The Villain Princess survived the Imperial Riot

The direction in which Garcia was thrown by the stone monster was exactly the space formation that Iyana had arranged in advance. Under the illumination of the illusory moon phase, his figure gradually distorted and disappeared.

At this moment, the floor of the auditorium collapsed as the cracks spread, and a humanoid body made of metal mechanical structure broke out of the ground.

The humanoid exuded a heart-pounding aura, and its body was a mixture of metal and ore. At first glance, it was somewhat similar to the stone monster transformed by the goblin. However, in front of it, even the stone monster's structure gradually became unstable, turning into pools of high-temperature molten liquid flowing all over the sky, and finally merged into its body.

"Blood weapon?" Hestia asked in surprise.

"Blood machine, what is that?" Chloe had already dissolved several undead creatures with spider silk containing acid poison. She retreated to the side of the princess, wishing the elf would teleport her away immediately.

"During the final years of the God-Emperor's reign, the Tyran Elves forged inorganic living creatures known as 'Blood Gold' in order to create servants capable of rivaling the High Knights. The mystics who accepted and coexisted with living creatures became Blood Machines. This was a dead end, leading most Blood Machines to the brink of corruption."

Bloodgold is a special metal imbued with life and wisdom by the Tyran elves, imbued with supreme power. War machines forged from bloodgold are called "Mechanists." Mechanists have existed in the Tyran Kingdom for less than four years. A half-elf worker at a bloodgold factory, in a desperate protest, sank to the bottom of a pool of bloodgold. His rage, leaving a stubborn streak within the surging core, infected the still-unsophisticated new Mechanists, triggering the "Bloodgold Crisis," which unravelled decades of Tyran Kingdom research.

Afterwards, more and more half-elf laborers who rebelled against the Kingdom of Tailan gave up their souls and flesh and blood, signed contracts with blood gold, and became an extremely unique secret sect.

"Do the Tailan elves have such a secret cultivation?"

Even Iyana had never heard of this. For one thing, her homeland was thousands of miles away from the land of Avalon, so she had no deep understanding of the elven kingdom beyond the Cloud Ridge. For another, the Blood Machine forces, suppressed by the Kingdom of Tyran, were weak, long in a Schrodinger state of destruction and resurgence, and unknown to outsiders.

"It's not considered a 'school' because the blood instrument has no inheritance or foundation, and even the Zhi Xiang has not been born. I didn't expect that the Medical Association would have such a blood instrument hidden."

Hestia tutted in amazement.

This is not something Iyana can deal with.

Blood Gold was originally created to compete with high knights, which makes the Blood Machine extremely resilient. It can not only resonate with one or several types of substances and easily integrate into them, but also freely shape itself, with top-notch defense and regeneration.

Moreover, they have no souls, which is a natural restraint for Iyana, who is a spiritual practitioner.

In addition, the Blood Machine possesses the instincts of an alchemist and can transform the corpses of other secret cultivators into arcane circuits.

"Your Highness, we should leave."

Iyana also realized that the blood machine in front of her was not easy to deal with, so she moved the moon phase to cover the three of them.

As if sensing the elf's movements, the blood machine suddenly let out a sharp scream, and the marble pillars of the entire hall collapsed in an instant. Countless pieces of rubble flew towards the three people in a twisted arc, just a hair's breadth away from blocking the moon phase and crushing the tiny people into meat paste.

But this seemingly slight difference was actually within the elves' calculations. The world was spinning, and the three of them appeared at the Iron Army's station in an instant.

Under the big tree nearby, Rafael Garcia was squatting in the snow, shivering in his military uniform. His shabby appearance, like a frightened caged bird, made it hard to associate him with the spiritual cultivators on the path to continuation and eternal life.

"Your Highness!" The tall knight major who led the army rushed over and saluted the princess.

"Launch a saturation attack on the Medical Association. Inside is a nearly complete 'Blood Instrument' and hundreds of secret cultivator corpse puppets!"

The major immediately obeyed, and following the instructions of the saber and signal flag, dozens of loaded artillery pieces poured ammunition towards the Medical Association regardless of the consequences.

Magic crystal dust exploded in the air, and the continuous loud noise lasted for more than ten minutes, until there was no trace of the wall anymore. The Iron Army stopped the bombardment and let the billowing smoke dissipate.

Amidst the ruins, an immortal body forged from metal and ore still stood. Its body was broken, its dark red blood, thick as oil, oozing from its surface. Behind it rose several slanted crystal pillars over ten meters tall, slowly dissolving within them the corpses of the secret cultivators and the zombies transformed by the cultists.

"The rumored blood weapon, right? It's a good opportunity to test its quality."

The major was eager to fight. Instead of holding a knife, he ordered his followers to carry a heavy hammer that was almost as tall as a man. It was engraved with secret techniques and carved with exotic beasts, and the valuable metal luster was shining.

