Extraordinary Rise: Starting Contract with the Silver Dragon Countess

Chapter 328 Freya's Metamorphosis!

Lucia watched Elio's departing figure, a mocking smile playing on her lips.

In the magnificent and luxurious palace, Princess Freya, the spiritual totem of the Ceylon people, the legitimate heir of the royal family, and the emerald jewel of lost power, sat before a grand and magnificent obsidian table, exuding an aura of unapproachability and supreme nobility.

Her pale golden curls were loosely tied back with an amethyst thorn crown, her ivory skin shimmered with a pearly luster under the magic lamp, and her eyes were lowered, her gaze fixed on an open parchment as she carefully read something.

Lucia entered quietly, gazing at the future queen before her who was absolutely perfect from every angle, and bowed, saying:

"Your Highness, I'm back."

Freya raised her gaze, revealing her exquisitely beautiful face, a hint of sarcasm playing on her lips:
"Sent away?"

Lucia replied:
"I'm leaving. I've also told Jaden about his situation. If all goes well, we should see results in a few days."

His Highness's charm is enough to make these two young masters fight to the death.

Freya pushed aside the parchment scroll on the table, fiddled with the silver bracelet on her wrist, and lowered her voice:
"Unfortunately, someone seems to be blind to this, still treating me like a little kid who was coaxed into memorizing spells a few years ago."

Lucia whispered:
"I believe that when His Majesty sees Your Highness again, he will be amazed by everything Your Highness has become."

Freya's lips curved into a smile that even Lucia couldn't help but admire. After a brief outpouring of emotion, she regained her composure and asked:

"What about the brooch? Did that young master accept it?"

Lucia replied:
"I accepted it, and I accepted it with great joy."

"That's good."

Lucia hesitated for a few seconds before asking:
"Your Highness, wouldn't it be a waste to use this on a Silver-rank character?"

The Lord of Sequences said this is something that can even work on legendary-level transcendents.

Freya's voice was completely devoid of any emotion:
"The Eisenheiser family's arms monopoly is crucial to us. If we want to gain a foothold in Ceylon, which is surrounded by wolves, we must get everything from them."

A brooch containing the curse power of Sister Belmod and the mind control ability of Sister Mavis is not a waste to use on their family heir.

The only thing to be wary of is that Elio is the first in line to the Eisenhower family heir, and he will undoubtedly have many powerful figures around him, posing a risk of being discovered.

Lucia wasn't too worried about this, and replied:

"According to the Lord of the Sequence, unless a Saint personally examines this brooch, it is difficult to detect anything unusual."

Having given me my previous instructions, this young master Elio won't be flaunting the brooch around.

Freya stopped worrying about it, glanced at the schedule on the table, and said calmly:

"That guy from the Veritas family, what's his name...?"

"Jaden."

“I’m not going to the dinner he made reservation for; I’ll just say I’m not feeling well.”

"Yes.

"By the way, Your Highness, there's a small matter I need to report. Based on my observation of Elio today, it's highly likely that his family has spies planted in the palace."

Freya showed no surprise at this, and calmly said:

"We discovered it a long time ago."

Jura, Martina, Zelda, and the few new ladies-in-waiting and maids who arrived a few days ago—based on my observation, these people all seem suspicious and not like ordinary maids.

"I suspect these are all people planted in the palace by these families. Take some time to investigate their backgrounds."

A hint of surprise flashed in Lucia's eyes; Freya hadn't even told her about this.

"So, Your Highness, what are your plans to do with them?"

"Let's keep them under surveillance for now, and deal with them if necessary. The situation is still unstable, and we still need the help of these families."

The main problem is a lack of manpower; we need to recover some areas as soon as possible and recruit available personnel.

Lucia replied:
"Once the battle for the Twin Towers Fortress is over and the domestic situation becomes clear, we can organize our forces and launch a counterattack."

After finishing their business, Freya asked again:
"Has the gentleman recently returned to Ceylon?"

Lucia said cautiously:
"Yes, according to intelligence, His Majesty arrived at the port of Quesaon yesterday."

"Are you alone, sir?"

"...It seems that Her Highness the Eldest Princess of the Eastern Empire is also there."

Freya didn't seem to be in a very high mood:
"I think you've been bewitched by that succubus, sir. Why are you taking her around all the time?"

Lucia wisely chose not to respond, letting Freya vent her emotions.

Freya grumbled to herself for a moment, then gave Lucia a final piece of advice:
"Have the Military Intelligence Bureau keep a close eye on those young masters from those families, and report them immediately if they make any unusual moves."

"Yes, Your Highness!"

……

On the day King Gaius announced the prayer to the gods, the area within a ten-kilometer radius outside Quesaon was taken over by the royal guards.

After a period of intense work, the altar was finally completed on schedule.

