After entering the tent, Jen carelessly threw the bow to the side, walked to the back, and sat on a finely crafted chair, with frustration clearly visible on her delicately featured face.
All she wanted was to enjoy herself while practicing her bow skills. Was that too much to ask?
Definitely not.
She's Jensia Arieth, the heiress to the illustrious Arieth Clan. Not only that, but her Soul Energy Talent stands at the pinnacle of the kingdom, the "Sovereign" Grade. This rarity placed her above everyone else, not only in this kingdom but also in the neighboring seven kingdoms.
Even her elder brother Jacson, who has an Emperor Grade Soul Energy Talent, a grade just below hers, cannot be compared to her. While his Emperor Grade talent, considered one of the best in the kingdom, can make him stand higher than most, is still not as exceptional as hers.
The reason is simple, there have been a handful of others who have had that grade of talent throughout the kingdom's history, including the current ruler, the prime minister, and the grand general.
Undoubtedly, her brother will achieve great things in the future, but ultimately, he will be limited to the Emperor tier in his life.
Technically, he could try to become a Sovereign, but that would require him to put his life on the line by taking a "Barrier Breaking Pill," which has a mere 1% success rate. On the other hand, she will reach the Sovereign tier without any such gambles due to her innate Sovereign grade talent.
She loved her brother, but that didn't change the reality of their potential. For example, her brother took a year to reach Warrior Tier, while she reached the same in just ten months despite the same environment and conditions.
Jensia knows that she's special, because, not only did she possess the highest grade soul energy talent ever seen in the kingdom's history, but is also the first to naturally awaken her Soul Energy at the age of twelve.
Before that, the earliest awakening had been thirteen. Even her brother, the youngest in their clan to awaken soul energy, did so at the age of fourteen.
As a member of the prestigious Arieth Clan and the greatest prodigy ever born in this and the neighboring seven kingdoms, she deserved respect; no, she demanded it.
Yet, everyone seemed intent on telling her what to do. At thirteen, she was already a Warrior-ranked cultivator. Why should she be bound by such trivial rules?
Suddenly, from the shadows to her left a hooded figure, possibly a female dressed in all black, stepped out. The figure walked beside Jensia, got to one knee, and bowed her head as if showing her loyalty.
Jessica turned her head, still feeling unhappy, and spoke with an annoyed tone: "What is it?"
"Mistress, while scouting, I discovered a small, isolated village situated around sixty kilometers from here," the woman in black said. Her voice was gentle and soothing, but it was devoid of any emotion.
Jensia's eyes suddenly brightened. Her mood, soured by him when he brought that madman up, slowly started to fade, and delight flickered across her face at this new information.
"Good, very good. Now I can finally get some actual practice done, cause I really hate shooting at still targets."
"How many?" Jessica asked, her tone carrying a trace of her improved mood.
"Eighty three. Twelve children, nine teenagers, s…"
"Did I ask about those trivial details?" Jessica interrupted sharply and glared at the kneeling woman.
"My apologies, Mistress," the woman immediately apologized and bowed her head even lower.
Jensia harrumphed and asked the kneeling woman: "Where's your sister?"
"She's still not back, but should be soon."
"Get my mount ready. We'll leave after I tell my brother," Jensia commanded as she walked out of the tent.
"As you command, Mistress." The woman bowed slightly before rising to retrieve the bow. She picked it up and left the tent to carry out Jensia's orders.
***
Jensia went to look for her brother and found him training with Gibeth, a General Tier protector sent by their father.
"Brother, I'm going out," Jensia said curtly before turning to leave.
"Wait! Wait! Wait!" Jacson stepped back from sparring, and called Jensia to stop.
"What?" Jensia stopped and turned, her expression slightly puzzled.
"What do you mean, you're going out? Where are you going? Don't you remember we're leaving in an hour?" Jacson sheathed his dagger and hurried toward Jensia, his breathing still haggard from the training.
"I know. I'm just heading out to train for a bit. I promise I'll be back in an hour," Jensia replied with a shrug, already starting to walk away again.
"What do you mean by that? Tell me exactly where are you going right now," Jacson demanded, grabbing Jensia's shoulder to stop her.
"I'm going out for some archery practice because I don't feel like I have done even the bare minimum," Jensia said, her voice sounding slightly eager.
