Even after embellishment, the events happening within the tightly sealed royal palace still managed to spread outside.
The demon clan’s army was approaching, and Her Majesty the Queen was missing due to a certain already insane princess.
It was fortunate that Cliff managed to restore a bit of the Augustine family’s reputation, but it was already unimaginable what the atmosphere in the royal capital would turn into.
After returning from the Central Church, Cliff’s expression wasn’t great; it was clear that the Central Church did not favor this new king who hadn’t even undergone a coronation ceremony.
Lilith’s position in the church was self-evident, and now that she was missing from the palace, the situation hadn’t deteriorated further only thanks to Cliff. However, the church would definitely not show him any good faith because of this.
Cliff was not at ease because the Old Pope personally intervened. Upon learning of Lilith’s disappearance, the wrinkles on the Old Pope’s face deepened, and Cliff even suspected that the frail Old Pope might meet the Goddess on the spot because of this.
Fortunately, the Old Pope managed to hold on and stated that the Holy Church was willing to fight for the royal capital; if necessary, the church would use some trump cards to defend it.
In the following days, although the demon clan had not yet launched an attack, anxiety had already gripped the city. Judith and Scott were busy and overwhelmed, while Cliff was treated like an ornament, being moved around as nobles expressed their dissatisfaction with him. With no better options available, Cliff could only shrink back and act as if he knew nothing.
What made Cliff feel most desperate was that in the following days, there was still no news of Lilith. Even though the knights had drilled through all the secret passages in the palace, they still found no trace of Her Majesty the Queen, as if a powerful being had helped the Queen escape. Even the Royal Magic Association used various methods but still failed to find any clues.
Even though Cliff had already declared that he was merely a temporary king, as long as Lilith was willing to return, she would still be the queen of this country, and the country needed Lilith. Ignoring the objections from the Augustines, Cliff directly bolstered Lilith’s legitimacy, yet they still couldn’t find her.
The demon clan did not rest; they began the siege without even choosing to set up camp.
Thanks to Judith’s arrangements, when the siege began, they indeed managed to hold off the demon clan. Those monsters could not corrode the walls protected by barriers, and when the Demon God Offspring began to strike the walls, the “ancestral potions” prepared by Lilith previously were also effective in suppressing them, allowing the atmosphere in the city to remain acceptable for a time.
Seeing that they could not quickly take the royal capital, the demon clan began to choose to camp just outside the city, seemingly unhurried.
Meanwhile, Cliff and Judith propagated that the southwestern army and the Northern Border would soon come to support the royal capital.
The southwestern army had actually been completely delayed by An Zhu, and even if they could get there, they might not necessarily defeat those monsters from the demon clan.
As for the Northern Border, Cliff did not know whether the arrival of the Northern Border would be a blessing or a curse; it was certainly better than the royal capital falling into the hands of the demon clan.
At this moment, Cliff suddenly recalled the prophecy mentioned by Augustus III years ago, which he had seen in the Holy Grail.
The banner of the Northern Wind Bear army entered the royal capital, foretelling that not long after, Cliff himself would step down under the watchful eyes of the high ranks of the Lars Family.
Cliff thought of this and suddenly smiled as if relieved. If the prophecy were true, then at least the royal capital had not ultimately fallen into the hands of the demon clan, which indicated that he was doing pretty well, right?
But the Father King probably never expected that he had calculated all the members of the Lars Family, yet did not foresee that the eventual ruler of the Lars Family would not actually be a person from the Lars Family.
If the Father King had not seen the prophecy back then and everything had proceeded according to normal history, then Lena would not have been arranged to marry down, nor would she have encountered the Northern Border Governor today. Would the Lars Family still be dutifully guarding the Northern Border now?
Although the Lars Family still remained diligent in guarding the Northern Border…
While Cliff was lost in this thought, Lilith was dragging herself towards the direction of the Northern Border.
With the help of 550C, Lilith circumvented everyone and left the royal capital through a secret passage that had existed since the Augustine family rose to power, heading towards the railway leading to the Northern Border.
Lilith had considered returning to the royal capital to find Judith and turn the situation around, but she was too exhausted and no longer wanted to engage in intrigues. Now, all Lilith wanted was to lay down all burdens and rest well.
Moreover, Lilith no longer trusted anyone, or rather, she didn’t want to believe anyone; she just wanted to reach her brother as quickly as possible, as that was the only place she could truly rest.
Once a magnificent robe, it had now been torn into a cloak for the sake of speed. The originally exquisite golden embroidery had become dull and lifeless. Most of the color from the clothes had been covered by the black smoke and dirt produced by explosions. Lilith’s long hair was disheveled over her shoulders, making her look messy.
Lilith did not know that Cliff had already been crowned; she still thought that Claire was after her, so she avoided many people with the help of 550C, who continually adjusted her physical parameters to prevent her from collapsing due to exhaustion. Lilith wanted to speak and could even run a little.
Of course, because she was connected with 550C, even if it was the most minimal connection, it exhausted her spirit and even brought her pain. However, Lilith was afraid that if the connection was lost, she would be captured.
Already close to her limit, Lilith continued moving along the side of the tracks. There used to be many members of the demon clan on the tracks, forcing her to detour, but before she realized it, the numbers of both demons and humans around the tracks had dwindled.
At that moment, the voice of 550C echoed in Lilith’s mind once more: “Navigation finished. For the health of the citizens, the connection will now be terminated.”
In the distance, an armored train approached, not only heavily armored but also equipped with cannons on top. Although there were tracks and sleepers, the quality of the railway on the royal capital side seemed inadequate, causing noticeable vibrations.
The train stopped a short distance in front of Lilith, and a familiar figure jumped out of the carriage, calling out her name in a familiar accent: “Lin Li!”
Tears streamed down Lilith’s face as she felt like a frightened little deer that had finally found its herd. She leaped into that person’s embrace, wiping her tears, saying, “Brother, they bullied me!”
