The villainous prince who bullied Feng Aotian was actually myself.

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"Faceless, stop messing around. I don't like you having a face that looks exactly like mine in front of me."

Naden frowned.

"Okay, Your Highness."

The man Naden called "Faceless" suddenly lowered his stature after agreeing. He wore a mask with half his face black and half his face white, and his entire body was hidden in a black cloak, revealing only a pair of thin, withered hands, giving him a particularly eerie feeling.

His name is Ailun Ulinsis, one of the three heroes of the Empire, known as "Faceless". Among the three heroes, the Paladin has the highest overall combat power, while he is the second strongest, with Hawkeye at the bottom.

"Is something wrong? Didn't I tell you to protect Leon? Why aren't you on your way to Southern Xinjiang? What are you doing here?"

Naden had a feeling that something was wrong.

"I'm sorry, Your Highness. It's my incompetence that I failed to complete the task you assigned me."

The faceless man spoke in a slightly low voice.

"It's not finished! My nephew is dead? Leon is really ruthless."

As Naden spoke, he lost his balance and nearly fell off his horse.

"No, but it's unlikely they'll survive."

The faceless one replied.

"Why? Your Excellency, please explain it clearly once and for all."

Naden felt like he was about to be driven crazy by Faceless.

"Your Highness, it's like this..."

As the faceless man recounted his story, the Regent's expression grew increasingly grim.

"My lord, I have done my best. There are five Obsidian-level experts blocking my way, and they were prepared. I cannot disrupt the sacrificial ritual. If I continue fighting, I will probably expose my identity, and I will most likely not be able to come back."

"Alright, Faceless, I trust you. Since it has already happened, let's not dwell on the past. Immediately find a way—secretly contact the higher-ups of the vampire clan for me."

After the faceless man explained the situation clearly, the Regent immediately gave his orders.

"Vampires gain life and power by drinking human blood and have always been hostile to humans. Moreover, they hate light and justice, and have a particularly deep conflict with the Fchester people who believe in justice. If Your Highness were to directly and frankly negotiate with them and rashly expose that our Fchester prince is in the Thorn Forest, I'm afraid they would not let Leon off easily."

The faceless man advised, "Your Majesty, what you should be considering is how to deal with the joint attack from Leon and Caesar. Leon was able to mobilize five Obsidian warriors to ambush in Savage Ridge in advance, and he dared to attack Leon so boldly, yet Caesar did not do anything to stop him. So... I think Your Majesty should be able to understand this. At this time, you must remain calm and not give Caesar a reason to make a move."

"My brother... he's finally going to make a move against me... although he should have killed me a long time ago."

The Regent gazed at the vast sky above the grassland. Unlike the sky over Guberlan, which was polluted by industrial waste, the sky above the Yiling Grassland was crystal clear. But in the Regent's eyes, it was gray and hazy, as if he were looking at Guberlan, which was thousands of miles away.

It's no surprise that Leon was the one who threw Leon into the portal to the Thorn Forest.

However, if Caesar hadn't turned a blind eye and acquiesced, how could Leon have possibly succeeded?

So, Caesar has given up on Leon and is planning to fully develop him, right?

Without the balance between the two princes, Caesar will likely have to pave the way for Leon.

In order to secure Leon's throne, Caesar will definitely try to weaken him and eventually eliminate him completely.

"Brother, I will not surrender easily."

The regent murmured, as if he had made a momentous decision.

At this time, Caesar also learned about what had happened to Leon in Savage Ridge.

Caesar was not surprised by this; he remained calm as always.

"Your Majesty, it has been confirmed that Prince Leon was sacrificed into the Thorn Forest. Should we immediately engage in strong negotiations with the vampires?"

Inside the emperor's office, Seth told Caesar the truth.

"No need. Those vampires don't know that Leon has entered the Thorn Forest. If we rush to negotiate with them now, wouldn't that just alert them?"

