T0 Gaming Guild Saves the World.

Chapter 663, Section 662: The Next on the List—Düsseldorf
On the outskirts of the capital, a long-abandoned manor was heavily guarded by imperial guards, its somber atmosphere clashing with the chirping of insects on a summer night.

Thiago was met by Wick.

Hungry, he sniffed the aroma emanating from the food box and kept swallowing his saliva.

He hadn't eaten a single bite of food all day, still shaken by the ordeal.

"Uncle Wick..."

Thiago, ravenously hungry, involuntarily swallowed as he smelled the enticing aroma emanating from the food box Wick had brought. His Adam's apple bobbed involuntarily. He hadn't eaten or drunk anything all day, still reeling from the ordeal, and the smell of food was now almost swaying his will to break.

“Uncle Wick…” his voice was hoarse, with a hint of pleading.

Wick gazed at the child he had watched grow up, his expression complex.

He slowly opened the food box and placed the still-warm grilled fish fillets, soft bread, and several delicate side dishes on the table. His movements were steady, yet they carried an unspeakable heaviness.

He poured himself a glass of deep red fruit wine and sat silently to the side, sipping it without looking at Thiago.
"Eat up. His Majesty's punishment for you will not be changed, and don't expect me to plead for you. I can't do that."

With his thoughts exposed, the last glimmer of light in Thiago's eyes dimmed, and he slumped into his chair in despair.

Seeing Wick casually pick up a piece of cooked grilled fish fillet and take a bite, he could no longer resist starting to eat.

“Thiago, your father and I have been friends for over forty years. I have held all of his children, but you are the one that I remember most vividly.”

Thiago wolfed down his food, and as he heard Wick reminiscing about the past, he couldn't help but lower his head, unwilling to let the voice enter his ears.

"The wolf queen had no children, and he couldn't withstand the pressure, which led to your mother's ascension to the throne."

"Perhaps as you grew up, more than once people around you offered you slanderous advice, saying that His Majesty was harsh to your mother, and that everything was just a tool to compromise with the nobles and mitigate the influence of the Wolf Queen. That's why the miracle of a minor nobleman rising to the top of the empire overnight happened."

"His Majesty specifically chose your mother's insignificant family so that the Wolf Queen's position would not be threatened."

"And so you were not expected to come into this world."

“You don’t need to deny it,” Wick raised his hand to stop him from making any rebuttal. “I’m in charge of the inner guard, and I know all the whispers in the shadows.”

Thiago remained silent.

"But I want to tell you... when you were born, both His Majesty and the Queen were genuinely happy for your arrival in this world."

"Your mother was once the most respected person in the palace, with a status comparable to that of the Queen of the Wolf."

Thiago stopped chewing.

"Should we be on par with them...? From as far back as I can remember, my father and mother have spoken only a handful of times."

His words were tinged with resentment.

Instead of answering directly, Wick dropped a bombshell.

"Did you know that when you were three years old, on the night the Wolf Queen gave birth to Sloan, you were once considered the heir to the empire?"

Thiago looked up sharply, staring at Wick in disbelief, his whole body trembling involuntarily.

"The Queen Wolf requested His Majesty to do this. She didn't want His Majesty to show excessive favoritism because of Sloane's birth... What a stupid woman, right? She knows nothing about politics, but that's why His Majesty has always loved her."

The food on his plate suddenly tasted like cardboard. Thiago was overwhelmed by the words "heir to the empire," losing all his senses and becoming numb.

“I know you’ll still think the Queen of the Wolf is just putting on an act when you get here, but I have something else to tell you.” Wick looked up, gazing at the bright chandelier in the dome. “Bertrand’s mother wasn’t the only one who betrayed His Majesty; your mother was involved too.”

Even now, Wick still feels heartbroken for Kurion when he recalls it.

Only a handful of people present knew what the wolf queen had said, and Wick and the veteran center guard immediately issued a gag order.

They knew the Queen of Wolves meant what she said, but that sincerity would only bring unexpected trouble to Kurien, who was at the center of power.

Soon, Thiago's mother, a woman whose status was comparable to that of the Queen of the Wolf, began to subtly probe Kurien's views on the heir to the empire in various settings, in ways she considered clever.

This foolish woman, blinded by power, completely shattered the long-standing facade of intimacy with the wolf queen.

With his offspring still young, the emperor of the empire chose a worthy successor. The wolf queen, being a grassroots adventurer, was not sensitive to power and could naturally be categorized as speaking unintentionally.

Thiago's mother has a powerful family background; if she rashly displays an overly proactive attitude, what will His Majesty think?
Kurien needs to consider the worst-case scenario.

