Swear Fealty To Me, My Subjects!

Chapter 81: Hmph! Don't misunderstand, I'm not doing this for you!

Rayne's room.

Rayne welcomed Edaline who came to visit again.

He smiled and asked, "Have you thought it through?"

Edaline shrugged. "After some consideration, your words make some sense."

Rayne said, "That's great. Speaking of which, I just heard the grand prince wailing… Did you have a conflict with him?"

Edaline said, "There's no conflict. I even did him a huge favor."

Rayne asked, "Is that so?"

Edaline said leisurely, "I didn't kill him. That's already the greatest favor I could give."

To be honest…

If Edgeworth was slightly more reliable, Edaline might have endured things and played along with his act so that Rayne would give up on the crystal throne completely.

However, the old man was frenzied in his desire for the crystal throne. Every single word and action of his repulsed Edaline.

Forget it...

There was no need for her to torture herself as such.

Edaline laid on the couch and heaved a sigh of relief.

Without the incessant noise in her ears, her mood was now much better.

She looked at Rayne who was brewing tea in the kitchen and his defined and handsome side profile.

Speaking of which…

This guy seemed to have become much more handsome recently.

Rayne was already extremely handsome to begin with.

After he received the blessing of the highest order from the evil dragon, his looks practically shot through the roof. Right now, Rayne might even be the most savagely charming mortal male in the entire mortal world...

In reality, Edaline was well aware that Rayne was protected by the evil gods.

Initially, after knowing what Rayne did in the Desolate Tundra and Gold Village…

The first thing that Edaline suspected was whether Rayne was controlled by the evil gods.

However, she denied those thoughts after subsequent investigations.

Stationed in the Nether Realm to grant blessings and control a mortal remotely such that he could tear apart an ancient dragon and destroy the projection of an evil god... Furthermore, this was the strongest evil god they were talking about.

It was impossible.

No evil god could be so incredibly powerful.

The Nether Realm corruption on Rayne's body confirmed Edaline's guess.

Rayne's body possessed double blessings from Justice and the evil dragon; furthermore, these were the highest-grade VIP blessings that could connect to the true body of the evil gods.

However, the power of the blessings was way too weak.

That bit of blessing could not have been the reason why Rayne could kill Obadiah and repel the Blood Empress.

In that case, what was the reason for Rayne's series of changes?

Although Edaline had no clue about that for the time being, she was in no hurry to probe further.

At the moment, as long as Rayne was still Rayne… that was enough.

Rayne brought the brewed tea and placed it in front of Edaline.

A set of Edaline's favorite desserts was also included.

Edaline said, "So, can you tell me your plan?"

Rayne nodded gently.

"Leta's demigod curse is targeted at the Haines Empire and anything belonging to the bloodline of the Crystal Goddess. The elven demigod who released the curse sacrificed his life. His will has already fused with the curse and hovers above Haines, spreading malice to us at all times."

"It's futile to try and resolve the curse by means of using a puppet Emperor, destroying the crystal throne or even changing our political structure. Not to mention that such acts would undermine the dignity of Haines."

Edaline said, "You've said so much but I haven't heard of any meaningful plan?"

Rayne smiled.

"There's a plan. We'll infiltrate the enemy headquarters and make use of the Leta elves to dispel the curse. We might not possess the means to dispel the curse. However, certain big shots in Leta might know of some countermeasures?"

Edaline asked, "For example?"

Rayne: "For example… the Moon Queen of Leta?"

The Moon Queen was also known as the Moonlight Queen. This was the only officially recognized supreme ruler of Leta. However, due to the stringent birth requirements of the Moonlight Queen alongside the continuous weakening of Leta's national strength…

Edaline reminded, "Leta hasn't created a Moonlight Queen for 30 years."

Rayne said, "However, according to the latest information I've received, the White Light Courtyard of Leta has already found the final descendant of the Moon Goddess from the masses. Perhaps... it won't be long before the ascension ritual of the Moon Queen begins."

Edaline blinked in surprise. "You seem to know quite a bit?"

Rayne was still smiling. "That's because I've met the Moon Queen once."

Edaline asked, "Is that so? What sort of a person is this incumbent Moonlight Queen?"

Rayne pondered for a moment. "Hmm... I suppose she's a good person who's easy to get along with."

Alright then…

Now, Edaline was certain that Rayne was not lying when he said that he wanted to dispel the curse of the crystal throne. He indeed had a plan of his own.

Edaline ate a mouthful of dessert. "How do you want to make use of the Moonlight Queen then?"

"That's something for the future."

Rayne said, "The ascension ritual for the Moon Queen will not be held for the time being. There's something else I want to do before the new Moon Queen rules over Leta."

There was something else…?

