T0 Gaming Guild Saves the World

The black-robed mage, who had always remained hidden behind Kurion, slowly stepped forward, seemingly extremely close to the emperor.

"Everyone is harboring ulterior motives."

"But I have nowhere to turn."

Emperor Kurien laughed heartily.

"Did you hear that? They're pressuring me."

"Even my son probably gave it a push behind the scenes."

The moment those words were uttered, Emperor Kurien's expression was one of profound sorrow.

"Did you find anything?" he asked.

"Yes, we have learned several names from Giza, which is the same group that provided the information about the Fallen Star Siren."

"Who?"

Beneath the black robes, silence descended.

"Who!" Kurien's voice was like a lion's roar; he was furious.

"Prince Thiago."

Emperor Kurien clearly realized something before the black-robed mage spoke; he seemed to be using anger to mask his fear, afraid to hear a familiar name.

However, he still heard it.

After being educated by Mint about the boundaries between reality and illusion for members of the royal family, everyone's expression changed.

This is Emperor Kurien's eldest son.

Even the most cheerful jailer couldn't laugh at this moment.

Although he often gets criticized by his father, the prison guard knows very well that his father loves him and that he is indeed a disappointment.

What must Emperor Kurien be feeling right now that his child has betrayed him?

Jiang Heyi pieced together the limited clues and gradually realized what the real target of the whole incident was.

Emperor Kurien did not hold any ceremony, make any announcements, or even wait until the afternoon. After finishing his council session, he rushed to the residence where he was temporarily staying at the border between the real and virtual worlds.

The guards searched them, and all their belongings were confiscated.

Furthermore, Jiang Heyi also discovered that the player's game menu was also disabled at this time, something he had not experienced in previous dungeons.

Unlike his solemn demeanor in the council chamber, King Kurion of the Lion King casually chose a chair in the mansion's main hall. After sitting down, he smiled and waved to the crowd who were being watched over one by one by his personal guards.

“They have seen too much of Anna’s red tape, and witnessed too much indifference and distrust. They have been disrespectful enough. At least they deserve the respect they are due to me.”

This should be the second time, apart from Prince Sloan, that the person from the boundary between the virtual and real worlds has heard “human speech” since arriving in Anna.

“I’m not one for formalities, and sirens abhor the roundabout ways of land-dwelling species. So let’s get straight to the point…”

King Kurion asked, "Really? Just castration and execution?"

All the members of the virtual-real boundary, Mint, and Kesha all turned their attention to Jiang Heyi.

The moment Jiang Heyi explained the ins and outs of the matter to them, he became the undisputed protagonist of this conversation.

"Is Your Majesty truly troubled about how to punish Giza?" Jiang Heyi decided to get straight to the point. "What you're considering is probably what might be behind Giza's actions."

Kurien raised an eyebrow, showing no further emotional fluctuation.

As the most outstanding emperor in Anna's history—even though his reign only lasted thirty years—his shrewdness was not something ordinary people could challenge.

Jiang Heyi continued to drive out of the car.

"I've never understood why these people are so fiercely defending Giza."

"A group bound together by the interests of the aristocracy, a vile clique?"

"But just now, I suddenly realized something."

Kurien's eyes remained calm as he gestured for Jiang Heyi to continue.

"They protect Giza, indeed for their own benefit, but not for the reputation we might superficially think of; it's something deeper..."

"In order to prevent His Majesty's hand from reaching out to them."

The black-robed mage standing behind Kurien, whose face was shrouded in mist, suddenly shone with a terrifying red light.

Kurien paused in his tea-drinking.

“If Your Majesty uses this matter to repeat the centralized power measures of thirty years ago, it will be nothing short of a catastrophe for all of them.”

Kurien laughed: "Nice folk conspiracy theories, but some of them are not respectable."

Jiang Heyi also laughed: "Popular conspiracy theories probably wouldn't include the fact that His Majesty's son was behind all this, would they?"

"boom!"

The magic within Kurien erupted suddenly.

Jiang Heyi faced the pressure head-on without fear.

"It seems that His Majesty isn't always so calm."

Chapter 181 Wish Machine

"Young man, watch your words, for these words are enough to send you to the gallows."

Jiang Heyi was very curious about the relationship between the black-robed mage and Emperor Kurien. He could freely interrupt when the supreme overlord of the Anna Empire was talking.

"Hang Giza first, then threaten me to go to the gallows."

"Young people these days are incredibly audacious. You don't really think that the immunity granted by your status as an envoy will exempt you from everything, do you?"

Jiang Heyi bluntly stated, "You are free to deny the immunity; then a siren will seek justice for me."

"You think too highly of yourself. The siren population has been declining for hundreds of years, and most pure-blooded siren have abandoned their pride and supported hybrids."

The black-robed mage scoffed and continued, "To them, the survival of their race is paramount; you are merely one of their breeders. Do you believe that sirens with diluted bloodlines would wage war against an empire for a foreigner, wiping out their last bloodline?

Just as Kesha was about to speak, Mint stopped her, gesturing for her to just listen.

The black-robed mage's intentions were extremely malicious; following his words would only lead to a self-justification trap of "I am not a breeder, but someone who is truly in love."

Jiang Heyi sensed this, slowly stood up, walked around Emperor Kurien, and stood in front of him.

