"And how would you achieve that? You’re aware that the palace knights are quite skilled at detecting lower-level demons," Aurianna inquired, gazing at Mike.
"Actually, Mike is a half-human, half-demon, so he should be able to bypass their detection defenses and enter your mansion posing as a servant. I hope you’ll treat him well," Vatium disclosed, surprising Aurianna with his revelation.
"A rare breed. No wonder many of them were successful in infiltrating Sandeph in the past," Aurianna nodded thoughtfully.
"As long as he doesn’t do anything foolish, he’ll be fine," Aurianna assured Vatium.
"Are you sure? I heard that you enjoy punishing your servants. I’m really frightened to stay with her, Master Vatium!" Mike said, feigning tears and using a handkerchief to wipe his face.
Aurianna clicked her tongue in annoyance and clarified, "I only deal with annoying fools who can’t follow simple rules. So if you obey all my rules, you’ll be fine."
"If you say so, Princess," Mike brightened up, and Aurianna rolled her eyes.
"So, how do you plan to convince King Girsal to let you lead the battle?" Vatium asked curiously.
Aurianna pondered intensely upon hearing Vatium’s question, and suddenly an idea struck her. She grinned and said, "That’s also a secret, dear brother." Her eerie smile sent shivers down the spines of everyone watching her. "Now, shall we discuss further how this operation will be carried out?"
_________
After three hours, Aurianna hopped off the orc express carriage, clutching a satchel and sporting a beautiful necklace around her neck.
"I better find Yui and Jake," she murmured as she strolled through the bustling market. All around, shop vendors were energetically shouting out their wares and prices to attract custors. Kids were zipping down the street in a playful race, and the general atmosphere was one of enjoynt.
Eventually, she spotted Yui engrossed in sothing, and Aurianna couldn’t help but cringe at what she found. On stage, so hunky orc n were flexing their muscles, captivating both won and n in the audience.
Aurianna frowned even more as she noticed Yui tossing gold coins at the perforrs, tears of joy streaming down her face. Curious, she examined the orc n and found their appearance rather intriguing. They weren’t all that different from humans, just bigger bodies, green skin, and larger teeth.
"I guess admiring muscles isn’t such a bad thing after all," Aurianna chuckled.
One of the muscular orcs approached her and asked, "Would you like to feel my muscles?" So envious ladies were about to protest, but when they saw the orc addressing Aurianna, they quickly backed off, pale as ghosts.
Eager to see what those muscles felt like, Aurianna nodded, and the orc man proudly extended his arm. *squishy* squishy *squishy* She took the opportunity to squish and feel his muscles, the tension in her expression easing as she did so. After a few monts, she noticed Yui giving her a cheeky smile, which made her frown. Aware of the surprised looks around her, she let go of the orc’s arm and blushed slightly.
"You’ve got an impressive form," she complinted him, slipping a gold coin into his hand. She then grabbed Yui, who protested and pleaded for them to stay, but Aurianna hurriedly walked away, ignoring her maid’s pleas.
_______
After a long day at the market, Aurianna enjoyed a quiet bath, deep in thought about her discussion with Vatium.
"Haha, today has been exhausting," Aurianna sighed, collapsing onto her bed wearing her comfy pajamas.
"Good night, Princess," the five maids chid in unison before leaving her chambers.
Aurianna turned her head to gaze out the window, observing the two half moons high in the sky. The cool night breeze wafted into her room, and suddenly she sensed a presence, causing her to sit up attentively.
"So, you’re back, Eva," Aurianna said, getting up to face the floating Eva on a cloud bed.
"Yep, did you miss ?" Eva teased playfully.
"It was only a few days; I didn’t miss you that much!" Aurianna pouted, her cheeks slightly flushed. "Leila and I both share you, so I have to get used to this."
Unexpectedly, Eva placed a warm hand on Aurianna’s head and started rubbing it affectionately.
"What’s this for?" Aurianna asked, puzzled by Eva’s unexpected gesture.
"Just showing my Diamond that I’m proud of her decision today. I was quite surprised," Eva explained, settling beside Aurianna. "So why did you agree to work with the demons?"
