Far away in the Order of the Crimson Veil, which stood atop a colossal crimson mountain, there was a wooden hut hidden among enormous, lush trees.

The hut was extremely striking because it emitted a brilliant white light without pause, and within that light appeared the images of various majestic beasts.

At this moment, an old man ran frantically toward the hut.

"Your Highness, Your Highness, this is bad—our Kingdom has suffered a disaster!" the old man shouted.

The person inside the hut should never be disturbed, but he had no choice but to do so.

"Your Highness, even the ancestors are requesting that you return immediately," he added.

Buzz!

The light suddenly burst outward violently.

A blond man with a handsome face stepped out from the hut, looking grim from being disturbed, yet also panicked after hearing about the catastrophe.

"Mr. Abbot, what happened?" the man—Prince Charles—asked.

"It is like this…" The old man explained everything without exaggerating even a single word.

Naturally, no one would embellish a disaster befalling their own kingdom.

When everything was said, Charles's expression became extremely dark.

But the old man had said nothing about Richard.

He did not know; he had only been briefed on the most critical matters.

"Let's return!"

Charles did not hesitate for even a moment.

How could he stay calm when his homeland—his city, his kingdom—had fallen into such a state?

Besides, many of his friends and family were still there.

---

Meanwhile, as Richard observed the crowd at the gate, he was stunned by the sight of a red-haired middle-aged man and woman, both rather plump.

They stood in a corner, looking uneasy.

Although they appeared older than the last time he saw them, there was no way he could forget them. Bear and Layla—the siblings of the Red Star Empress, with Layla being the youngest.

Richard had beaten up Bear once for trying to steal his horse, and at the time the Empress personally guaranteed that Bear would not take revenge.

And indeed, Bear never showed himself before Richard again.

He might have been the Empress's older brother, but he clearly did not dare defy his younger sister.

Richard did not expect them to appear here.

It seemed they truly came for him.

As he continued observing, he noticed a red-haired young man sitting not far from them, around the same age as him, with an attractive face that seemed burdened by life.

He wore a plain black robe that looked simple but was clearly made of high-grade fabric.

Richard instantly knew he was the son of the Red Star Empress—the former minor prince who once asked him how he grew so quickly.

Now, Richard had to admit he had indeed become tough. At 18 years old, he had already reached the Peak of Life Aether.

He was practically stronger than Luca Holystar.

The three of them had come to this city clearly to see him; Richard could easily guess their purpose.

Their status must have plummeted drastically.

And unfortunately for them, the ruler now was not from their faction.

The biggest problem was the Red Star Empress: although she had lost her status as empress, she was still powerful and extremely talented. But she had been captured by the Holy Light Kingdom.

As for the young prince—whose real name was Alex Holystar—Richard had no idea what his current relationship with his older sister Lilith was.

As the younger brother of the current ruler, his status should have been extremely high, but ultimately that depended on Lilith.

From what Richard observed, Alex seemed to have grown into a quiet and solitary young man, despite his high magical talent.

Of course, Richard could not pretend he didn't see them, especially when they seemed somewhat embarrassed to approach him.

He steered his horse toward them.

"Arrange a meeting with them," he told Arthur.

Arthur instantly understood.

When he saw them, he was shocked as well—he recognized them immediately.

Before serving in Snow Sky City, he had trained in the capital, so naturally he knew most of the key figures.

While Richard gave the order to Arthur, Arthur relayed instructions to the soldiers.

They quickly booked a VIP room in a nearby restaurant.

"Hello," Richard greeted the three.

Prince Alex immediately stood when Richard approached.

"Richard…" Layla responded. "May we speak with you for a moment?"

"Of course. Follow me," Richard nodded before heading to the restaurant selected by his men.

The three naturally followed him.

They soon reached a spacious VIP room designed for group meetings, complete with refreshments.

"I know why you're here," Richard said, not waiting for them to explain.

He looked at them, lingering longer on Prince Alex, who appeared unwilling to speak at all.

Meanwhile, Bear and Layla seemed relieved to hear Richard say that.

"Indeed, we are here to ask for your help in rescuing our younger sister, Maya. In fact, Queen Lilith told us to come to you because she said only you have the ability to do it," Layla said.

"Ohhh…"

Richard was slightly surprised to hear that Lilith had also instructed this.

Layla would never lie about something like that, but why didn't Lilith tell him directly?

Unless she felt it wasn't truly her matter and preferred the Empress's own family to approach Richard themselves.

"Richard, Maya is imprisoned in the Holy Light City prison. It is located underground. Right now, the capital is in ruins, but the prison remains intact. However, its security has dropped drastically. But to infiltrate that prison… aside from you, it is difficult to find anyone capable of doing it." Layla continued, while Bear looked like he was painfully aware he was in no position to speak to Richard—given that he had once offended him.

Richard listened carefully and then nodded lightly.

"I have indeed planned to rescue the Empress. She has helped me greatly," he replied.

This was something he could not deny because he truly owed her.

What he remembered most, of course, was the fact that the Empress had given him the Heavenly Water.

It later evolved into the True Heavenly Water that granted him limitless regeneration.

As long as it was not forcibly extracted from his body, killing him would never be easy.

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