From Baron to Lord

"It is said that the imperial concubine and His Majesty had a very good relationship back then, and His Highness the Prince was also born to the imperial concubine. It's a pity that the imperial concubine's health deteriorated later, and she passed away early. His Majesty has never taken another wife, nor has he had any other children." Allen was a little incredulous. Could the Emperor of the Radiant Empire (Norris Zhao) actually be a sentimentalist?

"Your Excellency, please don't mention this matter." Danilo looked at Allen with some panic. "Of course."

"What about the twelve royal dukes of the Empire?" Allen continued to ask.

"Well, they are rarely in the imperial capital and are almost always in their own territories. Duke Allen probably won't be able to see them this time." Allen nodded. It was better not to see them; their presence might create unnecessary complications.

"Don't worry, Your Excellency. His Majesty's character is very good, praised throughout the entire Empire. This trip will definitely be worthwhile for you." As expected of an imperial official, he could see what Allen was thinking.

"Then I thank you, Danilo." Allen smiled.

As they talked, Danilo led Allen to a rather large building. "This is where Your Excellency will be resting. If you have any dissatisfaction, please don't hesitate to say so."

Chapter 442: Meeting the Emperor

Allen saw the place where he would be staying and found it was indeed quite good.

It seemed the Radiant Empire had taken this into consideration; these residences were quite decent.

The residences were all individual courtyards, surrounded by magical plants, making one marvel at the Radiant Empire's wealth.

The courtyards were also very luxurious, and Allen's was the largest, proving that Danilo had not lied.

"Excellent, I am very satisfied. Thank you, Danilo." Allen still thought the place was good.

In the evening, Allen was alone in his room, staring blankly at the magical lights overhead.

Although it wasn't as comfortable as the royal palace, Allen could still accept it.

However, the Emperor of the Radiant Empire would probably summon him tomorrow, and he needed to be prepared.

Although Danilo said that the Radiant Empire's Emperor had always been well-regarded and had a gentle temperament,

Allen wouldn't be foolish enough to believe that a genuinely nice person could develop an empire so well.

Previously, the Radiant Empire had coveted the magic potion iron carriages and other technologies of the Allen Duchy, but due to their reputation, they couldn't openly seize them and could only scheme in secret.

Now that Allen had reached the Second Star of the Legend realm, they were even less likely to try to seize them.

However, now that Allen had deployed troops and occupied the Norton Kingdom, although they still cared about a kingdom, if Allen paid some price, it would still be acceptable.

Now that they had caught Allen's weakness, they wouldn't let him off so easily and would definitely try to exploit him.

Allen was thinking about what he could hand over.

The final gift of the magic potion was something they were determined to obtain, not only for its amazing medicinal effects that could instantly increase one's strength,

but also because it represented an incredible wealth.

This magic potion would surely drive mages crazy.

And a single potion could sell for several hundred gold coins. How many mages were there in the entire Radiant Empire? How much revenue would that generate?

Not to mention the other empires, but considering they all had to guard against each other, they probably wouldn't sell it to them.

However, the Radiant Empire alone was a huge market.

Moreover, the Allen Duchy had more than just this; other technologies had been coveted by the Radiant Empire for a long time.

Allen carefully considered what he could offer and what he absolutely had to keep.

Early the next morning, Allen got up, and a servant quickly brought breakfast.

Sure enough, before long, the Emperor's envoy arrived.

A tall but taciturn man came over and said to Allen, "Duke Allen, His Majesty invites you."

Allen was secretly shocked by his Saint realm strength, not expecting the Radiant Empire to be so wealthy.

Even a errand-running servant had Saint realm cultivation. Of course, Allen believed this person was definitely not as simple as he seemed.

"Okay, thank you for your trouble." Allen smiled and followed him out.

A carriage was already parked outside, but the carriage body looked extraordinarily luxurious, and the horses pulling the carriage were also extraordinary.

Not only did these horses have horns on their heads, but they also had scales on their bodies, and there was a hint of agility in their eyes, making them look extraordinary.

Allen also liked them very much, but he didn't say anything and got into the carriage.

The man also followed in, which made Allen feel that he was not simple.

After passing through many crowds, Allen felt the carriage finally stopped. "Duke Allen, we have arrived."

The person outside said, and then lifted the curtain for Allen.

Allen didn't say much and walked out, with the man following closely behind.

They had probably arrived inside the palace. Allen guessed, looking at the surroundings, which were very different from before. Sure enough, the man went to the front, "Please follow me, Your Excellency."

Allen followed him, walking all the way inward, passing through many places, and arriving at a garden.

Although it was winter, the garden looked like it was in spring.

Many exotic flowers and rare herbs were growing in the garden. What caught Allen's attention the most were the little fairies dancing gracefully.

