"I've only heard of it before, and to my own eyes, it's a spectacular – and expensive building. Pen Fun Pavilion www.biquge.info"

Yufi took Lynn's hand and stood on the edge of Victory Square, looking out at the magnificent palace that belonged to the Oren Empire in the distance.

The palace is symmetrical and concave, and the granite façade is pale gold in the sunlight - the alchemists have made flakes of alloy that fit snugly to the walls, and are not much worse than gold in terms of value. The outer edges of the palace and the recesses of the walls are lined with carved columns, reliefs, massive arched floor-to-ceiling windows, and statues of mythical and legendary human and magical creatures. In front of the main hall is a spacious garden filled with carefully manicured trees and flowers, which still looks green even now that winter is halfway through.

A sturdy statue of a two-headed griffon stands in the center of the garden. It had a snow-white body and strong golden black wings, a golden saddle, and a valiant knight sat on its back. It was the fifth emperor of the Oron Empire, Griffin the Great - legend has it that he achieved the mass domestication of griffons, and the griffon knighthood, and it was from him that the current insignia of the imperial family came.

"Nervous?" Lin leaned against her, her voice smiling slightly, "What we're going to do next is quite unplanned." ”

"My gut tells me that it should be fine." Yuffie replied softly, "If there's really any accident, let's say Cullen is near the palace—" Her expression became a little more serious, "Let me hold him back, you leave as soon as possible, Cullen won't kill me." ”

"That's just your guess, right?" Lynn interrupted, "Rather than leave your fate to that kind of person, you might as well trust your instincts to be accurate." So, let's go. ”

Yuffie nodded, not continuing the conversation. She knows her friend's personality very well, and she doesn't need too many words between them. Lin was right, even if it was a risky approach, everything would be fine if it went well.

A trip to the Royal Palace was a scheduled event. They wanted to know whether the initiator of the war was the emperor himself, or if there was another guide behind the scenes. After seeing what happened to the Crow Knights, she had another guess - whether the emperor was also under some kind of mind control to make an unusual decision.

They held hands and walked towards the main entrance of the palace. In the event of a war, the number of guards around the palace seems to have increased more than usual. Two Praetorian Guards dressed in golden griffon robes approached them, their sharp halberds in front of them, questioning why they had approached the palace.

"We have important matters to meet Your Majesty." Yuffie showed off his identity from the Guild with no nervousness on his face, "We've got the whereabouts of Sean Tamble, the former leader of the Crow Remnants. ”

"It's not just the whereabouts." Lynn answered cheerfully, plucking a slender package from her back and handing it forward, "We fought him once, and snatched his sword—this is it." ”

The two guards looked at each other, and one of them took the package, ordered them to stay here and wait for the announcement, and then turned and walked towards the temple.

It was indeed Sean's weapon, the sword known as the 'White Fang' - it had lost its sharpness from the former corroded by Mal's magic. Lynn borrowed it as proof of entry into the palace. She promised to wait until she was free to find a better sword for the other party in return. As for where to find it, according to her words-

"Ask Eugene a favor, he didn't learn magic forging. Or it's a big deal to take credit from the dragons, Uncle Araksha has a lot of inventory. ”

Not long after, the guards returned, announcing that the emperor had agreed to meet with them, and confiscating their weapons. Of course, neither Yuphe's tangible staff, nor the swords and daggers that Lynn wore on her body were the real equipment they used to fight.

They followed the guards into the palace, along the marble-paved corridors, surveying the surrounding scenery and ornaments as they went, seemingly unoblivious to the danger they were about to face.

"It looks like a luxury here." Lin glanced at the guards in front of her and deliberately lowered her voice, "You say, can we take a statuette back?" Probably can sell dozens of gold coins, right? ”

"Do you think you're the Rogue Fidel or Modilola?" She poked Lynn amusedly, "You might as well get a few pieces of fake gold off the façade, maybe you can fool the unscrupulous merchant." ”

The guard turned a deaf ear to the conversation between the two men, and only moved his legs in silence. The corridor came to an end in a short time, and what appeared in front of me was a carved door wrapped in brass, opening slightly inward. The Praetorian Guard paused, stood aside, and gestured for the two of them to move forward.

Yuffie - or still Elena - softly thanked the guards and was the first to enter the door. Lynn gave him a playful salute and followed.

The armor-clad and spear-wielding royal guards turned their gaze to the two of them, and together they threw themselves at the throne at the end, and a majestic blazing gaze could still be felt from a distance of dozens of meters. She and Lynn walked together to a position about ten meters from the throne and bowed.

