The cold wind blew through the lush treetops, gently brushed the thick brown trunks, and swirled in the courtyard in front of the ballroom.

Several knights in armor rode their horses and patrolled the courtyard vigilantly, the sound of horses' hooves echoing in the silence of the night.

The eldest prince secretly avoided everyone's gaze and quickly hid in a hidden corner of the banquet hall.

Only then did he dare to talk to Victor in a low voice.

"So, what do you want to tell me?"

Victor squinted his eyes, looked at the big prince in golden clothes in front of him, and asked.

"There are some things that are not suitable to be discussed in front of Miss Lia, nor should they be heard by other nobles."

The eldest prince looked at Victor's concerns, and thought about it for a long time before continuing:

"I feel that there must be some reason behind the abnormal movement of the southern rift and the flood of monsters."

Revealing this news to Victor, the eldest prince was also well thought out.

Since returning to the royal capital, this matter has always haunted his mind, and the more he thinks about it, the more inappropriate it feels.

Originally, the situation in the southern part of the empire was stable, and the adventurers and monsters were in a delicate balance.

But when exactly did the problem begin?

The eldest prince fell into deep thought.

If you have to find a place to start, it may be the time when Victor took the princess to the kingdom.

Immediately afterwards, the news came from the royal capital that Princess Aurelian had been named by Aubery to inherit the throne of the emperor.

In fact, the stability of the Southern Monster Rift is extremely important to the Empire.

Not only did it provide a livelihood for adventurers in the south, but it also guaranteed security on the southern frontier of the empire.

These adventurers regard the monsters that emerge from each rift as wealth, and they will not hesitate to fight for a good reward.

At this stage, the royal family intervened relatively little in the rift, allowing adventurers to freely divide the profits.

At this time, the satisfaction of the adventurers is undoubtedly full marks.

Because they can make a fortune here.

But as time passed, the number and strength of the monsters in the rift grew.

This makes it difficult to cope with the strength of adventurers alone.

The Empire was forced to send troops to the southern frontier to tighten its grip on the monster rifts.

Even if the army intervenes, due to the large number of monsters, the adventurers will still have considerable benefits.

It's just that, although the adventurers did not have much objection to the existence of the army, there was a clear polarization within it.

The monsters became more and more powerful and difficult to handle.

As a result, some adventurers choose to join or create guilds.

Joining a guild not only keeps them safe, but also doesn't necessarily pay more than a solo ranger.

But they are more consistent.

Even so, the situation in the south could have maintained some stability.

But now, monsters are constantly gushing out of the rift, and adventurers can't penetrate into the rift even with all their might.

Monsters converge in swarms outside the Rift, their furious attacks battering the army's impregnable defenses on the southern border.

The adventurers had no choice but to fight side by side with the army to protect this front line.

But now the question is.

When did the original balance be lost?

Before the monster rift rioted, there was a tacit order between the adventurers and the army.

Adventurers are responsible for digging deep into the rift and clearing most of the monsters, while the army guards the front line to prevent the breeding of monsters at the edge.

Now, however, the situation has become complicated.

Only with the help of a large number of main forces can the stability of the south be guaranteed.

At this time, ask the adventurers how satisfied they are with the South.

The answer is undoubtedly outright dissatisfaction.

When they came here, they had no sense of righteousness, and they had never considered protecting the safety of the people in the south.

It's just because it's just to make more money.

But now, even making money has become difficult.

The gains on the battlefield are much less than when they went deep into the rift before.

The eldest prince realized this, held his chin, and said to Victor while thinking:

"So, I doubt that someone deliberately widened the monster rift, resulting in this situation that is difficult to defend now."

Victor opened his eyes and looked at him, stared at him, and asked:

"Do you already have a suspicion?"

The eldest prince lowered his head, his brows furrowed, and a trace of heaviness and pain flashed in his eyes.

He was reluctant to express his inner speculation easily, because the name meant great contradiction and pain to him.

But in the end, he still spoke slowly:

"All I can think is Oweithor did it."

A month ago, despite the monster rift, the lower level monsters began to surge, making the upper level monsters more and stronger.

But with the presence of troops, the situation can still be controlled.

But this has also led to a sharp drop in the income of some adventurers.

The eldest prince felt that this situation might have exacerbated the adventurers' dissatisfaction with the army, and their resentment might gradually accumulate.

After all, they came to the South to make money, and now they can't.

But the military's primary concern is to protect the safety of those living in the South.

In order to maintain the stability of the southern front and ensure the safety of the people, the army had to take such actions.

