The Mythical Path of a Princess from a Destroyed Kingdom

"You left Gold and Silver City before, why didn't you express any regrets then?"

"But we're on a mission. The distance between Gold and Silver City and the capital is not as great as the distance between Crystal Salt Kingdom and New Nesery."

Catherine sighed softly, "After we go with you this time, when will we be able to come back?"

"I'm the one who should be worried. If you want to come back, you can come back whenever you want."

Lenia rolled her eyes at her personal maid, then couldn't help but glance towards the capital. Catherine leaned closer and asked, "Aren't you going to use the mirror to talk to Her Majesty the Queen?"

"Never mind, Mother goes to bed early, let's not disturb her. Let's go to bed early too, we have to travel tomorrow and we'll encounter dangers along the way."

Rubbing her temples with some anxiety, the princess was a little afraid of what would happen after leaving the border.

Maginus had told her that once they left the control of the Crystal Salt Kingdom and only the New Nesery wedding procession remained, someone would definitely try to harm her.

Although it is said that New Nesery sent many people, and Maginus also gave her a lot of blood puppets and potions for self-defense, Cleria was still very worried.

In short, after spending a sleepless night in worry, with bloodshot eyes, Lenia was led onto the carriage by Catherine. Despite the carriage's violent shaking, she closed her eyes and fell into a light sleep, clutching the item given to her by Maginus.

As they left Gold and Silver City, their eyes were fixed on the carriage, their gaze piercing through the cracks in the window to observe Lenya's movements before disappearing from sight.

On the border of the Crystal Salt Kingdom, the army of New Nesserre stood ready, some soldiers shifting uncomfortably as if their armor didn't fit properly.

It's very windy today, and the sky is overcast with dark clouds, threatening a storm. In short, the weather is bad, which may affect our travel plans.

The people they were waiting for arrived quickly. The Crystal Salt Kingdom's army, along with a royal carriage, left the border and came to the front of the Nesserian army.

The officers in charge of the escort teams from both sides stepped forward to verify their identities, and the carriage carrying Lenya left the Crystal Salt Kingdom's army formation and entered the protective circle of the Nesery army.

After the handover was completed, Nesery's wedding procession turned and walked back. The Crystal Salt Kingdom's army only left after they were out of sight, leaving the rest to be handled by themselves.

However, less than a day after the wedding procession left, an accident occurred.

As night fell, the group continued their journey, fearing pursuers would catch up. They chose difficult and crowded mountain paths, surrounded by forests on all sides, making Lenya feel nauseous from the swaying.

A series of shadowy figures silently followed behind the army, constantly watching the soldiers' movements. So far, it seemed that Nesser's army had not yet discovered them.

In reality, the mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind; the druids and treants mixed in with the Nesserian group had already noticed something amiss, as the forest was their home turf.

The vines wriggled and reached the feet of the dark figures. No matter how they moved, the vines would always follow, ready to strike at any moment.

Around 10 p.m., the group, who had been traveling all day, finally became exhausted and decided to set up camp in the forest to rest.

Just as the camp was set up, at the moment when all the soldiers were most hungry and drowsy, the dark figures made their move.

"Kill!" "Kill Lenya!"

The first shout rang out, and the surrounding area responded enthusiastically. A group of soldiers who had been hiding and followed them began to attack Nesser's group, and a battle was about to break out.

The shouts and the sound of soldiers roused Lenya from her reverie. She quickly gripped the tool in her hand, ready to press it at any moment.

A battle had already begun outside the carriage, but the enemy's expectation of the Nesserian army falling into disarray did not materialize; instead, it was the Nesserian army that ran into trouble.

The terrifying number of vines launched their attack the moment they shouted for action, piercing the chests of many unarmored men before they could even react.

Some soldiers had their legs entangled, staggered and fell to the ground, and more vines wrapped around them, trying to bind them and render them unable to move.

"Good thing! I can finally get rid of this burden!"

A druid laughed loudly, removed the heavy armor from the warrior, brandished an oak club, charged at the enemy, smashed one's head with the club, and then went to find the next one.

The druids hidden in the army erupted, shedding their heavy armor and running wildly like tigers entering the forest.

Some tall warriors slowly removed their heavy armor, revealing faces that exuded a strong allure. Their captivating faces rendered some soldiers powerless to resist, leaving them staring blankly at the beautiful tree spirits.

Tiny vines pierced their veins, their life force being predatoryly absorbed. Before some attacks could arrive, they would blend into the surrounding trees, using a spell-like ability called "merging into the forest" to evade the attacks.

The enemies who had attempted a sneak attack were immediately routed; they were no match for the druids and treants in the forest.

If they didn't have any other backup plans, they would have no choice but to flee.

With the battle almost entirely one-sided, several powerful auras suddenly erupted from afar, indicating that the enemy's mid-level fighters were about to make their move.

The officer in charge of the wedding procession calmly lit a cigarette. He wasn't worried about anything since the treants and Cosimoya on their side hadn't really made a move yet.

According to the rules, if these "bandits" want to disrupt marriage alliances, they should stop at the mid-level. If they do, it would be completely against the rules and could easily escalate the battlefield and influence.

