Chapter 37

In the palace, Duke Gels' alarm device was still flashing.

This magical item, once activated, could not be stopped unless its energy was depleted or it was destroyed.

Duke Gels' brows were furrowed with anxiety.

The fact that the alarm device was still flashing indicated it had not been destroyed.

Had the enemy not discovered it?

Or had they deliberately left it?

Was Lucia fleeing?

Or was she already safe?

The Duke remained silent, his lips tightly pressed together, waiting for any news.

The butler rushed in, "My lord, we just received news that all the direct relatives of Marquis Hillary Francis have disappeared. The two earls who were closely associated with them, as well as the direct family members of Minister of Military and Political Affairs Child Bilmbo, have also vanished."

The veins on Duke Gels' hands stood out, and the armrests of his chair creaked under his grip.

The butler hesitated for a moment and continued, "They must have had only one goal: to kill Princess Lucia. Without Princess Lucia's help, the duchy's hope of claiming more territory would be slim, and the empire would lose a strong contender in the 'war' for crystal ore resources."

"Hmm!" Duke Gels only made this single sound.

The butler continued, "I suspect that Marquis Hillary Francis has realized he can no longer continue to compete with you within the duchy. By betraying some of the duchy's interests, he hopes to find a new position in another empire, so..."

"Report, a large-scale magical audio-visual communication request has been received." A group of mages burst in, carrying various items.

"Connect it," Duke Gels said, taking a deep breath.

He knew this was the large mage combat group that had rushed over, trying to communicate directly. Although it was a lot of trouble, it was faster than flying back.

The mages who entered quickly connected the magical accessories.

A wave of air, like the movement of flames, formed and gradually stabilized.

A small figure in a fiery red outfit appeared, and Duke Gels stood up abruptly, extremely excited.

"Ha, connected, this is fun. Respected Grand Duke, I'm glad to see you. The cursed signal transmission device wouldn't turn off.

Please allow the most beautiful Lucia of the duchy to introduce what just happened. Turn, aim at the spaceship, turn faster, yes, a bit to the left, perfect."

After saying a few words, Lucia began directing the mages to adjust the direction of the audio-visual communication.

She also moved, and when she stopped, a crashed spaceship appeared behind her.

Someone in the palace couldn't help but exclaim.

"Heavens! A battle mage spaceship from the Mitchell Empire. What did the little princess go through?"

"Yes, yes, as you can see, this is a battle mage spaceship from the Mitchell Empire. I have no doubt that they wanted to kill me, very strongly.

I believe this is shocking news.

The good news is that the enemy underestimated our strength.

Here, I would like to introduce my good friend, Sophia Narasha. Sophia, stand next to me, yes, right here."

Another girl with big eyes appeared on the screen, wearing a white princess dress, just as adorable as Lucia.

Enjoying the live broadcast atmosphere, Lucia continued, "Yes, the enemy didn't expect my good friend Sophia to be a great mage.

Sophia's perception is very strong. She discovered the enemy hiding under the snow and instantly cast a large-scale snowstorm whirl.

Her guard team has first-class combat skills.

Of course, my guards are also very loyal. I believe they were ready to use their bodies to shield me from the crossbow bolts.

So, with the cooperation of our two teams and the help of the powerful battle mage spaceship and the Mike War Pendant, justice ultimately triumphed over evil.

The bad news is that the sixth patrol squadron led by Mile, stationed outside the capital, has rebelled.

I am very sad and upset. I had to issue an attack order against them. The large mage combat group sent by Grandfather arrived just in time and controlled Mile and his men.

Oh, right, they were judged to have rebelled because they wanted to kill the prisoners from the Mitchell Empire.

Sophia, say a few words."

"I don't want to."

"Go on, go on."

"Alright, Grand Duke, I like playing with Lucia. When bad people tried to hurt Lucia, I was very angry, very angry.

Oh, the Mitchell Empire's spaceship is our trophy. We plan to repair it and use it ourselves.

Also, our military merit should be credited to Brother Murong. He was a viscount, and now he should be an earl, right?"

"Hehe, our Sophia is right, an earl, Earl Murong." Gels' eyes were almost closed from smiling, and he nodded in agreement.

Sophia opened her mouth, then sighed. She wanted to say Earl Gongsun.

Gels realized this and quickly corrected himself, "Earl Gongsun, Sophia, is that right?"

Sophia's eyes turned into two crescent moons, and she nodded vigorously, "Yes, yes, Earl Gongsun, yeah!"

"Wait for you to return, a grand feast will be prepared for you under candlelight. Now, can Commander Weiss speak?" Gels asked with a smile.

His mood was indescribably good.

"Who is Weiss?" Sophia had forgotten the name.

"It's me, dear Sophia. I'm sorry, my name is hard to remember." Commander Weiss had to take the blame.

