In the Name of Empress

Chapter 696 392: Do You Have a Dream? (Part 2)

In her third Celestial Eye, it was a sea filled with blood.

"Help me, Roland!"

She finally made up her mind.

Roland had been waiting for these words. He nodded, indicating Lisa to sit closer to him.

Leaning closer to Lisa, he lowered his voice and said:

"Lisa, I have a few questions. Please answer truthfully."

Lisa nodded, a bit nervous.

Roland pressed down with one hand, signaling her to relax, and casually asked, "How many people know about you becoming the Sea Empress, and when will it be announced?"

"Currently, only a few members of the Celestial Eye Clan and the Sea Emperor Hall know. The plan is to announce it to everyone at the plaza where the Sea Emperor Trident is placed, in a week."

Roland nodded in satisfaction and continued to ask, "In the eyes of the common people under the sea, to what extent does the Sea Empress represent the Sea Emperor? Are they willing to fight for the Sea Empress?"

"That, I'm not sure. I believe someone will be willing, but I don't know how many." If asked this question before being confined by the Sea Emperor Hall, Lisa would proudly say everyone.

But now, she lacked confidence.

"At least there will be one." Roland pointed to himself and said seriously, "Some matters need someone to take the lead. Once there is a leader, others will follow."

"Remember, the public ceremony for the Sea Empress is the moment to act. This is also our only opportunity."

Roland said in a deep voice, "To avoid arousing their suspicion, I can't deploy experts from the land. We can only rely on the Sea Emperor's lingering power."

"It's a gamble." Catherine pointed out sharply.

She then showed a hint of relief and smiled, "We have no other choice."

She blinked and softly asked, "What if we fail?"

"I'll try my best to break through, and you..."

Roland hesitated. He himself had an instant-use Teleportation Rune Stone, which could transport him near the sea surface, allowing him to escape when the opportunity arose. But this rune stone was made by Lisa, soul-bound and could only be used by Roland, not transferable.

Once the coup fails, Catherine's chance of escaping is zero.

The wise approach, of course, would be to sell her out and escape immediately, but these words would be impossible to say out loud.

Catherine looked at Roland, her expression unusually relaxed, "Thank you for even seriously considering the possibility of taking me with you in a breakthrough. That's enough. I am a daughter of the sea; if I am to die, I will die in the sea."

"Don't worry, taking my life won't be so easy. They'll have to pay a sufficient price."

Catherine's sensibility touched Roland somewhat.

Although this was the best choice, there was still something...

No, why think about failure? Shouldn't the focus be on winning with all efforts?

Why should a gambler worry about the outcome of failure? Could it be worse than facing the Goddess's judgment on the final return day?

After determining the general plan of action, Roland presented the ultimate weapon originally intended to persuade the Sea Empress.

"This is intelligence gathered by the Dark Race."

Catherine was somewhat puzzled. What intelligence was worth storing in a top grade Crystal Ball?

These crystal balls were generally produced during the pre-Magic Era, were invaluable, and because they could no longer be produced, their value increased over time.

Such a one-of-a-kind item would never record useless information.

With some curiosity, Catherine stared at the crystal ball, somewhat anticipating the important intelligence.

As the crystal ball activated, the shrouding mist gradually dispersed, revealing a peculiar island.

This island wasn't very large compared to super islands, but from the crystal ball's perspective, it seemed endless, like an isolated continent.

Looking at the unique flora, fauna, and architecture on the screen, Catherine inexplicably felt a bit nervous.

As the image zoomed in, the moving dots gradually turned into humanoid forms.

"Elemental Life?"

Catherine's expression was somewhat complex as she recalled some past events.

The Theia Plane was primarily made up of carbon-based organisms, but Elemental Life was not absent. In the early Age of Gods, several powerful primordial Elemental Lifes were born.

Some of these Elemental Lives possessed intelligence no less than humans, while others acted purely on instinct.

They had powers far exceeding those of early humans and animals, making the early Age of Gods seem like Hell.

