When Han Shuo returned to his official residence, Kallas immediately reported to Han Shuo that Third Prince Lawrence had been waiting for him all along.
King Uhtred of the Lancelot Empire originally had three princes, the eldest prince Charles, the second prince Cyril and the youngest prince Beverly. Of the three princes, eldest prince Charles was fearless and fond of battle, second prince Cyril was the epitome of a cultured noble, while the youngest prince Beverly was only fifteen, not yet considered an adult.
(TL note: I know Beverly is more commonly known as a woman's name, but 1. That's what it says in the raw. 2. Beverly was traditionally a common male name).
When Lawrence's identity was revealed, he became the Third Prince. However, the title of Third Prince was only how the public addressed him on the surface. The way they silently criticised him was hidden in their hearts.
Han Shuo had just returned to his residence when he heard from Kallas that Lawrence was waiting for him, causing him to cry out internally to Lawrence's information network. After entering Ossen City from Brettel City, Han Shuo had never shown his face to anyone, only visiting the Babylon Academy of Magic and Strength as well as the Dark Mantle Headquarters. News from Brettel City should not have arrived so quickly. It was clear from Lawrence's arrival that he had other fast information channels.
Compared to his former cheerfulness, Lawrence's expression had an added gloom to it. It was unclear if it was because things had not gone his way recently, but Lawrence's temper had become colder. However, when he saw Han Shuo enter, he still hugged Han Shuo while laughing heartily.
After an intimate discussion with Candide, Han Shuo had a new understanding of Lawrence's plans and thoughts. Seeing Lawrence initiate a hug, Han Shuo also had a happy expression on his face and suddenly hugged Lawrence tightly. He then inquired about Lawrence's health, still laughing out loud.
After exchanging pleasantries, Han Shuo waved his hand to order the servant who had sent light refreshments to withdraw. He lightly sipped his cup of tea from the south of the Oden Empire before he looked at Lawrence and said, "It hasn't been long since we met, I didn't expect the situation to have reached such an extent.
"Bryan, there's finally news of you. These days in the capital have been unbearable. Charles has been undermining me and is currently in the capital. Apart from my foster father and Uncle Boris, none of the nobles support me. Ai, this is because my identity is relatively embarrassing. I know that these nobles despise me. But I can't avoid this situation. Otherwise, Charles and the others wouldn't let me go". Lawrence didn't hypocritically say anything else, but came straight to the point and vented his current predicament.
Of the other three princes, the eldest, Prince Charles, had the support of Grand Duke Ashburn. His mother was also the current Queen. This made him the most likely heir to the throne. The second prince, Cyril, spent most of his time in the capital and was on friendly terms with all the powerful nobles, acting as someone who was good-natured and understood the will of the people. As a result, there was a group of nobles who supported him.
Although the youngest prince, Beverly, was not yet of age, his mother was the woman the king currently loved most. With her constant whispering of sweet nothings to the king, Uhtred seemed to love Beverly very much. Moreover, Beverly's grandfather was the Marquis of Northern Bimson City, and the strength of his clan was not to be underestimated.
In fact, if it were not for his overly embarrassing identity, with the support of his father and uncle, in addition to his master being the Sacred Swordmaster Karel Ascot, Lawrence, who had joined in late, still had some capital. Unfortunately, due to his identity as an illegitimate child, this was not considered to be a massive amount of capital, simply unable to provide him with any security.
Han Shuo knew from Candide's words that the old astrologer Madame Grace had the power to influence the decision with her words. Lawrence's master Karel had not declared his support, apparently also waiting for Madame Grace's opinion. Lawrence seemed to have no understanding in this area, sighing in despair as he told Han Shuo.
After a while, Han Shuo finally replied, "I have just returned from Dark Mantle and have received some extremely important information. Within Dark Mantle, there is a senior astrologer named Madame Grace. A word from her can be of immense benefit to you. The reason why your master has delayed declaring his position may also be because he is considering the bigger picture for the Lancelot Empire..."
After Han Shuo had described all the information that Dark Mantle had gathered to Lawrence, Lawrence knitted his brows and pondered for a while. Then he looked deeply at Han Shuo and replied, "Bryan, thank you. This information is very important. Madame Grace is my father's personal astrologer, and I've heard some rumours about her. But astrology is too vague. In any case, I must make early preparations.
Han Shuo nodded his head, understanding that for a few power-hungry people, the mysterious astrology wasn't something that would bother them too much. Just take the incident this time. Even though if the venerable astrologer Grace said that Lawrence would bring prosperity to Lancelot's kingdom, the other three princes would certainly not surrender and willingly hand over the throne to Lawrence.
