Unsealing Emptiness

“Let me repeat it, this mission is important,” Ember again asserted in a severe tone.

Letting her know that he understood, Ozul lightly nodded his head.

She picked the file on the table and scanned its contents again before throwing it toward Raven, who caught it mid-air.

“Don’t show this file to anyone else.”

Seeing the growing frown on the group’s faces, Ember sighed. She knew she was being too dramatic, but this concerned everything she had worked for!

“You guys understand that you currently reside in the Blue Lion Kingdom, yes?”

.....

Yet again, she received odds looks from the group.

“Yes.”

Thankfully, Ozul was being patient with her. Only she didn’t know that was the case only because he could actually feel all the pent-up anxiety inside her.

“Since it’s a kingdom, there is a king. And since there is a king, there are princes and princesses.”

Squinting his eyes, even Ozul didn’t understand where she was going with this.

“One of the princesses of the kingdom, Malty, is the King’s beloved. She is the youngest, and adored by the Royal Family.”

“And...?” Ozul could care less if a princess was loved or not.

“... Do something to her.”

Once again, everyone looked at her as if she was talking nonsense.

“What do you mean by ‘do something to her’? You want her killed? Kidnapped? Tortured maybe? Though the last part is a bit too much,” Blaze blabbered as soon as he got the chance to.

Shaking her head, Ember clarified, “I don’t know. Just do something to her and let the blame fall on the neighboring kingdoms. That is all I want.”

A puzzled-faced Zier muttered, “Why?”

“A beloved princess of a kingdom should be enough for a war to break out.”

It was Raven who answered that question.

Confirming their doubts, Ember nodded her head, “I have carried out numerous skirmishes in the kingdom. Even the most idiotic of the royal families of neighboring kingdoms have noticed the unstable state of Blue Lion kingdom.”

Taking a deep breath, Ember hoped she would be right in her estimations, “If something were to happen to the princess that the King so adored, I am hoping that it finally happens. A war involving multiple kingdoms.”

Zier felt a chill on his spine as he observed the dead serious expression in her eyes and her lack of hesitancy despite the fact that if such a war broke out, hundreds of thousands of people would perish. For the first time, he really felt that this old lady was evil.

“If I may ask, why do you want the war to happen?” Zier couldn’t contain his curiosity. “Is it because you are...uhm...Beastkin?”

“Hahah...” Ember suddenly chuckled, “I’m sorry, but causing internal conflicts between some insignificant kingdoms just to get back at the humans? It’s laughable.”

“Then why is it that it’s so important to you?”

“When and if the time comes, you will eventually know,” refusing to answer, Ember looked back at Ozul.

She hadn’t forgotten the fact that she couldn’t just order him to do it. So, she could only pray that he accepted this task. At the moment, she couldn’t find anyone more reliable than him.

Beastkin stood out too much due to their physical alterations from the humans. Hence, even if she knew people stronger than Ozul, she couldn’t use them in the way she wanted to.

“Is there a time limit?” Ozul asked.

Making a princess disappear wasn’t an easy thing. Especially when she is adored by everyone.

“You can take your time. I will leave everything to you,” Ember was putting all her faith in him.

“What about the people in the Palace? Do you know how strong is the strongest among them?”

Ember knew this question was coming sooner or later. Despite that, she couldn’t prepare for it. There was no way to sugarcoat her answer. “There are three people at the peak of Origin Realm in the Royal Palace...” she muttered with her voice gradually losing strength until she couldn’t be heard anymore.

It had only been a few weeks since Ozul came close to death because of a single person in the initial stage of the Origin Realm.

Royal Palace of the Blue Lion Kingdom was littered with Origin Realm experts. It was like asking a man who burned his arm to throw himself into the fire again.

Expecting him to finally walk out of the room, cruelly rejecting her, Ember felt her heart beating out of her chest.

“How many?”

“Hm?” Did he ask how many? How many...what?