Caesar stated calmly, "Furthermore, since the end of the Coral Sea campaign, the dragons in the north have been restless, and the western powers on the other side of the Coral Sea have also begun to feel insecure, reportedly forming an anti-Fechester Empire alliance. In addition, the orc remnants in the south of the empire have also been quite unruly. If the empire were to clash with the vampires at this time, the situation would only become more unfavorable for the empire. And once the empire is at a disadvantage, the elves and succubi of the Eastern Islands will certainly take advantage of the chaos to get involved and share in the spoils."

"Okay, Your Majesty, I understand."

Sais didn't say anything more.

Caesar's words were indeed very reasonable; he was truly looking at the issue from a holistic perspective.

But... Leon is still his own son, isn't this too heartless and ungrateful?

Indeed, the saying "the imperial family is ruthless since ancient times" is not without merit.

"As long as you can figure it out."

Caesar chuckled slightly.

"Is there anything else?"

"Your Majesty, I have reported everything I needed to report."

Seth answered.

"Alright, you may leave now."

Caesar waved.

"Okay, Your Majesty."

Sais bowed slightly and then left.

After the office door was closed, everything seemed to return to calm.

Caesar leaned back wearily against the sofa chair.

"Leon, Leon, I thought you wouldn't dare to lay a hand on me, but I never expected... you child, you're even more ruthless than I thought..."

Caesar murmured softly, "But it's alright this way, it's alright this way..."

As a ruler, one must always give up many things, until all the good things are abandoned, and finally one becomes a lonely madman.

P.S.: I originally planned to update twice a day, but alas... I'll definitely update tomorrow!!!

Chapter Two: Kidnapping

Leon already felt uneasy when he entered Savage Ridge.

As a villain destined to die, his role is probably similar to Wang Mang's—a bug in the world's corrective power that needs to be eliminated. So, his luck is naturally not going to be too good. There will always be a chosen one of the plane to eliminate him. Even if he has hundreds of thousands of troops fighting against a few thousand, meteorites or something will suddenly fall from the sky, and he will be routed before the battle even begins.

However, Helena, the chosen one of the planes, no longer harbors any hostility towards him. Although the terrifying warning dream has kept Leon from getting too close to Helena, it seems unlikely that Helena will turn to the dark side.

Therefore, in order to correct the course of the world's development, the corrective force will definitely use other methods to eliminate itself.

As it turns out, Leon simply couldn't have any good luck, no matter what he did.

So if you feel uneasy, it's definitely a sign that something bad is about to happen.

So, on their first night in Savage Ridge, Leon and his companions encountered "bandits" in the dense mountains—whether they were bandits or not was uncertain, but they certainly weren't good people.

This group of bandits was terrifyingly powerful, and they seemed to have been prepared in advance. They quickly killed the soldiers who were escorting them and other prisoners who had also been sent to the southern border, and then Leon was kidnapped by these guys.

At first, Leon was not flustered, because he knew that the Regent's men would definitely come to his rescue.

Sure enough, among the soldiers escorting him, one who had been killed suddenly stood up again. He simply wiped his hand lightly on his neck, which still had a huge gash and was still gushing blood. Then the gash disappeared, the bleeding stopped instantly, and there was no sign of a fatal wound.

Next, the five super bosses, led by the bandits, launched their attack, and what unfolded under the full moon was a super-exciting "1 vs 5" battle scene.

However, none of this has anything to do with Leon.

Because at this time, Leon and many prisoners were all driven by the remaining bandits to a ditch with a mountain spring flowing through it.

This ditch acts as a dividing line, separating two completely different worlds.

On one side of the ditch is the normal Yerenling forest, while on the other side of the ditch is a forest.

The trees in this forest are much taller and denser than those in the Savage Ridge, and they are strangely shaped and of many different kinds.

Among these plants, trees with dark red leaves are the most numerous. This dark red is not an ordinary dark red; it looks like dried blood. Under the moonlight, all the plants are covered with silvery-white specks, as if they have been filtered with some kind of starlight filter.

Before they could even think about what was happening, Leon and all the prisoners were kicked one by one to the other side of the ditch by those despicable bandits wearing hoods.