The mysterious astrology was only one aspect. Those who sought strength and power would not willingly accept their fate. Lawrence was such a person. As Han Shuo listened to Lawrence's story, he couldn't help but think about Lawrence's plans and nodded inwardly. Han Shuo knew that Lawrence was definitely not easy to deal with.
However, Lawrence was Han Shuo's choice. The more difficult Lawrence was to deal with, the more relieved Han Shuo was. He smiled and nodded after hearing what was said, and replied, "Rest assured, whatever the final result of the astrology is, I and Brettel City will stand behind you. Who cares about divine prophecy, we would still stake everything. Hehe, of course, if the situation works in our favour, that would be even better."
"Bryan, thank you. If I succeed to the throne, Dark Mantle will only have you as its leader in the future." Lawrence promised Han Shuo solemnly.
"I am not considering your promises for the future. I'm only relying on your past help and our friendship to spare no effort to help you." Han Shuo smiled as he explained to Lawrence. Things in the future were always hard to predict, nothing was absolute. Promises of the future were like astrology, both things were vague and illusory.
"I see. It looks like I should make a move through Madame Grace. Although I know such an action might be fruitless, I must try anyway." Lawrence understood that for characters like Madame Grace and Karel Ascot, the future of the Lancelot Empire was more important than who gained power.
After receiving Han Shuo's guarantee, Lawrence felt as if a weight had been lifted from his shoulders. He then discussed a few more details with Han Shuo before leaving Han Shuo's residence.
A while after Lawrence left, Han Shuo couldn't help but furrow his brow as he left the hall and looked towards the adjacent roof. As if muttering to himself, he said, "He's already gone, why are you still here?"
As he said this, a shadow descended from the opposite roof. Bollands, whom Han Shuo had seen in the Rose Garden earlier, suddenly appeared in front of Han Shuo. A killing intent reeking of blood slowly drifted out and swarmed Han Shuo from all directions.
The old assassin Bolland's face was covered in scars, looking terrifyingly malevolent. He had been hiding there ever since Lawrence had entered Han Shuo's residence. When Han Shuo arrived, he could already smell the strong smell of blood on Bollands' body. He knew that Bollands' goal was to protect Lawrence, so he didn't care about his existence.
However, after Lawrence and Han Shuo had finished talking, Bollands should theoretically have left. However, Han Shuo saw that he did not leave with Lawrence. Therefore, he stepped out confused and seemed to be talking to himself as he questioned Bollands.
"How were you able to locate me?" Bollands inquired somewhat suspiciously, his gaze focused on Han Shuo as killing intent permeated his entire body.
Han Shuo knew that because Bollands' hands were stained with blood and he had deliberately trained in this aspect, he was able to naturally induce a killing intent. It wasn't as if his heart was filled with killing intent. Han Shuo smiled faintly before saying, "The killing intent in your body is too strong.
Besides, you don't know how to hide your aura completely. Of course, I would be able to sense it. Hehehe, I guess since you have been training your killing intent, you should have stopped being an assassin?
The top assassins could completely hide their killing intent from their bodies. Only then would they be able to kill the target in a single blow before the target could even react.
Bollands used to be one of the best assassins. However, he was clearly focused on researching the uses of Kill Intent. Gradually, he could no longer control his killing intent, and the smell of blood on his body became thicker.
For a top assassin, these were unacceptable weaknesses.
Bollands was stunned by what he heard. After a while, he replied, "That's right, when I could no longer hide the killing intent from my body, I stopped being an assassin. But in actual combat, my killing intent is capable of destroying the enemy's willpower. When I fight someone of equal strength head on, I am able to maintain an absolute advantage, even two opponents attacking together might not be my opponent".
This person was indeed a good sapling. With such a body condition, training in the demonic arts would yield twice the result with half the effort. With Han Shuo's meticulous guidance, and by specialising only in a demonic god-slaying martial technique, he could definitely become an outstanding character, and his strength would also progress rapidly.
"Actually, I have a method to hide the killing intent on your body and also a way to better control and utilise the killing intent.
Hehehe, your self-created path has similarities to the martial art I train. If you train according to my method, you will definitely be able to greatly increase your strength in a short period of time.
Besides, there's still unlimited potential for improvement." Han Shuo suddenly remembered that earlier, King Uhtred had wanted him to inherit the Martial Arts Hall.
This Bollands was a suitable candidate, but the only concern Han Shuo had was the relationship between Bollands and the Sacred Swordmaster Karel Ascot.
As long as Bollands cultivated the technique taught by Han Shuo, Han Shuo had full confidence that he could control Bollands and make him a loyal subordinate in the future. So Han Shuo began to test him.
Hey everyone... let me know where I can improve!...