The story of the black silk female knight

Tia originally didn't want to take on this mission; she preferred to go to Jade Island with Valensa ahead of time to find a way to deal with the attackers from the Central Continent Empire's vanguard fleet.

It was the strategist who forcibly kept her here... This current head of the Bretania family, who looks like a young and handsome man but has actually served Fran for nearly a hundred years, seems eager to enjoy his retirement and is accelerating the transfer of his power and responsibilities to Tia.

Considering that it would be much easier for Tia to implement many plans if she fully inherited the military power of the Britannia family, Valensa expressed her support and temporarily separated from Tia again.

In the end, the only ones who went to Jade Island with Valensa to find Himika were Chiba, the Phantom Thief Sister, and the Doll Girl.

The great array that concealed Jade Island seems to have been repaired, but even with Valensa's current perception, she still cannot find the exact location of Jade Island at sea... Even though she knows that Jade Island is in this sea area, she cannot find any trace of it.

Of course, their arrival on the island went smoothly... Before leaving last time, Chiba's older sister had taught her how to enter Jade Island. Chiba drove her small boat around the sea, turning east and west without any pattern, and Jade Island suddenly appeared in a thick fog.

The formations of the Eastern Continent are indeed amazing.

With a sigh in her heart, Valensa and her party disembarked and went ashore on the island. Led by a beautiful maid who had already received the news, they walked towards the center of the island.

Compared to the ruins and corpses that I saw on my last visit, Tamanoshima, after more than three months of emergency repairs, seems to have regained its former luxury and magnificence.

The island is filled with beautiful pavilions, towers, artificial hills, and flowing water. There are also many adorable animals captured from various places running and playing everywhere. In addition, there are beautiful palace maids in elegant attire moving between the buildings, giving one the feeling of having wandered into a fairyland.

Only a few places still retain the remnants of dense elemental energy and violent power, telling the story of how this beautiful island was once ravaged by a top-tier powerhouse, and has yet to fully recover.

In the most luxurious palace at the heart of the island, Valensa once again met the ruler and strongest of the Four Islands Alliance—Himika, the Demon Queen.

Compared to a few months ago, Himika's injuries should have healed considerably. She now looks significantly older than before, roughly like a middle school student who has gone from being an elementary school student.

She has grown nearly 10 centimeters taller, and her breasts have started to develop noticeably... but compared to the hot, mature queen statue in Chuyun City Square, there is still a big gap. At the current rate of recovery, it is estimated that it will take about a year to fully recover.

"Are you here? Sit down."

This time, Himiko did not meet Valensa in front of many subordinates, but in the living room of her own palace, which made the meeting quite casual.

Valensa had already gotten a general idea of ​​Himiko's swift and decisive nature from their previous conversation, so she didn't stand on ceremony and sat down directly, smiling as she said:

"From what I've seen along the way, it seems that both Jade Island and His Majesty have recovered quite well?"

"It's so-so...it's passable enough to be presentable."

Himika nodded casually, only glancing at Valensa's beautiful legs in black stockings, which were crossed over each other, for less than three seconds before losing interest and staring with amusement at Valensa's chest... or more accurately, at the doll-like girl that Valensa was holding in her arms like a doll.

Yi Qiuyue felt very uncomfortable and a little scared under that aggressive gaze.

However, as the last soul of the Star Altar, Yi Qiuya absolutely cannot show weakness, especially not to a descendant of the Holy Gate like Himiko.

So even though she was terrified, she held her head high and acted arrogantly... Fortunately, the doll's body didn't have a heartbeat, otherwise she probably would have been betrayed by her own heartbeat long ago.

How could they possibly bluff?

"What are you looking at? You demonic witch!"

"Pfft."

Himika wasn't angry at all; on the contrary, she was amused, a smug kind of amused:

"That tone...that attitude...tsk tsk tsk, definitely a fool from the Star Forum...Such a big Star Forum, I heard you're the only one left now? Little puppet?"

"So what...so what?"

Yi Qiuya immediately exploded, ignoring Valensa's repeated pinching of her feet as a subtle hint, she stepped on Valensa's chest and jumped onto her shoulders, shouting:

"Everything we at Xingtan do is for the sake of all living beings! Although our father, our elders, and our fellow disciples are all dead, they died for a worthy cause! Unlike you, shameless demonic witch, hiding in a place like this, living a wretched life!"

"Ha...what a fine example of doing this for the sake of all living beings."

Himika gave a disdainful sneer and retorted:

"Then let me ask you... who wiped out your Star Altar? And who is about to wreak havoc on the world and bring everything to an end?"

"It's...it's the Dragon Emperor."

Yi Qiuya seemed to have guessed what Himiko was going to ask next, and her momentum suddenly weakened a lot. She even jumped off Valensa's shoulder and shrank back into Valensa's arms.

