Chapter 266: Visit the Ryuger Family

Chapter 266

Visit the Ryuger Family

After the Emperor’s performance ended, the nobles exchanged a plethora of opinions. Even the head of the Setter family voiced some thoughts, albeit minimally, to avoid appearing too disengaged. However, facing such an enemy was not a major issue for them. According to Aman, his eldest son could kill numerous people with a single electric discharge. Hence, even if 100 level 2 or 3 beasts attacked, it would be a trivial matter.

Additionally, he had visited the city his eldest son ruled. Since his eldest son possessed the ability to create slave contracts, he had compelled the native beasts to defend the city. Thus, if anything happened, their city would be safe without needing human oversight.

The only annoyance for the Setter family was the need to send forces to assist the royal family in fighting the Rhea Kingdom’s vanguard outside the tower. If such intense battles really occured, they had no choice but to follow the orders of a commander from outside the family. However, there was no alternative.

Once the exchange of opinions concluded, everyone dispersed to prepare and station themselves in their respective cities. After all, the war was far from over.

The association was assigned to protect the city they had initially overseen. Even though they had once won a battle, it did not mean the Rhea Kingdom would not attack again. They were also instructed to adopt offensive strategies for city defense. No longer required to set up camps around the city, they were to advance and pressure the Rhea Kingdom just as it had pressured the Ares Kingdom.

Their goal was to harass and confiscate as many resources as possible from the enemy, cutting off supply routes to prevent the Rhea Kingdom from gathering resources. This directive was not only for the Hunter’s Association but also for other families with cities bordering the Rhea Kingdom, especially those who had recently won battles.

Ellie and the association leader returned to their stationed city. The recent successful hunts had yielded substantial profits for the hunters, bringing them great joy.

Previously, Luke had started to attract the attention of some female hunters. However, after witnessing his significant accomplishments, many women abandoned such thoughts. Everyone knew that high-ranking hunters like him would not be interested in ordinary female hunters, much like other 4-star ranks hunters.

Most of them married daughters of noble or wealthy merchant families. The high-ranking hunters would not choose the fellow hunters as their wives, understanding the inherent risks of the job. Only exceptionally beautiful female hunters could hope to attract such attention, but those often became the beautiful consorts of nobles.

Now, everyone respected Luke. Though not yet officially promoted to a four-star rank hunter, his recent achievements guaranteed he wouldn’t remain at a lower level. He would likely be officially appointed after this war.

Whenever Luke walked by, people respectfully avoided him. Deep down, they knew that his past sacrifice had saved their lives. Their life debt to him was profound, and it was not surprising that when Luke requested something, they would eagerly provide it.

Special meals were arranged for Luke. Everyone knew he was a recluse who disliked mingling with others, so they prepared the food in front of his tent. It could be said that after recent events, Luke had become a special figure within the association.

However, his past accomplishments led to high expectations from everyone. When given a new mission, Luke was assigned to hunt freely. From another perspective, it was like sending Luke on a more dangerous mission than the others. This was because they would soon invade the Rhea Kingdom’s territory, and no one knew what awaited them. Venturing into enemy territory without caution could lead to tragic outcomes.

While the association’s camp gradually expanded, with hunters fighting and moving forward systematically, Luke had already appeared at the forest boundary separating the city...

Ellie used spores to investigate her surroundings. She felt it was an excellent opportunity to gather valuable resources from the Rhea Kingdom, despite the risks. Low-level beasts were no longer a threat to her; only human cunning needed to be watched.

As Ellie hunted merrily and prepared to celebrate the Blue Apple’s promotion to level 3, which enhanced its poison-neutralizing Toxic Wind Bomb radius from 1 meter to 10 meters around the little Apple. This increased capability was highly beneficial for group battles. Although Ellie felt disappointed with this ability again, she managed to hide her slight disappointment, ensuring the little Apple didn’t feel disheartened as before.

The reason Ellie disliked the development of the Toxic Wind Bomb was that she preferred solo hunting. For her, there were no allies within a 10-meter radius. Thus, no matter how much the ability improved, it did not benefit Ellie directly.

It would have been better if the number of using Toxic Wind Bomb to neutralize poisons increased to twice a day instead of once. Nonetheless, the little Apple’s rapid development pleased Ellie a lot. With the little Apple at level 3, Ellie could start looking for her next bonded plant.

Even so, she had to wait until the war ended to ensure the little Apple’s continued growth. It was a worthwhile harvesting during this period. Besides...as Ellie, her plant powers should also improve. If she summoned all her bonded plants to use in Luke’s guise, it would be too strange if the well-supported botanical student from the Setter family showed no progress at all.

Let’s talk about the situation in the Ares Kingdom from the perspective of Prince Joseph. When he decided which family to approach next, he immediately set out to visit that family. His pretext for the visit was to request help in creating a stratagem to imprison criminals from the Rhea Kingdom. Though it seemed a bit odd, he was assigned the task of managing these criminals and thus had full authority.

He told others that he had to hunt level 3 beasts as ordered by the Emperor and wanted to ensure the criminals were not assassinated or escaped. As a result, the Ryuger family had to accommodate him to assist further.