"Tell me clearly what you mean by that. Just before, you said you don't like shooting at trees, and now you suddenly want to go somewhere to train?" Jacson asked, starting to feel exasperated due the antics of his little sister.
"As I said before, I don't like to shoot at trees, so I'm going to train with some live targets." Jensia replied while removing her brother's hand from her shoulder.
"And I said, tell me clearly what you mean by that, not to speak in circles." Jacson was now thoroughly exasperated.
"Okay, fine. Riko found a small, isolated village, so I'll be going there to train. Happy." Jensia replied, this time with full honesty.
"Are you mad?" Hearing Jensia's words, Jacson was shocked and almost shouted at her.
They were out here, a long distance from their home, and on top of that they were close to the wildlands border area, and his sister wanted to use a village for target practice.
"Why are you shouting at me?" Jensia shot back, her voice trembling as tears started to well up in her eyes.
Seeing Jensia on the verge of crying, Jacson froze due to panic. If their father found that he made her cry… He shuddered at even the thought. He didn't even want to even imagine the consequences.
In their clan, everyone dotes on Jensia, especially their father and grandmother. Whatever she wanted, they would get it for her. So, now seeing her teary eyes, he was almost scared to death.
But in his panic and fear, he was still able to think clearly. He knew that causing a scene, and that to this close to the border area, where that mad general was stationed, was a terrible idea to say the least.
In the end, saying no to her wasn't an option.
So the best course would be to go with her, let her have her shooting practice, and when she's done make it look like the village was attacked by bandits. It could potentially lead to some suspicion, but it wasn't something that's outside the realm of possibility.
Jacson's first priority was to pacify his sister; everything else could wait.
"Okay, don't cry. Please, don't cry," his tone softened and was filled with genuine concern.
"I didn't mean it like that. You know how much I love you. You know I could never shout at you. I was just shocked, that's all. See, big brother will apologize."
As he spoke, he grabbed his ears in an apologetic manner, his sincerity clearly evident.
Seeing her big brother apologizing, Jensia smiled like a blooming flower, while her tears disappeared as quickly as they had come. It was clear due to her expression that she had achieved victory.
Seeing her little sister's expression Jacson immediately realized that he'd been played. It became clear to him that she did this because she knew that if she had just outright asked about it, he would have refused to let her go.
Feeling defeated, he tried to grab his sister's still slight plump and reddish cheek. But as if she knew what her brother was going to do, Jensia stuck her tongue out in a cutesy manner and ran away.
"Why you little…" Saying that Jacson chased after Jensia, but didn't use his superior speed cause this was just a silly banter between the siblings.
"Alright, you win." Jacson gave up after running around for a bit.
"Wait for a bit, we'll go together. It's still a bit early then planned, but that's not a big deal." His expressions, a mix of exasperation and fondness.
After that he started giving instruction to his attendants and subordinates. Once done with that he moved next to stand besides Gibeth, the General Tier protector who had been standing still on the sides, witnessing everything, his expression unreadable.
But when Jacson stood next to him, he finally spoke, his voice a bit heavy even though he was trying to speak in a lower voice.
"You know that this could be dangerous."
Jacson sighed, "I know. But what other choice do I have in this situation? And I've already thought of how to handle this. We'll ravage the place, and shift the blame on bandit's. I know, I know. It's not ideal, but it's not like that it's impossible."
"Why not erase everything?" Gibeth spoke while he turned his head to look at Jacson, but his expression didn't change, though his eyes narrowed slightly.
"For one, if we do that then someone will surely try to find out the reason behind that. Because that's the kind of thing that sparks curiosity, and I don't want to take a chance like that. And two, when bandit's ravage a place, have you ever known them trying to erase or cover up their tracks?"
Before Gebith could speak, Jacson continued to speak in a firm and steady tone.
"The answer is no. Bandit's don't care, but someone who has something to hide does."
Saying up to that Jacson also turned his head and looked directly into Gibeth's eyes and asked a question:
"Now tell me, if you found something like this what would you do? Would you want to carefully investigate a place that has been clearly ravaged by bandit's or a place that has been erased or has traces of a cover up?"
Gibeth stood silent, hearing Jacson's plan and the reason behind that, his expression still remained stoic. But those who knew him well, could tell that he was rather impressed with the logical thinking of the kid.
No wonder their father always said that Jacson has the talent to be a good leader. Whatever the situation be, he always thinks about the outcomes before taking any action.