Chapter 661: Throbbing
“Richard, what are you thinking? You seem to be in a daze all the time?” Paul jumped off his horse and handed the reins to the servant who came up at the station. He looked at Chen Rui who was in a daze and asked.
When Paul escorted Eliza to the Yang Shao Capital, Eliza’s uncle, Cardinal Roger happened to go to a church in the city to inspect and had not returned. The Chief Bishop and a few bishops accompanied him. Only the Light Knight Captain Rumman stayed in the Hall of Light.
As the duel was around the corner and Lex the Great hosted it himself, Paul didn’t dare to neglect it. He just rested in the church of the Yang Shao Capital for 1 night, then he set off immediately the next morning to the neighboring Dragon Bright Empire. With the ident.i.ty of Paul, the 2 successfully pa.s.sed the border fortress of the Dragon Bright Empire and rode their horses all the way to the nearest Dragon Tooth City.
The rich faith power in the Yang Shao Capital’s Hall of Light made Chen Rui intrigued, so he sneaked into the prayer hall that night and had a ‘full meal’. The strategic success of the original body going to Storm Island while the clone stayed in the Garden City as a subst.i.tute this time gave Chen Rui inspiration, and a bold plan began to take shape.
Due to the fusion of memories, an unexplainable mood began to surge in Chen Rui’s heart upon entering the Dragon Bright Empire as if he was close to his hometown.
“Sir, I’m just thinking that Samuel was defeated by sir last time, but this time he took the initiative to challenge you publicly, I’m afraid it’s not that simple.” Chen Rui deliberately showed a thoughtful expression, “It is likely that his strength has already broken through or he has mastered a certain secret technique… He cannot be underestimated.”
Paul replied dismissively, “Don’t worry, I have absolute confidence.”
“Sir, don’t blame me for talking too much.” Chen Rui frowned, “My teacher said, strategically, we must despise the enemy, and tactically, we must pay attention to the enemy. Even if the strength of sir is higher than that of Samuel, you must be cautious and very careful.”
“I know your loyalty. There are things that are inconvenient for me to say. I can only tell you not to worry about it.” Paul knew Eliza’s terrifying means. The Storm Island is an extremely terrifying place. Since Eliza is sure that Samuel and Joanna won’t come back alive, so even if Samuel’s strength is really not what it used to be, he will definitely die. The only pity is Joanna, but this woman’s heart is not with me. In the future, as long as I really master power and authority, there will be more and better women even in exchange for Joanna’s death.
“But……”
“No ‘but’. I will surely win this battle.” Paul naturally didn’t know that the subordinate’s intention was to reinforce him, and he smiled slightly, “We have pa.s.sed the fortress. The Dragon Tooth City is in front of us. In order to get to the capital, Yerodisha, as soon as possible, I have asked the family to arrange 2 griffons in advance. Have you ever had the experience of riding griffons? Even the tamed griffons are superior to ordinary flying demonic beasts.”
“I have had a lot of flying experience, but this is the first time for a griffon. However, sir should have confidence in my beast taming skill. I’m an expert in this respect.” Of course, Chen Rui wouldn’t say: A mere griffon is nothing. I’m a dragon knight. It was even a double meaning. In further discussion, this was related to the difficulty of different postures.
When the griffon saw the little thunderbird on Chen Rui’s shoulder, it showed slight anxiety and hostility. As a powerhouse in the sky, the thunderbird’s level was even above the griffon. Although this thunderbird was only a young bird, it was enough to arouse the griffon’s vigilance. Chen Rui’s ‘beast taming skill’ immediately played a role in smoothly resolving the abnormality of the griffon. Then, he rode the griffon into the air.
Griffon’s flying speed was not lower than the wyvern, but the endurance was slightly inferior. However, Paul’s Loman Family was quite influential; replacement mounts were arranged along the way so that the 2 always flew at the fastest speed.
After 5 days, the 2 finally arrived at Yerodisha, the capital of the Dragon Bright Empire. There were still 3 days before the duel.
‘Yerodisha’ meant ‘s.h.i.+ny gem’ in the dragon language.
As everyone knew, the Dragon Bright Empire, 1 of the 2 major empires of the human world, had an extremely close relations.h.i.+p with dragons. They had the only dragon knight legion in the human world— these were real giant dragons. In comparison, the wyvern riders in the Demon Realm could only be regarded as a pirated version.
Yerodisha was 1 of the most famous cities among humans. It was not only the political and military center of the Dragon Soul Empire, but it was also the largest commercial center. It was magnificent and prosperous. The roads were large enough for 10 large carriages to run side by side. The streets and lanes on both sides were crisscrossed, the buildings were lined, the pedestrians were bustling, and the traffic was endless. The shops were no longer limited to a certain area, but it could be seen everywhere. The bard music could be heard nearby the mini plazas and landmark buildings along the way.
The 3 capitals of the Demon Realm weren’t as prosperous as the capital of the Dragon Bright Empire. Chen Rui, who was a human, was also dazzled.
Paul was the eldest son of the Loman Family, the first inheritor, and his father Salvador. Loman was the deputy director of the Dragon Bright Empire’s Academic Affairs Department. Unlike the House of Representatives of the Blue Glory Empire, the Dragon Bright Empire had a more unique monarchy and a more thorough ruling. Under the king were ‘2 councils and 3 departments’. Namely, Government Administration Council, Military Administration Council, Legal Affairs Department, Finance Affairs Department, and Academic Affairs Department.
The Government Administration Council handled the empire’s political affairs; the Military Administration Council was responsible for the affairs of the empire’s army; the Legal Affairs Department was the inst.i.tution that enforced and maintained the empire law; the Finance Affairs Department was in charge of economic projects such as commerce and agriculture; the Academic Affairs Department was in charge of colleges and education.
