Cassandra: "The empire's foundation has decayed beyond repair. The cries of its starving people echo, while the vengeful spirits of fallen warriors drift on the winds of the empire."
Cassandra: "It's time for the empire to return to its rightful path, and I, Cassandra of the Purple-Gold Family, must shoulder this responsibility! For the empire's fallen state, for the immortal will of the divine kingdom that blesses this world!"
"Help me, nameless adventurer! You shall become the fifth king of the empire, with no crown to hold!"
Cassandra's gaze was intense, her voice filled with a fiery passion, as if trying to pull Orson into her ambitious plans. She showed no restraint in her grandiose ambitions, as though she intended to recruit him for her cause.
"Hmm... someone's trying to brainwash me. Do they not understand the weight of being the top fraud in Infinite Dimensions?" Orson shook his head, amused, but not moved.
Cassandra took a deep breath, calming herself, and personally poured a glass of blood-red wine, smiling as she handed it to Orson.
Orson's face under the mask twisted slightly, but he remained still as the golden goblet hovered in front of him.
Very nice!
This woman was scheming big time!
The Purple-Gold family actually wanted to seize control of the Light Dragon Empire's throne?
They wanted to use this divine item to manipulate the young emperor as their puppet.
This idea was bold…
But unfortunately, based on Orson's memories from his previous life, Cassandra's scheme failed because the real candidate for empress was someone else.
That woman was mysterious, and almost no information about her could be found in the Infinite Dimensions forums. There was only a set of blurry pictures taken by a player who stumbled upon her. Among them, one clear profile shot stood out.
Orson had seen this old photo before. Though he had face blindness, he wasn't blind, and the woman had white hair, unlike Cassandra's dark hair.
According to the player who took the photo, the Light Dragon Empire had already been secretly controlled by this woman. The emperor obeyed her commands, and the emperor was nothing more than a pawn in her hands.
However, this news had never been fully verified.
It was just food for thought among trial players.
Orson glanced at the wine again, watching the swirling elemental mist in the goblet, then looked back at Cassandra, who was radiant and full of life.
Orson smiled faintly. "Beautiful Princess Nightfall, I'll have the victory drink after I complete my task."
Cassandra's beautiful eyes flashed with a hint of surprise. Orson smirked internally, thinking, You think just because your chest is bigger, you can fool me?
"Master, you're a genius!" Laketon, sitting on the threshold, chuckled. "Once you drink that cursed contract, you'll be her puppet."
"Why didn't you warn me?" Orson glanced back at Laketon.
Laketon grinned mischievously. "Master, you're exciting me more and more. If it were that smelly little brat Tecumseh, he would've already been with her, haha..."
"One more time without warning and you'll regret it."
Orson's forehead twitched with three black lines.
A cursed contract typically meant that once a player took it, they could only take tasks from the one who placed the curse. Tasks like suicide missions, self-destructive kills, and so on. Players could refuse them, but that would make them unable to take or submit any other quests until the cursed task was completed.
"You're talking to... who?" Cassandra looked alarmed. Manipulating the emperor was a serious crime, and if the judgment tribunal found out, her entire family would be punished.
Orson replied bluntly, "None of your business."
Laketon, this bastard, was invisible to NPCs and had been quietly watching from the sidelines.
Cassandra, suspicious, looked around. After confirming no one was nearby, she relaxed a little, assuming the strange adventurer before her just had an unbalanced mind.
"Enough chatter. Give me the coordinates of my task target." Orson frowned. He still hadn't received any hint about his task's target, which didn't seem right.
"The woman may be associated with the Holy Light Church, but she acts in a very mysterious and unpredictable manner," Cassandra said, a hint of disappointment in her voice. She then took out a scroll. "I can provide you with her general location before she disappeared and a half-length portrait."
"The target of your task, [Ursula], was seen in four areas within the Imperial City."
"You need to verify each location and gather relevant clues."
"1. Imperial City Plaza, the aerial stage"
"2. Holy Light Church priest Lolofey"
"3. Blissful Secret Base One"
"4. Blissful Secret Base Two"
The prompt appeared, and Orson's gaze sharpened. He muttered, "If she appeared on the aerial stage... then Ursula is also a candidate for empress, or at least an NPC trying to become one."
The first two coordinates were easy to find, but the last two were more intriguing. In Infinite Dimensions, the term "Blissful" had many meanings, usually referring to extreme decadence and death.
