Loense Loyin.
The Forbidden One of the Empire.
Although she was the founding Empress of the Empire, there are very few records about her.
It could even be said that the Empire seemed to have deliberately erased her traces.
Because she once did something unbelievable to the world—she killed the god worshiped by her own country with her own hands.
The history of the Empire is more mysterious than any existing nation, and its very foundation was built upon the act of god-slaying.
Similar to Alexia, Loense also ascended to the throne by killing her own kin.
The difference is, she struck first, with her sights set directly on the throne.
Afterwards, she expressed dissatisfaction with the god once worshiped by the Principality of Purple Royal, and soon after, launched a rebellion.
The specific process is lost to history, but the result was the fall of a god and the rise of an empire.
Her actions caused the power of the gods to plummet to the bottom, gradually forcing those who could once manipulate the world at will into hiding, turning them into mysterious and abstract concepts.
In the century that followed, the Empire waged wars east and west, establishing the foundation of its vast territory.
She also established the political system that the Empire still follows today, wrote the first imperial laws, and laid the Empire’s foundation.
By the time her life ended, the Empire had reached an unprecedented peak of strength.
But all of this did not come without a price.
She was cursed by that god, forever unable to enter the cycle of reincarnation, doomed to become a lonely, wandering soul dissipating in the world.
Those who participated in the rebellion against the god also died with her, forced to follow her into death.
She brought new life to the Empire, but also took away its strongest generation.
As a result, the Empire was forced to recuperate for two generations of kings.
Aside from these well-known facts, Simon also knew very clearly what terrifying things would happen if Loense returned.
Belinda would die, and Alexia’s position would be taken by Loense.
The one hundred thousand forbidden imperial guards who died with her at the founding would rise from death and continue to serve their Empress.
The fighting power of these people was no less than that of the Blood Knights.
Elite veterans of a hundred battles, equipped head-to-toe in magitech, strengthened by military formations and the Empress’s command……
Thirty thousand versus one hundred thousand.
Even with the imperial capital’s spell array, the odds of victory were almost nonexistent.
What’s more, the biggest difference between them and the Blood Knights was that as undead, so long as Loense lived, the concept of death did not apply to them.
But if a Blood Knight was killed, it meant true death.
Just from this aspect alone, it was clear how much weaker the current Empire had become.
Back then, the Empire could support one hundred thousand forbidden guards; now, it could only maintain thirty thousand Blood Knights.
This was also one of the worst possible endings in the game.
“In this world, once you step into reincarnation, it is equivalent to purification of the self. All that was is erased with the fading of life.”
“Yet, among the countless living beings, there are always exceptions. The founding Empress of the Empire is one of them.”
“She would not allow her grand dream of unifying the Empire to vanish with her, nor would she ever submit to the will of the gods. The will of the gods—she chose to go against it.”
Alexia sat back on the sofa, her gaze following the flickering flames in the fireplace as she spoke slowly.
“After being cursed by the gods, she became like a nightmare, entwined around her descendants for generations, persisting even to this day.”
Her words carried a trace of helpless sigh.
“My wretched ancestor has been dead for nearly ten thousand years, yet still cannot rest in peace!”
“But her appearance is not without warning—at the very least, it signifies one thing: the Empire is facing imminent catastrophe.”
In times of peace, she would never appear.
Therefore, although Loense’s appearance always brought ominous signs, in many cases, she was the Empire’s last hope and final shield.
Because she carried with her a core retinue, able to ignore all real-world conditions.
As long as the king of that era was eliminated, she could directly take over the entire Empire.
This was also one of the reasons the Empire could survive to this day.
To destroy the Empire completely, the unavoidable problem was how to deal with Loense.
No matter what crisis the Empire faced, she could always revive it from death.
But the price was that one-tenth of the Empire’s people would die—that was the cost of her descent.
“In the past, she has appeared twice.”
Alexia raised two fingers.
“The first was during a royal civil war. Family fought against family, and no one could inherit the throne. Her appearance stabilized the chaos, leading the Empire into revival and renewed expansion.”
“The second was during a lord’s rebellion. The royal family had weakened, but she reformed the entire Empire, restored the Loyin royal family’s dominance, and restructured the entire system, further consolidating royal authority.”
“This third time is as we are experiencing now. The United Kingdoms threaten from without, while inside, I am unable to reclaim the Empress’s rightful power and cannot extend my influence throughout the Empire.”
Alexia recalled one of the conditions for the ancestor’s appearance and muttered with suspicion.
“Could it be that Father did this on purpose, seeing the situation was beyond his control, and wanted to use Loense’s return to solve it?”
If this speculation was true, she almost couldn’t help but curse aloud.
“But Belinda looks nothing like the Loense you described. She is indeed more competent than others in state affairs, but she knows almost nothing about most things.”
Simon pointed out.
“That’s exactly the crux of the problem. Right now, Belinda is still Belinda, but if the situation continues to deteriorate, Loense will eventually replace her, completely taking over her body.”
“At that point, everything will be too late. Everything currently being contested in the imperial capital—whether for me, Pandas, or the witches—will become meaningless.”
Alexia understood deeply what kind of state the Empire would be in if Loense appeared.
“She is a dictator through and through, who would never tolerate a second voice of opposition within the Empire.”
For this reason, Alexia could never allow Loense to appear.
“It does sound completely disastrous. Isn’t there any other solution?”
“No.”
Alexia shook her head and gave a bitter laugh.
“If there were, why would I be so troubled?”
Simon really wanted to tell Alexia that, in fact, there was another possible solution.
That was for Belinda to face Loense directly.
If she could gain Loense’s approval, then Belinda would still be Belinda.
This was also one of the necessary conditions for Belinda to become Empress of the Empire in a better ending.
However, most people possessed by Loense, let alone face her, would be so terrified by the knowledge alone that their souls would scatter, having no courage left to even speak with Loense.
After all, that was an ancestor from ten thousand years ago, whose bloodline suppressed any member of the Loyin royal family.
Alexia looked at Simon’s expression and spoke softly.
“I know what you want to say. Just kill Belinda and be done with it, right? But let me tell you clearly—it’s already too late.”