Can't I develop my own character?

So, maybe give it a try.

He took Amabena's notebook and tore out a page.

Amabena: “?”

Then he folded a thousand paper cranes.

"Try it."

......

Second update! Please vote! Please support!!!

Chapter 108: Grand Duke: Ryan is still alive! The throne? No, I only want Ryan!

Maganna has been very anxious lately.

Casradi became the crown prince, and then what? Did the Janus Gate seem to retreat? Although Ina said they couldn't reach an agreement, the Janus Gate army didn't enter Barron's territory, but they didn't turn back either. This clearly showed that both sides were using a delaying tactic.

So, Ryan's backhand worked.

As for whether the effect is real, it cannot be seen now, so there is no way to verify it.

But Maganna knew that if this continued, Casradi would win!

She actually had a very strange feeling. She felt that it didn't matter if Casradi became the emperor, but the old emperor's head must be chopped off by her, Maganna!

This was the promise she made in front of Ryan's grave, that she would avenge Ryan.

So, even though 'Ina' and McCauss both advised her not to be too radical, if she wasn't radical, would she still be the iron-blooded Grand Duke?

Be more radical and avenge Ryan. Anyway, she has made up her mind to do it. She has decided to chop off the old emperor's head. Even if Janus comes, it will be useless!

However, the consequence of the radicalism was that the old emperor ordered the empire's 200,000-strong imperial army to be pulled to the Mort Plain. That was the last line of defense west of the imperial capital Baron's territory. Only by breaking through there could they successfully enter Baron.

These 200,000 men were essentially all the troops the old emperor could mobilize. About half of the remaining imperial forces were either passive or secretly defecting to Casradi. The remaining 50,000 or so troops were left behind by the old emperor in Baron. Because the Paladins hadn't attacked Baron, Baron was largely unaffected.

It is equivalent to that the Iron Blood Army she leads has become a major threat to the empire. If the old emperor suddenly changes his ways and passes the throne to Casradi at this time, the loyalists will stand up collectively, and the imperial army will counterattack the Iron Blood Army at the first opportunity and surround them in the Mort Plain.

But Maganna felt that the old emperor would not give up so easily. He wanted to rule Augustus forever, and this idea had become an obsession.

The problem now is how to break through the defenses built by these 200,000 imperial troops, and then go straight into the imperial capital and chop off the old emperor's head.

"Hmm... This time the army is led by Karkat. He's the old man's confidant. This battle is definitely not going to be easy."

Magna stared at the map, thinking.

In vain.

She noticed something and took out a thousand paper cranes from her storage bag with a puzzled look.

At this moment, the paper crane that Ryan had given her was emitting a faint light!

Magna was stunned.

What's happening here?

"Ina! Ina! Someone! Go get Ina over here!!!"

...

Three minutes later.

'Ina' appeared in Maganna's room and stared at the paper cranes on the table with her.

"Grand Duke...you just said it glowed?"

Magna nodded vigorously: "Yes, yes, it glows, it glows!"

“But it’s not glowing now.”

"It was just posted! It's absolutely true!"

"And then?" Ina wondered, "Even if it really glows, so what?"

"Glowing! This is the paper crane Ryan gave me. It suddenly glowed. Does it mean that Ryan is not dead? I was just thinking, is there a possibility that although Ryan was killed by that Charlie, he actually used the relic to fake his death, and then attacked her when Charlie was not paying attention and escaped? But because he was injured and was being tracked, he couldn't contact me. Now he finally found an opportunity to use the paper crane to convey a message to me. In fact, he wants me to rescue him immediately? He may be trapped in a cave now. Oh no! Charlie is leading people to search the mountain!"

Ina: “???”

No, Grand Duke, how can you infer so many things from just one glow?

"Your speculations... seem completely unfounded. Just because it glows..."

"Glowing isn't enough!" Magna exclaimed excitedly. "Glowing! It's glowing!"

"So, it's just glowing. How do you know it's Lord Ryan asking for help?"

"Intuition!" Magna said with certainty, "He's definitely not dead, hahahahaha! Ryan is not dead, Ryan is not dead!!!"

Ina stopped talking.

She didn't know what to say at all.

