Chapter 905: Princess Nerith

Sometime later, they returned to the palace after finishing their stroll around the city. Unfortunately, they didn’t find anything particularly valuable in any of the shops.

Once they entered the palace, they saw Empress Varia chatting with a woman clad in full-body armor, possessing a strong and imposing build—very similar to Valeria and Vrasha.

She had long silver hair flowing down to her waist and a cold, indifferent expression on her face. Her eyes were especially unique—one white and the other black.

Yuan and the others could sense a profound aura radiating from her body, one that was noticeably stronger than even the Emperor’s.

"Oh? You’ve returned from your walk already? How was it? Did you like the city?" Empress Varia asked with a warm smile as soon as she noticed them entering the palace.

"We enjoyed our time. The food was delicious, and the people seemed quite happy with their lives," Yuan replied with a smile.

"I see..." Empress Varia nodded with a smile and continued, "By the way, this is Princess Nerith of the Demonic Empire. She’s Rhex’s younger sister and has just returned from the border with news about the Undeads."

Turning to Princess Nerith, Empress Varia added, "And these are the people we were talking about earlier. I hope you won’t do anything rash to our dear guests, alright?"

"Oh, gosh! Varia, how could you think I’d go on a rampage here? Am I some kind of beast?" Nerith rolled her eyes in annoyance before shifting her gaze to Yuan and the others.

She stood up from the sofa and walked toward Yuan with a cold expression, staring straight into his eyes in a way that immediately made Empress Varia panic.

’Not this time, Nerith! Don’t do something crazy now!’ Empress Varia screamed inwardly, her heart pounding rapidly in her chest.

’What is this woman trying to do? Is she trying to intimidate me? Or is she testing me?’ Yuan stared back at Nerith with a puzzled expression, unable to determine her intentions.

"Hmmm... You must be Yuan, right?" she asked after staring at his face for a few seconds, her voice cold and laced with authority and pride.

"That’s right. Is there something you want from me?" Yuan asked, looking at her curiously.

’Why do I feel like I’ve seen this scene before?’ Valeria thought with a confused look, staring at the woman before her.

"I don’t know why, but after seeing you, I have a strong urge to fight you... There’s something strange about you," Nerith said with a small grin, locking her gaze onto his.

’This woman... she possesses the legendary Yin-Yang Pupils. How is this even possible?! How could something so legendary appear in a world like this?!’ Long Yuyan screamed inwardly, staring at Nerith with a shocked expression.

Nerith noticed Long Yuyan’s strange gaze and frowned slightly. "Hmm? What is it? Is there something on my face?"

"N-No... it’s just your eyes. I was surprised because I recognized them," Long Yuyan replied calmly.

Nerith raised her brows and muttered, "How strange... I was born with this pair of eyes, and I’ve never met you before. So how could you recognize them?"

"Unfortunately, I can’t explain that to you," Long Yuyan replied with a soft sigh.

’What a strange woman...’ Nerith thought before shifting her attention back to Yuan.

"What do you say? Want to have a spar with me?" she asked, a faint grin appearing on her face.

"Sure. My hands have been itching for some stretching," Yuan replied with a grin before asking,

"So, where do we spar?"

"Ummm, Nerith, I don’t think it’s a good idea to spar since you’ve just returned from the border. You must be exhausted after such a long journey," Empress Varia said with a concerned look on her face.

"It’s fine, Varia. I know my own body. You’d better take care of your husband instead of worrying about me," Nerith replied with a smile before leading Yuan toward the training ground behind the palace.

"What’s the current situation at the border?" Yuan asked as he followed her.

"The situation isn’t good. I think war is unavoidable at this point," Nerith replied. "Recently, more and more Undead have been appearing at the border. We’ve taken down the ones that tried to cross into our territory."

"Do you think they intend to invade the Empire?" Yuan asked, a curious look on his face.

"That seems to be the case. I have no idea what the Undead King is planning, but whatever he’s cooking in his head, it’s anything but good," she replied.

Shortly after, they arrived at the training ground. It was a massive area with many people still training their bodies.

Archers were training their aim on wooden dummies, while others ran laps around the training ground to build their stamina before practicing with their weapons.

"Princess Nerith, you’ve finally returned from the border. How is the situation over there?" A young man with a muscular build approached them, asking with a smile on his face.

"Not good. There’s a lot of trouble happening over there," Nerith replied casually, not even sparing him a glance.

The man was clearly displeased by her tone, but he didn’t complain. Instead, his gaze shifted to Yuan and the others following her.

"And these people are?" the man asked.

"They are our guests. I’m going to have a spar with him," Nerith replied, pointing at Yuan with a smile.

"By the way, Dorian, how is the preparation of the new soldiers going? Are there any improvements compared to the last time I was here?" she asked.

Dorian smiled proudly and replied, "They’ve been improving remarkably. The new batch of soldiers is filled with talented individuals."

"I see... That’s good to hear. Train them well—we might need them in the war against the Undead," Nerith nodded with a satisfied look on her face.

She then turned her attention back to Yuan, who had been listening patiently, and said, "This is the training ground. All the spots are currently taken, so we’ll have to wait a bit for them to finish."

"It’s fine. We can wait for a while," Yuan replied calmly.

"Great. By the way, what kind of weapon do you use?" she asked, looking at him curiously, completely ignoring Dorian’s presence.

"I mainly use a sword. I can also use a dagger, but I rarely rely on it. I think the sword suits me better," Yuan replied with a smile.

"Hmm. What a coincidence—I also use a sword. It seems we can compare our sword skills during the spar."

"Definitely. However, I won’t go easy on you just because you’re a princess. Don’t expect that from me."

"I’m fine with that. In fact, I’m glad you won’t hold back," Nerith smiled, excitement flashing in her eyes as she anticipated crossing swords with Yuan.