Divine Kingship

Chapter 563 Lysa: Could it be, could it be, could it be...?

Because he had some questions to ask, Rand led Lysa and Berlan to a relatively quiet place where there was no one else around.

Ryza is one of those rare individuals who, even with an arrogant and sour face, doesn't evoke any dislike.

One reason is that her appearance was so beautiful that it was hard to notice her bad character and arrogant attitude.

To be honest, even now that Rand is very familiar with Lysa, he is still often misled by her appearance.

After all, who wouldn't be attracted to an elf with white hair and golden eyes who has a perfect, flawless face?
Not all elves are beautiful, but Lysa is indeed beautiful beyond human comprehension, so even knowing her true nature, Rand is repeatedly captivated.

Another reason why she isn't disliked is that Lysa doesn't let her personality get in the way or make her mean to anyone. On the contrary, Lysa is always thoughtful and exceptionally reliable.

In the past, when Rand needed to leave the territory, it was quite normal for Lysa to take charge of the territory's affairs.

Berlan wasn't angry at Lysa's nonchalant and arrogant expression.

Berlan had met many people, and he had also come to know that Lysa was not the kind of brainless but arrogant and incompetent person.

But this did not diminish Berlan's vigilance; he even sensed a dangerous aura.

Rand, of course, also noticed Lysa's gaze.

Lysa is a mysterious elf.

Rand already knows that Lysa is an ancient elf.

But Rand didn't actually know what the ancient elves were.

And is there only one ancient elf, Lysa, or are there many?

Lysa had no intention of hiding anything from Rand.

But in Rand's eyes, Lysa remained very mysterious.

Lysa always manages to do things that are unexpected, not only in her behavior but also in her abilities and wealth.

For example, Rand's artifact, the Eternal Barrier, was created under Ryza's leadership.

And the golden tree saplings that have now been transplanted to the backyard of the Lord's Hall are now considered extremely rare and priceless.

It's impossible for something cheap to cure the body.

Even the lowest level of healing potions are extremely expensive, while golden leaves can heal the body simply by holding them in one's mouth.

Although excessive use can cause serious side effects such as body fibrosis, it is still much less serious than the consequences of death.

In short, if Lysa could immediately see that Berlan and Ellie had switched bodies, it would be perfectly normal in Rand's eyes.

Fortunately, Ryza only glanced at it twice and then stopped paying attention.

This doesn't mean Ryza didn't see anything; it just seems that Ryza isn't inclined to investigate further.

"How's the situation with the elves?" Rand asked.

Lysa did not answer immediately.

She took a small step closer to Rand.

They still maintain their arrogant attitude.

Bend over.

She rubbed her cheek against Rand's waist.

Then he turned his head to look at Berlan's reaction.

Berlan was completely at a loss for how to react.

Lysa blinked her golden eyes, took a slight step back to stand up straight, and answered Rand's question: "There is some unrest, but Nidhogg has quite a few supporters, and things haven't developed to the point where you need to get involved."

Rand understood and didn't ask any further questions.

Lysa is usually very concise in her speech, preferring to express herself through her demeanor and expressions. This time, she has already spoken quite a lot.

Berlan had already realized how troublesome things were.

Lysa's way of doing things is completely beyond the logic of normal people.

Berlan couldn't understand what Lysa's series of actions up to this point meant.
So how exactly did the higher-ups of the Sanctuary and Rand work with Lysa for so many years?

“Then let’s go back,” Rand said. “The inspection here still needs to be completed.”

Both Berlan and Lysa nodded.

The three of them returned to the industrial area and found the dwarf prince.

The dwarfs didn't quite understand the elves' beauty, but the dwarf prince still nodded to Lysa.

Lysa had also assisted with the work in the industrial area, and the dwarf prince knew how powerful and intelligent Lysa was.

The dwarf prince continued to lead the way, with Berlan and Rand walking side by side, and Lysa following at the back.

Lysa glanced at Berlan again.

