Chapter 24: The Eldest Prince About to Win?
Su Xiao touched the Primordial Mask on his face, feeling the wooden texture of the mask. However, after entering complete disguise, the mask would fully mimic the skin of the old king.
Su Xiao didn't think anyone would dare to touch the old king's face. This level of disguise was sufficient. Entering a 100% disguise state would only last 7 hours, but at 90% disguise, it could last a full 16 hours, provided he didn't have physical contact with outsiders.
Soon, the commotion outside the bedroom subsided. Someone had attempted to assassinate the king, but after causing an explosion, they fled.
Leaving the bedroom, Su Xiao walked at a measured pace and soon arrived at the king's hall. The first thing he did was summon Ted.
Inside the king's hall, Ted knelt on the ground, his shoulders pressed down by two powerful hands.
"There's no need to execute him this afternoon."
"Yes."
After the Tower Guardian escorted Ted away, Su Xiao also left the hall and rested in a bedroom, beginning to wait. He needed to show himself as little as possible.
He waited until evening when the bedroom door was knocked on.
"Come in."
As soon as Su Xiao spoke, a Tower Guardian entered the room. After closing the door, the Tower Guardian closed his eyes to sense for a moment before pulling a note from his chest.
"Your Majesty, Lord Walsh requests your aid."
The kneeling Tower Guardian handed over the note. Clearly, this was a traitor among the Tower Guardians. The Tower Guardians were neutral and would not aid any side in the Blood War of Kings.
But everyone makes mistakes, and the Tower Guardians were no exception. The eldest prince, Walsh, had colluded with one or several Tower Guardians, as Su Xiao had guessed earlier.
According to Ted, it was the eldest prince who tampered with the teleportation tower in the royal capital before Liu arrived, causing Amu to be teleported away and ambushed by an unknown enemy.
Without a Tower Guardian working from within, the eldest prince couldn't have accomplished this. Moreover, right after the assassination plan failed, that space-attribute man was silenced so quickly—who would believe it wasn't done by a Tower Guardian?
Su Xiao took the note from the Tower Guardian. It read:
'Father, Ted and Kukulin Bai Ye have joined forces. Your son is in danger. I beg for your aid again.'
The corner of Su Xiao's eye twitched slightly beneath the mask. This felt strange—an enemy was asking him for help.
"Go tell Walsh that Ted and Kukulin Bai Ye have been secretly executed by me."
As Su Xiao spoke, he took a cylindrical glass bottle from his chest. The bottle was slightly yellowed, containing thick royal blood.
"Give this to Walsh. If he can't eliminate the Spider before dawn, he doesn't need to see me again, and he's not qualified to become king."
Su Xiao handed the glass bottle to the kneeling Tower Guardian. This was roughly 5/12 of the royal blood.
Ted had about 2/12 of the royal blood. The third prince and fourth princess, whom Su Xiao had eliminated, together had 3/12, totaling 5/12.
The amount of royal blood Su Xiao was now handing over exactly matched Ted's portion plus what outsiders knew Su Xiao had obtained. Details determined success or failure.
"Yes!"
The traitorous Tower Guardian lowered his head, solemnly accepting the royal blood from Su Xiao. If the eldest prince won, this Tower Guardian would enjoy treatment in his limited life that other Tower Guardians could never imagine.
After the traitorous Tower Guardian withdrew, Su Xiao frowned in thought. There was one issue he couldn't resolve: whether the three Tower Guardians guarding Ted would keep their mouths shut.
Traitors among the Tower Guardians were rare. The probability of one among those three was very low, especially since they were all on the verge of losing control. Without an extremely strong sense of duty, they wouldn't have held out this long.
Overall, most Tower Guardians were trustworthy. Without them, the Tower Forest Kingdom wouldn't have its current glory. One or two bad apples shouldn't negate the loyalty and mission that thousands of Tower Guardians had upheld for centuries.
...
Royal Capital, back room of a commoner tavern.
The eldest prince, Walsh, sat cross-legged in the darkness, holding a sculpture in his hand. This was his final trump card. He didn't want to admit it, but he had been pushed to the brink. The combination of Kukulin Bai Ye and Ted was practically cheating. As for their falling out, the eldest prince didn't fully believe it, though there was indeed a possibility of a rift between them.
One had survived in the slums since age seven, dodging assassination attempts while building up power.
The other had only been in the royal capital for a day before arranging the elimination of the eldest prince's formidable rivals, the third prince and fourth princess. Such nearly insane methods had truly shocked the eldest prince.
This combination had made the eldest prince's ally, Spider Lady, somewhat despairing. She simply couldn't see any hope of winning.
"Sigh~"
The eldest prince, Walsh, let out a sigh. He would never do this in front of others, but if he kept his face taut in private, he felt he would eventually crack.
Thump, thump-thump.
A rhythmic knock came. The eldest prince, Walsh, sat up straight, his expression turning serious.
"Sir."
A figure emerged from the darkness, slightly bowing to Walsh.
"How did things go?"
"Very poorly."
"Is that so? I've put you in a difficult position. I'll find a way. Don't let yourself be exposed because of impatience."
Walsh remained composed, as if everything was under his control.
"Walsh..."
The traitorous Tower Guardian spoke, approaching Walsh. Suddenly, he raised his fist and punched Walsh's shoulder. Walsh was momentarily stunned. His old friend was usually very serious; the two had been close friends since childhood.
"We succeeded. The king's help is beyond what you or I could imagine."
The traitorous Tower Guardian pulled a glass bottle from his chest and pressed it into Walsh's arms.
"This is!"
Walsh could no longer remain calm.
"This is Ted and Kukulin Bai Ye's royal blood. That bastard Kukulin had already fused with the royal blood—he wanted to become the new king. An outsider daring to seize royal blood? Seeking death."
"This is... Ted and Kukulin Bai Ye's royal blood?"
Walsh could barely control his slightly trembling hand as he grasped the glass bottle against his chest, immediately sensing the royal blood inside.
Walsh looked at the amount of royal blood, then estimated the portions Su Xiao and Ted had possessed. Soon, an uncontrollable smile spread across his face.
"So that means..."
Walsh looked at the traitorous Tower Guardian.
"That's right. Eliminate Spider Lady, and we win. You and that woman are allies; she doesn't know Ted and Kukulin Bai Ye are dead. There's no better opportunity than now."
The traitorous Tower Guardian could hardly contain his excitement.
"Are you sure both Ted and Kukulin Bai Ye are dead?"
"I didn't see Kukulin Bai Ye's corpse, but I saw Ted's body. I can confirm it was Ted—the residual aura on the corpse matched perfectly, and so did the appearance."
"Haha, hahaha!"
Walsh couldn't suppress his excitement and burst into laughter. After a moment, he slowly exhaled.
"I lost my composure. I'll go see Spider Lady now."
Walsh stood up from the darkness. He knew that from this moment on, he would no longer belong to the shadows, no longer have to hide like a mole. He would become the king of Tower Forest, sitting on the throne, overlooking everything.
As the saying goes, when a person is at their most triumphant, they are also at their most vulnerable. And vulnerability leads to utter ruin.