Chapter120

The clothes these men wore didn't look like anything commonly seen in the Plumera State. Instead, they looked more like the strange outfits Elara had seen in her previous life in ancient martial arts dramas. They were dressed mostly in black, with all kinds of dark, sinister masks on their faces.

Their collars and the tips of their fingers were a deep red, creating a disturbing and eerie impression.

[Your Highness, they're from the Puppet Sect.]

Elara had just walked over and taken a seat at a table when Uno's voice echoed directly in her ear.

This was a method of transmitting sound using internal energy, so only she could hear it. Before Uno could say more, the curtain leading to the kitchen was suddenly lifted.

After half an hour of calming down, Oswyn finally managed to push aside his anger and returned to normal. He rolled up his sleeves and came out of the kitchen carrying two dishes.

He walked straight to Elara's table, calmly set down the food, then sat next to her without hesitation. Naturally, he handed her a pair of chopsticks while glancing at the group of masked men across from them, who had all stood up and respectfully greeted him.

Oswyn slightly frowned and nodded at them, then didn't look their way again. While helping Elara with the food, he said,

"They're from the Puppet Sect. My master owed them a favor from before he became a celestial attendant and agreed to treat them. That's why they come here from time to time for treatment to keep their inner poison stable. You don't have to worry. Eat. These dishes may not taste as good as the ones in your residence, but all of them are made using ingredients from the hundred-year-old medicinal fields of our Divine Doctor Valley."

"They're full of herbs that clear the mind and boost health. Normal people wouldn't get a chance to eat these."

Elara nodded without saying anything. She picked up some food that Oswyn had served and tasted it. It was crisp and slightly sweet.

While eating, she told System 92 in her mind to bring up information about the Puppet Sect.

[Master, in this world filled with countless sects, the Puppet Sect is a relatively unknown third-rate group. They originated from a small third-tier country outside the southeastern border of Plumera State called Youdan. They mainly appear in and around Youdan and are known for using secret techniques to control living creatures and create puppets, including animals and... human puppets.]

[Because the method of making human puppets is extremely cruel, the Puppet Sect is usually labeled as an evil sect by others. But since their power is very small and they only operate in Youdan, they haven't caused much trouble yet. No one has made an effort to wipe them out.]

Human puppets? Using people as puppets? No wonder these men looked so creepy.

There were seven or eight small countries near Plumera, and hearing one mentioned made Elara pull up the data on Youdan.

[Youdan]

[Country Rank: Third-tier]

[Ruler's Gender: Male-dominated]

[Government: Similar to ancient city-state system]

[Military Strength: 0.5 Plumera State]

[Economic Strength: 0.3 Plumera State]

[Territory Size: About 105,000 square kilometers]

[Location: In the southwest corner of the continent]

[Current Status: Weak and isolated. Except for its suzerain, it avoids contact with other nations. It's mostly closed off from the world.]

[Important Figures: Youdan royal family, Puppet Sect members]

[Major Forces: Youdan royal family, Puppet Sect]

[Vassal States: None]

[Suzerain: Flame Abyss (a third-tier country)]

[More Info: Still being explored]

On the map, Youdan was located just outside the southeastern border of Plumera. It was even weaker than Plumera, with only about two-thirds of its territory size.

Its military and economy didn't even come close to matching the already poor Plumera. It was truly the weakest of the weak.

It was the first country Elara had seen in this world that was even more pitiful than Plumera.

Because it was so weak in every aspect, calling it a country felt like an exaggeration. It was more like a city-state.

System 92 had also marked Youdan's political structure as something similar to a city-state. A weak country like this having a suzerain was not surprising at all.

Since she was already learning about the nearby countries, Elara also pulled up the information on Youdan's suzerain, Flame Abyss.

[Flame Abyss]

[Country Rank: Third-tier]

[Ruler's Gender: Male-dominated]

[Government: Similar to ancient feudal system]

[Military Strength: Nine times that of Plumera]

[Economic Strength: Five times that of Plumera]

[Territory Size: About 600,000 square kilometers]

[Location: In the southwest corner of the continent]

[Current Status: Among third-tier countries not ruled by others, Flame Abyss ranks first in military power. Its economy is weaker, and the nation leans toward warfare. It's one of the rare powerful third-tier countries that has vassal states.]

[Key Leaders: Infernal Royal Family…]

[Major Forces: Infernal Royal Family…]

[Vassal State: Youdan]

[Overlord State: None]

[More to Discover: Pending Exploration]

Even though they're all third-class countries, the difference between them is huge.

Their military power is nine times stronger than the Plumera Kingdom, and their economic power is five times higher too. Elara felt a bit of a headache reading this. She had System 92 open the map and quickly browsed the various national forces in the southwest corner of the continent where the Plumera Kingdom was located.

This southwest corner was considered extremely remote in the whole continent. Because resources were scarce and the terrain was poor, second- and first-class countries looked down on it. That's why the Plumera Kingdom and the surrounding third-class countries were still able to survive in such a remote place.

But even among third-class countries, there were still strong ones and weak ones.

There were about thirty to forty large and small third-class countries scattered around this southwest corner. Excluding those few that were located closer to the central part of the continent and had strong backing from second-class major countries, among the remaining independent ones, there were about five top-tier third-class countries with military and economic power similar to the Infernal Royal Family. The strongest among them was the Iris Kingdom, which was just beyond Youdan and next to the Plumera Kingdom.

Elara looked toward the southeast border of the Plumera Kingdom. Beyond Youdan lay the Iris Kingdom, and she opened its information.

[Iris Kingdom]

[Country Rank: Third-class]

[Ruler's Gender: Male-dominated (male supremacy)]

[Political System: Ancient fief system (similar type)]

[Military Power: Twelve times that of the Plumera Kingdom]

[Economic Power: Seven times that of the Plumera Kingdom]

[Territory Size: Around 715,000 square kilometers]

[Location: Entirely within the southwest corner of the continent]

[National Status: The strongest independent third-class country in the southwest region. Military is powerful, citizens are well-off. Has long-standing ties with the Sargassum State. Though there have been many battles over the years, they win more than they lose. The overall trend is one of rapid rise.]

[Key Leaders: Crown Prince of Iris, Iris King, Iris Queen, all royal bloodlines…]

[Major Forces: Crown Prince of Iris, Iris King, Iris Queen's line, all royal bloodlines…]

[Vassal States: None]

[Overlord State: None]

[More to Discover: Pending Exploration]

After reading the Iris Kingdom's information, Elara focused on the first name listed under the major forces section.

The Crown Prince of Iris was listed even before the Iris King. Did that mean the country was mainly under his control now? Even more than the king?

[Yes, Master. The Iris King no longer handles much of the country's affairs due to health issues. Although Iris's Crown Prince still holds that title, he showed exceptional ability from a young age. He was named Crown Prince at nine years old.]

[Iris rose to power starting from when he began taking over responsibilities at age eleven. In just ten years, he turned the country from an ordinary third-class nation into the strongest one in the southwest. It's all thanks to him. During his rule, the Iris Kingdom conquered three or four neighboring small countries, doubling its territory in ten years.]

[In short, this Crown Prince is the true ruler of the Iris Kingdom now. He's extremely gifted, and with the Iris Kingdom being just beyond Youdan, Master… you're very likely to face him someday.]