In the Name of Empress

Chapter 681 384: Stay Out of Big Shots' Business

"Since your strategic level is not as good as Kromi's, how could he not see through the issue? If you push him too hard, he might even turn against us."

"I'm sorry, I was reckless." Aivir bowed her head in admission.

Roland looked at her dejected expression and couldn't help but remind her, "Are all the Wise Men of my race dead?"

Aivir trembled slightly, hurriedly knelt on one knee, and raised her hands above her head.

"Please, Wise Man, grant me strength and wisdom."

That's how it should be.

Roland solemnly lifted the scepter, gently tapped her palm three times, and then placed a magic ring stored in his private space into her hand.

"This contains an energy storage array equivalent to thirty percent of my attack power. Just input magic power to activate it."

Aivir respectfully accepted Roland's gift and expressed her gratitude.

Though her attitude was respectful, she was somewhat indifferent inside.

Roland's strength was indeed formidable, but it leaned toward a defensive comprehensive class, and a ring with only thirty percent of his attack power was quite limited in its lethality.

Despite her internal criticisms, she dared not go against the only Wise Man of their time.

Aivir's thoughts were simple, and although she was hundreds of years old, she was much like a young girl, with her likes and dislikes clearly written on her face.

Seeing her little expression, Roland certainly knew what she was struggling with, so he restrained his smile and calmly added a sentence.

"It can be used at least fifteen times."

Aivir's spirit was lifted; this was truly remarkable.

An important enemy leader can defend once or twice, but who would expect this thing to kill with fifteen consecutive bursts?

Is this the wisdom of a Wise Man? Truly impressive.

"Killing the enemy is protecting my people, Great Sage, I understand."

Although her understanding was somewhat peculiar, Roland completely agreed with Aivir's conclusion. He solemnly looked at Aivir, the Grand General, his eyes flashing with a peculiar light.

"The enmity between the Earth Spirits and Elves ended with the conclusion of the Third Era. It is forbidden to mention it again or to pass it down to future generations. Do you understand my meaning?"

"I obey!" Aivir accepted the command without hesitation.

As Roland said, the enmity between the Earth Spirits and Elves ended with the apocalyptic battle of the Divine Punishment Legion.

The descendants of both races today were almost entirely uninvolved in the brutal war of the past.

If that's the case, why carry the heavy burden that can only be relieved by an apocalypse?

"Great Sage, under your leadership, my race will surely be revitalized!" Aivir, feeling good, seldom used flattery, lavishly praising Roland.

Roland, however, did not echo her smile but seriously corrected, "Remember, it is the race under Her Majesty the Empress's wise leadership that is on the path to revival."

After all, Sif was his wife, and the glory could be completely shared. He had to establish Sif's powerful and regal image in Aivir's heart.

Roland stayed in the Elf Race's settlement for more than ten days, personally seeing them off on their journey north, before continuing south with ease of mind.

On his way further south, he encountered two ambushes and three assassination attempts.

The Yehu, upon learning that Roland not only invaded their territory but also rescued the Elf descendants they considered their own, hated him to the bone.

In their eyes, Roland was being overly confident, almost suicidal.

Even if Roland could defeat an army on his own, he was still just one person.

Does he intend to single-handedly flatten the South Continent?

The Yehu were infuriated by Roland's bold maneuvers, and the Commanders of Yehu's upper echelon gathered to decide on intercepting Roland.

While the lower Yehu were foolish, greedy, and cruel, their upper echelon was entirely different. These Yehu had relatively less surface hair and lighter skin tone, making them almost indistinguishable from humans if not closely observed.

Their main difference from the lower Yehu was their cunning, greed, and cruelty.

The Commanders were convinced that Roland would pay for his carelessness with his life, yet after several failed assassination attempts, they realized Roland's extraordinary nature.

This guy's defensive ability was simply too strong; no matter how powerful the attack, it was like a mosquito tickling an elephant to him.