He stepped into the ruins with a resolute momentum. Dust and gravel rose into the sky again. The sound of artillery did not stop, but the explosion shells loaded with magic crystals were replaced by solid bullets engraved with the mark of arcane magic.

Those cannonballs made of magic metal and containing special effects were like baseballs picked up by the tall knight's hammer, and the deafening hammering continued to explode in the ruins.

There was no suspense. In the end, the major used ninety-nine solid shells to create a seal, which caused the blood machine to stop functioning and fall into dormancy.

As soon as the battle of the Medical Association ended, the Iron Army did not stop for a moment and immediately began to eliminate the zombie monsters in the surrounding area. The sentinels accompanying the army dug through the ruins, looking for any possible useful clues.

"Now you can tell me why they kidnapped you, Professor Garcia."

Hestia came to the snowy area where Garcia was, her attitude stern.

"Is it her... Is it her..." Garcia murmured with lingering fear. He slowly raised his head when he heard the princess' question. "Your Highness... What do you want to know?"

"The Zhusheng Association, your research, and your wife, tell me, how is all this connected? Why did they kidnap you?"

Hestia asked cautiously.

What surprised her was that the blue-black mycelium symbols in the Witch's Book were still spreading, carrying with them piles of white bones and centipede-like orange-red bodies, and had not dissipated for a long time.

"Birthday party, Louisa..."

Garcia covered his head in pain, as if he was lost in painful memories. However, the more he recalled, the more anxious he became, his breathing became rapid, and soon blood and sweat seeped out of his body.

"I've lost my memory of many things from the past due to mental trauma, but there's one thing I firmly believe in... Louisa took the wrong path, and her students ultimately did too. This is due to our disagreement over the Primordial Factor."

Garcia paused, and soon began to breathe in pain and suppression again.

Hestia didn't interfere, but simply observed his condition.

After a while, Garcia said again:

"Your Highness has already heard about my research in the ritual classroom. You should know that the Primordial Factor is the origin of all life. We, humans, dwarves, elves... even ratmen, lizards, cockroaches, and weak ants, all possess the same Primordial Factor. It's only as life evolves that impurities are constantly added, ultimately forming the differences between species in heaven and earth.

"When Lin Yisa discovered and demonstrated to us the universality of the Primordial Factor, we hoped to use it for organ replication and cultivation, essentially injecting the original agent carrying our Primordial Factor into other organisms to make them more human-like. In this way, we could replace dead or failing structures in the aging or diseased, transplant more vibrant young cells, and even transfer brains or replace bodies... Replacing the impurities in the Primordial Factor might even allow us, like druids, to assume the characteristics of other creatures. I have reason to suspect that the powers of druids and shapeshifters are directly derived from the use of the Primordial Factor...

"I believe this will benefit the well-being of the empire. We will no longer suffer from illness, and people will enjoy long and healthy lives. The people of the empire will become immortals, surpassing the elves, and eternal descendants of the gods."

Hestia couldn't help scratching her head. She roughly understood Garcia's description and felt a little weird.

What a coincidence, you are also playing Gene Ascension?

The princess asked, "What about your wife? What is the difference between you and her?"

"Luisa is a philanthropic person. She's more empathetic than anyone else, and she's always frustrated by the pain and suffering of others..." Garcia sighed deeply. "I still can't understand her thinking. She believes that the Primordial Factor can restore unity to life."

"What kind of unified law?"

"Without the barriers of the flesh, without the barriers of the soul..." Garcia took a deep breath and spoke slowly, "She wanted to 'eat' all the pain, using her body and soul to create a perfect heaven for the suffering, eternal life and immortality."

"What a fantasy! It's more like hell than heaven." Hestia chuckled. "She is hell."

"Yes, I thought she was just talking, until I saw her feeding those dying patients..." Garcia clutched his chest, took a long breath, then gritted his teeth and spoke bit by bit, "Feeding... Your Highness, there was one thing I hid from you."

"speak."

"Luisa didn't die because of the curse of the dream..." Garcia covered his face, tears of blood streaming down his face in pain. "It was me. I couldn't bear to see her fall into such a wrong path... I killed her."

Volume 65: The Dreamer: . High Knight

The smoke drifted in the snow, quickly losing its temperature. The pungent dust melted Garcia's frozen pain, making every word he said seem like chewing firewood.

"You killed her?" Hestia thought. "Are you sure she's dead?"

"What is death, Your Highness?" Garcia suddenly aged over ten years, becoming a truly mortal old man. He smiled wryly and said, "Some see death as a destined destination, an eternal end, irreversible. Others see it simply as a state of being: life when awake, death when asleep."

"What do you think?"

"I killed Luisa, but it wasn't my intention. I just wanted to stop her..." Garcia said with a mournful expression, "But I never imagined I would one day lose her. Later, a woman came to me with all of Luisa's research data related to the Primordial Factor... I didn't think Luisa was doing the right thing, so I wanted to prove that my path was the right one worthy of the world's recognition."

