The Heartbeat of the Cruel Elves

Sylvia was immersed in the fantasy of power and wealth. Her sharp eyes became hazy in an instant, as if she was dizzy. At the same time, the corners of her originally tense mouth couldn't help but curl up slightly.

Cassia looked at her mother calmly. Only at this moment could she see a long-lost sincere smile on the face of the cold hostess of Borginia.

However, Sylvia's intoxicated smile only lasted for a moment and then suddenly disappeared.

"There is a problem with this plan," she said, regaining her composure as if she had just woken up from a beautiful dream.

"Lucien is not in the city. Without him in charge, the Second Family probably has no intention of acting rashly."

About two months ago, Lucien Dinitea personally led an expedition team from the Second Family eastward, and there has been no news of his return.

Having lost the most powerful force and the most important decision-maker in the family, at this moment, the Second Family may not be as proactive as the weaker Seventh Family in facing such a major issue as fighting the dragon.

Cassia smiled slightly: "They need a little encouragement."

"I believe that it is not only the other families in Nevre who are disgusted by this audacious and disrespectful man."

"The sisters of the second family must have had enough of being bossed around by a man, and they can't wait to take back the power that belongs to them."

"And an unprecedented glorious victory can help them shut up the weak who submit to male tyranny, win the favor and gifts of the Spider Queen, and gain the wealth and power to overthrow the usurping man..."

"In short, such a victory is enough to bring them everything they want."

"Of course..." She sneered sinisterly and added, "This is just their perceived victory."

"——However, we are indeed happy to help them free themselves from this layer of 'male tyranny' in return for their 'heartfelt support'."

"It's really not difficult for us to spread such rumors in the Second Family." Sylvia bent her fingers, tapped the armrest, and a smile appeared on the corners of her mouth again.

But she quickly put away her smile and asked solemnly, "The question is, if Lucien returns to Nevre while we are destroying the Dinitia family, what should we do?"

"It depends on the time," Cassia analyzed calmly.

"If he returns before we have a chance to destroy the Dinitya family expedition team and take over the ruined city-state, then we can only consider ourselves unlucky."

"However, even if this is the case, we still have room for follow-up operations."

"As I have said before, Madam, the women of the Second Family, whose power and prestige have skyrocketed to an unprecedented level, will never again submit to the tyranny of men. Therefore, a foreseeable war will break out within the Dinitya Family."

"All we need to do is to watch quietly from the sidelines and, at the right moment, strike a fatal blow to the winner of this war."

"However, the only drawback is that the struggle within the city-state will inevitably attract the attention of other families. By then, it is likely that more than one family will be eyeing this lucrative prey. The benefits we can gain from it will also be greatly reduced."

"What if he returns just in the gap between when we wipe out the expedition team and when we are too late to launch an attack on the Dinitya family headquarters?" Sylvia's lips tightened, her expression solemn. "That would be a disaster for our family."

"No." Cassia looked up at the Madam in surprise, as if she was quite puzzled. "Madam, please allow me to make a judgment that is inconsistent with yours."

"I think that as long as we destroy the expedition, we will have won the battle! After that, it doesn't matter when Lucien returns."

She paused for a moment, then explained further:

"The battle with the dragon is not an easy one."

"Even the Second Family would have to deploy a considerable amount of manpower. If all of these forces were 'lost', the Second Family would have been severely damaged and unable to continue."

"On the contrary, after we obtain the treasure, we can recruit troops and horses in the city, expand our armaments, hire mercenaries, and even lure other small families into an alliance with us with large sums of money... In short, as long as we can give the Dinitya family's army a clean defeat in the ruins city, the situation will be completely settled at that moment."

Chapter 197: Lucien Dinitja

This was an obvious fact to Cassia. She didn't understand why her mother described Lucien's return as a "catastrophe". With her wisdom, how could she be so short-sighted that she couldn't see the changes and developments in the interlinked world, the rise and fall of the two families' power, but only focused her eyes with fear on an unknown enemy.

"Our power is growing!" She raised a fist and pounded it. "And theirs is fading."

"Lucien's return," she said with a sneer on her face, "is just right. It saves us from having to spend more energy clearing out the enemy's remnants in the wild."

"It's a very detailed plan." Sylvia nodded, leaned back slightly, and leaned back on the chair leisurely.

However, that intoxicated smile, as if victory was within reach, did not appear on her face again.

"There's just one thing—" She clasped her fingers together, a rare, slightly bitter smile appearing on her face, "You consider the most important factor too simply."

Cassia hesitated for a moment, quite incredible: "Lucien?"

The mistress nodded again, and this time her movements were not as leisurely and relaxed as last time, but extremely solemn, as if she wanted to reinforce her judgment for her daughter.

"How--"

Sylvia interrupted her younger daughter before she could voice her doubts again.

"It's not your fault," she said. "You understand that it's normal because you were too young when this man rose to power."

