Chapter 419

About fifteen minutes later, Natalie led the so‑called First Guard Regiment of four hundred people, marching mightily away from Dawn Fortress.

Luosen was of course among them.

Through Ande's memory, he already knew that the Dawn Eye Mage Association had a total of six elite guard regiments, each with 400 members.

Among them, the First Guard Regiment was the most elite, with an average soul strength of nine rings, and equipped with powerful magical devices supplied by Yueliangcheng.

At that moment, he followed beside Natalie, secretly observing the combat mages of the First Guard Regiment all along.

"Combat mages themselves aren't very strong, but their staffs are outrageously powerful."

"Not only is the craftsmanship excellent and the performance super strong, but inside they secretly hide three grams of eternal essence. Although the Empress's edict limits maximum output, they still far exceed the mage's own power limit."

Such high‑energy staffs will let combat mages unleash tremendous power, so even though they are only nine‑ring mages, they can easily contend with ordinary mages of fifteen rings or higher.

And there are a full 2,400 such combat mages in the Dawn Eye Mage Association.

They ensure the Association's absolute crushing dominance in the Grey City region.

The Dragon Mountain Brotherhood would find it extremely difficult, nearly impossible, to defeat the Dawn Eye on the front line.

Therefore, the best way is to first sow chaos within the Dawn Eye.

All along the way, Luosen never idled.

He secretly observed Natalie, believing this proud mage lady to be a potential destabilizing factor inside the Dawn Eye.

After watching for a few minutes, he drew two conclusions.

"This lass has a truly graceful figure and such an arrogant personality; she must be delightful."

Of course, that conclusion is irrelevant; the important one is the second.

"Although she is proud, there remains humanity in her heart, worth my effort to win over."

Because a civilian inadvertently blocked the way, other mages would have simply blasted the offender to ashes, but Natalie merely shouted a rebuke and used a force spell to push them to the side.

Thus, he tentatively complained to Natalie.

"I really can't understand why Guinevere would give up a perfectly good Dawn Hand to become a traitor."

"Now things have blown up this big, everyone is dragged down and has no good days."

As soon as he finished speaking, Natalie's face instantly turned cold, and her deep‑blue eyes, very similar to Guinevere's, glared at Luosen maliciously.

"A coward like you could never understand!"

After saying that, she gritted her teeth and muttered, "The people of Yueliangcheng are all shameless scoundrels!"

Her voice was muffled, but Luosen's hearing was sharp; he immediately stepped forward, leaned closer to Natalie, and whispered:

"Miss, you mustn't say such things carelessly; if word gets out carelessly, even the president couldn't save you."

Natalie's face paled slightly, she gave Luosen a sidelong glance, her expression threatening: "Ande, are you planning to inform?"

Luosen immediately shook his head: "Of course not; I'm just reminding you, after all our Mage Association still relies on Yueliangcheng's power, and souring relations is never good."

Natalie's expression eased a bit: "You're sensible."

After saying that, her repressed dissatisfaction seemed to find a confidant; she switched to telepathy: "She is my best friend; I understand her choice, even admire her courage. If it were me facing such an ordeal, I might not dare to do the same."

Luosen replied via telepathy: "I'm really curious—what exactly happened?"

He truly didn't know, because Ande didn't either; he only knew Guinevere had suddenly defected.

Natalie glanced at Luosen, her eyes full of contempt: "Don't pry into things you shouldn't know, or you'll lose your life."

After that, she indeed said nothing more.

But the information revealed was already enough, more than enough for Luosen to make a decision.

"The Dawn Eye's young lady despises Yueliangcheng intensely and even sympathizes with the traitor's plight; thus, she only needs a small push to finally defect from the Association."

If Natalie betrays, it will be a huge blow to the Dawn Eye, while for the Dragon Mountain Brotherhood it will be great news, greatly aiding their bid to seize control of Grey City.

"How to push her? Luosen's mind turned slightly and he had an idea: 'This still needs to be done via Yueliangcheng's envoy.'"

Thus he used telepathy again, whispering: "Miss, Alecks is extremely, extremely arrogant—his eyes literally sit on top of his head."

"Later you must not confront him head‑on; you must soothe him with kind words, lest you anger him."

Upon hearing this, Natalie became even angrier.

"Arrogant?"

"Hmph—just borrowing the Viscount of Kentgold's authority, but if the viscount knew his antics in Grey City, he'd never protect him, so he has no basis for arrogance!"

Luosen immediately added fuel: "He's still a seventeen‑ring mage, Miss; you'd better not provoke him lightly."

"Hmph—I still have the First Guard Regiment with me!" Luosen hastily urged: "Miss, you must not act rashly; once you deploy the First Guard Regiment against Yueliangcheng's envoy, things could get out of hand."

