The Royal Capital, Francia Palace.
The Old King looked out at the darkening sky with a worried expression; it had been ten hours, and Lana had not yet returned to the Palace.
Had Baron Lock's rescue failed, and Lana been devoured by a magical beast, or had some other accident occurred?
"My Warrior Captain, what do you think was the power level of the magical beasts that attacked the Royal Hunting Grounds today?" Ramposa III suddenly asked Gazef, who was serving at his side.
Gazef didn't know why His Majesty the King would ask this, but he answered honestly: "Because I didn't engage with those magical beasts much, I can't be entirely sure. But according to Lakyus, the captain of Blue Rose, it's likely that each of them possessed power no less than that of a Demon God. (The lower limit for Demon Gods in this world is extremely low.)"
"Demon Gods... is it?" Ramposa III murmured, the look in his eyes deepening.
"Yes. And judging by the fact that their corpses mysteriously vanished afterwards, it's likely these magical beasts were summoned and controlled by someone. If that's truly the case, then that person's strength is probably far beyond our imagination."
At this point, Gazef's face instantly turned ashen. From the enemy's attack on the hunting grounds, the killing of nobles, and the abduction of the princess, it was clear that the mastermind held a hostile attitude towards the Kingdom.
And as the Kingdom's Warrior Captain, he was powerless. If Baron Lock and his Tiger Knight Order hadn't happened to be there, then perhaps...
"Your Majesty, you don't need to worry too much. I believe that with the strength of Baron Lock and his men, they will be able to rescue Her Royal Highness the Princess from the enemy's hands."
To Gazef's comfort, the Old King merely sighed, "Let's hope so."
In fact, from the Old King's perspective, if Lock and the mastermind were to both suffer heavy losses and perish together, it might not necessarily be a bad thing.
Once Baron Lock, as the leader, was killed, then, as King, perhaps he could recruit that powerful Tiger Knight Order to his banner.
At that time, by purging the entire Kingdom, reclaiming the power scattered in the hands of the nobles, rectifying the administration, and completing reforms, the Kingdom could be revitalized.
Ramposa III shook his head; this possibility was extremely low and not something he should fantasize about.
If Lana couldn't be safely rescued, would he have to abdicate directly to preserve the Vanself Family? No! Baron Lock probably wouldn't agree.
Then, should he have one of his two married daughters divorce and remarry Baron Lock? After all, the Baron probably only needed a title, and he shouldn't mind such a thing.
Ramposa III was now immensely grateful to his past self and his youngest daughter for having earned a good reputation for the Vanself Family; their direct territory still had many people who supported the Royal family's rule.
Among all the nobles in the Kingdom, the Royal family naturally held the largest territory.
It was because of this point that Baron Lock had not directly used force to coerce him, but rather wanted to inherit the throne through legitimate means, right?
Just as the Old King was planning for the future of his family, a guard protecting the Palace arrived in hurried steps.
"His Majesty the King! Princess Lana has returned to the Palace!" The guard loudly conveyed this message to Ramposa III, sweeping away the melancholy from the Old King's face.
"That's wonderful! Where is my daughter?"
"She's at the Palace gate; she should be heading here now."
Upon hearing this, the Old King immediately walked towards the gate, and Gazef, who followed closely behind, also showed a joyful smile. It was truly excellent that Her Royal Highness the Princess had returned safely.
Although Gazef didn't fully understand Ramposa III's true thoughts, he did know one thing: the Old King genuinely loved his clever, kind-hearted youngest daughter.
For this elderly man, the return of his abducted daughter was a very pleasant surprise.
And this old man was the monarch he had sworn allegiance to; Gazef was sincerely happy for him.
As the Old King had just stepped out of the Palace entrance, he immediately saw Lana on the Palace avenue. She still bore bloodstains, which made Ramposa III's heart ache, and he called out tremblingly, "Lana!"
"Father!"
Lana stumbled as she ran towards the Old King, then threw herself into her old father's arms. Hot tears flowed from her eyes, and she said nothing, but from her tight embrace, the Old King could feel how much suffering his child had endured.
"My daughter!" For a moment, the Old King also shed tears, gently stroking his daughter's golden hair and comforting her, "It's good that you're back, it's good that you're back!"
The two embraced for a while before the Old King noticed Vier, who was following behind Lana. Ramposa III had only seen this maid, capable of using wondrous resurrection magic, earlier in the day; her magical abilities were even greater than Lakyus'.
"Excuse me, where is Baron Lock?" The Old King spoke without any pretense, even with a hint of respect, as he asked Vier.
Perhaps his attitude pleased Vier greatly, as a smile appeared on her face, and she politely replied, "His Majesty the King, to rescue the princess, my master battled powerful magical beasts for a long time and sustained some injuries. He is currently not well enough to meet you; please forgive him."