Some intelligent Elemental Lives were displeased with the tyranny of the mindless elemental beasts and taught the methods of manipulating the Power of Elements to the naive early humans.

With the mastery of the Power of Elements, early humans, utilizing their robust reproductive abilities and creativity, underwent various frenzied modifications, resulting in the early Power of Star Path and Magic.

As humans controlled more and more power, the elemental beasts acting purely on instinct were gradually eliminated.

After suppressing these Elemental Lives, early humans discovered they could obtain Elemental Crystal Cores from them, and their gaze towards Elemental Life became increasingly greedy.

The Elemental Lives that guided humans towards civilization also got labeled as evil beings and were slaughtered together.

Simply because they possessed treasures.

This is the bloody history of the first half of the Age of Gods.

This piece of buried history is unknown to others, but as the Sea Empress, she had the right to read the Sea Emperor's Notes and pieced together this history from the scattered records.

A history impossible to be recorded in annals.

A history that is not very ethical but very human.

After sharing this information with Roland, Catherine sighed faintly, "Didn't expect these unfortunate fellows to have descendants left behind, wondering if they still remember their ancient grudges."

"I understand now." Roland suddenly realized.

"What do you understand?" Catherine was bewildered.

"I understand the origins of the Divine Punishment Legion."

"Divine Punishment Legion?! Those sinners' servants?" Catherine sat up abruptly, looking closely at the increasingly clear humanoid Elemental Lives on the screen.

In the Sea Emperor's Notes, there wasn't much written about the War of Divine Punishment. After all, he was the loser, beaten into slumber on the spot by the Divine Punishment Legion, leaving no time to record.

Catherine's thoughts quickly processed, soon connecting the dots.

Elemental Lives equally resented humans, but the Three Goddesses transcended human categories, becoming Gods. They could easily control these Elemental Lives filled with hatred towards humans, accepting them into the Divine Punishment Legion.

No wonder they could easily breach the plane barriers and execute divine punishment missions on the Material Plane.

"Are these our enemies? They do seem formidable."

Catherine nodded and softly said, "Roland, if you don't mind, I'd like to continue our previous alliance to face them together."

Roland nodded, smiling in agreement.

The previous alliance ended due to changing circumstances, and now it resumes also due to changing circumstances.

He neither bore a grudge for Catherine ending the alliance nor relied too heavily on a mere agreement.

After all, a contract is only effective when it is beneficial to oneself.

If the cost of breach is less than the losses incurred by continuing the contract, the contract spirit turns into a spirit of breach.

Perhaps seeing through Roland's thoughts, Catherine bit her lip, seemingly determined, drew her short sword, and stabbed fiercely towards her wrist.

Drip, drip, blood dripped down. She reached out with her other hand to catch it and smeared it on her face, chanting in direction of the Sea Emperor Hall using an odd language.

After completing the oath ritual, she softly said, "I swear to the Sea Emperor, to stand by your side and fight to the end, to battle Sea Emperor's enemies to the end."

Roland nodded, pleased with Catherine's attitude.

Though he understood the reasons and difficulties behind the previous cessation of the alliance, a breach is a breach, and it left some discomfort within him.

A blood oath sworn by the Sea Emperor is the highest vow among the Ocean Race, one that none dare to break.

Even though the Sea Emperor will not return, the power of the oath remains effective.

This was Catherine's sincerity.

Looking at the densely packed Divine Punishment Legion in the image, Catherine also felt her scalp tingle.

"By the second Return Day, many of them will successfully advance to Tier Two. Just thinking about it is daunting. Even if we establish a solid defense line, it most likely won't hold against them."

She shook her head painfully, sighing helplessly.

"Yes, so we must strike first, eliminating them before Return Day."

"Are you crazy?" Catherine couldn't help but shout.

"See, even you don't believe I'd dare approach them now. Could they think of it?"

Roland smiled and clapped his hands, "A sneak attack is meant to have such an effect."