However, after their conversation, Prince Joseph did not return to his palace. He lingered for a while before expressing his true intentions.

"Lord of the Ryuger family, I heard that your daughter fought alongside my younger brother recently?"

Hearing this, the Ryuger family head was slightly surprised. He hadn’t expected the prince to bring up his daughter suddenly. Internally, he suspected the prince was indirectly inquiring if he had allied with Prince Jason, since they had always remained neutral. Hence, the prince’s suspicion was understandable.

"Yes, Your Highness. However, it was more a matter of duty. The institute’s orders required students to group together. My daughter was grouped with the second young lord of the Setter family and coincidentally ended up working with the prince, who was overseeing the stratagem branch students. Thus, she had no choice but to collaborate with Prince Jason."

"Oh, I understand that well. I merely admire her abilities." Joseph smiled calmly, understanding what the other party was explaining.

"Thank you, Your Highness."

"Mmm, by the way, I would like to know more details about the battle. Could you arrange for her to discuss the strategies used to lure the enemy into the trap with me?" Seeing that the Ryuger family head still did not understand his intentions, Prince Joseph decided to be straightforward.

He was essentially saying that his visit was merely to talk to the Ryuger family’s daughter!

The family head raised his eyebrows slightly, his lips twitching involuntarily. Even so, the other party was a prince, and he could not directly refuse him. However, that did not mean he would allow his daughter to get involved with the prince.

The Ryuger family head knew that their family had never been of much interest to the royals. Even though Prince Joseph now seemed interested in his daughter, didn’t he already have the young lady of the Fernal family as his future royal consort? If his daughter caught the prince’s eye, she would only become a secondary consort at best.

If Prince Joseph became the Emperor, it wouldn’t be too bad. His daughter would be a secondary consort to the Emperor, which was quite an honor. But if the prince didn’t become the Emperor, what honor would there be for his daughter other than being a worthless wife of a noble with royal blood.

Prince Joseph’s arrival was essentially a move to pressure the Ryuger family into becoming a primary supporter of his cause. While others might relish this risk and be willing to sacrifice their children to gamble on uncertain future, the honorable Ryuger family did not share this sentiment.

The family head had always believed that his Ryuger family could achieve greatness through the mastery of stratagems, not by turning their children into political pawns. Thus, he maintained neutrality and refrained from seeking power through uncertain means.

Much like the Setter family believed in their combat prowess, the Ryuger family cherished their inherited power...

“I fear I must disappoint Your Highness. My daughter is currently in seclusion, training to create a significant stratagem. She won’t emerge until she completes this crucial piece of work, which is also worrisome. Ever since her near-death experience, she has been determined to grow stronger. As her father...I have only recently seen her with such a clear goal.”

“Therefore, I cannot summon my daughter to recount these events. However, there is another young member of our family who was present and is recognized by Professor Nico as a skilled stratagem creator. Would Your Highness prefer to have him explain the stratagems used?”

Hearing the family head’s explanation, Prince Joseph chuckled. He had anticipated that this visit might not be fruitful on the first attempt. However, he intended to make it clear that he had his sights set on their daughter. Regardless of future attempts to evade him, he doubted that a young girl could resist the allure of becoming an Empress...

“Oh, I have been selfish. Given the recent events, your young ones must be quite shaken. I shall not disturb them further. Let them train well and use their knowledge for the future of the Ares Kingdom. Today, I won’t bother you any longer. I will visit again another time.”

“Furthermore, I admire the fearless young lady who uses this situation to fuel her development. I support her growth and will send a suitable gift from the palace to encourage her strength. Consider it my contribution to fostering strong individuals for our kingdom.”

With that, Prince Joseph stood up, ready to leave gracefully. Even though the Ryuger family head did not want any gifts from the prince, the pretext of the gift demonstrated the prince’s seemingly pure intentions for the kingdom. Deep down, everyone knew that such a gift could be like a disaster.

“It is a great honor, Your Highness.” With that, Prince Joseph prepared to depart. However, as he was leaving, a contingent of soldiers entered the Ryuger estate.

Prince Joseph was quite surprised by this movement. He looked at the Ryuger family head and saw that his brows were furrowed just as tightly, indicating that he was equally unaware of the soldiers’ arrival.

“What brings you here?”

“Greetings, Your Highness. We are here to present a gift to the Ryuger family.”

“A gift?” The Ryuger family head was somewhat surprised, but after hearing this...his lips twitched upward in astonishment and delight. It seemed the rivalry between the two brothers was indeed beneficial to him.

“This is a gift from Prince Jason, Your Highness. He requested it directly from the Emperor due to the recent battles. The Ryuger family, with Lady Nadia and Young Lord Gus, demonstrated that stratagem development is truly valuable in combat. To support the Ryuger family and other families developing stratagems, this gift represents the Emperor’s and Prince Jason’s recognition of this ability.”

After the soldier finished speaking, Prince Joseph’s brow twitched violently, and his lips pressed together into a nearly downturned line. Just when he thought he had the Ryuger family in his grasp, his damned younger brother had managed to move one step ahead of him!!