Badge in Azure

With a sigh, Agares said, “Aloyen, if you didn’t stop me, I would already have killed those old fellows long ago.”

Calmly, Aloyen replied, “If you can progress to the next grade, I will let you go.”

“It’s not so simple.” Agares was a little demoralized. It was true that he was a prodigy, however, a sorcerer could rely on their experience for advancement, but here were no known assassins above grade-9 yet.

“Your Majesty, the Bitter Water County is situated near the sea. Even though our fleet had extirpated the enemy’s warships, all of our troop-carrying vessels were destroyed. This means that the Bitter Water County has the capability to establish a mighty navy. It would be better to exterminate it as early as possible. Information from Holy Rock City stated that the Qin nobles are strongly supporting Lex, there are substantial resources in Daliang City. If we do not conduct a two-pronged attack from the other direction, then we will only deplete our resources by staying by the coast in vain.”

“Aloyen, do you know why I am trying to marry Lex?”

Aloyen shook his head. If anyone could guess his brother’s thoughts, then this person had to be a pinnacle holy master. They would have to have power from the gods.

“Qin people are loyal and they are intelligent. If I produce a child with a person like Lex, this child will surely be a flawless prodigy, unlike the both of us who are flawed. If I name a queen, this queen must be from Qin. Forming an alliance with the Tanggulasi Empire will bring humiliation to me.”

“Since you put it that way, I can rest assured,” Aloyen replied nonchalantly. All this while, this brother of his had never followed the rules. Perhaps he really wanted to marry into Qin royalty. Nevertheless, since Agares said that an alliance with the Tanggulasi Empire was a humiliation, then it was very likely that it might take place out of the blue.

The Cloudflow nobles agreed to an alliance because they had already lost half of Titan Duchy. If it was not for the line of defense at the Red River, the Tanggulasi people would have invaded Cloudflow’s land already.

“Mm, help me to make this decision, but I am not willing to meet their envoy.” Waving his hand, Agares signaled for the performance to stop and dismissed all of the performers. The court ladies also left obediently. Aloyen called out to one court lady and passed the finger on the table to her.

Being accustomed to bloody scenes, the court lady received the finger. Aloyen had pleaded on behalf of that noble. With treatment from a mage, this finger could still be reattached. If it remained in Agares’ possession, that noble would be crippled.

Only the palace guards remained in the hall, these people were Agares’ confidantes. Aloyen then said, “The southern nobles are indifferent to the alliance, Tanggulasi will not pose a threat to them. The nobles at the border are worried that they will lose half of Titan permanently if the alliance goes through. Some of the nobles in the capital support the southern nobles, but there are also a number of them who support the northern nobles.”

The interior of the hall became gloomy. Agares’ face sank as he held the fruit knife in hand. The small silver knife flipped between his fingers, producing powerful trembles as it sliced the air.

“Will the Tanggulasi people return half of Titan to me?”

“No, but they will help you to seize Bitter Water County.”

“Aloyen, if I deploy the family’s elites, won’t I be able to conquer Bitter Water County?”

“The Tanggulasi people will conduct a suicidal offensive along the Red River. By then, the nobles will change their stance and allow us to form an alliance with Tanggulasi.”

“Precisely, all these people should be slaughtered!” Agares ruthlessly stabbed the small knife into the skeletal porcelain plate. The plate, which could withstand an alchemical arrow, was pierced by a soft silver knife, but it did not crack.

“Your Majesty, it was the same case for the Qin Empire. After the emperor died, his subordinates fell into turmoil. The north and south are not united and the new emperor cannot control the situation. We have to endure, once the imperial fleet recovers, those southern nobles will still have to do our bidding obediently.”

“I guess that’s the only way now. The nobles have to continue contributing to the offensive against Daliang City though. No matter what kind of soldiers they deploy, the headcount cannot be less than one-million and two-hundred-thousand. Even if they are walking to their doom, they have to recruit soldiers to fill this cavity. I will make a trip to the Black Serpent Island. Without the Purgatory Boa, my attacks will not pose a threat to a Golden Grand Swordmaster. There are many eyes staring at me inside and outside the palace, I don’t feel at ease being the emperor.”

“Aye, go ahead, let the big prince supervise the country, while I will manage to government affairs.”

“Okay then, he is Uncle’s only son. If he dares try anything funny, kill him, so his bloodline will go extinct.”

“Aloyen nodded in agreement. Raising a cup, he pour clear wine into his brother’s cup, then said, “Your Majesty, for this trip to Black Serpent Island, bring along my trusted guards too. Their equipment has been replaced. The Qin people have created diving warships and I am afraid that the southern nobles have purchased the drawing. Bring along the Sacred Emperor Warship. With a portable magical tower, those diving warships will be harmless.”