Sophia smiled sheepishly, "I'll remember next time, Weiss, Weiss, Weiss, I'll say it a hundred times."

She mumbled and moved aside.

As Commander Weiss spoke with Sophia, a murmur rose in the palace's meeting hall.

"Earl Gongsun? A noble who gained his title through a little girl?"

"An embarrassing way to become a noble."

"I can't understand why a mage prodigy would be with an incompetent man. Their surnames don't even match."

"Poor Sophia, she doesn't even know she's being used."

Clearly, the speakers were not the palace servants who knew the rules, but the mages who had arrived later.

Perhaps they imagined themselves as Sophia, feeling that their efforts would be taken advantage of by someone less capable.

"Don't you dare talk about Brother Murong, or I'll hit you!" Sophia heard every word, even the murmurs, and leaned in to threaten them.

"Shut your mouths," Gels' voice rang out, and his glare conveyed his anger.

The mages became obedient again, though no one could hear what they were thinking.

"Very sorry, Sophia, I will punish them. Weiss." Gels comforted Sophia and then asked the commander of the princess's guard.

Weiss immediately began his account, starting from when Lucia discovered the Francis family's trap in the square.

Then the princess found Sophia, and they made food together.

Next, they encountered the old man, Sophia exposed the ambush, Moses and his team responded quickly, Sophia instantly cast the snowstorm whirl, the battle mage spaceship arrived, the Mike War Pendant proved its worth, Mile rebelled, and the large mage combat group obeyed the order to attack.

All the way to the current audio-visual communication.

Weiss explained everything clearly and specifically mentioned that the princess's guards would need to learn from Moses and his team in the future.

Weiss was not a bard and could not make the story dramatic.

But the people in the palace still understood many things from his account, realizing that the brief battle was not as simple as it seemed.

Some mages even broke out in a cold sweat, thinking about the military crossbows in the ambush.

If they, who were not great mages, had been in that situation, the outcome would not have been as favorable.

Thus, they secretly criticized Gongsun Murong, envying him for having a talented sister.

Duke Gels had no time to ponder the thoughts of the mages in front of him.

He picked out several important pieces of information.

First, Lucia's attack was not a coincidence; the Francis family had thoroughly analyzed Lucia's various reactions.

Second, Sophia's magical talent was stronger than Lucia's, and her combat experience was rich, indicating what she had been through.

The adventurers who followed from Qishui City had first-class combat skills, even though their battle qi ranks were generally lower than the princess's guards, their effectiveness was greater.

What Duke Gels was most concerned about was that Gongsun Murong had not revealed much of his true strength in this battle.

One, with the help of Sophia's ice mirror, he could move evasively, which anyone could do under the influence of numerous ice mirrors.

Two, Gongsun Murong had good arm strength, able to throw the Mike War Pendant with a piercing sound, but the pendant, with a crystal core, had some flight capability on its own.

Moreover, the Mike War Pendant had a wide range of effects. If it were not for the battle mage spaceship's resistance to interference, a regular spaceship would have been thrown into chaos without the pendant being thrown close.

Duke Gels' fingers moved unconsciously at his side.

He even felt a bit regretful, thinking the enemy's attack was too weak, failing to force Gongsun Murong to reveal his true abilities.

No, he would not be like the group of foolish mages in front of him, thinking Gongsun Murong was weak.

Could someone who relied solely on his sister's magic have such a calm gaze and expression?

Could he have earned the absolute respect of his family's guards?

Duke Gels, unable to guess Gongsun Murong's true strength, gave up trying to guess.

He smiled and asked, "Weiss, you should ask Moses if the adventurers from Qishui City are all as well-coordinated as they are. How do they train? What are the adventurers from Qishui City like?"

Weiss immediately reached out and pulled over someone, who was Moses.

Moses was very excited and answered without the Duke repeating the question, "Not all adventurers are well-coordinated. The well-coordinated ones are the ones who survive.

In the desert, adventurers have their own rules. Whenever two or more adventurers or teams meet and need to fight a third party, they must work together perfectly.

When new adventurers appear in Qishui City, the first thing they do is learn the rules, or no one will be willing to form a team with them.

The adventurers from Qishui City do not form military formations. They are specifically used to break through enemy lines.

That's why the Ruye people have not sent regular troops to attack Qishui City for many years, as they cannot provide enough adventurers who follow the same rules as those in Qishui City.

This was proven in the third year of Mayor Aurelius' term, when the adventurers from Qishui City were organized to actively seek out the Ruye army stationed at the border.

It is said that the regular army of Qishui City followed behind to support them.

After three days of fighting, the Ruye army's Fourth Corps, including the Crab Tiger Legion, the Flying Mane Legion, and the Sand Borer Legion, were all broken through and their formations disrupted. The Ruye army retreated thirty miles from the border, and it has remained so to this day.

Unfortunately, I missed it."