The story of the black silk female knight

Chapter 2 One Night on Jade Island

"As for America... well, that's certainly very possible."

After patiently listening to Valensa's speculations and analysis, Himiko pondered for a moment and then agreed with the conclusion.

"In countries where everything needs to be discussed or even decided by a group of people, it is indeed easy for information to leak."

At this point, Himika also expressed her disdain for the merchant confederation as a political system quite directly:

"Speaking of those Northerners, it's ridiculous. They actually came up with some kind of voting system... Ha, national affairs should be decided by a wise monarch. Do you think merchants know how to govern a country? It's really pathetic that such a big country can't even elect an absolute ruler."

"Ah this..."

Valensa's expression was complicated for a moment.

According to what she learned in her previous life's political and historical classes, America's society already had a strong capitalist flavor and should have been more advanced.

However, based on Valencia's own experiences living and traveling in the three countries of France, America, and the Four Islands Alliance, she discovered that America had the lowest standard of living for its people and was the only country with slums.

Perhaps this is one of the biggest differences between technological civilization and spiritual civilization.

The people of a feudal state ruled by a wise and virtuous monarch who can live a long life are indeed happier than the people of a capitalist country.

Himika, who ruled the Four Islands Alliance for nearly 700 years, did this very well; she truly had the right to criticize capitalism as being even more backward…

In fact, if it weren't for such a strong desire to conquer and destroy, the Dragon Emperor, who unified the Eastern Continent and ruled for hundreds of years, would have been the same... Under his leadership, the Central Continent Empire could be said to have become countless times stronger.

Unfortunately, the Dragon Emperor also embodied the biggest drawback of this feudal autocratic system—once the ruler goes astray, no one can stop him, and the entire country is likely to be destroyed.

Shaking her head, Valensa stopped her various associations with feudalism and capitalism and continued to ask Himiko for her opinion:

"Your Majesty, do you think the problem lies with the Morgan family or with the upper echelons of the Chamber of Commerce? Did they leak the information unintentionally, or are they truly plotting to betray us? How do you intend to deal with this?"

"Logically speaking, it is more likely that the Morgan family is the source of the problem."

Himika thought for a moment and said:

"We are not the only descendants of the Holy Gate who were forced to flee across the sea to this place by the Dragon Emperor in the Thirteen Provinces of Tianxuan... There are quite a few lucky drifters in your Fran who have arrived here, right?"

So if you really want to find out, you can find out how brutal the Dragon Emperor's actions were towards the conquered territories... Selling out your own country to seek wealth and power in the Central Empire is not an option. The Dragon Emperor would not keep traitors around and would find a way to kill them all sooner or later... Anyone with a normal brain would not think of selling out their country in the first place.

On the contrary, large business families like the Morgan family might do some unscrupulous things for their own benefit... For example, they could use intelligence to stockpile certain supplies in advance and then sell them at high prices after the war breaks out.

Of course, doing that would certainly lead to widespread condemnation and complete loss of reputation... Therefore, I think the possibility of the Morgan family actively betraying or selling us out is very small. The most likely scenario is that the news leaked at some point along the way.

"Is it just a simple leak... Hmm, I hope that's the case."

Valensa sighed and nodded:

"Then... how does Your Majesty intend to deal with this?"

"If it really was just America who leaked the information, then it's easy to handle."

Himika shrugged:

"Sister Valencia, you simply handed over the letter I wrote in my own hand and briefly mentioned the threat posed by the Central Continent Empire, right?"

That way, even if America leaks the news, those bastards in the Central Continent Empire's vanguard fleet will only know the summit's time and location listed in the invitation, and then they'll plot an attack... huh?"

As she spoke, Himika seemed to think of something suspicious again, her brows furrowed tightly, and she fell silent.

"...What's wrong, Your Majesty?"

Valensa waited patiently for two or three minutes, but Himiko didn't speak again, so she tentatively asked.

"A new question suddenly came to mind."

Himika's expression was serious; she no longer had the appetite for the tea in her hand. Her beautiful, yet dignified, eyes were fixed on the doll-like girl in Valensa's arms.

"Let me ask you, Star Altar Girl... In your previous predictions of the future, if Valensa hadn't intervened, this summit would have failed due to the attack by the Central Continent Empire, right? Although those attackers didn't manage to harm a single important figure, they all disguised themselves as my subordinates, severely damaging my reputation and causing others to have a crisis of trust in me, is that right?"

"Yes, it is."

Yi Qiuyue felt a little flustered under Himiko's gaze, but she still tried her best to straighten her chest:

"is there a problem?"

"Of course there's a problem."

Himika's brow remained furrowed, and she took another breath:

"I want to ask you... how exactly did those attackers do it? To be precise, how exactly did they appear and launch the attack? Were they hiding at the summit beforehand? Or did they impersonate some of my subordinates and take their place? It couldn't have been a vanguard fleet storming Jade Island, could it? That wouldn't have disrupted the summit; it would have only made us more united."

