Althea stared at the woods before her, the monkeys hanging from the trees, waiting for her to strike. Mana swirled around her as she prepared her spells, shields appearing around as her. The monkeys decided to make the first move. A single Novice grade monkey shot towards her, mana screeching towards her, the other monkeys following suit.

Althea reacted near instantly, the shield cutting through the front line. The others did not stop, hundreds of monkeys jumping at her at once. Mana reacted, wind blades preceding their movements as their claws sharpened.

But she had prepared for that. Fire revolved around her, her dress catching fire as waves of heat rolled off her. The monkeys slapped the fire away using wind, still in midair.

What an unexpected pleasure. But she was not so easily defeated. Althea drew on her core, stretching the light out and releasing waves of mana. The air sizzled as the mana turned into fire. The monkeys screech, their voices mixing into one painful sound.

A massive force of wind slapped towards her, pushing her back and almost making her lose her footing. Althea held on, but the monkeys weren't done. A new wave appeared from behind her, beside her, and then on top of her.

The air compressed, turning her own attack against her. The monkeys stopped burning as the bottom parts of her dress were charred. Althea slammed her staff onto the ground, enhancing the heat in the air, as she put the weight of her cultivation behind her.

But there were many monkeys. Althea lost ground, her power not enough to compete against so many heads on. The stalemate continued for a while, the air sizzling as it compressed more and more, slowly heating up and catching fire.

And then she spun it. The monkeys weren't the only ones that had wind mana. The wind wanted to be free, and it would be. The wind expelled fire mana in waves as Althea shifted her will to letting the wind be free. The monkeys lost control of their spell, their mana merging with hers and fueling the fire that consumed the forest around them.

The space was silent for a while, and then the mana returned to her, her core surging as she broke through. A subtle power spread out from her as she used her newfound powers to sense around. A small number of monkeys remained, staring at her from on top of the remaining trees, their powers surging as they stared at her. Apprentice stage monkeys.

Althea smiled. This was going to be interesting. And then the monkeys jumped towards her, the battle beginning anew.

sc

Althea shook her head as she flung water from her hair. The battle had ruined her dress and forced her to change clothes. Not the worst thing in the world, but still not something she liked.

The various regions of the county were reporting in, the battles had gone well. Not a single village had been lost. There were too many people that had broken into the Apprentice after she made the manuals public. And nearby villages had come to each other's aid. After all, there were a lot of people that had been stuck at peak Novice.

Twenty-year-olds found it hard to reach peak Novice. Fifty years olds had reached it long ago. Now, a portion of those fifty-year-olds had broken through to Apprentice, and last she knew, were rushing through the stages. A few had even reached Apprentice 3.

And that was just the untrained commoners. The soldiers were reaching as high as Apprentice 5. That was more than Althea, before today that is. The battle had pushed her right to peak Apprentice 5, just a little away from Apprentice 6.

But there were still problems. The beasts were very destructive, the villages still had lost lots of infrastructure.

So here she was.

"I greet her grace, the Countess Guarding Diery." a middle-aged man bowed to her.

"The money horde has been dealt with." she informed him. The horde of monkeys had run through the village, too many for the single Apprentice 3 before her to deal with. So he had called on the county for aid. Althea had answered by dealing with it personally.

"Has the construction work been dealt with?" she asked.

"Yes, your grace. The people have truly come together for this." the old man said. The broken buildings had been repaired by earth magic, cast in synchronization much like how the monkeys did. There was an entire organization for it. A bunch of people had approached her yesterday, after the party when the news broke, to start it. The idea was actually a half-Elf's. Althea had been glad to fund it.

"That is how it should be, Elder, that is how it should be." she said. "Now if you will excuse me, I do have a call to attend to."

"Yes, your grace, we have already cleared a meeting place for you to talk with the Empress." the old man pointed at a building that looked like a newly built town hall. Althea raised an eyebrow at his extravagance, but didn't reject it.

The Empress hadn't been available yesterday. The reason was simple. An envoy had come from the Zun Empire. Althea knew why. This was, finally, something mentioned in the book. In the book, the Zun Empire had a huge drought and had to increase imports.

The protagonist's aunt had gone to the Zun Empire as an envoy of the Bern march's trade company. And taken Ms Harkins with her. The two did not return till three years later.

But the envoy came earlier in the story. A few days earlier, but still. Well whatever, she was staying away from the matter. The farther she was from the main plot, the better it was.

You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

The Empress was sitting in her usual place when the call began. But there were two people beside her. Two people wearing the colors of the Zun royal family.

"Countess Guarding Diery, this is Crown Prince Eleta and Princess Melissa of the Zun Empire." The Empress introduced.

"A pleasure to meet you, your majesties." Althea replied. As a guardian of the Empire, and furthermore the Countess of Diery, there was little need to be friendly to the Zun Empire.

The corpses of thousands lay at their feet.

"The pleasure is mine, your grace." the Crown Prince gave her a smile. "I look forward to cooperation between our peoples."

