Hail the King

Fei opened his mouth in surprise and took a moment before speaking: “okay, um…I really would not have guessed. I thought that the two other qualified people would be Emperor Yassin or other influential figures who lived in the Imperial Capital.”

“Influential figures…Haha, did you really think that anyone else can compare to his highness, Dominguez? Nevertheless, I’m surprised as well. I can’t believe his highness let you call him by his first name, Oka, when you met him for the first time today…he seems to like you!”

As Paris spoke, she took out the jade plate that revealed her identity and showed it to the guarding soldier up front so he would let them through. Then, she turned around and showed a glistening smile.

Fei was at a loss for words.

Being liked by a man…they should probably talk about something else.

“I heard that the empire has declared war against Spartax. As a king of an affiliated kingdom, may I ask how the battle is going?” Fei quickly changed the subject.

Paris shook her head. “No one knows this better than the nobles that control the military. Spartax Empire deployed more than a hundred thousand troops by their border as early as autumn, and three of the ten battle legions of the empire were sent to Razor City, one of the key cities at the border. The newest information is that since the declaration of war, both empires have been battling around the Razor City region for more than ten days. There have been wins and losses, but the good news is that Bolun Zhang, the second famous general of Zenit, is in control of the overall situation, so it doesn’t seem to be too bad…”

“Really? You make General Bolun Zhang sound very experienced.”

“Of course he is. Before the first prince rose to power, General Bolun Zhang was the ultimate military authority of Zenit for fifteen years. He was a very famous general.” Paris furrowed her prominent eyebrows as she explained. “Has the king of Chambord never heard of Bolun Zhang, once the number one general of the empire?” She wondered with curiosity since most princes of affiliated kingdoms treated this person as their idol.

Fei shrugged his shoulders and used his actions to quietly tell her that he was a useless idiot.

Paris smiled mischievously at this.

After working together many times and thanks to Paris’ deliberate effort, the duo seemed to have a closer relationship.

“Why did Spartax Empire decide to invade and deploy armies at this time? They have been increasing troops at the border since autumn – in my opinion, it would be easier to plan a surprise attack than announce intentions beforehand. Is Spartax Empire trying to fight like a gentleman?”

Fei wanted more information from Paris. Since the beginning, Chambord had very limited information sources; therefore he had no other choice but to obtain information this way.

“Because they are waiting for a real opportunity.” Paris said with a serious expression.

“A real opportunity?”

“Yes, they are waiting for Emperor Yassin to pass away.”

“How’s that possible? Is Emperor Yassin really going to die?” Fei asked in surprise.

“No one in our empire wants to believe that the strong and powerful hero who established Zenit Empire would die one day of old age; especially someone who was unparalleled as him. However, this day will come for anyone – years of wars and battles has injured him and shortened his lifespan. His health has been deteriorating since last year, and he has been on his bed for a while now. I heard that he is getting sicker every day and might pass away anytime.”

Paris’ face dimmed as she said this. Heroes, like beautiful women, never showed others their weakness.

Paris has been acting odd throughout their journey; she was nothing like the witch she usually was. She has answered all of Fei’s questions.

“On our way to the Imperial Capital, I heard that the Martial Saint Krasic will soon engage in an ultimate battle with the Martial Saint of Spartax Empire on the Martial Saint Mountain?” Fei suddenly recalled.

“People from the Imperial Capital has known about this for a while now, and it’s not a rumor. In two weeks, this battle will take place on the Martial Saint Mountain. To a great extent, it will decide the fate of the empire. However, Alexander, you should not worry about this right now. Neither of us can do anything about it. However, I have news that you will definitely be interested in.”

“What news?”

“The royal palace has announced that the Imperial Military Practice Competition will take place in three days. Due to the war that has erupted, this competition will be extremely important, and rewards will be much better than usual. Those who perform well in it will be able to lead a battle legion to fight against the enemies on the frontline.”

This information was very important.

Fei thought as he sank into deep thought.

This was indeed a rare opportunity. In addition to participating in military competitions, affiliated kingdoms could also gain honor and privileges through accumulating military merits. This way, they would be able to increase their population and military limits.