On a high platform not far away, Cohen and Grace, as representatives of the Eastern Empire, witnessed the great feat of praying to the gods.

Accompanying Cohen were several other imperial ambassadors to the Kingdom of Ceylon, as well as representatives of several prominent forces on the continent.

Besides those present, there were also citizens from various cities in Ceylon and from capital cities across the continent.

In order to expose the false identity of the fake princess to the entire continent, this prayer ceremony will be broadcast live through image projection arrays placed in the capitals of various empires and kingdoms.

On the tall, circular altar, twelve obsidian pillars gleamed coldly, and flames roared in the bronze brazier, casting a long shadow of His Majesty Gaius Cromwell, King of Ceylon, who stood in the center of the altar.

King Gaius held a yellowed parchment with curled edges, its edges charred as if it had been burned.

Upon seeing this tattered page, many powerful individuals who were paying close attention to this prayer ceremony were shaken.

Fragments of the Charter of Gods and Demons!

Another torn page of the charter.

At the previous exchange meeting in the Northwest region, Adel Angel of the Kingdom of Efein produced a fragment of a charter, which displayed power equivalent to that of a Saint.

In just a few short years, yet another torn page has appeared!
These ancient artifacts, dating back to the ancient war between gods and demons, are now appearing one after another, casting a shadow over everyone's hearts—all of this foreshadows that the greatest catastrophe in human history is not far off!
In the Central Empire, the core figures of the empire gazed at the tattered pages of the charter in Gaius's hand, each experiencing a complex mix of emotions.

A subtle, well-hidden glint of greed flashed in Chief Heisenberg's eyes:

"Prince Heinz, are the fragments of our Empire's charter the same as those of Ceylon?"

The Central Empire also possessed a fragment of the charter, which had been kept by the Klein royal family.

In this generation, the fragments are kept in the personal custody of Prince Heinz Klein, the Imperial Minister of Military Affairs.

Prince Heinz gave a faint, almost imperceptible laugh:

"The entire Charter of Gods and Demons consists of twenty articles and five pages of table of contents. The fragments of the charter that our five great empires received are the table of contents pages, which are the pages that the gods have paid the most attention to and blessed with the most divine power."

The history of the Kingdom of Ceylon is, of course, far less significant than ours.

Because Heisenberg's nephew, Joren Wertheimer, was about to lead a group to Ceylon, he also watched the live broadcast of the prayer.

Upon hearing the prince's explanation, he couldn't help but ask:
"Your Highness, is it true that if all the fragments of the charter can be collected, the 'Charter of Gods and Demons' can be restored and its power is comparable to a divine artifact?"

Upon hearing Joren's question, even Her Majesty the Empress couldn't help but cast a curious glance at him.

Prince Heinz said with a faint smile:

"That's one way of saying it, but so much time has passed that many of the Allied Powers that participated in the Charter have disappeared into the river of time, and the fragments have long since vanished without a trace."

Prime Minister Hayes, who had remained silent until now, spoke up:
Do you think Gaius will succeed this time?

Although this statement was made for the general public, it was clear to anyone with a discerning eye that the Prime Minister's question was directed at Chief Heisenberg.

Of all the people present, he was the one most deeply involved in this matter.

On the surface, it's a struggle between the King of Ceylon and the Princess of Restoration, but everyone knows that the mastermind behind it all is King Alfion, Cohen Corleone, who once caused the Chief of the House of Nobles a great loss.

Heisenberg, the chief, said with a faint smile:
"I cannot imagine that a prayer ritual performed by the king of the strongest kingdom on the human continent, holding a fragment of the Charter of Gods and Demons, at a great cost, could fail."

Before the Prime Minister could answer, Shanis spoke first, asking:
"Does the gentleman believe Gaius is certain to succeed?"

Chief Heisenberg shook his head:
"uncertain."

Cohen's cheap father-in-law, Foreign Minister Beren Windrunner, couldn't help but speak sarcastically:

"What do you mean by that, sir? Didn't you just say you couldn't imagine the possibility of failure?"

Heisenberg's chief, without showing any change in expression, calmly replied:

"Just because I can't think of it doesn't mean there's no possibility of failure."

Beren was taken aback, his face turning ugly, and he let out a cold laugh:
"Sir, you are truly adept at wordplay."

Chief Heisenberg's gaze fell on Beren, and he smiled faintly:

"Speaking of which, this matter is inseparable from His Excellency Beren's son-in-law. If Gaius's opponent this time were not King Efein, I can give you a definite answer: Gaius would definitely succeed."

"But if all of this is truly orchestrated by King Effie, I can only say that Gaius might fail." It seemed a word from Chief Heisenberg's words stung Shanes; a shadow fell across the Empress's beautiful face, and her voice turned considerably colder.

"Regardless of the outcome, Ceylon will certainly be plunged into civil war, or even split apart as a result."

