Chapter 177 Lunch Meet At The Imperial Palace (Part-2)
Mark didn\'t instruct the manticore because it wouldn\'t listen to his orders anyway. All he requested was to suppress its realm until they reach the palace so as to not scare the public.
Mark was its contractor. So, it obliged his request but this Eunuch is no one to it. That\'s why Baltrow felt the need to show its prowess to get some fear or respect.
Mark didn\'t stop it as this will only benefit him. Since the manticore won\'t fight on his behalf at the current loyalty, Mark would let it pressure everyone. Or maybe, this is why his biological father also requested for it to attend? He could only wait and see their attitude.
Within no time, General Ye arrived but his entire attention was on Alina. He couldn\'t take his eyes off her.
After him, Bai Xun arrived on his blue drake. He was the second one to land before Baltrow despite the fact that he lives nearly 2 kilometers away from the Imperial Palace.
In his left hand, the semi-divine weapon bow was brimming with his ether energy as he was ready to take on the beast at any moment.
His eyes fell on Mark who slowly got down along with Alina, and a little kitten.
"Owner Lu, is this yours?" Bai Xun asked in bewilderment. Isn\'t Lu Zhen a seven-circle summoner? Then, why was an 8-circle beast king is with him? How did he manage to tame such a powerful creature?
Mark gave a nod in response, "of course, but you see, currently, Baltrow was also the guest of Emperor."
Bai Xun knows that beast kings of 7-circle and above are capable of human speech. So, he directly addressed the manticore, "your aura will unnecessarily bring panic to the soldiers as well as the citizens living around. So, please suppress it."
"You are in 7-circle but know when to fight and when to compromise. That is indeed good quality. Very well, human," Baltrow replied him and suppressed its strength again, almost making the chief eunuch faint in shock. "It can talk…"
The latter felt a little bit disappointed that it didn\'t look at him for permission even for the sake of formality but then again, he knew that at present, he only possesses the power to send it away to the familiars\' inventory. So, he could only stay silent.
After a couple of moments, the Arch Bishop of the church of Nuwa arrived. As the beast king retracted its aura, the Emperor and his son reduced their pace of walking and met the guests at the entrance hall as they already stepped inside the palace.
"Is that the beast Emperor?" The third prince muttered under his breath. He was only in 4-circle. So, his senses weren\'t as strong as the higher realm experts. However, his attention was quickly stolen by the lady standing behind Mark. "Beautiful but can\'t be compared to Lin Xue though…"
"I\'m pleased to see that you have accepted the invitation, Lu Zhen, Baltrow, and Tishanan." The Emperor greeted the three of them with a smile. As an afterthought, he added, "Of course, you two are also welcome, Allen, Alina. And Supreme Commander Bai, now that you are here; join us for the lunch."
The Emperor, who sits at the highest position of the entire empire, speaking in such a tone with Allen and Alina, shows how serious he is.
Very soon, Mark and others took their seats in the dining room. Two special seats, which looked as luxurious as the throne, were also arranged nearby Mark for the two beasts.
And next to the seat of Tishanan lies the Emperor\'s seat. It was arranged that way on Shang Fu\'s orders. The middle-aged fellow looked very creepy as he is trying to pet the little kitten and showering affection on it while the latter is trying its best to ignore him.
In the end, as if it had enough, the kitten swallowed the milk at once and left its seat, and returned to Mark, taking a seat on his lap, and proceeds to take a nap. The Emperor appeared to be visibly sad.
Meanwhile, Ji Guanli, Ji Cheng, and Shang Jiao were staring at him in hostility; The Arch Bishop and Bai Xun kept glancing at the sleeping kitten and the manticore from time to time; the third prince, on the other hand, was staring at Allen. He looked as if he wanted to settle some scores with him or something.
As for the poor Grand Secretariat who gets involved in matters he doesn\'t have any interest in, he just silently ate his food without minding anyone else.
With everyone having various things going on in their head, the lunch was rather silent until the end.
Of all the people who sat for lunch, perhaps, only Baltrow ate until its stomach filled. The rest didn\'t have such a mood, for various reasons. As it praised how delicious the food is, the Emperor finally gave a smile, much to the displeasure of Mark.
Soon, the dishes cleared from the table and the Emperor finally spoke to Mark in a serious tone. "Lu Zhen, let\'s talk."
Shang Fu eyed some people. Grand Secretariat Li, Bai Xun, Ji Clan\'s elder Ji Wen, Third prince Shang Wei, and the princess left the room.
When the Emperor saw Allen and Alina were just sticking to their seats, he said, "Lu Zhen, the nature of this matter is quite serious and confidential. Your servants…"
Before he finished it, Mark interrupted him, "siblings. They are my siblings, Your Majesty. I\'m involved in every action of theirs and they are involved in every action of mine."
"Okay, that\'s fine with me," spoke Ji Cheng in an uncomfortable tone.
As Mark raised his eyebrows and turned towards the Patriarch of Ji Clan, the latter spoke, "You killed the elites of Nuwa Church, abducted my son, kept him hostage for a whole week, and in the end, handed over to the Kunyu bandits. How much of it is true?"
"All of it," answered Mark in a calm tone. His gaze appeared like he was asking, "so what?"
"Your Majesty, I don\'t think there is even evidence needed." Ji Cheng sharply stared at the Emperor.
Taking a long breath, Shang Fu then asked, "Why did you do that? Did you have enmity with Ji Clan?"
"Nope," Mark shook his head. He explained, "He attacked me and I retaliated by killing his guards and defeating him. He then used his clan name to threaten me and I was irked. So, I punished him. There\'s nothing more and nothing less."
"You…" Ji Cheng clenched his fist but his arm was caught by the Arch Bishop, indicating the presence of the beast king. Controlling his anger, Ji Cheng said as he grabbed Guanli\'s shoulder, "my son isn\'t some random commoner on the street that you can just punish him."
"I have my bottom lines, Lord Ji. And if a person crosses it, I wouldn\'t think of sparing even if that person belongs to Imperial family." Mark\'s gaze this time was too cold when he replied it.
He might be looking at Ji Cheng but the target of his statement was his father who was visibly surprised.