In less than half a month, Night Raven City had been breached.
Currently, Night Raven City was occupied by a vassal of the Lord of White Valley City. Those who had once been loyal to the Swain family were now imprisoned.
After reading the intelligence report, Sauron fell into silence.
"How is it? What are your thoughts?"
On the other side, Hestoria sat on the sofa, wearing a playful expression. She said, "Night Raven City has been the territory of the Swain family since its establishment."
"Your father was like this, and so was your grandfather!"
"Now, it has been taken away by someone else!"
Sauron remained silent.
"Well? Aren't you angry?" Hestoria raised an eyebrow.
"Angry, but it's meaningless."
Sauron shook his head calmly and said, "With my current strength, even if I return to the Western border, I don't have the ability to reclaim Night Raven City from Dov's hands."
"The anger without the support of power, in my opinion, is just passionate blood."
Seeing Sauron's calm expression, Hestoria showed a surprised look on her face.
She seemed not to have expected Sauron's mindset to be so calm.
Inadvertently, a hint of admiration appeared in Hestoria's eyes.
"Second Prince let me know all this; it should not be just to see how I react, right?"
At this moment, Sauron suddenly spoke.
"Right."
Hestoria nodded slightly and went straight to the point, saying, "I can help you reclaim Night Raven City, but you must also pay a price for it."
"Such as?" Sauron raised an eyebrow.
"Represent the Swain family and swear allegiance to me."
Hestoria didn't waste any words and said, "The current situation in the Taal dukedom is well known, and the struggle for the throne will start soon."
"A long time ago, I hoped to get the support of the Western border."
"Unfortunately, that old fox in the Western border has always been indecisive."
"Unless there is a certainty, the old fox won't easily take sides. So, I no longer have any expectations for him!"
A thoughtful expression appeared in Sauron's eyes.
The old fox Hestoria mentioned should be the Duke of the Western border. Given the Duke's influence, if he could support Hestoria in the struggle for the throne, her chances of becoming the new queen would significantly increase.
However, the Duke, being the old fox mentioned by Hestoria, wouldn't easily take sides.
After several attempts, Hestoria had lost patience.
She didn't plan to seek the support of the Duke of the Western border anymore. Instead, she wanted to control the Western border in another way. As the legitimate successor of Night Raven City, Sauron naturally became the best pawn for Hestoria.
"Second Prince, do you want to expand your influence in the Western border through Night Raven City?"
Sauron pondered and then asked.
"Yes, you're clever."
Hestoria nodded and said, "I help you reclaim Night Raven City, and you represent the Swain family to pledge allegiance to me. Both sides can get what they need!"
Sauron remained silent for a moment and then shook his head.
"Sorry, Second Prince."
He looked up and said, "I'm afraid I can't represent the Swain family, nor do I want to get involved in the struggle for the throne. So, I have to decline your request."
Hestoria slightly frowned, "Don't you want to reclaim Night Raven City?"
"Staying in the capital is the best choice for me right now."
Sauron's expression was calm as he said, "Here, I can enjoy the best cultivation resources. As for Night Raven City, I can always reclaim it when I have the strength."
With Sauron having a data panel, the speed at which he improved his strength far exceeded that of an ordinary person. In just a few months, he had already advanced to the intermediate level Knight realm. According to Sauron's estimate, with the help of the data panel, in about a year, he would have a chance to advance to the high level Knight realm.
By then, Sauron could truly enter the ranks of powerhouses.
At the same time, with the battle strength of a high level Knight, he would have a chance to reclaim Night Raven City. This was the safest way Sauron could think of.
"So that's it!"
A hint of realization appeared on Hestoria's face. It seemed she understood Sauron's thoughts and said, "You're confident in your innate talent and plan to break through to a certain level of strength before returning to the Western border to inherit Night Raven City, aren't you?"
Sauron did not refute, tacitly acknowledging it.
"Heh!"
At this moment, Hestoria suddenly laughed lightly, shook her head, and said, "If that's the case, your idea is probably a bit too simple."
"Let alone how many years you need to have enough strength to reclaim Night Raven City."
"Even more so, without the exclusive magic potion of your Swain family, how can you push Night Raven Breathing Technique cultivation to the extreme?"
Speaking of this, Hestoria faintly said, "Without pushing the Breathing Technique cultivation to the extreme, your strength will at most reach the intermediate level Knight realm."
"It's probably difficult to reclaim Night Raven City!"
Sauron frowned slightly, not quite understanding Hestoria's words.
"Don't you know?"
Hestoria raised her eyebrows and explained, "Anyone who wants to advance to the high level Knight realm needs to push their cultivation of the Breathing Technique to the extreme state."
"The overwhelming majority of Breathing Techniques require the
assistance of exclusive magic potions."
"For example, your Swain family's Night Raven Breathing Technique. During the initial stages of cultivation, you may use other magic potions as auxiliary, but at the later stage, you must rely on the Night Raven potion."
"Otherwise, no matter how hard you try, it's impossible to push Night Raven Breathing Technique to the extreme and thus advance to the high level Knight realm."
After listening to Hestoria's explanation, Sauron's expression became somewhat unpleasant.
He indeed did not know that there were such rules in Breathing Technique cultivation. Without using the exclusive magic potion, it would be impossible to push the Breathing Technique to the extreme, meaning he could not advance to the high level Knight realm.
This was undoubtedly unfortunate news for Sauron.
"Is there... no other way?" Sauron frowned.
"No."
Hestoria shook her head and said, "Breathing Technique and magic potions have always complemented each other. Without one, you cannot advance to the high level Knight realm."
Seeing Hestoria say this, Sauron felt a headache.
He originally planned to stay at the Holy Splendor Knight Academy and use the proficiency panel to advance to the high level Knight. Then he would consider the matter of Night Raven City.
However, it seemed that without the exclusive magic potion, even with the proficiency panel, he could not advance to the high level Knight realm.