Chapter 811 One-Woman Man & Grand Pact (Part 2)
The first thing that slightly caught Bai Zemin’s attention after entering the throne room was the fact that King Philip was not sitting on his throne beyond the steps as he was the first time the two met after Bai Zemin awoke from his comatose state.
“You came.”
King Philip’s voice was dignified, his back was to Bai Zemin and his eyes looked beyond the huge light-swallower on the ceiling, straight up at the distant stars.
“I don’t think I’ve said it properly yet, but I want you to know that I’m sorry for your loss.” Bai Zemin said as he noticed the aura of loneliness surrounding the man.
“Em.”
King Philip only made a small sound but said nothing more. At least now he no longer had to pretend to be fine, when he was facing a person who was overwhelming enough as the young man behind him, there was no point in pretending to look high and firm.
After about 5 minutes of total silence, the King of Gales finally turned and looked at Bai Zemin with a slight smile that contained both appreciation and sadness.
Appreciation for the young man in front of him, and sadness for the eternal departure of his loved one.
“Zemin, do you really have someone you love?”
Despite being slightly surprised by the question, Bai Zemin didn’t even have to pause to think about the answer as he replied automatically.
“That’s right. Putting aside things like status, power, appearance…. It was she who was there for me in the darkest moments of my life. She not only helped me to survive but also gave me hope and light in the midst of so much death and darkness… I owe her enough to swear to myself to make her happy at any cost.”
King Philip mistakenly assumed that Bai Zemin’s strength and status were above the woman he spoke of, after all, it was hard for him to imagine a monster even more monstrous than the one before him.
“For you to talk that way about her and with such a gentle expression on your usually indifferent face… This girl must really be an excellent woman.” Philip nodded with a understanding glance.
“I am.” Lilith nodded as she lifted her chin and puffed out her big chest, proud of herself.
“She is.” Bai Zemin chuckled and nodded.
“Let me tell you a short story…. Rather, a summary of a long story.” The king said and turned to walk towards the steps leading to his throne. However, instead of walking up the steps, he sat down on the first level and gestured for Bai Zemin to sit down.
Bai Zemin obeyed and sat a short distance as he listened to the old man’s words.
“When I was still young, younger than you, I was not too bright and all I had was my endless desire to improve myself. Thanks to my efforts, I managed to level up rather quickly even though I couldn’t fight enemies above my level like you, Liam, and many others can.”
“One day, when I was around 17 years old, I met a 10-year-old girl when I visited the house of a noble family to pay my respects to the old master, one of the most important nobles in the kingdom, on his birthday.” King Philip paused and let out a strange chuckle as his eyes looked at nothing in particular, lost in his memories. “That 10-year-old girl not only surprised not only me but left the entire noble family speechless when she stopped me in the hallway and confidently said that I would one day be her husband.”
A 10-year-old girl wanting to marry someone about to enter adulthood? Bai Zemin couldn’t help but chuckle at the thought of such a scene occurring. ꜰʀᴇᴇwᴇʙɴoᴠᴇʟ.coᴍ
“That reaction you just had was mine at that moment, I chuckled and tousled that girl’s hair taking her words as a joke that any girl of that age might make.” King Philip looked at Bai Zemin with a strange smile and said slowly, “The life would surely give me a surprise 20 years later.”
Bai Zemin’s smile froze and King Philip continued.
“During a hunt for monsters that were causing trouble in one of the farthest towns west of Gales, I met a very talented mage who despite being only 30 years old was already above level 80. After being friends for a few years, I gradually fell in love with her… until a decade later I confessed my feelings. Can you guess what her words were?”
Bai Zemin shook his head.
King Philip laughed out loud and said with tears in his eyes, “She let out a chuckle and tousled my hair. Seeing my probably dumbfounded face, she said the following words to me ‘You see? I told you that someday in the future you will be my husband!’ hahahaha!”
Bai Zemin didn’t know whether to laugh or cry as he realized what was going on and where the king wanted to go.
After laughing for a few seconds, Philip patted Bai Zemin’s shoulder and said kindly: “Zemin, no one knows what tomorrow holds, but don’t close your heart and mind to new possibilities. If you lock yourself inside your world and the shell you created by yourself, then you will never be able to see the surroundings… who knows, there might be better options to choose from. What I mean by this is that today you love one woman, but maybe in 50 years you will love 2 or maybe 3… You are still young, as time goes by you will understand my words better.”
Actually, King Philip’s words made sense from many points of view. Bai Zemin himself was a person who tried not to close his world as he did not want to miss the opportunities that life put on his sides and which he would not be able to see if he only looked ahead. Besides, it was also true that tomorrow was uncertain let alone 100 or 200 years in the future; after all, as long as no one or nothing killed him, living at least two centuries was a given for the current Bai Zemin considering the purity of his Soul Power.
However, he still shook his head. ꜰʀᴇᴇ ᴡᴇʙ ɴoᴠᴇʟ. coᴍ
“I understand what Your Majesty means, but I think I speak for Ellis as well when I say that she doesn’t love me at all.”
“… Child, do you think love is a simple thing that can be shaped just like that?” King Philip shook his head and pointed out, “There is only one way two existences can fall in love, and that is through shared experiences. It’s not about time, two existences can live together for decades without developing feelings but two existences that were only together for 1 month could fall in love if they experience enough hardships and joys together.”
Bai Zemin nodded in complete agreement with King Philip’s point of view. After all, the same thing had happened in his case with Lilith; she had been his guiding light in the darkness at the same time he had shown her without even realizing that not all things in life were bad and that one could always find a reason to move forward.
