novelraw Chapter 209 - 208 - Wrathful Prince
Chapter 209 - 208 - Wrathful Prince
Vern felt frustrated that he had been forced to come to the edge of the world for his current duty. Overseeing mortals was the least desirable job and the rewards were basically nothing, but it had to be done. Vern had no friends or no important ones at least.
His slicked back blonde hair was not natural. He had been dying it for years yet cultivation was annoying in that as one advanced in realm, the corresponding dye or makeup would need to be at the same level to alter appearance beyond simple enhancement.
He was only a tier 4 Soul Realm but he had been much happier in Obsidian Cliff. It was a modest city in the Kingdom of Altair near the western border. Many mortal villages fed crops to it along with a few women now and again, but the current village had been regulated to the point it nearly collapsed.
The previous overseer had abused his situation that ruined the soil that had been laid out, but the mortals still endured according to latest reports so the next had been sent. Vern shivered at what happened to that idiot before. He was eviscerated alive in front of a crowd and he was a child back then.
His father had impressed on him not to abuse his position in life unless he had the strength to pull it off. Women were available on demand but the quality was very low to Vern's hopes. He wondered if there would be a pretty mortal to play with when the artifact he was riding began to slow down.
It was a simply floating artifact that allowed Soul or World Realms to easily traverse the length of Altair quickly. They were from one of the many Relics that allowed their kingdom to flourish but could not work too far away from their origin as had been tested.
The village was at the very edge of its reach.
Vern frowned as he saw no bodies moving in the fields but they looked far more healthy than reported. He did not recognize the crops but he was not a farmer anyway. He just went to restaurants or joined banquets if he could.
He was not surprised by the destitute state of the huts but the massive structure now lording over them was new. He pulled out a jade slip and confirmed no such structure in the previous reports.
"What has that idiot been doing out here?" Overseers had some leeway in using local women or changing layout of a village, but such a large structure would have wasted manpower a great deal.
The flourishing fields spoke to the contrary but the complete lack of people was odd. A few useless mortals lounging was expected. Yet, Vern saw not a soul as he stepped off the floating carriage.
"Colt! Where are you?!" The transfer was very informal but it had to be done before Vern could take up his duties. Was the fool off fondling some woman? The day was noted by any overseer at these remote villages. Normally, a cultivator could not wait to leave.
It was not impossible he was rutting around one last time and lost track of the exact time so Vern was not entirely put out but would note any used stock to avoid. He preferred to imprint himself on them first.
Vern was about to progress when a powerful aura slammed him into the ground. His bones creaked and his blood burned as pain flared across his body. What was going on?!
"Hmmm, interesting artifact. It is part of a larger whole and has to recharge after going a certain distance." A voice suddenly came from behind him but he could not even move his head to look. It was beyond his peripheral vision as well.
He tried to summon the emergency message jade stone, but then his storage imploded right in front of his eyes!
"I would prefer not to have any interruptions now that a new person has arrived. While I can sympathize with detesting a remote posting, the disdain and dismissal in your eyes was identical to the last fellow I found here." A shadow now loomed over Vern and he felt the blood drain from his face.
Dark green eyes, dirty blonde hair, and tanned skin! It was the description of the heir! It was Lind Frey! Vern had heard about him in passing and focused on the details in case he needed to bow out for royalty.
Commoners were killed for less and Vern would not be one of them! The heir had been reported dead but Vern still learned all he could about him just in case there was another son that had survived. Then, a few months ago, rumors sprang up that he had returned from the dead.
It would appear it was true!
"I see you recognize me, good. That saves time." Pressure lessened on Vern's head. He took a breath but then Vern felt fear as he looked into those forbidding dark green eyes. Any begging or sniveling disappeared right out of his head.
"What is your highness doing with the filth out here?" Vern had done extensive research on physical appearance, but like most of the Kingdom of Altair, exterior points of view were backward and primitive.
Thus he cried out as his right leg shin was snapped in 2 suddenly. Why?! What had he done?!
"You may find it wise not to voice an opinion going forward. My tolerance seems very low here." The calmness to the Prince was more terrifying than rage would be. Vern wet himself without worry as he understood his life hung by a thread. He did not want to die!
"F-forgive this lowly servant. How can I be of aide?" Vern was wracked by pain but he pushed through it to speak. Lind nodded at him before a chair appeared and he sat down. The chair was hardly ornate but compared to the huts, it was luxurious.
