Thousand-Faced Dragon

Chapter 116 Two Heavenly Beauties
The journey in the underground world continues, and Rean and his companions are still marveling at the abundance of talent and rare materials available there, while the surface world is plunged into new chaos.

"There's a big problem within the Church of the Shield," Dania had to face this harsh reality as soon as she got up.

Even knowing that her "alliance" was completely unreliable, Dania still felt a chill run down her spine when she learned that there was a problem with her main supporter.

She not only couldn't speak out about this matter, but she also had to keep it a secret and resolve it discreetly.

The Church of the Three Good Gods, with the Church of the Shield at its core, is her current main supporter and the most active among those true God churches.

Dania absolutely could not accept a scandal within their ranks, or a situation where they were wary of each other because of an inside traitor.

Sitting in front of the dressing table, letting the maid take care of her, Dania bit her thumb and fell into deep thought.

This matter needs to be handled discreetly. If possible, she doesn't even want the church to know about it, but she doesn't want to interfere too obviously in the church's internal affairs. Even if there's a reason for it, it would make those true God churches hostile and wary of the already weakened royal family.

It can be said that the kingdom and the royal family only have bad cards and even worse cards in their hands.

Every action must be taken with utmost caution.

Even those supporters were not primarily motivated by loyalty, but rather by the greater benefits they could gain by following your fallen royal family.

There's nothing wrong with that in itself; loyalty should be rewarded, and even encouraged with rewards. But the royal family's resources are too meager now, and they simply can't afford enough rewards.

This is not to say that the royal family is poor; in fact, the royal family is still quite wealthy. They have accumulated enough wealth in the past to last several lifetimes to spend it all. But they are truly so poor that all they have left is money.

The fiefdoms granted, the authority within the kingdom, and the knowledge and materials for shaping top-tier extraordinary individuals—these are what are truly valuable.

In particular, many churches, under the guise of supporting the royal family, are actually expanding their influence within the kingdom.

These churches have always been the royal family's staunchest foreign supporters, but they are also the foreigners that need the most vigilance.

"Ask Xindu for help again? No, the situation there is also terrible."

Not only is there little hope for rescue, but more frustratingly, if her mother deems her "unqualified," she may face further restrictions.

Dania doesn't want to be a tool for a political marriage; she wants to become the second queen.

"Your Highness, there is a visitor, a mage we have not met before. He calls himself Stephen Philrange, an alchemist and healer. Our men checked him, and he has no weapons on him."

"It's alright, we made an appointment. Tell him to wait for me in the reception room."

Even amidst a lot of bad news, there's always some good news.

What delighted Dania the most was the reopening of Valhalla.

Putting everything else aside, for her, who desperately needs talent right now, these "potential and reliable young people" are extremely valuable.

Soon, this initial conversation, limited to the candidates for the title of Heroic Spirit, came to an end.

This alchemist, Stephen, pledged his loyalty to the future queen.

In this era, not all talents are as resolute as paladins like Rean.

In fact, most talented people are the type who will follow whoever provides the benefits. The more they crave progress, the more they lack money, materials, and opportunities. The princess, who has both the moral high ground and the money, cannot recruit noble families and large forces that are more politically driven, but recruiting these independent talents who have not yet made their fortunes is not difficult.

The biggest challenge is actually how to get these talented people to lower their guard and reveal their true identities to Dania.

"I give up this inheritance." These were the princess's first words, and also her decision after much deliberation.

She could clearly see that the other person breathed a sigh of relief and became more talkative.

The legacy of Kuku's spirit will inevitably lead to mental breakdown. A mentally unstable politician is absolutely unacceptable, at least not by a reliable country.

Dania couldn't bear the consequences of "another me." If this other "me" truly influenced her inner desires, refused to shoulder the responsibilities of being a princess, and instead became an ordinary little girl, what would happen to this country? Dania didn't even dare to think about it.

After giving up the competition (Danya: My goal is to be a candidate next time!), she also easily gained the loyalty of this poor alchemist.

