"Well, well. What do we have here? Your majesty, don't you think you have some explanations to give?"
A joyful Heinrich asked Verena.
"I don't understand what you're talking about?"
"Is that so? It appears the ninth prince is actually the first princess. That being the case, as per the Celestial Church's will, she should now be the crown princess of the Great Void Empire.
However, for eighteen years the imperial family kept her locked within the palace and had her cross-dress as a man to avoid her engagement, and you still say you don't understand what I'm talking about?"
Verena's mood soured. The three great empires of the Holy Continent were all ruled by Paragon Spirits. However, those Paragon Spirits initially all came from the Celestial Church and remained under its control.
The Celestial Church didn't intervene in the governance of the various empires. However, there was one thing it always regulated: Marriage.
Pureblooded True Spirits were the foundation of the Celestial Church. Making sure that the purity of the main lines was preserved, one of its sworn duties. Therefore, the marriage of every single Pureblooded True Spirit on the continent was determined by officials of the church.
Just like how Verena was made the holy emperor's main wife by the church's decree. Or Amalia Kvass, the dowager who also suffered a similar fate.
Because Verena failed to have children, the church selected Anke, Nils' mother as the emperor's noble imperial consort, and she didn't fail them. Once their husbands died or retired, they would then enter the various branches of the Celestial Church while the most outstanding would join the Celestial Church itself.
Therefore, those arranged marriages by themselves weren't that hateful, and no one would attempt to go against them. The only exception was marrying into the Great Void Empire as empress or crown princess.
In the Great Void Empire, the eldest son of the empress always became the crown prince and then the great void emperor. If the empress couldn't have children, she was deposed and replaced by someone who could.
However, their imperial family had one simple rule. When the crown prince came of age, his mother had to be put to death. There had never been one exception. Therefore, becoming the Great Void Empire's crown princess was not a blessing, but a death sentence. If Nils gave birth to a son, then that son would one day be the reason of her death.
Because of its Space Temple which guarded Heaven's Gate, the Great Void Empire's status was unique, and it enjoyed much more freedom than the other two empires. Moreover, the situation over there was much less complicated since the ruling family was also the ruling party of the Space Temple. The two were one entity.
Of the three empires, The Holy Flame Empire was the most powerful, the Great Void Empire the least restrained, and the Prosperous Wind Empire, the most submissive. Still, even the Prosperous Wind Emperors went to great length to prevent their daughters from becoming crown princesses or empresses in the Great Void Empire. To say nothing of the Holy Flame Emperors.
Unfortunately, when Olrich von Jurgen became emperor, because of how he took the throne, the court, the nobility and the country were all in chaos. At the time, even his mother wasn't willing to support him. Therefore, to stabilize his throne, he had to offer the church many concessions.
One of them included marrying his first daughter to the Great Void Empire's crown prince. Promising was one thing, delivering was another. Although Olrich had been emperors for centuries, it took him countless hardships to have this one daughter. With his throne now secure, and his foes suppressed, how could he bring himself to send her to her doom?
Especially since the current Great Void Crown Prince was well-known for having personally put his mother to death. With such an unfeeling heart and the background of disciple of a Celestial Priest, marrying him, only a tragic future awaited Nils. Therefore, for eighteen years, Olrich raised her as a prince, keeping her locked in the palace.
Besides a select few, everyone aware of her true gender was murdered.
"If your eminence feels any grievance, you are free to report to the high exarchs. However, you are not qualified to impeach the imperial family."
Heinrich smiled and said nothing more. In any case, since this matter was exposed, the imperial family would bleed. Even if they won the quota, they would have to give it up.
He sent a few mental messages, then returned his attention onto the platform.
Since Else's face remained hidden beneath her mask, no one could see her thoughts.
…
Wind and lightning elemental power erupted from Nils' form, coating her swords as she shot toward Konrad. With her current cultivation and battle power, even the ordinary eighth step Arch Knight wouldn't be her match.
In a whirl, she slashed her two swords at Konrad's side.
*Clang*
An invisible wall repelled the swords, sending her flying backward. Landing back on her feet, Nils brought her swords together, transforming them into a blue-silver longbow with the wind and lightning merging to become a storm.
Violent winds rose alongside lightning bolts that caused cracks within the platform while three elemental circles appeared by Nils' side.
"Third Circle Spell: Storm Volley!"
She pulled the bowstring, firing a succession of lightning squalls that flew toward Konrad.
Konrad stood still, the lightning squalls barreled into him, causing an explosion of wind and dust.
"Konrad!"
Daphne and Iliana yelled from the tribunes, but as the dust dispersed, Konrad's perfect figure reappeared. He didn't even have a scratch.
"If this is all you got, even if I stand here and present my neck, you cannot injure me."
"Fortunately, I got much more."
The bow split back into the two swords, the storm surrounding Nils grew even more violent, while the grey fog at her feet spread across the platform and surrounded Konrad. The grey fog assaulted his senses, attempting to subvert his mind or destabilize him long enough for Nils' incoming blow.
However, mind-altering abilities were the thing he feared the least. With his Origin Sight activated, he observed every single one of Nils' moves, drawing her unique pattern.
Blue-silver wings spread from her back, carrying with them the wild power of storms.
In that form, her blue sword became a long lightning bolt while her silver sword turned into a greyish wind blade.
She aimed the two at Konrad, releasing dozens of lightning bolts and tornados that shot toward him.
He stretched out his hand, then flipped it upward, releasing a terrifying surge of telekinetic power that raised large chunks of the platform as walls to collide with Nils' blows.
*BOOM*
A deafening explosion echoed as the lightning bolts and tornados crashed onto Konrad's makeshift walls.
Nils turned into a lightning bolt, and in a flash, appeared before Konrad. She thrust her two weapons toward his abdomen, skewering him.
However, his body became intangible, leaving only a dissipating afterimage.
Thirty-six Konrad simultaneously surrounded Nils. Although she knew that this was merely the result of extreme speed, she also knew that every single one of those afterimage's represented Konrad at different spots.
Therefore, their moves were real.
The thirty-six Konrad descended onto Nils with flurries of blows. At first, she could block a few of them, but quickly, she was overrun by their sheer quantity and strafed on the ground.
*Bang*
Even her powerful physique couldn't resist the onslaught, and Nils was sent flying backward with blood spurting from her lips.