All the buildings around the monster rift had long since been reduced to ashes. As the rain fell, the sky and the land became incomparably clear.
That certain rift, which had been stretched to an enormous size, seemed to go limp after spewing out all of its energy, shrinking considerably.
The energy surging within it also became much more barren.
The crystal-clear raindrops gradually stopped. The surrounding land seemed to have been thoroughly irrigated once again, green vegetation slowly poked out from the yellow earth, growing upward toward the sky.
No one could imagine that this place, originally a desolate southern border of wilderness and cliffs, had now grown into a vast, deep-green forest.
No one knew what exactly had happened inside the rift. This abnormal situation appearing in the southern part of the empire still left many people uneasy.
The imperial army remained on high alert, massive weapons all aimed at the swaying monster rift.
As the rift continued to sway, it gradually triggered disturbances. Powerful air pressure once again burst outward from within, as if something were about to emerge.
At the moment the gigantic metal cannons locked onto the rift, it began to ripple slowly.
Seeing this, an officer immediately issued an order, waving his arm and shouting loudly, "Fire!"
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Countless energy shells rose and fell in succession. As the command was given and flames shot skyward, they burst violently from the cannon barrels, pierced through the thick clouds, and flew toward the monster rift.
In an instant, towering clouds of dust tens of meters high were thrown into the air. The powerful impact smashed a deep crater into the ground.
As the smoke and dust dispersed, a fierce white airflow wildly churned before a man, drawing in the surrounding atmosphere and turning what had been an extremely thin presence into something dense and dark.
The man floated in midair. Beneath his feet, an invisible wind seemed to gather, supporting him.
All the energy shells were blocked by a barrier of wind, suspended in front of him, not even brushing against Viktor's coat.
With one arm, he held Erica. With the other, he braced himself in front.
The colorless wind barrier continued surging upward.
Everyone stared blankly at Viktor, who had walked out of the monster rift. For a moment, no one knew how to react.
"What?"
"This is how you welcome me?"
———
"I'm extremely sorry! Count Viktor!"
Inside a massive steel room, the eldest prince bowed deeply to Viktor, apologizing nonstop.
"I am deeply sorry that my subordinates attacked you."
"Please forgive us. This was not intentional."
The eldest prince was extremely respectful and sincere.
Viktor stood with his hands in his pockets, watching the prince bow and apologize, his face expressionless.
He glanced slightly at Erica beside him.
The girl was lying on the bed, her expression calm, breathing evenly in her sleep.
Then Viktor looked back at the eldest prince and said flatly, "So you mistook me for the monster that barged out of the rift?"
He was naturally referring to the Wind Calamity, Doragon.
According to the army's logic, they were guarding this southern monster rift to prevent even stronger monsters from emerging.
If the one who came out hadn't been Viktor, but Doragon roaring and bringing out a swarm of rift monsters, they would have had to intercept immediately.
Although the probability was low, it wasn't impossible.
So Viktor could understand.
Lowering his head and looking at the eldest prince, he said calmly, "Your Highness, I'm not that vengeful."
Hearing Viktor's words, the eldest prince finally relaxed a little, though his face still showed some unease.
"I still feel extremely guilty, Count Viktor."
"I will make compensation for this."
Viktor quietly looked at him and made no response.
No matter what this person did behind the scenes, at least on the surface, his behavior was flawless.
A perfect hero.
Was that possible?
Then the eldest prince turned to look at the sleeping Erica, examined her face slightly, and recognized her.
"This must be Duke Levi's daughter. I heard she fell into the hands of that black dragon."
"So that monster has already been…"
Viktor said calmly, "Your Highness, some things are enough to know in your heart."
"There's no need to publicize them."
The eldest prince opened his mouth wide, marveling nonstop, "You are truly low-key and powerful."
"It is a great honor for the empire to have you."
After saying this, he placed his hand on his chest and bowed slightly to Viktor, expressing his gratitude.
"You have just arrived in the south and don't yet have a residence. You may use this estate as you please."
"I still need to deal with matters concerning the monster rift, so I'll take my leave."
Viktor didn't stop him, only nodded lightly, watching the eldest prince depart.
The eldest prince knew his limits well. After clearing up the misunderstanding, he didn't linger at all, avoiding any potential awkwardness.
Interacting with the eldest prince did indeed feel very comfortable.
At least, the way he acted matched his reputation perfectly.
As a prince, he even personally went to the front lines to oversee the battle.
He knew how to behave when dealing with others and showed great respect.
Even with his noble status, he still carried himself with a gentle and refined demeanor.
The perfect hero, Albany.
No wonder so many people supported the eldest prince.
In the game's background, even Duke Levi stood on the eldest prince's side.
"But it's a pity."
Viktor shook his head.
As long as Aurelian existed, it was destined that neither of these two princes would ever ascend to that position.
No matter how much scheming they had, no matter how perfect their reputations were.
Viktor glanced at Erica once more, turned around, and left the room.
———
The eldest prince walked out of the estate, with an officer following closely behind him.
"Any news from the Beast Guild?"
Hearing the prince's question, the officer reported, "Your Highness, Guild Leader Hera has already returned to the guild headquarters with fourteen top-tier adventurers."
The eldest prince nodded lightly and continued, "Make arrangements. I want to meet Hera."
