As night falls, countless stars decorate the dark sky. A crescent moon hangs high in the sky, silver and bright, shining like a silver plate, emitting a dazzling moonlight.

Danila flew to the Blood Clan Imperial City with his body covered in bloodstains. He quickly flew into the palace and arrived at the Crimson Hall.

Ignoring the guards' notification, he barged in directly.

He knew very well that he didn't have much time left. He thought that taking a hemostatic medicine would stop the bleeding, but now the wound was bleeding extensively again. Danila had to tell everything he knew to the Queen.

"At the border between the Sun and Moon Empire and the White Stork Empire, we found Iris. Just when we were about to capture her, a woman named Shizhi stopped us and killed all of our shadowguards. Shizhi claims to be a demon, and she refers to Iris as 'Your Majesty.' During their conversation, a genius angel named Jilu Leng appeared. She is skilled in tactics and slightly stronger than the healing angel. Jilu Leng damaged Shizhi's voice, and now they are going to the Sun and Moon Empire to find someone named Qizhou who can cure Shizhi's voice."

Danila spoke rapidly, knowing he was about to die, and immediately told Lilia everything he knew.

After finishing his words, Danila slumped down on the ground. He had no strength left in his body, and he looked like an old man on his deathbed, ready to breathe his last breath.

Blood continued to gush out from Danila's body.

Lilia immediately used healing magic to stop the bleeding for Danila.

Unexpectedly, Lilia's healing magic had no effect, and it only made the bleeding from Danila's wounds even faster.

At the moment of his death, "Your Majesty, Shizhi's weapon is strange. Once it cuts someone, it..."

Before he could finish speaking, Danila completely passed away.

Hearing these words, the members of the Blood Clan couldn't help but reveal surprise on their faces. They couldn't help but wonder if Iris was planning to proclaim herself as queen. And that Shizhi who called herself a demon was able to massacre half of the shadowguards alone.

"Your Majesty!" The members of the Blood Clan began discussing among themselves.

Lilia stood up from the throne, her face filled with gloominess. She glanced at Danila lying on the ground, his clothes already stained with blood, feeling a heavy heart.

In Lilia's heart, Danila was a qualified Blood Clan soldier, a loyal subordinate.

"Give Danila's family a sum of compensation." Lilia ordered.

"Yes, Your Majesty." A Blood Clan member left to fulfill the order.

Lilia walked down from the throne and approached Danila. She gently closed his eyes and lifted his lifeless body, walking outside the palace without caring about the bloodstains on Danila.

The members of the Blood Clan followed silently behind their Queen, without uttering a word, walking out of the palace with Lilia.

They all maintained a silent agreement.

Lilia instructed the palace maid to bury Danila in the Twilight Cemetery and ordered them to build a tombstone for him.

"You may leave now. We will discuss matters tomorrow."

"Yes, Your Majesty." The ministers paid their respects and dispersed.

After everyone left, Dugu slowly appeared from the shadows.

"Your Majesty!" Dugu knelt down and paid his respects.

"You and Xueyou Yue should transport the bodies of those soldiers back and bury them here." Lilia ordered.

"Yes, Your Majesty!" Dugu said, then disappeared into the darkness again.

After completing these tasks, Lilia returned to her sleeping quarters. She lay on the bed, resting her head on her hands, staring at the full moon overhead. Lilia did not feel angry about losing half of her shadowguards. On the contrary, she needed to be calm, she needed to be rational, she needed to think carefully.

Time and time again, Iris had escaped dangerous situations. Li Xi's magic had been personally trained by Lilia herself, and her swordsmanship, which she did not know where she had learned it from, was second only to her great niece Meiweis. Snowyue was taught by Liran Day, and although her magic was slightly inferior to the two, her archery skills were indisputably top-notch.

The two of them had almost been killed by Iris. It could be assumed that her fourth magic element was illusion magic, combined with her superb acting skills, she deceived them both.

This time, the shadowguards sent out were all at the second or third Forbidden Spell level, and their average combat skills were high. However, they were killed by a woman named Shizhi. Captain Danila, a thunder-type mage, sacrificed his life to report to Lilia.

The more Lilia thought about it, the more agitated she felt. Suddenly, she felt a headache coming on.