Lysa knew that Berlan and Rand had some ambiguous relationship.

But is it really necessary to go to such lengths to do things that are not recognized by the world?

Moreover, the White King Berlan actually has a way to switch bodies with his sister.

Is this a scheme to possess the sister's body in order to possess her husband?
Or is it just a role-playing game?
Lysa knew quite a bit about the King.

The king is indeed an existence beyond the comprehension of ordinary people.

But becoming a king doesn't make a person twisted, does it?

But the two kings beside Rand...

Ryza is now completely certain that Karin is a pervert.

Now it seems that the White King, Berlan Calant, is not a normal person either.

A normal person wouldn't use their sister's body and pretend that they are their sister.

It seems that Rand also discovered that the soul in Ellie's body was not her, but Rand pretended not to notice.

Lysa frowned slightly as she fell into thought.

So, this must be some kind of role-playing game.

She had previously tested Rand and found out that he liked her to dress up as a cat-eared or fox-eared person, and now it seems that Rand also likes to switch identities with her.
Thinking back, when she first started researching archaeological technology in the territory, she even impersonated Olena and had a "duel" with the real Olena. At that time, Rand seemed to be quite interested.

So... there's only one truth!
Berlan and Rand certainly knew that Lysa was thinking some strange things, but they couldn't know exactly what Lysa was thinking.

Moreover, there were important matters to attend to, so I didn't pay much attention to Lysa's thoughts.

Next up are the key projects in the industrial zone.

The key projects in the industrial park currently focus on several areas.

Greek fire for naval warfare, counterweight catapults for engineering, alchemical oil for equipping flying oxen and horses with throwing forms, and the standard staff developed in collaboration with the alchemy workshop.

The focus of this inspection is on the standard staff; the others are already close to being technically mature and don't require Rand's continued attention.

In the Burning Lands, in a slightly modified, relatively better environment, Rand met the great alchemist Ayesha.

Ayesha has been in good spirits lately, and she is quite certain that the creation of the standard staff will change the landscape of magicians in this world.

Before the advent of standardized staves, staves were rare items that only very high-ranking mages could use.

These magical items that can enhance spellcasting abilities are priceless and of great significance.

Because compared to most mages, their spellcasting ability will quickly reach its limit and then become difficult to improve.

Because they can only learn one spell—the magic orb.

Even if they only learn one spell in their entire lives, they cannot make any improvements, nor can they learn a second spell.

This is the upper limit for the vast majority of mages in this world.

Every improvement to the most widely learned spell, the Magic Orb, causes significant changes in the magical world, which is why Archmage Ellie is so renowned.

But since the talents of the vast majority of people are predetermined from the beginning.

What if we borrow something from outside?
A staff. Although this staff can be considered cheap, it can only slightly increase casting speed, casting range, and casting power, and save a certain amount of mana.

If we absolutely have to quantify it...

It's roughly like this: [Standard Staff (Divine Calendar 338)]

Attribute: Increased casting speed (7%)
Increases casting range by 5%.
Magic saving (5%)
Spell power increase (9%)

The cost is approximately 1 gold coin.

Converted to Rand's previous life, that's roughly 3 yuan.

This conversion is very rough, but it can be used as a reference.

As a spellcasting weapon, it is so "cheap" yet it can still provide a real boost.

This results in a huge increase.

In particular, the casting speed and casting range are increased.

These two data points mean that when two mages are fighting, one side can launch the first attack and hit the other.

The one who was hit first obviously had no chance to retaliate.

The immense power of magic would destroy these mages, since the mages of this world simply didn't have the extra capacity to learn another spell, such as defensive magic.

This is the powerful significance of the standard staff.

At present, it is not very effective because the proportion of the mage population is too small, but it is foreseeable that with the popularization of standardized staffs and the popularization of mage education, Rand will have more and more mage legions with combat power.

Rand actually preferred airplanes and cannons.

That kind of simple and direct firepower can destroy the vast majority of enemies.

