Badge in Azure

Chapter 154: Lex's Decision (Part 1)

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

"Master, how is the situation in the imperial capital?" Saleen was extremely concerned about the capital, but the sorcerer simply shook his head. Saleen knew that the sorcerer was waiting for Lex to arrive before he revealed anything.

Lex returned in a flash with Nailisi following behind her. Nailisi made a face at Saleen.

"Teacher." Lex bowed at the sorcerer before taking a seat.

"How is my brother?" Lex did not directly ask who the current emperor was. The entirety of the imperial capital was under Safilos' control. Ever since he had been young, Lex's brother had been recuperating in the magic tower. He had not ever had the chance to experience power and authority. It would be a piece of cake for Safilos to take over the throne.

"Silami has ascended the throne, while Prince Safilos is acting as the regent."

"What about my two cousins?" Lex was not anxious, her brother was still alive. Even though they were not close, Lex still heaved a sigh of relief. Lex's cousins had been very obedient when her father had still been alive, but now that her father had died, it was possible that the two of them would harbor ill intentions. They would have the authority to inherit the throne so long as Safilos eliminated Lex's brother.

"Safilos conferred them as county kings before chasing them out of the imperial capital."

Lex was taken aback when she heard what the sorcerer said. Her cousins held positions in the imperial court, but they had not been conferred any titles. Now that they had been promoted straight to county kings, it seemed like they had gained a massive amount of authority. In reality, unless all other members of the royal family died, they would never have a chance of becoming emperor anymore.

Was Lex's uncle truly content with just assisting her brother?

"What about the situation in Loulan?" Lex did not continue probing, she was more anxious about the development of the war. She had been away for a year and her father had been dead for six months, so the Loulan Duchy must have been in ruins now.

"Lex, His Majesty fell into the enemy's trap. He did not bring enough soldiers. The camp of the palace swordsmen lost more than half of their manpower, but the empire's elites were not quashed. There are still more than eighty thousand soldiers who have retreated to the Titan Duchy. Cloudflow has promised to deploy troops, while the rest of the noble armies have retreated from the frontlines. Half of Loulan Duchy's land is still under the control of the Qin Empire."

"A trap… the Holy See must have used substantial manpower to do so. Teacher, what was the situation like at that point in time?" Lex had a furious look on her face. She could not believe that her father had died in battle. It could not have been possible unless there were spies, or the Holy See had amassed many experts and had been bent on killing the emperor at any cost. If there really had been spies, Lex would not mind using the power of the Shinra's Ring to eliminate them, but it was possible that they had already escaped to the Tanggulasi Empire.

"The pope did it himself, with the help of twelve cardinals. Also, all of the sacred knights and the four kingpins from the tribunal were present. There were no traitors. The Holy See used a divine weapon…"

Divine weapon! Saleen's eyelids twitched furiously. The Qin Emperor might have been wearing exotic equipment, but there had just been too many enemies. Furthermore, the emperor had only brought twenty thousand warriors along, and there had been a limited number of mages with them. A small force up against a much larger one would never have the slightest chance of victory. Even a tenacious fighter like the emperor would have been defeated.

"What was the outcome?"

"Two of the four tribunal kingpins and the twelve cardinals died. The pope was seriously injured, and forty thousand sacred knights were also injured.

Saleen was stunned when he heard the sorcerer's words. The cardinals were equivalent to Grade 7 mages, and some of them even had the powers of a Grade 9 mage. If the pope died, the next pope would be chosen among the cardinals. Since the twelve cardinals had died, it could be said that the Holy See had killed the Qin Emperor at all costs.

There were sixty thousand sacred knights and forty thousand of them had been injured. Of the forty thousand people, at least twenty thousand had died during the battle, while the rest might have been permanently disabled and would never be able to fight again.

Saleen had known that the Qin Emperor was very powerful, but not this powerful. If the pope had not had a divine weapon, the Qin Emperor might have already been able to eliminate the obstacle between the Qin Empire and the Tanggulasi Empire.

"Good kills. Was there any reaction from Alchemy City?" Lex was dissatisfied. Her father had died in battle. Were the mages of Alchemy City not ashamed of themselves?

"Alchemy City did not declare war, but the information I received was that over ten sorcerers left the city and infiltrated the Tanggulasi Empire. It seems like they are going to carry out a major operation."

Hmpf…

Lex snorted loudly. The actions taken by Alchemy City were still too insignificant for her liking. Those sorcerers might have been able to obliterate a single city, but they would still not be able to do any real damage to the Glorious City. The pope might have been injured, but his second in command was still around. The second in command had a functional divine weapon, so the sorcerers from Alchemy City would only dare to create a ruckus in the Tanggulasi Empire at most. They could not do more than that.

So what if the sorcerers killed the emperor of the Tanggulasi Empire? That man was merely a puppet.

"Why did Safilos not use the teleportation portal in the palace to bring me back?" Lex could not take it any longer. After her father had died, the entire empire seemed to have lost its cohesion. The armies of the nobles had retreated, and the palace swordsmen had not even bothered to return. They were still in Titan Duchy. All of this must have happened because of Safilos' attitude.

The death of Lex's father was definitely a huge setback, but the Holy See had sustained more losses. The twelve cardinals had died, and they would need at least six months in order to fill those empty seats. If the Qin Empire attacked now, there was a possibility that the soldiers would be able to invade the land of the Tanggulasi Empire.