As expected, Himika raised her eyebrows, her cold smile carrying an even stronger sense of sarcasm:

"When the Dragon Emperor was still a penniless and unloved prince on the fringes, who was so foolish as to support him unconditionally until he became the Lord of the Sword Pavilion and the Emperor of the Central Continent Empire?"

"It's...it's our Star Altar..."

Yi Qiuya shrank her head even lower, almost completely hiding her body in Valensa's arms.

"Then why do you still say your Star Forum isn't full of idiots?"

Himika smashed the teacup in her hand with a snap, glaring angrily at Yi Qiuyue:

"Wasn't it good that the original fifteen kingdoms of the Thirteen Provinces of Tianxuan ruled the world together? As long as those kingdoms were not unified, they could not threaten our three major sects at all... Why was your Star Altar completely wiped out, and why did our Holy Sect have to flee overseas? It's all your fault, you bunch of Star Altar idiots!"

"Wow!"

Even though she hadn't fully recovered from her serious injuries, the aura of a peak Moon-level expert when enraged was something Yi Qiuya couldn't withstand... She was terrified and turned around to bury her face in Valensa's arms and burst into tears.

"Okay, okay~~"

Seeing this, Valensa could only smooth things over, soothing Yi Qiuyue by touching her with two fingers while saying to Himiko:

"Your Majesty, please don't bully her... Although she is from more than 300 years ago, she was just a little girl when her soul was sealed into a puppet and she didn't understand anything... There's no need to blame her for all the stupid things her predecessors did, right?"

Moreover, the Star Altar's ability to foresee the future is remarkable, something Your Majesty surely knows better than anyone... Xiaoya holds the crucial clues on how to defeat the Dragon Emperor; we should cooperate properly and put aside the grudges of our ancestors for now.”

"...Hmph, for me, this is not a matter of grudges between our ancestors...I personally experienced the time when our Holy Sect was jointly hunted down by the Sword Pavilion and the Star Altar...I still can't forget how those old guys from the Star Altar looked so righteous and ruthless as they slaughtered our Holy Sect members!"

Himika was still angry, and her already developing breasts even grew a little bigger from her anger.

However, she ultimately gave Valensa face, gradually calming her anger and ceasing her threats and bullying of Yi Qiuyue.

“You’re right… We can settle our score with the Holy Gate and the Star Altar later. Right now, the most important thing is to deal with the Dragon Emperor… Tell me more about what exactly happened?”

The things Yi Qiuya told Valensa and the others had already been reported to Himika by Chiba Grass using the Chiba family's secret communication ninjutsu, but Himika still asked about them again.

Although Yi Qiuya was still a little scared, under Valensa's reassurance and encouragement, she told everything she could say again—the vanguard fleet of the Central Continent Empire would launch an attack during the summit on Jade Island, and disguise themselves as Himiko's subordinates to damage Himiko's reputation, thereby achieving the goal of disrupting the summit.

"That's it..."

After listening, Himika did not rush to speak. Instead, she took the tea that the maid had brought her and sipped it thoughtfully.

Himika sipped the fragrant, slightly sweet tea repeatedly until the water level in the cup was about one-third. Only then did she temporarily remove the cup from her lips and look up at Valensa sitting opposite her.

What do you think? What are your plans?

"I think it's better to believe it's true than not."

Valensa spoke without much hesitation:

"I had seen the Dragon Emperor from afar through the church's artifact before... I had a bad feeling about that guy. He'll cause trouble sooner or later, and a war with him is probably unavoidable."

Therefore, this summit to discuss how the entire Frenoia continent can unite against the enemy is extremely important and must not be disrupted by the vanguard fleet of the Central Continent Empire.

The fact that the assassins from the vanguard fleet were able to successfully infiltrate the site and launch an attack on the day of the summit suggests that they didn't just arrive that day; they've likely already arrived and are lurking somewhere in the surrounding waters.

Therefore, my idea is to strike first, find the vanguard fleet, and destroy it... Most of His Majesty's subjects live by the sea and have fought fiercely with the Fog Demon for many years; almost everyone is proficient in naval warfare. Searching the nearby waters to find the lurking vanguard fleet shouldn't be difficult.”

"Yes, I've already had Rui'er lead the ninja squad to handle this... However, I don't have high hopes that they'll be able to detect the enemy." Himika shook her head slightly.

"why?"

Valensa asked, puzzled:

"Could it be that the army of the Central Continent Empire is really that powerful, so that His Majesty's ninjas were unable to find the enemy even though they knew the enemy was nearby?"

"This... sigh."

Himika sighed, her expression somewhat grim.

"That is indeed one of the reasons... According to the little puppet of the Star Altar, many of our Holy Sect's spells have probably been taken by the Dragon Emperor and promoted in the army... Among them are many water sect spells, which are particularly good at water warfare and hiding themselves in water. The wood sect disciples may not be able to find them."