But that kind of technology would take far too long to develop.

And it will come at a huge cost.

So, as an alternative, Rand chose what he could do at the moment—breed flying bulls and horses, train mages, and create standard-issue staves.

In short, flying minions plus mages equals a super-weakened version of airplanes, and a mage legion equals a super-weakened version of cannons.

But it can still form a huge strategic advantage in this era, that is, now, today.

"Shall we test it out?"

Rand looked at Berlan and Lysa.

Both Berlan and Lysa are capable of casting spells.

Although at most she is only at the level of an elite or superior spellcaster, she is still capable of casting spells. That's how unreasonable geniuses are. Although Rand doesn't know if Lysa can be considered a genius.

Just like Ellie also has good swordsmanship skills, if an average advanced professional swordsman were to fight Ellie with a sword, the outcome would be very uncertain. Anyway, Rand believed that Ellie would win.

Berlan extended her slender hand and grasped the standard staff.

The design of the standard staff is also very simple, with the silver-gray color of the steel itself revealing the beauty of industrial style.

Berlan casts a spell, the most basic and simplest magic ball.

The relic construct used for experiments was punched into a huge crater.

Rand couldn't cast spells, and he looked at Lysa.

Lysa was already very interested in these staffs, and she never refused Rand's offer.

Lysa also gripped the staff.

It's also a simple magic ball.

However, compared to the purest magic orb produced by Berlan's spell, Lysa's magic orb had a faint green glow.

After the green light struck another relic construct, it created a crater of considerable power. However, it also seemed to cover the relic construct with a faint layer of something resembling moss.

Berlan noticed the shimmering green light.

He glanced at Lysa, but didn't say anything more.

……

Day 2.

When Rand saw Lysa again.

Rand now has two Ellies by his side.

Lysa is very reliable, but she is still a little lazy.

However, Ryza is incredibly efficient at certain things.

Some of the things here can actually be described as strange.

Just one night.

Lysa somehow managed to get the same clothes as Ellie.

She had some kind of makeup on her face, and she was wearing perfume that seemed to be from Ayesha. Even her hair was styled to be the same brown-gold color as Ellie's.

If you ignore her golden eyes and pointed ears... she doesn't really look like Ellie.

But it's clear that Lysa is indeed impersonating Ellie.

Lysa stood beside Rand.

He glanced at Berlan, who was also standing next to Rand.

Berlan is dressed normally today, in Ellie's usual style, which is exactly the same as Lysa's.

The two are, of course, different in height and facial features.

But it's true that they wore the same outfit.

Berlan didn't know how to face Lysa.

Lysa showed no interest in explaining.

She stood still in front of Rand and Berlan, observing Rand's expression and then looking at Berlan's expression.

Lysa pondered for a moment, then took action.

She slowly squeezed between Berlan and Rand.

Push Berlan aside a little.

Then, taking Rand's arm, she looked at Berlan beside her and said, "I am Rand's wife, Ellie Carant. Who are you?"

A silence fell over the room.

Even someone as strong and composed as Berlan was momentarily at a loss.

She realized that the situations she had encountered before were nothing compared to what she was going to experience now.

Compared to Ryza, the previous high-ranking officials of the Sanctuary could be considered normal people.

Lysa showed Berlan through her actions.

The gap between eccentrics and normal people is enormous.

Berlan had absolutely no idea how to handle the situation at hand.

She could only look to Rand for help; this was the first time she had ever shown Rand such an expression.

And Rand is naturally the most skilled Ryza expert among the Holy Domain forces at dealing with Ryza.

Rand looked at Berlan, then at Lysa, who was holding his arm beside him, and said calmly, "The woman beside me is my wife, Ellie Calant. Who are you?"

Berlan stared in shock at Rand, the young duke with black hair and black eyes, and "Lady Ellie" beside him.

She realized this deeply.

Since the higher-ups of the Sanctuary are already so eccentric, it's obvious that Rand isn't exactly a normal person either.

(End of this chapter)