When the plot-skips players into the game world

Chapter 597: Chapter 16 Despair Like a Snake, Anxiety Like Sand Chapter 597: Chapter 16 Despair Like a Snake, Anxiety Like Sand At first, when Isabel saw Queen Sofia, she felt genuinely happy from the bottom of her heart.

It wasn’t some utilitarian thought like, “I can get through this ceremony easily”… it was simply the feeling of being very fortunate to have the opportunity to see her grandmother who had passed away once again.

It was like the joy one feels when seeing an old friend or classmate featured in the newspaper.

Moreover, Isabel noticed that the introductory plot mentioned it was “the proclamation of Avalon’s kingdom’s destruction,” and that it would happen in the near future.

Therefore, it had some reference value… As the Queen of Avalon, she had to take this promotion ceremony very seriously no matter what.

Maybe she could obtain some information from it to help the true Avalon avoid this future.

But soon, Isabel saw her own cowardly and weak appearance.

She couldn’t help feeling a wave of embarrassment and wished she could drag the “herself” down and take her place.

It was also the first time she watched herself as an observer and clearly saw how immature she had been.

However, after that, when Isabel realized that Queen Sofia was going to arrange an engagement for “herself,” her smile disappeared.

—Am I something for you to obtain?

Anger and resistance suddenly sprouted in Isabel’s heart, and her hostility towards the Queen Consort of Star Antimony and the Prince instantly maxed out.

Isabel decided then, even in a dream, she wouldn’t just play along.

But soon after, she saw her grandmother being poisoned by Minister Drost, herself being framed and wrongly accused, saw the malicious woman from Star Antimony with her disdainful face, saw the knights in the Round Table Hall slaughtering each other…

When Isabel woke up, she subconsciously clenched her fists and couldn’t help but tremble all over.

It was not fear, but anger.

Isabel had a pretty good temper and had never lost it since she was born.

Nor had she ever truly felt anger, the intense dislike and even hatred for someone.

But this time, she experienced “anger” for the first time.

It was as if one were breathing furiously into a pot of burning charcoal—her heart and lungs feeling the burn of heat, her head swelling, a scorching sensation behind her eyes, causing them to sting and almost bring tears outright.

She wasn’t afraid, nor was she sad; it was just that tears kept flowing as if stimulated, her chest heaving, trembling as she breathed.

Isabel could feel a sort of cool liquid flowing from the back of her head down her spine, her body, held by Shafiya, was shaking as if fevered, curling up more and more tightly as if to revert to a fetal state, squeezing her body like a cat to make it as small as possible.

The power from the Path of Beauty amplified her surging emotions and ignited her inspiration.

Isabel’s pupils blazed with aqua-green flames, and the power from her soul reverberated in the air, causing the atmosphere around her to blur.

—If she had an incredibly powerful bomb right now, Isabel could hardly wait to grab it, rush back to the Hall of Silver and Tin, and blow them all up together!

But soon she also thought of Avalon that needed protecting, of Aiwass also waiting for her…

Isabel gradually regained her rationality.

“…Don’t be afraid, Isabel.

They probably couldn’t catch up to us now,”

Just then, Shafiya suddenly spoke, comforting her in a low voice, “There will always be a way… I will protect you.”

With that, she let Isabel, whom she held in her arms, down to the ground, and reached out to wipe away the tears accumulated in her eyes.

…Had the induction already ended?

Isabel stood in silence, belatedly realizing this.

This was atop the largest clock tower in the Red Queen District, the place where Yanis looked over the entire Glass Island before she left.

Isabel stood exactly where Yanis had been, watching the dark clouds spread gradually from the Hall of Silver and Tin, and phantom sounds of fighting and cursing seemed to ring in her ears.

The framed Isabel didn’t sob in self-pity, nor did she become hysterical from fear and confusion, which somewhat relieved Shafiya.

She just stood there, her arms crossed over her chest, huddled up, still and stubborn, her pupils hollow as she stared ahead as if watching some lingering phantom images… Her face wet with silent tears.

Those vivid and stirring emotions were highly contagious, and Shafiya, witnessing it all, felt the injustice and sadness for Isabel, her nose tingling with emotion.

…Little Isabel is such a good child, and she’s had it tough.

But what could she herself do about it…

Shafiya sighed inwardly, feeling despair over the situation, only gently wiping Isabel’s tears away while frowning slightly.

Then quickly realizing this wasn’t enough, she simply embraced Isabel, allowing her to cry into her bosom.

She didn’t say much.

Because Shafiya thought that even if she said a lot now, Isabel probably wouldn’t understand most of it.

Based on her knowledge and understanding of the little princess… Isabel’s mind must have become a complete blank by now.

Her only family, her elder, the monarch of Avalon, was poisoned by Minister Drost, whom she and her grandmother had trusted deeply.

Those knights who had been kind and friendly to her slaughtered each other unreservedly, and the hall of laughter and joy was instantly covered in blood and death.

Someone even stole the name and existence of “Isabel” from her, turning her into an assassin who murdered her grandmother…

All this had happened in an instant, from the poison passing her lips to their escape from the scene, the entire process took less than a minute.

