Chapter 103: Victoria’s Invitation

A torrential downpour began by Lake Sol. Amid the relentless rain, the First Knight Order of Victoria galloped fiercely across the terrain.

“Faster! Even faster!” Constantine’s roar rose above the pounding storm. Anxiety gnawed at him as he cast uneasy glances southward.

“If those lords weren’t so slow, we’d already be at the New Luo Hills!” he cursed inwardly, frustrated by their sluggishness. Only someone who had truly encountered werewolves could understand just how ravenous those beasts—with their lupine ears and tails—really were.

Without a doubt, the Kingdom of Asia, currently under werewolf invasion, faced utter annihilation.

Asia was the weakest kingdom within the Human Alliance, and its king was Constantine’s proud cousin. He was determined to stop those wolves from defiling Asia with their filthy claws.

“Lord Constantine! Lord Constantine!” a voice suddenly called from ahead.

“I’m here!” Constantine spotted a young paladin racing back on horseback. His armor was scarred and battered, but his eyes still gleamed with fierce determination—Constantine liked this young man.

His name was Lance. Intelligent, loyal, and diligent, Constantine saw great potential in him, appointing him as his communication officer with high hopes for his rapid growth.

“Lord Constantine, urgent news from the Kingdom of Asia!” Lance reached into his cloak and pulled out a red...

“Damn it!” Constantine cursed loudly. It was a woman’s undergarment. If there was one thing he disliked about Lance, it was how often he stumbled upon women who could barely walk—especially older ones.

“This guy’s going to die because of women sooner or later,” Constantine thought. Lance, realizing his mistake, hastily produced another piece of parchment.

“Lord Constantine, this is the intelligence!”

Constantine took the parchment, waved his hand dismissively, and Lance turned his horse and galloped off.

The message came from Constantine’s own sister, the queen of Asia. Her handwriting was hurried and messy, but those few words shocked Constantine to his core.

The capital of the Kingdom of Asia had fallen!

A day later, the same intelligence reached Florence.

“The Kingdom of Asia has been occupied by werewolves.”

In the spacious hall paved with white marble, Angel closed the report in her hands and turned to Lin Lei sitting beside her. “What should we do?”

Below, the night elf nobles and generals all fixed their gazes on Lin Lei, who sat upon the throne.

“...” But he was fast asleep, eyes closed.

A heavy silence filled the hall. It took a long moment for everyone to react; the Supreme King was actually asleep.

“This is utterly disgraceful...” an elderly noble muttered softly, sparking the ire of a young elf nearby.

“What did you say? Say it louder!” the youth demanded.

The noble immediately shut his mouth. Recently, many new nobles had risen—those who had stood by the Supreme King during recent turmoil. They were fiercely loyal and allowed no offense.

“The king must have worked too late last night,” a prince stepped forward to ease the tension.

Eve, like a shadow, stood behind Lin Lei, subtly squeezing and twisting his back hard.

“Ouch!” Lin Lei suddenly sprang up. “Is the morning meeting over?”

Angel smiled faintly, her gaze cold. “Your Majesty, we were discussing the Kingdom of Asia.”

“Oh, Asia...” Lin Lei sat back down. “I heard the capital’s been taken. The prince and queen escaped through the sewers. I always said sewers are incredibly useful!”

Silence fell.

“Your Majesty, you are truly humorous.”

“Yes, indeed, very humorous...”

“But that’s not what we’re here to discuss,” the older nobles said, suppressing their anger. “Your Majesty, the Kingdom of Victoria has invited us to their alliance meeting. Should we attend?”

Today’s agenda was whether to participate in the Human Alliance’s conference, hosted by Victoria. Invitations extended not only to human kingdoms, but also to leaders of elves, dwarves, and other races. This was the first time night elves had been invited.

Normally, the night elves would be pleased, but the circumstances were different now. The external situation was strange and unsettling; werewolves and demons had formed alliances. Victoria’s true intentions in calling this meeting were far from simple.

“They invited you, clearly to drag us into war,” Angel said, looking at Lin Lei, who commanded the night elves’ military forces. “What should we do?”

Lin Lei pondered briefly. “We might as well go and see for ourselves.”

War held little interest for him, but this meeting was necessary. Besides, he wanted to see what the human world looked like.

His decision to assess the situation before devising a strategy met no objection from the night elves. Angel, too, showed no displeasure. She knew Lin Lei was pragmatic, always weighing benefits—and the human kingdoms would hardly offer him any.

After the morning meeting dispersed, Eve followed closely behind Lin Lei.

“Little prince, why were you sleeping in the hall today?”

“I was busy too late last night,” Lin Lei replied. Great spells had to be cast upon the most vulnerable places—it was truly arduous work.

Yet after several days of effort, the spell was nearly perfected.

“That Victoria kingdom really doesn’t understand timing—choosing just this moment to disturb me...” Lin Lei muttered. Eve understood what he was working on and thought Victoria’s interruption might be timely after all.

If not for another piece of intelligence reaching her, she would have supported Lin Lei’s trip to Victoria.

But now...

“Little prince, I suggest you send the prince instead,” Eve said. She wanted the prince to attend the meeting in Lin Lei’s stead, allowing Lin Lei to feign illness and stay behind.

Lin Lei looked back at Eve, finding her reaction odd. “Why shouldn’t I go?”

“...Xiao Bai sent a message,” Eve said, producing a crystal from her cloak and handing it to Lin Lei.

Lin Lei took the crystal; it contained a recorded voice—indeed, it was Xiao Bai.

The leopard informed him that the demigods roaming the wilderness might have set traps along Lin Lei’s route to Victoria. It was best not to leave Florence—or if he must, to send a warning ahead.

“How does it know this information?” Lin Lei was surprised.

Eve smiled. “It’s among the demigods.”

“What?” Lin Lei’s eyes lit up. This was intriguing.

After some thought, he said, “Then I’ll go after all.”

Having such an insider was a rare opportunity; if he didn’t seize it now, he might never get another chance.

Besides...

Lin Lei gazed at the crystal in his hand. “How extravagant!”

The leopard had used a magical crystal to send a single piece of intelligence. The crystal’s vibrant sheen surely made it worth hundreds of gold coins! For such a stingy creature who wouldn’t even bother with paper, Lin Lei could hardly believe it wasn’t profiting handsomely.

No matter what, he had to cash in on this!