Chapter 708 - Elizabeth
The fighting compet.i.tion still continued, but most of them weren"t paying attention to it anymore. It couldn"t be helped, considering the first two battles of this compet.i.tion were too intense.
Those who were fighting to get noticed could only wipe their tears away as they returned to their seats.
Elizabeth still did her best, but she felt it was better to end the banquet as soon as possible.
"Since there is no one who wants to fight anymore, we shall end it with the performance of our dancers. Before that, I would thank all of you for coming to this humble place and partic.i.p.ating in this banquet. I hope there will be more interesting events in the next Seven Influences Banquet." Elizabeth smiled as she walked away. She didn"t forget to glance at Alex with interest as he was the culprit that made this entire banquet a mess.
After a few minutes of performance, the beautiful dancers finally left the stage as all of them started rising from their seats.
"What would you do after this?" Song Jiaoren asked.
"I have something to do. I will meet you tomorrow at the west gate, and we will head the Blackwade Clan." Alex nodded with a smile.
"I understand. Then, I will excuse myself." Song Jiaoren cupped his hands and bowed.
Without anyone knowing, Astennu and the woman had gone without a trace. In fact, they were among the first one that left this banquet hall.
Alex couldn"t find them and decided to visit them right after this. As for Evelyn… He was still wondering whether to let Evelyn meet Song Yu or not. Evelyn didn"t know that Song Yu was missing, so he ended up not asking her to accompany him.
"Big brother Alex. I want to talk more with you." Evelyn pouted.
"I am sorry… My schedule is a bit tight." Alex scratched his cheek. "I am sure we can talk in the future."
"I understand." Evelyn looked down, a bit sad. "I will go back with big sister Angela then."
Alex nodded and watched her leaving the hall.
When he was about to leave, he suddenly felt a presence coming from his right. A silver-haired princess made her appearance in front of Alex, looking at him with a smile.
"May I borrow your time, Mister Alexander?"
Alex narrowed his eyes. On one hand, he wanted to reject this invitation because he needed to meet Astennu. On the other hand, there was a possibility of the Divine Kingdom joining the war if he didn"t make time to talk to her. He wasn"t scared of her; he just didn"t want any unnecessary extra trouble.
"If Princess can talk here, then sure." Alex ended up not giving yes or no to her.
"Certainly. This matter is important but also not that important." Elizabeth nodded her head gracefully. "I wonder what does mister Alexander think about my Divine Kingdom?"
"My? Princess"s words are certainly not light…" Alex narrowed his eyes. The current monarch of this kingdom was still her grandfather. Yet, she already treated it as her own. There was also Julius standing on her opposition. Hence, Alex wasn"t wrong by saying that her words might invite some misunderstanding.
"I think I shouldn"t mask my intention anymore…" Elizabeth sighed.
"Please." Alex nodded.
"What can I do for you to help me ascend the throne?" Elizabeth asked with a serious expression.
"!!!" Alex was slightly surprised. He learned that she was capable of taking the throne, but it seemed he had overestimated her… Albeit, there must also be another factor that she considered to the point she asked this question.
"I can be your wife or whatever to gain your support. As you know yourself, I am able to control the majority of power in this kingdom, but there are still many oppositions in my way. I am confident in taking all of them over within ten years, but there is one variable that might overturn my situation…" Elizabeth stared at him.
"Me? Spirit Nest? No, I think it"s my war against the Fire G.o.d Clan."
"Mister is right." Elizabeth nodded. "War would invite instability inside an influence, especially in the middle of ascension. That"s why the percentage of me ascending to the throne drops from one hundred percent to thirty percent. That"s how big this factor is."
"Still, I don"t think there is a need for you to offer that kind of price, right?" Alex narrowed his eyes.
"Am I not beautiful in your eyes? Or am I not smart enough for you? Or are you afraid of me plotting on your back?"
"Not at all. Many people will surely be charmed by you, but I apologize, I won"t be one of them." Alex shook his head. "Besides, I have another proposal for Princess to consider, and I am sure this suits me more."
"May I hear the proposal?" She looked around to make sure no one was eavesdropping and asked.
"It"s nothing complicated. As long as Princess doesn"t interfere in this war, I also won"t interfere in your kingdom… Especially with Prince Julius. And just like you, I am also confident in winning the war."
"!!!" Elizabeth clenched her palms after getting surprised by such an offer. She thought, "His proposal is indeed attractive. What I am most afraid of is for that brother of mine joining hand with another party to overtake me. Looking at the war situation, I can see that Spirit Nest has been preparing for this war.
"If Prince Julius makes an alliance with the Fire G.o.d Clan and gets destroyed, I am able to get the crown in an instant. On the other hand, as long as I accept this offer, he won"t make an alliance with him. The problem is… There is still a probability of the Fire G.o.d Clan winning the war. Although it"s slim, it"s worth consideration.
"From what I see earlier, I can see there are three influences that Fire G.o.d Clan might approach. First will be this kingdom… Or me. The second will be the Phantasm Sect. But this influence seems to be neutral for most of the time, so I doubt they will join this battle and break their neutrality. In other words, they might approach Snow White Mountain.