Could it be that the lesser and greater nobles have formed an alliance to actively push for the selection of an heir?
the most important is……

After the Queen of the Wolf gave birth to Sloan, the field was cleared, leaving only the interior defenders on the field.

Who spread the wolf queen's words?

The Inner Guard is a force directly under Kurien's command, and is the Empire's most powerful intelligence and force agency. It can only be mobilized by the master of the Anna Empire.

Wick stopped there.

Thiago was stunned.

She never told her mother about these past events until her death.

All he knew was that his father and mother were estranged and like strangers.

To interfere with the inner guard is tantamount to usurping imperial power!
Wick took another sip of wine: "The matter occurred within the Imperial Guard, which is highly sensitive. His Majesty spent a whole year re-screening and reorganizing the Imperial Guard."

“We only found out afterward that an inner guard had secretly received a promise from your mother and thus helped push you to the position.” Wick smiled bitterly. “You were only 3 years old that year, and she was so impatient.”

Wick understood, and Wick complied.

Kurien had been lonely before he met them. Countless times in his life he had tried to trust the people around him, but the devastating betrayal at the beginning made him lose the courage to open his heart.

Even the fiercest lion king is vulnerable when betrayed by his own kind.

It was the wolf queen and the couple who helped him through that turbulent early stage.

Thiago's mother didn't die, thanks to Kurien's consideration of blood ties back then.

Or perhaps she was just too stupid, so stupid that people thought she had no deep scheming and wasn't worth being wary of.

He colluded with the inner guards, but was tricked into revealing his true intentions by a single sentence from the Wolf Queen.

Then consider that Thiago received the secret guards trained by his family, and they were also tricked into revealing their true colors...

The mother and child are cut from the same cloth, each with their own advantages. In my delusional state, I assume that as long as I manipulate things, everything will be fine.

The Anna Empire is riddled with flaws, and the reason it can operate stably is simply because the Lion King has used his powerful personal charisma to temporarily plug the numerous holes and create the appearance of a prosperous era.

Flowers in full bloom, oil poured on a blazing fire—only the wallpaperer knows how severely the artwork he creates is damaged.

He felt like he was on a ship riddled with holes, desperately bailing water out in an attempt to slow the empire's decline.

Unfortunately, most of the people around him were water ghosts who just wanted to drag him down with them.

From leading the empire back to the pinnacle of the continent with high spirits to having to adopt a neutral stance, it only took about twenty years.

Kurien is getting old.

Now even the children aren't afraid of him, mistakenly believing he's truly old and senile and wants to test the old lion's might.

Thiago suddenly felt a sharp, agonizing pain in his abdomen and neck, like being burned by a red-hot iron.

"Ugh!"

The cutlery in his hands clattered to the ground, and he gripped his neck tightly with both hands, as if trying to dig out the foreign object blocking his trachea.

His body began to spasm uncontrollably, and he rolled off the chair, curling up on the cold ground.

Large beads of sweat instantly covered his forehead, and his face turned deathly pale.

“Uncle Wick…” Thiago’s face was full of terror. His survival instinct made him endure the excruciating pain spreading throughout his body and crawl forward.

He had always held onto a sliver of hope.

No matter how much misbehavior they commit, they will not be subject to the most severe punishment.

Execution was something I never even considered.

The father was always overly lenient with his children; even Caris, who had an affair with his sister, was only given a severe beating by the father.

He couldn't believe his father could be so heartless!

Is he really going to kill his own son?
Unbearable pain, sadness, anger, and indifference flashed across Wick's face.

Killing a child you've watched grow up is also a form of torture for him.

But besides him, who else can share Kurien's burdens?
“You have broken His Majesty’s heart…” Wick stared at Thiago, who was beginning to convulse and whose eyes were rolling back, “You used the same potion that you used to execute the guards, only the dosage was changed, so he won’t die quickly.”

“This is a bit of my personal opinion… I really can’t bear the thought of him being betrayed by the person he trusted most in his later years.”

"Thiago, you are his child!"

Thiago's throat emitted a hoarse, bellowing sound as blood gushed uncontrollably from his mouth and nose, staining his luxurious clothes and the carpet beneath him.

His body convulsed violently, his limbs twisted at bizarre angles, as if an invisible force was tearing at his internal organs.

The process of dying was prolonged due to the potion, making it painful and hopeless.

Gradually, he lost the ability to make any coherent sounds, leaving only heavy breathing.

Wick watched until everything settled down, then slowly walked forward and closed Thiago's unwilling eyes.

The matter was over, and it was already dawn.

Upon hearing Wick's report, Kurien showed no emotion whatsoever, merely nodding slightly as if he had disposed of a useless, unwanted object.

Just as Wick was about to leave, Kurien called him back.

