“It wasn’t Qianye but a different yet interesting opponent.” Basil became rather vague halfway through.
All eyes in the room fell upon him. Basil was finding this opponent interesting after taking such a beating? When did the arachne have such inclinations?
Grand Duke Minica said, “Who else in this region is strong enough to make you so miserable? If there really is one, I guess His Highness Predica’s observation of fate is no longer as accurate as it used to be.”
Noxus snorted. “We have no intention of questioning a prophet, but we will not allow anyone to doubt our valor.”
Predica said indifferently, “Both Qianye and Nighteye’s fate trajectories are very difficult to track. Even I can only see a blurry outline, especially now that I must pay more attention to Nighteye.”
The room quieted down for a bit as Noxus maintained a poker face. A demonkin warlock becoming so humble, that wasn’t a good thing.
Minica was somewhat moved. “His Majesty’s decree seems…”
Predica replied, “I know what His Majesty’s orders are, but I have a feeling that Nighteye’s effect on fate is no smaller than Qianye. It might be even greater.”
Minica was even more shaken. “Isn’t Great Monarch Sousa going after her?”
Predica shook his head while Noxus cut in unceremoniously, “If he can fail once, he will fail a second time.”
“Let’s talk about the battles,” Predica said. “Let’s hear what the situation is with Qianye, then Basil’s interesting incident.”
Pedro said, “I was ambushed while searching the forest and remained at a disadvantage throughout.”
Minica frowned. “He even managed to ambush you?”
“Correct, I didn’t sense him at all.”
Minica sighed. “If you couldn’t detect him, I wouldn’t have been able to, either. Fortunately, you were the one to run into him.”
There was no mockery in these words. Minica’s combat strength was no weaker than Pedro, but his constitution was far inferior. He might not be able to take a single blow if he were ambushed by Qianye. The arachne, on the other hand, possessed extremely sharp senses despite his crude appearance. With the aid of his sentry spiders, he was one of the top experts for outdoor search-and-destroy operations.
Predica tapped lightly on the armest. “To be able to ambush and defeat Grand Duke Pedro, is that Qianye a prince?”
Pedro said, “Judging from his bloodline power, he’s just one step away from breaking through to the grand duke rank.”
Minica’s expression was unsightly. “That means you lost to a duke?”
Noxus said, “The council and the Spider Queen know full well how strong Pedro is. He can even use secret arts to contend with a prince. Pedro, can you tell Master Predica what was special about this fight?”
Pedro said, “I think I saw an origin power on Qianye that has never been seen before. It’s… very likely between Daybreak and Evernight, but not exactly like the case, either. The domain it formed was extremely terrifying, I sensed both gravity and destruction from it. The combination is not weaker than the domain of any great dark monarch.”
“Any great dark monarch?” Minica repeated the question.
“Any.” Pedro’s response was firm.
Minica’s expression was fluctuant. “That means we might have to adjust our plans.”
“We need to assemble more experts or wait until we have a clearer direction,” said Pedro.
Predica shook his head. “There’s a protective barrier or something special around him. I cannot break through it alone.”
Everyone looked serious. Predica was different from most other prophets in that he always spoke honestly without deliberately mystifying things. What he said he could not do, he could not do. That was why there were no objections. There were people in both factions whose fate was impossible to scry, and they weren’t always powerful experts.
Minica noticed a certain possibility. “What if we mobilize the council’s subordinate warlock group?”
“Could it be that the plan is already in motion?” Noxus asked.
Predica nodded. “It won’t be a secret very soon, so it’s fine to speak of it.”
At this point, the group had nothing more to discuss so they turned to Basil. For some reason, however, this young duke was no longer willing to explain what had happened. He wouldn’t speak of whom he had encountered and only insisted on returning to the arachne main camp.
Minica’s expression wasn’t good because this was akin to fleeing from battle.
However, Basil was a king among the arachne younger generation who might become the next warlord. His position in the arachne race was much higher than Pedro, so they couldn’t just force him to speak. Noxus wouldn’t sit by and watch the demonkin bully Pedro even if his authority was being challenged.
After a period of argument, Basil said, “In truth, what I countered is an internal matter of my race. I’m very willing to report this matter to the warlord, but I think this has little to do with the lords Minica and Predica.”
Without waiting for Minica to express his anger, Predica said, “That makes things simple. We’ll leave this place to you. Let’s go, Minica.”
Predica stopped briefly and glanced at Basil as they passed by. There was no special expression accompanying that glance and Basil didn’t even sense any suppressive might. However, Noxus frowned when he saw this.
After the two had left, Noxus said, “Basil, I expect you to give me a very good reason for this. After all, the demonkin are the ones controlling the new order of the council. Master Predica’s authority in the council is much higher than you think, and he’s an expert worthy of respect even before he awakened his prophetic powers. Why would you offend him for no reason? The Spider Queen will favor you less if she finds out.”
“Impossible!” Pedro protested. “His Highness Noxus and I are the only arachne experts who can defeat you.”