Natalie waved her hand impatiently: "Ande, shut up; I've got it under control."

Luosen immediately fell silent, but deep down he secretly contacted the Joyful Disciple Liv, briefly briefing her: "Liv, Natalie is now seething; one misstep could lead to a massacre of the Joyful Sparrow—you'd better prepare."

Liv was extremely sharp; hearing the situation, she knew this fire was surely stirred up by Luosen.

She cooed a complaint: "Your Majesty, you've really gotten me into big trouble."

"You can't say it like that; half this trouble is of your own making—you shouldn't have charmed Alecks."

"But regardless, the deed is done; what matters now is how to respond."

Liv immediately asked: "Your Majesty, what do you have in mind?"

"Alecks is Yueliangcheng's envoy, and the Dawn Eye is Yueliangcheng's claw in the mortal realm; I want you to cooperate with me so that an irreparable rift appears between them."

Upon hearing this, Liv understood and chuckled: "This isn't hard, but Your Majesty surely won't let me work for free, right?"

Luosen had already prepared for this, since Liv isn't his person, and her master, the Joyful One, has clearly stated she will not take part in his wager with the Annihilation Goddess.

Logically, Liv should have no entanglement with him.

But Liv is a mortal; she is indeed the Joyful One's disciple now, though she may not remain so.

And Liv's business ability, especially her talent for gathering intelligence, is truly formidable, giving Luosen great help.

Thus, Luosen plans not only to turn Natalie, but also to turn Liv.

Perhaps this is an affront to The Joyful One, but we can simply make amends later when the chance arises.

Thus, he gave a light smile and said word by word: 'Lifu, if you can always help me, I will help you ignite the divine fire.'

Lifu exclaimed in shock: 'Your Majesty, this reward is truly too great; I cannot bear it.'

Although she said that, Luosen clearly heard her excitement from her tone.

And Luosen made this promise because, after igniting the divine fire, he understood the limits of a true god's power.

He knew that The Joyful One Talanaya, who dwells in a distant otherworld, had only a very weak hold over Lifu, his follower.

He also knew that, as long as Lifu did not actively pray, The Joyful One would find it hard to locate her soul, let alone sense her thoughts.

Obviously, Lifu also vaguely understood this, and she was greatly excited by the reward of becoming a true god.

Thus, her soul experienced undulating waves that could not be restrained.

Luosen pressed on: 'Lifu, in the mortal realm I have already unified the entire plane of my Natural Empire, and I now have as many as 4.8 billion followers. I bet this number surely far exceeds that of your master, right?'

Lifu nodded: 'That's right, it far exceeds—it is hundreds of times more than my master's, and has even reached half the number of followers of the Supreme God.'

Luosen immediately said: 'Now it is half, but my plane is still quite vacant, with a large continent remaining undeveloped. Once that new continent is also filled, my follower count will catch up to that of the Supreme God.'

'Moreover, I have many supporters in other planes; as long as I employ a few tactics to master those planes and gain billions more followers, it is no difficult task.'

'I proudly say that my future prospects are astonishingly vast; if you are willing to ally with me, your future will absolutely surpass your present.'

Lifu's heart fluttered, yet she hesitated: 'Your Majesty, what you speak of are future matters, and future matters are not guaranteed.'

'Indeed, they are not guaranteed. But all great prospects in the world are wagered upon, are they not?'

Lifu, however, sighed: 'Your Majesty, to be frank, I am greatly moved, but I cannot betray my master.'

'For if I ever harbor a different thought, my master will eventually sense it, and with just a single thought of hers she can reduce my soul to nothing.'

Luosen chuckled: 'Rest assured, she cannot do that. Or rather, I already possess the ability to stop her.'

Lifu exclaimed in astonishment: 'How is that possible? Could it be that Your Majesty has already ignited the divine fire?'

Luosen chuckled: 'Still a bit short, but don't forget I possess the Scepter of Light; I fortunately figured out the workings of this true god artifact, and I have fashioned a Ring of Light after its likeness.'

'If you are willing to help me, I will give it to you; when needed, it can protect your safety.'

Even through the soul bond, Luosen clearly felt the surging waves in Lifu's heart, and could even faintly sense, via those soul waves, the violent beating of her heart.

About ten seconds later, Lifu gave a clear reply: 'Your Majesty, I am yours; you may command me as you wish.'

Luosen smiled with pursed lips: 'A wise choice; carry on.'

In a short time, he used his own source essence to condense a Ring of Light that guards the soul, and then, employing the Secret Passage Technique, he directly delivered this true god artifact to Lifu's side.

Lifu, who was in the Joyful Bird, reached out and took it, giving a light laugh.

'Your Majesty, from now on, just watch my performance.'

(End of chapter)