Chambord was currently only able to exercise partial sovereignty. Since the kingdom did not have enough population and military power, Fei could only make sure all the soldiers he had were elites.

Moreover, it was currently impossible to separate from the Imperial Empire. Fei’s powers were not great enough to resist the powerful master warriors of the empire, and he would have to play by their rules before his skills became on par with theirs.

Therefore, if he could gain military merit through the war, his kingdom would be able to level up like a rocket blasting to the moon.

Once his kingdom leveled up, Fei would have the opportunity to utilize all the powers of the Diablo World.

This was one of the reasons why he agreed to come to the competition of Zenit Empire. The other reason was that he could come see this place for himself and gain more knowledge of this world.

Thanks to Paris, the dozens of people from Chambord passed through the guards without trouble. After leaving the gate of the Imperial Capital, they successfully bypassed numerous checkpoints in the three kilometers clear zone. At the sight of the campsite of Chambord, it was about time for Paris to wave goodbye.

“Throughout the trip, you obtained quite a lot of information from me. So, Alexander, I have a question for you.” Before arriving at the Chambord’s base camp, Paris slowed down her pace and walked side-by-side to Fei. Her bodily fragrance was very sweet.

“Oh? Ask away.”

“Who was the mysteriously masked mage that helped you tonight?” Paris asked as she moved her body close to Fei’s

Fei remained quiet for a second. Paris was too close to him, and her scent was too mesmerizing. The wind blew gently by Fei’s ears as a tickle snuck up his body. After stepping away, he replied as if nothing happened: “He is the Darknight Demonic Envoy, one of the six demonic envoys of my kingdom. His name is Sharp Horn.”

“The six demonic envoys? The Darknight Demonic Envoy, Sharp Horn? I’ve never heard of this person and you’ve never mentioned him…” Paris said with a spurious smile on her face. She obviously didn’t believe him, “Why do I have a feeling that the person was just you?”

Fei smiled faintly: “I have six demonic envoys under me whose identities are extremely secretive. You’ll soon get to meet the other five as well.”

“Fine, I’ll believe you for now, humph! Don’t you dare lie to me!” Unsatisfied with the information she obtained, she rolled her eyes at Fei. But somehow, her beautiful face made it seem more like a flirt than a threat.

Fei smiled and fell silent.

In the night, the cold wind hit like sharp razors.

No light was seen aside from stars and torches here and there.

The air around them fell silent,

Neither of them talked.

Ten minutes later…

“King of Chambord, I don’t expect you to side with Dominguez and fight against the elder princess and prince. However, I do hope that if anything were to happen to His Highness, you would save him once.”

Paris didn’t even enter the gate of Chambord’s campsite. She left hastily, leaving nothing but the shadow of her cloak behind.

The last sentence this smart woman said to him left Fei in wonder.

Amidst the thick white fog, a smear of red appeared from afar.

It was the blood-red rose that this girl had in her hair.

……

……

The sun had yet to rise after a night of blood and murder.

The moon was hidden behind the clouds, and the heavens and earth were shaken by the heavy winds that blew up the snow from the ground and created howling noises. An unprecedented frost had covered the land.

Lifting up the thick curtains, Fei walked into the central tent.

It was as warm as spring inside the tent, and a beautiful girl was leaning quietly by the stone table. Caped with a black furry coat, her white wrists supported her chin, and her hair as dark as ink fell onto the table like a black waterfall. She had obviously fallen asleep from waiting for him for too long.

Angela was an extremely light sleeper.

Her eyes opened as soon as Fei entered.

“Alexander, you’re finally back…” Her eyes sparkled like comets as she saw Fei come in. She smiled in relief when she saw that he wasn’t hurt. She pulled opened the folding screen to her side.

There was a small side tent behind the folding screen. And inside the tent, there was a big bath bucket with hot steam rising into the air. There were small magic arrays carved into the bucket with magic gems on them. These gems were used to power up these fire-elemental magic arrays to heat up the water inside the bucket.

Angela bought this bath bucket for Fei when they were at the Hot Spring Gate, and now she finally had the chance to use it. She had filled it up with water before nightfall and kept the water at the perfect temperature so that Fei could take a hot bath as soon as he came back.