Under the astonished gazes of the emperor's guards, Jiang Heyi took the black-robed mage's hand and pressed it against his chest.

"Then why don't you give it a try?"

The air in the hall seemed to be drawn out with each breath of the black-robed mage, and a suffocating feeling enveloped everyone.

Jiang Heyi asked again, "Once we take action, we'll know whether the siren will fight for us or not. Practice makes perfect."

"What, you're afraid to try? As the overlord of the continent, the empire should be able to afford the cost of this trial and error."

The black-robed mage suddenly flicked his sleeve, the mist on his face swirling and billowing, with streaks of red light blooming beneath it.

"Young man, you're playing with fire."

"Using petty tricks to sow discord between me and the Siren, and between me and Kesha, aren't you just playing with fire?" Jiang Heyi sneered. "You should be glad we're in the palace, otherwise I would have already drawn my sword."

The bed patted the fries' shoulder: "It's okay, it's just a game. I'll make up for it by giving him a good beating when we live together."

French Fries pouted: "I didn't take it to heart."

"But the apple in your hand is about to crack..."

Jiang Heyi ignored the trembling black-robed mage and turned his gaze to Emperor Kurien, who was clearly putting on a brave face.

“Your Majesty, if you still feel that I am testing you, then... I believe that the nobles who defend Giza will offer us a better price, and I don’t mind talking to them.”

Kurien narrowed his eyes: "You come representing the Sirens, yet you intend to talk to them?"

"They protect Giza only to prevent His Majesty from having an excuse to consolidate power, but what will His Majesty do if he reaches an agreement with Falling Star first?"

"To quell the situation, they probably wouldn't mind bleeding a lot of money." Jiang Heyi's lips curled up. "Besides, they're not the only ones willing to bleed a lot, are they? Your sons might also be willing to talk to us?"

The Emperor's guards were surging with magical energy, awaiting only Kurien's command.

"You all get out."

"His Majesty……"

"go out!"

The guards who were watching over the boundary between reality and illusion loosened their grip, and the game restrictions that bound everyone were also lifted.

Kurien's courage was truly extraordinary, leaving only the black-robed mage and the captain of his personal guard behind.

"I'd like to know your sources."

Jiang Heyi only replied with four words—"No comment."

We can't exactly tell him that it's a game and that they got the information through the game's projection.

Kurien tapped his forehead with his finger: "I really underestimated the siren..."

Having come this far, Kurien became quite nonchalant and decided not to hide anything anymore.

The only known fact is that Prince Thiago, the eldest prince, instructed Giza and others to disclose the reconnaissance information.

Whether this proves that the Crown Prince was deeply involved remains to be investigated by Kurien.

However, as Jiang Heyi said, even if it wasn't the eldest prince, the intention to target him, who was the most likely to inherit the imperial power, would ultimately benefit his "filial" sons.

In the immediate aftermath of the incident, Kurien did indeed intend to use the scandal involving the nobility to weaken the increasingly powerful noble class and to reconsider centralizing power.

The nobles' sensitive nerves were once again touched, and they responded immediately.

First, I negotiated with Jiang Heyi, and then I started delaying tactics.

They are forcing Kurien to personally step in and clean up the mess for the nobles in order to save face for the empire.

Jiang Heyi even suspected that some nobles in the council hall were deliberately acting foolish to make the farce even more unbearable, so as to coerce Kurien into coming forward as soon as possible.

The moment the delegation entered the capital, the matter was no longer a simple matter of right and wrong, and gradually became unrelated to Giza and the Siren.

Some people are thinking about centralizing power.

Some people resisted the expansion of imperial power.

Some people colluded with nobles to gain their support.

Perhaps some people will take the opportunity to frame their brothers in order to climb the ranks.

At this moment, truth and reason are no longer important to either side.

"I'm sixty now, and in the last two years, I've felt increasingly exhausted. In the past, I could still stay up past midnight doing everything myself, but now..."

Kurien walked to the window, stood with his hands behind his back, gazed at the scene outside, and sighed.

"The empire should eventually be handed over to the next generation. Before that, if we can accomplish what our ancestors failed to do, thanks to my remaining prestige, then they will be able to wield power more easily. Alas..."

These were words Kurien shouldn't have spoken to outsiders, but for some reason, he spoke them naturally.

Aren't you afraid we won't keep our mouths shut?

Kurien laughed and said, "This is just another conspiracy theory among the people."

He was only in a daze of sadness for a short while before his eyes sharpened again.

"Let's make a deal."

"What deal?"

"Want 12 Stardust Grains?"

12 pieces!

The others at the boundary between the virtual and real worlds were watching the "cutscene" without any problems, but they all became agitated upon hearing this.

They fought tooth and nail in the snowy mountains and only managed to get 3, but Kurien asked for 12.

Anna is indeed the overlord of the continent, a fact acknowledged by the boundary between the virtual and real worlds!

“Eight coins will be paid to the Siren as compensation, and I would like to pay four coins separately to those of you who are not of the Siren clan.”

Jiang Heyi keenly sensed the key point: "What do you want us to do?"

Upon hearing Kurien's plan, everyone at the boundary between the virtual and real worlds looked at each other in bewilderment.