Chapter 232: Princess Sisters

When many things first happened, no one noticed their significance; all anyone cared about was surviving the chaos in their own lives.

Only when everything settled down and they looked back suddenly did they realize they were living through history—history that future generations would likely debate for decades, even centuries.

"Is Lex Thorne really that valuable?"

Yes, he is. Many things aren't judged by analysis or commentary, but by actions.

Not only has Huicheng and the entire kingdom reacted fiercely, but even former independent cities and states that once belonged to the kingdom have sent envoys, determined to uncover the truth behind the "Heroic Spirits Manifesting."

Immediately after, every true god church dispatched divine envoys and high priests; every international organization and major power on the continent sent representatives, all determined to confirm whether Lex Thorne had truly reappeared.

At the same time, they all adjusted their relations with the royal house—suddenly, everyone became impeccably polite.

As Dainya said earlier, the Heroic Hall has legends and records: it is said that in times of crisis, ancient heroic spirits transform into Heroic Spirits, taking temporary flesh to protect the world.

But this comes with extremely strict limitations; even national annihilation cannot activate Heroic Spirits. Only large-scale racial massacres or world-ending crises have ever been recorded to summon multiple Heroic Spirits.

To many, they are another kind of "divine envoys," though their actions are driven by a higher-level "will," and they almost always depart immediately after completing their task.

Heroic Spirits cannot remain long, but even so, they still fear Lex—he was given one day, and if he can save one city, he can destroy ten.

And there are no shortage of forces, organizations, and nations that once held grudges against the kingdom.

"Even if we say nothing, the kingdom can still gain more room to survive internationally."

A "nuclear bomb"—merely by existing—is enough to gain greater international leverage.

Li En was utterly confused: the more he learned about Lex, the less he understood the other powers' unease. In Li En's eyes, Lex was simply a straightforward good person—with a surprisingly high moral baseline when rational and clear-headed.

"Should good people be pointed at with guns? Should good people be asked how many bowls of noodles are in their stomachs?" It was absurd, yet many genuinely feared neither powerful good people—they feared only villains and butchers.

But in others' eyes, another nation's Heroine was their own nation's nightmare-god of death.

Lex's historical records were never friendly; upon returning and seeing the mess left behind, what he might do to those who had kicked him while he was down was anyone's guess.

The Queen and Dainya will be extremely busy in the coming period—many factions will come to express goodwill.

Li En was even more baffled: just by showing up, that useless Heroine made the world brighten?

And reality was this absurd: the kingdom did nothing, yet seemed to immediately enter a phase of rapid revival.

"But the mess he left behind must still be dealt with."

The "bills" laid before Li En were, frankly, urgent.

Haela only needed to know Li En's situation to warrant action—but could she truly be eliminated outright?

"What is my elder sister thinking?"

Dainya was thoroughly exasperated. These bills weren't expensive—mostly snacks and street food: grilled fish, grilled squid, grilled meat, fish cakes, candy, sweet soups, and more.

"According to the receipts, she ate at every slightly famous shop in the city."

This made one wonder whether the Iron-Stomach Princess had not only failed to flee as expected, but hadn't even tried to hide.

While Lex was slaughtering wildly, she just kept eating, as if she'd never tasted normal food in her life. Hmm—considering she'd lived her entire life in the old capital, perhaps that was reality.

Now that everything has stabilized, she's still eating and drinking—recent bills show she's been to opera houses, bars, and other entertainment venues, listening to songs about her own father.

Bills piled up on the table, royal spies kept reporting in; watching Dainya's utterly shattered face, Li En felt something strangely off.

Didn't Lex see Haela when he was flying all over the city? Couldn't he deal with her? How was that possible! He'd have fled as fast as he could—why would he bother?

But Li En knew well—he'd secretly glanced at her every so often, then fled even faster.

And Haela wasn't in the least hurried or hiding; she happily toured the city for nearly two days, and when her money ran out, she sent the bills over. When told not to charge it, she simply said she'd "remember it with her face"—the royal spies panicked and rushed out to pay for her.

In fact, if not for the royal spies' tireless efforts, rumors would have spread long ago.

"She's waiting for us to come to her."

Obviously—but Li En felt even stranger. Nothing was more unnerving than a daughter who appeared out of nowhere; what was worse was a second daughter suddenly appearing.

And now, it seemed he'd have to follow the younger daughter to meet the elder one. Li En suddenly thought Lex wasn't so bad—maybe he could learn to run away too.

Yeah, totally fine—it's all the karma from past lives. What does it have to do with me, Li En?

"Don't run!" Angry Dainya grabbed Li En's arm—even though she knew Li En was a reincarnation with no memories of Lex, the more she learned of these past events, the less she could accept it.

Soon, the three of them (Sallyman had followed) met Haela in a private opera box, where she was happily listening to the performance.

"So similar." Sallyman spoke—and was immediately silenced by everyone's glare.

Everyone knew it—but no one dared say it.

But she spoke the plain truth: in appearance alone, Dainya and Haela were nearly identical—especially since both were dragon-blooded without beast ears, yet both possessed dragon eyes that could activate.

"Aren't you afraid we'll kill you? Your mother isn't here now."

The first to speak was Dainya herself, looking at her "sister" with a strange emotion.

Normally, she'd be delighted to have a blood relative—but

"Why should I bear the consequences of my mother and father's foolishness? Besides, from your perspective, you should pray I don't die."

Haela smiled in reply, watching the stage performance with keen interest.

"Why… Oh."

Dainya suddenly understood. In a sense, it was true: because of the Royal Owl Seal, the two sisters were tied together on the same rope.

This generation's "Royal Sealers" were only Dainya and Haela—if Haela died, would Rosalind kill Dainya without hesitation, fully unsealing the "Owl"?

She might not even wait for the Queen to die—she might launch her final battle immediately.

This was also an implication: Haela herself was not aligned with the Owl.

"... ou finally figured it out? Before, my mother didn't kill you only because my existence made killing you meaningless. Guess what she'll do when I'm dead."

The girl looked only slightly older than Dainya, yet clearly far more "intelligent."

In truth, with one fewer Sealer, the Owl would grow stronger.

Li En remained silent—he'd seen enough sibling fights these past days.

"Father came too. Sit down, at least chat with me."

But Haela didn't let him off—she bounced over, studying Li En closely.

"Hmm, a bit cute. But nowhere near the super-ultra-handsome guy Mom described. Clearly, Mom's completely insane."

With a mother who was utterly insane, Haela seemed far too normal—and that was deeply unsettling.

Dainya still hesitated: should she order the royal guards hidden nearby to move and eliminate this threat?

"Sister, if you were to kill me, what would Father think of you?" Haela, it seemed, had already noticed her sister's hesitation.

"He's not my father." Though she said it, Dainya still glanced at Li En, then fell silent.

She knew neither Li En nor Lex would accept this bloodshed—especially since Haela had committed no evil acts.

"Perfect! Then he's my father alone. Go away, little orphan, play somewhere else."

In just a few words, Dainya felt suffocated—she was about to explode.

But Haela wasn't done.

"By the way, even if you call out your hidden guards, it won't help. It's not that I'm letting you go—it's that I'm letting you live."

At that moment, Haela suddenly pulled out a short sword.

Smiling sweetly, she flicked her wrist, flipping the blade—those present felt an eerie familiarity in the motion.

"Crack!"

Invisible sword qi tore through the sky, splitting the opera house's ceiling cleanly in two!

Lex's legendary feat of splitting a city was replayed here—the girl holding the short sword grinned triumphantly.

"Father, I learned it well, right? Praise me!"

"Wow, you're so awesome."

(End of Chapter)