Chapter 116

“Chapter 116: Return (4.5k)”

At Augusta Manor, in the reception room.

With Ivyst’s sudden words, the whole place fell into a brief silence.

It seems everyone was stunned by what she just said, not knowing how to react.

In their minds, although Her Highness the Princess had faced a bumpy road, she had never given up on her dream of becoming the new monarch of the Saint Roland Empire.

Though no one knew where this obsession came from, she was stubborn to a frightening degree.

Anyone else who had lived a life like hers would have probably broken down psychologically, becoming a mere shell of a person.

Because of this, many, despite their fear of Ivyst, also harbored a sense of respect for her.

Outsiders didn’t know, but as subordinates, they understood how tough her journey had been.

So, everyone was prepared to fight for her dreams for life.

But now, it seemed the situation was about to reverse.

The princess, who wouldn’t be crushed by any setbacks, was now actually saying she wanted to give up on the royal selection right in front of the representative of the Holy Oak Tree?

W-What the heck happened here?!

Not just Morris and Greya, even Duke Tilius’s expression shifted.

“Your Highness, think carefully!”

He looked at Ivyst with a serious expression.

But after locking eyes for a second with her silent, indifferent crimson gaze, he suddenly felt a chill run down his spine.

What does she really want to do?!

On the other hand, with Duke Tilius taking the lead in urging, the surrounding subordinates also began to counsel her.

“Have you forgotten your original dream?”

“Yes, Your Highness, the royal selection has just entered its first phase. Even though the other princes have accumulated points over the years, you still have hope to catch up.”

“It’s just over five hundred points! Let’s think of a way to help you gather them!”

Everyone chimed in with encouragement.

However, deep down, they all knew the truth.

Without Lynn, given their capabilities, it was nearly impossible to achieve more than five hundred points in less than two weeks.

But nobody wanted to give up just like that.

Unfortunately, Ivyst seemed to ignore their words.

After saying that, she returned to her usual calm, indifferent state as if she couldn’t care less about anything.

Just then, the brown-haired boy from the Holy Oak Tree organization slowly bowed and said, “Sorry, Princess Ivyst.”

“You should know that the Holy Oak Tree organization is only responsible for the normal operation of the royal selection, as well as ranking statistics and scores. As for your wish to withdraw from the selection, that isn’t within our authority.”

“Unless you are eliminated due to the rules or die, we have no right to revoke your eligibility for the royal selection.”

“Furthermore, it seems the decision rests not with you.” The Holy Oak representative’s voice was calm, “Participation in the royal selection is an obligation of every prince; it’s not a frivolous game.”

“So, please do your best in the remaining time to achieve some merits and raise your score above the negative value.”

“If by the end of two weeks you haven’t met the target, I will personally come to announce your elimination, no need for you to withdraw voluntarily.”

The brown-haired boy explained methodically.

Clearly, he rejected Ivyst’s request.

But it didn’t seem to make a difference.

Ivyst had completely lost the desire to participate in the royal selection, solely focused on withdrawal.

In this situation, no matter how her subordinates advised her, they couldn’t sway her stubbornness.

“. . .”

Ivyst remained silent, and the atmosphere around her gradually turned cold.

Seeing this, Afia, with red-rimmed eyes, nodded at the complex-faced crowd and gently pushed the princess out of the reception room.

These people, indeed.

Feeling the cold edge of a knife against his neck, Lynn maintained a calm expression.

Perhaps there were other forces at work behind the scenes, but the prime suspects were the Mosgra Family and the Church of Heavenly Justice.

As for the Mosgra Family, there was no need to explain. He had personally dispatched the heir Dalian during the banquet, and past grudges left no room for negotiation.

And it was even more so for the Church of Heavenly Justice.

He had personally destroyed their faith in Orlen City and had later used Creation Demon techniques to instantly kill over a hundred transcendent beings.

This was undeniably a formidable force.

An ordinary first-level transcendent, especially one who followed “Heavenly Justice,” often possessed destructive extraordinary abilities related to gravity, airflow, and magnetic fields.

Even when faced with dozens of well-trained soldiers, they wouldn’t easily fall behind.

At least in these border cities, the power of over a hundred low-level transcendent beings could easily rival a nearly ten-thousand-strong army.

