楼上的上瘾女士

The Dragon clan was in jeopardy, their King in seclusion both mentally and physically.

The Phoenix Clan was in a state of worry at them possibly being the target of this stealthy enemy and were doubling their security if that could even offer any help whatsoever.

The Serpent Tribe remained as silent as ever and the Devil Tribe was happy about their successful attacks on the Dragon Clan and were being quite a rumbling bunch.

All in all, the situation at the Dystopian Continent was in a bit of disarray. The one who had sparked the troubles was taking a leisure break and the first in his Harem, both in chronological order and in grace, Melinda Dane, was in the Doxon Duchy, having tea with the Blue-eyed Witch, Svetlana Doxon.

Well, actually, she, Rita, and Emily was having tea, thick with cultivational breakthrough inducers, with Svetlana and the Empress of the Haron Empire.

All maid servants who were present in the lounge to serve them were all shaking ever so slightly at the congregation of these powerhouses.

Every single one of the ladies holding a cup of tea, taking the occasional sips, was a Cosmic Saint who had access to an Abstract Ordinance.

All five ladies were smiling at each other but were all also releasing their pressure just enough to make it clear that they were not to be underestimated and it was the poor maidservants who suffered the brunt of it all.

"Your Majesty, I had not expected to meet you here," Melinda said to her mentor in the Royal Academy.

Before she answered, Harlyn took a long sip of her tea and then sighed,

"I came here for answers but it would seem Svetlana is just as much in the dark as I am," she said before then staring right into Melinda\'s eyes "However, apparently my visit was never meant to be fruitless. Surely you can shed light on my concerns"

"What concerns exactly?" it was not Melinda who spoke but Rita who seemed to be in her most comfortable state in the presence of Svetlana, her previous mistress.

Emily, who was seated closest to Melinda, had her grey eyes on Svetlana instead of the Empress.

This was the whole reason Emily had desired to come here to the Doxon Duchy Palace... Just to gaze upon her peer who once outshone her due to an Artifact.

Emily reveled in the thought that she had now caught up with Svetlana both in cultivation and in Ordinance. In fact, the Antonov woman believed she had the edge in Ordinance as Svetlana\'s was a borrowed power on account of her Artifact, the Orb-housed Chrono spheres.

While Emily said nothing, her expression and gaze were smug enough that, taken with the pressure she was releasing, Svetlana could get the gist of it. It caused the Blue-eyed witch to chuckle albeit silently.

Harlyn spared Svetlana a look after that chuckle as she said,

"They are not concerns, more like questions but your presence here, your improvements... Such speedy boosts in cultivation after a year of absence and absolute silence answers a lot of my questions" she said.

While the Sapphirine Cult was now public with their desire for subverting the rule of the Harons over the Continent, there was yet to be a face to the head of this Cult.

The only physical altercation that could be spoken of had happened with the Avatar of the Sapphirine Prince wearing a mask.

Now, faces were already being put to those who were members of the cult with Harlyn finally confirming that Melinda was indeed part of the Cult and with the confirmation came others as well as the answers that Harlyn sought with Svetlana.

The Cult was Hal\'s and the goal to rule the Continent was his.

Harlyn had been away from the Imperial City for a few months scouring for knowledge but it all paled to the \'little\' Hal had shown her which had almost caused her mind to implode.

Harlyn\'s whole principle which governed her life as well as progression in cultivation was that knowledge was power. Knowledge was most important. It was the most precious currency.

If Hal had so much that he could shake her mental fortitude with just a little of it, then he already had her respect but that respect also sparked curiosity.

Where had he learned it all?

The fact that Hal always appeared to have the incredible knowledge required to advance his cultivation at a pace that could only be considered monstrous had been a curious thing but it paled in comparison to this.

What Hal had shown her went beyond simply getting stronger and aiming for godhood; He had shown her the origin of creation... The very start that sparked all things into existence.

