Chapter 230: line with translation of chapter title

Swan Castle.

Dinnertime.

Selena, who usually didn't care about external affairs, suddenly asked: "Dear, what exactly is the scenery of the eleventh ring like?"

Luosen was using Mage Hand to help her peel a crystal lobster, and hearing this he smiled and said: "Actually, there's not much—just a bit sharper perception and a bit greater strength."

Saying that, he completely extracted the crystal-clear, tender lobster meat from the troublesome shell and gently placed it on the plate in front of Selena.

More strictly speaking, it's far less comfortable than the inside of a magic ring, because the difficulty is many times that of an ordinary Linking Magic Ring, and linking consumes a large amount of energy.

The risk is also many times greater; one might directly face hostile void beings.

Selena's belly had shown signs of pregnancy again; after slimming down from giving birth, her body once again became plump and lustrous, and her appetite became very good.

She savored the delicious food, looking satisfied: "It sounds terrifying."

She was actually just asking casually, because Luosen occasionally discussed magic with her and shared his new achievements in magic, so she had a rough understanding of her husband's progress in magical power.

Upon hearing the news, she thought for a moment and roughly understood what was going on.

Her sister Evelyn beside her asked: "Brother, they all say you possess power greater than that of a god?"

In front of his closest family, Luosen naturally wouldn't say empty, boastful things.

He smiled and said: "Evelyn, a legendary mage is still a mortal. As for great power, it does not come from a mortal's body but from a mortal's wisdom."

Luosen tapped his own forehead, then said to Selena: "Dear, would you like me to peel another one for you?"

Selena felt somewhat tempted, but ultimately shook her head: "No, if I keep eating like this I'll become an ugly fat person."

She felt she was about to grow a double chin.

Luosen, however, thought she looked very good like this, but he respected his wife's opinion and then said: "It seems my work at the academy has caused a huge impact."

Otherwise, it wouldn't have reached Selena's ears that very night.

Selena spread her hands: "Not just huge—it's earth-shattering, almost overturning my magical common sense."

Even his wife, who knows him well, says this; others' shock is naturally even deeper.

Not long after dinner, Luosen received an encrypted call from his mentor: "Luosen, what happened? Why are you suddenly so high-profile?"

Luosen simply explained the situation: "Through some special channels, the Radiant Empire already knows my secret."

"So there's no need to hide it; better to announce it and gain some prestige for myself."

"Alright, as long as you know what you're doing, but this is truly astonishing."

"Nothing astonishing; when I have time I'll tell you the details."

While he was on the call with his mentor, the 'Duke Luosen' diligently working like an old yellow ox in the lakeside study also received a request for an urgent audience.

The one requesting the urgent audience was none other than Envoy Erin of the Radiant Empire.

At this moment, Duke Luosen had been greatly improved by Luosen himself, even carefully disguising his soul and magical auras, and his body received finer enhancements, becoming a perfect external extension of Luosen's true self.

He certainly knew Erin's purpose, and he had a key arrangement regarding this beautiful Radiant Envoy.

It needed to be handled properly.

Thus, he focused most of his attention on Duke Luosen.

He immediately agreed to the audience.

Click—click—click~

The sound of high heels struck the polished stone floor frequently, as urgent as raindrops before a storm.

Before long, Erin ignored the steward Alei's obstruction, hurriedly walked up to Luosen, hastily gave a salute, and then her almond-shaped beautiful eyes stared at him resentfully.

Luosen waved his hand to dismiss the steward Alei who had followed him in, and faced Erin's angry gaze with a smile.

Alei subtly knew their relationship and sensibly closed the study door.

With the sound of the door closing, Erin finally spoke.

"Duke, you really have a way—spilling sweet talk while lying, actually deceiving me for so long!"

Luosen spread his hands: "Miss Erin, actually Empress Zhuo Ya already knew this news; didn't she tell you?"

Erin shook her head: "No."

Luosen then softly sighed: "It seems in the Empress's eyes, Miss Erin is merely a tool for gathering information."

Erin furrowed her brows: "Duke, you don't need to drive a wedge between me and Empress Zhuo Ya; my rank isn't high enough, so not being notified is normal."

"But you, you've lied to me over and over, making me think you actually liked me."

"It's all been fake!"

She had originally planned to stay long in Weilan, even secretly intending to bear one or two children for the Duke, but instead this happened.

Since the Empress already knows and the Duke has no intention of hiding his true power, it shows both sides intend to break completely, and thus she, as a Radiant Envoy, naturally has no need to remain in Weilan.

She wasn't worried that Luosen would kill her; it was just that her dream shattered, making her extremely angry and heartbroken, feeling that there isn't a single good man in this world!