After several ambushes failed, the Yehu Commanders got serious and organized a force of over three thousand troops to intercept Roland on his inevitable path.

Since Roland had the ability to defeat an army, they sent out a more formidable force.

There was no more logical arrangement than this; the Commanders were convinced of Roland's death and even opened Blood Monkey Wine before the army set out.

This was a special fruit wine brewed from Blood Monkey Fruit, similar in status to Milan Champagne.

But they never imagined that Roland had not taken the route they had planned for him.

After lying in ambush for two days, Roland brazenly appeared in a market near the southernmost tip of the continent. According to intelligence personnel, Roland not only feasted at the best tavern in town but even ordered several bottles of Blood Monkey Wine.

"Obviously, this is provocation!"

Yehu Alliance's Chief High Tier Commander Sanders let out an angry roar, clenching his fist and pounding heavily on the table, creating a large pit in the granite stone slab.

"The damned Colonial Empire Governor dares to roam unabashedly in our homeland, and even openly mocks us. What do you say we do?"

"Kill him!"

"Kill him!"

The Commanders' roars rose and fell.

They naturally had reasons to be angry and to intercept Roland.

After all, they were no longer an unorganized, scattered group, nor did they engage in mutual slaughter.

Milones's appearance brought a glimmer of hope to them.

The prestigious figures of the Dark Race brought astounding strength and civilization, along with the good news that the Demon Emperor was about to descend.

Compared to the low profile of the Dark Race, the Yehu were quicker to celebrate with Blood Monkey Wine.

Internally, they had even begun referring to the Demon Emperor as the Dark Great Demon God and had established a religion, building altars to accumulate power for the Great Demon God in hopes of welcoming him sooner.

...

The few long-distance straight roads on the South Continent were constructed by the Prudon Kingdom.

They weren't doing it out of goodwill, simply to maintain control.

Unlike other colonizers who looted and plundered, eager to squeeze the colonies dry on the spot, the Prudon Kingdom extended overseas colonization relatively late, and the prime colonies had already been divided up.

The remote territories they could acquire were all leftovers.

The only exception was their territory at the southernmost tip of the South Continent.

This was a necessary route for circumnavigation and the key development area for the Prudon Kingdom.

They spared no effort in promoting colonial education, striving to eradicate local cultural influences, and winning hearts and minds by building roads, schools, hospitals, and other means.

After Roland reached an agreement with the Dark Race to withdraw from the South Continent, the Prudon Kingdom deliberated for a long time and reluctantly released most of the colonies, except for the southernmost Skyrim Province.

They quickly passed a law declaring Skyrim Province a direct overseas province of the kingdom, with complete political equality to the mainland.

The people of Skyrim Province even theoretically had the eligibility to become the Prime Minister of the country.

But that's only in theory.

At the Skyrim Province border checkpoint, a special carriage was being inspected.

This carriage seemed ordinary at first glance, but its passengers were anything but ordinary.

Even though they used magic to conceal their features, they were unaware that the checkpoint was equipped with special prism-like magic equipment.

This Prism Eye had only one simple function: to see through disguises and reveal the true face of the one being checked.

Limited to the face only.

The squad captain responsible for inspection stared at Roland's true appearance, stunned and unsure of what to do.

He first ruled out the possibility that this traveler, who bore a strong resemblance to Roland, was indeed Roland.

What a joke; Roland was currently the plaything of the Vladimir Empire's Empress, and who on the Rodinia Continent wasn't aware of it?

He was even obliged to stay and attend to that cold and old woman rather than go home to his wife.

Since it seemed impossible that the visitor was Roland himself, the squad captain's assumption was challenged.

"But..." the Guard Captain tried to explain, but was interrupted again.

"Just obey the order."

"Yes, sir!" The Guard Captain snapped to attention, saluted, and allowed the carriage to proceed.

Having watched Roland swagger into Skyrim Province, the official who had just issued the order to let him pass quietly left.

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