"You think that as long as the Second Family is seriously damaged, Lucien's existence will become insignificant, right?" She looked at her daughter with a smile.

Cassia nodded.

A man, no matter how strong he is, at that time, what influence can he have on the overall situation? Not to mention that he is a man, even if he is a powerful mistress, if the family itself is already in tatters, even if she tries her best, she will probably be powerless to save the situation.

"'Very injured'..." Sylvia repeated the word that Cassia had high hopes for, and then she smiled again, a smile that was not easy. Her nails tapped the metal handrails again and again, the sound was sharp and sonorous, like the sound of metal clashing. At the same time, her originally scarlet eyes suddenly became deep, and in her dark pupils, it seemed that countless swords and shadows flashed, there were soldiers shouting, and there were beasts screaming...

"Do you think," she said in a deep, low voice, "that the Second Family has never suffered a serious loss in its history?"

"Forty-five years ago, at that time—" Sylvia raised her head, looked at Cassia with deep eyes, and said suddenly, "If I remember correctly, you were only three years old?"

Cassia recalled her own age and nodded, secretly expressing her surprise that her mistress could still remember her age so accurately.

"At that time," the matron returned to the original topic after a brief pause, "the Second Family was not yet called the Second Family. Coincidentally, they occupied the same position we are in now, the Seventh Family."

The corners of the mistress' mouth showed a strange smile, as if she was happy about the future fate of the Borgia family implied by this wonderful coincidence.

"At that time, the Dinitya family was on the verge of extinction due to internal struggles. Countless families were secretly waiting, waiting to cut off the limbs of this rare and exotic beast, which had a short time left, and share its flesh and blood to make their own families more powerful."

"One night, several families finally couldn't hold back. They were too weak to swallow such a huge prey alone, but they were unwilling to follow the big families and lick the leftovers. So they hit it off and formed an alliance. They took the lead in launching a general attack on the Dinitya family, preparing to deal a fatal blow to this already precarious family."

"However, on the same night, a male elf from the Dinitya family also returned from an expedition—" Sylvia snorted coldly, as if mocking herself, "It's very similar to today."

Then, her cold tone brought Cassia back to that night:

"In one night, he wiped out three families that had evil intentions against Dinitya."

"Eighteen were killed within a week."

"Those idiots, when they saw the previous families fall, they didn't realize the seriousness of the situation. They just happily thought that the Seventh Family, which had already been 'severely injured', was now even more irreversible. The fall of one family after another made them secretly think that they were getting closer and closer to success, and were about to become the prey to be killed, the last one standing, stepping on the piles of corpses and ascending to the pinnacle of power."

"Until...they themselves became one of those corpses lying on the ground."

"And the Seventh Family stood on top of countless corpses amidst the blood that flowed throughout the city.

I have proved to the entire Nevelle that I am unshakable."

"Since then," Sylvia paused, pulling herself out of that dark and heavy history, and spoke at a significantly faster pace, "The 'severely damaged' Seventh Family, instead of declining, has gradually risen under the leadership of that male dark elf, and finally reached its current status, reaching a point that even the First Family has to be wary of. Some even say that Dinitya's strength has actually surpassed the so-called First Family today, and they are just waiting for a suitable opportunity to seize the crown that belongs to them..."

"But that's off topic." She smiled, came back to her senses and looked at Cassia.

"In short, I don't need to explain further. I'm sure you understand that this man is Lucien Dinitja."

Cassia's expression was stiff and her face was shocked. She seemed to be immersed in the bloody storm that Sylvia described, which had long passed.

Lucien's reputation in Nevre was already well-known. However, young noble women like Cassia did not directly experience the era when he rose to power; and due to his gender identity, older noble women rarely spoke of his legendary experience. They were more willing to claim that Lucien's rise to power in the Dinitia family should be attributed to the weakness and incompetence of the noble women of the Dinitia family.

In short, this also resulted in many young noble women, including Cassia, only knowing the name of Lucien Dinitea, but being completely clueless about his detailed deeds hidden in the past history. In addition, influenced by their family elders, they inevitably had a somewhat contemptuous attitude towards this person, believing that even if he was considered outstanding among men, if he was born in a family with normal strong, powerful, and brave dark elf women, they would never allow him to "make trouble" to the point of being so "rampant" as he is now.

But... in addition to being shocked, Cassia thought unwillingly that history is just history.

There can’t be someone in this world who is always invincible. Lucien is an elf, not a god, and he is a “weak” male elf.

There was no reason for them to succumb to his remaining power like the incompetent women in the second family.

As long as there is a careful plan -

"I know what you're thinking." Sylvia saw what her daughter was thinking from her uncertain expression. "You still disagree with my caution and think that we shouldn't be so afraid of a man."

"In that case, let me tell you one more thing. It is something that accompanied the undisputed rise of the Dinitya family and should have been completely buried in the darkness that no one knew about." As she continued to speak, her tone became deep again.