Edaline was puzzled—was this guy so busy?

Rayne asked, "Little Eda, didn't you go to the Desolate Tundra some time ago?"

Edaline replied, "That's right."

Rayne asked, "Did you discover anything?"

Edaline said, "The corpses of the Black Catastrophes are extremely sturdy. Even when stacked into a mountain of a hundred meters tall, the bottom layer would not be crushed. Apart from that... nothing else."

Rayne smiled. "You must have had tons of fun over there?"

Edaline replied, "So-so."

Although it was enjoyable to trample on a group of small fries, there were way too many Black Catastrophes…

No matter how many of them were killed, the number would not decrease. If their corpses were piled into mountains, as long as she was gone for a few days, their living counterparts would eat up the corpses and give birth to new Black Catastrophes in their mysterious lair.

The mass onslaught of such monsters brought about nothing but despair.

Rayne said, "Speaking of which, you were able to explore the Desolate Tundra for an entire month? Didn't you have anything else to do?"

Edaline said, "Of course. I was merely putting out the fire out of convenience while I was investigating. However, Histia had already returned from the outer world by then and things were much easier on me."

"I see."

After listening to Edaline's description, Rayne made his request.

"Since that's the case, are you interested in making another trip to the Desolate Tundra? I might be able to help you locate the lair of the Black Catastrophes."

"Huh…?"

Edaline narrowed her eyes and scrutinized Rayne. "Is that a joke?"

Rayne: "No."

Edaline asked, "Then how do you know where the lair of the Black Catastrophes is?"

Rayne revealed an innocent smile. "The lake giant of Remembrance Pure Land told it to me...?"

There was an all-knowing giant in Remembrance Pure Land—Edaline had heard of that legend before.

Rayne's answer was convincing.

However, Edaline did not believe him.

"Rayne, no one knows where the lair of those monsters is. Furthermore, the Desolate Tundra is not a place for a mortal like you."

Edaline sneered and mocked, "Do you know, Rayne? The cold wind of the Desolate Tundra is enough to steal away a mortal's body temperature instantly and freeze your blood in minutes!"

Edaline knew very well how terrible the environment in the depths of the Desolate Tundra was.

If Rayne went there, he would die extremely quickly.

Therefore, Edaline hoped that Rayne would give up on that suicidal thought.

Actually, Edaline was not concerned as to where the lair of the Black Catastrophes was.

At the very least, it did not matter as much to her as the life of this trash brother of hers.

"Is that so? I understand."

Rayne said helplessly, "I won't be going to the Desolate Tundra then."

Edaline said, "Yes, that's the way."

Rayne sounded melancholic and disappointed. "After all, I should know my place… I can't cause trouble for you, Little Eda."

Edaline: "… Hmm?"

Rayne revealed a sorrowful expression. "When I was at Remembrance Pure Land, I heard from Hela that you were searching for the lair of the Black Catastrophes. However, there's no way anyone could find that place at all! That was why I sought a beacon from the lake giant."

He sounded extremely apologetic towards his sister.

"Initially, I wanted to share your burdens. However, I was merely thinking too much. After all… the current Little Eda no longer needs the help of a useless brother like me. I'm sorry, Little Eda…"

When Edaline heard that, she was stunned.

Looking at her brother's disappointed expression and hearing his self-reproachful apologies...

Her heart was about to break!

"Shut up, stop talking!"

At that moment, Edaline made up her mind and pulled Rayne up.

"You want to go to the Desolate Tundra, right? Sure, no problem! We'll leave right now!"

Boom!

Edaline's boundless divine power shattered space instantly. She made use of teleportation magic and established a clear path to the Desolate Tundra in the turbulence of the dimensional rift.

Rayne's eyes lit up once more. "Little Eda…"

Edaline blushed and harrumphed.

"Don't misunderstand, I didn't decide to go to the tundra because of you. I'm merely betting on whether the information on the lake giant was valuable! Don't think too highly of yourself!"

Indeed, the Desolate Tundra was a treacherous land of death.

However, given Edaline's strength, it should not be a problem for her to protect a mortal.

Rayne was all smiles as he patted Edaline on the head gently.

"I understand, I understand. My Little Eda merely wanted to head to the Desolate Tundra on her own accord. As for me, you brought me along out of convenience, right?"

Edaline struggled symbolically a few times before letting Rayne touch her head. She said softly, "That's right, that's exactly it..."

"In that case…"

Rayne said a series of numbers. "Little Eda, can we head to these coordinates first?"

Edaline was stunned. "The Blazing Sun Wall? What do you want to do there?"

Rayne smiled.

"This is a dangerous trip. Therefore, I intend to call for another helper."

Helper?

Edaline was puzzled.

This guy had helpers on the side of Leta?!

...