Aurianna smiled, responding to Eva’s question, "It’s actually quite simple. Since I learned about Paige’s main church, I realized I’m facing a formidable enemy, and I need to act rationally. Her influence is even larger than I expected." She clenched her palms as she spoke. "I’m still not strong enough to confront Paige directly!"
"It’s great that you did so research on your enemy’s strength," Eva nodded approvingly.
"Yeah, and it’s really scary," Aurianna’s voice trembled as she recalled her conversation with Queen Amber, who spilled all she knew about the power of Paige’s church.
"Paige has over five million followers, and their Sacred Kielbasa is a primordial human, the strongest type in the world. Who knows how many more primordial humans she has under her command," Aurianna blurted out. Despite the fear in her voice, Eva couldn’t help but notice the unsettling grin on Aurianna’s face.
"With my current strength, it’s clear I have no chance against them. But I can’t help but feel excited by the idea of destroying such a formidable foe! Chi la, lala, la," Aurianna chuckled.
"I guess I’m being too egotistical and arrogant, right?" Aurianna asked, and Eva shook her head.
"Having a clear goal and the ego to back it up isn’t a bad thing. You’re not human; you’re a child from one of the strongest races in the universe. In a few years, you’ll probably reach Iris’ level,’’ Eva said, pointing at Aurianna’s chest. "So believe you can do anything and make it a reality!"
"And I admire the fact that you’ve really thought this through instead of rushing in blindly. It seems you’re getting smarter," Eva added with a slight laugh.
’I can’t tell if that’s a complint or an insult,’ Aurianna nervously thought.
"By the way, you still haven’t answered my previous question," Eva reminded her.
"Oh, I thought I had ntioned it earlier, but you probably already know that most of Sandeph is currently under Paige’s territory. It’s clear that most races despise her and the other countries under her rule in this continent. Well, that’s what I rember from my past life, but I’ll take it as an assumption," Aurianna explained to Eva, who listened intently.
"Yeah, I rember hearing sothing like that," Eva nodded.
"So, my plan is to let the two sides clash and weaken each other while I stay in the shadows, aiding both parties as if I’m supporting them equally. However, my main support will secretly be with the demons. They’ll be the ones doing most of the fighting while I focus on increasing my own strength," Aurianna said excitedly, and Eva applauded, impressed by her words.
"Wow, I’m quite surprised by your critical thinking. Your strategy actually sounds solid. That is, of course, if everything goes according to plan," Eva comnted.
"Yeah, that’s the thing. I don’t think it’ll be enough," Aurianna replied, expressing doubt. "There have to be more ways to sow discord among the countries in Graias and plunge the continent into chaos to weaken Paige’s influence. And taking down several of her churches won’t be a walk in the park. Once I’m exposed, she’ll be after , and I’ll surely be marked as her enemy. And I wouldn’t want to deal with that." The thought off that made Aurianna feel heavy.
"Indeed," Eva nodded in agreent.
"Sowing discord with other nations..." Aurianna mumbled to herself. After a mont of contemplation, Aurianna’s face lit up with an evil grin, and she muttered, "Perfect!"
"Oh, have you thought of another plan?" Eva asked, intrigued, her head resting on her hand. "The real challenge is whether you’ll be able to implent it successfully."
"Don’t worry, I’m confident it’ll work, at least to so extent. But for now, I need to focus on the imdiate issue at hand - the war in three weeks!" Aurianna said determinedly.
Upon noticing Eva giving her an uneasy stare, Aurianna tilted her head and calmly inquired, "Eva, it seems sothing is on your mind. Is there anything you’d like to share with ?"
"I can’t help but feel sorry for the demons trying to free their brethren held captive as slaves in Sandeph. However, their plan won’t be entirely successful, as the rest of the demons are trapped beneath Sandeph," Eva explained.
"Beneath Sandeph? That’s hard to believe. I’ve never co across any information about that," Aurianna gasped, taken aback by Eva’s revelation.
"Well, I just shared this secret with you now. There is an underground city beneath Sandeph," Eva said, sitting upright. "The sight was quite intriguing, and it was really enjoyable to discover such secrets."
"So, that’s where all the missing demons Vatium was searching for are located," Aurianna murmured.
"Yes, but it’s complicated and challenging to access. It’s more like a secret base, and I’m sure you’d love to explore it yourself," Eva remarked with a smug smile. However, Aurianna imdiately declined.
