At Castle Reinhard, in the wide archery field, an arrow whizzed through the air. Despite the seemingly normal scene, the result was anything but normal. The arrows landed on a training dummy wearing plate armor and… blasted through it! Keep in mind, this was not a hollow dummy, or rusted armor. The dummies were reinforced with a particular combination of metals and wood to mimic the thickness and feeling of a human body. Its quality was top-class, incomparable to cheap imitations used by poorer schools. Furthermore, the plate armor mirrored the ones used by Royal Guards and not scrap garbage one had lying around. Yet, the arrow punched straight through with ease, creating a hole the size of a melon!
The arrow continued with frightening momentum and in a flash, it arrived at two other similar training dummies behind it. Boom! Boom! Both were eviscerated without a trace, only slowing the arrow down by a smudge. One could imagine how a real person would fare against it! It was undoubtedly a mass-killing weapon! The arrow finally landed on a thick iron plate where it collided with indescribable force. The plate, thicker than a tree trunk and heavier than a horse, dug into the dirt to withstand the attack! This was enough to show just how much power was behind this arrow! And as expected, the wooden arrow was the first to give out and exploded into splinters.
Elizabeth exhaled and lowered her Whiteangel Bow as the Magic Circle dispelled. Her fleet of handmaidens then rushed up and patted her sweat off, unveiled an umbrella, took out refreshments, and even brought a chair out and started fanning her. This was truly the pampered life of a princess! Elizabeth smiled wryly but said nothing, indulging in their care. Although she was still slightly uncomfortable, she grew accustomed to their overbearing nature. People would bleed money just to experience a tiny bit of their care, yet Elizabeth wanted to run away. That was the biggest difference between her and those young masters!
Shaking her head of frivolous thoughts, she contemplated on her condition. Peak Gaseous Fog! Coupled with the tempering technique taught by Rena, Dual Core Rending Technique, her power was enough to jump ranks and contest against Rank 2s! It was ridiculous when considered, but the undisputable truth! Especially when she started to incorporate spells into her arrows, it further solidified her strength. Her bow became deadlier than the deadliest of crossbows and could easily kill several armored foes in one strike! If she had to face Emperor Lianghu again, then she had a solid chance of winning.
In fact, her previous display was nothing close to her strongest show. Because Castle Reinhard was situated in the dense city of Algard, any excess destructive power would result in unprecedented destruction! There was a common saying in the known world: A Rank 1 could affect a building, a Rank 2 a city block, a Rank 3 a city, and so forth! When the upper echelon assumed that the Lannisail explosion, or the heavenly phenomenon had the potential to destroy the city, their fears were justified. They were actually very accurate! Just looking at the earth-shattering battle between the Featherwind Sect and the Luminous Central Origin revealed how frightening the Ranks could be. They could casually obliterate regions the size of Algard!
Elizabeth was far from that level, but her pseudo-Rank 2 power was something very real! Like a child with a new toy, she yearned to utilize her full power, at least to experiment and see how her training paid off. However, Rena dissuaded her. Peak Gaseous Fog, Dual Core Rending Technique, and the mysterious Whiteangel Bow… The three of them together could easily level the castle to the ground, much less the people inside. She was already a walking weapon of destruction!
Her face was sour, while the nearby Sir Winstin could not help but sigh. Although he never saw her true strength, his eyes were as experienced as an old fox. How could he not feel her growing presence? It was unbelievable to think that a few months ago, Elizabeth was a meager fledging! During her skirmish with the Second Hand, her survival was mostly attributed to her luck and her opponents underestimating her. More importantly, they wanted to capture, not kill her. However, if the same battle were to occur today… While her lack of combat experience remained, her destructive power was enough to even threaten Sir Winstin! A regular assassin from the Second Hand might not be able to faze her anymore!
