Chapter 201: Single-Minded

"Old people always like to chatter about nonsense."

Like a granddaughter being scolded by her grandfather about her embarrassing past in front of acquaintances, Dai Niya grumbled as she walked toward the tent over there.

Earlier, Knight Captain Kain, after drawing Dai Niya's attention, had struggled to conceal the fact that there were other honest knights who said nothing.

After learning of it, she gave no response.

Dai Niya herself didn't really care—after all, even the most painful scars were old ones, and she had grown accustomed to the looks of flattery mixed with fear, even hatred.

For those who believed rumors, a surface-level courtesy was enough; she no longer expected their understanding.

Even without the rumors, the kingdom had become what it was, and the royal family bore undeniable responsibility. Beneath the girl's confident exterior lay unspoken shame and helplessness.

"What would he think?"

For no reason, the girl on the journey felt a sudden sadness, almost like crying.

She remembered the first time Li En looked at her—surprised, bewildered, yet utterly free of the hatred and fear others held in their eyes.

At that time, he probably didn't know her title: "the princess of a fallen kingdom."

As she reached the tent's entrance, she grew afraid; she touched the ring hanging over her chest, trembling slightly.

To be rejected by the ignorant and outsiders was painful but bearable—they didn't understand me—but if someone I trusted betrayed me again, even I would be wounded once more.

If Li En looked at me with that same gaze—the one of respect tinged with fear—I would be heartbroken.

"Dai Niya is absolutely not the princess of a fallen kingdom!"

But as she drew near the tent, she heard that man, in a firm, unyielding tone, speaking words of blind favoritism with no basis.

"Dai Niya has nothing to do with the second princess of the prophecy; she could not possibly be the cause of the kingdom's fall."

Li En said it calmly and definitively.

This was also a declaration and stance: within his sphere of influence, Dai Niya must not be regarded as the princess of a fallen kingdom.

He gave no reason—only treated it as fact.

But in truth, he had grounds for saying this, nearly certain proof—only the reason could not be spoken aloud.

"Lex is the Many-Faced Dragon—he is unpropheciable! Therefore, this prophecy cannot unfold as intended!"

This was information Li En had verified through countless spirits: the Many-Faced Dragon is only detected after death (his face data erased); all other known prophecies are invalid.

Thus, if Lex has two descendants, they have undoubtedly intervened deeply, twisting this fate, this future.

"Then who is the second princess of the prophecy?"

"Of course, the younger sister of the previous princess—the legendary illegitimate daughter, Dai Niya's aunt."

Others nodded in understanding—but not because they believed him; they merely "understood" him.

Li En had clearly declared his stance: if someone must be blamed, burdened with the curse and hatred, then let it be the missing royal sister.

"This favoritism isn't even pretending?"

They regarded Li En's attitude with subtle unease—this defense was too firm, too irrational.

I'm being unreasonable. I'm being biased. So what?!

But Li En knew: what he said was very likely the truth.

If the prophecy was true, then this future was already the result of interference by the Many-Faced Dragon—the prophecy had been rewritten.

Suppose, hypothetically, the Many-Faced Dragon Lex had never existed—then the two princesses would have grown up normally, fulfilling the prophecy's prerequisites.

The second princess would have been Dai Niya's aunt!

"In my personal judgment, Dai Niya's birth prevented the prophecy from manifesting in its worst possible form. The prophecy has already been fulfilled—and the kingdom still endures."

Without Lex, fate would not have been altered—the kingdom would already be destroyed.

In truth, whether the "Elephant" crisis or the "Dragon Catastrophe," neither could have been averted without the support of the "Strongest Heroine."

Lex may indeed have been a scoundrel—but he likely steered the future toward a better outcome.

From this perspective, the queen's marriage (and ascension) and Dai Niya's birth signified the end of the kingdom's destruction prophecy (the first princess became queen, thus eliminating the second princess)!

"She's not a cursed child—she's a blessed child."

Her birth meant the kingdom's rebirth, meant reconstruction after disaster.

To label her the "cursed child" is utterly unjust.

Li En declared this with finality, signaling that this topic was closed—believe him, and no more discussion needed.

"Snap!"

A sudden sound outside drew the attention of Dimon, who was leaning near the tent flap.

He stuck his head out to look—but saw nothing.

"What was it?" Li En asked.

"Nothing. Probably just a small animal. This is a secure zone guarded by knights."

The minor incident should have passed unnoticed—but at that moment, someone asked a question.

"Uh… how did the former princess manage it? Prophecies aren't without reason, are they?"

In this world, prophecy was a specialized discipline, with numerous classifications and schools, often involving forces of cause, effect, and fate.

The birth of the second princess caused the kingdom's fall? How could a princess secluded in the inner chambers possess the power to destroy a nation?

This seemingly trivial question, Li En had planned to brush off—but after consideration, he realized it might be crucial.

Why would the birth of a second princess lead to the kingdom's fall? The prophecy was not baseless—it likely detected a certain possibility. His experience with the serpent had deepened his understanding of prophecy and fate: it seemed not fixed, yet to shift it required key nodes!

The key node in this prophecy was naturally the royal family's second princess.