The empire had clear levels of authority and distinct powers. The Demon Realm empires could really learn from them in many aspects.
In terms of strength and background, the Loman Family was originally a small family in the empire. Relying on the great efforts of recent generations, the power had gradually increased. It had gradually entered the upper level of the empire. After Paul became the most famous swordmaster among humans and the apprentice of the Holy Light Mountain Paladin Captain Parsali, his influence and power further expanded. In addition to his recent marriage contract with the Philip Family, many b.u.t.terfly effects had occurred. The former Academic Affairs Department’s director, Old Lyon, submitted his resignation to Lex the Great several times due to his age. Rumors said that he finally got the approval of Lex the Great not long ago. The new Academic Affairs Department director would be elected among the 3 deputy directors, of which Paul’s father, Salvador, got the most support. It was said that when Salvador accompanied Lex the Great to inspect the Star Dragon College last week, Lex the Great personally revealed this intention. Although the formal appointment letter had not arrived yet, many people in the Academic Affairs Department had begun to curry favor with the future deputy director.
Chen Rui followed Paul to the Loman Family’s mansion just in time to see Salvador, who was personally sending a few people out of the gate. When these people saw Paul, they all smiled, and some bowed. Paul recognized the leader as the patriarch of the Lincoln Family who was once a former compet.i.tor of the Loman Family. In recent years, as the power of the Loman Family had grown, the Lincoln Family had begun to change its strategy to form a good relations.h.i.+p with the Loman Family.
Now that Paul’s partic.i.p.ation in the Divinity Temple Knight selection was imminent and the wedding date was approaching, the Lincoln Family Patriarch personally sent his second son, Diego, to the Loman Family to become a subordinate of Paul. This symbolized that the Lincoln Family would completely surrender to the Loman Family. Salvador would naturally not refuse, and he had already agreed on behalf of his son.
Paul thought for a while and did not express any objection. Although the emergence of this ‘compet.i.tor’ was a bit unexpected, Chen Rui did not take it seriously. His ‘beast taming skill’ and ‘soul language’ were highly valued by Eliza, and his ‘loyalty’ to Paul had been tested. To say the least, whether this subordinate would stay with Paul after the duel was still a question.
Seeing Chen Rui’s calm look, Paul nodded approvingly. As a powerhouse, he would definitely have more than 1 subordinate in the future, but subordinates were also divided into excellent and bad qualities. Compared with Diego with a hint of impetuous in his eyes, the ability and loyalty of ‘Richard’ were obviously more trustworthy.
The Philip Family and Kemplot Family did not seem to have any movement. There was no news of Samuel or Joanna as well. Paul was more confident in his heart. In the following days, he either partic.i.p.ated frequently in various socializing or led Chen Rui and Diego to show off in the capital; Chen Rui had the chance to witness Yerodisha’s prosperity.
3 days later, the date for the duel finally arrived.
The location of the duel was in the capital’s largest royal arena. The reputation of Paul’s top genius swordsman was very widespread in Yerodisha. Furthermore, the Dragon Bright Empire Lex the Great personally hosted it this time. The upper n.o.ble families were all present. In addition to the civilians who were here to join in the fun, the huge arena was packed.
Paul’s appearance was very ideal. He wore a dazzling blue gem armor and a silver cloak today. The entire person looked dazzling and attracted the attention of many people. When he walked elegantly into the arena, many n.o.ble families’ young ladies and women screamed in high pitch one after another.
Gossip related to this duel was also circulating in the crowd. For instance, in the ‘triangular relations.h.i.+p’ between Joanna, Samuel, and Paul, Samuel lost his fiance in the duel back then, and so on. Before the duel started, the entire scene was already quite vibrant.
Chen Rui was in Paul’s ‘friends and relatives group’ which was located just opposite the VIP seat. Although it was far away, he could clearly see the scene of the opposite VIP seat with his vision.
1 of the 2 great kings of the humans, Lex. Roland sat in the very center of the VIP seat.
Lex wore a pale gold robe with a crown on his head and a staff in his hand. He was about 35 years old. He was handsome and had a beard which was full of the charm of a mature man. Arthur’s outline was faintly visible on his facial features, and his eyes were flas.h.i.+ng with a supreme deterrence.
After seeing Lex’s face clearly, Chen Rui’s heartbeat accelerated a lot. There was a strange feeling of intimacy in his heart which originated from the fusion memory. In the memory, the king seemed to be a doting father, at least, he used to be.
There was a young man with silver hair and golden pupils beside Lex with a casual expression. Judging from the position of the seat beside the king, this person’s status should be very special. This young man faintly gave Chen Rui a dangerous feeling. It was like seeing Raizen in the b.l.o.o.d.y Empire back then. At that time, Chen Rui was only at the level of the Demon Emperor.
Perhaps the young man had noticed the peeping, so he glanced over. Chen Rui immediately retracted his gaze, then he shouted and cheered along with Diego for Paul. After the young man looked for a while and found no abnormalities, he turned his head again.
Chen Rui was secretly vigilant. Just in case, he didn’t dare to look at the young man again. However, a special feeling in his heart became stronger as if something was attracting him. His eyes moved involuntarily to the side, and they were finally fixed on the person on the left of Lex.
This was a woman with short golden brown hair and deep beautiful blue eyes. She was sitting next to a man. In contrast to the exposed s.e.xy outfits of other n.o.ble families, she was wrapped in a tight robe and wore a veil.
At the moment Chen Rui saw this woman, he felt that the frequency of his heartbeat like never before. With his will and power at the moment, he was actually unable to restrain it.
This was the throbbing of ‘Arthur’. For the first time, it was so strong.
TL: Is she Arthur’s first love?