Mystery Paradise: Wishing Power Demon

The firewood in the fireplace burned quietly, maintaining a comfortable temperature in the room.

The food on the dining table had just been delivered, featuring mashed potatoes, two fried fish fillets, a plate of roasted venison, and a bottle of wine. Such a dinner was undoubtedly a courtesy for a former officer without rank, yet Shandela had no appetite to enjoy them.

She sat idly in front of the campfire, waiting for Mekefa to bring her new information.

Ever since passing that joke of a review, the people outside had clearly changed their attitude towards her, not only treating her with smiles but also inviting her into this comfortably furnished residence. This gave Shandela a constant sense of unreality.

"My name is Kokomoqi, a magic goddess born from the realm of nothingness."

The girl’s sentence kept echoing in her ears.

Is this how divinities speak?

She had never seen any divine figure, but she had read many religious texts. Whether it was the grand religions that could influence a nation, like the Goddess of Abundance and the Mechanical Sect, or those smaller sects spread among the folk, their records without exception described divinities as great and magnificent. The places where deities dwelled were sacred buildings hidden above the firmament. When they spoke, their voices were not heard through ears, but seemed to pierce the soul...

And the title of Magic Goddess... She barely had an impression of it.

When had humans ever created groups that worshipped magic?

More crucially, why would the remnants of the Kingdom Army get mixed up with such an inexplicable being and even let her review the soldiers’ loyalty?

This clearly was not the army she was familiar with.

A myriad of mysteries shrouded Shandela’s mind, making even breathing feel somewhat stifling.

"Knock, knock, knock."

Suddenly, there came a knock at the door.

"Come in, the door isn’t locked," Shandela took a deep breath, put away her bewildered gaze, stood up, and spoke. After all, she couldn’t show these emotions in front of others—as a vanquished warrior, the military soldiers had already suffered enough blows.

The door opened, and a head of bright orange hair entered her sight.

"Shandela..."

Upon hearing the other’s call, Shandela felt as if a huge rock had dropped to the ground, and even the oppressive air seemed to freshen up quite a bit.

The person was none other than Elise Ben, whom she had been searching for fervently!

"Elise!" She stepped forward, extending both hands, and the latter quickly ran over to embrace her tightly!

"It’s really you! When I heard them mention it, I thought I had misheard the name! Did you leave the Magnificent Castle specifically to find me?"

"Yes, the moment I heard of the Longjiu Family’s rebellion, I planned to return to the Royal City to support, but I didn’t expect..." Shandela suddenly clamped her mouth shut. She realized that with the Royal Guards and Shengxia’s elite forces defeated so swiftly, General Fales bore an inescapable responsibility, and the person before her might be the only survivor of her family.

"I always knew you wouldn’t abandon the Kingdom Army!" Elise pushed her away, joy written all over her face, and in the corner of her eyes, not easily noticed, was a fierce anger, "I want to avenge my father, and you’ll help me, right!?"

Indeed, she wouldn’t cry just because they were reunited.

Rather would she be angry than shed tears.

For tears would only make the enemy laugh even more wildly.

"Of course, that’s why I sought you out. I will never recognize Duke Longjiu or accept the rule of the Ninth Princess of the Laurel Family." Shandela’s answer was categorical and resolute.

Elise’s grip on her arm relaxed, "Thank you. With you joining us, our army’s strength will increase significantly!"

"By the way, have you had dinner? We could eat and talk... I have a lot of questions for you."

"Then... pour me a glass of wine," she nodded.

...

A few glasses of wine quickly dissolved the barriers that had formed between them due to not seeing each other for a long time, and also gradually calmed down Shandela’s agitated emotions.

"When I heard the news that the royal palace had been breached, it felt like a bolt from the blue, and I thought I would never see you again." She cut off a piece of venison, carried it to her good friend, and then cut another piece for herself.

With the change of mood, hunger also set in.

"I felt the same. When I learned of my father’s death, I wanted to fight to the death with Duke Longjiu, but Ruila held me back. She said that if I died, the Kingdom Army would really fall apart..." Elise’s expression darkened as she mentioned the general, "Everything happened too fast, so fast that I wasn’t even mentally prepared. You’ve been to the Royal City... has it really fallen under the rule of the Longjiu Family?"

Shandela remembered the name Ruila.

She was a graduate from a few years back and one of the General’s personal guards.

"It’s true. Although the nominal ruler is still the Laurel Family, all the ministers in various departments have been replaced, the police stations have been abolished, and the Longjiu Family’s cavalry units have taken over maintaining order. I suspect the Ninth Princess is just a temporary puppet, and when the time is ripe, Duke Longjiu will definitely ascend to the throne."

"Such a complete defeat..." Elise murmured.

"How was this war lost? The Royal City Guard was well-armed, with plenty of cannons and ammunition, and on top of that, there were the Royal Guards to mobilize... Even if they were just holding the fortress, it should not have been difficult to endure for half a year."

This was also the question Shandela wanted to understand the most. Although she knew it would touch upon her friend’s deepest wounds, intelligence on the battle was most important to a soldier, even if it made the other person uncomfortable, she had to ask.

The garrison in the Royal Capital was undoubtedly an elite force, certainly stronger than the local rebels assembled by the Duke. Even the least among the Royal Guards were at the level of master warriors, each capable of facing a hundred enemies. A warrior like Ryan, with his wide-ranging and powerful style, could cleave through the steel plating of a warship with his greatsword—on the battlefield, he was a force capable of changing the tide of battle on his own. And there were more than twenty such powerful warriors in the guards, capable of executing decapitation tactics or allowing the enemy into the outer city for guerrilla warfare, all able to significantly suppress the opponent’s offensive capability.

She could think of these strategies, so General Fales Ben must have done so as well.

"There was a traitor in the Guards!" Elise’s face suddenly turned grim, "I don’t know who it was, but just not long after Duke Longjiu arrived near the outskirts of the Royal Capital, there was an uprising inside the palace! There were a total of eight members of the Royal Guards in the upper city district, and when my father ordered them to support the front line, no one responded. Ruila told me that the messenger who was sent came back pale-faced to report that they found only the bodies of two master warriors, and the rest were missing."

"A betrayal? How could this happen..."

Shandela was greatly surprised; becoming a member of the Royal Guards could be said to be the highest honor for a military academy student. These people were not lacking in status or wealth, and they even had free access to the palace, so they all valued honor more than life itself. How could Duke Longjiu have bought off such people?

"The betrayal is a fact! Apart from those two sacrifices, the rest all have suspicions!" Elise clenched her fists, "I will find out sooner or later who the traitor is that sided with the Longjiu Family!"

"What about the other units?"

"There were six members of the Royal Guards fighting in the outer city district... they were facing the Executive Priest of the Mechanical Sect. The main forces of Shengxia were deploying at the west gate of the Royal City, engaged in a head-on confrontation with the rebel nobility’s forces. According to my father’s plan, the Kingdom Army had a very high chance of victory because we not only had an advantage in numbers but also in firepower, and with the support of the city defense cannons, no one should be able to cross the western gate."