"Why are you so worried about me? There's nothing bad that could have happened." Rocky just
shrugged and smiled.
"I heard from Princess Layla that the king asked you to enter the Heavenly Demon Tower. Is that true?"
Gilbert asked with furrowed brows. Of course, he knew how dangerous it was for someone to enter the
tower, and Rocky even did it without preparations.
"Yes, that is true. He wanted me to enter the Heavenly Demon Tower so that I can prove my
qualifications to guard the Purgatorial Tripod," Rocky briefly explained.
"So, what happened? Were you able to complete the test?" Gilbert inquired.
"Yes, I did. It was no big deal," Rocky replied in a matter-of-fact tone.
Hearing this response from Rocky, Gilbert and the others were utterly surprised. After all, they knew the
degree of difficulty of taking on the Heavenly Demon Tower, especially Gilbert. He had once entered
the tower before, but he was only able to reach the fourth floor. Hence, he did not expect Rocky to
come out of the tower so soon and even uninjured.
Of course, no one really knew that Rocky's strength was already close to the God Realm. Therefore, it
would not be surprising for him to overcome the Heavenly Demon Tower.
"So, I take it that the king finally allowed you to guard the Purgatorial Tripod," Gilbert surmised.
"Well, only for the time being. It seemed that the king is very anxious right now due to Prince Enoch's
rebellion. He should have thought that if he insisted on taking the Purgatorial Tripod by force, it will just
irritate Princess Layla. If even the princess turned her back on the royal family, they would be in great
trouble," Rocky analyzed. However, at this point, the Purgatorial Tripod did not bear much significance
since he already knew that Phillip's soul was actually sealed in the Heavenly Demon Tower. Therefore,
if the king still insisted on taking the tripod back, it would not be a problem for Rocky.
"That should be the case. Then, at least, we can consider this matter regarding the Purgatorial Tripod
over for now. In the meantime, we can just wait for the conflict between Prince Enoch and the royal
family to subside. Then, eventually, we shall take action and benefit from the aftermath," Gilbert
remarked.
"At this moment, I don't think Prince Enoch will try to have a direct confrontation with the army of the
royal family. Based on his cunning nature, I can see that he will take action against the fiefs first. So,
even though we are waiting for what will happen next, we should still be on guard," Rocky seriously
warned.
"I also thought about that, so I went and made some necessary arrangements. In fact, Valeria has
already talked with Flora, and she agreed to give her full support to Princess Layla," Gilbert informed.
Rocky then turned to Valeria and was glad that things went well with the Flower Fief. Even after he had
confessed his identity to her, she had been supporting him unconditionally, which was the exact
opposite of what he expected. Initially, Rocky only wanted to make a deal with her, but it seemed that it
didn't need to come down to that. Valeria had been by his side throughout the way, and he was relieved
by that.
As she looked at Rocky's eyes, she blushed a little and said, "It has been easy convincing my adoptive
mother. After all, the Flower Fief and the Ghost Fief have formally formed an alliance. It is just natural
that we stick together at all times. I just did what will benefit the interest of the two fiefs."
"For now, we must take advantage of the opportunity to recuperate. When the time is right, we will
need our forces in full strength," Rocky uttered.
After their conversation, Rocky, Valeria, and Vivian left the meeting hall.
Then, Rocky turned to Valeria and said, "Can you go back first? I just have something to discuss with
Miss Vivian."
"Oh, okay." Valeria could just cast a glance at the two before she left.
"It seems that she was a bit disappointed that she had to go first. That girl really has a crush on you,
huh?" Vivian slightly shook her head as she looked at Valeria's back.
"Are you kidding? We are just pretending to be a loving couple." Rocky immediately got defensive and
explained that Vivian was mistaken.
"That is not what I see. Maybe for you, that's how it appears. But I am also a woman, and I see things
from different perspectives. Besides, I will understand Valeria if she falls in love with an excellent man
like you," Vivian said intuitively.
"Really? So, do you think that you'll like me, too?" Rocky asked and took the chance to tease Vivian.