"Interesting. Then why would this Valai kidnap you? Isn't he your assistant?"

"He was my assistant... but why?" Garcia frowned as he struggled to recall. "He and I got along very well. Perhaps because he was Luisa's student, I thought he could be the successor to our research project... But I didn't expect him to be mad. He was possessed by Luisa and devised an evil ritual from the materials she left behind, using it as a path to immortality!"

Garcia was heartbroken and completely desperate.

"If he is a possessed madman," Hestia asked, "who possessed him? Louisa, or the woman you speak of? Who is she, and where is she now?"

"I don't know... but she always meets me in a cave in Mirror Mountain. She... provides a lot of help to my research. Her talent far surpasses mine. Every word she speaks is like Louisa sharing her academic achievements with me... But who is she..."

Garcia babbled on and on like a sleepwalker lost in his delirium.

"You don't remember who she is?"

"Ah, Your Highness, she... Forgive my age and dullness, my memory is always a bit flawed, but I still remember the cave where we met. If I could just go back there, I'd definitely be able to recall something."

Garcia's attitude was so sincere and his emotions were so genuine that Hestia couldn't tell whether he was putting on a show.

She was full of doubts, but in order to thoroughly understand the source of the plague and the black mycelium, she finally agreed to let Garcia go to the mysterious cave he mentioned.

……

Yunling, Silent Wind Hill, and the setting sun are hot and passionate.

After carrying tens of thousands of corpses to the square and burning them together, Clara listened to the trembling pleas and cries of the old man in brocade clothes, and her emotionless eyes turned to the woman who was admiring the twilight in the valley at the other end of the square.

Noel Tinson, an Imperial major, is the nominal commander in charge of suppressing the Silent Hill rebels.

"Master Knight, could you please be more accommodating..." The old man in brocade clothes trembled. "We have been coerced by the rebels and have almost lost everything, including our wealth and lives. To ask for so much money all at once is really..."

Clara said expressionlessly, "If you had reported this earlier, things wouldn't have gotten to this point. The military is very open-minded. If you can't raise the funds now, you can pay them back in installments at a compound interest rate of 10% per month. If that's still insufficient, they can mortgage your assets and territory. If that still falls short, they can exchange your children for yours. Your family of sixty or seventy people is worth the military funding."

The old man in brocade clothes turned pale and said hurriedly, "Yes, yes, I will discuss it with the nobles right now."

He hurried there, and all that was left in the square in the center of the town were piles of corpses, and soldiers and ratmen followers busying around.

"almost."

A man in military uniform approached and spoke in a low voice. He was the de facto commander of this cavalry battalion, Mines Reinhardt. And in the eyes of the sergeants of this battalion, Noelle was a noblewoman from Tingson, seeking honors and gilding herself.

"That's almost right. I didn't expect there would be a group of rebels getting in the way here."

Clara nodded.

To understand such twists and turns, we have to mention Yunling’s profound culture and fine traditions.

Less than one-sixth of the Yunling Province's area is coastal plains. Most of the area is located in the cols and valleys of the Yunling Mountains. Traffic is congested and the journey is rugged and difficult. One mountain town after another is nailed to the hub of the road to prevent merchants and travelers from being taken into the nests of the monsters lurking in the deep mountains and wilds.

Silent Wind Hill is one of the most remote towns among the countless valleys. It is a place where miasma breeds and is surrounded by mountains. There is only one winding mountain path for passage. Slightly larger pack animals are simply unable to carry goods through those dark and narrow undulating mountain roads.

Therefore, the administrative tentacles of the Governor's Office could only sigh in despair at such a remote place, so according to convention, they either granted these lands to noble lords or cooperated with local dignitaries and asked them to assist in management.

Anyway, what the empire values ​​most are taxes, troops and strategic materials. As long as the output of these three is roughly the same, the Governor-General and the Emperor, who are busy with all kinds of affairs, will naturally turn a blind eye and let things get by.

In many autonomous territories, this is also an unspoken rule among all those in power.

No matter whether you are a mountain bandit, a green forest hero, a sorcerer, or a smuggler, as long as it does not hinder the empire's tax collection, there is nothing you cannot cooperate with and nothing you cannot resell. In order to expand your business, many robbers are simply private soldiers under the lords.

Generally speaking, the unruly people who can't survive but have some ability should choose a glorious camp to join. Either become a bandit or a volunteer, but no matter whether they are bandits or volunteers, they are always family members who can eat together.

As long as they do not rebel openly, the lords who have been loyal to the people and have been cherished by the Emperor are all guests who can befriend them.

As for free will?

There is no way it exists!

My Lord, I only see bandits who can be pacified. Where are the rebels who have fought against the empire?

There is still a profit in doing business with these guys and reselling strategic materials, but if we report it to the Governor's Office and ask the Iron Army to suppress the bandits, at least three years of work will be in vain.