Although Ryan was indeed not dead and was indeed using the paper cranes to test him, she did not expect Maganna to come up with so many ideas at once, and she was so sure of it. Where did her confidence come from?!

"There's another possibility!" Magna continued, "That's that Charlie didn't intend to kill Ryan at all, she just kidnapped him and is now torturing him in an underground cell every day! She must be waiting for me to attack Barron and threaten me with Ryan's life to retreat! That bastard is so despicable!!!"

Magna gritted her teeth.

It seemed as if he really thought of the scene where Ryan was locked in the basement and tortured by 'Xia Li' every day.

Ina was too lazy to say anything, because she found that Maganna just liked to think of some unfounded things and was very confident.

"Then... Grand Duke, what would you do if Lord Ryan was still alive?" Ina asked tentatively.

"Of course I rescued him."

"If it is really as you said, and the old emperor uses Lord Ryan's life to make you withdraw your troops, will you retreat?"

"retreat!"

"Why? We are almost reaching Barron, and the throne is within reach."

"So what?" Maganna waved her hand nonchalantly. "As long as Ryan comes back, with his help, the throne that I want will be easily within my grasp. Besides, even if there's no such opportunity in the future, I can just go back and continue to guard the western and southern territories. With Ryan's help, what can the empire do to me?"

"The Grand Duke truly treats Lord Ryan with all his heart, and he's even willing to give up the throne." Ina got the answer.

"It's not that we don't want to, but we can temporarily put it aside." Magna analyzed rationally. "Think about it, even though we've reached the Morte Plains and seem only one step away from the throne, we're actually just getting started. The old emperor gave the crown prince position to Casradi. Those who previously wanted to purge the imperial court with us are no longer willing to join us. Those nobles are definitely more willing to support Casradi as the crown prince than me."

"I've just analyzed it carefully. If we force a fight, we'll suffer heavy losses, and Barron might not be able to attack the city by then. If the old emperor and I both suffer losses, that would only allow Casradi to reap the benefits, don't you think? So why not withdraw our troops in exchange for Ryan? They'll definitely agree!"

Ina thought, isn't this exactly what we explained to you before? You said it was all bullshit back then. It seems you listened and understood it, but just didn't want to do it, right?

"Then...what if the thousand paper cranes were just an accident and Lord Ryan is really dead?" asked 'Ina'.

"Dead? Of course the army is attacking! We've already reached the Morte Plains, so why retreat? The throne is only a step away. Even for the warriors in the west, I cannot retreat!"

'Ina': '6'

Do you listen to what you are saying?

That's not what you just said!

Ina's mind was a bit confused. She felt that Maganna's idea was completely illogical. 1+1=880? Why would a person walking on the road fall into a cesspool? Why would an apple fly up into the sky after falling? Why would an island fly?

These are as fantastic as Maganna's ideas, and normal people can't understand them at all.

But 'Ina' also got the answer she wanted, and that's enough. As for the rest, let the paper cranes explain it!

......

at the same time.

Barron.

"Saint, you really shouldn't have agreed not to let the Paladins enter Barron."

Inside the Janus Church.

Cardinal Andoni said in a deep voice.

"We originally agreed with Casradi to send troops under the pretext of eliminating the Blood God threat and help her seize the throne, in exchange for her easing restrictions on the spread of Janus' faith in the Augustus Empire. But now you've promised her not to send troops. The Iron Blood Legion is pressing on, and if the emperor chooses to abdicate, our agreement with Casradi will be void."

Thirty thousand holy knights, he led his men into Augustus in great glory, but ended up tripping outside the gate. Now his men are stationed at the border of Baron, and they can neither advance nor retreat, so Andni had to come to Baron to see the situation.

Because the Pope appointed Lin Qi to be in charge of the negotiations, he had no right to interfere in this matter.

"You also said that it was in the name of eliminating the threat of the Blood God, but now there is no clue about the blood sacrifice, and we have no reason to start." Lin Qi said calmly.

"Saint, we don't need to seek the so-called authority; it was bestowed upon us by Princess Casradi." Andni frowned. "We only need to follow the pre-arranged actions. So what if there's no blood sacrifice? As long as we quickly defeat Barron and help Casradi ascend to power, she will have the final say."

