Perhaps it was the blessing of the goddess, but in the darkest years of the Kingdom of Taros, two talented pearls were born. Princess Veronica was the best swordswoman in the royal family before she reached adulthood, and she had a talent for battlefield command that even General Gloen had to praise. The second princess, Ania, was known for her intelligence. Though she was not good at swordsmanship or military strategy, she had read all the books in the royal library before the age of 14, and she was very talented in magic. Compared with the two pearls of Taros, the only prince of the kingdom, Andrew, was dull. The little prince, who was mediocre in all aspects, had almost no presence in the public eye.
But Rudolph III felt that his two proud daughters were the greatest tragedy of the kingdom. With such unparalleled talent, they would shine in any era, but they had to face the tide of Chaos in Collow so early. In the face of this disaster, the pearls would not last long. Talented young people would often be swallowed up by the darkness before they could grow up.
Veronica had become the first victim. When he saw Ania, he could not help but think of this.
"Tell me one by one, my daughter." Rudolph III pressed his forehead with his hand, his tone a little tired. "Anything that you pay attention to, even if it is an unconfirmed rumor, is not that simple."
"Yes, Father," Princess Ania bowed slightly. "First of all, about the observation of the border of Chaos. The astrologers of the Arcane Tower looked at the dark border on a starless night and observed that a huge shadow vortex was gradually forming on the border. Its radiation range from the Kingdom of Beacon Fire to the Shadowy Forest, almost across half of the Ansu Continent. It is now the seventh year of the tide of Chaos. According to the past pattern, the tide of the Sea of Carnos will begin to weaken in the last two months of this year. But the appearance of the shadow vortex seems to violate this pattern. "
"The Sea of Carnos is turbulent, and the boundary between Order and Chaos is not so easy to determine," Grand Duke Loen suddenly said. His voice was calm and almost emotionless. "What is recorded in the history books is just a one-sided observation of the Chaotic World by mortals. It cannot be regarded as the golden rule. Moreover, the shadow vortex is only a byproduct of the power of Chaos, not the Chaos itself. Its rise and fall cannot be used to determine the strength of the tide of Chaos. "
Ania's words were interrupted by Grand Duke Loen, but he did not show any displeasure on his face. Rudolph III nodded slightly and said, "What Loen said makes sense. It is better to let the scholars study these things carefully before making a conclusion. Anyway, those people in Sanctum must be more concerned about the changes at the border of Chaos. They will take action."
Anya nodded and continued, "There are also some reports about the defense line outside the Shadowy Forest. After Sister … went missing, all the outposts in the Shadowy Forest lost contact almost overnight. Afterward, Fort West received reports of continuous attacks, and the investigation of the external defense line became difficult. At present, we can only be sure of one thing, and that is that we are suffering from a new kind of attack. It is very likely that a new form of monsters has been born in the Chaos, and they are very destructive to small furnace outposts."
Rudolph III's hand was still on his forehead, and his face seemed to have aged a bit. "Marcus is getting old too."
"The General of the West has at least stopped the monsters from continuing to attack the territory, and the fortress still stands among the mountains. The changes in the Shadowy Forest are a mystery to everyone. Even our royal scholars can't see what is going on in the shadows. Marcus is not entirely to blame for this matter. The Arcane Tower and the Royal Warlock Association have a greater responsibility. Their duty is to see through the changes in the Chaos, but they did not give an early warning in time. "
General Gloen nodded slightly at Ania's words. This general of the kingdom had a deep friendship with Marcus, the General of the West. He also knew that the defeat in the war in the west had put the legendary veteran in a very disadvantageous situation. But as a soldier, he really could not stand the arbitrary evaluation of the border soldiers by the exaggerated aristocratic analysts in the court.
Compared to the good-for-nothing nobles, Princess Ania was obviously more appreciated and valued by the general.
"I know Marcus' difficulties and achievements. Don't worry, your father is not senile. He still has this little bit of judgment." Rudolph III waved his hand, and the expression on his face became a little more relaxed. "You just mentioned what happened on the floating island in the south. Are those beasts also affected by the tide of Chaos? "
Beasts were different from monsters. In the world of Collow, people collectively referred to the monsters born from the Chaos and the Festered monsters that were eroded by the Chaos as monsters. But beasts were normal creatures in this world. Though they had always been in conflict with the human world, they were also part of the normal ecology of this world. Beasts included powerful primitive creatures that mastered magic power, as well as abhumans that mutated under the magic environment and gained basic intelligence and evolution. Most of the beasts on the floating island in the south of the kingdom were of the second kind.