Leon discovered that the first prisoner who was kicked in disappeared as soon as his body crossed the ditch, just like a pebble sinking into the ocean.

The soldier who suddenly stood up in the distance seemed to be outnumbered and constantly being beaten by the five bandit leaders. It was probably impossible for him to defeat his opponents and save himself.

The bandits in front of him were all burly and strong, with each of them at least at the gold level. Leon knew he was no match for them, so he didn't need their help. Before they could even kick him, Leon jumped up and disappeared on the other side of the ditch. This move stunned the hooded men and the other prisoners who refused to go in.

As he crossed the ditch, Leon could clearly hear the rushing water, but he couldn't see anything.

However, this state lasted for less than two seconds before Leon saw the scene on the other side of the ditch that he had initially seen while standing in Savage Ridge.

But when he turned around, he found that the flowing ditch, the wild trees in Savage Ridge, and the bandits behind him had all disappeared, replaced by an even deeper and more terrifying forest.

The plants in this forest are strange and unusual, especially the towering trees with dark red leaves, which give people a very ancient feeling.

This place is like a primeval forest.

Beside Leon were other prisoners who had been thrown in as well, numbering about twenty or so. Among them, some groaned in fear, some wandered around helplessly, and only a very few were calmly observing their surroundings.

Leon was, without exception, one of that very few.

"Hey buddy, wanna have a cigarette?"

A man who wasn't very tall but had a very muscular build walked towards Leon and took out an ordinary cigarette from his pocket.

"No need."

Leon smiled.

After being rejected by Leon, the man didn't leave. Instead, he lit a match and started smoking. The fact that he could carry a cigarette on his way to exile meant he probably had some connections.

"Dude, what do you do? Why were you exiled to the frontier?"

The man took a drag of his cigarette and asked.

Judging from his expression, he seemed intent on having a casual chat with Leon.

"..."

The prisoners here were unaware that a prince was traveling with them, as Leon was being escorted as an ordinary prisoner.

So now Leon is wondering what kind of identity he should fabricate to disguise himself.

"You're quite good-looking. You weren't living off some noblewoman, and her husband found out, and then...?"

The man joked.

"That should be it."

Leon gave an awkward laugh, "And what about you?"

"Me? I killed someone and went to jail."

the man replied.

Wow... you killed someone... how can you be so calm about that?

Could this guy in front of me be some kind of psychopathic killer?

"Here's what happened: When I was in high school, I had a girlfriend named Susan. She was very beautiful and smart, and I loved her very much. After graduating from high school, she was admitted to the prestigious Yeting University."

The man seemed to be lost in a painful memory; he wasn't smoking a cigarette, but rather expressing his melancholy.

"But she didn't have the money to continue her studies. Do you know how heartbroken I was when I heard her talk and saw her crying with her hair wet!"

The man's tone suddenly became agitated.

"so?"

Since we don't have any clues right now, let's listen to other people's stories, so Leon chimed in.

"So I decided to give up my studies and work in a factory to support her to continue her education. She was very moved at the time. That night, we made a promise to each other. When we were done, she hugged me and promised that she would definitely marry me in the future."

As he said this, the man's expression suddenly became blank.

Leon also felt that things were likely to take a turn for the worse.

"And so, she took the money I earned every month from working hard carrying bricks on construction sites and went to university. At first, we would write love letters to each other and our life was quite sweet. But later, the letters she wrote to me became less and less detailed and colder, and I realized that something was wrong."

As the man spoke, he took a deep drag on his cigarette, and his expression suddenly became distorted.

“One day I ran into a former high school classmate who was in the same university as my girlfriend. He told me that Susan was already dating another guy, and they had been together for ten months.”

The man said painfully, "So I painfully rushed to Yeting. In order to make her life better, I gave her almost all of my monthly salary, so I didn't have money to take a carriage. After walking for three days, I arrived in Yeting City. When I entered the fence of Yeting University, I happened to see that bitch and that dog of a man taking a walk on campus. The two of them were all lovey-dovey."