That sort of growth was monstrous, almost ridiculous! Who could grow so much in the span of a few months? Even the greatest geniuses would feel dismayed at her demonic speed! For example, Ten Dawn Nassandra Adnire was widely considered the top genius in Arcania, sweeping all previous records with ease. She breezed through both the First Celestial Magic Academy and University in one to two years. Then, she immediately joined Ten Dawns as one of the trump card Arcanists of the Zino Kingdom! Keep in mind, she was a twelve-year-old girl. Who else could boast such monstrous talents? The next youngest Ten Dawn was almost twice her age… This only made sense because Nassandra hailed from the legendary Arcellius Family and inherited a freakish Magic Potential. Elizabeth on the other hand…
Everyone's thoughts were disrupted with the arrival of two individuals. The first was Commander Christina, or Auntie Christina as Elizabeth referred to her. She held a high position in the Highguard Household, one of the preeminent Grand Nobility Households in the Alzar Kingdom. Once the brigade commander of Fortress Fallinard, she was tasked with safeguarding Elizabeth at New Havens as one of the few people who knew of the girl's existence. Now, her titles stayed while her duties changed. She was now responsible for watching over Elizabeth, like a surrogate guardian. Their relationship was strained previously, but it was gradually recovering. There was no longer the cold and harsh attitude, but a cordial and accepting bond now.
The second person was a surprising figure, Lord Archibon Lannisail! Previously, the Lannisail Household could be considered a solid mid-tier Grand Nobility Household. It was greater than the Hawken Household, that reared Royal Guards and Protectors, and lower than the supreme Highguard Household. Despite this, a Grand Nobility Household was indeed the object of fear and respect, commanding reverence from millions of subjects! Out of the tens of millions of people in the kingdom, aside from the Royal Family, only twenty-five households could reign above everyone! That was telling of how absurdly monstrous an existence they were!
Unfortunately, one wrong step led to calamity. When Lord Wenmord went insane, revealed his ties to the Whispering Shadow, and attacked Elizabeth, it was all over. That was the Royal Family's reverse scale, its bottom line! Taking Elizabeth was equivalent to robbing them of their future! How could they bear it? So, they unleashed a heavenly siege against the Lannisail Household and the Whispering Shadow, slaughtering them down to their last member. They were annihilated! The kingdom's ferocity and decisiveness shocked everyone, while the Lannisail members could only lament their fate. Originally, their heads were supposed to roll in a grand execution, but Elizabeth eventually stopped that. And like that, Lord Archibon and the remnants of the Lannisail Household fell under her banner.
"I hope I'm not interrupting anything, Your Highness," Lord Archibon said reservedly.
Elizabeth waved her hands and said, "It's fine. Recently, I've been getting more free time. Also, I told you before to stop the honorifics. It's annoying to keep hearing them. Just call me Elizabeth."
The boy smiled wryly. "You know I can't do that, Your Highness." Although his family declined, he was once one of the three leading nobles of the generation alongside Lord Fredrick and Lady Kalasena. The rules of etiquette had been beaten into him so hard that they were practically engraved onto his bones. It would be impossible to forget it!
Meanwhile, Commander Christina glanced at the devastated training dummies and dented metal plate in disbelief. Her eyebrows twitched once or twice. "Elizabeth… Just how far did you push yourself?" she could not help but ask. "You don't have to push yourself this much."
The girl shook her head. "I'm firmly in the Peak Gaseous Fog Core Level, but it won't be easy for me to step into Half-Condensed Drop. And well… My wish is to get stronger, so this much effort is fine."
"Elizabeth, you're the Alzar Kingdom's heir apparent," the woman put on a stern look. "In the future, you'll stand above millions and command entire armies as queen of all! I don't see the need for improving your own personal strength. Shouldn't you be focusing your efforts on your education, temperament, or governing?"
"I know that, but I still want to improve myself!" Elizabeth gave a defiant smile.
She knew there were times where external help became irrelevant. There were things that the kingdom could not help her with, things that only she was privy to. The only thing that she could truly depend on was herself! Existences like Lord Wenmord already towered over them as a Rank 3 King, but what about a Rank 4 Emperor or a Rank 5 God? They could singlehandedly sweep through all adversity and dominate the world! They were not called emperor or god without reason! If the Featherwind Sect or the Luminous Central Origin arrived at full power, it would be tantamount to cataclysm! So, Elizabeth wanted to grow stronger, not only to protect herself, but also her new home.
Christina sighed for she knew how stubborn this girl was. This was not the first time she tried changing Elizabeth's mind. "Alright, ignore I said anything. This isn't why we came here today."
"What's the matter?" Elizabeth asked worriedly. It was rare to see her aunt's expression so grim.
"It's better for us to head inside and discuss it. It's not good news."