"This... I don't know, and I can't know."

Yi Qiuyue shook her head with a wry smile:

"As a demonic witch, you must know a lot about our Star Altar, right? When we predict the future, we can't look at the specifics; we can only look at the general outline... because the more detailed and specific the future we observe, the less change we can make, and then we can't seek good fortune or avoid misfortune, thus losing the original meaning of prediction."

"...Tsk, what a useless person."

Himika probably did know these things, so although she complained unhappily, she didn't press Yi Qiuya for more information and instead continued to ponder.

"What exactly has Your Majesty suddenly thought of?"

Valensa couldn't help but ask again.

"……Why."

Himika's expression was complicated for a few seconds, as if she found it difficult to speak, but she finally said it:

"Perhaps the leak came not from America's side, but from my side."

"Oh?"

Valensa raised an eyebrow, looking eager to hear more.

"I just suddenly thought of the specific details of the attack."

Having already said it, Himika no longer hid anything and readily continued to explain:

"Just like what I asked Xingtan girl earlier... If those bastards in the Central Continent Empire's vanguard fleet want to pin the blame for the planned attack on me, there are only two best ways... One is to lie in ambush at the summit and wait for the right moment to strike, and the other is to simply replace some of the people around me secretly."

As she spoke, Himika pulled the beautiful maidservant who was serving tea and water into her arms and gently pinched her a few times. Then she pointed to the beam above the palace entrance:

"For example, disguising myself as a maid like that, or a ninja on guard over there... that would maximize the chances of framing me."

Snapped.

puff.

The teapot in the maid's hand shattered and her body went limp. The ninja who was on guard duty on the roof beam by the door also fell down.

The two were clearly terrified and immediately knelt on the ground, begging for mercy.

"Your Majesty is wise! We have not been replaced by traitors..."

"Okay, get up!"

Himika pinched the maid again, annoyed, and glared at the ninja.

"I was just using you guys as an example to illustrate Valencia's point, and look how scared you all are... You're really embarrassing me! Go and collect your punishment after your shift ends; each of you will get 15 lashes on the butt!"

"Yes, Your Majesty."

The maid and the female ninja breathed a sigh of relief, and then touched their own buttocks in unison, seemingly already imagining the punishment they would receive after their shift changed, and their bodies trembled again.

"I'm sorry, Valencia, you must have found this amusing."

After dealing with her disgraceful subordinate, Himiko continued to explain to Valensa:

"Let's continue... As I just said, if we hadn't received advance warning from Star Altar Girl for this summit, the most likely attack method used by the Central Continent Empire's vanguard fleet would have been to infiltrate in advance or disguise themselves as my subordinates."

But this is very difficult... because, as you know, Valencia, there is a large array here on Jade Island that I have complete control over. I find it hard to imagine that anyone could hide here without my perception and only be exposed when they make their move... If the attackers really had this ability, they couldn't have failed to harm even one important person.

And disguising oneself as one of my subordinates... is also extremely difficult. Every maid and guard on Jade Island has an identity record in the great array and an identification token on their person... If someone also knows the Holy Gate magic, it is indeed possible to temporarily deceive the great array after taking the identification token, but it will never last more than a day, because the great array will automatically check the identity of everyone on the island once a day.

More importantly, the maids and female ninjas who serve me on Jade Island have never left Jade Island except for a temporary evacuation during Xiao Yu's attack last time... How were they replaced? If the vanguard fleet of the Central Continent Empire really had the ability to sneak into Jade Island, kill my people, and replace them without me knowing, then the attackers must be very powerful, and it's impossible that no one was injured.

However, the fact is that in that possible future, the vanguard fleet of the Central Continent Empire did indeed accomplish something theoretically extremely difficult, and there's only one most likely explanation... Someone close to me, someone I trusted very much, has run into trouble.

By the end, Himika was gritting her teeth, clearly very angry.

After all, she had just told Valencia not long ago that there was absolutely no way her people could have any problems, and she was so quickly proven wrong, and she was the one who slapped herself in the face... It was so embarrassing.

"Ah this..."

Seeing that Himiko seemed ready to immediately gather all her most trusted people for interrogation, Valensa, not wanting her to act impulsively, quickly racked her brains to consider less bad possibilities.

In a moment of quick thinking, Valensa actually discovered another blind spot.

"Hmm... there's another possibility!"

Valensa, whose eyes suddenly lit up, said:

"I would like to ask Your Majesty... In your initial summit plan, how did those distinguished guests from various forces arrive at Jade Island? They couldn't have been teleported in or flown over directly, could they? Although many of them should be able to do that."

"That's for sure. Jade Island is my most important territory. How could I face anyone if they just walked in like that? Of course, those guests will first go to Mirror Island's Chuyun City on their own, and then Xin'er and Rui'er will lead the ninja team to pick them up and take them to the island... Ah!"

At this point, Himiko immediately understood what Valensa meant.