"You've fought Sean, and that's true?" Rogman III's deep voice came from the throne, full of energy, "When and where, what was the result, and where did he go after that?" ”

"About three days north of Winterfell, near Holly. Sean seems to be following the tracks of an army, and we recognize him as wanted and fight him. Yuffie recounted the words she had thought of earlier, looking a little regretful, "Nia knocked down his sword, but unfortunately we ignored his spell and let him escape. ”

"And where can he go as you see it?"

"Hmm...... I've heard that he was in the army he was tracking, and that there were Sean's former subordinates. Lin ruffled her hair and said with curiosity, "If he was there for this, he probably wouldn't be too far away from that army, right?" ”

The man on the throne lowered his head, his chin propped up and lost in thought. Taking advantage of this opportunity, Yuffie raised his head and looked at Rogman III's face and body.

The kings of the empire looked much younger than their actual age, only about thirty years old. In the eyes of the girl who had mastered Edda's power, his energy was a little too much—even a young man in his twenties and thirties could not seem to be overflowing with vitality like the current Rogman III.

She had studied magic that could have a similar effect. When the body is in this state, the person concerned feels extremely energetic, will not get tired and will not be able to get sick, and the injuries will be recovered dozens of times faster. This is quite a useful spell in the face of a crisis or a strong enemy; However, long-term exposure to this state can lead to damage to body tissues and organs, just as red-hot iron is more likely to bend.

And that's not even the worst possibility. If this extra vitality is not a gift from the divine network, but is forcibly stimulated from the recipient's body through the action of the divine magic, the recipient's bodily functions will be rapidly depleted imperceptibly until the moment when it is completely unbearable.

She pondered how to convey these euphemisms to Rogman III, and how to make him understand that the Eddar sect, which was now spreading rapidly, might be plotting against the Empire. Before she could come up with a proper word, she saw the man on the throne turn his head and speak towards the empty position.

"Do you think they're telling the truth, Hughes?"

"Well, I want to think about it...... How can you say it? The sword was genuine, and they had seen Sean himself, so those two must be true! The dark-robed Ites grinned and threw a flying kiss at Lin, "But something isn't quite right, or rather, it's not true - what do you think can be an ogre?" ”

Yuffie turned her head and glanced at Lynn - not the worst outcome, but not far off. They didn't have much time on their way, and Hughes's presence here probably showed one thing—the Ites knew their destination from the beginning, and returned to the imperial capital before them.

At this point, there is no point in continuing to hide your identity. She whispered a short incantation, undoing the change spell that had been placed on her. Lynn rubbed her cheeks, returning to her original blonde appearance as well.

"Please let me reintroduce myself. Yuffie Stanmez and Lynn Campbell were both students of Dean Vanka Collens. She casually moved the old wizard's name out, hoping that it would make the emperor pay attention, "May I take the liberty of asking, is this war your opinion, or did you listen to someone's advice?" ”

As she uttered those last words, she used a hint of mysticism, but the surging life force, or magic, that surrounded Rogman III's body, easily shattered her spells.

"Nonsense. Who but me can dictate the entire empire, and who can guide the future of the empire? The man on the throne stood up suddenly, his eyes pressing into the two of them, "Tell your purpose, or you will be left to die in your cell." ”

"Please be angry, Your Majesty." Yuffie bowed and said, "I'm here to visit because I'm worried that you're under the control of some medicine or spell, and if that's the case, we'll try to figure out how to get you back." Now, while not as expected, you're still not in a good situation. ”

She spoke briefly, as tactfully, as she could, of what she had observed, of Rogman III's current physical condition, and of the possible adverse consequences. Predictably, Rogman III did not believe what she was saying, and loudly ordered the guards to take the two to their cells and interrogate them for their 'true purpose'.

It wasn't what she wanted. Yuffie bit her lip and instantly drew a rune with her index finger in the air. Fu Wenhua made a dazzling sun, blocking the footsteps of the guards. At the same time, Lynn picked her up, turned around, and ran towards the gate at a speed far beyond the average person.

"Hey, I said, it's rude to leave without saying hello!"

Yuffie heard a light voice ringing in her ears, and instinctively made her immediately raise her hand, ready to cast a powerful protective spell-

Before the secret art was completed, it was scattered by another just right magic. The juggling magic invaded her body, causing a violent vertigo. She felt like she was being lowered to the ground amid the buzzing in her ears, faintly hearing the clashing of weapons and the exclamations of her friends.

Her mind grew heavier and heavier, and she struggled to open her eyes, but eventually fell asleep.

……