Swear Fealty To Me, My Subjects!

Ghost Zone

Beneath the Land of Lost Dreams, the door to the Ghost Realm had opened.

The chimeras trembled, wiping tears from their eyes as they lamented their tragic fate.

What they never expected, however, was this:

The Forbidden Soldier brought by Prince Rhine turned out to be none other than the legendary Shea Constance!

In the long history of the Hain Empire, the strength of the Forbidden Army was usually ranked in a crude yet simple manner—by the purity of their divine bloodline.

The demigod Forbidden Soldiers of the Hain Empire inherited their divinity from the chief deity Order.

With identical divine origins and training, these demigods, produced in the Empire's "assembly line," were naturally categorized into higher or lower ranks based solely on their blood purity.

Shea Constance, however, was an absolute anomaly.

She wasn't just the only individual in the thousand-year history of the Hain Empire to have been converted from an "unblessed wild demigod" into a Forbidden Soldier.

She also currently held the position of "Protector of the Imperial Capital"—a role historically reserved for the strongest member of the Forbidden Army across generations.

All of this made her uniquely special.

Unlike most demigods, Shea Constance seemed to have no particular hobbies, no interest in wealth or power. From the moment she assumed her post, she had spent almost every day praying in the sanctuary, living an uneventful, disciplined life under the green light of the divine.

However, some insiders in the Imperial Capital whispered otherwise.

Due to her lower bloodline purity, they claimed, Shea Constance's combat power was significantly weaker than that of her six sisters. Yet, outside these circles, this claim was largely dismissed.

After all, could someone deemed "the weakest of the Forbidden Soldiers" remain the Empress's personal shield, defending the heart of Hain itself?

The general consensus was clear:

There had to be some celestial secret hidden within this Forbidden Soldier.

Many suspected Shea Constance was the Empire's ultimate trump card—the most powerful weapon it had ever concealed.

It was precisely this reputation that terrified the chimeras even more.

For thirty years, the Land of Lost Dreams had been operating in the shadows, illegally.

The Forbidden Army, acting as the chimeras' self-serving "protector," regularly treated them as a piggy bank, extorting money whenever their own funds ran low.

Yet Shea Constance had never once participated in these schemes.

In all those years, the Phantoms had never seen this enigmatic Imperial Shield step foot in the Land of Lost Dreams.

And now...

She was here.

Initially, the chimeras had assumed their operation was finally being shut down—that the greedy Praetorians, together with the Royal Family, were here to strip them of all the wealth they had accumulated over the years.

But now...

The sight of Shea Constance stirred a much darker and more horrifying thought in their minds.

Could the Emperor Rhine have brought Shea Constance here to launch an attack on the Psi Domain itself? To kill their ancient dragon princess?

No, of course not.

Rhine glanced at the distraught chimeras, fully aware of the panicked thoughts swirling in their heads.

But they were wrong.

An assault on the gods? That was part of the campaign's later chapters.

For now, Rhine had a different goal—he had come to negotiate with the Ancient Dragon Princess.

This was a completely new approach Rhine had chosen for this life.

After a thousand cycles of rebirth, Rhine had come to fully understand the limits of his own power, as well as Constance's. Despite having amassed nearly all the intelligence and knowledge of the world, Rhine still couldn't avoid the inevitable betrayal.

So this time, he decided to use every resource available to him—

Including the six Forbidden Soldiers who had betrayed him countless times over his past lives.

He intended to manipulate the Praetorians, bending their loyalty to his will.

But Rhine knew he had a long way to go.

The vast scale of the planet and the deep, ancient history of the world presented near-infinite possibilities.

Even demigods, within their extensive memories, held dozens of ways to be turned into loyal dogs at Rhine's command.

Unfortunately, after meticulously analyzing every strategy, Rhine realized these methods either required immense resources or carried unacceptably high risks.

The old Rhine would have gladly gambled everything on a single throw of the dice.

But now?

Rhine had only one life left, and reckless risks were no longer an option.

Once again, Rhine swallowed his pride and sought the help of an old nemesis:

The Evil God of the Ghost Realm, the Ancient Dragon Princess, the supreme being recognized by the two oldest forces in the world—Olivia.

Partnering with her was Rhine's best choice.

Using the Ghost Realm's channel beneath the Land of Lost Dreams—conveniently located near his home—Rhine could easily contact Olivia and strike a deal.

With Olivia's support, Rhine wouldn't just secure control over the Forbidden Army. He'd also gain the backing of a deity from the very start.

Now that was a true game-changer.

At this moment, Rhine couldn't help feeling a little anxious.

After all, colluding with an evil god was uncharted territory for him.

For a thousand lifetimes, Rhine's only approach to the gods—good or evil—had been to eliminate them.

Negotiating with one, let alone Olivia, was a strange and unsettling shift.

But.

Rhine held one major advantage in this negotiation.

Despite Olivia's grand status as one of the most powerful beings in existence, she also had a notorious reputation:

She was the most gullible and shameless opportunist in the entire Psi Domain.

A voice suddenly called out from the Ghost Realm Gate.

"Reinhein."

It was the demon servant who had delivered Rhine's earlier message.

"Her Highness has granted your request."

"You may now witness the honorable presence of the Dragon at your leisure."

As the words fell, the black mist shrouding the Ghost Realm Gate dissipated, and the portal slowly opened.

Rhine took a deep breath, steeling himself.

On the other side of the gate, a vibrant garden filled with birds and flowers appeared.

At the center of it, seated upon a throne of thorns and blossoms,

Was the Ancient Dragon Princess, elegant and poised.

This Olivia before him looked like a petite dragon maiden, with delicate horns and vertical pupils.

Yet beyond that small, beautiful frame, the overwhelming presence of a colossal dragon loomed—a force capable of rending the world apart.

The oppressive aura nearly crushed Rhine.

Even after countless encounters with beings like Olivia, the mere sight of her made his guts churn and his instincts scream to flee.

Even Constance, standing beside him, frowned deeply. The divine blood flowing through her veins seemed to boil, whether from fear or hostility.

This was an opponent she could never hope to challenge.

For here stood the supreme creature at the apex of existence:

An ancient dragon, deified through pure malice.

At the same time,

The mood of the Psi Domain's Supreme Being—Olivia—was no less stirred.

After carefully observing the two figures at the gate, her gaze lingering especially on the white-haired demigod girl,

Tears welled up in the eyes of the Ancient Dragon Princess.

Simply unbelievable...

She could hardly believe it.

Standing at her doorstep,

Was the actual Forbidden Army.

This time, astonishingly, the Rheinhein…

...was real.