And Lynn had wiped that power out completely.

That was tantamount to completely offending the Church of Heavenly Justice.

So that’s why they were so eager to send people into the Soren Mountain Range to search for him.

Of course, it was to confirm his death.

“You seem unfazed at all?”

Noticing Lynn’s calm demeanor, the brawny mercenary at the forefront showed a hint of surprise.

A faint blue divine factor light shimmered on his body, though it left others unsure about his belief.

One second-level, two first-levels.

With that out of the way, let’s not waste time.

Looking at the body of the bodyguard lying in a pool of blood, Lynn’s expression remained indifferent.

“Of course I’m not afraid.” He gently squeezed the blade resting on his neck, “Because the dead can’t kill.”

“Dead?”

“That’s right.” As he spoke, crimson light flared in Lynn’s eyes, “You are all dead.”

“And the dead cannot kill.”

He slowly spoke the lie.

Accompanied by the power fluctuations of the Liars’ Devourer, the invisible power of lies etched itself like an imprint into the minds of the three.

It was the two first-level transcendent beings who collapsed first.

In an instant, they could no longer resist the effect of the Liars’ Devourer’s lies, believing they had already met their end, their eyes wide open, faces still holding traces of disbelief.

Then, their bodies stiffened and fell heavily to the ground.

In his past life, Lynn had seen several similar cases.

Some people would dream of their own death while asleep, then subconsciously believe that signal, truly entering a state of brain death.

What Lynn was doing now was akin to such escapades.

I-I’m dead?

As the only second-level transcendent, the brawny mercenary suddenly wore an empty expression and dropped his long knife.

The next second, his bear-like body crashed to the ground with a thud, kicking up a cloud of dust.

In just five seconds, with a single sentence, he had killed three formidable transcendent beings.

This was the strength Lynn possessed at that moment. With the existence of the system, he could max out all divine factors and received a second enhancement with the help of Witch Miss.

He was now several times stronger than that second-level transcendent.

In the extraordinary world, the upper-level had such terrifying dominion over the lower-level.

Of course, the quantity and quality of divine factors determined it all.

Nevertheless, this method of the Liars’ Devourer could only be used to bully weaker targets, making those with fragile mental fortitude suffer a bit.

If he faced another well-versed second-level transcendent, or anyone protected by a mental-type sealed item, he wouldn’t be able to take them down through mere lies.

Lynn crouched down, changing into a set of clothes he stripped from them.

Then he picked up the long knife as a shovel, digging a pit in the ground to bury the bodyguard who had died searching for him.

After doing all this, he quickened his pace and left the mountain range.

In the carriage, Duke Tilius rubbed his temples, feeling a headache coming on.

After Her Highness the Princess left the reception room, he chased after her, urging her not to give up so easily.

Even though it was exceedingly difficult to earn 576 points in two weeks, with his assistance, there was still some hope.

However, it ultimately depended on Ivyst’s willingness.

After all, Lynn had taken over ten days to break the Church of Heavenly Justice’s faith, even raking in two million gold coins from various churches.

Even doing that only gave him 500 points!

To outdo what he did, everyone must give their best.

Now, with Orlen City just recovering from disaster, it was in a state of chaos, prompting Duke Tilius to gaze toward the demon battlefield.

For the empire, demons were undoubtedly a major headache.

Though a ceasefire agreement was recently signed, Duke Tilius knew it was merely surface-level; hostilities could restart at any moment.

His previous visit to the border city to collect taxes was precisely to prepare military funds.

Now seemed the perfect time to launch an offensive.

After all, he wasn’t expecting the demons to stick to any agreements.

So why shouldn’t they initiate the fighting first?

And rapid gains in royal selection points through military merit were undoubtedly an excellent method.

After all, Ivyst’s foundation was simply too meager.

In comparison, the gap of over ten thousand points with the second prince was terrifyingly disheartening.

Aside from Ivyst, all other princes and princesses had support from their maternal families, with many noble families and churches betting on them.

Years ago, these contenders had been accumulating points for the royal selection, which explained their staggering achievements.

In Duke Tilius’s view, resolving the Level 0 sealed item crisis for 1500 points was an incredibly divine reward, so rich that he couldn’t even fathom it.