Influence of the outer gods?

How could ordinary civilians know so much about such things?

Anyway, when the time comes, the Janus Gate and the Empire will jointly issue a notice, even if there is nothing there.

It was obviously a very simple matter, he didn't understand why Lin Qi made it so complicated. As long as he didn't agree with Casradi's change of mind, it would be fine. After all, the latter really needed them.

If you agree now, it may be difficult to act later. Don't end up with nothing.

"Is it because the Saint is friends with the princess that she can't bear to force her?"

"Bishop Anderni, the Pope has entrusted me with this matter, so I have no obligation to explain these things to you. You just need to continue waiting, and I will inform you when there is news."

"..."

Andni was about to say something when a knight came to inform him that Heino had arrived.

He frowned. What was going on with this Hai Nuo? She kept coming here lately. Wasn't she from Casradi's side? Could she be the one who came here to say something secretly?

Whether it was Lin Qi or Hai Nuo, their status was no lower than his, so Andney could only give up temporarily.

"Saint, I still want to remind you not to disappoint the Pope's expectations."

When Hainuo came in, he passed by Andni. Looking at the gloomy face of the other person, he knew that something bad must be wrong. The two of them didn't even say hello.

"Casladi found some clues. The blood sacrifice site should be deep inside the palace, but it seems too peaceful these days. I suspect His Majesty is secretly plotting something."

It's time for Hainuo's regular report.

"Also, we recently discovered some unusual movements in the city. Some people who were used as sacrifices were sent to different places, but those places are heavily guarded and cannot be forced in."

"Casladi wants to ask you, what methods does Janus Gate have to directly expose pagan sacrifices? If this is a large-scale blood sacrifice, the situation may be very serious."

Kasradi has discovered many clues these days, but they are all of no direct use. Even if he finds a place suspected to be the base for transporting sacrifices, it will be useless. Destroying it directly will only alert the enemy.

Moreover, for some unknown reason, the forces of the Fire Covenant have begun to openly resist the interference of the Janus Gate in the imperial regime in recent days. The people of the empire are always on the side of the empire, and under deliberate instigation, public opinion is not friendly to the Janus Gate.

Not only that, the Fire Covenant was secretly operating throughout the city, and many of the people they sent out were attacked.

Right now, the entire Barron is under the control of the Fire Covenant. It is too difficult to investigate further.

At this point, Casradi was a little hesitant. Her old father was hiding too deeply. If she didn't take the initiative, she could only wait. If she waited, something even more terrible might happen.

Finally, Kasradi made a decision to dispatch the southern border troops in the name of the crown prince, on the pretext of helping the empire resist the invasion of Maganna's army.

Currently, nearly 30,000 people have been assembled in the southern border, led by 'Weinei'. If she could be transferred here, she would be able to launch a coup even if the situation is not right.

Casradi thought that she would be strongly opposed by the old emperor, but unexpectedly the latter agreed, and then she became even more worried.

This clearly shows that you don't care.

What worries Casladi even more is that the Iron Blood Legion is coming with great momentum, but 'Xali's' Holy Blood Legion has not appeared. If they are not going to deal with the Iron Blood Legion, then they are most likely lurking in Barron.

If this army were to charge out, the consequences would be disastrous.

"Casladi's intention is that if you don't have any other good ideas, then once the southern army arrives, she hopes the Janus Gate will cooperate with her and forcibly seize the throne."

That’s right, Casradi decided to rebel.

Everything is ready now, only the east wind is missing. Even if there is no blood sacrifice as an excuse, her father is old and the empire is in chaos. If she forcibly seizes the throne in the name of crown prince, the Senate will support it.

Moreover, she has secretly won over many people these days. With these people on her side, her promotion is "legitimate".

"I understand." Lin Qi nodded slightly, "Just do as she says."

Haino was puzzled. "Is the Janus Gate agreeing to help? If Casradi's plan succeeds, she will become the Empress of Augustus. Didn't you say she can't be emperor?"

"You don't have to think about it. I'll tell you what to do when the time comes."

"...Okay. But I don't think the emperor is that easy to deal with. If your plan fails, I will choose to take Casradi away at the critical moment."

"what ever."

......