The officer who received the order stepped ahead, opened the carriage door, and let the prince enter.
The prince's eyes were extremely calm, as if no news was particularly important to him.
"Keep close watch on the third battle line."
"My sister, they haven't come out yet."
The officer bowed his head sharply.
"Yes."
———
Soul-Diving Demon Corpse.
This was a high-level monster with strength around the third tier.
Its physical body was extremely tough. Ordinary sword attacks against it could even cause the blade to shatter.
Its method of attack was also very special, it merged its body into the ground and launched sudden attacks on enemies from hidden positions.
With its terrifying destructive power and frightening attack speed, even seasoned and powerful adventurers from guilds would find it extremely troublesome.
But it had a very obvious weakness, once its head was severed at the neck, it would die completely.
Aurelian stared seriously at the monster before her. The demi-human team surrounded her, forming two rows.
Behind the formation, she directed the team's attacks, maintaining a relatively stable battle rhythm, while continuously casting magic and constructing formations to grant buffs to the demi-humans.
The demi-humans drew the sharp blades at their waists and launched wave after wave of attacks at the monster.
The weapons in their hands were not ordinary. When they cut into the monster's body, they left behind burning wounds wreathed in flames.
The Soul-Diving Demon Corpse slowly twisted its body. The part that had burst out of the soil actually shrank back somewhat.
The ground bulged slightly, bypassed the attacking demi-humans, and surged at high speed toward Aurelian.
"Protect Her Highness the Princess!"
Seeing this, the other row of demi-humans stabbed their blades fiercely into the ground.
Dozens of swords nailed the bulging earth in place, and no matter how the monster struggled, it couldn't break free.
The Soul-Diving Demon Corpse's eyes became frenzied with rage as it suddenly let out a violent howl toward the sky.
Aurelian widened her eyes, watching the bulging ground surge violently, and shouted loudly to the demi-humans, "Careful! Get away from it, now!"
After receiving the order, the demi-humans quickly pulled back, creating distance from the monster.
The moment they retreated, the Soul-Diving Demon Corpse began to swell extremely, even slightly breaking through the soil beneath.
In an instant, it unleashed a terrifying explosion.
BOOM!
A dreadful blast erupted from its expansion, carrying endless shockwaves that even destroyed the surrounding terrain.
As smoke and dust rose, the demi-humans all let out a sigh of relief.
If not for the princess's timely warning, they might all have been caught by that move.
In the end, Aurelian didn't even need to issue commands.
A monster that had released its ultimate move and entered a weakened state was naturally no match for them.
Like hunters, the demi-humans collectively pounced forward once the smoke cleared, slashing fiercely at the monster's neck.
Slash! Slash! Slash!
Under the combined strikes, the monster's neck shattered completely, and its entire body began to slowly disintegrate.
The ground swallowed its corpse, leaving behind only a crystal-clear spherical object on the surface.
The demi-humans reacted quickly, picking it up to prevent it from being swallowed by the strange terrain as well.
After retrieving it, they handed the item to Aurelian.
The princess placed it in her palm and examined it briefly.
This was a drop from the Soul-Diving Demon Corpse.
[Soul-Diving Demon Corpse's Eyeball]
This was the most commonly dropped material after defeating a Soul-Diving Demon Corpse.
Aurelian remembered that Teacher Viktor often collected items like this, so she planned to give it to him.
After all, this was her trophy.
The battle was over, and the demi-humans all relaxed.
Aurelian was also very happy. Her training course had temporarily ended, and she could finally lead the team back the way they came.
The results of the training were very significant.
After exploring these thirty floors, her command ability and combat skills had both improved greatly.
It was also thanks to the monster encyclopedia her teacher had given her, which even contained detailed records of monsters existing within the monster rift.
Otherwise, handling them wouldn't have been so easy.
Aurelian held the material in her hand, just about to lead the team away, when, a sense of danger surged from behind, shooting straight into her mind.
Gwen reacted instantly and immediately moved in front of Aurelian.
A white afterimage struck, smashing Gwen away.
She traced an arc through the air before landing, barely stabilizing herself.
"Your Highness! Danger!"
"Wha..."
Suddenly, the monster material in Aurelian's hand vanished into thin air.
She widened her eyes and looked forward.
A figure with an extremely slender and pallid body now stood within the circle of demi-humans.
She had long white hair, and her eyes resembled snake pupils, narrow and vicious.
What was even more shocking was that a pair of black-and-white wings actually grew from her back, swaying gently.
Human? No…
The terrifying pressure Aurelian felt from her was like... countless monsters fused together.
Suddenly, the woman moved.
In front of everyone, she raised the eyeball, opened her mouth, and seemed about to swallow it.
Seeing this, Aurelian widened her eyes and hurriedly shouted, "No… no!"
"That's for my teacher…"
Bang!
Suddenly, a glowing green spell turned into an arrow and shot out instantly, striking the woman and blasting her dozens of meters away.
As the smoke cleared, the monster's eyeball floated quietly in midair, wrapped in magic.
"Hey, I say."
Just as everyone stood dumbfounded, a lazy voice slowly sounded.
Kokote yawned, sitting atop a cloud. One hand propped up her face, while the other lifted weakly.
She squinted her eyes, and her tone carried a hint of danger.
"Casually stealing a child's things."
"You..."
"Did you get my permission?"