CHAPTER 283: BLOOD SNAKE PRINCESS’S APPEARANCE

Hearing this, the first prince got even more pissed off:

"A bunch of worthless idiots!"

With the coronation ceremony breathing down his neck, his dear brother definitely wouldn’t just sit there and watch him take the throne—he’d sure as hell make a move.

If it were just that, the situation would be manageable. What really had the first prince’s panties in a twist was:

The King’s faction, led by the King’s Right Hand Sword Saint Levi, still refused to back him, insisting on waiting until after the succession ceremony to pick a side.

The hidden meaning was clear as day to any moron.

They were just waiting for him and Boli to duke it out, only serving whoever came out on top.

Time was running out. After the first prince chewed out his lackeys to keep hunting for the second prince, he sent everyone packing.

At this critical moment, he said grimly:

"You haven’t found Boli either?"

Shadows in the room’s corner writhed, revealing a dark figure that slowly shifted into a bald, burly man.

His shining bald dome was carved with weird black patterns that crawled down to half his face. Carrying a massive hammer on his back, he showed zero expression, his eyes cold as ice:

"No trace yet."

The first prince looked bummed out. If even the Shadow Hall’s... no, the Shadow Realm’s power couldn’t sniff out Boli’s trail, the bastard was really well-hidden.

"Not even a damn clue?"

The first prince pressed stubbornly. Boli was like a lurking viper—if he couldn’t be found, even after grabbing the throne, he’d have to watch his back constantly.

The Shadow Hammer Servant shook his head but spoke up:

"We found no humans named Boli Dotruu, but your kingdom’s picked up some strangers."

The first prince’s brow furrowed.

"Who?"

A million possibilities raced through his mind—enemy kingdom spies, faction agents drawn by the chaos, and all that jazz.

"Mercury Cult."

The four words the Shadow Hammer Servant dropped like a stone made the first prince’s face go white as a sheet.

"How the hell did they get here!"

The Mercury Cult—one of the twisted cults hunted by the Human Supreme Council, pushing human mutation and totally obsessed with human experimentation.

"Don’t know."

The Shadow Hammer Servant didn’t give a damn about the Mercury Cult’s agenda—that wasn’t part of their deal.

"Mer..."

Before the first prince could ask more, the Shadow Hammer Servant cut him off:

"Human, what’s the deal with your investigation into that golden knight’s background?"

"Not enough time, the trip’s too far. The scouts sent to Ember City haven’t come back yet."

The Shadow Hammer Servant snorted coldly:

"Hope you get it—my lord’s patience isn’t endless."

With that, it melted into shadow and vanished, leaving only the first prince with an ugly mug and shifty eyes.

...

While first prince Noo and second prince Boli each schemed and played their games, tiny blood bats found perfect hosts throughout the royal city...

"Mercury Cult... Shadow Realm..."

Princess Taff got the intel from her little darlings, talking to herself.

She knew her dear brothers would lose their minds over the throne, but hadn’t expected this level of batshit crazy.

One actually teamed up with human traitor cults—one screw-up would see the entire royal family wiped out by human leadership.

The other was even better, straight-up hooking up with the enemies who’d whacked father and threatened the Dotruu Kingdom. If that got out, the nobles would flip their shit.

"Good to be crazy, good to be crazy..."

Princess Taff laughed gleefully, making the drop-dead gorgeous woman beside her look confused.

"Taff, sounds like good news?"

The woman was tall with a smoking hot red leather outfit and killer curves. Strangely seductive in appearance, her left arm was a crimson python hissing snake sounds, while her right arm was completely gone.

Princess Taff poured a cup of bright red blood for Blood Snake Princess.

"Nothing much, just more and more players joining the game."

The crimson python opened its mouth wide, swallowing cup and blood in one gulp. Blood Snake Princess licked her lips.

"Tasty stuff."

Princess Taff’s puzzled gaze landed on Blood Snake Princess’s missing right arm.

"We haven’t met in a year—what happened to your right arm?"

Better not to bring this up. At the mention, Blood Snake Princess’s golden eyes filled with hateful bloodshot veins.

"Because of a damned bitch!"

Even after a year, her strength hadn’t fully bounced back. With her core sublimation spirit skill screwed up, Blood Snake Princess’s power wouldn’t recover until she fixed her arm problem.

Princess Taff didn’t ask who the woman was, smiling:

"Need me to help patch it up?"

Blood Snake Princess looked like shit:

"No dice. I didn’t just lose my arm, but more importantly, got soul-level damage."

Deep wariness mixed with her hatred.

"I see. You’ll have to pray to the great Blood Mother during the ritual then."

Princess Taff kindly offered advice, but Blood Snake Princess instinctively felt something off.

Thinking it over, nothing seemed wrong. She could only stay secretly on guard and get ready to bail.

.....

The Dotruu Kingdom was a mess with tons of outsiders showing up in the royal capital.

In a residential house by the street, four young women were chatting.

"Kiri, I still think it’s way too dangerous."

Kathy’s voice was shaky. Nearby Heidi and Grace nodded along—they couldn’t forget Blood Snake Princess’s terrifying attack on their spiritual awakening day.

Hunting high-tier traitors seemed way beyond what their group, awakened for only a year, could handle.

"Chill out, chill out! I know Blood Snake Princess’s weak spot—absolutely no sweat!

The Valkyrie Sacred Relic in her hands is a perfect match for you, Kathy."

Kiri was cocky as hell. The bronze sword mark on her forehead radiated serious power, making you want to believe her.

Mentioning the Valkyrie Sacred Relic, Kathy’s face showed serious want.

They’d seen firsthand how in just over a month, Kiri had gone from some regular person without psionic juice into someone who could go toe-to-toe with mid-tier Psionics, and was still getting stronger fast.

According to her, these changes all came from the Valkyrie Sacred Relic she kept talking about.

Lucky for them, all three were Valkyrie-compatible. Inheriting Valkyrie power would similarly boost their strength through the roof.

Hunger for power tempted the three women to keep traveling with the mysterious Kiri after ditching Rock Sand City.

Of course, they weren’t dumb enough to immediately buy Kiri’s BS. They’d gotten Carlos’s message saying Kiri was solid, so they’d tagged along.

Just then, the door opened and a woman with a flawlessly beautiful face and smoking hot body walked in.

Kiri’s eyes lit up:

"Diliya, how’d the scouting go?"

Diliya looked weird:

"You were spot on. Not long ago, the Dotruu Kingdom got royally screwed. The king got assassinated by the Shadow Realm, nasty monsters called Shadow Twins kicked the kingdom’s nobles’ asses. If not for Ember City’s envoy stepping in, the Dotruu Kingdom would’ve been toast.

Now the whole capital’s on edge. The first prince will grab the throne soon, the second prince’s gone missing—probably another bloodbath coming."