Chapter 27:- The Invasion Begins [I]

"Hehe! It looks like things are going to get interesting." It's hard to believe that the capital had changed so much in less than 7 days. Before the atmosphere of the capital was always gloomy, dark, depressing, and full of hardship. The people were struggling to find enough food to feed their families.

Compared to those dark days, the capital had undergone huge changes. The dark, gloomy, and depressing atmosphere of the capital vanished like it never existed. The people of the city now looked much happier than before. With the large-scale construction taking place in the city, thousands of people now had jobs and were earning enough money to feed their families.

Now that there weren't any more big gangs or criminals in the city, the suffering of the commoners has been reduced. Although the capital is yet to fully recover and transform into something big, everyone living in this city could feel upcoming that will make their lives a hundred times easier. Under the new policies of the King, doing business has become easier than ever. And by defeating Duke Ryan and suppressing the rebel, many people now were coming to the capital in hope of finding a job.

"To think he would able to change the city this quickly. I have to say, I am really impressed." The Goddess of Wealth walked on the streets of the capital that was being reconstructed with a new technique that Aditya introduced.

"The newly made roads are notable for their straightness, solid foundations, cambered surfaces facilitating drainage, and use of concrete made from volcanic ash and lime. I wonder how he managed to come up with this method."

"Milady, did you hear what happened last night at the border city of Lifwood?" The guild master of this city asked as he followed the leader of the Seeker of Impurity guild from behind.

"I did. It was a little surprising. Honestly, I wasn't expecting Amos to die this way. But this also gives us an opportunity. Amos was the top merchant in both the Nepoca and the Zulux Kingdoms. We can expand our business in both kingdoms." Being the Goddess of Wealth, she had the mind of a businesswoman.

"Milady, given the rising tension between Zulux and Istarin Kingdoms, I wouldn't be surprised if war broke out anytime."

"That's true. Both kingdoms have been suppressing this Kingdom for generations. Given how big their arrogance is, I am sure they won't sit still seeing how fast King Aditya is advancing." The tension between Zulux and the Istarin Kingdom has been rising for multiple reasons. First of all, Aditya ignored their warnings and started expanding toward the Silver Meadow Grove and also started building the port city.

Capturing their Prime Minister was like a direct slap to the Zulux Emperor's face. And most important of all, the Zulux Kingdom was trying to break the Istarin Kingdom by creating conflict between the Duke and the King. So what when a civil war takes place, the Zulux Kingdom can take the Istarin territory in one swipe.

"Whatever, the war has nothing to do with us. Our guild will continue to function normally regardless of any war." But inwardly the Goddess of Wealth was getting a little anxious. Once the Zulux Dynasty attacks, there is no way the Nepoca Kingdom which has been looking to capture the Istarin Kingdom for generations would simply sit still. With both kingdoms attacking a Kingdom that recently became a 2nd-tier powerhouse, the Goddess of Wealth is not sure if the Crimson Dragon could protect his land.

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"Young Master, what is this?" Currently, Watson, Julia, and Aditya were having a meeting in the study room. Three of them had their eyes on an ancient book that Aditya bought back with him last night.

Watson was still shocked knowing that his young master now possesses the Heavenly Crimson Dragon bloodline. Just like Julia, Watson also reacted very strongly. The old man probably couldn't believe what he was hearing. Just like Julia, Watson strongly warned his Majesty to not tell another soul about his Bloodline.

"How are we supposed to open this ancient book? To open this book, we will need a 2nd-order Rune Master."

"Actually....." Aditya picked up the book and started reading the runes that were written on the cover page of the book. Seeing that both Julia and Watson felt their numb bodies being hit with another wave of lightning.

[Open]

"Young Master, you can actually understand runes? But since when?" Watson has been serving Aditya for 3 years now. He was here even before his lady Julia come. He knew better than anyone that in these 3 years, Aditya never did anything other than drinking.

Knowing that he can't lie to Watson, Aditya decided to tell them the half-truth. "Look, my super-fast cultivation, my bloodline evolving and me knowing about Runes has something to do with a huge secret. It's not that I can't trust both of you with my secret. It's just that this secret is too big. I would die if people knew my secret." There was no way Aditya was going to tell them about the system. This was his only way to shut both of their mouths so that both Julia and Watson wouldn't ask him any more questions.

Julia and Watson looked at each other and nodded with a serious look. "Thank you. Now let's open this book and uncover the secrets."

[The Black Heart]

'So this is really the book that gave Amos the way of using the Black Heart. I wonder if I would be able to strengthen my soldiers with the black heart.'

Watson picked up the book and began reading out loud. [The black Heart is a mysterious technique that once was used by a famous Necromancer. The Black Heart is an artificial heart that is placed on the right side of the chest.]