Now it depends on whether the opposing country will break the rules first. Others may not recognize the mid-level players, but the high-level players are basically very famous, and a little research will tell you who they are.

Knowing the identity of a high-ranking official, the exposed country will surely suffer the wrath of Maginus. Just because she is willing to follow the rules does not mean that she will follow the rules even if others break them.

Chapter 561 The Violator

As the hidden mid-level attackers made their move, a series of highly destructive spells rained down in all directions, all avoiding the central carriage to ensure that Lenya was not harmed as much as possible.

Cosimoya also made his move, wrapping the carriage with vines to form a barrier. He revealed himself from among the soldiers, transforming into a griffin and soaring into the air. He aimed at the spellcaster's hiding place, spreading his wings and fanning a gale, the hard feathers mixed in like sharp blades.

The hurricane swept towards the open area, and the spellcasters who had chosen this area to avoid having their vision blocked were immediately caught in the crossfire. They dispelled the spell in time to deal with the hurricane, but the iron feathers still landed, and the earth wall spell rose up, revealing their exact location.

The tree spirit manipulated countless vines to surround them. There weren't many spellcasters who knew the Wither spell, so they could only barely resist with fire and negative energy spells.

Fortunately, several mid-level warriors who had gone out returned to protect them, but a few still rushed towards the carriage, trying to kidnap Lenya.

"Your Highness, quickly release the blood puppet!"

The Nesserian army lacked mid-level warriors and could only watch as they charged in to behead them. The officer hurriedly called out to Lenia in the carriage, instructing her to use the item Maginus had given her.

Lenya quickly threw several small bottles out the window. The glass bottles shattered, and the originally concentrated scarlet blood slowly rose into human form.

Before they could fully materialize, the mid-level warrior took out a scroll and tore it open. It contained information about an anti-magic field, and he had to try to prevent them from appearing.

Unfortunately, like constructs, they are indestructible entities, and the anti-magic field cannot banish them to the temporary space because they are identified as living beings.

The crimson puppet took shape and stood motionless around the carriage, showing no intention of attacking, seemingly waiting for the enemy to come forward.

A mid-level warrior, thinking the anti-magic field was working, charged toward the carriage. As he approached the blood puppets, all the blood-red puppets within his attack range twitched and turned to look at him.

Sensing danger, the warrior was terrified and decisively crouched down. Two longswords grazed his hair and then abruptly stopped in mid-air to slash down.

The warrior raised his shield to defend himself, his feet sinking into the soft soil. The two blood puppets' empty hands then conjured sharp blades, thrusting straight towards his chest and abdomen.

He jumped back to his teammates, and the soldier looked at the armor that had been pierced through his abdomen with a wave of fear.

The blood puppet showed no intention of leaving Lenya's side, forming a circle to ensure that no one could get in.

"Charge! Everyone hold one person back, let the rest get close and grab Lenya."

One warrior devised a strategy, and several mid-level warriors attacked from different directions simultaneously. As expected, they attracted the attention of the blood puppets, and a few of them broke through the blood puppets' protection and quickly approached the carriage.

The approaching soldier raised his sword, ready to completely destroy the carriage, when he heard his comrade shout from behind: "Get out of the way!"

They immediately rolled or dodged to the side. The blood puppet, disregarding its injuries, caught up with the warriors who were closer to the carriage. One of them was even cut off his arm because he was too slow.

"It seems the underlying rule of these crimson humanoids is to protect Lenia; they will only attack targets closer to the princess. If archers were used..."

"Our goal is to capture her alive and use her as leverage against Maginus, as well as to diminish the prestige of New Nesery. If we kill her, no one knows what Maginus might do!"

The warriors can only keep trying to figure out the blood puppet's activity patterns, and they also have to face surprise attacks from vines and soldiers, which is currently very difficult.

The attackers were losing ground, their numbers dwindling, and the pressure on the mid-level warriors was increasing over time.

In a direct confrontation, the Blood Puppets were stronger overall, and their refusal to attack made it impossible for warriors and assassins to get close to the carriage.

As for turning around and dealing with the army? I believe the druids and treants will most likely be able to stop them.

With just this few people, we can't capture Her Highness unless we get other help.

The officer hiding in the ranks breathed a sigh of relief. There were already enough mid-level professionals here, and other countries shouldn't be able to spare any more. As long as no high-level professionals broke the rules, the road ahead would be much smoother.

Attackers from other countries, disguised as bandits, can only operate on the border plains. Once the wedding procession enters Nesserei territory, it will be even less likely that they can complete their operation.

The officer relaxed, completely unaware that a dark shadow had flashed by and was approaching the carriage from a distance at a speed that no one could react to.

Something's not right with the wind.

Cosimo, with his keenest senses, widened his eyes, and the tree spirits also noticed the problem through the trampled flowers, grass, and trees, turning around at the same time to look in the direction of the carriage.

Although we haven't arrived yet, we'll be there soon. At our current speed, we can reach the vicinity of the carriage in three seconds.

"Damn it, how dare you break the rules and send a high-ranking officer to take action!"