Orson took the scroll from Cassandra and unfurled it.
"Empress Candidate · Ursula"
"Character Introduction: A commoner woman without noble background."
The interface quickly generated a holographic image of a woman's half-length portrait. She had white hair and black eyes, with delicate features, a hint of tenderness and frailty in her expression, and a unique gray headpiece.
"Interesting, a commoner who somehow has ties to the mighty Holy Light Church."
Orson squinted, his eyes following the 360-degree rotation of the hologram.
Even without seeing her body, it was clear that this woman was an extraordinary beauty, even surpassing Cassandra in terms of looks.
"Pause!"
Orson's expression suddenly changed as the image froze on her profile.
"Impressive!"
Orson's heart skipped a beat. The empress image he had seen in his previous life was now overlapping with this woman's. The two were nearly identical!
Could this be the rumored empress?
Wait a minute!
Crown of Sin!
Orson was secretly alarmed, zooming in on the gray headpiece in the image.
It looked simple, but now he had a strong suspicion that it was the infamous [Crown of Sin].
It was very likely that in his previous life, Ursula used this item to seduce the Holy Light Emperor!
Who was this woman? How did she get her hands on an item once owned by the Blood Demon Ancestor?
"This quest is quite intriguing!"
A cold glint flashed in Orson's eyes. He started weighing the pros and cons of taking on this task.
Cassandra was from the Purple-Gold family, the top aristocrats blessed by the Purple-Gold Dragons.
And Orson had already slaughtered the Golden Dragons, setting up a divine array to kill the Purple-Gold Dragon Riders. From any angle, allowing Cassandra to obtain the Crown of Sin and control the throne would not be in his favor.
Trying to turn Cassandra into a puppet would be very difficult.
However, completing the task of obtaining the crown was still tempting because of the massive rewards.
"Let's first track down Ursula."
Orson quickly made up his mind and turned to leave the mansion with Laketon.
Back at the Imperial City Plaza, the large square was now twice as crowded as before.
After all, it was daytime now, and many players had rushed in to witness the spectacle.
Especially with the exotic foreign women showing up, their attire and makeup were incredibly revealing. It was a feast for the eyes of the players.
"Outrageous!"
Even Orson, who had seen it all, couldn't help but be amazed. The aerial stage had turned into a giant bubble.
Inside, there were handsome mermen with fish tails swaying gracefully. Their enchanting songs made the audience dizzy with pleasure, and their eyes were full of seductive power, attacking the players below.
The merfolk came from the Endless Sea. While this was a forbidden zone, it was much gentler than the violent Endless Fire Domain.
Orson snapped back to his senses and glanced at his mini-map, where a white tracking icon appeared.
The coordinates were directly behind the aerial stage. Orson quickly made his way over.
Two high-ranking silver-robed guards stood at attention, turning to scold him. "Adventurer, this isn't a place for you! Do you want to be marked as a suspect?"
Orson ignored the guards and noticed a pool of blood on the ground behind them.
"You can choose to bribe the guards for a clue about the [Bloodstain]."
"Seriously, now I have to pay? Get lost."
Orson cursed, irritated. He was already in massive debt, and now they wanted to rob him of his remaining cash?
Orson looked indifferent, raised his arm, and with two swift sword strikes, one guard was instantaneously killed before even having a chance to scream.
The other guard shrieked and took out a horn, preparing to call for reinforcements, but Orson swiftly chopped off both his legs, leaving him with nearly no health left.
"Search his memory."
Orson said with a smile, and Laketon stepped forward to cast his spell.
"You successfully obtained a quest clue through unknown means."
"Gray Watchers are on their way to correct the error!"
Laketon: "Twelve hours ago, an empress candidate was attacked by an assassin, leaving bloodstains. She went to the Holy Light Church, likely to heal."
Orson nodded. Having Laketon as his companion was indeed convenient. "Let's head to the Holy Light Church's vault."
Laketon was stunned for a moment, then said, "Master, shouldn't we be looking for Priest Lolofey?"
Orson smirked, his smile widening. "Doesn't a quest always have hidden stages?"
He had been coveting the divine artifact [Heavenly God's Soil] for a while now, and it had already been transplanted to the Celestial Fortress's Reincarnation Tree. It just needed this item to fully evolve.