The Gale Emperor added, "Of course, there is a handsome reward as well. Those who retake the kingdom will rule it or even appoint a dummy king in case the winner, which can be any one of you, is too busy to look after a kingdom. So...are you willing to accept this challenge? I promise that if you succeed, then this will be the end, and everyone will be satisfied."
The Gale Emperor deviated a bit from Farah's original plan, but he took the advice of giving irresistible incentives to Tristen so that he wouldn't feel any hesitation or refuse unless he was not confident in himself for leading an army.
Then it would only show everyone how incompetent he is, and even the Gale Emperor wouldn't want such a person to be the crown prince.
Still, he was sure if Tristen was desperate, he would take the offer since having a kingdom in one's pocket was no joke. It was no different than owning large areas of land, having your own army, and being a literal king of the whole place.
Damien said in a vigorous tone as he slightly bowed, "Of course, Your Majesty. How could I let go of a challenge where I have the opportunity to prove myself. I know that the public and even our own ministers don't have a great opinion of me. But I plan to change it and show them what I am capable of."
The Gale Emperor raised his brow, thinking that Tristen had become more mature and even his demeanor was becoming fitting of a true prince, unlike before. He wondered what happened to Tristen the past few months for him to change and whether his mysterious master had any role in it.
Yuria looked at him from the side, wondering why he sounded so confident and even accepted it without any hesitation.
But then she knew that Damien would certainly have a plan to be this confident and inwardly sighed in relief.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64ce79d606107d003c23ea27", id: "pf-5140-1"})"Good. Your chances indeed look promising, and I have high expectations for you. Don't let me down," The Gale Emperor said in a regal tone.
Damien nodded and asked, "So may I know why the Forsaken is occupying a kingdom that should be ours?"
The Gale Emperor tapped on the armrest as he said in a displeased tone, "It's because they think they have the power to offend not only the Xeton Empire but even us. They carry out attacks like cowards, and from the small success they reaped, it has given them more courage and fueled their ambitions, just enough to snatch our kingdom from underneath our noses."
Damien knitted his brows, thinking that the Forsaken must have diligently planned to wrestle away an entire kingdom from the Gale Empire and wondered why the Gale Emperor himself didn't take any action yet.
"You must be thinking why I didn't do anything about it, right?" The Gale Emperor asked with a narrowed gaze.
Before Damien could reply, the Gale Emperor continued, "That kingdom is between the borders of the Xeton Empire and our empire. But we made a deal long ago where we get to have the kingdom in our empire's name. But recently, the king succumbed to death because of his cultivation going wrong, and all he left behind was a single successor who is no more than ten years old. So the Forsaken took advantage of a helpless and incapable heir to make him submit to fear and took over the kingdom."
He went on, "It was a sudden takeover, and so we only knew about it later. And...the main reason I didn't go over there myself is that my scouts told me the kingdom is surrounded by a very powerful formation which would require me to waste a lot of time, energy, and resources to bring it down and wouldn't be worth it in the long run. So that's why I want any one of my sons to take it back without taking too much effort. I could do it, but I have an empire to run, and worrying about a mere kingdom is beneath me."
Damien inwardly scoffed, knowing that the Gale Emperor just wanted to maintain his reputation, especially after a kingdom was snatched away from his hand when he was not looking.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64cc9e79c7059f003e4ad4b0", id: "pf-5109-1"})So if he acts indifferent, his people would think the Gale Emperor doesn't even see the Forsaken as something that requires his personal attention.
But Damien thought that the part where he mentioned the powerful formation and him having to spend too many resources was true since otherwise the kingdom would have gotten retaken long before the emperor asked him or Kale.
"I understand, royal father. Please leave it to me. I will surely find a way to take back our kingdom from those cowardly rebels and show them who is the true ruler. I will make sure they never try something like this ever again," Damien said in a solemn tone as he puffed up his chest, as if he was proud to accept this challenge.
Yuria inwardly giggled, not expecting Damien to be so good of an actor. She felt that he could have won the Oscars in his previous life if he wanted to and found it interesting to see such a side to him.
The Gale Emperor nodded, "Hmm, I will be waiting then and see who comes out on top. You two may leave and Princess Yuria, the next time you talk with your father, tell him that I send my regards to him."
"Of course, Your Majesty," Yuria said with a bow as she and Damien left the throne room.
After they left, the Gale Emperor took out a talisman and sent his ethereal energy to it as he spoke, "So...I take it you have found the details of this Godnim person hanging around Tristen?"
A modified voice came from the other side, "Of course, Your Majesty. I think you will be quite surprised to know about him."