After the discussion was concluded, Agares returned to the rear palace. Two court ladies walked up and helped him change his clothes.

“Your Majesty, has the Prince allowed you to leave?” A court lady with abnormally fair skin removed Agares’ clothes as she enquired.

“Yes, retrieve my equipment, I am going to bring it along this time around.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.” Another court lady giggled, then she paced to the secret storeroom.

In the blink of an eye, Agares was fully stripped. The remaining court lady placed Agares on a bench, gently caressing Agares’ chest muscles, then she sat atop Agares slowly.

“What are you doing?!” Agares’ eyebrows shot up, as he berated her.

The court lady laughed. Her arm had already slithered to Agares’ back, as her nails scratched him gently. Whispering into Agares ear, she said, “I am going to have my way with you Your Majesty.”

“Atrocious!” Agares continued lecturing, but his eyes were flooding with desire. These two court ladies had followed him since his youth. Other than their immense loyalty, they were also taught to pander to his tastes. The time he spent with these two court ladies was ten times better than with his concubines.

“No matter how gutsy I am, I am not braver than you Your Majesty.” The court lady’s body sank downwards, her head fell back, as she gave out a sonorous sound. Her fingernails scratched Agares’ back forcefully, creating dozens of marks down Agares’ back.

“Ah…” Agares moaned. The pain only made it more intense and pleasurable for him. Strangely, the marks that appeared on his back healed swiftly. The royalties of the four big empires possessed their own exclusive secret arts. The secret arts were neither magic nor the Sword Aura, but they had amazing functions.

“Your Majesty, I am going to take all of you.” Atop Agares’ body, the court lady panted as she blurted those words.

“How are you going to do it?” Agares’ purple pupils slowly took on a blood red hue.

“Like this, I will take in all of you.” The court lady suddenly applied force, but she screamed all of the sudden as her body jerked backwards. Agares grabbed her arm, then he looked up and saw the other court lady who had retrieved his equipment. However, he did not stop, he actually used more force to respond.

When the slender court lady witnessed this scene, she simply giggled. Laying the equipment aside, she undid her skirt, then approached the entangled couple.

Another moan filled the palace. The palace guards standing outside appeared unruffled, as they gazed at the shadows of the trees in the courtyard indifferently. The shadows were very short as it was midday. The majestic sun burned brightly, as wind blew through the guards’ robes. The guards were slightly sweaty.

The imperial capital of Cloudflow had dozens of names. Each time the emperor was changed, the new emperor would change the name of the city. The Cloudflow people were nonchalant. Privately, they called the imperial capital Misty City.

More than ten-million people were gathered in Misty City, it was a great miracle on the mainland. Holy Rock City did not have so many people. Only Cloudflow, with its rich resources and developed water systems, could support the lives of so many people.

North of the city, at a location where soldiers were being recruited, two young mercenaries stopped in their tracks when they came across a signboard asking to recruit soldiers.

The male mercenary did not wear a helmet, he had a head of pale golden hair and devilishly handsome looks. The female mercenary beside him appeared mellow and feminine. Both people were attractive and their equipment was of a high level too, but they appeared fatigued.

“Do the two of you want to sign up?” When the recruitment officer saw these two mercenaries loitering around, he pointed at them and spoke in a hostile manner. For every soldier he recruited, he could stand to receive ten copper coins. Over time, such a profession could make one rich. Now, the emperor had given the order to recruit soldiers to invade the Bitter Water County and there were no special conditions. The recruitment officer could recruit around a few hundred people each day, which meant that he would receive thousands of copper coins!

The male mercenary said, “Sir, this recruitment drive doesn’t seem to be the same as the ones in the past. Will the army be disbanded after a few months?”

“What do you know? His Majesty is going to invade the Bitter Water County, he wants to snatch the county queen and make her his queen. Such a war will surely last for a few years, unless the Qin people are too weak. You, are you brave enough?”

The female mercenary sighed and said, “Canghong, let’s sign up.”

“Sarah, the Cloudflow army is going to…”

“You don’t have to bother about it, we will earn our keep as soldiers, which will be better than being mercenaries.” The female mercenary called Sarah nudged at the mercenary called Canghong. These two people were the two survivors from the Falcon Mercenary Group who fled to Cloudflow after separating from Saleen. Canghong and Sarah were not earning much money because Cloudflow did not require any mercenaries. The both of them could not take on huge tasks alone.

Luckily, these two people had amassed some savings after separating from Saleen. They were not willing to take on lowly jobs, so they had been feeding off their savings. The things Saleen had given them were stashed away in some obscure location, they did not dare sell them.

“Ok, let’s sign up.” Canghong walked up helplessly, taking a metal tablet.