But since the second prince came to the south, he scolded him and left.

Soon after, the number of monsters pouring out of the monster rift increased dramatically.

Well, from the adventurer's point of view, these people have something to earn.

All day long, as long as you want to kill monsters, you can kill monsters, and it is no longer a fantasy to make a lot of money.

But having a life to make money doesn't necessarily mean having a life to spend.

There are so many monsters that some of the weaker adventurers have no chance to return once they enter the battlefield.

The flesh and blood of the lives lost remain on the front line forever.

Their bodies were scattered across the battlefield, and their deaths were brutal.

As the number of adventurers decreased, a steady stream of monsters made it extremely difficult to defend the southern front.

If you look back now, if someone really artificially enlarged the monster rift, what was their motive?

The answer should be jealousy.

Because those adventurers who earn less are jealous of their peers who can make a lot of money every day.

They resented their peers who could still make a fortune in the chaos, and they couldn't even drink the soup themselves.

If there were more monsters, wouldn't everyone be fair?

So the monster crack was maliciously pried open, just because of the unequal interests.

But no one would have thought that the number of monsters would become more than just the way they get paid.

Whether you can make money or not, you have to see how many pounds and taels you have.

Once upon a time, everyone could make a lot of money in the South.

But now, because of the malicious intervention of some less powerful but jealous adventurers, everyone is in trouble.

Nowadays, even retreating to save your life has become a big problem.

As soon as he thought of the second prince, Albanny felt a sharp sensation spread throughout his body.

The jealousy that Oweyser brought to him made him feel extremely disgusted.

It was like a foul-smelling quagmire in front of his eyes, almost making him vomit.

With such a heavy jealousy, it is not impossible for the second prince to influence the adventurers in the south.

Albanny fell into a deep tangle, then raised his head and said to Victor solemnly:

"Count Victor, you must be wary of Oweyser."

"Although I don't know what happened to him, his 'jealousy' may be the key to this happening."

There was a hint of concern in Albany's eyes.

Victor listened to his words and was silent for a moment, as if combing through the information that Albany had said in his mind.

After a while, he asked in a deep voice:

"In other words, didn't the second prince come back at all?"

Albenny was slightly stunned, searching for his memory.

Albany was slightly stunned, his mind quickly searching for memories.

Indeed, since the news of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the elves and the empire came out, there was news that the second prince had left the south in a hurry and was about to return to the royal capital.

The Grand Prince had always been worried about what Oweyser would do in the South.

When he heard that Oweyser was about to return to the royal capital, he was slightly relieved.

Only after the war in the south stabilized a little did he choose to return to the royal capital.

But now it seems that Oweyser has not returned at all.

Because from beginning to end, he never heard from Oweiser.

Thinking of this, Albenny's face was filled with horror, and a sense of foreboding welled up in his heart.

And Viktor's calm voice sounded again:

"If things are as you say."

"Well, I guess it's too late now."

"What......"

The eldest prince's eyes widened and he was about to speak.

Suddenly, outside the banquet hall, there was the earth-shattering sound of horses' hooves.

A crisp and chaotic sound of footsteps came from afar like thunder.

The copper-colored figure quickly swept across the earth and headed straight for the banquet hall.

The knights saw that the comer drew their weapons from their waists and tried to fend them off.

Gwen's pupils constricted, and she quickly recognized the swift warrior:

"He's an Imperial soldier, so there's no need to intercept."

The knights came to their senses in a daze, put away their weapons, and stared at them in shock

And really Imperial soldiers.

However, the soldiers of the Empire shouldn't be stationed at the border all year round, right?

Feeling the wind around him, the knights could only watch as he rode into the banquet hall on horseback.

The horse's hooves erupted into a thunderous explosion as it stepped across the red carpet and stepped over the steps into the golden forest.

As soon as the officer pulled the reins, the horses raised their hooves and neighed.

The nobles were startled, and fell to the ground in all directions, shivering against the walls.

The eyes were full of shock and puzzlement.

Even the elves were frightened and crowded into the crowd, looking at the panting horses with some fear.

The officer had turned over and dismounted, and the horse fell to the ground the moment he dismounted, foaming at the mouth.

He hurriedly spread his legs and ran towards the banquet hall.

The eldest prince saw everything in his eyes and looked at the intruding officer in a daze.

Seeing that the other party was covered with scars, he ran to him with a rolling belt:

"His Royal Highness the Great Prince!!"

"The Southern Front, lost!"