Chapter 688
Imperial Vision
Chapter 688 Imperial Vision
Iron City, the dark halls deep within the magnificent palace remain devoid of light.
On the black stone table in the center, which exuded a chilling aura, the three-dimensional map flickered like phosphorescence.
A crimson rose totem occupies the east side, its petals sharp as poisoned daggers, pressing firmly against the blooming golden pheasant on the west side.
Mei Qiang still leaned against the black stone chair inlaid with rubies, her graceful figure disappearing into absolute darkness.
The ruby, like a drop of congealed blood, was incredibly alluring in the darkness.
Just like her actions over the years, she remains hidden in the shadows, yet she can manipulate events at will, occupying a central position in the empire's power.
At that moment, the raven chair carved with raven patterns next to the ruby black stone chair suddenly rippled like water.
As the ripples spread, a tall figure slowly emerged.
Although his face was not visible in the darkness, one could feel the iron-blooded aura emanating from him.
"Commander-in-Chief, you are such a busy man, what brings you here today?" Mei Qiang's light laughter rang out.
The laughter was eerie, carrying a strange power that pierced the soul, lingering in the empty hall.
She tapped the armrest lightly with her fingertips, causing the ruby's light to flicker.
As the Supreme Commander of the Empire, Mordred was naturally unaffected.
His figure and face were both shrouded in darkness, only his features were hard as a rock, with broad shoulders and a thick back.
On the left shoulder, a raven crouched quietly, its feathers as black as ink.
“That little girl is Wang Mian’s legitimate daughter,” Mordred’s voice was as cold and deep as ice, without a trace of emotion: “Both Wang Mian and the royal family dote on her to the extreme. Your actions are very likely to ignite the war between the Empire and the Golden Plantagenet ahead of schedule.”
"As expected, nothing can escape your Imperial Vision!" Mei Qiang didn't deny anything, and looking at the raven on Mordred's shoulder, she let out an exaggerated "astonishment": "The Demon Eye that sees through everything, what a coveted ability."
She knew all too well where this raven came from; it was the core of Mordred's "Imperial Vision."
“It doesn’t mind having another contract partner,” Mordred said calmly, his voice completely flat.
The raven on his shoulder seemed to understand his words, letting out a low "caw," and its red, gleaming eyes looked at Mei Qiang with a hint of temptation and threat.
“Hehe…” Mei Qiang chuckled, her laughter carrying an undisguised rejection, “I don’t have the steely will of the Grand Commander to withstand the erosion of demonic consciousness.”
“I don’t want to become a puppet of the devil.” The eerie purple light in her eyes suddenly surged and then quickly subsided. “I prefer to control my own destiny rather than be bound by some power.”
"Because they can't find her, the Golden Flower Dynasty has become increasingly aggressive and has already targeted our Empire's mage team. They clearly believe we are the mastermind. If they ultimately cannot find Liu Ying, Wang Mian is very likely to ignite the fuse of war." Mordred remained unmoved by Mei Qiang's teasing and simply stated the facts in a straightforward manner.
"If we were to start a war with the Golden Flower now, it would not be in the best interest of the Empire. At present, the two battlefields on the Central Plains and the Terra Continent are still unfinished and have just begun. Fighting on three fronts will drag the Empire down."
Furthermore, the nobility within the empire were stirring with ambition, and the empire's food and military reserves were not yet at their optimal state, so victory was not assured.
"Commander-in-Chief, I did this for the sake of the Empire." Mei Qiang's laughter finally disappeared, and her tone became unusually serious.
"She is indeed a young girl, but as you saw back then, her radiance was continuously nourishing the ancient broom flower. The broom flower already has a profound foundation, and if its radiance is not nipped in the bud beforehand, it will become even more troublesome when its brilliance shines brightly!"
"I am clearing away obstacles for the future of the empire, so that the Crimson Rose can bloom across the entire continent." Her tone was incredibly "sincere," and if one did not know her character well, one would probably think that she was truly dedicating herself to the empire.
“I believe in your magic, but I cannot believe in you.” Mordred was silent for a moment before finally speaking again, his voice still cold, but with a hint of deeper meaning.
That's what he's worried about.
He had no doubt that Mei Qiang's prophetic magic was unparalleled in the mage realm.
But Mordred knew her character all too well. She was like a thorny rose, beautiful yet dangerous, always hiding her true purpose, and no one could fathom her true thoughts.
