Vivian cast a glance at Rocky first before she answered Gilbert, "I'm going to explain it to you later."
Gilbert knew that Vivian should have a good reason, so he didn't need to pry further.
"By the way, have you and Princess Layla already met the king?" Valeria asked and looked at Rocky.
"Yes, we were able to talk to him," Rocky replied flatly.
"Then, what happened? Did the king confirm that the princess will be the next ruler?" Vivian asked in
an expectant tone.
"Unfortunately, that is still hard to tell." Rocky could just shake his head and let out a bitter smile.
"Huh? What do you mean? I thought the king's task was to get Phillip's soul power? Princess Layla
fulfilled that already and she was the first to come back. Why isn't it enough to make her the throne's
successor?" Valeria's brows instantly furrowed, confused at the sudden turn of events.
"Well, it seems that the king did not expect that Princess Layla will be the one to accomplish the task.
Obviously, he is biased toward the two princes. So, even if the princess completed the task, it is still
uncertain who the king will choose," Rocky explained calmly.
"That's absurd. The king should have just appointed his successor if he will just take his word back. Did
you mention to him that his brother colluded with the demonic race?" Vivian asked with hints of
disappointment in her voice.
"Yes, we did. We told him what happened in the Demon Sealing Palace," Rocky replied and nodded.
"So, what did the king say?" At this point, both Vivian and Valeria were getting quite anxious. As they
waited for Rocky's reply, they were thinking that their efforts in the Ghostly Demon Land might all be in
vain.
"He said that he needed to talk with Prince Zain and Prince Enoch when they came back before he
could make the decision. Of course, he would not believe us right away in case we were just making
things up," Rocky answered with a sigh.
"We should have expected this. Obviously, the king wants to favor his family's side. I bet that if it was
any other member of the royal family, he would have already charged that person with treason!" Valeria
snorted coldly, thinking that the king was being unfair in his judgments.
"Well, it's meaningless to get upset right now. For now, we can just consider ourselves lucky that we
are able to safely come back from the Ghostly Demon Land," Vivian said rationally to calm Valeria
down.
"You are right." Valeria immediately recognized what Vivian was trying to do, so she eventually lowered
her voice.
"Vivian is right. We can't do anything about it right now. Go back first and have a rest. We will deal with
this matter when the right time comes." Gilbert then waved his hand and dismissed them.
Valeria and Vivian were the ones to leave first.
When the two girls were gone, Rocky asked, "Leader, it has been a few days since we came back. Is
there any news from the royal family about the arrival of the two princes?"
"No, I haven't heard anything yet. Is there a possibility that they could not come back at all?" Gilbert
asked with a frown.
"Well, that is not impossible. If Prince Enoch and his men managed to kill Prince Zain and his team,
then that will be the case. There is also a possibility that they will be trapped in the Ghostly Demon
Land for a very long time." Rocky knew that finding the hidden teleportation arrays without prior
knowledge about them would be very difficult. Hence, he had also considered the possibility that they
would be trapped in there.
"However, if Prince Zain and his men are really killed by Prince Enoch, I'm afraid that it will be more
disadvantageous for us. They are the only other ones that can testify about what happened in the
Demon Sealing Palace. If there isn't anyone to back up your claims, Prince Enoch will definitely frame
you up. He might even put all the blame on you, saying that you are actually the one who colluded with
the demonic race. Moreover, there is the fact that you have taken the Purgatorial Tripod." Gilbert was
indeed an insightful man who had already experienced a lot of things in life. He had thought of the
possible scenarios based on the fact that he knew.
"I also thought about those things. Therefore, we can just prepare ourselves and expect the worst. At
that time, we have to quickly adapt to the situation. Of course, I am still hoping that it will not come to
that," Rocky said in a serious tone. Obviously, he was already prepared for whatever came his way.
After his conversation with Gilbert, Rocky left, too.
The next few days were quite peaceful. However, for Rocky, the more peaceful it was, the more he
could feel that a storm was coming.
Nonetheless, he had already done the necessary preparations. He had finished instructing the
independent army, and they could deploy any time to attack the territory of the Shura Race.
Then, three days later, a report reached the Ghost Fief that Zain and Enoch had finally returned from
the Ghostly Demon Land. However, the report said that Zain's entire team encountered a horrible
accident, and only the prince himself was able to survive. But even he had sustained serious injuries
and was in a coma. Furthermore, it was said that Enoch was the one who saved him.
