The cold wind blew through the lush treetops, gently brushing against the thick brown trunks, swirling and dancing in the courtyard before the banquet hall.

  Several armored knights rode their horses, patrolling alertly through the courtyard, their hoofbeats echoing in the quiet night.

  The First Prince secretly avoided everyone's gaze, quickly hiding in a secluded corner of the banquet hall.

  Only then did he dare to speak quietly with Viktor.

  "So, what did you want to tell me?"

  Viktor squinted his eyes, scrutinizing the First Prince in his golden robes before him, and asked.

  "There are some things that aren't suitable to discuss in front of Miss Lia, nor should other nobles hear them."

  The First Prince looked at Viktor with concern, considered for a long time, then continued:

  "I feel that the disturbances in the southern rifts, with monsters overrunning everywhere, must have some hidden cause behind them."

  Revealing this information to Viktor was something the First Prince had thought through carefully.

  Ever since returning to the capital, this matter had been weighing on his mind, and the more he thought about it, the more wrong it seemed.

  Originally, the situation in the empire's south had been stable, with adventurers and monsters in a delicate balance.

  But when exactly did the problem begin?

  The First Prince fell into deep thought.

  If he had to find a starting point, it might have been when Viktor took the princess to the kingdom.

  Shortly after, news came from the capital that Princess Aurelianne had been named by Aubrey to inherit the imperial throne.

  In fact, the stability of the southern monster rifts was extremely important to the empire.

  It not only provided a livelihood for southern adventurers but also ensured the security of the empire's southern borders.

  These adventurers viewed every monster emerging from the rifts as wealth, risking their lives for generous rewards.

  At this stage, the royal family's intervention in the rifts was relatively minimal, allowing adventurers to freely divide the profits.

  At this time, the adventurers' satisfaction level was undoubtedly at its peak.

  Because they could make a fortune here.

  But as time passed, both the number and strength of monsters in the rifts continued to grow.

  Making it difficult for adventurers alone to cope.

  The empire was forced to send troops to the southern borders, strengthening control over the monster rifts.

  Even with military intervention, due to the large number of monsters, adventurers' earnings remained considerable.

  However, although adventurers had no major objections to the military presence, clear polarization appeared within their ranks.

  The monsters became increasingly powerful and difficult to handle.

  Therefore, some adventurers chose to join or create guilds.

  Joining guilds not only guaranteed their safety, but compared to lone rangers, although their rewards weren't necessarily higher.

  They were more stable.

  Even so, the southern situation could originally maintain a certain stability.

  But now, monsters continuously poured out from the rifts, and even with adventurers giving their all, they couldn't penetrate deep into the rifts.

  Monsters gathered in groups outside the rifts, their frenzied attacks constantly assaulting the solid defense lines established by the army on the southern borders.

  Adventurers could only helplessly fight alongside the army, jointly defending this front line.

  But the current problem was:

  When exactly did they lose the original balance?

  Before the monster rifts erupted in violence, adventurers and the army maintained a tacit understanding.

  Adventurers were responsible for penetrating deep into the rifts, clearing most monsters, while the army guarded the front lines, preventing the spread of peripheral monsters.

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  However, the situation had now become complex.

  Only with massive main forces could they ensure southern stability.

  If you were to ask adventurers about their satisfaction with the south now.

  The answer would undoubtedly be complete dissatisfaction.

  They came here without any sense of righteousness, never considering protecting the safety of southern civilians.

  Purely because they could earn more money.

  But now, even making money had become difficult.

  The gains from the battlefield were far less than when they previously penetrated deep into the rifts.

  The First Prince realized this, stroking his chin while thinking and saying to Viktor:

  "So, I suspect someone deliberately expanded the monster rifts, leading to this current situation that's difficult to defend."

  Viktor opened his eyes to look at him, staring intently, and pressed:

  "Do you already have a suspect in mind?"

  The First Prince lowered his head, his brow furrowed, a flash of heaviness and pain crossing his eyes.

  He was reluctant to easily voice his inner suspicions, because that name meant enormous contradiction and pain for him.

  But finally, he slowly spoke:

  "I can only think it was Owiser's doing."

  A month ago, although lower-level monsters from the rifts began surging upward, making upper-level monsters more numerous and stronger.

  With the army present, they could still control the situation.

  But this also caused some adventurers' income to plummet.

  The First Prince felt this situation might have intensified adventurers' dissatisfaction with the army, their resentment gradually accumulating.

  After all, they came south to make money, but now couldn't achieve their goals.

  But the army's primary consideration was protecting the safety of humans living in the south.

