The Geared Immortal

Chapter 970

(Unedited)

…

The sun in the sky is truly something to behold as the capital's bustling streets once again welcome a nice and beautiful morning. The vendors and the shoppers seem to have discussed something last night that everything in the surrounding is like a symphony of noises blending together to create a fine melody.

But the discussion on the streets centers on the news about the ongoing competition between the noble houses shops and those that belong to the Mystique Shop's group. This news has already spread like wildfire and almost everyone in the city knows about this event.

Apart from this, another piece of news made the people in the capital feel a bit excited. It was the annual beast clearing hunt to the northern part of the capital.

Every year, the capital would send their soldiers to clear the ever-growing beast in the north. It has been a thing ever since the kingdom was established. And no one dares to neglect this event.

The reason for this is the repercussion that the kingdom would be facing once those beasts would grow in number and strength. No one actually knew how the beasts grow in number each year. But every year, there would always be a huge number of beasts that the soldiers, mercenaries, and mages could hunt in the forest.

…

Hong noble house manor

Inside the Hong noble house manor main hall, Hong Fao and his supporters are currently discussing the success of their plans.

"Haha… Those members in the family that did not support us could only show their envious gaze at us." An elder chuckled.

But then another elder showed a solemn expression while looking at the elders in the hall.

"What should we do with Hong Ba? And he also took with him the 5th young miss, Flora Hong."

"Ha… Let them go. We have no use for them anyway… Since that young girl did not want to get married, then let her die out there. However, the beast with her is another story…"

"I agree… we should have contained that beast from the start."

"But how can we fight against it now? I heard that the beast is very strong that even a Grand Magus could not subdue it?"

Hearing the elders of the family discussing below him, Hong Fao frowns. He truly did not know what to do with his 5th, illegitimate, daughter. But her luck is too great that she is able to have a very strong beast for a partner. Many other young masters in the Hong noble house tried to take away that beast, but they all failed.

"Hmm… We could not do anything with that beast as of now. If we want the beast, then we can only capture Flora…" Hong Fao said with a serious expression.

"Anyway, our plans are running smoothly so we should just continue with this plan… By the way patriarch, the annual beast hunt is coming soon. What do you plan to do?"

"Do not worry too much. Our noble house is already prepared for this. This year, I want to teach the royal family a lesson… A lesson that would remind them not to underestimate the noble houses…" Hong Fao said with a sinister smile.

…

Royal Palace

In the palace, the king is currently talking to his ministers about the plan for the annual beast hunt.

"Have we prepared the equipment of all our soldiers?" the king asked while looking at an old general.

"Yes, my king… Our troops are fully armed and ready for battle. The Mystique Shop has already delivered the staves that we have ordered. I have personally tested it and it is truly amazingly powerful. If we have these weapons last year, then we would not have suffered such losses…" the old general said with a wide smile on his face.

This old general is General Xun Simo, the father of Lin Simo and the future father-in-law of the 1st prince.

"Alright, that is already good. It's just a pity that we could not get those unique body armors that their mage guards are wearing. If we have that, then this year's beast clearing hunt would become easier and safer." King Grav said with a hint of slight disappointment in his eyes.

"Well, we could not buy those kinds of things, your majesty. It is said that they only have a limited amount of those things as it is hard to craft."

"Well, besides that… how about the school and academies, will they be entering this year's hunt?" the king asked.

"Your majesty, the Alto Magus Academy agreed to participate with around 50 students. But the other academies, they are only sending their low ranking students numbering to less than 10 per school." A scholarly man reported.

"The Alto Magus seems to be confident of their ability to survive. Why do you think is that?"

"I think this is because of the new curriculum that is being sought after by all of the students. I heard that it has already produced high results and we can see that in the upcoming hunt."

"Good, that's is good. If the Alto Magus really has a good result with this, we will ask the rest of the school and the academies to spend time and money to have the same curriculum in their schools." The king said with an excited expression.

"Umn… Your majesty, I think that would be too soon. We should wait first before doing such a thing." The scholarly man said with a helpless expression.

"Alright, anyway how about the potions and pills, are they enough along with the rations?"

"Reporting, my king… We have ample provision at the moment, and the canned meat is especially helpful. However, we also asked the Mystique Shop to sell us the portable meat processor. Just in case we fall short on our provisions and stocks." A female officer reported.

"Good… good… I can't wait for this year's beast clearing hunt to start. I hope those haughty noble houses will not cause us any trouble, because if they do, I will no longer show courtesy. They will know the real reason why I have been crowned the king of this fair kingdom…" King Grav said with a serious expression.

The meeting continued as the group talks more about other stuff which is related to the kingdom and its growth.

…

Meanwhile, inside the 1st prince manor…

Vorn Grav is sitting behind a black marble desk inside his study room. In front of him is a man in a black robe with half of his face covered. The black-robed man is currently reporting something.

"So, you mean that my father has truly decided to support those outsiders rather than the nobles?"

"Yes, your highness…" the man replied.

"Okay, I understand. You can now leave…" Vorn Grav waves his hand as the man turns around and walks out of the room.

"What do you think uncle?" he turns to the side and asked.

On a soft chair sitting in the dark corner, an old man wearing a gray mage robe is currently sitting calmly while stroking his long white beard.

"I think, your father is brewing something. This is the first time that he made this move and I could not even discern his thought. As if he is possessed by something…" the old man said in a deep voice.

The 1st prince showed a sly glint on his face at this time as if he caught something very interesting.

The 1st prince, Vorn Grav has always shown exemplary demeanor to the outside people. People know him as a quiet, very reliable, and strong leader. He has convinced a lot of people especially the nobles to support him. He even has support from the Tower of Light and has a close relation to Mao Enosis.

But deep inside his heart, he has a deep ambition. This ambition began since he was a little boy.

It all started with his mother, which is currently the current queen of the kingdom.

His mother would always show magnanimity and kindness to the people outside even to his father. But in secret, he knows how brutal and ruthless his mother is.

While growing up he has seen and experienced it himself and his body has evidence of her brutality. The 1st prince's body is marked with different wounds which resulted because of his mother's anger. Whenever the king is with a concubine, the queen would vent her anger towards her own son. But he loved his mother so much that he even thought that it was okay for her to do such a thing. It was his father's fault.

But as he grew up, he knew that something is wrong with his mother's mind. The deranged tendency of the queen is being kept secret by him.

But then it was already too late, as he himself discovered that he too is like his mother.

He too is a little bit deranged and abusive.