**Chapter 631: 109. The Cup**
“The human Allied Forces have been defeated, and a large number of deserters have fled back to the northern false court. The false court is in turmoil; they must be worried about us moving north to hold them accountable. Perhaps the dragon people of the false court are already preparing to escape to the Western Continent with their families. In recent days, many subhuman tribes that originally allied with the false court have sent envoys back to deliver messages to us.”
In Fisher’s room, Raphael was touching his belly while discussing the current situation of the Dragon Court, watching Fisher pack some personal belongings into a box.
At that moment, he had also changed into a piece of clothing from Nali that he had taken back from Keken, and his stylish appearance reminded Raphael of how he looked when they first met.
As she thought about this, her tail also swayed slightly behind her.
“Well, there shouldn’t be any significant issues on the ground here. Even if you and Jasmine don’t step in, they should be unable to gain any momentum, right?”
“Mm-hmm, but if we make an appearance, it can minimize the soldiers’ casualties and put our minds at ease. Jasmine and I will handle it properly. As for you, it wouldn’t hurt to be a bit cautious when going to Nali. Once things here stabilize, I will head to Nali.”
“Just stay here obediently, okay? Don’t forget, you have a child in your belly. Wait for me to find a way to save him. Until then, don’t put yourself in danger.”
Raphael pouted. When Fisher wouldn’t let her go to Nali, her inexplicable vigilance that had arisen since her pregnancy immediately turned on a red light, and she suspiciously asked,
“You don’t want me to go to Nali; it wouldn’t be because you’re secretly up to no good with that Elizabeth, would it? I really don’t want to suddenly receive news one day that ‘Empress Elizabeth is finally getting married’ from Nali.”
“I’m just worried about your health, so don’t worry.”
Fisher smiled helplessly and responded.
But to be honest, he had many goals for returning this time; primarily to resolve the issue of completing the manual, secondly to attend Teacher Heilson’s funeral… and then deal with his entanglements with Elizabeth.
It wasn’t clear if that’s what Fisher was really thinking, but that’s what he told Raphael.
“In any case, we all need to be careful this time, you know? Let’s go; Jasmine is waiting for us downstairs. I’ll take you down.”
In the end, Raphael said this. Fisher nodded, remembering her words.
However, what mainly worried him about Nali was still the chaos surrounding the Apocalypse Prophecy and the completion manual; as for Elizabeth, it probably wouldn’t be a problem for someone who had now entered the mythical rank, right?
Fisher changed into a traditional gentleman’s outfit from Nali, picked up the box he had organized from the bed, and smiled at Raphael beside him, saying,
“Alright, this is the messenger. You can contact me anytime if there’s an issue.”
“This type of messenger can probably only be used once given the distance. How can you talk at any time?”
Raphael pouted and reached out to adjust his collar, although it was already very neat; she just casually touched his face before letting go of his hand and leading him out of the royal court and the Blessing Tower.
Outside the Blessing Tower, Jasmine and Emhart were already waiting. Before Fisher went to the Demon Dynasty, he temporarily entrusted Emhart to Jasmine’s care.
But there wasn’t much to take care of; he hardly stayed with Jasmine and just wandered around the Dragon Court every day like a street urchin. Anyone who didn’t know would think he was some kind of ghost.
“Is Baemon locked up well? Is she never coming out again?”
“.”
As soon as he was back on Fisher’s shoulder, Emhart couldn’t help but lean in and say this, leaving Fisher speechless.
He patted Emhart’s book cover and said with a smile,
“No, actually she can come and go freely, and she said she misses you and wants to come over to see you.”
“?”
Emhart’s mouth dropped open, and after hearing that, he suddenly lost his balance and almost fell over. Fortunately, Fisher was quick, catching him just in time and saving him from disaster.
“No, no! We need to run, Fisher! She’s coming again!”
“.Alright, we’re leaving now.”
Fisher smiled, waved at Raphael and Jasmine as they saw him off, then picked up the box, preparing to head to the Southern Continent’s port,
“Teacher Fisher! Once everything here is done, I… I’ll come find you!”