After receiving the news, Gilbert immediately summoned Rocky and discussed some
countermeasures. If Zain was really in a coma and could not speak for himself, it would be really
troublesome. In fact, this was the worst-case scenario that they had been thinking of.
"I don't believe that Prince Zain and his men were in an accident just like what the report said. I think
Prince Enoch was the one responsible for this. It just means that Enoch is ready to deal with you and
plans to retrieve the Purgatorial Tripod at any cost," Gilbert surmised, wearing a serious expression.
"It is also the only explanation that I can think of. It seems that we cannot prevent the worst possible
situation." Rocky shook his head and let out a sigh. It was pretty obvious that Enoch was doing
whatever he could to get the Purgatorial Tripod, and he started it by silencing Zain and his men, who
were the only other witnesses to prove Rocky's innocence.
"What are you planning to do now?" Gilbert asked with hints of anxiousness in his voice.
"What do you think I will do, Leader Gilbert?" Rocky did not answer directly and just returned the
question.
"Knowing you, I think you are planning to blatantly disobey the royal family," Gilbert said as his face
darkened.
"Then, will you support me?" Rocky bluntly asked, revealing a faint smile.
"You know that I chose to support Princess Layla, so I am well prepared to fight for her welfare.
However, deliberately disobeying the royal family is a whole other matter! Even the princess might not
be willing to have a falling out with them," Gilbert said firmly.
"I know that. But at this point, it is useless to take the royal family out of the equation. No matter what
we do, Prince Enoch will surely find a way to manipulate the royal family to turn them against us. I
believe that there are some things that we will face eventually, so we might as well take a stand right
now. Leader Gilbert, even you know that the conflict within the royal family is getting more serious by
the moment. Just to become the next ruler, Princess Layla risked everything to overcome the two
powerful princes. Unfortunately, Prince Enoch colluded with the demonic race just so he can attain
what he wants. Now that Prince Zain is in critical condition and out of the picture, only Princess Layla
can pose a threat to Prince Enoch. In other words, you are the one who needs to make a decision
here, not me!" Rocky knew that Gilbert still had some misgivings about the overall situation. As a
renowned leader of one of the fiefs, he held a huge responsibility. Although he publicly declared his
support for Layla, he would never dare to disobey the royal family unless he really had no other choice.
After hearing everything that Rocky said, Gilbert could not help but grit his teeth and clench his fists. He
knew that Rocky was right. Because of Zain's unfortunate condition, the battle for the throne's
successor was now just between Layla and Enoch. However, the king would definitely favor his brother.
Therefore, if Layla really wanted to obtain the throne and go against Enoch, it would be equivalent to
making an enemy out of the entire royal family.
Hence, Gilbert had to make a crucial choice at this very moment.
While Gilbert was still in deep thought, a Spiritual Emperor suddenly came in and reported, "Leader,
the king just sent a message. He is summoning both you and the Godly Genius to the palace of the
royal family."
"Anyway, let's cross the bridge when we get there," Rocky said indifferently.
"All right. Let's go." Then, Gilbert heaved a deep breath and collected himself. After he stood from his
seat, the two walked out of the hall.
Right after they got out of the mansion, they rode Gilbert's mount and headed directly to the Royal
Land.
Upon entering the Royal Land, they proceeded to the imperial palace, where the king should be waiting
for them.
However, as soon as they entered the palace, they were welcomed by many important figures of the
Shura Race. These included the elders and ministers of the royal family, as well as Layla and Enoch.
Aside from them, Rocky and Gilbert also noticed the presence of strong warriors at the Shura Realm
standing on opposite sides with unfriendly expressions on their faces.
When Rocky looked at Layla, he recognized the anxiousness and restlessness in her eyes. Hence, he
instantly knew that they would be in huge trouble.
At the same time, the king sat majestically on the throne, and his eyes were like daggers, piercing
through Rocky and Gilbert.
"Greetings, Your Majesty. I received the message that you are summoning us." Gilbert and Rocky tried
to remain calm despite the tense atmosphere. They walked towards the king and bowed in front of him.
"Yes. I have been waiting for you. Guards, arrest Odin!" the king suddenly ordered.
Immediately after, the strong warriors at the Shura Realm surrounded Rocky and prepared to restrain
him.
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