Chapter 6 - the test of the gods(1)

The day of John's trial had arrived, and he was mentally prepared not to make a pact with any deity, much like in his previous life. While he was resigned to being disappointed in this respect, John was still pleased that his mana was slowly gathering in his body, the purest and most refined form of mana one could gather. This would obviously improve the quality of his core when he eventually gathered enough mana in his body to form it, but that day was still far off. The priority today was simply to survive, and not be transported to the heavenly realm.

"Alright, let's get ready," John said to himself as he opened his eyes and stopped gathering mana, looking at the sun slowly rising.

There was a knock at the door.

"Your Highness, it's Alfred. I have some news for you," Alfred's voice brought John out of his relaxed state.

"Come in," John said as he got up and sat in his chair by the fire pit.

"Your Highness, the first prince plans to send assassins to delay you from reaching the trials," Alfred said, a hint of worry in his voice.

"Has he finally gone mad, bringing assassins into the royal palace for such a petty task?" John asked, disbelief etched on his face.

"That- ughh, Your Highness, what should we do now? Apparently one of the men he has sent is an assassin with a yellow core," Alfred said, his voice laced with fear.

"Go call Joseph. He should be in his quarters. With him being a green core knight, I doubt we will have to worry about anything like that on our way," John said, a determined look in his eyes.

"Ah, yes Your Highness. I will get to it at once," Alfred said, bowing before turning to leave.

"Haaah, that stupid brother of mine. He really thought that bringing in assassins would go unnoticed by Father, just because he ignores most of his antics. I'm sure even Father won't be a fan of this," John muttered to himself, shaking his head in disgust.

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Five minutes after being summoned, Joseph arrived at John's room, and the sun's light was washing over John, who was peacefully drinking tea, completely unaware of his older brother's antics.

"Your Highness, you called for me?" Joseph asked, bowing slightly.

"Ah, Sir Joseph, you are here! It seems someone doesn't want me to attend the trial of the gods, and has decided to send assassins to delay my arrival. I will need you to guard me until the end of the day," John said, a hint of worry in his voice.

"Oh, okay. Hold on, did you just say someone sent assassins after you, Your Highness? Which bastard dared to do such a thing to the imperial prince?" Joseph asked, his eyes narrowing in anger.

"It was my oldest brother," John said, his voice laced with disgust. "And before you think of reporting to my father, I assure you he most likely already knows, and is simply observing how I will react to this threat."

"I-I see," Joseph said, a look of understanding crossing his face. "Well, Your Highness, what do you want me to do?"

"Just stay by my side, except when I'm in the bath. Otherwise, just stand next to me until we reach the temple of trials," John said, a determined look in his eyes.

"Yes, Your Highness," Joseph said, bowing again.

"Now, if you will, I will be going to take a shower. Alfred, you can go ahead and inform Merry to prepare my clothes before I come out," John said, standing up and making his way to the bathroom.

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Ten minutes after his shower, John was dressed and walking through the halls of his castle with Joseph and Alfred by his side. Suddenly, the group was ambushed by five people, their auras pulsing with malice. The strongest of them was an orange-core assassin, while the weakest was a yellow-core cultivator.

Despite being only a 10-year-old, John fought bravely, his fists flying as he faced off against the attackers. The orange-core assassin lunged towards Joseph, his sword flashing as he aimed for the knight's throat.

But Joseph was quick on his feet, his sword flashing as he parried the assassin's attack. The two of them were locked in a fierce battle, their swords ringing as they clashed.

John was left to fend for himself against the other assassins, who were ganging up on him. He struggled to keep up, his fists and feet moving in a desperate attempt to defend himself.

"You're no match for me, kid," one of the assassins sneered, his sword flashing towards John.

But John was determined, his fists flying with renewed vigor as he fought to defend himself. He darted around the assassins, his fists landing blow after blow on their armor.

Finally, with a loud cry, Joseph delivered the finishing blow, defeating the orange-core assassin and turning to help John finish off the other assassins.

Together, the two of them were more than a match for the assassins, and they were able to defeat them all, ending the battle.

Breathing heavily, Joseph turned to John and nodded in appreciation. "Thanks for your help," he said, wiping the sweat from his brow.

John returned the nod, his own brow dripping with sweat. "I-it was nothing," he said, panting. "I'm just glad you were here to help."

Alfred, who had been cowering behind a nearby pillar the entire time, stepped out tentatively. "Is-is it over?" he asked, his voice shaking.

"Yes, it's over," Joseph said, a hint of annoyance in his voice. "But next time, try to be more useful."

***

The injured John entered the Temple of Trials, causing a look of dread to appear on the face of the first prince. The emperor, on the other hand, had a furious look on his face as he and the prime minister rushed towards the youngest prince.

"John! What happened to you?!" the emperor demanded, his face contorted with fury and concern.

"I was ambushed on my way here, Father," John said, his voice laced with pain. "I don't know who was behind it."

The emperor's face darkened. "We will discuss this later," he said through gritted teeth. "For now, you need to be treated by the imperial doctors. The trial will begin in an hour, once a healer has tended to your wounds."

John nodded, bowing his head before turning to leave the temple. As he left, the emperor turned to the first prince, his eyes burning with anger. "We will deal with this later," he said, his voice cold and hard.

The room fell silent as the emperor announced that the trial would begin in an hour. The first prince could feel the weight of the emperor's gaze upon him, knowing that he would soon have to face the consequences of his actions.

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heyyyyy guys this is the day after I posted this chapter (9th jan), and ummm my laptops kinda ded right now, i dunno what happened to it, hopefully It fixes iteself, but i don't think there will be any chapters today, im sooo sirry for this...but there isn't really much that I can do with my laptop going bonkers.

peace.

it's the next day now after the edit, and it seems i need to get my battery changed, so no chapter till then. I'm super sorry for this, but I promise 2 extra chaps when this is fixed.