After all, from the perspective of those in the Imperial Capital, this incident only affected a border city, resulting in the death of a few tens of thousands of commoners—it was hardly seen as a loss.

If one carefully thought about it:

In just one month since Lynn arrived at Augusta Manor, he helped Ivyst snatch a staggering 3000 royal selection points, reaching a third of the second prince Felix’s score.

If it weren’t for Ivyst’s weak beginnings, she might have climbed to sixth or seventh by now.

One month!

Just one month!

Reaching this level in just a month would astonish even Felix himself if he knew.

This was like slapping him and all the nobles and churches supporting him hard across the face.

The reason Felix stood far ahead in the ranking with over ten thousand royal selection points was due to the countless resources spent over the years, totaling well over twenty million gold coins when counting even invisible resources.

Yet Lynn achieved such heights merely with his mouth and hands.

No wonder the second prince was so eager to meet him, even willing to spend three hundred thousand gold coins for a single encounter.

Unfortunately, such an unconventional talent was now no longer in the living world.

And Ivyst had completely shut herself off inside.

At this thought, Duke Tilius sighed.

In fact, he had considered dissolving the alliance with Ivyst, since that bond had been built by Lynn.

Now that Lynn was dead, there was no need to uphold it.

But recalling the boy’s expression when he said goodbye, that look filled with meaning, Duke Tilius could not help but have a strange sense of premonition.

Could there be a glimmer of hope left?

He didn’t know why.

Although everyone was convinced that guy was dead, Duke Tilius felt a strange discomfort.

Such a life-preserving little fox wouldn’t easily let his passions run wild and sacrifice himself for a woman, right?

Suddenly struck by this thought, a pang of impulse surged within Duke Tilius.

“Turn around.” He ordered his bodyguard, “Let’s take a look at the Bartleyon Mansion.”

By evening, Lynn finally returned to Orlen City, following his memory.

At this moment, he looked like a handsome beggar, standing lost in thought outside Bartleyon Mansion.

Maybe it was just an illusion.

Against the backdrop of dusk, the mansion appeared somewhat eerie, lacking any semblance of light; even the front door was tightly shut.

It seemed no one was inside.

Thus, Lynn stopped a passerby and asked, “Excuse me . . .”

Before he could finish, the passerby glanced at the mansion and suddenly changed expression.

He pulled Lynn aside into a little alley and whispered, “That mansion is tangled up with many important figures. I suggest you keep your distance and don’t get too close.”

“Elaborate.”

Lynn pulled out a few silver coins from his pocket and placed them in the person’s palm.

Seeing this, the person’s eyes lit up, then cautiously checked around before lowering his voice, “About a month ago, Princess Ivyst suddenly went mad and stormed in, executing all the servants in the mansion—none were spared.”

“Rumor has it that the servants used to bully her when that ‘noble disgrace’ had just been exiled.”

Lynn pondered this information.

It seemed after learning of his death, Augusta Manor was deeply saddened.

But why was that unfamiliar princess so emotionally charged?

Or perhaps, the rumors got twisted after being passed around by these gossip-loving folks?

After a moment, he waved his hand, “Alright, you can go now.”

“Wait, I haven’t finished!” The passerby, clearly an eager gossip, was being pushed away by Lynn yet still wide-eyed, “They say after executing all the servants, she relocated everything related to that little master of the Bartleyon family. Not even clothing was left behind. So right now, the mansion is empty, with nothing left . . .”

It’s just getting more and more absurd.

Why would she take my clothes when she doesn’t even know me?

Finally managing to send the overly enthusiastic gossip away, Lynn returned to the mansion’s entrance with a helpless expression.

It seemed this place was not an option to return to for now.

But he hadn’t planned on going back anyway; he was just looking for a few items.

Specifically, letters sent from the Imperial Capital.

Those letters had been completely withheld by the family servants, and he hadn’t read any of them.

Lynn was very concerned about his sister and that currently missing sister-in-law’s situation.

The three of them, alongside the unborn child of his deceased brother and their father lost in a coma, were now the last remaining members of the Bartleyon family.

Just as he was lost in thought, a sudden loud screech of brakes filled the air.

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