Lilia sat up, picked up the glass on the table, and took a big gulp of wine, using the alcohol to calm herself down.Immediately, Lilia picked up pen and paper and wrote down the information Daniela had reported.

"The Wisdom Angel Silent Road is slightly stronger than the Healing Angel, and the demon, Shizhi, calls Iris 'Your Majesty.' Shizhi wields a weapon that causes fatal bleeding," Lilia frowned.

"As for angels and demons, let's put that aside. After all, there are very few books about them, and their images have been deliberately beautified by later generations. Most of what we know about demons and angels are just folk legends, mainly about demons wanting to rule the world and angels striving for peace.

So why would Shizhi call Iris 'Your Majesty'? And why does he identify himself as a demon? Could it be that Iris wants to establish a country?

Even if we assume that Iris wants to establish a country, what qualifies her to have followers? She has no money, no resources for cultivation. Is she just painting castles in the air all day?

Furthermore, this person named Shizhi, who single-handedly killed half of the Shadow Guards, is clearly extraordinary. Why would such a powerful person submit to Iris? And what qualifications does Iris have to make Shizhi submit?" Lilia fell into deep thought, constantly pondering various possibilities, even imagining the scenario where Iris seduced Shizhi.

"Maybe it really is seduction. After all, Iris has a human male appearance, although without male physiological features. She looks quite frail and weak, easy to bully. Perhaps they played some game of knight and king...

"Um... well... Iris probably wouldn't do something so unseemly..."

As for the demon, they were probably colluding together. After all, they had already seen the examples of Li Xi and Xue Youyue. They would go all the way and do a complete act, which Iris is good at." Lilia pressed her temples and speculated to herself.

Lilia closed her eyes and recalled every moment with Iris, scenes flashing before her mind like a movie.

"Maybe it's really possible. Iris has a low bottom line, wanting to cling onto someone as strong as Shizhi and asking for help to resolve troubles." Lilia shook her head to deny those absurd speculations in her mind.

After a long period of education, Iris shouldn't do such absurd things.

Lilia was very conscientious about Iris's education. Her every behavior was scrutinized, and at least her etiquette education was engraved in her bones. A slap for every three days, a heavy beating for every five days. How could Iris dare to be disobedient?

Moreover, there was still the mark of discipline at that time. Iris was like a blank piece of paper, and Lilia knew every little trick in her mind. Including all the information about Iris being able to transform into a human, it was all known since then that Iris's human appearance had flaws.

"Never mind, speculating blindly is useless. I'll have Li Xi infiltrate the Sun Moon Empire and gather some information." Lilia rubbed her temples and made up her mind.

...

Prime Minister Frost was also pondering. After Daniela's words today, he felt that there was someone manipulating behind the scenes, but he couldn't figure out who it was. He couldn't find any clues.

The Princess killing the Queen Mother was a well-founded fact, and there was evidence that he couldn't refute. However, deep inside, he had a vague premonition that something big was going to happen. (Each person's magic aura is unique, just like fingerprints. If your fingerprints are found at the crime scene, how can you say you didn't commit the crime?)

The next morning, a bright sun appeared in the sky, dispelling the coldness of winter. It shone upon the forest, causing the leaves to sway in the wind.

Mei Weisi finished her meditation, and her ice magic had reached the fourth tier of a mage. (After Forbidden Spell, it requires cultivation up to the sixth tier to break through, as written in the setting.)

Mei Weisi stretched her arms, feeling the warmth of the sunlight on her skin.

"This comfortable feeling is so nice!" Mei Weisi couldn't help but take a few deep breaths of fresh air, a faint smile appearing on her face.

Mei Weisi strolled along the streets. She was dressed very ordinary, indistinguishable from a girl next door.

A jade hand patted Mei Weisi's right shoulder, and she turned around to see Li Xi.

"Mei Weisi, you're already a second-tier mage!!!" Li Xi's face showed a startled expression the moment she saw Mei Weisi.

"Where, where." Mei Weisi spoke humbly, but there was an undeniable sense of pride in her expression. "You're not bad either!"

