The Mythical Path of a Princess from a Destroyed Kingdom

Having changed her appearance, Maginus walked along the now-calm streets, using her life senses to confirm the princes' locations before a look of confusion crossed her face.

There's no one left in Nizmore; they all seem to have been sent elsewhere.

As her sense of life expanded, she eventually saw members who could participate in the struggle for the throne on her way to other cities.

Listening to their conversation with the servants, it turns out that while Leona was asleep, they were conducting their second test.

Each person was given a different mission by the legend, with a unified time limit of two months. During these two months, they needed to solve the problems faced by other cities.

Handling these tasks well will earn you bonus points, while handling them poorly will naturally result in deductions. Moreover, these tasks are also related to the third test that follows.

The legends also stated directly that the third test required them to govern the city they were responsible for during the second test, as well as the territories surrounding that city.

The trial period lasts one year and consists of three tests, the results of which will affect the final outcome.

"Ha, it really takes a year?"

Maginus was surprised by the result, but naturally very happy. This meant that Nesery could have more time to develop without worrying about Nizmore, a powerful nation, secretly doing anything underhanded.

"Let Nizmore's journey end here."

There's no benefit in staying here any longer. She's already done all the necessary investigations, and she wants to use this year to boost the overall national strength of Nesery.

In order to prepare for the disaster eight years later, I must become a true god as soon as possible.

However, even though they're leaving, they still need to leave a few spies behind so that attacking Nizmor will be easier in the future.

Her psychic senses bypassed the legends as she scanned the surroundings, focusing her attention on a group of young people wailing over the deaths of their loved ones.

Having pinpointed their location, Maginus used faith to forge threads that linked their wills, preparing to bewitch them while they slept at night, turning this group, filled with hatred for the Nizmol royal family, into spies for her to infiltrate the capital.

With Maginus's help, they will grow at a faster pace and then spread out to various inconspicuous but important positions.

Chapter 606 Reclaiming Homeland

"Your Majesty, there is good news. Our troop numbers have recovered to the level before we released the enemy, and our strength is now incomparable. From weapons to individual soldier skills, there has been a tremendous improvement."

Inside the throne room, Magnius sat on the throne listening to officials and nobles report on their work.

More than half a year has passed since the journey to the Northlands, and everything has been peaceful during this time. The Temple of Slaughter beneath the Royal Palace has been completely blocked by soil and tree roots, and New Nesery has surpassed its former self in every aspect over the years, including agriculture, commerce, and even the military.

The bandits and dangerous monsters within the territory have been cleared out, and almost all the troops have been trained.

The situation was looking very promising. Maginos looked at the excited crowd below without speaking, a secret smile playing on her veiled face. After everyone had finished reporting, she said:

“Since all of them are quite good, then our country should move on to the next stage, Mira.”

The graceful head maid stepped out from behind Maginus and placed a crystal on the ground. As the light shone, a map of Nesery and the surrounding countries appeared in mid-air.

Some areas were green, and some were red. Everyone could tell at a glance that this was a comparison between the present and former territories. They were somewhat aware of what Maginus wanted to do, and their expressions changed accordingly.

The lords present or projected on looked at each other in bewilderment. No wonder they had been summoned; they were waiting here.

The old aristocracy clearly did not want to experience change. The land and wealth they possessed were enough for their descendants to remain rich, and their reluctance to experience war was written all over their faces.

However, what Maginus said next made them ecstatic:

"I'm sure you all understand what I mean. I will not abide by the contract signed by the former false king. Next, I will reclaim all the territories."

"You will surely be glad, because I will not ask the lords to participate in this war. But since you will not participate, don't even think about getting any benefit from these wars."

"Now, those who are willing to join me in taking back all the territory, raise your hands."

The Queen gazed at the lords below the platform, who had territories and armies, and not one of them raised his hand.

This made Maginus wonder whether his words were trustworthy or if the period had been too peaceful, thus losing its deterrent effect.

They wouldn't force Maginus if they didn't want to fight him, since the team to take over the territory was already prepared.

"In that case, lords, please leave."

Watching the lords depart, Maginus looked down at the group of officials and nobles below who had no territory, and before they could speak, he said:

"Remember, I'm not discussing this with you. The army's training is complete, the granaries are overflowing, and the national treasury is full. What the people think is none of my business, so what difficulties are there now?"

Maginus's question silenced those who didn't want war, while those who wanted to advance their own careers through war immediately responded:

"Your Majesty, there is no problem. We are ready to reclaim our territory!"

"Yes, Your Majesty, those territories were originally given away by the false king, and now it's time to take them back!"

Amidst the overwhelming support, a relatively calm voice rang out: "Your Majesty, who will be responsible for the specific details?"

The speaker was Primia Astan, who had finally taken over as the national treasurer two months earlier, replacing Gordon.

As for Gordon, Maginot recognized his hard work and excellent conduct during his service to her, so she did not pursue his corruption during his time as a count and chose to let him go back to retire.

