering faith in its accuracy.

"You? Did Mir tell you?"

Icardinos immediately became alert.

This seemed to be the most crucial, the most unspeakable secret in her heart!

But soon, Icardinos recalled that Dekan was someone who had repeatedly entered the Holy Kingdom's Demon Realm.

Therefore, it's reasonable for him to be interested in this intelligence.

It turned out to be the case.

Icardinos remained silent for a long while before finally speaking:

"It was a hazy dream. Apart from the overwhelming regret that seemed to be etched into my heart at the end, and my silent chanting of the Chaos God, what was clearest was the moment at the very beginning of the dream..."

At this point, Icardinos seemed to recall something painful; her brow furrowed, and she closed her eyes.

"...I knew it was the beginning of a nightmare...but for some reason...it also felt like the beginning of a beautiful, dreamlike life."

"The truly terrifying nightmare is one where beauty and despair alternate repeatedly, and when I wake up, I can no longer distinguish between them."

"But why is it that I started in despair, yet was able to have a wonderful time?"

As if out of instinctive self-protection, Icardinos never wanted to recall the beginning of that memory that caused her fear and pain.

But now, in order to answer Dekan's question, she had to reopen her wounds and try to recall the clearest part of her dream.

She was in a room.

She remembered the heavy door of the room as an entrance to hell.

The daytime sunlight was obscured by the surging, pitch-black sea fog when that gate of hell was fully opened.

Only mournful chants and dirges echoed, as if they could devour all hope.

Everything—the body, the air, the light—felt heavy, as if being pressed down by something invisible, making it suffocating.

Icardinos didn't understand why she was there or what had happened to her.

But she could never forget it.

In the black tide, a blurry figure stood like a king atop a black reef, with only the demonic pupils, which seemed to flicker with golden flames, remaining exceptionally clear.

The figure stood in front of her, extended his left hand, pointed diagonally forward, and pressed it against her head, asking her a few questions.

Every question and every answer determines whether her fate will be tragic or she will escape unscathed.

She knelt on the ground, trembling and weeping, completing the demonic ritual in fear.

When Icardinos recalled the dream again, her back was soaked with cold sweat, and she felt a sense of weightlessness in her lower body.

Fortunately, now that she's at the ninth level, she can completely control her body.