"I see," Ramposa III nodded without delving deeper. "Please convey my gratitude to Baron Lock. Also, to commend the Baron's achievements in this incident, I would like to host a grand court banquet. When do you think the Baron will recover?"
"I cannot give you a precise time right now, but I imagine that once my master hears of your gracious invitation, his injuries should heal very quickly." Vier's answer was formulaic; both of them knew perfectly well that Lock hadn't sustained any serious injuries, and even if he had, he could recover instantly with healing magic.
"That's truly wonderful. Then please have Baron Lock inform me once he has recovered. Please give me a day or two's notice in advance, as I also need to make some preparations."
"As you wish, His Majesty the King." Vier bowed politely, then bid farewell to His Majesty the King, "I will go inform my master of the court banquet now, so I shall take my leave."
"Hmm, I trouble you."
After saying their goodbyes, Vier returned directly to the training tower, leaving the King and his daughter to share their concerns.
At the tower's base, the 'injured' Lock was currently enjoying a specially prepared steak. On either side of his dining table were Brian, Clementine, Zesshi Zetsumei, and the Black Scripture.
"Oh, Boss, it seems you all had a lot of fun this time!" Brain said to Lock with a look of regret.
Ever since defeating Gazef, he had made pursuing a higher level of power his goal. After hearing about the Royal Hunting Grounds and the forest today, the intense battle filled him with longing.
Unfortunately, Lock had told him that he was not yet capable of engaging in battles of that caliber.
"It was alright." Lock put a small piece of beef into his mouth, chewed a few times, then swallowed, and asked Brain, "How are you two doing?"
"We've basically finished integrating, but Boss, the things written in the secret manual you gave us are quite profound. It will probably take some time to fully grasp them," Brain said, shrugging helplessly.
"Take your time; these things can't be rushed. I believe you both have enough talent to master them; after all, you are much faster than Baroque and the others. They took several years to reach their current level."
Lock smiled, encouraging the two. He had already given them the appropriate job-change items. As long as they could thoroughly study those items, Brain and the other would be able to take on new professions, and their power ceiling would be raised.
After all, their original unreasonable attribute distribution had all been adjusted by Lock, and the prerequisites for job advancement could be fully met.
Afterwards, by applying advancement magic repeatedly, they would soon become excellent helpers.
"Do you have any suitable items for me here?" Zesshi Zetsumei put down her dining knife and suddenly asked.
Since Lock hadn't excluded her and the Black Scripture, it proved that this matter was not a secret to him. As a collaborator and having fought alongside him, Zesshi Zetsumei was confident that she could represent Theocracy, and asking about it shouldn't be considered rude.
Lock glanced at her, pondered for a moment, and said, "I do have some. To be honest, your abilities are too scattered and lack strong correlation. It might not be apparent when dealing with ordinary people, but against opponents of a certain caliber, you will be at a great disadvantage. Unless you can eliminate some of your mismatched powers and then re-integrate the remaining parts into a complete system."
"Even if you say that, the powers I've already mastered have long been integrated into my body. It's not that easy to give them up!" Zesshi Zetsumei shook her head.
Many people take detours on the path to becoming stronger, and by the time they realize it, it's too late. Not everyone can accurately identify their strengths and stay on the same path.
After reaching a certain limit, many attempt to gain power from other directions to achieve extreme breakthroughs. After all, the human race itself doesn't have a very high ability value, and even as a God-kin, she was no exception.
Previously, Zesshi Zetsumei hadn't felt that she had taken a wrong turn on the path to becoming stronger, but only after battling Lock did she realize how far off course she had strayed.
Just as she was lamenting, she noticed a mysterious smile on Lock's face, "You have a way?"
Lock put down his cutlery.
"That's truly simple for me. But business is business. If it were not forBriann and the others, I wouldn't hesitate, as they are all subordinates who serve me. As for you, strictly speaking, we are merely collaborators. If I were to use such precious items on you, what would I gain?"
Zesshi Zetsumei immediately became serious and asked, "What do you want?"
"It's simple, what I want is your excellent fighting power." Lock stared at her intently, his eyes somewhat fiery. It was well known that Zesshi Zetsumei was the most powerful natural anomaly among all humans in this world; her value far exceeded that of Brain and others. "I know you can't pledgedirect allegiance to me and become my subordinate. How about this: in exchange for those items, you work for me for a hundred years. During this period, if Theocracy has any troubles, you can return to solve them, or I can step in to help you resolve them. How does that sound?"
Zesshi Zetsumei hesitated for a moment. Her own existence had some issues, and she also had a mission within Theocracy; this was not something that could be easily decided.
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A/N: 40+ Advance Chapter Has Been Uploaded.
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