He may be worthless now, but if he really becomes a candidate for Heroic Spirit, he will naturally become stronger quickly. Even if he is not successfully elected, his potential is definitely not low.

"I will compete; I crave greater talent and faster research progress. Having multiple personalities and thought processes should be a good thing for me. I believe my new personality will also be an excellent researcher." The alchemist's eyes gleamed with a fervent passion for knowledge, which seemed genuine.

"At least, we've gained another talented individual." Dania estimated that among the seven candidates in this round, at least one or two were from the Earth.

But the agreed time had passed, and the other party still showed no intention of contacting her. In her rational judgment, she even hoped that Rean, this special agent of heroic spirits, would continue to maintain this special status.

While Rean might not be able to make the decision directly, judging from the situation with Suliman, he could indeed influence the final decision of the heroes.

"Hopefully, he still remembers that he is an Ark." But for some reason, Dania always felt that Rean wouldn't blow the racial whistle as she hoped.

To put it another way, Dania only hoped that he would remain neutral and not side with the underworld.

She hinted to Suliman to speed things up, as she was genuinely worried that Rean had been bribed by the dark elves of the underworld, especially since that goddess had actually been openly poaching people.

"Shameless. That woman's clothes." Recalling the images of some of the goddess's equipment and Sallyman's retelling, the little girl immediately blushed.

If Rean's identity is exposed, the things those underground candidates can offer are also quite impressive.

The princess knew that the line between a knight of the Dark Elf family and a confidant was very thin.

"How shameless!"

In the worst-case scenario, there might be others among them with similar social standing to oneself.

What she was most worried about was that the legacy would fall into the hands of underground races, especially the dark elves.

Not only this time, but also for the souls of heroes to come.

This means she has truly become "aiding the enemy." She has come to regard the entire underworld as her enemy.

In fact, Suliman and her delegation had already completed their mission.
Through conversations with the city lord, it has been confirmed that the Dark Elf city has no intention of starting a war, and this raid was likely just the action of the radical faction within it.

This is already the best possible outcome.

The promise from the dungeon lord to suppress the restless radicals already satisfied Dania considerably.

She wasn't naive enough to form a pact with the underworld; dark elves are born traitors and oath-breakers, and their words are not to be trusted at all.

As long as there's no war now, and she has time to clear the large bombs underground, that's the bottom line she can accept.

Little did Dania know that a big surprise awaited her after she fell asleep tonight. The emergence of four potential beast-type magical girls was no simple matter; the selection and control of the deer-tribe girls in the city alone would cause a great deal of trouble.

The same thing is happening in the underground world.

On a street in Menzoberranzan, a pure white fawn floats peacefully.

It easily bypassed the dark elves outside and slid through the window into a room where its "girl" was supposed to be resting.

“I’ve made a deal with the slave trader. He’ll bring the deer girl to us for inspection tonight, and when the time comes, we’ll snatch her. What are you doing?” Without sufficient necessity, beasts have no restraint.

Keeping promises? Making vows? Those are the thoughts of foolish and inefficient people.

The Beast Child was a little puzzled. His doll-like contractor was not sitting calmly on the bed in a daze as usual.

She sat at the table, holding a dagger, seemingly carving something while referring to a blueprint.

"Making weapons. I just learned that."

The fawn fell silent, unable to comprehend how the puppet it controlled could act on its own initiative.

But that's not important; it's probably just what book he read.

The Beast Prince floated up, his dark eyes silently watching his partner, sensing that she was in good condition.

It was quite pleased that it had found a suitable candidate so easily among the slaves.

"Alright, as long as it doesn't affect our plans, go see your fellow slaves. If they still don't come this time, remember to clean yourself up properly, so you don't get yourself dirty again."

"I hate red." That wasn't arrogance, but rather the Beast Prince calmly expressing his preference. A pure white beast should remain pure and white, and should not be tainted by those of lower status.

The "doll girl" trembled suddenly, but then returned to calm.

"it is good."

(End of this chapter)