“Ellis and Seraphina inherited the skill Fate Eyes from their mother, so unless your destiny is too abnormal and powerful, Ellis’ words will probably come true.” King Philip said kindly. “But you don’t need to think about it too much, just let life take its course. Whatever is destined to be will be and we can’t help it, don’t you think?”
Bai Zemin smiled slightly and said in a wry voice, “It is funny that you say those words to me, words that I said in my room only 1 hour before.”
He decided not to pursue the matter of Ellis any further. Although Bai Zemin felt some curiosity about the skill Fate Eyes, he somehow felt that the first princess of Gales was not destined to be his future wife in the unlikely event that Bai Zemin would accept someone else besides Lilith.
He decided to let life take its course as the king had just suggested.
“So, why don’t you tell me about what you have in mind?” King Philip also became serious.
Bai Zemin smiled slightly and his eyes sparkled. Slowly, he began to explain the not-so-crazy madness that had occurred to him.
Thirty minutes later, King Philip sitting on his throne looked at Bai Zemin who was standing in the center of the room with a dumbfounded look on his face.
“You are crazy.”
Bai Zemin chuckled at King Philip’s affirmative, non-question.
“Maybe I am.” He nodded with a faint smile on his face and remarked, “However, it is precisely because of my craziness that I have managed to survive and make it this far. At least, I can say that my craziness turns out well most of the time.”
“…” After a long silence, the king asked in a curious voice, “And what happens the other times?”
Bai Zemin looked away and said quietly, “Explosions that almost killed me and my allies.”
King Philip wanted to curse out loud but all he did was stare silently at the young man meters ahead as the corner of his mouth twitched a couple of times.
Bai Zemin looked at the king and said in a serious voice, “I believe you are also aware of the current situation Gales is in. Even if the parent kingdoms do nothing, the other kingdoms will not take it quietly the fact that you have captured their princes and princesses, which would have been much worse if you had killed them. I am sure that apart from the kingdoms involved with the demons, all the other kingdoms will unite to oppress Gales to the point of weakening it in order to devour it completely.”
King Philip closed his eyes and tiredness overwhelmed him so he did nothing to prevent his body from relaxing on his throne; he understood perfectly well that the current situation was horrible for Gales. After a few seconds of silence and with his eyes still closed, he inquired in a low voice, “How confident are you?”
Bai Zemin’s lips curved slightly and he said in a cold voice, “As long as a Fourth Order soul evolver or a Third Order soul evolver above level 130 with a combat capacity comparable to Liam Anworth’s doesn’t appear, my current self has 200% confidence.”
Fourth Order? King Philip shook his head secretly. Eventide World did not have such an existence at all. However….
“In that case, I’m afraid it won’t be that easy.” The king opened his eyes and said in a deep voice, “There is a truly terrifying existence in this world that should indeed be able to be your equal in combat.”
Bai Zemin narrowed his eyes and slowly said, “The Demon Lord.”
“That’s right, it is the Demon Lord.” The King of Gales nodded and said in a serious voice, “In the past, the number of human kingdoms was 50. However, one of these kingdoms was destroyed by the demon race with the Demon Lord leading them; even when 50 kingdom kings united it was not enough to defeat him, and they could only hold each other back as the demons slaughtered humans.”
Despite the slight surprise he felt in his heart, Bai Zemin was still confident, therefore, he said firmly, “If the Demon Lord and I clash in the open field with no one around us, then victory will be mine. A single attack will be more than enough to end his life even though it will require risking mine.”
King Philip felt his heart move as he heard the confidence in Bai Zemin’s voice at the same time he was filled with awe at what he had just heard. Had it not been for the fact that he had seen how this First Order level 50 existence in front of him completely overwhelmed even a demon general, he would never have believed the crazy things Bai Zemin had just said and probably would have called the guards to lock him in a dungeon.
Still, the king had a big doubt in his heart.
“Why would you be willing to risk your life for Gales? I don’t think you owe us that much to go to these extremes not to mention the fact that you’ve already paid more than enough with the help you’ve given us and the Third Order Soul Stone you left days ago.”
“I am very grateful to everyone Gales, but indeed, my gratitude is not enough to make me stay in this world for months at the cost of risking returning to my world to find everything I have worked hard to build turned to ashes and the people who are important to me dead.” Bai Zemin said in a deep voice.
After a moment of silence, he revealed his true goal.
“I will keep my word as long as you promise to give me a copy of all the formulas to make potions, copies of the blueprints to build the attack towers on the walls of Bearcrest City, information to tame mutant beasts and use them as mounts….”
For the next 2-3 minutes, Bai Zemin opened his lion mouth and said he basically wanted everything.
However, what he was offering in return was much more than what he was actually asking for.
Indeed, after several minutes of silence, King Philip opened his eyes and looked at Bai Zemin for a full minute without expression. Moments after those 60 seconds passed, a faint smile was born at the corner of his lips.
“I like it. Risky, but I like it.”
Bai Zemin smiled back and said calmly, “Without risks, the rewards will be nothing but crumbs left behind by the true victors.”
King Philip stood up and said in a deep voice, “Very fair, boy. I will join you in this craziness of yours.”
An unattractive and rather fierce smile appeared on Bai Zemin’s face as he muttered under his breath, “It’s my pleasure to do business with you.”
Lilith, who was watching and listening to everything from the side, rolled her eyes at the sight of Bai Zemin’s smile. However, she knew that this path would be filled with blood and death, a path that would not be easy to travel even for him.
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