"I heard that they just got Pure Ice Element users not long ago, and the one that came in the banquet was the Sacrificial Element user… With these two talented individuals, Snow White Mountain might join hand in hand with Fire G.o.d Clan. For Fire G.o.d Clan, they can stop the decline and get stronger with marriage, while Snow White Mountain can get some resources from them."
"How is it, Princess?" Alex smiled.
"As expected of Young Master Alexander, it"s hard for me to reject this deal. I somehow regret that I don"t manage to capture your heart. Seeing your strength and actions, I am sure I can make the Divine Kingdom be the best influence with you as my king." Elizabeth smiled seductively.
"I am afraid that is not possible." Alex shook his head. "So, do you want to have a written contract?"
"No need. I believe Heavenly Oath between both of us is enough since I am sure Young Master Alexander will fulfill your promise. And I and my faction will stay neutral."
"…" Alex was a bit annoyed in his heart. She purposely said that she and her faction would stay neutral, so she couldn"t promise that her brother Julius might interfere, whether by joining hands with the Fire G.o.d Clan or by partic.i.p.ating as a third party.
"Of course, I will do my best to keep the entire kingdom in check, albeit my power is also limited. So, I will apologize in advance." Elizabeth smiled.
Alex thought for a moment and nodded. "I guess we have a deal?"
They both shook hands and made a Heavenly Oath. After that, Elizabeth added, "I want to warn Young Master Alex to be careful against Fire G.o.d Clan. They might come to the Snow White Mountain for an alliance. After all, if they win the war, they will be able to absorb your Spirit Nest, Fire G.o.d Clan, and Drunken Pavilion. And I shouldn"t forget about the Ancient Blue Family since they might join the war after that alliance, making it a three versus three battle."
"Don"t worry. I have everything under control." Alex smirked. He didn"t say anything about his trump card, AKA, the Freedom Sect. He was planning to threaten the Ancient Blue Family with his Spirit Nest and the three influences.
"Then, I have no worries." Elizabeth nodded.
Alex nodded back and started walking away, but he suddenly remembered a question and halted his step. "I want to ask one question to you."
"Please ask. I will answer your question to the best of my ability."
"Are you not afraid that I might decide to rule the world after this?" Alex smirked and continued. "Your kingdom might become one of the preys, you know."
"I can only offer myself as your wife while offering my kingdom as your territory then." Elizabeth smiled.
Her meaning was clear to Alex and made him chuckle. He left the hall while waving his hand. "I don"t want to fight you as my opponent. It"s scary."
"No, no. I should be the one who says that."
Alex sighed and headed toward the inn that Astennu told him earlier. On the way, he took another glance at the hall and thought. "At the very least, I know that the Divine Kingdom won"t interfere in this battle. Judging from Elizabeth"s att.i.tude, she won"t be the one to start the war in case the Divine Kingdom really moves. That was why he was fine with only Heavenly Oath. Unlike in the past, the current him can learn whether that person will search for a way to tell someone or not.
In addition, he also made sure that everything he told her wasn"t a big secret.
"Still, that princess is really a scary one. Her brain and strength are like Shelka, but she is not the type who will take a huge risk just to fulfill her ambition and potentially harm me in the process." Alex let out a sigh of relief. "My chance in defeating the Fire G.o.d Clan has increased once again."
After walking for a few more minutes, Alex reached the promised inn. Luckily, there was no one foolish enough to tail him from behind or send a.s.sa.s.sins to him when he was on the way. That was why he could reach this place without too much time.
Entering the inn, he quickly went upstairs as if he was a regular of this inn. His destination was the top floor, and it turned out there was only a single room on that floor.
The door was suddenly opened from the inside as if they knew Alex was coming. Alex activated his Spirit Eyes first to check whether this was a trap or not before stepping inside the room.
"Welcome to my place, Alexander Sirius." Astennu"s voice resounded across the room.
Alex looked at the man and nodded with a smile. "Thank you for inviting me."
"No, no. I am just fulfilling her wish. Though I admit, I am very interested in meeting you." He smirked before stretching his hand toward the couch in front of him. "Please sit."
Alex looked at the sitting Astennu and the standing veiled woman and sat down. "Thank you."
"I am Astennu from Phantasm Sect. Nice to meet you."
"I am Alexander from Spirit Nest."
"As I said earlier, I want you to meet someone." Astennu glanced at the woman and introduced her to Alex. "She is—"
Before he could say her name, Alex stopped him.
"No need for introduction." Alex smiled and shook his head before glancing at the woman beside him and smiling at her. "It"s been a while, Senior Sister Song Yu."
She was taken aback as she never expected Alex would still recognize her despite her change. Song Yu smiled and took off her veil along with the robe that camouflaged her real body.
Alex could see her face again, her blonde hair, her tiny figure, and her cheerful expression. Song Yu smiled from ear to ear as she said, "We meet again, Junior Brother!"