Safeguarding the Empire's interests in the Northwest Continent, Joren Wertheimer, you bear a heavy responsibility!

I don't want to see what happened in Florence again!

Qiao Lun's face paled slightly. The Empress's words were a clear warning to him that if he failed again, he would not only lose his ambition for the position of Imperial Consort, but he would also lose everything he had now.

Everyone was caught off guard by the Empress's sudden outburst of anger. Chief Heisenberg's expression also changed slightly. He coughed lightly, looked at the light screen in front of him, and said in a deep voice:

"The ceremony begins!"

……

On the tall, circular altar, around Gaius’s imposing figure, stood four priests of the Church of Prophecy, dressed in star-patterned robes.

These roles were originally meant to be played by the Veritas family, a lineage of prophets. However, the current situation has made it impossible for King Gaius to trust these ancient nobles.

He spent a great deal of money and influence to invite four legendary-level prophetic priests from the main temple of the Prophecy Church in the Central Continent to serve as his assistants.

Four legendary prophets, dressed in star robes and holding staffs, chanted ancient incantations in a low voice. The flames of the bronze brazier suddenly shot up, transforming into burning crimson-gold hourglasses that floated around the altar.

A strange vibration emanated from the altar, and Gaius's lips moved, uttering desolate, ancient syllables that reached everyone's ears:

"In the name of Madora, the god of prophecy, I, Gaius Cromwell, son of the gods and king of Ceylon, pray for the truth to come to light!"

As soon as the words were spoken, the writing on the tattered pages of the charter began to wriggle, as if something was trying to crawl out of the paper.

An invisible force that made even the soul tremble spread out instantly, and the guards around the altar unconsciously bent over.

This is a fragment of a communication document containing the marks and divine power left behind by the gods.

Sensing that divine power was gradually awakening, Gaius struggled to lift the tattered page above his head. The writing on it had completely changed, and the distorted symbols flickered in the firelight.

Suddenly, a strange blood-red lightning bolt appeared inside the flame that had transformed into a golden hourglass. Then, the hourglass exploded, scattering sparks everywhere, and the oppressive force that had been exerted on the souls of everyone vanished instantly.

The priests' chanting stopped abruptly, and the flames in the brazier returned to their normal orange color. The surroundings were deathly silent, with only the crackling sound of burning.

Thousands of miles away, in the main hall of the Church of Prophecy, Pope Atkinson opened his eyes, his face turning pale.

The voice sounded a little tired:
"As expected of a fragment left behind by the strongest kingdom on the continent, this power is far more formidable than the fragments of those vanished nations!"

His indifferent gaze swept over the four tattered pages of the charter placed in front of him, identical to those in Gaius's hand, and a mysterious smile curled at the corner of his lips.

Gaius's face froze like a sculpture as he stared in disbelief at the tattered page in his hand, his once robust body seemingly hunching over in an instant.

failure?

How could it possibly fail?
Unless the god of prophecy falls, he will surely answer your prayers!

Suddenly, he realized something: there was someone in this world who could disrupt the prayers to the gods.

That is His Majesty Pope Atkinson, the spokesperson of the God of Prophecy on the human continent.

Will he be the one to intervene?

But... that's impossible! The Church of Prophecy has existed for tens of thousands of years, always maintaining neutrality and never interfering in disputes between nations. Why would he...?

Suddenly, a cold wind pierced his chest, and he remembered a rumor about King Efein's identity—the Son of Prophecy!

Could the other party really be the child of prophecy?

Upon realizing this fact, Gaius was jolted, his face turning deathly pale. He bent over abruptly, spitting a mouthful of blood onto the burning bronze brazier with a hissing sound. The blood instantly congealed into a black scab on the scalding bronze surface.

The scene abruptly ended there. Everyone who had been watching the prayer ceremony knew that King Gaius's prayer... had failed!

Ceylon officials promptly shut down the projections to various parts of the mainland, but Cohen, who was on site, could see it clearly.

After spitting out blood, Gaius slammed his knee heavily onto the stone slab and immediately fell into a coma.

Grace whispered to herself:
"I hope you didn't just drive him to his death."

Cohen said uncertainly:

"It can't be that bad. He's probably just stressed out and his temper flared up. Let's go visit him."

Grace's red lips twitched slightly. It seems you're the one who caused all of this.

Unfortunately, Cohen's hopes of watching a good show were dashed. Before he could even get close, Gaius had already woken up under the care of the court priest.

Upon regaining consciousness, Gaius immediately issued the following order:

"Notify Commander Daniel Kelly to immediately attack Twin Towers Fortress!"

Gaius was undoubtedly still the decisive and wise king. The blow of the failed prayer did not make him lose his mind, but instead aroused his spirit.

The prayer to the gods has failed; now we must achieve a crushing victory to destroy the Gavin family's first line of defense.

