In the Name of Empress-Chapter 524 - 330: A Sea Witch Alone Is Not Enough
If things get to a point of no return, beyond the control of those involved, people often choose to selectively forget, carrying on with work and life as if nothing happened, never speaking of things that could bring the sky crashing down.
It’s well known that ostriches don’t actually bury their heads in the sand when faced with danger; they have the strength and speed to thrash their enemies.
It’s humans who like to act like ostriches but are too embarrassed to admit it, so they let the ostriches take the blame.
The coronation ceremony at Fanxi Palace occupies the front page of every major newspaper.
All the media are reporting on the ceremony, yet no media dares to report on what happened afterward, even if their well-informed bosses know the inside story.
Offending Sussex, Jin Yuan, and Vladimir, the three great powers, in this world, even if vast, leaves nowhere to turn.
Where there is revelry, there is also worry, such as with the small nations caught between the two camps.
They are highly sensitive to the movements of the major powers.
When major powers fight, the major powers may not necessarily be in trouble, but the small nations caught in between are likely to get hurt.
To survive in this chaotic situation, they must accurately grasp the intentions of the major powers and align themselves before being conquered.
Everyone wants to preserve their ancestral heritage, and if that proves impossible, surrendering early to ensure safety is also a good choice.
In the struggle for survival within tight spaces, the most tragic are those like the Oden Kingdom and the Weimar Federation, who cannot see the situation clearly and end up dead in the streets during the great powers’ territorial disputes.
Of course, the tragic ends of the Weimar Federation and Oden Kingdom are not entirely due to siding with the wrong camp. It also stems from their persistent belief that they themselves are great powers.
After the coronation ceremony, Christine returned temporarily to Val City where the Holy Spring is located to recuperate; Alina remained in the country to prepare the troops, Lisa returned to the Magic Association for her final training, while Roland and Sif returned to Hansa.
Everyone was very busy.
After returning to Hansa City, Roland finally couldn’t resist asking Sif to summon the Magic Mirror to check the female attractiveness ranking, not out of gossip but simply curious about Christine’s current situation.
Christine had returned to Holy City Val alone, and Roland was truly worried.
He didn’t have to say it; Sif was also very curious.
Awakened from sleep, the Magic Mirror, being a Divine Artifact, was luckily without morning grumpiness, but she still insisted that the female attraction ranking could only be viewed by Sif, and gentlemen must stay back.
Sif glared at the Magic Mirror irritably, "Stop talking nonsense, I’ll definitely share with him afterward, so don’t waste time."
Faced with Sif’s aggressive demeanor, the Magic Mirror chose to comply. She displayed the female attractiveness ranking in the air with an expressionless face, huffing lightly and ignoring her rude little master.
The first place was no surprise, it was still Sif, still scoring a perfect hundred.
Although the Magic Mirror’s attractiveness ranking has a score cap of 99, Sif sometimes has moments that exceed 99 points; she’s long gotten used to it.
Sif’s perfect score rendered Sofia’s mockery of her female attractiveness laughable.
But Sif wasn’t ecstatic over her ranking; she couldn’t help but ask, "Did my ranking drop to second place seven days ago?"
Seven days ago was Alina’s coronation ceremony, during which she was utterly embarrassed under Sofia’s pressure, even mocked by Sofia that she was no longer the leader, which she found hard to accept.
Seeing Sif’s tense look, the Magic Mirror smiled and replied, "Sorry, I don’t know. I’ve been asleep these last few days. You know, gathering this data isn’t easy, so I must sleep often."
The Magic Mirror wasn’t lying. She spends at least half of her time asleep, except for the few years she was heavily utilized by Sif; other times, she’s incredibly sleep-prone.
Most Divine Artifacts are like this; they need to share energy with their master to function, and those that can self-nourish and maintain operation are quite rare.
The Magic Mirror remained self-assured, while Sif felt a hint of frustration.
She could remain calm and composed in other areas but couldn’t stand losing in the attractiveness ranking.
Roland gently cleared his throat and softly reminded, "Sif, this is the attractiveness ranking, not the combat ranking. How could Sofia possibly compete with you."
Under his reassurance, Sif’s previously conflicted mood gradually improved.
Roland was right, but she only partially agreed, as combat strength is dynamic; in the future, she might surpass Sofia in that regard, but Sofia could never surpass her in attractiveness, ever.
She always wins, and this time is no exception.
The second place remains Sofia, with little change, the only difference being the score, which often fluctuates between 96-97, occasionally dropping to 95.
This time, her score was 95, the lowest in recent years.
Seeing Sofia’s score, Sif’s previously pent-up emotion instantly brightened.
Sofia was right; mood and state greatly affect scores, but the impact is not on her but on Sofia herself.
Looking further down, Sif and Roland saw the third place.
Christine.
The scores on the list from third to sixth place have little variance and often switch rankings. Therefore, Sif gave these few a nice nickname, the Four Blossoms.
Although the Four Blossoms are all older than Sif, on this list, age is a disadvantage, and attraction holds the true power.
These four are Alina, Christine, Queen Sisi of the Tirol Kingdom, and the red-haired female pirate Catherine from the New Continent.
Queen Sisi used to be the queen of the Tirol Kingdom, and before Sif ascended the attractiveness ranking, she long occupied the top spot.
Simply put, she was the world’s number one beauty before Sif’s rise to the top.