Althea really wanted to give him a snarky reply. But the Empress had introduced him, she couldn't be too rude.

"I would like there to be cooperation between us too." Althea replied. The Crown Prince frowned, detecting something wrong in her words. There was. The words implied that it might not be possible.

The reason was simple. The county's population would not agree. If someone died in the county, people blamed the Zun Empire. If crops were burned or something stolen, it was the Zun Empire. The county's neighbor had tried its best to keep the country week. The talented children were killed in their homes. A wealthy family would find their wealth gone before they could even try becoming powerful.

"The Crown Prince and Princess would like to travel back to the Zun Empire through the county." the Empress said.

"The roads are available to them." Althea replied. "But I cannot guarantee their safety. I would recommend bodyguards."

"Are you not being too hostile, Countess? The Zun Empire is extending a hand of peace." the Princess asked, her voice light and mocking.

"That woman is the one responsible for keeping the county weak. Don't trust her." Pulsie's voice said into her mind. What? How was he contacting her from so far away? Had there been a change in their power?

The breakthrough should not have had such a huge effect. Was it the breakdown? Or had Pulsie done something? But she did not have time to wonder about all that now. The information he had given was critical.

"I would think you would understand my motivations, Princess. After all, is it not you that is responsible for keeping the Diery county in check?" Althea said. "Do you know how many people in the county wish to kill you? I cannot assign bodyguards, they probably have family or friends you ordered killed.

I cannot let you pass through a village, you almost assuredly harmed them. I do apologize, but if you wish to pass through the county, you will have to do it yourself."

The Empress' face passed from confusion to full on frowning at the royal pair.

"I think we have heard the Countess' answer. Now if you will excuse me, I do have things to discuss with her." The Empress interrupted. The Princess huffed and left, the Crown Prince following her with some parting words.

"I do hope that we can cooperate in the future, your grace." he said, giving an unexpected greeting. Did he not listen to what she had just told his sister? Or did he think he wasn't included? Althea frowned, but returned the greeting.

"I will have to see in the future, your majesty. "

The Crown Prince finally left, leaving her alone with the Empress

"What happened?" she asked.

The Empress looked at her for a second, and then sagged onto her chair. "The Admiral Guarding Garron is dead."

"What?" Althea asked, unable to hide her surprise. This was very unexpected. The Admiral was a peak Adept. A real guardian of the Empire with the power to back it up. And in control of one of the largest fleets in the continent.

"There was an attack on the Leria Duchy." The Empress began. "The Admiral went to back them up, but didn't arrive."

"Did he encounter something? Perhaps he is still alive." Althea suggested. A peak Adept disappearing was…weird. But it wasn't reason to deem him dead. The sea to the south of the Empire had a lot of barely explored islands, and resources. A herb or beast that could boost his cultivation could have the Admiral staying there.

The Empress shook her head. "There is more. The Admiral's wife, cousin and only heir is poisoned. A half-Grandmaster grade poison. The chances of her surviving are…minimal. Even with her Adept stage cultivation, she will be dead in a month."

Althea frowned. The matter did not really involve her, but this was clearly an attack. A half-Grandmaster stage poison could kill a half-Grandmaster in theory. That stuff was not easy to get.

As for the Admiral’s love for his cousin…the less said about that messy affair the better.

"The Garron family is a mess." the Empress continued. "The cousin did not manage to have any children that survived past the age of three. The current heirs are the Admiral's bastard half-brother, and his two bastard children."

"I hope you can solve it." Althea replied.

The Empress sighed. "I hope so too. But I might have to cal on you eventually. Now, why did you call me?"

"Wait, why would you have to call on me?" Althea asked. "I can't interfere in matters like this."

The Empress' face froze. "Mia really did not explain it to you, did she?" The huff that escaped her told Althea just how frustrated she was. What had stressed her so much? The attack? Just who was responsible? And as for the late Countess not telling her things…just ignore it. That woman was not worth her brain's processing power.

"The vault has a very special book." the Empress began. Althea raised an eyebrow, the vault was literally full of special books.

"This one maintains records of the methods of inheritance and family trees of every noble family of the Empire. When a noble family has several competing heirs and one needs to be chosen, the Diery family will retrieve the manual and use it."

The Empress said. "The manual…is slightly mana intensive. I would suggest letting Steward Ven do it. Attempting it before you are at least Apprentice 6 could leave you wounded, or worse, crippled."

"Empress… I am already Apprentice 5." Althea said. "I will break through Apprentice 6 in the next few days as I battle some more."

"I…see." the Empress said. "How is the county doing? I hear there have been more beast hordes. How many villages have fallen? Do you need any help?"

"I have been able to stop any village from falling till now. I was going to ask you for more people, but the county seems to be making it up in quality." Althea said, 'There are a lot of people in the county with accumulations rich enough to break through to Apprentice three. A few soldiers even reached Apprentice five.”

The Empress had just picked up a glass of water and was drinking it. Now she carefully put the glass down and stared at Althea.

"What did you say?"