Chapter 497, Section 496: Don't Touch Me
The human kingdoms are urgently recruiting new soldiers and building fortifications, struggling to heal the wounds left by the war.
The situation wasn't much better for the demons; there were a lot of messy and chaotic things going on.
On the eastern front, after learning that the battle of Three Mountain City had ended, the dwarf army had orderly retreated back into the mountains to continue their struggle against the elemental spirits in the underground city.
But they left behind a scene of devastation.
The Dwarf King was truly planning to use a "besieging Wei to rescue Zhao" tactic to help humanity, employing not only various siege weapons but also his treasured magical war puppets on the battlefield.
Duke Levi's territory has suffered heavy damage and he is now forced to request material support from the capital to repair the eastern border defenses.
The unusually severe cold in the north has kept the Stewart family's and the demons' territories cold throughout the growing season, making a significant reduction in crop yields inevitable.
Food and heating supplies are in short supply, and we still need to find a way to organize manpower to go deep into the present-day northern border for investigation. So far, three groups have not sent back any news.
Not to mention that two dukes were killed in this battle, their territories fell into chaos, and various forces were making moves in the shadows.
The pigmen refuse to accept the commands of other generals, while several of the vampire duke's bloodline are embroiled in a dispute over the allocation of territory.
In addition, there's the issue of assigning blame after the war and the problem of a certain "slime".
In short, Emperor Mortis decided to convene a long-awaited imperial council.
...
Sigismund, traveling light with only a few Blood Knights, finally arrived at the edge of the surging blood curtain.
As the number one culprit in this war, he had to personally go to Twilight Keep, instead of participating remotely through the teleportation crystal like Eleanor and others.
If the Empire had ultimately won, he could have weathered the storm unscathed by his achievement in capturing High Castle.
But the sudden turn of events shattered everything.
Originally, there was that fool Xenophon to share the blame, but now that pig-headed man has died on the battlefield, all the pressure is concentrated on his shoulders alone.
To make matters worse, he had recently requested the Book of Miracles from the emperor, and that forbidden book was now lying in a secret chamber within his tower. The advance request for the reward only exacerbated his already dire situation.
Standing at the edge of the blood curtain, Sigismund gazed at the menacing silhouette of Twilight Keep and downed several bottles of potion in succession.
Although Lin Jun didn't recognize the ingredients of these potions, she could clearly see the buffs that kept appearing on Xiao Xi's panel:
[Iron Will], [Mental Barrier], [Mental Protection]...
When he stepped into the main hall of Twilight Fortress, the emperor had not yet appeared, but the teleportation crystals representing the various forces had already lit up.
Eleanor was chatting and laughing with several vampire dukes, congratulating the prince on his new daughter.
The moment Sigismund entered the hall, guided by his attendants, the noise subsided, all eyes were on him, and a few gloating chuckles even rose from the surroundings.
Amidst this hostile atmosphere, Sigismund's gaze settled on the figure beneath the throne—the succubus Moeffe.
She leaned against the shadows, wisps of pink mist swirling around her fingertips.
Mofrey was not one of the twelve pillars, but rather an interrogator directly under the emperor, in charge of the empire's most secret intelligence and penal affairs.
She also suffered heavy losses in this battle, losing nearly half of her carefully trained spies, and even one of her most valued disciples, Faya, perished in the mission to infiltrate the Three Mountain City.
When she appeared in the main hall, everyone knew that this interrogation was destined to be anything but easy.
Mofrey leaned against the throne steps, her alluring yet cruel purple eyes looking at Sigismund: "You've arrived so late, I thought you had already defected, Lord Sigismund."
"Defection?" Sigismund's face darkened, not expecting such a serious accusation to be leveled so quickly. "As a vampire duke, how could I possibly defect? And where could I defect to?"
“Of course I’ll go to your old friend’s side,” Mofley chuckled. “You don’t think you can hide that past with Alama from me, do you?”
"Then you should know even better that I broke off all ties with that guy a long time ago, and it's a fight to the death!"
“I used to think so too…” The succubus unfurled a roll of parchment, “until I discovered the strange ambush at High Fortress. You could have killed Alama, but you chose to leave at the crucial moment, sparing Alama’s life.”
“I set up that ambush. If I wanted to let him go, why would I have planned that ambush?” Sigismund argued.
Mofley seemed not to hear and continued, "In the battle of Dragonroar Valley, according to the testimonies of the surviving soldiers, you clearly had the opportunity to kill Alama directly, but you deliberately talked and delayed, causing the situation to reverse."
"That was... I was careless. I didn't expect those poops to have that kind of ability."
She suddenly leaned closer, her finger pointing at Sigismund's chest: "Was it really carelessness? Or is it that you still harbor that old affection in your heart, even surpassing your loyalty to the Empire and His Majesty?"
"Absurd!" Sigismund glared at Morvere. "I have no disloyalty to the Empire!"
"Lies come in a million forms..." The succubus's pupils suddenly swirled with a purple light as she locked eyes with Sigismund. "And I only believe the answers I have found myself!"
“You…!” Sigismund was prepared, but he still suffered a series of defeats at such close range.
The mental defenses crumbled like a spider web caught in a storm.
He couldn't be seduced like that; otherwise, many of his secrets would be exposed.
Putting everything else aside, the existence of that roommate in my mind absolutely cannot be revealed.
However, he couldn't attack Mofrey directly, as that would be tantamount to admitting he had a problem. Mofrey had figured this out, which was why she launched her attack at this moment.
His consciousness gradually faded, and blood swished from Sigismund's sleeve into his palm. Just as he was about to strike, his consciousness began to fade.
"Don't touch me!"
Sigismund felt a sudden relief from the pressure on his mind.
Coming to her senses, she found that Mo Fulei's eyes had rolled back, as if she had been struck by a heavy blow. Her knees buckled and she knelt on the ground, her forehead hitting the stone steps with a dull thud. She was like a dead pig that had been slaughtered, without uttering a sound.
The gloating chuckles in the hall abruptly ceased; no one had expected Sigismund's mental strength to be so formidable.
It should be noted that Mofrey, though not skilled in combat, is an expert in mental matters, despite being a fellow lord-level being. How could she have been so severely affected by Sigismund's mental power?!
In the deathly silence, only the succubus's limp body twitched slightly.
As two Blood Guards dragged Morphle's limp body out of the hall, a blood-red ripple suddenly spread behind the throne, and Emperor Mortis slowly walked out of the void and sat on the throne.
He didn't even glance at the interrogator being dragged away, as if the commotion had never happened, and began discussing matters other than Sigismund with the demons.
Sigismund maintained a blank expression throughout, but inwardly he breathed a huge sigh of relief, knowing that he had temporarily passed this hurdle.
He never imagined that he would one day hear that annoying voice and feel fortunate about it.
So much so that even though his roommate was constantly complaining in his head about how part of him had been stained purple, he didn't interrupt him impatiently as usual.
(End of this chapter)
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