A moment ago, the city of Zhishang was bustling with people. With a city built at the shores of the ocean, people from northern empires, especially the civilian merchants and strong adventurers do business here.
The civilian merchants don't have ether energy and hence, cannot store them in a storage ring. Instead, they transport here through the boats.
The foreign adventurers who wanted to sell corpses also come through the large ships because of the limited space in the storage rings.
As one of the three ports of the Western Moon kingdom, Zhishang was also famous for marine food markets. Thousands of fishermen from the nearby islands come and do business here.
In a nutshell, it's hard for the central region of this city to not be crowded with people.
Just like every day, tourists, natives, adventurers, and all types of people are roaming the neighborhood. With the news of the royal knights stationed at a popular restaurant passed around, naturally, a large crowd gathered at the entrance to see what was going on.
The people's enthusiasm increased when they heard that the restaurant is currently occupied by the royal family. They thought that the King and his family came here for dining.
However, to their surprise, all of a sudden, a lightning bolt descended from the skies and struck the restaurant.
The terrifying flash of lightning made a few people go temporarily blind while the others started running away in fear after they heard a powerful rumble in the sky. Who doesn't fear natural disasters?
Fortunately for them, after that, the sky became calm and the crowd slowly gathered once again as the restaurant was completely intact. Some of them started wondering whether the King is okay while some were hoping for the king to be struck by lightning and considered it a punishment from the heavens.
Meanwhile, on the third floor's garden dining area, the supposed royal family members were stunned by the sudden development and went into a daze as the supposed legendary realm expert from the Church of Doom was struck by lightning and turned to ash.
All of them were thinking of the same thing, "What the hell just happened?"
Because it is natural lightning, they wondered whether it is a coincidence. But, before they digested it, Mark opened his mouth, this time while giving a cold gaze to his enemies, "There's a reason I have chosen an open spot like this, Queen Tan, Shen Qiu."
"Eh?" "Huh!" "What!"
All of them looked at him in disbelief.
"How did you know that the lightning will strike at this spot?" Shen Qiu was the first to erupt.
In response, Mark stared at him in silence for a couple of moments and asked, "Are you an idiot?"
"What? You…" As Shen Qiu's face turned red as he was scolded, the Princess let out a smile, "I knew that you can use Ice and Lightning attributes but didn't expect that you are also a lightning mage, Mr. Lu. You aren't in Exalt realm as everyone believed it, right?"
Well, she clearly misunderstood his strength but Mark didn't have any plans to correct her. He stayed silent and let her believe whatever she wanted to believe.
But then again, if one thinks about it, she was also right. He was only a 5-circle summoner. With the Amulet of magic, his stats were equal to that of a 6-circle. And finally, the thunderblast had a 150% attack power, bringing his attack power to over 9-circle. He was indeed an overpowered Spirit Warrior.
As for why Xi Lim was dead instantly despite being an 8-circle realm expert in peak stage, it is because he was unprepared. A prepared mage is as powerful as 10 warriors of the same realm but an unprepared mage is even weaker than a warrior of a below realm.
Xi Lim might have been an 8-circle realm Spirit Warrior but he is still a mage. His defense is a lot lesser than even a 6-circle realm Spirit Warrior of Fighter Path.
Maybe, if he had been prepared for the incoming attack by shielding himself with ether energy shield or some defensive skill, he wouldn't have probably ended up dead.
But, Mark didn't give him such an opportunity. As soon as he realized that Xi Lim was an enemy, he silently ambushed him with the Thunderblast to take him away and turned around the situation.
And now, Princess Shen Ling and King Shen Niu were in high spirits while Queen Tan Ning and Grand Prince Shen Qiu became nervous.
Seeing the legs of Shen Qiu shaking in fear while he was inwardly cursing the Prime Minister who invited Mark to this kingdom, the Princess calmed her heart and took her seat, "Okay, I think both of you will now be ready to listen to my proposition."
Like her father, she was also angry at her mother and uncle but this meeting made her realize that her mother doesn't want to harm them. Tan Ning might have been evil enough to sacrifice millions of innocents but still, she was the reason Shen Niu was alive.
Shen Ling was smart enough to understand that simple logic. That's why she tried to deal with the situation in a calm manner.
On the other hand, the King couldn't control his emotions. Letting out his ether energy wildly, he roared, "Tan Ning, it isn't enough for you to lock me up and separate me from my daughter for a decade, you still want to imprison me, again? In front of the enormous strength of your organization, my ancestors might have left with no choice but to shelter you people in our land.
However, your organization had decided to break the sacred oath by not only interfering in the internal matters of the kingdom but also harming the lives of innocents.
Enough is enough. Everything ends now. I will cede the disputed territories. I will even accept whatever unfair demands the Empires would place before me. No matter what, I will make sure to erase the Church of Doom from my land. As for you two, I…"
"Wait for a second, Father." Shen Ling hurriedly stopped him from proceeding any further. She doesn't want him to announce any punishment because she feared that it will completely break apart her family. As she earlier said to Mark, she wants her mother and uncle to repent of their actions. At the same time, she wants this matter to stay secret in order to protect the dignity of the royal family.
That's why, after stopping her father, she quickly stated the original conditions to both of them.
While Tan Ning digested it pretty quickly, feeling that her daughter is showing mercy on her, Shen Qiu, on the other hand, went into a daze for a while. He was expecting to be thrown at Qincheng prison.
So, in case, the King announces his punishment, he was ready to retaliate by summoning the undead and escape. But, to his surprise, nothing happened as he feared. Not only he was pardoned for his betrayal, but he will also keep his dignity as he passes the throne to the real king.
It is good for him except for the fact that the decision-making isn't in his hands. The Queen is the one who put him on the throne. So, Shen Qiu looked at his sister-in-law to hear what she has to say.
For that one moment, seeing the calmness on the Queen, Mark thought that they were Tan Ning and Shen Ling were really mother and daughter.
As Mark and others wondered what the Queen was thinking deeply when there was no punishment for her at all, the latter turned her head to look at Mark instead of her daughter.
With a serious expression on her face, she spoke, "By killing Elder Xi, you have really brought doom upon yourself, Lu Zhen. Had you not been involved in this matter, everything would have gone well. You don't know what kind of danger you have invited upon yourself. Now, be prepared to face the consequences."
"Write down my address." Mark simply responded by letting out a fake smile while crossing his arms to the chest, "Plot no. 16, Alley No. 11, Hanga District, Imperial City, Phoenix Empire. Whether it is to buy a weapon or settle down the disputes, I'll happily welcome friends and enemies alike. So, you don't need to worry about me. Pray for your fellow members of the church that I won't get lucky during the next couple of weeks. Otherwise, these hands will put raze your church to the ground whether the Empires take action on you or not."
Even the princess didn't fully comprehend the meaning behind his statement but she was sure of one thing. He is going to do something big in the upcoming weeks.