With veins bulging on his forehead, Cosimoya was furious at these countries for repeatedly breaking the rules. Even Maginus followed the rules, so how dare they?

"They weren't our people. We didn't send any high-ranking officers to make a move!"

The raiding captain in charge of the operation understood something from his words and quickly withdrew the anti-magic field he had set up, instead using an earth wall spell to protect the carriage.

He genuinely didn't know the higher-ups had made such an arrangement; if higher-ups were to actually join, the nature of the situation would change drastically.

However, the earthen wall spell was ineffective. The rapidly moving figure paused slightly before breaking through the defenses. In that moment of pause, Cosimoya, who was rushing towards the carriage, also saw clearly who had launched the attack.

Ilandamia, the new lord of Lake Crystal City, the Demon Hunter Jim Regan.

"Damn it!"

Cosimo's pupils contracted slightly, and a chill ran down his spine.

During his months working for Maginot, he had learned about His Majesty's past and enemies.

Ilandamia is the country, far from Nesery, and I have no interest in it, but I have a grudge against Lake Crystal City, a separate city within it.

Jim Regan may not have cooperated with other countries; he may have been involved personally. This means that other countries can verbally distance themselves from the situation and simply say that it's all the Witcher's personal problem.

More importantly, if he makes a move, Lenya's life will be in serious danger!

Breaking through the earthen wall and entering the blood puppet's attack range, the blood puppet immediately moved, but was easily shattered by Jim Regan with two black longswords. He stared at the carriage, his eyes filled with hatred.

The elven druid was right; he was there to kill, not caring what would happen to Lake Crystal City after his death, and wanted Maginus to experience the pain of losing her lover once again.

With both lines of defense breached, Jim Regan kicked the roof of the carriage apart and, upon seeing Lenia and the maid, mercilessly swung his sword at Lenia's neck!

...However, the blade did not touch the neck.

The frail maid "Catherine" looked up, her pupils turning scarlet without her noticing.

Chapter 562 Stealing the Beams and Replacing the Pillars

Before his departure, inside the palace of the King of Crystal Salt.

Maginus used his avatar to enter Lenia's boudoir, quickly transforming his body into Lenia's appearance. The princess looked at himself with slight discomfort.

The transformed Maginus pointed behind her, where a portal had opened, waiting for people to enter: "Go on, I'll take a carriage from now on."

As Lenya was about to step through the portal, she suddenly slapped her forehead: "Right, what if the other side uses divination to determine whether I'm here or not?"

"Actually, it doesn't matter whether you're here or not."

Maginus walked over and rubbed Lenia's cheek: "The chances of them capturing you are slim, after all, I'm here. Their first goal is to rush to the carriage and smash it."

"This proves that the entire Nesery army is useless. Everything depends on me. If something happens to me, Nesery is nothing."

"Isn't that true?" Lenia said instinctively, then coughed a few times realizing what she had said.

“You know that, but the people below don’t understand. Under my rule, they will only feel that the country has become better,” Maginus shrugged in the shape of Lenia. “The current army is just used to make them think that they are protected.”

The current army of Nesery can only be used to intimidate the public; it would be very difficult to fight against other countries.

What those countries wanted to do was very simple: through this action, they wanted to make their people lose faith in Nesery. If the country fell into chaos and suffered population loss, Maginus would really be in a difficult situation.

She is just an individual; she can't possibly create a country entirely of herself.

Maginus had no intention of forcibly reversing the situation. If the enemy truly broke through all her defenses, she would gladly accept her defeat, as a reminder that her country was still weak and needed to continue developing.

"Anyway, you can leave without worry. I'll take care of things here."

"However, if some high-level professionals participated in the operation to capture me, and then withdrew after discovering that I was not there, wouldn't we lose a way to refute other countries' arguments?"

When Lenia brought this up, Maginus stroked his chin, thinking that his lover made a good point, and turned his gaze to Catherine.

"Let's talk about it later. I'll think of another way." Maginos remained calm and left her room for the time being.

After Lenya fell asleep, the maid had just left the room when Maginus, who hadn't left yet, beckoned to her: "Catherine, come here for a moment, I have something to ask you."

"You want to switch identities with me?" Catherine quickly realized Her Majesty's idea, which was indeed a good idea, as she wouldn't attract too much attention as a maid.

“That’s right, don’t tell Lenya, lest her expression change and other observers notice something is wrong. I’ll tell her I gave her a special insurance policy, one that even high-level beings can’t withstand.”

Also, let me connect with you a bit, and get used to some of your habits and tone of voice.

Maginus placed his hand on Catherine's shoulder, leaned his head against the blonde maid, and then took a drop of blood from her fingertip and ate it.

Her body twisted violently, and in the next second, Maginus's body completely transformed into Catherine's, the two being identical.

"I never expected this... It's been so long, Jim Regan. I didn't even bother to look for you, and you actually came here to die."

Maginus grinned, a smile that concealed the purest anger and rage. She hadn't been this angry in a long time; the last time was when she killed Ebes.

The moment Jim Regan saw the crimson pupils, he realized he was in danger. He mustered all his strength and swung his sword again, unleashing terrifying energy from the blade. The extremely violent explosion enveloped the three of them.