"Lyra fought desperately to the death, but severely outnumbered, she and Nyx were forced to flee."

"Lily and Selene, in order to protect Aurelia, both suffered heavy injuries."

"Right now, the two of them, along with Aurelia, have been imprisoned, locked up in the dungeon beneath the Azure Phoenix Palace!"

"That thrilling?" Alex stroked his chin, a smile brimming with deep interest curled at the corners of his mouth.

"This Albert truly couldn’t hold his composure, huh..."

He thought of something else and asked curiously, "Speaking of which, doesn’t the Heavenly Flame Capital have a barrier Formation, as well as thirty thousand Mahayana Realm experts?"

"Even if Aurelia fell ill, she wouldn’t be so frail as to be directly breached by Albert, right?"

"What the Saint Lord says is correct." Adrian nodded.

"The reason Albert smoothly succeeded is, on one hand, because he intentionally leaked the news of Aurelia’s severe illness. Causing the entire Heavenly Flame Capital to panic, leaving the people jittery and anxious."

"Secondly, Albert colluded with the Former Empress of the Heavenly Flame Dynasty, Nova."

"Nova used her imperial decree to declare this was an internal family matter of the Emberhal Imperial Family. Ordering the thirty thousand Mahayana Realm experts that none were permitted to act rashly."

"Because of this, Albert won without shedding a single drop of blood, easily charging into the Azure Phoenix Palace and imprisoning Aurelia."

Alex nodded thoughtfully. "So that’s how it is..."

"I didn’t expect Albert to actually play the Former Empress card right off the bat. That makes sense then..."

The Former Imperial Empress of the Heavenly Flame Dynasty, Nova.

As an old figure of the previous generation within the Heavenly Flame Imperial Family, her weight and influence could not be understated.

But in reality, Nova was not Aurelia’s biological mother. She was Albert’s biological mother.

Although Aurelia was chosen to inherit the throne at a young age, her biological mother was merely a woman from a minor aristocratic family with a lowly background, unworthy of being the mother model of the nation.

Therefore, Nova, who hailed from a prestigious family, had securely held the position of Empress for many years.

After Aurelia’s father passed away, she naturally inherited the position of Former Empress.

In the original novel, Nova was one of the major mid-game bosses Knox had to face.

This old woman not only possessed formidable cultivation, but her political maneuvering was extraordinary, her scheming venomous, her shrewdness incredibly deep.

Albert’s rebellion, in a certain sense, was entirely due to her constant instigation and encouragement.

She hoped her biological son would sit on the great throne while she herself ruled from behind the curtain.

After Albert was defeated and died, and Aurelia also died of severe illness, Nova immediately came up with a countermeasure.

She directly pushed her youngest son, Varen, onto the imperial throne to stabilize the situation.

In that chaotic scenario, whether to stabilize the people’s hearts or continue holding power, her approach was absolutely flawless.

But unfortunately, such a shrewd woman just had to run into Knox. Subjected to all sorts of bizarre, showy operations, she was directly hit with a plot-induced intelligence debuff, blurting out her own ambitions and plans herself.

Ultimately, she died at the hands of the Protagonist Halo.

It made Alex feel somewhat sympathetic, grieving the loss of a fellow villain.

Then again, this matter itself was indeed quite pure bullshit.

He was used to hearing plots about unrighteous monarchs bullying a widow and her children.

But an widow and her children teaming up to forcibly overthrow the monarch? That was a first.

"Saint Lord, how should we act?" Adrian asked probingly.

"Should our Hale family intervene, pick a side, and cast our net?"

"Or stay out of it, turn a deaf ear, and sit back to watch the internal strife of their Heavenly Flame Dynasty?"

Alex smiled faintly. "Aurelia has already been thrown into prison, entangled by severe illness, her life hanging by a thread. What is there left to be chaotic about?"

"Moreover, Albert is relying on martial force, suppressing the realm with his might. Absolutely no one would dare make an enemy of him for a sickly Aurelia."

"If our Hale family doesn’t intervene, this Heavenly Flame Dynasty is going to undergo a change of dynasty."

"Oh?" Adrian froze.

"Saint Lord, then how should we intervene?"

"Very simple." Alex narrowed his eyes, smiling confidently.

"Adrian, immediately head to the Blackwood and Sol families to see Alistair Blackwood and Malakai Sol."

"Tell them to have the elite disciples of their clans make combat preparations. Awaiting only a single command from me, they are to charge into the Heavenly Flame Capital alongside me to purge the evil rebels and lead a royal rescue army!"

"This..." Adrian was slightly stunned.

"Saint Lord, what if Alistair and Malakai are unwilling to get dragged into this storm?"

"Unwilling?" Alex grinned.

"Then tell them I have brought them benefits again."

"If this is done well, the profits will absolutely not be beneath what they gained from the Heavenly Flame Secret Realm last time!"

Adrian’s worries were not without reason. For old foxes like Alistair Blackwood and Malakai Sol, righteous-sounding words about loyalty and honor didn’t even have as much flavor as a fart.

They had to be shown sufficient profit before they would risk making a move.

Better to speak less of illusory grand principles and get straight to practical realities.

"Understood!" Adrian nodded heavily, immediately transforming into a streak of astral wind and drifting off into the distance.

Alex lazily yawned, looking up at the blazing sun high in the sky, a profound smile curled at the corners of his mouth.

"Albert, oh Albert, you are still far too immature."

"Did you think that by relying on your mother, the Former Empress of the Heavenly Flame Dynasty, she could help you dominate the throne and do whatever you please?"

"If your mother truly had that kind of ability, why did she have to wait until Aurelia was severely ill before daring to expose her weakness?"