Weapon seller in the world of magic-Chapter 509: Act on impulse or be rational?
*Ding! You received a side quest, Helping the subordinate.
Description: Fu Sheng, a direct disciple of the Ancient Lan Sect followed Lan Gengxin and the others as they were expelled from the Lan clan. Due to differences, he might have later left Kunyu's Lan sect and joined the Dragon Empire's military, climbed the ranks, and eventually became the Imperial Sovereign. Now, he wishes to swear his loyalty to the host in the hopes of returning to his home.
Help your subordinate.
Reward: Dimensional Portal function.
Accept?
"Dimensional Portal? What is it?" He thought in his head.
The system answered him without even being asked. fɾeewebnoveℓ.co๓
*Ding! Dimension Portal: Through this function, the host and his allies can freely teleport between store branches no matter where they are located.
"It looks like I ought to accept his request. But then again, I've already decided on following Lan Jing to the Ancient Lan sect, once my plans succeed on this planet. While I have yet to complete even one of them so far, they will be done soon enough."
*Ding! The Quest has been accepted.
After accepting the quest, Mark asked the Imperial Sovereign, Fu Sheng, to prove his loyalty by bringing the knight named Dong Bao to him, through whatever means. The demigod was given time until noon.
Meanwhile, the divine throne was sent back to the inventory, and Mark and the others continued their stay at the hotel.
Even though a demigod put away his pride and sincerely kneeled before him, Mark doesn't trust him or his knights. He merely gave him a few hours of time as a benefit of the doubt.
In the worst case, he would either summon the divine throne or the demon king. After killing the immortal from the other world, Mark already gained enough soul points to summon Bael at any time.
With 'Absolute Control' Skill, he would keep the demon under control and make sure his loved ones stay protected.
Of course, the news of him controlling an immortal demon will bring his reputation down to so low that no one would buy weapons from him anymore.
But, if this goes in his favor, then, he would gain enough manpower to lay a strong groundwork for what he was about to do.
Despite them being powerful enough to take over an empire, there are a few tasks that he doesn't want to give to his robotic army, his androids, his teenage sons from the future, or even to his tough-to-handle, mighty elven fiancée.
He just returned to the room he previously stayed in, and it hadn't even ten minutes since he closed the door, a hotel staff member hurriedly arrived there with a message from the lounge.
Mark, at first, was surprised, but then felt like 'Oh, yes, it shouldn't be a big deal for someone like Fu Sheng to drag down a mere knight like Dong Bao even if it is from the Emperor, now that the current ruler is just a temporary one', and upon going to the lounge, Mark found Fu Sheng with not just his target who was in an unconscious state but also the acting emperor, who was alone without any guards.
"I apologize, Young Master. His Majesty insisted on coming along to see you," Fu Sheng bowed to Mark. Tang Yifan was stunned by how the Imperial Sovereign of the Empire was treating Mark with great respect; something not even his father earned the privilege. He couldn't help but clench his fist to control his anger, remembering their piece of conversation happened just a few minutes ago.
Mark nodded to Fu Sheng and turned his head to calmly look at the young emperor, "So, what do I owe this pleasure, Emperor Tang? Is it about him?" He first pointed his finger at the unconscious knight on the floor, and then, shifted toward Fu Shen, "or is it about him?"
Maintaining his fists tightly, Tang Yifan replied as calmly as possible, "I'm just here to inform you that the Dragon Empire has nothing to do with the death of your father-in-law. You can have his head if you want."
"And how do you know that I was looking for the perpetrator of his death? I didn't even tell Mr. Fu about it," Mark's eyebrow raised and his tone slightly turned into interrogative.
Tang Yifan looked straight into his eyes and stated, "I know it because it was my men who killed Song Yun, although their original target should have been Princess Shen Ling."
"Princess Shen Ling? Not Song Yue?" Mark furrowed his brows as he was mixed with confusion and displeasure. "At first, I thought you were a sensible person, but it looks like you are a condescending man, Tang Yifan."
Mark was so offended by Tang Yifan's admission of truth to his face that he stopped addressing him with his title anymore. And that is considered disrespectful anywhere on the planet.
