44 Blood and Iron

In the Royal Court of the Biron Kingdom, the court officials are arguing so much King Biron Yin Wei is having a headache. If only he have his wife by his side, the torturous debate would be more tolerable.

"They are taking hostage of our people! This sect's nature is also questionable!"

"I agree, but clearly, we can be more cautious about how we do things as they are an unknown!"

"Did anyone of you recall the Flying Daggers? They returned yesterday…"

"Surely, they have good news, with their prowess, they would be able to infiltrate an unknown sect."

"No, they are not… They came back in defeat and in tatters… Even the famed squad leader is dead!"

More ruckus and more ruckus. The court officials are annoying enough, but to think there is just more bad news. He gave the green light to the Flying Daggers aware that it is disrespectful to the sect, but he has done this so much already it felt natural. In fact, there is no sect secret the royal king is not privy to in the whole Biron Kingdom.

The utter defeat of his Flying Daggers suggests that the new rising power, the System's Providence Sect, is strong enough to have capabilities equivalent to a country. This is undeniable, as even with their best spies, they weren't able to infiltrate their sect's territory. They didn't even have any idea of what their walls looked like.

The court officials continue arguing.

"What should we do? Should we send a diplomat?"

"We can also try enticing this new sect like what we did to others…"

"Are you a fool? They would only be enticed if we have something they want!"

"Elixirs, powerful beasts, and cultivation methods! We are the kingdom. They must want something!"

The court officials nodded, shook their heads, approved, and then disapproved, but slowly two actions are narrowed down for the kingdom to take. It is either to treat this new sect with friendliness or hostility.

Suddenly, Yin Wei sees his wife coming at him in great strides. The sight of his beautiful wife gives his heart peace amidst the troubled times ahead of them. "Dear wife, I am definitely fortunate to have you… Come sit…" He beckons her to the queenly throne.

Yin Hua, the silver-haired queen drifts into the air like a fairy speaking a great volume of her cultivation at the 6th stage. She arrives beside Yin Wei and whispers in his ear. "Our 11th youngest is missing…"

"What!? Yin Shu!?" Yin Wei's emotions flare up. His cultivation base at the 8th stage shakes the throne room causing the court officials to tremble in fear.

The court officials kowtow to their king and beg him to calm his anger.

"Your majesty, please calm your rage! Your officials might die from your torrent of qi!"

"Tell your official what makes you angry, and we shall do our best to soothe your rage!"

"Your majesty, we seek your understanding for we are just lowly mortals in front of your might!"

Yin Wei takes a calm breath and adjusts the qi surrounding his skin and his overpowering aura in the throne room. The youngest daughter, the 11th royal princess might not be gifted in cultivation, but she is loved greatly by the king and queen. They spoil her, care for her and treasure her.

"My 11th youngest is missing… Tell me, court officials, how did this happen?"

The court official goes into a bleak silence aware that if they say the wrong words, the king might have them executed. The 11th royal princess is a stigma to the kingdom. Though the royal king and queen show adoration to their daughter, many of the kingdoms outside their domain think lowly of the royal princess who engages with commoners and doesn't respect the status quo.

A prime minister loyal to the king steps forward while still bowing his head. "The last sightings of the princess is at the tongue…"

"I already know that!" Cutting the prime minister off is the queen. Though she is two stages below the king in terms of cultivation, she is not to be trifled with. She is a genius cultivator after all that was once in the 9th stage. "I know my daughter is in the tongue. I am his mother! I also know the disturbances that occurred in the tongue as I was there! I am her mother yet I wasn't able to look out for her… How difficult could that be? I… I…"

The flaring anger of the queen reduces into small sobs. Yin Wei comes to her side in a loving embrace, comforting her that everything will be fine.

The prime minister finds his courage back and then speaks his honest thoughts. "The princess will be fine, your majesty… She is under watch by the Royal Bodyguard Shan Yusin. She is a talented cultivator not even past her 30s yet she is already at the 3rd stage." He addresses the king somberly.

Yin Wei nods approvingly. "She better be…"

Proceeding on the main agenda of their affairs, Yin Wei declares his suspicion to his officials. "The day she went missing is during the tongue, yes? The possibility of this new sect being involved is high… For now, we must take a friendly stance, and maintain it as long as we can… The priority is finding the princess!"