Never had Harlyn even entertained the thought of stealing Hal\'s Knowledge of speedy cultivation but she was very interested in sourcing for more of this primordial knowledge.

Hal promised to return and show her more but then he went missing... His absence coincided with the disappearance of Sapphire City.

When she decided to take her investigation of Hal to the root by speaking to Svetlana, Harlyn had not expected to learn much and with the reduction of her expectations, her disappointment was lessened.

Svetlana desired to know about Hal\'s dealings just as much as Harlyn did but in a different direction.

She wasn\'t seeking his knowledge, she was seeking involvement.

The Blue-eyed witch felt ignored by Hal. Just like the Empress and anyone who had spent time around Hal and could piece things together, she knew Hal was behind the Sapphirine Cult and wondered why he had not shown any interest in involving her and the Doxon family in his plans.

When all was said and done, Doxon was still his Family and they should have had the first crack at whatever plans he had.

Currently, her father was heading the Haron crusade against the very inclination of the Cult in the Doxon Duchy, and yet Hal had not deemed it fit to show himself to her.

"Where is Hal?" Svetlana asked with her eyes on Melinda.

"Busy. I have no idea when he would be ready to visit. However, what we are here to do, he does not have to be around for." Melinda said.

"And what is that?" Svetlana asked.

"Killing every member of the Haron military in the Doxon Duchy" Melinda replied and downed the rest of the liquid in her cup.

The moment it left her lips, a maid approached and refilled it albeit with shaking hands.

"You will make such a statement in my presence?" Harlyn asked.

"Absolutely," Melinda said, "It\'s nothing against you your majesty, it\'s just certain things have to be done,"

The meeting with Svetlana should have happened days before and the only reason it took so long was that Melinda, Rita, and Emily had taken a personal effort in mapping out all areas of the Doxon Duchy infested with Haron forces.

During their scouting, they were of course aware of how much support the Harons were receiving from Kirill Doxon but not only was he hardly a cause for worry, but they were also taking advantage of the fact that he could not be everywhere at once.

Even before the ladies sat in the lounge, the Blood Knights were already swarming infested areas and killing all Harons in sight. All of their moves were of course preceded by Infinity which shrouded them even from Svetlana\'s widespread perception.

"You\'re pandering, Melinda. She\'s a Haron and her feelings can\'t possibly be taken into consideration when our cause is against their rule in particular" Emily said.

"Oh but I\'m not. No one in this lounge will lift a finger to assist the targetted Harons. No one at all" Melinda said with confidence and her eyes as well as the eyes of Emily and Rita moved from Harlyn to Svetlana and back.

Harlyn frowned at those words but she indeed made no move.

"When do you plan to attack them?" Harlyn asked.

"It has already begun." Melinda told her.

"Then their fates are sealed. Even if I tried now, I would not be able to save them. All that is left to do now is to have confidence in their abilities... Their abilities to fight and survive. And if they don\'t, the Imperial Family will use this to grow and be better." the Empress said.

"You just said a whole bunch of nothing," Rita said with a chuckle and the Empress looked at her with a frown but Rita refused to be intimidated as she said,

"Am I wrong? Clearly, something has gotten to you.

You don\'t have the zeal to defend your family\'s glory and rule. If you did, you would at least try"

"Do you want her to try?" Svetlana asked Rita with a smirk as she felt this former employee of hers was being very nonchalant about the power the Empress had.

"I do." Rita said simply.

The Empress rolled her eyes and drank more of her tea before she said,

"Just because I see no reason to make a pointless attempt at stopping an attack that was clearly very well planned does not mean I have lost my zeal for defending my family\'s glory.

And even if I did, you have no right to question me"

With that, Rita was struck by a mental attack but she wrenched herself away from it and erected a mental block to defend herself.

"Impressive, but not enough" Harlyn said before she broke through the mental block and dragged Rita\'s consciousness into a mental realm.