You should know that among the seven sects of our Holy Gate back then, the Water Sect and the Wood Sect were both ninjas, and they had been keeping each other in check for many years... In the forest, the Wood Sect disciples naturally had a great advantage, but in the sea, it was the absolute home ground for the Water Sect disciples.

The water-based magic techniques the Dragon Emperor stole were certainly incomplete, but how could we possibly have carried the entire inheritance with us when we fled for our lives back then? It's all about the same... The Holy Sect has ultimately declined.

"That's it..."

Valensa's brows furrowed involuntarily.

The fact that the Central Continent Empire's navy, which can use the Holy Gate's magic, has a stealth ability comparable to ninjas is indeed very bad news.

This is not only a problem related to the attack on this summit, but also a major issue when the two sides fight a naval war in the future.

The form of naval warfare in this world is certainly different from that in Valencia's previous life, but the underlying principles are the same... In naval battles, whoever can detect the other first often gains an overwhelming advantage. Fleets that can stealthily navigate the sea like ninjas are extremely troublesome.

I don't know the specific principle behind the stealth of the Holy Gate's water magic... If it's similar to the Leaf Concealment Technique, perhaps we can find a way to unlock radar technology?

"And there's another, even more important point."

Valensa was thinking about the Holy Gate's water magic when she heard Himiko speak again, and couldn't help but ask curiously:

"Another, more important point?"

"Ah."

Himika's expression was serious:

"You can assume they've already arrived by the time the attack was planned, but have you considered an even worse scenario... How did the vanguard fleet of the Central Continent Empire know about this summit? I've never publicized this matter, and there's not a single word about it among the common people... Even most of the nobles of your Kingdom of Fran probably don't know about it yet, right?"

But those people from the Central Continent Empire not only knew about the summit, but also the specific time and location... What does this mean?

"This……"

Valencia's expression changed as well; she hadn't really thought about these things before.

Or rather, they don't want to think about it:

"Is there a traitor or a mole who betrayed us?"

"At the very least, intelligence has been leaked!"

Himiko stared intently into Valensa's eyes:

"The worst-case scenario is that the other side is fully aware of our every move, so we cannot detect them in advance before the summit begins. We can only react to their moves as they come."

Of course, this is only the worst-case scenario... but it's certain that our intelligence has been leaked!

"Uh……"

Valensa then understood the meaning behind Himiko's serious expression and gave a wry smile:

"Does Your Majesty believe that the intelligence was leaked from my side?"

"It's very possible."

Himiko speaks frankly:

“Those on my side who know the details of the summit would never betray me… at least not willingly. The reason I've been able to rule the Four Islands Alliance so peacefully for so many years isn't just because of prestige; certain spells that guarantee the loyalty of those in key positions are also crucial… do you understand?”

"clear."

This means that Himiko has been using certain spells to control the powerful figures of the Four Islands Alliance... Given Yi Qiuya's description of Himiko as a demonic witch, this situation is not unusual.

Moreover, apart from the threat of the Fog Demon, the people of the Four Islands Alliance are relatively peaceful and prosperous, and rarely suffer persecution from the powerful and wealthy... From this perspective, Himika has done a pretty good job.

Therefore, Valensa had no objection to Himiko's methods, but she frowned deeply:

"But I wouldn't intentionally leak information about the summit... Doesn't His Majesty trust me?"

"...Of course I trust you, otherwise I wouldn't have sought cooperation with you in the first place!"

Himika rolled her eyes in annoyance:

"What I mean is... Valencia, think back carefully. When you were delivering the letter to the leaders of various factions for me, who was involved? Was there anyone among them who might have leaked the information or even betrayed us?"

"oh oh……"

Valensa then realized what was happening and quickly began to recall.

The letter to the French royal family was personally delivered by Valencia, so there's definitely no problem with it.

The same goes for the letter to the Witch Forest... Elanfiel is a very shrewd witch; there's no reason for her to do anything foolish.

The letter to the Sage's Tower... was given by Tia to her teacher, the Seventh Sage.

Although the sage Valensa had never been seen, judging from her treatment of Tia, it was easy to see that she was a reasonable and affectionate person who would not do anything foolish.

So the most likely... possibility is America's side?

Valenza's letter to the Chamber of Commerce was delivered through the Morgan family... Although this family had cooperated well with Valenza in various businesses related to the New Trade Route, upon closer examination, Valenza actually didn't know much about them.

More importantly, large business families often have complex internal situations, and the ruling body of a business association, which is similar to a parliament, is also prone to information leaks... After all, ensuring that a group of people are loyal and do not do anything stupid is much more difficult than ensuring that one person is loyal and does not do anything stupid.

"It's possible that the information was leaked from America's side!"

Valensa immediately told Himiko her speculation.