"That's right, Your Majesty."

Valensa smiled and nodded:

"The identities that the assassins of the Central Continent Empire's vanguard fleet could be disguised as are not only the maids and female ninja guards around you. The ninjas responsible for greeting guests could also be... well, they are the most likely, since they are often on missions and are very likely to be ambushed."

"The ninjas under Xin'er and Rui'er's command... well, that's true."

After carefully considering Valensa's speculation, Himiko finally breathed a sigh of relief, and a smile returned to her face:

"If that's the case, then things will be much easier... I'll come up with a reason to gather all the ninjas currently out in the area tonight and thoroughly check their identities... Judging by the timing, the summit is about to begin. If the Central Continent Empire's vanguard fleet is as we suspect, their assassins have likely already successfully replaced those ninjas."

"It is indeed possible."

Valensa agreed, then thought for a moment and said:

"But Your Majesty, isn't it a bit too hasty to summon the ninjas to identify them tonight? We can easily..."

"Follow the clues to catch the big fish, I know what I mean."

Himiko smiled and waved her hand, interrupting Valensa:

"Don't worry, I'll come up with a suitable reason to summon them, and I'll only secretly and carefully verify their identities. Even if I discover imposters, I won't expose them directly... I'm more eager than you to find and eliminate that vanguard fleet!"

It's obvious that Himiko is very bothered by the time Xiao Yu beat her up last time, and she's likely to personally take action against the Central Continent Empire's vanguard fleet to vent her anger.

If we can't defeat the strongest warrior in the Central Continent Empire, we probably can't defeat the main fleet either. So how could we possibly defeat a scout team that's just sent to explore?

Himiko, after all, is a veteran powerhouse who has lived for over 700 years and is a successor of the Holy Gate Yin Sect, so she is very confident in this matter.

Valensa did not doubt Himiko's abilities.

After all, Yi Qiuya made it very clear in her premonition that the vanguard fleet of the Central Continent Empire was not actually very strong. Otherwise, it wouldn't have been able to kill all the important figures after successfully launching the attack without even injuring one.

"That's settled then... Valencia, you two have a good time on Jade Island today, and wait for my good news tomorrow!"

Himiko grew increasingly confident, clapped her hands again, summoned two well-behaved and beautiful palace maids, and pointed to Valensa and her entourage, saying to them:

“These are my distinguished guests, so you two will be in charge of entertaining them… You can show them around Jade Island. They can go anywhere except my study and the secret room where I cultivate, even my bedroom is fine.”

"Yes, Your Majesty~~" x2

After the two palace maids responded in unison, they obediently stood behind Valensa, waiting for her orders.

Seeing that Himiko looked ready to start working, Valensa tactfully took her leave and called Chiba and the Phantom Thief Sister, who were resting and waiting in the next room, to join the two beautiful palace maids for a tour of Jade Island.

Jade Island, which has undergone devastating destruction and extensive reconstruction, is indeed very beautiful... The various landscapes and buildings are beautiful, and the maids and female ninjas on the island are also very beautiful. It is truly a place where the rulers enjoy life.

Valensa didn't understand Frenoia's magical theories, nor did she understand Eastern magic, whether it was the feng shui and divination from her previous life or the magic of the Tianxuan Continent in this life.

Even though the maids were very attentive in showing her around and explaining things to her, she could only roughly understand that the layout of Jade Island contained the principles of Yin and Yang and the Five Elements, corresponding to the changing elements of the world and the rising and setting of the sun and moon.

This seems to be one of the strengths of the Jade Island Grand Formation. It can draw power from the Yin and Yang and the Five Elements that exist in nature to maintain its operation. The person who controls the formation is the world of the entire island and can mobilize the power of the entire island to fight against powerful enemies. Just like when Himiko fought Xiao Yu some time ago, although she was beaten badly in the end, without the Jade Island Grand Formation, the high-ranking members of the Four Islands Alliance would probably have all died.

Tamanoshima is the smallest of the four islands in the Shishima Alliance, but it still covers 20,000 square kilometers. After visiting a few places, it got dark.

Valensa intended to catch some of the island's animals and cook them for dinner herself, but was told by her maid that they were Himiko's pets.

If Valencia actually ate those animals, she herself might be fine, but the two maids who were responsible for showing her around would definitely get a beating.

Obviously, the maids had no right to stop Valensa from eating those animals; they could only feign pitifulness and hope for Valensa's pity.

Looking at the two beautiful maids' pitiful appearance, Valensa really wanted to see what they would look like when their bottoms were being spanked...

Of course, it was just a thought. Valensa wasn't that malicious or greedy, so she gave up on harming the small animals on the island and peacefully enjoyed the dinner prepared by the maids.

Dinner was naturally very lavish, featuring not only expensive dishes common at aristocratic banquets, but also many rare seafood items that Valensa had never even heard of... These were all found in the waters of the Four Islands Alliance, and were almost impossible for Fran to obtain.