Calling a King or an Emperor by his name directly is the same as insulting the land and all the people he was ruling. Well, at least, it has been considered that way for a long time.
Tang Yifan certainly was offended by the change in Mark's tone too. However, he didn't lose his cool and continued to speak, "An eye for an eye, Lu Zhen. You killed the former emperor of our land and my ancestor. You ought to pay consequences for that."
Despite the tension in the air, Tang Yifan maintained a composed demeanor. His voice, though firm, echoed reason rather than anger.
"Princess Shen Ling is your direct connection to the Western Moon kingdom and killing her will end it for good." He glanced around the room, assessing the reactions of those present. His strategic mind was at work, carefully calculating the next moves. Tang Yifan's eyes then shifted to Lu Zhen, searching for any hint of vulnerability.
He continued, "King Shen Niu would blame you for his daughter's death and since he didn't have the power, he will aim to bring you pain by targeting Lady Song. Whatever the result will be, you will probably destroy him and either occupy his kingdom or destroy it in rage.
To give him justice, the neighboring empires will mobilize troops, which will be soundly defeated, resulting in a declaration of a formal war. It would have allowed us to formally declare you as an evil being and mobilize Void Temple.
Phoenix Empire and Leon Empire will obviously support us as one will get back its region that was taken away and the other will be offered the Western Moon kingdom.
As the one who brought you to justice, I will no longer be the acting Emperor. Instead, I will formally be ascended to the Emperor of Tang Dynasty."
The gravity of the situation hung in the air. Tang Yifan's words didn't seem like a declaration; they were a meticulously crafted strategy, each sentence a move in the intricate game of power.
With a steely resolve displayed on his face, the young man ended his explanation with an acceptance of some sort of defeat, "Well, my plan clearly didn't end well due to their disobedience of my order and working together with some other gang that targeted Lady Song, resulting in her father's death and bringing you to the shores of this land and even stealing away our strongest asset."
Mark stared at him for the next few seconds in silence, processing all the information. He raised both of his hands, making Fu Sheng wonder whether he was going to attack.
Meanwhile, Tang Yifan looked completely calm on the surface as if he wasn't afraid of death. Even in his heart, apart from the frustration that Fu Sheng joined his enemy as soon as making a breakthrough, there was no fear or anything else.
However, Mark's response turned out to be different than their expectations.
*Clap* Clap* Clap* Clap* Clap*
Suddenly, Mark started clapping without displaying his anger, "What an ingenious plan. Did you plan all this by yourself or did your advisor tell you to do it? Whatever you had in mind was quite great but I still don't understand something.
What makes you so sure that I won't act against you right now? As you have said, you are nothing more than an acting emperor. If you die, you can be replaced by another prince.
Does the Void Temple or your founder will act against me even after knowing that there are atleast three supreme beings and a demigod on my side? Or do you think some hidden life-saving treasure on you would save you? I truly wonder about the thing that gives you confidence in coming here alone."
"No, they won't," Tang Yifan shook his head. After a brief pause, he then let out a smirk, "But, that's only if I'm the acting Emperor."
"What do you mean by that?" Fu Sheng couldn't help but interrupt their conversation, feeling strange about his state.
Tang Yifan turned his head to look at Fu Sheng and summoned an exquisite bow in his hands, taking the demigod by surprise, "As the present of your retirement, Imperial Sovereign Fu, I will give you the news before making the announcement to the people. A few minutes ago, my father's soul left for the spirit realm.
Regardless of how it happened, the Celestial Dragon spirit acknowledged me as its wielder.
You know what this means.
Bound by the laws stated in the Empire's Constitution, I'm no longer an acting ruler. I'm the true Emperor of the Tang Dynasty. By now, the Void Temple's founder and our Tang Dynasty probably have already sensed the change."
He then turned his head to look at Mark; this time, his words carried a weight that resonated with authority, "any unjust attack on me will set the same motion as my original plan, Lu Zhen. That is the source of my confidence. So, what will you do now? Act on impulse to lose everything or be rational and shift your focus on catching the real culprit?"