"Could it be that the royal family's second princess was born with the inherent power and fate to destroy the kingdom?" At that moment, Li En recalled abilities like oaths and contracts, which often carried bizarre, rule-bound restrictions.

This could be easily verified: just check the royal genealogy to see if any generation ever had a second princess.

Other nobles might have short genealogies, but this ancient royal family's records were long and detailed.

【Uncovered part of the truth.】

And the Heroic Soul Codex seemed to verify the authenticity of this direction.

Li En silently noted it down, preparing to ask Miss Shaliman later to investigate Dai Niya's family tree. He felt a sense of impending trouble, but there was probably no other way.

He had already realized that past events were now entangled with reality, and some things could no longer be avoided.

Having confirmed the general direction of the small group, Li En turned his gaze outward; high-ranking knights rarely had opportunities to socialize in their daily lives.

Since he was idle anyway, he went to the neighboring grocery store to buy some alcohol (on a big clearance sale) and ran over to the knights to mend fences.

After all, he was the one who had asked the sensitive question, leading to their reprimand.

The knights, who were already gathered around the fire, saw the alcohol arrive. The veteran knights and knight captains pretended not to see it; with no enemy likely to be encountered today, and with guards and support mages present, they simply let them gather.

After a few cups of wine and some boasting, Li En also recounted his battles in the underworld, especially the bloody fights against those giant beasts; the atmosphere naturally became lively, and the slight barriers vanished.

And as they chatted, without Li En needing to guide them, the topic naturally turned to the Heroine Laina they had discussed during the day.

But this time, with veteran knights watching and having just boasted about battle stories, everyone avoided some sensitive matters, mainly mentioning past battle experiences.

"The Heroine Laina swung her sword, and a huge crack appeared before her eyes; terrible power tore everything apart. That sword scar even remains now, like a canyon."

"His sword was fast and precise, flashing like brilliant starlight, each strike bringing forth the enemy's blood."

As they drank, even the veteran knight Kahn started boasting himself.

Although Li En knew the fan filter here was probably quite heavy, it should also indirectly prove the strength of that Lex.

And in the process, Li En also learned some additional intelligence.

For instance, Lex was a rare pure warrior with absolutely no supernatural abilities.

And his Soul Ability had long been known to the world.

"One Path: focusing all attention on a single thing is the source of his strength."

This Soul Ability, which sounded not very strong and even quite ordinary, shaped a top-tier powerhouse of that era.

Soul Abilities are the greatest secret of every supernatural being, but many among the knights and warriors do not hide them; the Heroine Laina is even a model in this regard, feeling there is nothing to be targeted about it.

This ability serves more as a boost during training.

In actual combat, however, it is a double-edged sword; it is said that when he becomes obsessed, he can forget everything around him, wholeheartedly completing the one and only task and taking it to the extreme.

This also means he is a true battle maniac.

During one war, when their side declared a retreat, Lex, already in a full combat state, stayed behind.

The result was that the retreating commander noticed something was wrong, and only upon returning to the battlefield did he discover that the enemy's legion had been slaughtered and scattered by him.

"Actually, Heroine Laina's Soul Ability is also similar to Lord Lex's; she has always respected Lord Lex, even taking a quite similar name."

Li En also unexpectedly learned of Miss Lana's Soul Ability, but afterwards, even if she possessed a Soul Ability, it probably could not be activated in the same way.

She did not actively make it public; during the Hero selection after Lex, certain intelligence was made public for decision-makers and knights to vote on, causing much data to spread.

The name she chose herself was "The Singular Purpose," but it actually pointed to another meaning.

"Lock onto a target and do everything possible to complete it/hit it." It is said that causality is even involved; any target locked onto by her will definitely be hit.

This ability is very strong and is almost a perfect match for the Hero's combat system of turning the tide from a desperate situation and killing with a single strike.

It is also for this reason that she successfully obtained Lex's sword, equipment, and title.

"What a pity; Laina was originally a member of the Royal Knights, the youngest genius of all. Back then, she could have gone further."

Yet even the veteran knight who favored Laina the most, her mentor, did not think Laina could compare to Lex; the strength was not even on the same dimension.

At this moment, Li En could hardly understand it: how could such an ordinary Soul Ability and a pure warrior exert such outrageous strength? With the Hero's set, Laina's ability felt like true invincibility.

To make such a Laina completely incomparable, just how strong was Lex?

"Laina was not weak among the Heroes of all generations; it is truly a pity. Otherwise, the one holding the flag right now should have been her."

And not far from the knights sighing for Laina, little Miss Lana was happily eating roasted meat, her mouth full of oil. Her small hand quietly reached for the beer cup on the table, but was glared back by Li En.

Dimon and the others also joined in; for them, this was also a rare opportunity to socialize.

Even Her Highness the Princess and Miss Shaliman were chatting in the ladies' corner.

However, whenever Li En looked over, he was always glared at by the unusually sensitive Dai Niya.

It seemed he had accidentally offended her again? Li En scratched his head, unable to find a reason.

"Forget it. Women always have their days, uh. Why are you looking at me again? When did I offend her this time?"

(End of this chapter)