Vivian could just roll her eyes at Rocky, thinking that this man really had this bad side at times. Then,
she went straight to the point and asked, "So, why do you want to talk with me?"
"Actually, I want you to do something for me. However, you can't let anyone know of this, not even
Leader Gilbert or Princess Layla." The smile on Rocky's face subsided and a serious expression
replaced it.
"What is it?" Vivian asked with narrowed eyes.
"I need you to enter the Royal Land and meet with Prince Zain. I want you to pass a message from
me."
"Pass a message to Prince Zain?" Vivian was surprised, not expecting that Rocky wanted to have
something to do with the prince.
"As everyone knows, the prince remains seriously injured, and it is probably because of the invasion of
the evil spirit in his body. If he is not treated right away, there is a possibility that he cannot recover in a
long time to come; the worst-case scenario, the complications may even arise. The only people that
can cure his condition are my master and me. Therefore, I want to make a deal with him." Rocky
revealed his real reason.
"I see. You are going to take this opportunity to use him." Knowing Rocky, Vivian already speculated
that he would only try to make a deal with the enemy if he could get more benefits in the end. "So, what
will this deal contain? I just have to warn you that Prince Zain is a narrow-minded person. He considers
you his enemy, so he won't agree with any deal if it isn't enticing enough."
"He will have no other choice but to agree. Anyway, tell him that I aspire to be the leader of the Ghost
Fief and that I need his help to get rid of Leader Gilbert," Rocky calmly said.
"Will he really believe that?" Vivian could not help but doubt it because it did not sound so believable.
"Well, he has to. Otherwise, he might become disabled for the rest of his life," Rocky said confidently.
At this point, he knew that Zain would grasp into anything just to regain his strength. Then, he
continued, "The sooner you can deliver my message, the better."
"No problem. I can go now." Afterward, Vivian summoned her mount and flew away from the mansion.
After a few days, Vivian eventually arrived at the Royal Land. She told the guards that she was there to
visit Princess Layla, but upon entering the royal palace, she sneaked into Zain's place.
Not long after, Vivian managed to enter Zain's residence without anyone noticing her. Then, in his
bedroom, she saw the prince resting with his eyes closed.
From where Vivian was standing, she could clearly see Zain's pale skin, bluish lips, and boney face. It
seemed that he really was in a bad shape.
"Who is it? You are... Vivian?" Sensing someone's aura inside his room, Zain opened his eyes to see
who it was. However, he was a little surprised to see who the unexpected visitor was. "What brings you
here?"
"From what I can see, you really are seriously injured. I'm afraid that your cultivation base has also
decreased," Vivian said after analyzing Zain's condition.
"You came here just to tell me that?!" Of course, Zain instantly felt humiliated. His face darkened, and
he expressed his exasperation.
"No, of course not. In fact, someone sent me here to tell you that he can make you recover as soon as
possible," Vivian replied, explaining the main purpose of her unannounced visit.
"Someone that can cure me? Who is it?" Zain asked, furrowing his messy eyebrows.
"Well, you should know that in the entire Shura Continent, Esteban of the Ghost Fief is the best doctor.
However, he can't help you at the moment since he has been traveling to various places. But he still
has an apprentice that is almost as skilled as him."
"Are you referring to the Godly Genius of the Ghost Fief?" Vivian did not say anything directly, but it
seemed that Zain already knew that it was Rocky who she was referring to.
"Yes. Odin was the one who asked me to come here."
"Then, forget it! I don't believe that he will do something so kind without asking for something in return."
Zain quickly snapped at the mention of Rocky's name. From the start, the prince already considered
Rocky as a thorn in his flesh, so it was actually against his principles to accept any kindness from the
young man.
"Well, of course, he is not going to do it for free. He wants to make a deal with you. Accept it and he will
heal you," Vivian bluntly said.
"Ha! I knew it," Zain snorted coldly.
"Your Royal Highness, why don't you first listen to the deal that he is proposing? You can decide
afterward. After all, you'll never know if it is acceptable until you hear it," Vivian said, tantalizing Zain
with her words.
62fb1bb41dcb31934bd49bda