[The Black Heart is said to give cultivators immense powers. The Black Heart can double or even triple a cultivator's cultivation speed. When the Blackheart is used, the user would receive a huge increase in Mana.]

"This Black Heart thing is really strong." Both Julia and Watson knew the value of this book. If other Kingdoms were to learn the existence of such a powerful mighty technique, they would do anything to get their hands on this book.

"Young Master, I think we should make this Black Heart and test it on some criminal. If the test succeeds we can double if not triple the powers of our military forces."

"Watson, I hate to break your excitement but even if the test succeeds, we can't simply use the black heart to enhance our troops. Just imagine what would happen if the news spread. At that time, we would be hunted by powerful factions." In this world of cultivation, a cultivator's greediness had no bounds. The big factions wouldn't even hesitate to crush their Kingdom to get this heavenly technique.

"I think both of you're thinking too far ahead" Julia said while looking at the book.

"Huh?"

"Even if we managed to successfully create the black heart and I don't think anyone could withstand the sudden increase in mana. Let's image a cultivator's body to be a container while the heart is the main part of the container. The Container size can only be extended when the cultivation of a person increases. Now let's imagine what would happen if the container surpasses its capacity. The container would explode like watermelon."

"What I am trying to say is, even if the black heart was placed, after a period of 2 or 3 days, the side effect would start showing up, or in worse case scenarios that person would just explode like a balloon."

'That's why the soldiers in my nightmare looked fine. So their tragedy was going to come Afterall.' Aditya felt a little relieved to know that in one of those infinite futures, his enemies would die because of the very thing that gave them the taste of victory and power.

"Isn't there some way that we can use the black heart?" Watson asked in a disappointed tone.

"Maybe Aditya can."

"Me? How?"

"I am not sure but I feel your heavenly bloodline should allow the black heart to function. Unlike normal people, beings who have a heavenly bloodline are special. Unlike our container, your container is made up of rubber that can be stretched. This is all just a theory. I will have to do some research."

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Massive braziers encompassing each of the twelve limestone columns light up every part of the throne hall and blanket everything in a warm glow. The humongous chandeliers hanging from the oblique ceiling dance in the flickering light while memorials look down upon the mosaic floor of this imposing hall.

A coral rug runs down from the throne and splits to encircle the entire hall while square dag banners with adorned ridges the walls. Between each banner hangs a small magical chandelier, a few of them have been lit and in turn illuminate the paintings of heroes and legends below them.

Extensive, stained glass windows depicting important moments of victory are hidden by veils colored the same coral as the banners. The curtains have been adorned with fancy tassels and burnished corners.

A noble throne of marble sits in front of a giant painting of the kingdom and is adjoined by three similar, but smaller seats for visiting dignitaries.

The throne is covered in symbolic illustrations and fixed on each of the broad ears is a lavish lion's head. The thick pillows are a dark coral and these too have been adorned with embellished tracery.

Those waiting to see their royal highness can do so on the plethora of lightly illuminated oak benches, all of which are facing the throne in a wide V-shape. Those of higher standing can instead take a seat on the extravagant balconies facing the throne.

While peace was beginning to bless the land of Istarin Kingdom, the Zulux King was not happy at all. "Your Majesty, the messenger from the Istarin Kingdom has arrived."

"Let me hear what the Istarin Kingdom has to say."

[The king of Istarin Kingdom had to say the following, "King of Zulux Dynasty, the Istarin Kingdom has captured the Prime Minister of your Kingdom for working with a rebel. Currently, the Prime Minister is in our custody. Don't worry, I am feeding him 3 meals a day. If your highness wants his Prime Minister back, then I want 50,000 royal gold coins, fifty 2-star weapons, and one year of grain supplies.]

"The King of Istarin Kingdom really has grown his balls. To think a king who used to live on alcohol till a week ago, is now demanding the Zulux Dynasty to pay ransom for freeing our Prime Minister. The Zulux Dynasty won't accept this humiliation." The King's eyes turned red from anger. How dare a lowly Kingdom capture the prime minister of the Zulux Dynasty?

"The Dog that we used to feed is now starting to bite us." In the King's eyes, the Istarin Kingdom was nothing but a small piece of land that we can conquer at any given moment.

"Send General Darren Ellis with 60,000 troops to crush the Istarin Kingdom. Also, tell him to not kill that king. I want to personally torture that bastard to death."

"But your Majesty, according to the reports, there might a be third-order cultivator helping the enemy. Don't you think it would be wiser to wait a little longer?" One of the advisers of the King asked.

"So What? General Darren Ellis's power is enough to deal with any 3rd-order." General Darren Ellis was a 3rd-order existence himself.

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