Even if it were not the faint-hearted Isabel, but someone else in her place…@@novelbin@@

faced with such a seamless series of events, unfolding like a chain of dominoes too swift for the mind to catch up, one’s brain might just crash for a moment.

She had to stay here to ensure Isabel’s safety.

This thought emerged in Shafiya’s mind.

Now that the Queen had died and an impostor Isabel had appeared, the throne would likely fall into Star Antimony people’s hands.

Avalon was in danger…

The Irisflower People were utterly untrustworthy, the living conditions in the Eternal Frost Empire were too harsh, and it was impossible to cooperate with the cunning and dangerous goblins.

Thus, they had no choice left but to seek refuge with the elves of the Holy Nation.

Although the Holy Nation was still in a state of turmoil, they had no other options.

She had to escort Isabel to the Holy Nation.

She could definitely do it with ease—despite being a Legal Mage and not skilled in horsemanship.

If she could find a Pureblood Gryphon, she could ride the gryphon, taking Isabel to safety.

Strictly speaking, with the speed of a gryphon, just the gryphon carrying Isabel could take her directly to the Holy Nation.

But Shafiya would certainly not be at ease with that.

Isabel had never left Glass Island, not even the Red and White Queen Districts.

As the sole Princess of the Avalon Royal Family, she had never lived on her own.

She was so shy when interacting with Avalonians that she faltered in speech, and her proficiency in the Elvish Language wasn’t fluent enough for normal communication.

If she were sent directly to the still-chaotic Holy Nation, she might get lost…

or it could be possible for the goblins to abduct her.

Not to mention, the brazen moves by Star Antimony suggested that their army might already be en route.

To let Isabel go off on her own would be no different from murder.

If Shafiya stayed with her the entire way, Isabel’s safety would be assured.

…But if that were to happen, they wouldn’t be able to retrieve Queen Sofia’s body.

If too much time passed after death, the blood in the body would start to spoil.

Once the blood began to decay, it would lose its potential as a material for rituals—and the “Shadow of Avalon” ritual was just one step away from completion.

Prince Albert was presumed dead, leaving only John and Isabel as the remaining members of the Du Lac bloodline.

And together, they were barely past twenty years old; neither could be sacrificed to activate the ritual.

She had to resurrect Lancelot.

Without him, Isabel alone would never be able to reclaim Avalon from those people.

The Star Antimony even prepared a substitute identical to Isabel…

God knows if it’s one of those Necromances’s and Alchemists’ tricks; she might even have the Blood of Du Lac!

Anyway, Isabel was a Transcendent of the Path of Beauty, naturally incapable of activating the Avalon Scepter.

Whether she was real or fake, many of the Avalon Monarch’s privileges couldn’t be exercised.

And those who had betrayed Avalon, turning blades against their own comrades, would certainly never look back—they’re better off standing their ground till death, since turning back also meant death for them.

Yanis had already departed from Avalon, the pillar of the kingdom, Meg, had passed away, and the Great Justice Arius was aging.

With only her and George, they couldn’t achieve anything.

Among the traitors were even descendants of the founders.

Perhaps their Guardian Spirits were involved in the coup as well…

After all, the Pope had only commanded them to ensure the survival of these Angel Envoy families, not to necessarily stand with the Du Lac side.

If they only rescued Isabel without the ability to reclaim Avalon afterward, that too would be a failure…

There might come a time when they would need Isabel to sacrifice her own life to complete the ritual.

In such a case, the current rescue would seem almost futile.

Therefore, if they wanted to wrest Avalon from the clutches of those despicable Star Antimony people, they must acquire Queen Sofia’s blood as soon as possible.

The Star Antimony people surely were unaware of the grand ritual “Shadow of Avalon,” so they wouldn’t place much importance on Sofia’s corpse.

If she could just access the body stealthily….

…But if that were the case, Isabel couldn’t just be left here unattended.

Though those traitors didn’t possess the “Eye of Avalon” and couldn’t directly locate Isabel, that aside, there was the possibility that she couldn’t make it back alive…

If Isabel wasn’t sent to the Holy Nation, she would always be in danger.

Those intending to kill her were not only the Star Antimony people but all the survivors of the Round Table Hall.

—That is to say, the whole of Avalon.

As long as Isabel died, the identity of the impostor would be completely legitimized.

By then, she would be the sole Du Lac, the Queen of Avalon.

The Knights would faithfully obey her commands, and it would be reasonable—a situation where the entire Avalon was in the grasp of Star Antimony.

“Ah, what should I do…”

Shafiya felt an exceptional headache, gripping her hair firmly, tugging and tearing at it.

Her scalp seemed on the verge of erupting with anxiety.

The dual pressure of saving Avalon and preserving the Du Lac family legacy bore down solely on her.

And she had only given birth to her child a few months ago…

Her own daughter was still waiting for her at home!

She hadn’t even started to speak, she was still being breastfed.

No delays.

No exposure.

No failures.

No deaths.

Shafiya sharply inhaled, hugging the Isabel in her arms tighter as if trying to draw some reassurance and courage from the Princess herself.

—But all she felt was a blur before her eyes.

Despair coiled like a serpent, anxiety like shifting sands.