George pursed his lips and tried to suppress his anger.The medicine the queen had sent the last time was effective. He had asked the physician to research how to make it. However, there had been no progress due to the lack of a few important ingredients.George had thought the queen was truly kind-hearted, but it turned out she had been waiting. She wanted to use the medicine to get what she wanted from him. If that was her game, so be it!George was annoyed and asked, "What else did she say?" Timothy's forehead was covered in sweat."The queen said that the longer you hesitate, the longer Lady Helena will suffer from the headache. If you don't agree, she won't give you the medicine even if she has to destroy it. She even said that a verbal promise isn't sufficient. She requires a written decree from you."Timothy's limbs were weak. He felt doomed. Was the king going to kill him?After listening to what Timothy said, George's facial expression turned gloomy.There was dead
After the king left, Helena's maid, Clara, became deeply worried."Your Highness, if the queen truly gains the king's favor, your position in the palace will not be unique," she said.Crash!Helena threw a vase near her bed, and it broke into pieces.Clara immediately gathered up the pieces and knelt on the ground. "Please calm down, Your Highness!" she begged.Helena sat sideways on the bed, clutching the mattress with one hand. Her eyes were gloomy. She stared ahead as she screamed in a frenzy, "How could the king favor her?!"The queen had long lost her virginity. How dare she brazenly compete with her? She was over-estimating herself.-Meanwhile, several other concubines gathered in one place.They had never been favored by the king and were not as angry as Helena. However, they still felt affected by this."Ahh! In the end, the queen proves to be capable. The king actually agreed to her demands."Julie, who had always sided with Helena, couldn't stand it and started mo
George's dark eyes radiated chills as he looked coldly at the woman in front of him.Julie was kneeling on the bed in very thin pajamas.Whether it was due to the cold spring evening or the king's anger, Julie shivered uncontrollably with her head hung low."I-I'm Julie. We met in Lady Helena's palace…" She barely managed to finish her sentence. Her throat felt dry and constricted.Despite his perfectly calm tone, George's handsome face had a coldness that terrified her from the bottom of her heart."Where is the queen?" he asked again.The air around them felt thinner and thinner. Julie could hardly catch her breath. "Your Majesty, the queen arranged for me to serve you in bed," she said.At the commotion, Steven came in without being summoned. He happened to overhear what Julie said and was flabbergasted. Wasn't the queen supposed to be waiting for the king in bed?What was she doing? Was she playing hard to get?In reality, Julie was also surprised. She never thought she'd
Lily thought it was strange that George would suddenly come to Zen Palace."What is he doing here?" she asked.Maya looked at her as if she was a foreigner. "Are you truly oblivious?" she asked. "Our queen went all out to get the king to sleep with her, but she ended up sending Lady Julie in her place. "Isn't it clear that she was making a fool out of the king? The king is the leader of our nation! How could he tolerate this?" Then Maya addressed the queen, "Your Majesty, hurry up and get changed. Our lives are in your hands!"Jane was confused. "When did I say I wanted to sleep with him?"Maya was equally confused. Was the queen mad? Or had Maya misunderstood her?However, Maya wasn't the only one who thought this way.After all, everyone in the palace fought for the king's attention. Who would convince the king to sleep with someone else except a fool?-Evidently, Maya wasn't the only person who got it all wrong.In the middle of the night, many of the concubines who co
How could it be him?Jane's eyes narrowed. Her hands felt warm. He looked identical to the man she had fought.No. To be specific, they were one and the same.They had the same handsome face, the same dark eyes, and the same imposing manner…The first time they fought, she had assumed that he was one of the palace's royal guards. In reality, it had been the king himself, George.However, she was surprised that the king, who was born with a silver spoon in his mouth, actually had such strong martial arts capabilities.Even though Jane recognized George, he had no idea that she was the same assassin he had fought against before."Are you just going to keep staring at me?" George asked in an unfriendly tone.Jane immediately collected her thoughts and looked down. "Please excuse me for being impolite."Although she seemed calm on the surface, she was still in shock on the inside.This was the first time George looked at her face at such a close distance in good lighting.The la
Strangled by the neck, Jane's face gradually turned red."These things were mentioned in a letter from my family-" she gasped."A letter from your family?" George naturally didn't believe her. He commanded her to show him the letter.Outside, Maya was dumbfounded. Where would they find such a letter?She turned around…And almost screamed in fright as she found Lily had returned silently behind her. She saw something in her hand, but couldn't tell what it was.Lily ignored the petrified Maya and quickly walked into the bedchamber. "Your Majesty, this is the letter the queen's father sent today," she said.George let go of Jane and personally read through the letter.The letter was written in the tone of a father speaking to his daughter."My dearest Wendy, you previously told me that you wanted to be a responsible queen by treating the other concubines as you would your own sister. I was very glad to hear that. As such, I've gathered some information for you. I hope it'll be o