Now, no one was willing to attack the God Grace Duchy, and even half of the Loulan Duchy had been lost. The armies belonging to the nobles were not even willing to return to the Qin Empire. It was highly possible that they were all eyeing pieces of the Loulan Duchy.

Such was the shame of the Qin Empire!

"Lex, the treasury in Bitter Water Prefecture was emptied in order to build this teleportation portal. Safilos is currently building war puppets to use in the attack against the Tanggulasi Empire, so he has forbidden anyone from using the resources in the empire's treasury. Furthermore, even I was not sure that you were still alive. The prince…"

"He is just a hypocritical fellow. If he succeeds, history will never record the efforts put in by my brother. Only his name will be recorded. Teacher, I understand, but I cannot accept it."

"Then what do you plan to do? Start a war with Safilos?" The sorcerer could not persuade Lex, so he decided to use sarcasm against her instead. Legally, Lex's county was already independent, but it was still part of the Qin Empire. Lex might have possessed the capabilities needed to attack Holy Rock City, but none of the nobles would lend their support to her, not to mention Lex's own lack of power.

"What can I do? Safilos didn't want to use the empire's treasury since he thought I was dead. Since I am alive, he should give me what I deserve," Lex said through grit teeth.

"Yes, of course. You can go back to Bitter Water Prefecture for now and send an envoy to Holy Rock City. I will personally make the trip."

"Teacher!"

"Don't worry. The prince won't harm me." The sorcerer waved his hands, dismissing Lex's words.

"Then what about the Bitter Water Prefecture?" Lex knew that she could not dissuade her teacher. Additionally, her teacher would have the help of Joey, so there was no real threat to her teacher.

"The mages in the prefecture did not leave. In fact, more than ten mage masters have returned, and they are all waiting for you."

A sense of warmth welled up in Lex's heart. Her countless years of hard work had not been in vain after all. Even though Lex had been missing for a year, the Bitter Water Prefecture was still functioning normally. When Lex had disappeared, most of her fortune had been inside of the god's ring. Furthermore, in order to build this teleportation portal and the castle used for monitoring this portal, it was possible that the mages in the prefecture could not even have used their usual magic nuclei in their training.

"Teacher, I don't think you need to go to the imperial capital. I don't plan on returning to Bitter Water Prefecture just yet." On second thought, Lex felt that if she returned to the prefecture now, she would be under scrutiny, and that would impede her development. Suddenly, an idea popped into her head.

"You're not going back? How could you!"

"Teacher, I want to spend some time in Alchemy City," Lex said with determination.

"Lex!" Saleen suddenly shouted. He knew that Lex was planning to go to Alchemy City to seek help, and he did not want Jason to be implicated in this matter.

"Saleen, you also have a portion of the items from the hell of god's punishment. Don't you want your teacher to enjoy those items as well?

"I…" Saleen was at a loss for words. When Saleen had returned, he had really wanted to see his teacher, but he had not thought of a way to tell his teacher about the god's punishment honestly. Without Lex's help, Saleen would never have been able to come back. Furthermore, the six element space belonged to Lex, and if Lex did not give them her permission, his teacher would not be able to use it in the future.

In addition, without Lex's help, it was possible that Saleen would not even be able to discover the whereabouts of his teacher.

"Saleen, no mage would be able to resist the temptation." Lex did not need to play mind games with Saleen. They had spent a year together, and a simple sentence was able to convey many thoughts. Lex also knew that Saleen was a straightforward person, so if she beat around the bush, Saleen would surely reject her without any hesitation.

When Lex noticed that Saleen was hesitant, she said, "Alchemy City is a complicated affair. It cannot be decided by only a few people. Also, I don't dare to spread our secrets. I can only trust your teacher. Right now, I am leaving so as to avoid trouble because my uncle's people are all over the Bitter Water Prefecture. I would not be able to make any progress at all. If you stay, your days will be tough as well. Now that I am back, this news will not remain a secret any longer. If I go to Alchemy City, my uncle will think that I have given up my authority and am focusing on magic training."

"Why?" Saleen did not understand.

"The mages in Alchemy City will never serve any nobles. They would not budge even if the emperor personally travelled down there."

"You're really going to Alchemy City?" The sorcerer looked at Lex. Lex's face was extremely pale, like frost in the winter. It was just that this strength and coldness were extremely fragile, causing others to feel a sense of pity.

"Yes, I hope to enlist help from Saleen's teacher," Lex replied forthrightly. She had said everything that was on her mind.

"Will you be able to go back to the space you were in previously?"

"It is possible with enough sorcerers around."

"Alright, then go. I'll help you manage Bitter Water Prefecture."

"What about the soldiers?" Saleen asked from the side. If Lex left, would the soldiers not lose their direction?

"I have already made arrangements. There will be many battles in Loulan Duchy, so I am going to open a small road and launch a direct attack onto Loulan from the Bitter Water Prefecture. Since those nobles will not seek revenge for my father, that land does not belong to them anyways," Lex said ruthlessly.

Once her father had died, those nobles had immediately retreated. That was tantamount to betrayal. Lex could understand why her uncle was making all of these decisions, as Safilos wanted the empire to prosper and expand. However, those nobles were in it solely for their personal gain, and some would even sacrifice their reputations.