The current pronouncements are merely a pretense; in reality, they had already discussed it privately. Maginos nodded and appointed the person in charge of the operation:

"This operation will last at least a year, and may even take two years to conclude. Joseph will remain in the capital, primarily overseen by Dinan. You two, the magic advisor Ron and the treasurer Primmia, will assist him with logistical tasks. In addition, there will be..."

The morning meeting ended, and Maginot, who had just been appointed, sat back in her study when the door was pushed open. Her beloved Queen Lenia peeked in, behaving very cautiously, as if she had something to ask of her.

"Speak, what do those ladies want you to convey?"

Grabbing Lenya's arm and pulling her into his embrace, Lenya, having roughly guessed why she had come, gazed into Maginus's earnest eyes and couldn't help but sigh, realizing that she couldn't change Maginus's mind.

But Lenia still recounted what the nobles had told the noble ladies, who in turn had asked her to relay the message to Maginus:

"You already know that, don't you? I hope you won't attack other countries, saying you're worried that the newly formed Nesery will experience defeat again."

"Do you believe it?"

“I know it’s all about interests, even if you don’t believe me,” Lenia shook her head, but still explained her thoughts seriously. “But I also think that war will change the current situation, so why not let Nesery continue to develop?”

Turning his chair around, Maginus, holding Lenya, looked out the window: "To put it nicely, because there are even more difficult things waiting for these soldiers and me, Nesery must take advantage of the current opportunity to gain the upper hand as much as possible."

"To put it bluntly, I need more land, I need more believers, and I want to take revenge on the nobles of these countries."

Magnis raised her hand and clenched it tightly: "My dear Queen, this isn't the first time you've met me, is it?"

"……Ugh."

Lenia said nothing about Her Majesty's choice and the emotions she expressed, but turned around and kissed her.

After a long silence, the Queen said, "In short, if you do anything too outrageous, I will try to stop you."

"Don't worry, you know what Netherlands is like now. Although many people think I'm a tyrant, I'm not a foolish one. Everything is based on my interests, and Netherlands is my private property. Their interests are my interests."

After comforting Lenia for a few moments and waiting for her to leave, Mira came in from outside and leaned down to ask, "Your Majesty, should we warn the nobles to keep a close eye on their wives and daughters?"

"I was just complaining to Lenia a bit. If I really made them shut up because of something like that, I would really be a tyrant."

Maginus smiled, his eyes fixed on the map before him: "Where is our first target?"

"here."

Mira picked up her pen and circled the chosen territory, naming it "Curto Territory".

Chapter 607 The Shadow of Special Organizations

"This is Kurto territory, and the environment is quite similar to my hometown."

On a clear autumn day, a group of handsome young adventurers arrived in Kurto Territory. Their equipment and weapons clearly indicated that they were from wealthy families, attracting the attention of some unscrupulous individuals.

When they saw a spellcaster in the middle, a few people looked away, but others looked up, confident that they could handle such an adventurous team.

"Gentlemen, would you like to buy some local specialties? Our local specialty is blood cake, guaranteed to be delicious!"

A petite boy was hawking his wares, and several people turned to look at the open box in his arms. Inside the box were crystal-clear, blood-red pastries that looked so tempting that they made one's mouth water.

They exchanged glances, a hint of surprise flashing in their eyes. The leader reached out, picked up a blood cake, and put it in his mouth, his eyes immediately lighting up: "Hmm? Delicious! How much?"

They bought the whole box, and the boy in the lead stuffed the snacks into his mouth one by one, while the others showed no interest in eating them, their eyes filled with disdain, looking down on street food.

After finding a luxury hotel to stay in, the spellcaster snorted and tapped the floor with her staff. The spying spells cast in the room disappeared completely, and a boy wiped his face, reverting to his girl form.

Indeed, the visitors were Maginus's priest squad. They had grown up while the country was gathering troops and were sent to scout out the situation in the territory of Curto.

Without any other help, neither Mira nor Melu would lend a hand; it really was just their small team of priests who came.

Of course, it's definitely not officially called "the priest squad of the goddess of death".

In reality, they acted as secret agents. Her Majesty's direct intelligence agency had already been named Shadow Shadow, and the sub-teams were named by adding an animal to the end.

They all dispelled their polymorph spells. As priests of the Goddess of Death, their first spell-like ability was polymorph, which they could use indefinitely.

There were five people in total. Betty, the spellcaster, was the real captain. The team included a priest, a mage, an assassin, and a ranger, but there was no true warrior.

That's right, they are not warrior-type professionals, but they have some melee combat ability thanks to the blessing of the Goddess of Death.

"You really dare to eat this stuff of unknown origin?"

"I could smell it as soon as it was placed in front of me. It's vampire blood, which has hallucinogenic properties. It's useless to us, especially since I'm the only one eating it."