"Yes, your majesty!"

As they were about to adjourn, the presence of the 7th stage rudely intruded on the throne room. It is the lord magistrate of the south, Chou Guan, in his bright purple robes. He radiates powerful qi that even the king cannot ignore.

"Are you not afraid of treason for your coming here without permission? This is lawlessness!" The prime minister voices his dissatisfaction undeterred by the magistrate's cultivation might. That's how much he trusts his king and the state.

Chou Guan, the magistrate, however, is also undeterred by the prime minister's words. It is because of his connections with the Templars. For this same reason, the other officials don't dare to confront him directly.

The king similarly had to make careful steps around him. This power-tripping sends an exciting sensation down Chou Guan's spine. 'As expected of a backwater country,' he thought.

"Forgive me, your majesty, if I have affronted you… It is because I bear great news that would be proven helpful to you." He superfluously says while giving the queen a lecherous gaze.

The queen's face is ice cold and doesn't let any emotion out however, inside her, she is seething with hatred. The officials also share the queen's feelings. It is so often they hear the magistrate's apologies, they don't want to hear it anymore.

"What is this great news you speak of?" The king irritably says to the pompous magistrate who was only in his position because of the backing of the Templars.

"You must declare war on the System's Providence Sect!" He says with gravitas. It's not really a piece of information but more like a command which earns more hatred from everyone who is seeing this.

Even the stoic scribe's scholarly appearance almost breaks at the magistrate's words. The same is for the guards overseeing the proceedings.

An old general attending the meeting draws his sword menacingly. "You shall address our king as his majesty…"

The magistrate didn't even look at the grandpa and continued on with his words. "Your majesty, the Templars desire the destruction of the sect. The Templars are sending an army in two months' time. They will come with your permission, march to the Desolate Mountain, and destroy this so-called rising power."

The people in the throne room gasp at the revelation. This is definitely big news, but if it is great news as Chou Guan claims, the king doubts that. If the Templars really do attack the said sect, and the princess is there, his 11th youngest daughter might be put in jeopardy.

Though he is king, and this is his kingdom, Yin Wei has no power to stop the Templars. That is how powerful and deep the Templars' grip in Biron Kingdom.

The queen, Yin Hua, blanches and loses her balance as she stumbles on the throne. So weak and frail, unlike her old self who was once in the 9th stage. Yin Wei grits his teeth so hard, he is making grinding noises.

Chou Guan smiles at what he sees. Of course, he knows of the disappearance of the princess. He also knows that the princess was in the System's Providence Sect. After all, Chou Guan desires to possess the princess for his own political benefit only for that Royal Bodyguard to intercept his every agent.

His smile turns bitter as he recalled Shan Yusin and the annoying Butterberry forest that has been hindering lots of his spies…

Further plunging the royal couple into despair, Chou Guan reveals another piece of news. "Oh, your majesty… The Templars have requested of my command of their forces in attacking the System's Providence Sect. They hope that there wouldn't be any estrangement from their army and ours…" He says almost sarcastically struggling to hold his laughter.

The old general who was aiming his sword at him had his hands shaking at hearing his, Chou Guan's, involvement in the Templar army. He is technically threatening the king of his rule by saying those words after all.

Though all of the officials and people in the throne room are enraged, none of them had the courage to express it.

Well, except the king.

He walks forward slowly, but with momentum. His face is clean and his hair is long. His ashen robes with the designs of the fading black sun flutter with each step. As he stands face to face with Chou Guan, the King puts his palm on Chou Guan's shoulder.

For a moment, Chou Guan feels scared. Then, he realizes, the king isn't doing any harm to him at all, so he grows bolder.

"What is it, your majesty? To think you'd touch my shoulder… Do you think perhaps of me as your equal? This is an honor… For the king to even do this…"

King Yin Wei leans closer and whispers to Chou Guan's ear. "I have two wives… First is the person that gave birth to my blood— that is my Yin HUa, my beloved wife… Second is the personage known as 'iron' who allowed me to be king— that is my sword, my hated wife… Tell me, am I still your king?"

"I... I…" Chou Guan stutters, and now he realizes the gate from where he comes from is closed, and standing by its side are two soldiers with notable cultivation.

"Wrong answer…" Yin Wei dreadfully whispers as he draws his sword and cut off the treacherous bastard in front of him.