Otherwise, if the stalemate continues, those wavering nobles will turn to the false princess, and at that point, Ceylon will truly be in a huge crisis.

……

As winter approaches, a cold wind sweeps through the deep canyon, carrying rough sand and gravel that slaps against the gray-brown city walls.

The Twin Towers Fortress stands between two steep mountain ridges, like two giant fingers, tightly gripping the vital passage to Gavin's territory.

The main body of the fortress consists of two square towers, each 100 meters high, made of the most solid black iron rock mined in Ceylon.

Every fifty meters along the tower, runes are imprinted to enhance its sturdiness.

The two towers are connected by a heavy iron gate, the spikes on which gleam coldly in the sunlight.

Each tower has a magic tower at its top, built at great expense by the first Duke Gavin. As long as there is sufficient energy, it can withstand the attack of legendary-level superhumans.

General Daniel Kelly's troops, commander of the Northwest Theater, were encamped on the southernmost wasteland of the fortress.

The camp was spread out in a fan shape, with thirty siege crossbows in the front row, their arms wrapped with hemp ropes soaked in tar.

Further back, a large number of engineers were assembling battering rams, the iron-clad hammerheads as big as millstones.

It is branded with the "shatter" attribute runes engraved by the accompanying mage.

Not far away was a cliff, with a row of wooden stakes driven into the edge, on which hung more than a dozen corpses, all of whom were scouts from Gavin territory captured in the past two days.

The dried limbs swayed like rags, and crows hopped around on the skeleton.

The entire scene is filled with a cold and eerie color palette.

Inside the operations room, Commander Daniel stared at the sand table model in front of him, lost in deep thought.

A group of brilliant generals stood around, none of them daring to utter a sound, waiting for the commander to make his decision.

Daniel Kelly, a mid-level Legendary Transcendent, is a veteran of countless battles and highly respected in the military.

Being assigned to the Northwest War Zone, the most important and stressful region, also signifies King Gaius's trust in him.

Time ticked by, and finally, as everyone waited, Daniel slowly raised his gaze, his indifferent eyes sweeping over the solemn-faced, upright generals, and spoke:
"I'm sure you all know the purpose of gathering everyone here."

His Majesty has just sent a secret order, requiring us to immediately launch an attack on Twin Towers Fortress and plant the royal flag atop its walls within twenty-four hours!

The sound of synchronized stomping and salutes echoed from the operations room, and the resounding responses sent dust flying outside.

Daniel waved his hand and said:
"You don't need to make any statements to me. Prove for yourselves whether you are qualified soldiers of the Kingdom through your actions."

On the other side was a group of noble soldiers who spent their days eating, drinking, and having fun in their territory; many of them probably had never even been on the battlefield.

While the Twin Towers Fortress is indeed easy to defend and difficult to attack, I have absolute confidence in my soldiers.

His Majesty requested 24 hours, but I'm only giving you eight. If you can't breach the gates of the Twin Towers Fortress within eight hours, all officers, regardless of rank, will be dismissed on the spot. Do you have the confidence?

The reply was as deafening as ever.

After a brief silence, a middle-aged general, noticeably older and bearing the same number of stars as Daniel, spoke:
"Commander, what did the military intelligence say? Can the enemy inside the fortress be identified?"

Are we really only facing the Gavin Territory's guard?

The speaker was Matteo Valentin, Chief of Staff and Operations Officer of the Northwest Theater, whose seniority in the military was not much less than Daniel's.

Daniel, with a cold expression, looked at Vice Commander Matteo, with whom he had never gotten along, and said:
"Chief of Staff, you can say whatever you want to say."

Matteo's voice suddenly rose considerably:
"There are some things I don't need to say, but everyone knows them. With the half-baked guards from Gavin Territory, even if the main force of the entire war zone came, a single regular division would be enough to wipe out a small Twin Towers Fortress."

What I'm really worried about is Effie, who's orchestrating all of this!
King Efein, who commanded the orc army that inflicted a crushing defeat on both great empires in Florence!
Commander, this is the strategically important Twin Towers Fortress. Once we begin our attack, it will be difficult to withdraw in a short time.

"If, during a protracted battle, King Efein leads his orc army to attack from behind, the entire Northwest Front's main force will be utterly annihilated!"

Commander Daniel remained unfazed, calmly answering the Chief of Staff's stern questioning:

"The Chief of Staff's considerations are quite reasonable, but I can tell you all that this is absolutely impossible."

Even if King Efein's orc army is powerful, it still needs to reach a certain size to be combat-effective.

Since his orc army made its debut at the Northwest Exchange Conference, our Kingdom of Ceylon has begun to strictly control the movement of orcs.

According to intelligence reports, not a single orc has crossed the entire Ceylon border in the past six months. Therefore, I can assure you that your concerns are completely unnecessary!

(End of this chapter)