Thema nonchalantly tossed another piece of blood cake into her mouth. As priests of Maginus, the blood of other creatures had virtually no effect on them, although the blood of true dragons or gods would certainly have an effect.

Her team is called Shadow Wolves, and their main responsibilities are hunting, assassination, and killing.

Picking up a piece of blood cake, Betty used magic and divine arts to detect its ingredients: "We were targeted as soon as we came in. Do you think it was a man or a woman who was targeting us?"

Betty is not a member of the Shadows; she participated in this operation as a student of the Kingdom Academy, which will give her experience and qualifications when she takes over the Kingdom Academy in the future.

“Anyway, they are definitely vampires,” Ivy said, glancing out the window through a crack. “According to the current intelligence, after the territory of Kurto was assigned to the Titans, some vampires took advantage of the chaos to move in and successfully take root there.”

Her team is called Shadow Raven, and they are in charge of intelligence matters.

"Hmph, so you mean, not only do we have to face enemy nations and local nobles who are unwilling to return to Nesery, but also vampires?"

"Not necessarily. At this stage, all we need is to reclaim our territory. We'll probably focus on persuading the vampires and local nobles."

Betty shook her head, her face brimming with intense magic from the scars. She planned to turn the scars into tattoos that could store magic, both to make the scars more aesthetically pleasing and to use them as a trump card.

Their task was actually quite simple: to investigate the nobles' intentions, and if they were willing to return to the embrace of New Nesery, Maginus would not do anything to them for the time being.

In that case, New Nesery only needs to deal with the Titans' army.

But if they are unwilling, then the only option is to send a large army to the border, purge all the local nobles, and select other people to settle there.

If the situation that followed had actually occurred, the new Nesery would have had to confront the vampires even earlier, which, to put it another way... would have made it difficult for Nesery to reclaim its territory.

In short, there are two strategies: the best strategy is to drive out the armies of other countries, and the worst strategy is to drive out all armies, nobles, and vampires.

"Anyway, I'll go and scout ahead first."

“Okay, remember to keep in touch with me.” As a psionic, Ras said to Evie, and the girl waved her hand, transforming back into a boy, and left the room to gather information.

"Hey, I heard there are a lot of vampire bats around here?"

After buying the patrons a few expensive drinks, Evie quickly made friends with some people in the upscale bar, and after clinking glasses with the middle-aged man next to her, she asked the question.

The wine glass stopped in mid-air. The middle-aged man, who was probably a wealthy businessman, glanced around and whispered to correct Ivy's words: "No, no, no, we don't have any bats here, not a single one."

"Surely there are nobles who suck your blood, right?"

“Yes, there are many more. Alas, since we broke away from Nesery, things have been getting worse and worse in Kurto,” the wealthy merchant said to Ivy with a knowing raised eyebrow. “The taxes are getting higher and higher. I don’t know if the nobles set them themselves or if it was an order from the Titans.”

"Besides, Kurto territory is becoming increasingly dangerous. There are many undead creatures in the sewers, and they even come out at night."

The nobles seem inclined to intervene, but unfortunately, the Titan army isn't prepared to help us; after all, we're just commoners, and from abroad at that.

"There was no other way but to pool our money and hire adventurers for help, but the undead monsters in the sewers are very strong. We sent many adventurers down, but they all came back barely alive..."

One glass of strong liquor after another, Ivy seemed lost in thought. From the wealthy merchant's words, she could glean information about the situation of the three forces in the Titan Kingdom: there was friction between the local nobles and the vampires, but it wasn't significant, and neither side was willing to concede to the other.

Both sides dislike the Titans. As Netherland is a territory of the Netherlands, Kurto is under constant threat of being taken back, so taxes are extremely heavy. From nobles to vampires, everyone is dissatisfied with the country's actions.

If the goal is simply to get Kurto to side with Nesery, all that's needed is to give them enough autonomy and keep taxes at their previous levels.

Chapter 608 Maginus Does Not Participate

"Vampires... I hate vampires."

"Take back the territory first, and then there will be plenty of opportunities to deal with the vampires."

Betty said without turning her head. After listening to the information that Evie had gathered, she was now preparing to make contact with other nobles. Those nobles whose interests had been thwarted by the Titans were eager to return to the embrace of Nesery.

"If we contact them now, they won't believe us at all, will they?"

Thema remained pessimistic, believing that everything required strength. She reasoned that these nobles wouldn't help them until their army was at the city gates, as they were all shrewd and capable.

“That makes sense. Let’s not go after the nobles for now and just be adventurers,” Betty said, not choosing to make the decision alone but listening carefully to the advice. “We’ll rent a house here for now and secretly investigate the city’s defenses, the distribution of gangs, and the situation of the vampires.”

"Okay, then I'll report this to Mira."

With her eyes closed, Lass used her psychic powers to connect with Mira via remote communication and reported the situation. She received a response about an hour or two later.

I agreed. We'll lie in wait, but the most important thing is to stay safe.