It seemed there were quite a few fairies here. Allen thought to himself.

Continuing to walk a few steps forward, Allen saw a table in front of him, with two people sitting there.

"Your Majesty, Grand Duke Allen has arrived." The man went forward and knelt in salute.

Allen also guessed that the person in front of him should be the Emperor of the Radiant Empire, and hurriedly followed suit. "Allen greets Your Majesty."

"Well, you may step down." An old voice came, naturally not speaking to Allen. "Yes!"

After the man left, the garden fell silent.

"Grand Duke Allen, please come and sit." The voice came again.

Allen thought for a moment and stood up. There was nothing to be afraid of anyway, as he was invited.

Standing up, Allen could see them better. One was an old man with white hair, wearing a crown and dressed in luxurious clothes, who should be the Emperor of the Radiant Empire.

He looked very amiable, but the glint in his eyes showed that he was not as harmless as he seemed.

The other was a young man who looked somewhat similar to the old man, so he must be a prince.

He had a handsome face, but his eyes were an unusual emerald green.

A High Elf?

Allen looked at the person carefully and found that he did not have pointed ears like Lucy, and then realized that there were still some differences.

Allen's somewhat rude behavior did not bother the prince, who instead smiled warmly at him.

The Emperor, seeing Allen staring at the prince, also took another look at him.

Allen respectfully stepped forward and sat down.

"Grand Duke Allen, I have heard of your name for a long time," the Emperor said slowly, looking at Allen.

Allen didn't know what he meant, so he could only say, "That is my honor."

"Well, I have investigated you. In a short few years, you have risen from a Baron all the way up to a Duke, a Grand Duke, and now I should soon be calling you King Allen."

The Emperor looked at Allen and said unhurriedly.

"If it weren't for the fact that it has been proven that you have done all of this on your own, I would have suspected that someone was secretly helping you."

The Emperor stared intently at Allen, who felt a tightening in his heart upon hearing this.

After all, this was what he had been worried about, but the system shouldn't be able to detect it.

So Allen's expression remained calm, and the Emperor, not getting anything out of him, continued to speak.

"In fact, many people are dissatisfied with you this time, thinking that you are too bold and want me to punish you and take the opportunity to get those things."

Allen's expression changed upon hearing this. Although he knew it was unlikely, he was still a little flustered..

Chapter 443: Exchange of Interests

Allen was also shocked to hear the Emperor's words, but he quickly recovered.

As the Emperor of the Radiant Empire, if he intended to do so, he wouldn't need to go to so much trouble.

Not to mention the more than a dozen Saint Domain auras that Allen could feel as soon as he entered the garden.

Just this Emperor alone could make Allen feel no small threat.

Allen was sure that he was definitely not just a Legendary Three-Star.

At that time, even if he could escape, the Radiant Empire would definitely retaliate against the Allen Duchy.

The Allen Duchy can now rely on only 400,000 Dragonblood Warriors, 1,000 mages, three legions, and several million soldiers.

These may be able to dominate in a kingdom, but all of this is just a joke to the Radiant Empire.

The Radiant Empire could easily end it, and Allen would only be able to flee to other empires, which he did not want.

However, he believed that the Radiant Empire would not do so.

Sure enough, the Emperor nodded when he saw that Allen was still calm.

"I refused because we are not sure we can do that. After all, the strength of the Allen Duchy is already incomparably strong, and we would not get anything from it." "My son, remember, don't try something easily if you are not sure, otherwise you will pay a huge price and get nothing," the Emperor suddenly said to the quiet prince on the side, and the prince stood up. "I will remember, Father." Allen felt a little awkward seeing the Emperor teaching his son, feeling like he had become a superfluous person.

He couldn't figure out what the Emperor meant, calling him over here but not saying a word about the most important things, instead saying a bunch of other things.

However, this interrupted Allen's plan. He had thought there would be a battle of words, and then he would pay a huge price, but it should still be solvable.

But now, the Emperor of the Radiant Empire didn't say anything, but gave Allen no small amount of pressure.

He also understood that this Emperor was indeed not as simple as he had imagined.

After all, after hundreds of years, even a turtle would have become a spirit.

"So Grand Duke Allen, now that you have occupied the Norton Kingdom, what are you willing to give?"

"Your Majesty, I am not occupying it, I am helping a neighboring country," Allen still wanted to try a little harder, after all, that sounded too harsh.

"Alright, helping," the Emperor smiled slightly, not getting entangled in this topic with Allen. "So, Grand Duke Allen, what price are you willing to pay to become a king?"

Worthy of being the Emperor, no matter what Allen's reason for sending troops was, he wanted to obtain something further, which was right.

Allen knew that the Emperor was not easy to mess with, and dispelled some of his thoughts of fooling him.