Even if it's him, it won't work.
He even suspected that the prophecy Mei Qiang showed him might only be the part she wanted him to see.
Her true intentions were far more profound than simply "clearing obstacles for the empire."
"Commander-in-Chief, isn't your Demon Eye supposed to see through the world and read people's hearts? Can't you tell whether I'm lying to you or not?"
Mei Qiang resumed her playful demeanor, leaning slightly forward, her tone laced with provocation:
"Or is it that even these all-powerful eyes have things they can't see through?"
Mordred gave Mei Qiang a deep look.
In the darkness, his eyes were complex and unreadable. After a long while, he slowly spoke, his tone full of meaning: "There are some abysses that even demons dare not easily explore."
The raven on his shoulder let out a low caw, as if echoing his words.
Mordred never revealed the full extent of the Eye of Evil's power to anyone.
In reality, the power of these eyes is far more terrifying than the outside world imagines.
It allows him to project his gaze onto the battlefield and even the enemy's rear from thousands of miles away, witnessing firsthand the enemy's formation and the movement of their generals.
They can even see through the conspiracies hidden in any corner of their own army's formation.
This is not simply a clairvoyance, but a "worldview".
The person being watched feels a chill, as if being spied on, but cannot detect the source of the gaze.
Even more terrifying is that it can directly strip secrets, memories, or knowledge from the human body.
On the battlefield, he only needs to glance at the enemy commander to instantly understand their tactical concept and next move.
In court intrigues, he only needed to glance at his political enemies to discern their powerful backers, hidden conspiracies, and fatal weaknesses.
This near-omniscient ability, coupled with his unparalleled strategic wisdom, truly earned him the prestigious title of "Imperial Vision".
This made him the most terrifying strategist in the empire and even the entire mage plane, creating countless war miracles and making him a figure that struck fear into the hearts of all enemies.
However, the Eye of the Devil is not invincible, nor is it without limits.
This power was obtained through a deal with the demon Raven Pact, and it's like a leech that's stuck to your bones.
Even though Mordred, through her extraordinary will and immense power, managed to turn the tables on the demons and suppress their consciousness, becoming the dominant force, she was still powerless.
But the demon did not perish; instead, it lurked deep within his consciousness, waiting for an opportunity to retaliate.
Mordred knew very well that the more powerful and mysterious the being he peered into using the Imperial Vision, the more active the demon's consciousness would become, attempting to seize control of the body.
He must constantly suppress the demons within him with an iron will and maintain absolute rationality, for the slightest carelessness could lead to utter ruin.
Given Mei Qiang's immense power and unfathomable nature, Mordred had no doubt that if he attempted to probe Mei Qiang's true will with his Demon Eye, the demon Raven, lurking deep within her consciousness, would instantly awaken and unleash unprecedented power to retaliate against him. Back then, his ability to suppress the demon Raven's will was due not only to his own strength but also to a degree of luck.
He couldn't guarantee he could suppress the demon Raven's Contract even if it happened again.
Furthermore, using demonic power requires consuming a special material called Soul Shards.
That is a rare resource containing the power of the soul, and it is the key to maintaining the demon contract and the operation of power.
The amount of soul fragments required to spy on an existence like Mei Qiang would be an extremely terrifying number, potentially depleting all the reserves he had painstakingly accumulated over the years.
All these reasons combined meant that Mordred would never easily take the step of trying to pry into Mei Qiang's thoughts.
The dark hall fell silent for a moment, and the two of them subconsciously looked at the only luminous object in the hall.
That is, the suspended 3D map.
The air seemed to freeze, with only the faint light on the map shimmering quietly, reflecting the different expressions on the two men's faces.
For the past month and a half, Mei Qiang has gazed countless times at the pristine broom flowers on the map, watching the petals gradually lose their luster as they lose nourishment, and her satisfaction grows ever stronger.
She was certain that, after such a long period of time, the fireflies had long since vanished in the desolate and barren realm.
She had already nipped the emerging forces of the Plantagenet dynasty in the bud.
Whenever she thought of this, a cold, gleaming pleasure would flash in the deep purple light in her eyes.
At that very moment, something happened that this illusionist, who was known for his keen insight and strategic planning, never expected.
Within the territory of the Golden Bird Flower, the silvery-white light that she had considered "annihilated" unexpectedly re-emerged.
This time, however, Guanghua appeared not in the northern Luge County as before, but in the southern Etherland County.