Jane slowly looked up. There was a calm look of indifference in her eyes."Your Majesty, I previously spoke out of turn and made you angry. I'm still repenting over my mistakes. I don't deserve to serve you in bed," she replied.George's cold gaze concealed a certain degree of threat. "You seem to have a lot of self-awareness. Prepare the carriage. We're heading to Cloud Palace."-After the king left, Lily went limp and leaned against the table."Your Majesty, that nearly gave me a heart attack-"Lily looked around and saw that nobody else was around."Your Majesty, since the king didn't sleep with Lady Julie, your plan to ruin Lady Helena's monopoly over his favor has failed."Not only that, but you also offended the king and increased the tension between yourself and Lady Helena as well as Lady Julie. Doesn't that put us in an even more precarious situation?" Lily asked worriedly.Jane didn't think they failed."Lady Julie and Lady Helena are close. Logically speaking, if
Julie was pleasantly surprised. She immediately dried her tears and went out to have a look.When she saw the gold screen, she immediately felt better.Her maid took a guess."Your Highness, I heard the king went to Cloud Palace after leaving Zen Palace. Lady Helena must have said something nice to the king, and he decided to give you a gift. You ought to thank her!"Julie nodded vigorously."Yes. Lady Helena is genuinely nice to me, unlike the queen!"She fumed at the thought of Wendy. She was determined to get her revenge.-There was silence in Tyrian Palace in the middle of the night.Whoosh.George brushed the bed curtain aside with his hand. He felt restless.A glimmer of moonlight seeped into the room. George sat on his bed with his robe wide open, revealing his chiseled chest.He clapped a hand to his forehead, rubbing his fingers against his eyebrows impatiently.He couldn't sleep. He kept thinking about his conversation with the queen in Zen Palace.Something wa
'The great Vivian Rudock?'Before the masked man could even process his shock, his head was already rolling on the ground.Hearing the commotion, Conan quickly got up.Vivian.He had heard that name somewhere before.Not knowing whether the other party was friend or foe, Conan's first instinct was to flee. Suddenly, a chilling breeze swept past him. The next moment, an icy hand clamped around his throat.A woman's sultry yet ruthless voice sounded by his ear. "So, you're Henry's new apprentice?"Did she know his master? Conan remained cautious and didn't answer.The woman chuckled."Quite the tough one, huh? No worries. I've got plenty of time."Her long, talon-like fingers clutched the top of his head. With a sudden force, he felt as though the tendons in his skull were being yanked out. An excruciating pain shot through him.He clenched his jaw, refusing to utter a single cry for mercy.After fifteen minutes, the woman seemed to have grown tired of her game and finally le
Reunions and separations were part of life.Learning that this was the last time Henry would guide him, Conan felt deeply saddened. But he also knew that sooner or later, he would have to join the army.Henry had taught him a great deal, especially in the art of war, which had benefited him immensely.At their parting, Henry gifted him a spear. Upon receiving the gift, Conan's eyes lit up."Master, how did you know I love spears?"He immediately tried it out and found it an excellent weight and length. The spear sliced through the air and struck the ground with immense force. It felt as if it had become an extension of his body. It was like an extension of his arm.He had never wielded a weapon so perfectly suited to him.Gradually, Conan's eyes filled with excitement. After performing a set of spear techniques, he knelt down at once."Thank you, Master! This is the best gift I have ever received!"He vowed to use this spear to achieve great feats and bring honor to Henry's na
"I had no idea the forbidden palace could be this lively."George looked at Wendy and Julie, who were embracing each other. His expression was cold and unreadable.Julie was so frightened that she stopped crying. She immediately stood up and, in a fluster, curtsied."Y-Your Majesty!"Jane also rose and curtsied respectfully."Your Majesty."George walked directly to a chair and sat down. His gaze landed on Julie."So? Did you come to the forbidden palace to keep the queen company?"Julie's eyes were red and swollen. She instinctively nodded, but then quickly shook her head.George's eyes turned dark."Well? Was that what you wanted to do?" he demanded.Julie was so terrified that she dropped to her knees with a thud. "Your Majesty, please have mercy. Please allow Queen Wendy to leave the forbidden palace!"George scoffed and looked at Wendy. "You plead so earnestly, but the queen may not even wish to leave."Julie blurted out, "How could that be?"Who in their right mind