If one were to say Erin at this moment is a blazing fire, Luosen is calm flowing water.

He immediately said: "I want to clarify one thing."

"In terms of personal power, I indeed lied to you, out of political necessity."

"But in private feelings, I am telling the truth."

"I truly do like a beauty like Miss Erin; every word we spoke during intimacy came from my sincere heart."

"But Miss Erin, you approaching me—is it due to the Empress's orders or your own wish?"

Erin was instantly left speechless by the question, her blazing anger dimming considerably.

That's right; her purpose isn't pure either, so she actually has no right to question the Duke.

The anger in her chest instantly turned into a sullen resentment.

She actually knew that being entangled with the Duke was no good, and she certainly shouldn't have high expectations of him.

But deep down she still harbored a faint hope, wishing she held some place in his heart.

But reality disappointed her greatly.

Taking a deep breath, she suppressed the resentment in her heart: 'No matter what, I have to return to my country. Or are you saying you don't intend to let me return to my country, but instead want to throw me straight into prison?'

'I will certainly let you leave. But I want to say, no matter when, I will always remember Miss Erin, as long as you accept me, my arms will always be open to you.'

Pah~

Erin found an outlet for her resentment: 'I will never betray the Empress.'

Luosen raised his eyebrows: 'Is it that you won't betray the Empress? Or that you won't betray the Lord of Light?'

Erin blinked: 'Is there a difference?'

Luosen wore a serious expression: 'Of course there is a difference.'

'The Empress is the sovereign of the empire, having governed the empire for forty years, with the empire's strength growing day by day.'

'The Lord of Light is indeed the founder of the Light Nations, and the empire is merely one of them.'

'To be frank, the Lord of Light's governing ability is not that great. His current exalted position is largely thanks to the Empress's contributions.'

Erin fell silent, because she knew Luosen was right.

In terms of cultivation, the Lord of Light with Ten Rings power is naturally unmatched. No, that's not correct; it cannot be called unmatched, at least it is far inferior to this young duke before us.

When it comes to governing the empire, she has never seen anyone more capable than her cousin; the Lord of Light and her cousin are separated by several levels.

So, deep in her heart, she admires her cousin, even sometimes worships her.

As for the Lord of Light, she is actually afraid. Luosen's eyes flickered slightly, sensing an opportunity, and he continued: 'Miss Erin, you must know quite a bit about the details of the Levinde demon invasion, right?'

Erin nodded: 'I know the general situation.'

Luosen said seriously: 'After experiencing the Levinde demon invasion incident, I have become very clear that our mortal nations can contend, but we must not mutually drain each other.'

'Because the demons in the void are our common enemy.'

'I personally also greatly admire the Empress; if the Empress is willing to coexist peacefully with Weilan, I am willing to help the Empress break through the Ten Rings and even ascend to legendary.'

Erin's heart jolted: 'Duke, are you trying to stir up internal strife in the empire?!'

Luosen immediately retorted: 'Miss Erin, if the Lord of Light is a wise ruler, why can't he tolerate the Empress ascending to legendary?'

'If he is not, then he should all the more stand aside and watch, rather than come out to point fingers at an empire of 600 million, even monopolizing vast state resources and interfering with the true ruler's governance of the nation.'

Erin snorted coldly: 'You are just trying to stir up internal strife in the empire!'

As his words fell, Luosen suddenly raised his hand, and the Mage Hand powered by legendary magic seized Erin and brought her to his side, then had her sit on his lap.

Erin exclaimed in shock: 'What are you doing? Do you want to force me?!'

'I tell you, if you do this, unless you kill me afterward, I will certainly find a way to take revenge!'

Luosen raised his hand to his lips in a gesture: 'Shh~ Let me help you ascend to the Five Rings.'

'I don't want it!'

'The scenery of the Five Rings is truly beautiful, you really don't want it?'

As they spoke, Luosen infused Erin's body with faith power, raising her magic to the Four-ring Peak.

If it were before, he would still need Erin to cooperate with the Linking Magic Ring to help her break through the ring barrier, but after obtaining Naya's secret technique, he no longer needs to.

'I ask again, you really don't need it?'

Erin's will wavered, and she fell silent.

In that moment of silence, Luosen broke through her magic to the Fifth Ring.

Erin muttered: 'It's you who insisted on giving it to me; I don't owe you.'

Luosen held her in his arms, speaking softly: 'You certainly don't owe me; I owe you.'

'After all, it's me who caused your divorce and forced you to return to your country.'

'If I weren't a duke and you weren't an envoy of the empire, we wouldn't be bound by duty, and perhaps we could be happy together, raising children.'