But Mei Qiang instantly realized that this radiance was of the same origin as the power of the Flowing Fire that she had seen before, and was even purer and more magnificent than before.
And it wasn't a fleeting illusion like a shooting star.
This silvery light was even more dazzling than before, possessing a kind of resilience, firmly rooted in the territory of the broom flower, and began to nourish the broom flower anew.
This was enough to shake her to her core.
That radiance should have been completely erased by the Desolate Soul Domain, so why did it reappear after only a month and a half?
What she didn't expect was what happened next.
In the past, this silvery-white radiance continuously supplied energy to the petals of the broom flower, nourishing the vitality of the dynasty totem.
But at this moment, this silvery-white radiance, which appeared once again, quietly separated into a thin but resilient silver line at its edge.
The silver thread, like a dragon or snake, seemed to have a mind of its own, extending straight northward.
It reached the northernmost county of Liuge, but did not stop. It continued north until it left the territory of the Golden Flower Dynasty, crossed the towering, snow-covered Erwinaya Mountains, and entered that incongruous pure white area on the map.
north.
There, a purple magnolia flower emitted a faint glow.
That was the symbol of the North, and the reason why Mei Qiang never extended her reach into the North.
And this silver thread was now precisely connected to the purple magnolia flower, channeling its radiance into it.
Nourished by the silvery-white radiance, the originally faint purple glow suddenly brightened a few notches.
The outline of the flower buds became clearer, exuding a vitality that was completely different from that of the broom flower, yet equally magnificent.
And the scene on the map is still changing:
The silvery-white radiance, like a ribbon, is rooted in the core of the broom flower at one end and connected to the purple magnolia flower in the north at the other, forming a silver vein that spans the mountain range. It is also like the tenacious root system that extends from the plant, tightly entwining the two originally unrelated flowers together.
Through this silver thread, the two subtly formed a prototype of mutual resonance and nourishment.
"How...is this possible?"
In the darkness, Mei Qiang's first questioning whisper rang out, her voice hoarse as if it had been rubbed with sandpaper.
She sat up abruptly, her dark purple eyes flashing with intense light as she stared intently at the wondrous sights on the map.
Why did that silvery-white light reappear? How did Liu Ying survive in the desolate and barren Soul Realm, where even high-level necromancers couldn't escape? And how did she return?
This silvery-white radiance has always been the exclusive source of nourishment for the broom flower.
Why, after returning, did you no longer devote yourself to nourishing the broom, but instead diverted some of your energy to nourish the purple magnolia in the North?
She was well aware of the mystery and power of the Purple Jade Flower, and was extremely wary of it, which is why she never dared to pry into the Northern Border.
But she never imagined that the broom flower would be connected with this flower of the North.
She stared intently at the silver line connecting the broom and the magnolia, her deep purple eyes churning with turbulent emotions, all traces of her previous cold pleasure long gone.
"What exactly happened in a month and a half?" Mei Qiang murmured to herself, her voice filled with unprecedented bewilderment.
She raised her hand, and a wisp of rich purple energy condensed at her fingertips, like the forked tongue of a venomous snake, trying to touch the silver line on the map.
Just as the purple energy was about to touch the silver line, an invisible force suddenly appeared and deflected the purple energy.
The wisp of purple energy twisted a few times in the air before disappearing without a trace.
"Anivia, the Purple Jade Flower!" Her whisper echoed in the empty hall, intertwining with the faint light on the map, creating an eerie atmosphere.
The crimson roses are still in full bloom, brimming with vitality.
But the strange connection between the broom flower and the purple magnolia flower still gave her a vague sense of unease.
Her meticulously planned scheme not only failed to extinguish the light of the golden brocade, but instead led to a scene she had never anticipated.
"It seems things aren't going as you planned, and they've even brought some negative consequences to the Empire." Mordred also noticed the anomaly on the map.
His voice broke the silence, carrying a hint of barely perceptible solemnity.
As the supreme leader of the empire, he possessed extremely keen strategic insight, and he immediately discerned the profound implications that this subtle change might contain.
Mei Qiang did not refute the Grand Commander's judgment, but stared intently at the silver line, her dark purple eyes churning with complex emotions.
“Although I don’t know what happened, this silver thread must be cut,” she finally said.
She absolutely could not allow such a major flaw in her plan: "I will fix it."
(End of this chapter)