"Hmph!" Li Xi snorted at her words. This guy was clearly showing off. Mei Weisi had reached the second tier in magic, but she was still stuck at the first tier. How embarrassing!!!"We can go to a teahouse and have a chat," Mei Weisi said to Li Xi.

"Sure," Li Xi agreed.

Mei Weisi and Li Xi went to a teahouse.

"Have a seat," Mei Weisi sat at a window seat and gestured for Li Xi to sit down.

"The tea here is good!" Mei Weisi picked up a teapot and took a sip, exclaiming.

"Really?" Li Xi said.

Mei Weisi rolled her eyes and said, not pleased, "Then try it quickly. The taste must be much better than what you used to have!"

"Alright, I will try it then." Li Xi poured himself a cup of hot tea from the teapot, blew on it gently, and took a sip.

The fragrance of the tea was refreshing.

"Hmm... it tastes good." Li Xi finished the cup of tea and commented.

"By the way, what happened while I was in seclusion?" Mei Weisi asked, taking a sip of tea.

"Ah..." Li Xi sighed and helplessly said, "Half of the Shadow Guards were killed by someone called Shi, and Captain Daniela reported the news to the Queen and died as well. Du Gu and Xue Youyue went to the border between the White Stork Empire and the Sun and Moon Empire to collect the bodies."

"Half of the Shadow Guards died!!!" Mei Weisi expressed surprise after hearing this.

"Earlier, my sister Xue Youyue and I severely injured Iris. Just as we were about to bring her back, her wounds immediately healed, her eyes turned bloodshot, three black spines grew out of her shoulder blades, her right arm turned dark red, and there was a black chain connecting her shoulder blades to her right arm. Behind her, a black city appeared, with skeletons holding axes and shields on the city walls. The sound they made was chilling, and these skeletons appeared to have flesh and blood in a visible way. They were massive, with black wings, fangs, and horns, like demons from ancient times." Li Xi recalled the situation at that time and said with lingering fear, recounting everything he saw and heard to Mei Weisi.

"A black chain?" Mei Weisi interrupted Li Xi.

"For that, you can ask the Queen. The Queen speculates that Iris may be a new generation of Dawn Knight. We know very little about the power of the Black Chain, only that it can quickly heal wounds and seal magic powers in others." Li Xi explained.

Mei Weisi clenched her fist in anger and said, "Traitor!!! She promised me she would help me get revenge, but now she has become a Dawn Knight herself."

"Keep your voice down, Mei Weisi. You don't want to make things worse." Li Xi said.

Persuaded by Li Xi, Mei Weisi's anger decreased a little, and she began to think seriously, "Demons? They are a race from ancient times, but it is uncertain whether they really exist. After all, their remains have not been found on the entire continent, and their appearances are described by later generations, somewhat artistic."

Mei Weisi's words were full of doubts, and her brows furrowed.

"In Daniela's intelligence, Shi claimed to be a demon, and there is also an angel named Ji Louleng, as well as a healing angel." Li Xi frowned and said, unable to understand what was happening.

"It's also possible that Iris deliberately said those things. She is a master of lies and might be using some folklore to fool you. Don't forget, Iris is also a Forbidden Spell Mage. Her fourth element has not awakened yet, it might be illusion magic. What you saw could all be what Iris wanted you to see. She is skilled at deceiving people, and you have been tricked by her more than once."

"Well... " Li Xi felt a little embarrassed. She had indeed been deceived by Iris several times.

"Let's not talk about this. There is no evidence, just speculation. Iris might be my junior." Li Xi suddenly said.

"Junior???" Mei Weisi's eyes widened in surprise and she said, "How is that possible? Didn't your swordsmanship come from your savior? How can Iris be your junior?"

"At that time, she made a sword strike towards me, and the speed was so fast that it almost reached my throat. That move was the first sword technique taught to me by my master." Li Xi slowly spoke, recalling the scene when she was attacked by Iris, still feeling shocked.

"That's hard to believe. Your master is quite mysterious, and you can't even remember the name of the sword technique,""That's right, since she saved me that time, we haven't seen each other again."

"At least this proves that Master is still alive, and we still have hope of seeing her again," Li Xi said.

"Uh..." Mei Weisi was speechless, Li Xi's thought process was simply unbelievable.