Basil took a deep breath. “She’s not an expert we know. In fact, she has just passed her early growth phase.”
“Impossible!” It was Noxus this time.
“Your Highness, you know my ability. It’s impossible for me to make a wrong judgment here.”
Basil’s innate bloodline allowed him to see through other arachne, unless they were great dark monarchs like Noxus. It was because of this power that he was considered a king in the younger generation and a successor to the Spider Queen’s attendant position, even though his bloodline wasn’t pure enough to suppress everything, nor was he the Spider Queen’s descendant.
“To defeat a duke after just passing the initial growth phase…” Pedro murmured with a puzzled expression.
An arachne’s initial growth period was no different from a human infant, lasting up to a point where they had awakened sufficient intelligence. The subsequent second and third growth phases were akin to a human child. It was there that the arachne would strengthen their body and awaken their bloodline talents.
Basil’s defeat was akin to a human a.d.u.l.t losing to an infant.
Noxus was startled. “Did you mean… her?”
The arachne warlord was visibly shaken. He exchanged glances with Pedro, saying, “Can it be… the Spider Queen’s successor has appeared?”
“That’s what I hope!” Pedro’s eyes were filled with excitement.
If this were true, they could totally understand why Basil would rather risk this tension than leak this information.
In the arachne race, only the matriarch could awaken the strongest bloodline. Pedro, the other grand dukes, and princes would be limited to a great dark monarch as their final destination. Even Basil, who was highly favored by the Queen, would only end up a bit stronger than Noxus. In essence, he would still be a great dark monarch.
Only a single Spider Queen was at the top of the arachne race.
Basil shook his head. “No, she isn’t of the Spider Queen’s bloodline but a completely new one. I wasn’t able to figure it out. If I must describe it, I felt that she was a combination of the Spider Queen and the Queen of the Night.”
“How is that possible?” These words had been spoken too many times.
Basil laughed wryly. “I would never have believed it, either, had I not met her.”
Noxus said, “Tell me everything again from the beginning, don’t leave out a single detail.
Basil nodded and recounted everything he had encountered, including all the embarrassing details.
After listening to everything, Noxus and Pedro exchanged glances. They simply didn’t know what to say.
Moments later, Noxus said, “This matter is extremely important, much more so than capturing Qianye.”
Pedro said, “If a successor appears beside the Spider Queen on the Sacred Mountain, we will be at the heart of the new order in the new world.”
Nodding, Noxus glanced at Basil with a serious expression. “You know how serious this matter is. Are you really sure you didn’t see wrong?”
“I swear on my ancestors and bloodline, I can’t make such a mistake.”
Noxus made up his mind. “We must bring her back to the Temple, and we must do so without alerting the demonkin. Pedro, report this back to the Temple, request the Spider Queen to send a clone or at least a projection. I will keep Predica and Minica busy here. Basil, you will be in charge of keeping her in place until we hear back from the Temple. Don’t let her disappear”
Basil was stunned. “How do I keep her here?”
Noxus said, “You just said she’s obsessed with riches, all you need to do is let her rob you a couple more times. I have some valuable armor sets in my collection. Pedro, bring out some as well. We’ll give them to Basil so that he can get robbed a couple more times.”
Basil didn’t know whether to laugh or to cry. “Why me?”
“Because she’s not as cautious around you.”
Noxus spoke delightedly, but Basil didn’t like the tone.
What did the man mean by “not cautious?” Basil was simply beaten black and blue after finding out her bloodline. He didn’t dare to use any secret arts or excessive force in retaliation.
“Maybe we can send someone else. I think she’ll be careless all the same with other dukes, even glorious marquises.” Basil made a feeble attempt.
Noxus blocked all of his hopes in one blow. “The fewer people involved in this matter, the better. Before we get a decision from the Spider Queen, only the three of us can know of her existence. Predica is no idiot, he was trying to probe you just now. You have a king’s bloodline, and if that little fellow is the new Spider Queen, your combined fate trajectories will be difficult to see through immediately. If we put a random duke in your place, it won’t be easy to fool Predica’s eyes.”
Pedro said, “Predica just said that most of his attention is on Nighteye. We must not let him turn his attention to us. Sigh, the demonkin are surely suspicious already, but I doubt they can guess something so inconceivable. To be honest, even I don’t feel easy in front of Predica. Who else can do this?”
Basil let out a long sigh, finally giving up his futile struggle.
To keep Zhuji around would require more than just a few items. Of course, even the things of the lowest value from Noxus and Pedro’s collection were some of the best pieces.
Basil believed that the little money-grubber would surely be able to sniff him out. Noxus and Pedro paid in riches, while Basil would have to sacrifice something else—like his mental health.
Zhuji wouldn’t hold back while robbing him. Even someone as sturdy as Basil would see stars at times. He started to wonder if this experience had left a shadow in his heart.
He had no one to blame since he was the one who had handled it so crudely. He would have to pay the price and bear the consequences now.