“Spiritual Cores. If you want me to accept this task, I want half the payment in advance as well.”

Ember kept staring at him with wide eyes. This kid... never once disappointed her.

Smirking confidently, she flicked her hand, and on the table appeared glittering stones radiating dense Spiritual Essence.

Ozul counted a total of five Spiritual Cores just as dense as the ones he had received before!

“That is not all. Once you are done, I will get you ten more of these in addition to having these people provide better Spiritual Arts and cultivation manuals. I will also provide whatever you need during this mission for free. I understand that getting inside the palace would be difficult even for you.”

Nodding absentmindedly, Ozul picked up the Spiritual Cores and handed them over to Raven.

‘This gives me extra security. Who knows... I might be able to take on someone at the peak of Origin Realm,’ Ozul smirked internally. Though he was only musing to himself, he knew it wouldn’t be so easy. At the higher Realms, each stage imposed a significant improvement in one’s abilities.

He hadn’t even fully tested the power of someone at the initial stage. Maybe even now he wouldn’t stand a chance against someone like that owl guy.

No longer was he going to be complacent.

“Alright,” Ozul accepted the task, “But I have another condition.”

The rewards were too enticing to give up, but he still had to be sure of something.

“Go on,” Ember encouraged.

“If by the end of this, we are in a mess, you will either provide protection for a while or at the bare minimum, compensate me.” He looked dead straight into her eyes. This wasn’t a condition she was in a position to refuse.

Chuckling wryly, “You are one greedy kid... But you have a deal.”

. . .

Soon, they were given details about the princess and the royal family of the Blue Lion kingdom.

The fact that the princess famously had a rotten personality lifted a bit of weight off of Raven’s conscience.

Though even if that wasn’t the case, she was still going to follow through.

Except for her, the only other person who was hesitating a little was Zier. He had never killed someone before, so that was a given.

“Let me remind you, the king himself is one of the three peak Origin Realm experts.”

“Who are the other two?” Ozul asked.

“The head of the royal guards is one of them. The other is the king’s little brother. Unusual for royal families, they get along well. Or at least they appear to be.”

“On that topic, you should be aware that the king’s younger brother is either lurking around the land, seeking to settle regional skirmishes here and there or commanding their army into war.

According to my sources, he seldom stays in the palace.”

“Alright, so that means one less troublesome guy,” Zier sighed in relief. He had only yesterday reached the Nascent Soul Realm! How could he hope to even stand in the presence of someone at the peak of Origin Realm?!

“Make no mistake. There are other people in the Origin Realm as well. Just that they are not at the peak,” Ember crushed the mud wall Zier had just finished building to protect his sanity.

Among the group, only Zier thought that they were jumping into a lion’s den.

Blaze and Raven, on the other hand, weren’t afraid in the slightest. They were determined to deal with anything thrown their way, just like they had always been. Though both of them understood that their strength was still lacking.

“There is really no time limit, yeah?” Ozul asked again.

Although all three of ‘his people’ had reached the Nascent Soul Realm, it was still far from enough. He wanted to take his sweet time before attempting anything on the royal family. At the same time, he would be able to understand the situation better.

“Hmm... It would be ideal if you could do it in ten fortnights.”

Ember could work with it even if he took longer, but the chances of the Blue Lion kingdom going to war might drop a little.

“Fortnight as in fourteen days? So a total of 140 days?” Zier muttered out aloud.

“Alright,” Ozul accepted without a second thought.

These three could reach the Nascent Soul Realm in two weeks, he hoped four months would be enough for their strength to reach the Origin Realm.

‘hmm... that might be a stretch... but a man can hope,’ Ozul wondered in anticipation.

If these three reached the Origin Realm, he would finally get those days back. The days when he would only have to order them for things to get done. The days when he could go to sleep whenever he wanted.

“Would you need anything else? I won’t be contacting you often since I have other things to do as well.”

‘Ohh~?’ Ozul smirked internally. He was going to ask even if she hadn’t offered.

.....