"No, thanks," Aurianna shook her head.
Eva seed surprised and asked, "Why is that?!"
"You’ve been able to show video screens ever since I t you. Are you saying you have no recordings of when you went to explore the city you claim is beneath Sandeph?" Aurianna challenged.
Eva pouted and replied, "Why spoil the fun of exploration? So things are best experienced firsthand." She looked away from Aurianna as she spoke.
"What’s up with her?" Aurianna muttered, feeling a bit confused. "I’m too lazy to do any exploring."
"And it’s not like I can just stroll in there and start exploring. King Girsal probably has high-level knights guarding the place, ready to stop or even kill anyone who tries to infiltrate," Aurianna said, crossing her arms.
"You’re right. He did station a lot of powerful individuals there. But with the new skill you obtained from the Lightarcs, you could easily bypass them as long as you keep your magic hidden," Eva said.
"Oh, and here you go," Eva said, conjuring a beam of golden light from her finger and directed it at Aurianna’s head. Suddenly, a video of what Eva witnessed when she explored the city beneath Sandeph played in Aurianna’s mind. After an hour or so, she finally snapped out of her trance-like state.
Aurianna gritted her teeth and gripped her palms till they bled. "If my blood wasn’t poisoned and I still had my Saintess powers from the past, that could have been my fate," she said. It wasn’t the slaves being tortured and stripped of their body parts, the soldiers, or the workers that made her angry. It was the Saintess.
"To think the forr Saintess is still alive," she mumbled. The image of the Saintess in her mind made her picture herself in that situation, and it left her feeling uneasy.
"Do you rember her?" Eva asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Well, in my last life, I did so research on the forr Saintess of Sandeph, and I could barely find any information about her. All I heard was that she had a nasty personality and was incredibly arrogant. Honestly, I find her quite foolish. Falling in love with a man after just one night of passion? Disgusting," Aurianna stated, scrunching her face in disgust.
"Pfft," Eva couldn’t help but try to stifle her laughter at the funny expression on Aurianna’s face,since she found it quite funny. "Haha, maybe stupidity is a recurring trait among the Saintesses," she chuckled, and Aurianna puffed her cheeks in annoyance.
"But I’ve changed!" Aurianna protested.
"Oh, only because I was able to send you back in ti; otherwise, you’d be six feet under," Eva countered.
"True, that’s why I’m grateful to you for that," Aurianna said, offering a smile.
"You’re finally starting to show so manners," Eva said, her eyes getting teary in a joking manner.
"I’m trying to be nice here!" Aurianna retorted, her face flushing with embarrassnt.
"No need to be shy. It’s obvious you should always be grateful to !" Eva said arrogantly, striking a weird pose.
"Yeah, yeah," Aurianna replied with a blank expression.
"Honestly, I’m not surprised King Girsal would do all this. He’s that kind of man," Aurianna gritted her teeth.
"And to think he wasn’t even human! Who gave him the right to judge ?!" Aurianna yelled furiously. "How could a cha beco the king of this High Land without anyone knowing?!"
"Maybe he’s actually the son of the forr king," Eva suggested.
"No way! The forr King was human, but Girsal is a cha," Aurianna exclaid, struggling to grasp the idea of a human having a cha child.
"Actually, he’s a half-cha, half-human," Eva clarified.
"Is that even possible?" Aurianna nervously asked.
"It is, but the individual’s body would deteriorate rapidly until they fully beco a cha. They won’t survive for long trying to remain human, unless they take the Saintess’ blood to increase their lifespan," Eva explained, wearing a smile.
"So, he’s just a sickly old man?" Aurianna said with an evil grin. "aning if I get rid of the current Saintess, he’ll slowly die!"
"Correct, but can you even kill the current Saintess?" Eva asked, smiling geekily.
"If you know I couldn’t, I don’t think you would have led on like this," Aurianna retorted.
"So what will you do then?"
"Obviously, I’m going to ruin King Girsal’s plans. I can’t let him succeed this ti. We need as many pawns as we can get. It’s now a ga of kill or be killed, and I won’t be the one to be killed this ti," Aurianna stated nacingly at Eva, her eyes glowing.
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