"I just said that on the first night that Lucien Dinitea returned to Nevre, he wiped out three families that attacked his family in one fell swoop."

"But in fact, on the first night, according to the plan, there were four families that were supposed to launch a general attack on the Dinitya family."

Cassia opened her lips slightly, vaguely aware of something.

She saw her mother sitting high on the throne, with such majesty and invincibility that she shuddered suddenly, and then she continued:

"Out of caution, or perhaps some kind of intuition that the Spider Goddess favored me, or to preserve my strength so that we could divide the benefits after the battle, anyway... that night, I delayed the attack by fifteen minutes."

"Otherwise, now, Nevelle, there would be no more Borgia family, and no more... you."

A chill ran through Cassia's body. She had never imagined that many years ago, when she was still babbling and could not even walk steadily, her life had already been decided by someone else without any connection to her.

But...even so...

After a short period of cold, Cassia's body trembled slightly, and she unexpectedly burst out with a strong will that surprised herself. It was like a red-hot steel sword that was suddenly quenched in ice water, finally stimulating the sharp edge that needed to be sharpened.

It was obvious why the mistress told me this secret. She thought that this incident would allow me to learn enough "lessons" and give up those unrealistic plans.

But in Cassia's view, the purpose of this behavior itself can only prove that her mother was frightened.

Of course, she also admitted that Lucien's power could not be ignored. Therefore, the original plan was indeed not enough. However, this did not mean giving up, but only that she needed to formulate a more powerful plan.

So--

"How is the First Family?" She looked up suddenly, a cold light flashing in her scarlet eyes, and her expression was firm and resolute.

"You just mentioned that the strength of the Second Family makes the First Family fearful." She bit her lips lightly, putting the emphasis on the word "fearful".

Sylvia was slightly stunned, and then she smiled sternly and looked at her daughter carefully, as if she wanted to get to know her again:

"My daughter, you really amaze me more and more."

"However, dancing between two giant beasts is not an easy task. If you are not careful, you will be smashed to pieces."

"Your suggestion is very good, but it carries a great risk. Considering the strength of the First Family, it is very likely that even if we succeed, we will get nothing in the end..."

"Anyway, I still need some time to think about it, you go down first."

Cassia bowed her head as she was told, turned around and walked back without saying anything else, and walked straight towards the door.

She also understood the huge risks involved. However, she didn't care whether this operation could bring huge benefits. All she needed to ensure was that the family would not fall into the crisis of extinction during this operation, and...

That mineral lizard must die!

A huge blue shadow flashed before her eyes, soaring and roaring, its sound like thunder, and then a distorted human face covered in blood, snow-white teeth, shouted those two words at her in pain and hideousness... At the last moment, she couldn't even take a second look at the face that had completely lost its handsomeness and beauty, there was only a back that was bent like an old tree under heavy pressure, and then, complete darkness fell.

Two flames rose in Cassia's dark eyes, like hot steel in a furnace, or like lava cracking on the surface of the earth under a bottomless abyss.

That dragon must die!

When they arrived at the gate, the gate equipped with an automatic sensing array opened automatically. Cassia restrained her expression and stepped out.

As soon as she stepped out of the door, it closed automatically behind her, and her sisters who were waiting outside came over impatiently.

"Cassia," the second sister Kolul asked first, "What did the mistress tell you?"

The sisters' eager looks showed that this was a question they all wanted to know the answer to.

Cassia just glanced at them calmly, the meaning in her eyes was self-evident.

"Don't get me wrong," said the third sister, Mei Feina, smiling. "My sisters are just concerned about you. We don't want to find out your secrets."

Cassia smiled slightly: "Thank you sisters for your concern, I'm fine."

"If you have any questions about what happened inside, I am sure Mother will be generous and kind enough to answer them for you."

The sisters' faces froze and an awkward silence suddenly fell in the air.

Finally, it was the eldest sister Anakta who smiled and spoke slowly:

"Cassia, my sisters mean well, please don't misunderstand me."

After that, she didn't dwell on the issue any further, but instead said, "Your failure this time has made your mother very unhappy. I'm afraid it will be very difficult for you in the next few days."

"If you encounter any difficulties, please remember to contact me in time. I will do my best to help you solve them."

Seeing this, the second sister, Keluer, also hurriedly said, "It's the same here, little sister. What I said in the hall just now was not directed at you. I was just doing my job and thinking about the interests of the entire family. I was a little anxious. Please don't take it to heart. If you need any help in private, don't be shy and speak up in time."

Chapter 198 What does it mean?

The other sisters also spoke up, saying the same thing, their faces filled with genuine concern and worry.

Cassia lowered her head slightly:

"Thank you all for your concern, I will keep it in mind."

"Well, if there is nothing else, I will take my leave first." After saying this, she did not give her sisters any room to react, she walked through their shadows and walked straight forward.

Care? A sneer appeared at the corner of her mouth.