The Spider Queen

(Planet Gaia- Imperial Palace)

(Grand Hall)

"Bring me another cup of wine!" came the thunderous roar from the throne.

There was a stunned silence in the room as the emperor downed another glass of wine and then proceeded to tear off the clothes of his two maids.

The two busty voluptuous women moaned in surprise at the unexpected attack which caused the king to touch them more vigorously.

It was truly a wretched sight.

Sophie frowned inwardly as she saw the scene of a once respected prince wearing the imperial dragon robes while acting like a drunken fool.

She was not the only one who viewed the emperor's actions as completely inappropriate as many nobles in the grand hall were no longer looking at the emperor with even a hint of respect.

Lily and Chase were both young children and Sophie did not want them to see what was happening on the raised platform.

Luckily, her spatial storage device contained a few virtual helmets, so she placed them on the heads of the two children.

She connected the headsets to her communicator and played a recently created action cartoon that was quite popular with young kids.

This was an extreme breach of etiquette, but no one was paying attention to Sophie's group hidden behind a pillar, so it was not a problem.

"He truly is nothing like his father," Leona narrowed her eyes and stared at the emperor.

"Yeah…." Sophie whispered back but did not say anything more.

This was the center of the Imperial Palace and it was an absolute certainty that there were shadow guards hidden around the complex.

Duke Peterlor had warned his daughter to be careful about what she said in the palace as you never knew who could be listening.

The musicians in the grand hall continued to awkwardly play cheerful lighthearted sounds, but the atmosphere of the banquet had now been completely ruined.

Several palace attendants glanced away in shame and there was a noticeable sense of dread and tension hidden in the eyes of the remaining maidservants.

Very few could withstand the humiliation of being stripped naked and sexually groped in front of thousands of people.

"More wine! More wine! More wine!" the emperor bellowed in rage and waved his pudgy arms around in the air.

The palace attendants hurriedly walked forward with full glasses in hand, but the emperor just kept downing one drink after another.

Emperor Sisrelis' deep blue eyes started to get more muddled and his posture became unsteady as he swayed lightly from side to side.

His black, oily hair that drooped messily over his round, plump face would constantly tickle the faces of the maidservants sitting on his lap.

Sophie maintained an expressionless appearance during this entire farce but secretly could not help but compare the emperor to Cleo.

How could such a wretched and lusty man ever produce a daughter as lovely as her girlfriend?

Truly this was a good case of an apple falling far away from the tree.

Sophie would have instantly broken up with her girlfriend had she even dared to mention seeking out a harem of ten thousand beauties.

Love is selfish and Sophie did not like to share.

Still as the evening continued to go on and the emperor got more and more drunk, Sophie could not help but get slightly confused.

What was the point of this banquet?

The emperor for the first time in hundreds of years had gathered all the high noble heirs in one location to hold a meeting.

And yet when Emperor Sisrelis did arrive, he just reinforced his image of a drunken fool not fit to be a leader.

What was the purpose?

Emperor Sisrelis already had a poor image in the minds of most nobles and behaviour like this would just worsen his reputation.

Sophie clutched her chest in pain as she felt a sudden sharp spike in her danger sense.

Something was going to happen…

The emperor had already dismissed his two maidservants and was now focused entirely on drinking, so Sophie took this opportunity to remove the VR helmets from Chase and Lily.

"But it was just getting to the good part," Chase sulked and tried to grab the helmet back.

"Big sister! The movie didn't finish yet!" Lily pouted and complained but Sophie just smiled gently and continued to be alert.

No one knew why the emperor had called for this banquet but if Sophie looked at the situation from an outsider's perspective.

Something just wasn't right….

Where was the threat coming from?

Sophie's golden eyes narrowed sharply, and the surrounding area was instantly magnified in her vision.

She could even see the microscopic hair growing on the arms of the nobles standing right in front of her group.

"On my signal grab Chase and I will take Lily," Sophie turned to Leona and sent out a voice transmission using a qi technique.

"Pass on the message to the rest of the group but make sure you do it discreetly."

"Why? Is something the matter?" Leona frowned as she saw the serious look on Sophie's face.

"Just trust me. I think there is a problem with the banquet," Sophie replied.

Leona did not understand why Sophie thought that there would be an issue when the Imperial Palace was defended by one cultivator in the Ascension Stage in addition to numerous other royal guards, but she still dutifully passed on the message.

The dim light of the chandelier seemed brighter than ever before as the last rays of sunlight faded away and nighttime begun.

Planet Gaia truly had a beautiful night view as hundreds of stars twinkled mysteriously and two full moons shone brightly in sky.

The roof of the grand hall was made from a transparent glass-like substance so that guests could see the view unimpeded.

Lily and Chase were getting a bit hungry, so Sophie sneakily passed them two nutrient vials that she had brought into the banquet hall.

The tables of food were on the opposite side of the hall and Sophie did not want their movements to attract the emperor's attention.

She continued to scan the surrounding area, but nothing seemed suspicious.

Sophie even took a cursory glance towards the floor and ceiling but did not receive even the slightest clue.

Emperor Sisrelis belched loudly as he finished another glass of wine and unsteadily rose up from the throne.

Two palace attendants hurriedly stepped forward to hold the emperor upright to ensure that his highness would not fall down.

"I… I… have a proclamation to make," Emperor Sisrelis slurred slightly as the strong alcohol served at the banquet had obviously gotten him drunk.

All the nobles in the room paused their conversations and waited patiently for what the emperor was about to announce.

Sophie also stopped looking around and focused her attention on the emperor….

But the danger feeling only continued to get stronger and stronger.