Raphael was initially smiling and waving, but when she heard Jasmine’s words beside her, she pouted too. She gently tapped Jasmine’s butt with her tail, causing her to exclaim in surprise while adding,
“And there’s Raphael too!”
“Take care all the way, Fisher.”
Fisher soon disappeared beyond the Blessing Tower, forcing Raphael and Jasmine to come to terms with the reality that their partner was temporarily leaving.
Perhaps only Emhart in his arms knew of his whereabouts and was about to become an inseparable friend on this journey. So before that, Fisher retracted his earlier joke,
“What I said earlier was just to tease you; Hela won’t come out for a while.”
“.Damn, you scared me to death!”
The crimson mist in the sky continued to spread, completely shrouding a large part of the Southern Continent’s sky, which also meant that the burning crevice was heading toward the Western Continent, entering the realm of the ocean.
And the war on the Southern Continent was just beginning.
The cold winds of the Northern Region howled fiercely, but on Sema Snow Mountain, it felt exceptionally warm because the atmosphere inside the Parasol Tree was particularly lively at the moment.
“Look! It really flew up! It really flew up!”
“Captain! You’re just amazing! How did you do it?!”
At that moment, in a certain hall of the Parasol Tree, a multitude of mechanisms radiating blue light was rapidly spinning in the wind, emitting dense sounds like a flock of crows, exciting the original crew of the Iceberg Queen who were watching below.
Captain Alagina smiled as she looked at the mechanisms dancing in the sky; these were the combat mechanisms she had personally manufactured and repaired over this period.
Ever since she got that treasure capable of entering a mysterious space, under the guidance of “David,” she had become proficient in manufacturing some basic mechanisms.
It would have been too abrupt to directly retrieve them from that mysterious space, so for the time being, she had been pretending to study and research the mechanisms, and even her crew who had been following her hadn’t realized what had happened, thinking that their captain had the corresponding talents.
“Buzz, buzz, buzz!!”
As those mechanisms all landed on the ground, her crew rushed forward, surrounding her and cheering.
But she just smiled slightly and then turned her gaze toward another direction in the hall, where Valentina, dressed in phoenix attire, was quietly watching.
This was the training ground where Alagina tested weapons for the Parasol Tree, symbolizing the successful application of the practical combat mechanisms she had developed for it. Unlike the humanoid mechanisms from the Turan Family, which were expensive and complicated to manufacture, these were more convenient and simpler, but their lethality shouldn’t be underestimated.
This had made Alagina and her crew’s status within the Parasol Tree increasingly important, but this importance was rather subtle. Perhaps the leaders of the six clans were all aware of the specific reasons.
Captain Alagina was very likely the lover of the Phoenix’s husband.
Of course, conversely, Alagina’s crew also considered the phoenix to be their captain’s man, but the situation in the Parasol Tree was too delicate to say so openly.
They tacitly skipped over this matter; Alagina joined the Parasol Tree, and Valentina accepted her, with neither mentioning personal matters, resembling a bond between a talent scout and a steed. Still, only they themselves knew how the situation truly was.
“That mixed-blood little girl has some capabilities; I even suspect she might be a slave raised by those miscellaneous angels for thousands of years. However, ever since Mikhael’s machinery was introduced, all slaves should have been freed; that shouldn’t be the case.”
After exchanging a glance with Alagina, Valentina’s ears gradually deafened as everyone’s cheers faded away, with the voice of the Duke of Peach occupying her mind,
“Those mechanisms and those you previously showed me from that whatever…”
“Nali.”
“Right, the mechanisms from that human fish country are different from now; what she makes is better.”
Valentina blinked, leaning on a nearby stone railing, slowly walking as she questioned,
“What’s the difference? The Nali mechanisms should be more refined and detailed than Alagina’s mechanisms now.”
“Well, that’s just a difference in appearance; the real difference in mechanisms isn’t here. Those mechanisms you saw before are mostly for individual combat, controlled by those distant human fish, right? But the mechanisms before you can act collectively; can’t you see the difference? Mikhael’s mechanisms have a kind of interconnection, but the human fish mechanisms I see now lack this property; it seems to have been closed off by someone.”
