Catherine nodded.
"Yes, she was the one who helped us eliminate the Blood Cult Leader."
"Did she say anything to you?"
Ileina asked urgently.
Catherine nodded.
"She claimed to be the current Empress of Elasia."
"What?"
When Ileina heard Elashia's name from Catherine's mouth, she had prepared herself to learn that Elashia was still in dire straits, but she never expected that the current situation Catherine described would be like this.
"She really became an Empress?"
Beyond her shock, an irrepressible smile spread across Ileina's fair and delicate face.
If Elashia had truly become the Empress of the Elasia Empire, then she would have another powerful ally!
Although the Elasia Empire was unlikely to send troops across the dangerous Northern Forest to help her, with the Elasia Empire's power, sending some powerful weapons should still be no problem!
Ileina's wild joy came partly from having another powerful ally for future battles, and partly from relief that her best friend had finally escaped her predicament.
Since coming to the Holy Kingdom to participate in the fighting, Ileina had hardly ever had nightmares.
But there was one nightmare that often appeared in her dreams.
It was the scene of Elashia, severely injured and lying in a pool of blood, calling her name with a helpless voice.
No story, no buildup—just this single dynamic scene, yet it often made Ileina wake up startled from her sleep.
She even often had an impulse—to pack her bags one night and return to Elashia's side, never to be separated from her again.
But she knew she couldn't do that.
She was the Holy Princess, she needed to be responsible for this land, and the people of the Holy Kingdom enslaved by the Blood Clans still needed her to save them.
This piercing pain had been tormenting her like this all along. Whenever she thought of how Elashia had to face that so-called "Radiant Emperor City" shrouded in darkness all alone after she left, an indescribable guilt would flood over her like a mountain torrent, making it unbearable.
But now it seemed she had indeed overestimated her own importance. Even without her, Elashia could still break through the predicament before her on her own.
Ileina thought with relief in her heart.
Seeing Ileina's relieved expression, Catherine hurriedly added:
"However, we cannot confirm that everything she said is actually true. The information she gave us may not necessarily be fact."
Internal Affairs Commissioner Adeline also chimed in:
"Indeed, we know far too little about the outside world, and the 'Night Shadow' unit's stay in the Elasia Empire was extremely brief. We cannot be certain whether this person calling herself Elashia told us the truth."
Catherine added:
"This person is indeed Elashia, that's correct, but we still cannot confirm whether she told us the truth."
After hearing Catherine's words, Adeline asked somewhat strangely:
"Wait, how are you so certain that person was Elashia?"
After hearing Adeline's words, Catherine said with an extremely serious expression:
"Yes, so what I'm about to say next is the key point."
Catherine took out a ring from the pocket in her coat. When everyone looked at her puzzledly, Ileina cried out:
"The Jencas Ring!"
That was the storage ring she had given back to Elashia as a return gift for the scarf Elashia had given her when she left!
"She said this was given to her by Holy Princess Ileina when she left the Elasia Empire. I've examined this ring, and it's indeed the matching ring to Holy Princess Ileina's ring."
"And the truly important thing is inside."
Catherine walked to Ileina's side, handed her the ring, and said in a quite inspiring voice:
"She sent us a magic crossbow that can destroy the 'Blood Fortress'! From now on we can use it to slowly break the blockade of the surrounding areas!"
Catherine's words instantly ignited everyone present.
A weapon capable of causing massive destruction was simply a divine artifact for Northern Fire at this time!
Everyone had been longing for such a divine artifact for a long time!
"Holy shit, isn't this like a godsend?"
"Excellent! It's a magic crossbow! We're saved!"
"Does it really matter whether Elashia is the Empress of Elasia? Right now she's my mom!"
Amid the celebration, only Ileina made no sound.
On the contrary, after examining the ring in her hand, she showed an extremely incredulous expression.
Seeing their leader show such an expression, everyone also quieted down.
Ileina looked at the somewhat bewildered Catherine, pointed at the ring in her hand and asked:
"Are you sure there's only one magic crossbow?"
The ring was clearly packed full of massive magic crossbows!