Volume 3, Chapter 68 – Prudence

Dozens of minutes ago, when Yumo left the palace in extreme displeasure and headed to the imperial prison to see Karina, Xiao, the leader of the Blackrose Family, used a communication magic stone to contact her. In order to soothe Lady Yumo, Xiao voiced a proposal.

Upon hearing Xiao’s words, Yumo froze halfway to her destination and came to a stunned halt, looking down at the blue-glowing communication magic stone in her palm with a complex expression. After a moment of silence, Yumo spoke with a troubled gaze.

“Xiao, do you mean… let the Abyssal Demons attack Sky Dome?”

In truth, it wasn’t just Yumo; the members of the Blackrose Family nearby also wore looks of shock, with the exception of a certain old butler who maintained a perpetually meaningful expression. Facing Lady Yumo’s shocked words, Xiao, who was communicating with her, let out a helpless sigh before his voice reached her ears again through the communication magic stone.

“Lady Yumo, I believe this is the most appropriate method right now. You are aware that in recent years, because the frequency of Abyssal Demon invasions has plummeted, the vigilance of the major powers on the Ancheka Continent has weakened. Many southern factions have almost forgotten the demons exist. We originally intended to sound an alarm for the various powers by capturing Fort Garros, warning them not to forget the threat from the north, to stop slacking, to cultivate properly, and to cease their internal strife. However, what was the result? Due to the emergence of the Magic Fission Bomb, almost no one is paying attention to the Abyssal Demons; they are all focused on Xue Tian’ao’s new weapons. These new weapons have only made humanity more contemptuous of the Abyssal Demons’ existence.”

Listening to Xiao’s words, Yumo fell into a temporary silence while the Blackrose Knights nearby, prompted by Saibok’s meaningful glance, chimed in one after another.

“It’s true, Lady Yumo. The news from the Sadik Empire is almost entirely about the Magic Fission Bomb and the genius inventor Xue Tian’ao.”

“Most countries care more about weapons and the threat posed by the Snownight Empire.”

“Yes, Lady Yumo. In the Sadik Empire, many people believe that if they had a few dozen more Magic Fission Bombs, they could level the Deepwinter Forest and completely eradicate the threat of the Abyssal Demons…”

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Once the knights finished speaking, Xiao seized the opportunity to speak again.

“Lady Yumo, if this continues, the human factions will remain focused on internal strife for decades to come. They cannot unite. For instance, right now, the Red Lotus Leaf and Sadik Empires have both mobilized forces in the central region to fight over magic stone mines.”

“What? They’re going to fight again?”

“Yes, all to scramble for the raw materials for the Magic Fission Bombs, and the conflicts go far beyond that. Based on your conversation with Xue Tian’ao just now, it’s not hard to see how inflated the Chosen Son’s ego has become after repelling Lady Karina and acquiring so many new weapons. If he is allowed to maintain such a conceited mindset, only a horrific failure awaits him when he eventually leads an army into the Deepwinter Forest. Not only will he die, but everyone who follows him will perish as well. If the Chosen One fails, I fear no one on the continent will ever dare to step foot in the Deepwinter Forest again. Lady Yumo, you wouldn’t want to see that happen, would you?”

“No…”

‘If that happens, the trial will be a failure…’ Yumo added silently in her heart.

“So, you want to attack Sky Dome…”

“Yes. To make the humans of the continent unite once more, we need to give them a sufficient sense of crisis. We must let them know that if they do not unite against the Abyssal Demons, only extinction awaits them! To that end, destroying a small nation is far from enough; we need to crush a major power! Right now, countless people across the continent are watching Sky Dome and the Chosen Son’s Coronation Ceremony. This is a perfect opportunity. By destroying Sky Dome, we can make the people of the continent remember the terror of the Abyssal Demons and realize their own helplessness. Only then, faced with a massive existential crisis, is it possible for them to unite properly and end their endless, meaningless internal strife. Additionally, the destruction of Sky Dome will also benefit that Chosen Son.”

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“Benefit him?”

“Yes. Lady Yumo, the current Chosen Son is far too arrogant. Relying on a few new weapons, he treats everyone with disdain. He disregards his companions, treats human life like grass, and forces his will upon others. Such a Chosen Son cannot possibly lead humanity to victory; he will only lead them to destruction. He needs to change. And I believe the way to change him is to deliver a crushing failure into his otherwise smooth life, thoroughly breaking his self-confidence and making him realize his true worth.”