Erin's tensed body softened considerably: 'Don't say such things; that's impossible.'

'It is possible.'

'You're talking nonsense! I don't believe it!'

Luosen leaned close to Erin's ear and whispered: 'Miss Erin, your magical talent is not bad; I can gradually increase your magic, likely up to around the Nine Rings.'

'With Nine Rings power, you could live at least five hundred years, and would remain youthful and beautiful all along.'

'As for me, I could also live about that long, possibly growing a bit, but not too long.'

'As long as we both strive, the Natural Alliance and the Light Empire will surely regain peace, and then we will definitely be able to stay together.'

These words were like the most hidden and softest needle of the soul, silently piercing deep into Erin's soul.

'Duke, stop saying that; I won't believe you anymore!'

Erin shook her head repeatedly, as if trying to fling Luosen's words out of her mind.

Luosen saw her wavering: 'Erin, I don't want to disturb the empire, and I certainly don't want to see the capable Empress dethroned.'

'In fact, I hope she assumes full power, because she is a truly wise ruler, and I enjoy dealing with such rulers.'

'Because our two countries actually have no irreconcilable contradictions, we can fully reach a new consensus through rational negotiation.'

'You also know this deep down: since I am a legendary mage, I certainly have a way to unify the Natural Alliance. No one can stop that, right?'

Erin wanted to say the empire could, but deep inside a voice told her the empire might not be able to, after all, the man before her possesses unparalleled talent.

His magical cultivation is supreme, his governance of the state is equally supreme, and his popular reputation is exalted like a god.

All he needs to do is raise his arms and call, and the Natural Alliance will surely have countless people gather around him, ready to be commanded by him.

The empire can certainly try desperately to stop him, in which case the two countries will fall into a prolonged war.

Perhaps the empire will ultimately win, but it will surely suffer heavy losses, thereby letting the Holy Elf Empire, and even the demon kingdom across the sea, reap a great windfall.

Thus she fell silent.

Luosen continued whispering: 'Erin, in fact you don't need to leave.'

Weilan and the Radiant Empire are far apart; even if they go to war, the intensity will be very limited, and they will not become mortal enemies.

I will also do my best to control the scale of the conflict, so that our two nations' losses are minimized.

But to achieve that, relying on me alone is difficult; I also need the Empress's help. Between me and the Empress, we need a liaison trusted by both sides.

So I hope you will stay in Weilan, bring my words to the Empress, tell her my thoughts, and also bring her thoughts back to me.

Let the Natural Alliance and the Radiant Empire coexist peacefully, support each other, and jointly resist foreign races and demons.

After all, we are both humans, aren't we?

Ailin lightly pressed her lips: "The Empress won't listen to me; she greatly respects my grandfather."

"Ailin~~ how will you know if you don't try?"

"Just like you and me, if we don't try, how will we know we can experience such extreme pleasure?"

"Huh?"

Luosen knows Ailin's body extremely well; as he speaks, his hands are naturally not idle, he secretly strokes and teases.

Ailin instantly recalled those endless wonderful experiences from the past, and she twisted her body somewhat uneasily: "Duke, you are a demon!"

"No, I merely saw the correct path, and I hope our human race can walk upon it."

"You and I both know that the Radiant Empire is so vast that external enemies could never defeat it, but if we walk the wrong path, it could cause the empire to collapse from within."

"And the reason we would take the wrong road is chiefly due to the incompetent's disordered command."

"Therefore, we should let the capable rise and drive the incapable away!"

Ailin fell silent.

"Give it a try, okay?"

As they spoke, Luosen clearly felt he had broken through Ailin's mental defenses, just as his body had also broken through the barrier of her body.

Ailin tightly bit her lip to avoid losing composure, and she gave a slight nod: "Okay, let's give it a try."

Seeing her agree, Luosen secretly breathed a sigh of relief, but he knew this was only a beginning and he still had to promise long-term benefits.

"Once your soul has regained stability, I will continue to increase your magical power, roughly once a year, until you reach the Nine Rings."

"Perhaps when you reach the Nine Rings, I will again find a new method to boost your power, helping you advance to the Ten Rings, and even to Legendary."

Ailin was greatly moved, her eyes like flowing water waves, and she locked gazes deeply with Luosen: "You're not deceiving me, are you?"

"Think about it: aside from hiding my true strength for self-preservation, have I ever lied to you about anything else?"

"You also know I don't make promises lightly. But once I promise, I will certainly do everything I can to fulfill it."

That's also true.

"Don't play around here; if someone finds out, it won't be good. Let's go to the secret room behind the study?"

"Yes, ma'am~"

(End of chapter)