“.A network?”
Valentina muttered something, and the nearby test had already concluded. Seeing that Valentina was still there, Alagina prepared to come over and report, but her personal maidservant entered from outside the hall, excitedly addressing Valentina,
“Valentina, I have two very important messages to share with you. Just now, news came from Clan Dar: among the northern kingdoms, except for the Sardinia Kingdom and Turan Family, the other countries have sent envoys to seek an audience with you. Clan Dar said that once they witnessed your true form, there’s likely a willingness to establish a coalition of kingdoms around the Parasol Tree.”
Valentina smiled slightly, saying,
“It seems the situation in the Northern Region is much better than I expected.”
“But…”
Heidi Lin first conveyed the good news but also needed to supplement information about another situation,
“Baalien’s leader also mentioned that recently the Turan Family and Sardinia Kingdom have been increasingly close to Nali. According to reliable sources, the alliance between Sardinia, the Turan Family, and Nali against us is already a done deal.”
“Are those miscellaneous fools crazy?”
Valentina frowned, expressing her surprise,
“As far as I know, Nali not only opened up a front in the Southern Continent but also infiltrated the Western Continent’s east coast. Now they want to meddle in the Northern Region as well? All in this supportive manner… what do they want? We haven’t caused them trouble; why are they coming to us first?”
Heidi Lin smiled but remained silent, evidently unsure of the answer. However, the voice of the Duke of Peach softly spoke in Valentina’s mind,
“Those who receive benevolence gather more support; those who lose their way gather little support. Although they’re all fish, the principle is the same; they can’t be clueless. Yet they still insist on this; according to what I’ve observed, that person named ‘Elizabeth’ has already reached here, indicating she isn’t the dumbest among the fish… Something out of the ordinary usually indicates something sinister, especially in such tumultuous times; I have a bad feeling.”
Even the Duke of Peach thinks this way?
During this time, aside from keeping her from running out into the sun which had made her emotional, she had been basically indifferent.
Phoenix, fish; humans, fish; ogres, fish; slimes, fish.
Anyway, everything is fish. Valentina had gone from being annoyed by this term to almost being accustomed to it; she almost used the Duke of Peach’s description when mentioning Nali just now.
“Is it possible that what you mentioned is some kind of chaos?”
“Who knows. In any case, stay a little cautious.”
Valentina conversed with the Duke of Peach in her mind, but she saw that Heidi Lin was still hesitating, so she couldn’t help but continue to ask,
“.Is there something else, Heidi Lin?”
“Young lady, guess what.”
“Huh?”
Valentina opened her mouth, looking at Heidi Lin’s smiling face, feeling a bit lost. Meanwhile, the Duke of Peach in her mind yawned, mumbling,
“That fish found a lead on your dead husband; don’t guess. You’re so stupid.”
“Fisher? Heidi Lin, did you find a lead on Fisher?!”
“Eh, how did you know, young lady?”
Heidi Lin was a bit surprised, covering her mouth. At this moment, Alagina, walking over from a distance, happened to overhear their conversation clearly,
“News from Baalien’s leader says that Fisher has been confirmed to be alive and is about to go to Nali for his teacher’s funeral.”
At this moment, in the Golden Palace of Nali, it was very quiet in the outer court.
Amidst the dazzling gold and jade, there was the golden throne passed down through generations in Nali. Before the throne, a painter was excitedly raising the pen in his hand, dropping thick oil paint on the paper of the drawing board stroke by stroke.
This was actually a tradition of the Godlin Family. In the past, whenever the king of Nali was about to celebrate his birthday, they would invite the court painter to draw a portrait of them.
Although with the advancement of time, high-end items like cameras have become popularized, as a royal tradition, they still preferred this form of artistic creation.
Empress Elizabeth also followed this tradition, but she was usually busy with duties, so every time she participated in the birthday portrait, it felt more like a short rest. She would don her elaborate attire, wearing a golden crown and holding a golden scepter, but she would close her eyes and sit resting on the throne.