Seeing that Yumo did not reply, Xiao continued his persuasion.

“Lady Yumo, if we attack Sky Dome, we can also rescue Marquis Duke and his wife, or rather, give them a chance to clear their names. The children being used to create Soul Crystals can also be saved. Furthermore, during the attack, we can eliminate those who know of your identity as Blood Butterfly. After teaching the Chosen Son a lesson, we would also have the chance to let Shuoyue rewrite his memories…”

Xiao continued to expound on the advantages of his proposal while Saibok and the others nearby offered their support. Yumo gradually felt inclined to agree. However, she still harbored hesitations regarding the direct deployment of Abyssal Demons to attack the capital where the Chosen Son resided. Therefore, the young girl did not immediately agree to Xiao’s proposal.

“I will consider it further.”

After giving this reply, Yumo ended the call and continued toward the imperial prison where Inferno was located alongside Saibok.

Thousands of miles away, Xiao, who was strolling through a cave, did not mind that Lady Yumo had not immediately agreed. Or rather, he had a contingency plan in place.

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‘She didn’t agree immediately?’

‘Lady Yumo is likely concerned about the forces within Sky Dome City. All these years, Lady Yumo has been obsessed with increasing the combat strength of the human factions. Now, the Royal Knight Corps and the Imperial Guard in Sky Dome City have finally gained some strength. To severely wound or even destroy them is something Lady Yumo would naturally be reluctant to do. Plus, there are people from other factions in the city, as well as the Chosen Maiden; Lady Yumo probably doesn’t want them to be caught in the crossfire.’

‘Honestly, if Lady Yumo could just be a bit more cold-hearted, things would be much easier.’ Thinking of this, Xiao couldn’t help but shake his head helplessly.

‘Well, whatever. It’s better she isn’t that ruthless; we prefer the current Lady Yumo. It doesn’t matter if she hasn’t agreed yet. This is only temporary.’

‘Lady Yumo will agree sooner or later.’

Xiao couldn’t help but reveal a confident smile. Unlike Xue Tian’ao’s blind confidence, Xiao’s confidence was rooted in evidence. Since his father died due to the previous Emperor of the Sadik Empire’s carelessness, Xiao had carved the word ‘prudence’ into his very DNA. Since he dared to propose this plan to Lady Yumo, he had naturally made thorough preparations.

Regardless, Xue Tian’ao was the Chosen Son, the existence Lady Yumo had awaited for centuries. To convince Lady Yumo to move against him, he had to thoroughly destroy the Chosen Son’s favorability in her heart and lower it as much as possible. To this end, Xiao had deliberately arranged for Xizhi to gather evidence of Xue Tian’ao’s crimes.

For the things Xue Tian’ao actually did, they added a generous amount of exaggeration. For the things he didn’t do, as long as they were bad things happening in the Snownight Empire, they were all pinned on Xue Tian’ao’s head! There was no need to worry about evidence; perjury was the Nightingale’s specialty.

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In addition to preparing various criminal charges, Xiao had done many other things to ensure total success. This included coercing Moxiao to pass false information to Xue Tian’ao so that his every word and action would constantly lower Lady Yumo’s favorability; ensuring Marquis Xiumu and his wife were successfully captured and taken to Sky Dome; guiding Lady Yumo to happen upon the young boy who was nearly turned into a Soul Crystal; and deliberately publicizing the relationship between Mengxi and Xue Tian’ao, along with his romantic escapades with his five-woman harem, to make Lady Yumo feel displeased.

Beyond that, the most important task was for Karina to pretend to be defeated and imprisoned in the dungeon. Given Lady Yumo’s personality, no matter how much expectation she held for Xue Tian’ao, she would almost certainly turn against him upon learning he had harmed her daughter. And once Lady Yumo personally witnessed Lady Karina’s ‘miserable state’, she would undoubtedly agree to his plan.

The facts unfolded exactly as Xiao had predicted. Upon hearing Karina’s aggrieved sobbing, the powder keg in Yumo’s heart completely exploded.

A moment later, the communication magic stone in Xiao’s palm glowed with a pale blue light as expected. Then, those familiar, slightly cold words transmitted from the stone.

“Xiao.”

“Do you have any instructions, Lady Yumo?”

“The plan you mentioned just now—I agree to it.”

Hearing this, the corners of Xiao’s mouth curled up slightly.