Jane needed a token of royal pardon to ensure that if the truth ever came to light in the future, the king would not hold Kennedy accountable. She also knew that to obtain this token of royal pardon, she had to achieve great merit."You don't have to give it to me now," she said. "If you ever encounter a problem you can't resolve, come find me at Safe Haven Pawnshop. Just ask for Henry."With that, she placed a silver coin on the table, picked up the longsword leaning against the chair, and left without a word.Right outside the door, Karlsen happened to meet Henry's gaze as he departed.He had been curious about what the famous Shadow Phantom of the martial world looked like. But the person wore a mask. There was nothing to see.Shortly after, the king emerged as well.Karlsen stepped forward and awaited instructions.George looked ahead and spoke calmly."Free the women who were forced into performing here and send them home.""Yes!" Karlsen placed his hand over his chest an
The box contained the onyxite horse.Jane was puzzled. Why would George send her this?Steven placed the box holding the onyxite down, recalling how perplexed he had been when the king ordered him to deliver the stone to the forbidden palace. Though rewards from the king were always considered acts of favor, gifting a mere stone seemed rather baffling.At first, he had thought it was because Wendy was skilled in riding and fond of horses, so the king had given her this horse-shaped stone.Then the king had remarked in a deep voice, "The queen's temperament is just like this stone, stubborn and unyielding."Of course, Steven dared not relay a single word of that to Wendy. Instead, he simply smiled and said, "Queen Wendy, King George is thinking of you."Even without knowing the reason behind it, Jane accepted the onyxite. After all, it was a token of Conan's regard for his master.-At the Chief Gatekeeper's residence, Jocelyn locked herself in her room, her expression dark and
"Conan, it's been a few days since we last met. How have you been?" Jocelyn asked first with concern.Conan didn't want to resent her, but recalling the hurtful words she had spoken that day, it was difficult to face her with the same admiration he once had."Thank you for your concern, Commander," he replied courteously. "I'm doing well."He had wanted to tell her his mother was dead. That she had perished in agony from hunger and illness.But before he could, she asked, "How did you come to know Henry?"Conan casually made up a lie. "It's just a matter of chance."Jocelyn felt relieved. It seemed he still didn't know Jane's true identity. And Jane, most likely, wouldn't tell him to keep him from being entangled in the matter.She made a pained expression and got to the point."Conan, the reason I refused to take you as my apprentice that day was that I couldn't bear to see you sent to the battlefield to die. Your father and I were good friends. I still can't get over his deat
When asked who his master was, Conan looked at Jocelyn. Jocelyn was also looking at him, smiling. But he just stared at her without saying a word.Was the boy afraid she would refuse? To encourage him, Jocelyn took the initiative."Go ahead and say it, young man," she said. "You've made such a great contribution. No matter who it is, they would be willing to take you as their disciple."For the onyxite mine, she could reluctantly accept him as her disciple. She could always find an opportunity to get rid of him later.Conan nodded at her, as if he had caught her hint.Then, he opened his mouth and said, "My master is Henry, also known as Shadow Phantom."The moment those words fell, the hall went dead silent.Jocelyn stood frozen, feeling as if the blood in her veins had turned to ice.'Henry? Jane?'That had to be a lie.Hadn't Jane been in the forbidden palace all this time? When did she take Conan as her disciple? This wasn't how it was supposed to be. Conan should have be
Hearing that someone was offering onyxite, George looked at Jocelyn.Jocelyn instinctively responded, "Your Majesty, the people at the Armory Bureau all say that onyxite has long been mined out. It's impossible."George had no patience to listen further and directly summoned the young man into the hall.A trace of gloom flickered in Jocelyn's eyes. She would see for herself whether this onyxite was real or not.Moments later, the young man was led inside.The moment she saw him, Jocelyn's expression changed abruptly in shock. Why was it Conan?Conan was also surprised to see Jocelyn here. However, Henry's instructions took priority. He respectfully bowed before the king."Your Majesty, I, Conan Carter, have come to present to you this onyxite."George summoned the people from the Armory Bureau to the palace, instructing them to examine whether the onyxite in the young man's possession was genuine.After thorough verification, the conclusion was unanimous."Your Majesty, this
Onyxite was an impossible find, yet now it was before Jane's very eyes."This is onyxite. How did you get it?" she asked immediately.Conan looked intrigued. "Master, do you know about onyxite too?" Three years ago, when I first met Commander Morris, I heard her discussing onyxite with my father. She seemed quite fond of it. She even took notes on it in her books."I have a good memory, so I remembered it."My hometown, Lime Valley, is surrounded by mountains. In my free time, I searched everywhere. A year ago, I finally found onyxite. That's why I chose it as my offering to Commander Morris for when I became her apprentice. But that was before she rejected me."Three years ago, Jane had already wanted to develop a new type of rifle. At the time, she had determined that the key was in insulation. The best material for insulation was none other than the black iron refined from onyxite.Who would have thought a child would overhear and, by pure chance, actually find it for her?Ja