Meanwhile, the painters below, who often needed several hours to complete their drawings, had to meticulously finish her portrait, only asking the empress to open her eyes at the very end to fill in the eyes of the portrait.
“Your Majesty… You can open your eyes now.”
At this moment, the painter below finally set down the paintbrush, his breath heavy. Although his face was pale, he still looked crazed, intensely staring at the almost completed portrait before him, ignoring etiquette as he called up to the resting Elizabeth above.
Not far away, Diane, watching all this, furrowed her brows. Just as she was about to scold the painter for his impoliteness, Elizabeth on the throne waved her hand, silencing Diane’s words.
On the throne, wearing a splendid golden-white robe, draped in a red cloak, Elizabeth opened her hollow golden eyes, tightly gripping the scepter beside her, and using her other empty hand, she waved her fingers and instructed,
“Continue painting.”
“Yes, Your Majesty!”
The painter excitedly bowed his head, quickly turning his head back and rapidly moving the brush to finish the painting.
Almost thirty-four years old now.
Elizabeth unconsciously let her gaze drift off, seemingly without any anticipation for the upcoming birthday.
She just wanted to know if the news delivered by the barbarian general from Cardu in the east was true.
Is Fisher really in the Southern Continent?
If not, then where is he?
No matter, she would know soon enough.
“Alright, Your Majesty! It’s complete!!”
Elizabeth’s vacant gaze gradually returned as she looked at the painter below, whose expression was somewhat frenzied and mirrored that of the painters from a few years ago. She gestured for Diane to bring the painting closer.
Diane bowed her head and walked forward, taking the painting off the easel and skillfully placing it into the prepared frame. The remaining storage and preservation work had not yet been completed, but it was important to let the empress review it first; if she had any dissatisfaction, it would need to be revised.
But Elizabeth was never the type to be difficult about such things; to her, this was just a tradition.
Before bringing up the painting, Diane couldn’t help but glance at it and softly voiced her concern to Elizabeth,
“Your Majesty, it’s just like in previous years; you’re again painted with your eyes closed, and what about the cup in your hand…”
“.
“Elizabeth wearily stared at the oil painting she was holding up, and saw that on the still wet oil painting, she was in splendid attire, possessing both authority and unparalleled beauty, exactly like the radiant empress of Nali at this moment.
However, somewhat strangely, the painted Elizabeth still maintained her closed eyes, despite the painter specifically asking her to open her eyes to complete that last bit.
Moreover, below, Elizabeth’s right hand still held the scepter while the other hand held an unusually large golden wine glass.
Diane helplessly looked at Elizabeth’s now empty left hand and then at the portrait hanging in the palace, noticing that over the years, Elizabeth’s birthday portraits were basically identical apart from variations in painting techniques, styles, and the clothing in which Elizabeth was depicted.
In the painting, Elizabeth always had her eyes closed, holding the scepter and another inexplicable golden cup.
“Your Majesty, should I get another painter to redo it?”
Diane was as considerate as ever. Just like the first painter who had painted for her after she ascended the throne with such careless work, Diane insisted on punishing him.
But today, Elizabeth, just like the first time, merely gazed at the painting, then smiled faintly, raising her hand to halt Diane’s movement.
Elizabeth waved her hand, then looked a bit bored at the painter below, who was still dazed and staring at the board, softly saying,
“It’s fine; it’s just a formality. Just get it done… and take him away to rest; after this painting is sorted out, hang it up.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
Diane turned her head to prepare to obey the command, ready to summon other servants to take the dazed painter away, but at this moment, behind her, Elizabeth’s voice suddenly floated in,
“And have the arrangements for attending Teacher Heilson’s funeral the day after tomorrow been made?”
Diane was slightly taken aback, then smiled as she turned back, saying softly,
“Don’t worry, Your Majesty; everything there has already been entrusted to our Inner Court to handle.”
Elizabeth’s hollow golden eyes were still calm, but there seemed to be a terrifying faint light that could turn people to stone within them; however, that fear swiftly vanished, easily dissipating as Elizabeth’s gaze retracted, saying,
“That’s good; I want everything to be meticulously planned without error.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
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**(End of Chapter)**