"I have some questions. Exactly how closely is a village like this observed?" Lind's cold eyes bore into Vern and he felt that if he lied he would be killed instantly.
"Hardly at all. The reports are filed regularly at 3 year intervals and shipments are due at the beginning of every year." The Prince nodded but looked at the fields and Vern so no issue with that being an issue for the current year.
"These are not crops strictly speaking, but herbs that thrive in rocky regions. They can be used to make food to survive. I assume these would not be acceptable?" The question threw Vern at first but then he closely examined the fields and recognized one of the plants from an alchemist shop.
"Uh, that would be a problem. Mortals are required to produce crops only." The Prince frowned but Very quickly spoke up. "They are granted the land and it is carved up by a World Realm to raise crops for the good of the Kingdom! The food is needed for our cultivators to grow stronger!"
The Prince slowly nodded but still looked displeased.
"Then why is no rotation done to rejuvenate the soil? Why not replace the soil at regular intervals at least with earth Qi enrichment?" Vern was confused why such obvious questions would be asked.
"We can't have the mortals do too well. We simply need them to produce enough to satisfy their assignment." A dark look flashed on his Highness' face but Vern was truly confused.
"Why was this village taken over directly?" That question was different from the others. It was as if the Prince knew the answer but Vern had to think quickly over the details of his assignment before it came back to him.
"They broke the moral guidelines as decreed by our glorious founder, your ancestor!" Vern missed the deep frown as he began to espouse the glorious history of Altair. "He declared only strength matters and that man is the dominant sex. Women are too weak to be of use outside of reproduction."
Vern kept digging as he spoke of how stupid and irritating women were if left to their own devices as demonstrated by the backwards nations around them. The only warning Vern got was when the pressure multiplied on his whole body to cause his bones to creak.
The broken shards on his right leg now burned hard but he could not even cry out as his face was frozen. How was the Prince so strong?!
Vern had felt World Realms pressure an audience but nothing like what he felt right then. The only time he felt something like this was when the Regent's son was showing off at full strength.
"Do none of you understand how idiotic you are? A harsh land of course needs diversified roles but only a complete and utter moron would actually make such a decree." The Prince was standing once more but now emerald flames were flickering across his body which made Vern shiver in his soul!
He tried to talk but the Prince no longer seemed willing to listen.
"I thought perhaps it was simply the corrupt politicians of this country that were the issue, but the problem is deeper than I feared. How absolutely foolish you are when there is literally a Heavenly Maiden Sect that makes the Demon Empire tremble to prove you wrong!" The voice was making Vern's ears bleed and he was crying but the pressure only increased more.
"PEOPLE ARE NOT THINGS! THEY ARE NEVER THINGS!" Vern felt his vision going dark and wept in his soul. He regretted all the opportunities he gave up due to fear and how he was sent to his death for petty reasons.
Just as Vern was certain he was drawing his last breath, the pressure vanished. The Prince's face was still stone cold but Vern was so glad to be alive that he did not care at that particular moment.
"I refuse to be as callous as you all here. Eat this." A bill was tossed to him and he quickly ate it and felt eased as his body healed at an accelerated rate. It was a mid grade 2 pill! Vern barely had low grade 2 pills. They were so expensive.
Everyone knew Lind Frey was a peak grade 3 elixir master so pills were beneath his notice, yet Vern was grateful.
"I will happily–" Vern was about to kneel when he was lifted into the air forcefully. Rage blazed in those dark green eyes so clearly that his life flashed before his own eyes.
"I have no need for you! I am perfectly happy on my own. What you will do is answer my questions to the best of your ability and if I am feeling very merciful, I may let you keep your cultivation but you will leave this place and NEVER return." Vern swallowed and was dropped to the ground. His freshly healed leg barely held together as he turned to follow the Prince into the large structure but then froze once more.
"You will sleep in there. If I find you anywhere else or sense your Qi on the wind anywhere else, I will break your arms and legs. Do not test me." The Prince forcefully slammed the stone door in Vern's face as he whimpered and entered the rundown hut nearby.
He cursed all the higher ups back at Obsidian Cliff and his father as well. He did not dare to curse his Highness for fear it would end his pathetic life early. The hut had no door and a cot would be better than the slab of stone that made the bed. Another round of curses crossed his lips but Vern simply accepted it and tried to sleep.
He hoped the spirits would curse the world for him and he would wake up to find the current world just a very bad dream.