Children of the Holy Emperor - Chapter 364



Only Noblemtl

364. Enlistment (7)

As the curtain blocking the entrance opened, a bright beam of light poured into the dark tent.

“lowering.”

Owen slowly opened his eyes at the voice calling him softly.

“…Alicia?”

“Yes, I will.”

“Is it morning already?”

“Yes, Your Majesty. You must hurry. Isn’t today the day of the Great Council of Warsaw?”

Thanksgiving!

Owen suddenly came to his senses and jumped out of bed.

“Alicia. When did I fall asleep?”

“When I brought you dinner last night, you were already asleep in bed.”

“…okay?”

Owen frowned.

Isn’t that really strange? I wasn’t that tired yesterday, but I couldn’t remember anything that happened before I went to bed.

I remember spreading out the map of the South and staying up late worrying about the Grand Council.

Even on the map, a black rabbit blindfold is lying there, removed.

‘I’m going crazy, sleeping without a blindfold. Should I be thankful I didn’t have any nightmares? … .’

Fortunately, my condition isn’t that bad. I don’t remember, but I think I had a pretty happy dream.

Owen habitually opened the quest window while running his hands through his messy hair. It was a precious quest that had recently given him motivation and vitality in life.

[Special Quest? Let’s Return to the Zodiac!]

[Quest Level: E]

[The goddess who rules over a dimension has gathered the essence of all things in the universe in one place at the request of someone special. Thanks to her invisible efforts, you have obtained the ‘ultimate elixir’ more easily than you thought. It goes without saying that precious items always have precious uses. Now, you must return to the zodiac and find someone to gift this item to.]

[Reward: 30 P Cash]

[*This product is available in the Pangea Chronicles store window.]

The ultimate elixir.

An ultra-rare item that not only heals all abnormal statuses and permanently increases abilities, but also revives players who have received a death penalty.

That item was the reason Owen logged into Pangea Chronicles every day.

At first, the unfriendly Status Window only gave me a quest to obtain this, but didn’t give me any specific instructions on how to do it.

Because of this, Owen was overcome with frustration, thinking that he might never be able to return to the zodiac again.

Fortunately, I was able to obtain the quest item more easily than I thought, thanks to the ice heart I received from a cute newbie I recently met.

‘But I have to go to the zodiac and give this elixir to someone… … .’

Owen’s eyes deepened as he looked at the quest window.

Finally returning to the zodiac, but that joy is short-lived. The more I ponder the content of the quest, the more I worry and have these questions.

‘Why do I need this item?’

If he is the kind of person who can give and receive gifts in the zodiac, then it is all the people of Seonghwangga, including Seonghwang.

But aren’t most of them already people with strong divine powers, or people who can immediately receive help from those divine powers?

‘Besides, just like the previous quests, this quest is likely to be related to the main stream.’

Thanks to the enthusiastic completion of quests in order to quickly return to the zodiac, the main stream, which had been progressing steadily recently, was already approaching the final quest.

[Main Stream 2? Progress 87%]

Perhaps, if we can successfully stabilize the front line at today’s Grand Tribal Council, we can expect that Main Stream 2 will be completed as is.

And the next main stream to be done is… … .

[Main Stream 3? Save Sung□!]

So this means that the ‘ultimate elixir’ is used here?

But who on earth am I supposed to save? Is this really a quest to save the saint? I hope nothing dangerous happens to little Sisley.

“Your Majesty. I will be late.”

“Ah, yeah.”

Owen, who had been lost in thought, suddenly came to his senses.

“Let’s go right now. But how are Bartoza’s preparations?”

Then a faint smile crossed Alicia’s face.

“Do you think I’m stupid? I’ve been fidgeting like a dog with its butt on fire for the past few days. I don’t know for sure, but I don’t think I slept at all last night.”

Bartoza of Purma.

He is a sly traitor sent by Wakana Tusai, the chieftain of Karazhan, to assassinate Owen.

-You go. Go and tell Wakana Tusai. If you want to throw the entire Varsha tribe into war, then do as you wish.

Immediately after foiling his plot, Owen intended to send him back to warn Karazhan.

However, Bartoza, who was expected to just back off, showed a very unexpected side. In an instant, he fell flat on his face and showed his intention to completely submit to his enemy, Owen.

-I, Bartoza of Purma, am deeply impressed by the bravery and generosity of warrior Owen!

-…what?

– So I will entrust the future of our clan to you, a great warrior. As we have just seen with their wicked schemes, now in Varsha there are more and more cowards who have forgotten the pride of warriors and know no shame. Varsha is becoming more and more corrupt!

Is that something a guy who was the key figure in that ‘wicked scheme’ should say? And who are you to entrust the future of Barsha to the Delcross people without permission?

Owen, who was at a loss, exchanged glances with Alicia.

‘What the heck? This guy?’

‘Well, I guess I’m just crazy from fear, Your Majesty.’

Owen didn’t know it, but Bartoza was actually saying the exact same thing he had said in front of Wakana Tousai a while ago.

-I, Bartoza, together with Owen of Delcross, the so-called [Undefeated] warrior, will renew the corrupted tribes of Barsha! So please accept me as your confidant! Give me another chance to take up arms by your side!

The bastard bowed down to Owen in a way that could almost be described as tail-wagging.