The kingdom of the World of Order had never bothered to deal with the abhumans living outside the civilized world. Though some scholars believed that the abhumans also had their own social structure and even cultural system, they also admitted that the intelligence of the abhumans was not comparable to that of the advanced humanoid races. So the ruling class of Taros had never paid much attention to the beasts on the floating island in the south of the kingdom.
Rudolph III was curious about what the "low-intelligence races" on the floating island had done, so much so that even the royal scholars, who had always lived in seclusion, began to pay attention to them.
"The necromancers saw that the abhumans, who had been fighting endlessly, suddenly stopped fighting. It seemed that a powerful leader had appeared among them and unified all the tribes. The latest news from the Arcane Tower was that the tribes were cutting down trees to make some kind of large … device, which is suspected to be some kind of huge transportation vehicle. A few days ago, the wizards also observed an old blue whale swimming from the direction of the Kingdom of Fengwinterfell. It seemed to be resting on the largest floating island in the south, but it has not been seen again. My teacher suspects that this matter is also related to the strange activities of the abhumans. "
"Blue whale?" Rudolph III did not react when he heard about the movements of the abhumans, but when he heard about the blue whale, his expression finally changed. "Can those abhumans that have just evolved from beasts kill a blue whale?"
"Not necessarily. After all, the floating island floats in the sky. We can only use magic to observe the situation on the island. But what is certain is that there is indeed a blue whale missing on the island."
Grand Duke Loen also became interested in this topic. The thin man took a step forward, gently twisting his proud mustache with one hand. "What else did the masters of the Arcane Tower find? Do you know who integrated those beasts? "
"Grand Duke Loen, the abhumans are different from the beasts," Ania glanced at Grand Duke Loen before continuing. "The witches used black witchcraft and successfully captured a soul on the floating island across the Sea of Carnos. The chaotic memory of the soul kept repeating a name — Alpha. This Alpha should be their new leader. The soul showed great fear and awe when it mentioned the name."
"Alpha …" Gloen frowned, and the scar on his face looked even more hideous. "It sounds like the name of a beast. Maybe it is a gnoll? Or a demonic wolf? "
"Gnolls have never had a high status among the abhumans. Their innate quality is very low, and it is difficult for them to produce a decent leader," Princess Ania shook her head. "The demonic wolf is very powerful and is a powerful predator among the abhumans. But its intelligence is only medium, and it is unlikely for it to become the chief of several tribes. Compared with these two, scholars are more willing to believe that 'Alpha' is just an honorary title, which has nothing to do with the race. It is a honorific title that the integrated abhumans use to show their submission. "
"Your Majesty, we should pay attention to this matter." Grand Duke Loen bowed slightly to Rudolph III. "The sudden gathering of the beasts has never been a good thing. Although they are a rabble, beasts are born stronger than humans. Now that the kingdom's defense is weak, we should take precautions as soon as possible."
"They are just abhumans. Do they really want to attack a kingdom?" Rudolph III snorted. "But it is still necessary to take appropriate precautions. Their looting is also a huge loss to the kingdom. Gloen, I will leave this matter to you. Increase the defense of the southern border cities as appropriate. Now that the war in the west is urgent, it is not appropriate to transfer too many troops. "
When the two important ministers of the kingdom left, the room was quiet again.
Rudolph III sat in the armchair with a gloomy expression on his face. After a long time, he sighed and said, "Ania, open the window."
The young princess nodded and walked to the side to open the window.
Bright sunlight spilled into the room. Ulo, the sun that brought light to the world of Collow, had just walked into the atrium of the sky. From this room on the top floor of the Palace of Golden Roses, it was easy to overlook almost the entire White City. The ancient city stretched out on the plain, shining brightly and white.
Above the city, the clear sky was cloudless. Only at the far end of the horizon, the sky was dim, and a dark halo shrouded the sky. It was the dark side of the Sea of Carnos in the sky.
"The beasts came after the Chaos." Rudolph III looked at the clear sky outside, but his face was gloomy. "What happened to this world?"
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