  To maintain the stability of the southern front and ensure civilian safety, the army had to take such action.

  But ever since the Second Prince came to the south and left after giving them a thorough scolding.

  Not long after, the number of monsters pouring from the rifts increased dramatically.

  Now this was great—from the adventurers' perspective, these people could really make money.

  All day long, as long as they wanted to kill monsters, they could kill monsters, and making a fortune was no longer a pipe dream.

  But having the life to earn money didn't necessarily mean having the life to spend it.

  There were too many monsters, and some weaker adventurers had no chance of returning once they entered the battlefield.

  Their lost lives and flesh remained forever on the front lines.

  Their corpses littered the battlefield, dying in various cruel ways.

  As the number of adventurers decreased, the endless stream of monsters made defending the southern front extremely difficult.

  Looking back now, if someone had artificially expanded the monster rifts, what would their motive be?

  The answer should be jealousy.

  Because those adventurers earning less were jealous of their colleagues who could make a fortune every day.

  They resented colleagues who could still profit greatly amid the chaos, while they couldn't even get scraps.

  What if there were more monsters—wouldn't everyone be on equal footing then?

  So the monster rifts were maliciously pried open, driven purely by inequality of interests.

  But no one would think that more monsters would affect not just reward acquisition.

  Whether you could earn money still depended on your actual capabilities.

  Once, everyone could make a fortune in the south.

  But now, because of the malicious interference of some adventurers who lacked strength but harbored heavy jealousy, everyone was trapped in difficulty.

  Now, even retreating to save their lives had become a major problem.

  Thinking of the Second Prince, Albanie felt a sharp sensation spread throughout his body.

  The jealousy that Owiser brought him filled him with disgust.

  Like a pool of foul-smelling mud placed before his eyes, almost making him vomit.

  With such heavy jealousy, it wasn't impossible for the Second Prince to influence southern adventurers.

  Albanie fell into deep conflict, then raised his head and said seriously to Viktor:

  "Count Viktor, you must remain vigilant against Owiser."

  "Although I don't know what's wrong with him, his 'jealousy' might be the key to this situation."

  Worry flickered in Albanie's eyes.

  After hearing his words, Viktor remained silent for a moment, seemingly organizing the information Albanie had shared in his mind.

  After a while, he asked in a deep voice:

  "So the Second Prince never returned at all?"

  Albanie was slightly stunned, searching his memory.

  Indeed, since news spread of the elves establishing diplomatic relations with the empire, there had been reports that the Second Prince hastily left the south and was about to return to the capital.

  The First Prince had always worried about what Owiser might do in the south.

  When he heard Owiser was about to return to the capital, he relaxed slightly.

  Only after the southern war situation stabilized somewhat did he choose to return to the capital.

  But now it seemed Owiser had never returned at all.

  Because from beginning to end, he had never received any news of Owiser.

  Thinking of this, Albanie's face filled with terror, an ominous premonition surging in his heart.

  And Viktor's calm voice sounded again:

  "If things are truly as you say."

  "Then I think it's already too late."

  "What—"

  The First Prince widened his eyes, about to speak.

  Suddenly, from outside the banquet hall came thunderous hoofbeats.

  A series of crisp but chaotic footsteps came like thunder from the distance.

  A bronze figure rapidly swept across the ground, heading straight for the banquet hall.

  The knights saw the approaching figure and drew their weapons, trying to block him.

  Gwen's pupils contracted as she quickly identified the rider galloping at full speed:

  "He's an imperial soldier, no need to intercept."

  Only then did the knights come to their senses with confused faces, sheathing their weapons and staring in shock.

  It really was an imperial soldier.

  However, shouldn't imperial soldiers be stationed at the borders year-round?

  Feeling a gust of wind pass by, the knights could only watch helplessly as he rode his horse into the banquet hall.

  The hooves struck the golden ground with thunderous explosions, trampling over the red carpet, crossing the steps, and bursting into the golden grove.

  The officer pulled the reins, the horse reared up on its hind legs, neighing loudly.

  The nobles were startled, scattering and falling everywhere, huddling against walls and trembling.

  Their eyes filled with shock and confusion.

  Even the elves were frightened, crowding into the throng, looking fearfully at the panting horse.

  The officer had already dismounted, and the horse collapsed the moment he got off, foaming at the mouth.

  He hurriedly strode forward, running toward a section of the banquet hall.

  The First Prince saw everything, staring blankly at the intruding officer.

  Watching as the man, covered in wounds, crawled and rolled to his feet:

  "Your Highness the First Prince!!!"

  "The southern front has fallen!"

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