He must have figured out that no matter where he ran to in the land of Varsha, he would die without a fight. So, he decided to stick with Owen, Varsha’s long-time enemy.

‘Where would you use a guy like this? He betrayed Purma, he betrayed Karazhan, so there’s nothing he wouldn’t betray me, right?’

Of course, at first Owen had no intention of accepting him.

Until I heard Bartoza’s next words.

– The coming great council! Please allow me to attend there! Then I will gladly testify to the world about the atrocities committed by Wakana Tousai!

-… … !

Owen felt his mind snapping to life.

What is the biggest obstacle to stabilizing the front line right now? It is none other than the belligerent chieftain Wakana Tusai.

I had already been thinking about pressuring Wakana Tousai at this great tribal council meeting by presenting the poison needle as evidence.

But if only we could secure witnesses to back this up, and ultimately give the initiative of the meeting to the Volanta tribe, who are friendly to us!

‘It’s not a dream to stabilize the front line even for a moment. If only that could happen, I too could head to the zodiac with a slightly relieved heart!’

So Owen and Bartoza waited for Thanksgiving with different feelings.

“Oh, Bartoza! You’re already ready.”

Owen, who had finished arming himself and was walking briskly toward the fence, came face to face with Bartoza, who was watching him cowardly from the entrance.

As the time approached to face the fearsome Wakana Tousai, his complexion grew more haggard by the day.

“I have high hopes for you, Bartoja. Please testify at the Grand Council with the dignity of a warrior.”

When Owen greeted him cheerfully, Bartoza quickly averted his gaze and rolled his eyes.

Despite his sturdy build and rough appearance, he was a truly strange guy who seemed to look rather timid the more you looked at him.

“I hope things work out well.”

“The Lord will look down on you, Your Majesty.”

“Anyway, I’ve put a big burden on you, Alicia.”

As I mounted my horse and offered a subtle apology, the escort knight responded with a slight bow.

“No, Your Majesty. It is my duty to do so.”

Owen decided to leave his escort knight, who had always been by his side, behind on the front lines for this voyage.

It was inevitable. Alicia’s reputation on the Southern Front had long since grown beyond that of a simple knight escort to the prince.

Perhaps she would be enough of a deterrent to hold the line while Owen is away.

Alicia must have been aware of that too, which is why she readily accepted Owen’s order to stay.

“Instead, when I return to the front, I’ll give you a long vacation right away, Alicia.”

“No problem, Your Majesty. Just buy me some sweet treats from the Imperial Palace.”

Alicia’s eyes, which had been responding lightly, suddenly lit up with seriousness.

“You must not let your guard down for even a moment, Your Majesty. You never know how that old fox, Wakana Tousai, might shake up the tribal chiefs again.”

We already have evidence and witnesses for the assassination plot.

However, Wakana Tousai was by no means an easy opponent. Despite having a reputation as the strongest warrior in Barsha, she never lets her guard down and is quick-witted, which is why her nickname of the Old Fox is not lacking at all.

Owen has also been through a lot with her before.

“hmm.”

But the silence was short-lived.

Owen, who had been clenching and unclenching his fist, smiled with his teeth exposed.

“What, is it because I slept so well after such a long time? Why do I feel so reassured? No matter what happens today, I don’t think I’ll ever lose to her, Alicia.”

“… … .”

“Don’t worry. I’ll come back after I’ve done well.”

Alicia looked up at Owen, feeling a renewed sense of excitement.

It seems like only yesterday that he was a naive boy, but now he is the first prince of an empire who is trustworthy in every way.

Balthazar, who was once renowned as an undefeated general on the Southern Front. Now, that [undefeated] name is often mentioned in public as an adjective for Owen, who is not even a young man yet.

Alicia placed her hand on her heart and bowed respectfully to her prince.

“Yes, Your Majesty. Who would dare doubt that?”

* * *

It was only for a moment that he woke up from a peaceful dream and appeared to be in a stable state.

Due to his high fever that kept rising without warning, Sungjin could not leave the temporary treatment room.

It was a fever caused purely by a change in the nature of the aura, not a disease. Therefore, the doctor’s medicine and the priests’ treatment were of no use.

Only when the Holy Spirit puts everything aside and rushes to pour out a great deal of divine power can the fever go down and the condition stabilize.

Because of this, whenever Seonghwang left his office for even a moment to do some work, Masain would become extremely anxious and wander around the office.

“Your Majesty, isn’t your fever rising again? I will bring Your Majesty over immediately!”

“Calm down, Sir Marsain. Your father was just here a moment ago.”

Seonghwang is a busy gentleman. He cannot sit next to Seongjin and suppress his feelings forever.

Seongjin didn’t want that kind of care either. Having all his auras and senses suppressed by others meant that not only his smallest movements, but even his breathing was controlled.

When I didn’t know, I just let it go, but when I actually realized it, it was so frustrating, it wasn’t something a person should endure.

So, Seongjin tried to tie her up as a self-help measure.

‘I’m going to try to hold out as long as I can without moving my aura!’

But such strategies were of little use.

Aura is a power that occurs naturally in living creatures, closer to the source of life.

So, no matter how hard you try to completely eliminate it, it will continue to linger in your body, however weakly, and the hellish calamities that have naturally become assimilated into it will run wild from time to time to burn your body.

[…sniff, sniff.]

And every time that happened, I would hear the Demon King’s sobbing in my head.