"The Fallen Star Sea has halted its legion's assembly, and the sea creatures will not launch an attack for the time being." Kurien picked up a wine glass and forcefully shoved it into Wick's hand. "Anna has had another peaceful day."

Only then did Wick smell the strong odor of alcohol on Kurion.

"His passing was not peaceful, was it?"

Wick answered truthfully, "I took it upon myself to do it."

"I guessed it too. Never mind, don't be too angry or sad."

Wick, unwilling to reopen Kurien's wounds, sat down and took a sip of his drink before asking where the people from the boundary between the real and the virtual were.

The palace was unusually quiet today.

The boundary between reality and illusion and Rainbow Rain didn't treat Anna Palace as a restricted area at all. By increasing Kuren's favorability, the two special achievements of the Fallen Star Envoy can be unlocked anywhere except for a few areas.

Therefore, the palace was unusually noisy during this period.

No kidding, there has never been such a free person in the history of Anna.

Now that this mediation between Falling Star Sea and Anna has ended, I'm afraid the nobles will all want to keep their distance from them.

Not everyone can gain the unanimous approval of the Lord of Anna, the Lord of the Fallen Star Sea, the Lord of the Decaying Leaf Elf Kingdom, and the Northwest Forest Elf.

They single-handedly defeated several of the most powerful forces on the Ana Continent, a feat unprecedented in history.

Given their connections, holding picnics every day in the palace using ingredients specially supplied to Kurien is already a testament to their extreme caution.

The prison guard's outrageous act of distributing a pornographic image to every member of the Imperial Guard was an exploitation of the loophole that prevented the Imperial Guard from accepting bribes.

"Is erotic photos also a form of bribery? You're making it sound like I personally helped Lu."

The Imperial Guards are elites selected from the most virtuous people in the empire, and then ruthless individuals forged through rigorous training.

They'd never seen a jailer like him before; his words were always vulgar and offensive. Only orange tea could make him back down; nobody could sway him.

But they didn't dare use too strong a word.

With Elera Vidu in charge, one should show some respect unless one wants to be humiliated by the dragon's breath.

Even the inner guards knew that the combination of the boundary between reality and illusion and Rainbow Rain was already Anna's most powerful neutral force.

“No, you’re underestimating them,” Kuryn said. “Rennie has also joined them.”

"Huh?" Wick asked suspiciously. "I heard that their Mint Mom and Renee have quite a conflict."

"Is it contradictory? I feel that there is more mutual respect between the two of them."

Wick added, "The Glenn family is very controlling of Renee, isn't they? Rainbow Rain is considered heretical by them, so they probably wouldn't allow Renee to have too much contact with it."

“Now that things have come to this, I think even Grelian and the others can’t control Renee anymore. The genius they’ve worked so hard to cultivate is probably going to be led astray into the boundary between reality and illusion.”

Kurien made no attempt to hide his excitement.

He was happy to see these great magical families suffer setbacks.

The boundary between reality and illusion, this big catfish stirring up the waters, is too friendly to him.

"Won't they go crazy?!"

“Erera Vie can go mad too, it just depends on who goes madier.” Kurien suppressed a laugh. “I think the Grion family has to take the existence of a dragon into consideration.”

After hesitating for a moment, Kurien narrowed his eyes slightly.

What is your impression of Düsseldorf?

"A master of spatial magic? He's kind and gentle, and treats people with humility. He's a good person."

Kurien took a sip of his drink and pondered for a while: "The people at the boundary between the real and the virtual seem to be very wary of Dussel."

"Oh?"

“During our casual conversation, I mentioned that if they kidnapped Renee, Grelian and Dussel would cause them trouble.” Kurien said thoughtfully. “Grelian and the others wouldn’t care, but when it comes to Dussel… they seem to hate him, especially Eleravie.”

"Should I have the bodyguards check it out?"

"No need. If my guess is true, we'll have the answer soon."

Wick pondered, "Not interfere?"

“From my observation, the virtual and real boundary has never misjudged the situation. Potato’s insight is very strange... Occasionally, I feel that he can see the future,” Curry said. “In fact, the old center back then also reported Düsseldorf’s abnormality, but it was not taken seriously. It’s no harm to let the virtual and real boundary give it a try.”

At this moment, Renee, who had arrived in the underground chamber of the Grelian family using spatial magic, clenched her fists.

Mint was telling the truth.

The teacher had been spying on me all along!

"Düsseldorf!"

She stormed back to the group at the boundary between reality and illusion, her eyes bloodshot, like a wild beast ready to devour its prey.

"It seems the last person we needed to persuade has no objections," Jiang Heyi laughed. "It's time to deal with our old friend."

Looking around the room full of people, he thought, "It seems like we won't need the help of evil spirits this time."

(End of this chapter)