Reborn as the General's Useless Daughter-Chapter 76: Rankings

At that moment, Black’s voice sounded anxious, "Master... will the Prince tell the truth?"

Zora’s expression remained calm and indifferent. "Even if he does, what difference would it make?"

She had already considered every consequence the moment she killed Luna before Prince Philip’s eyes.

Seeing her unwavering confidence, Black relaxed, a grin spreading across his face. "That’s true."

"But..." Zora raised her brows slightly, her lips curving faintly. "He won’t say it."

Black and White exchanged surprised looks, unsure how she could be so certain.

The next moment, Prince Philip’s answer proved her right.

"She fell during the battle with the Gale Wolf," Prince Philip said slowly. "My injuries were also caused by that beast."

Silence followed.

And Zora’s calm gaze remained unchanged, crossing her arms. "See..."

"But why, Master?" As the furball asked, Zora calmly answered, "It’s because there is no benefit in it."

"Oh!"

Seeing Prince Philip’s bloodstained arm, the crowd could not help but draw in sharp breaths. The Gale Wolf was truly ferocious.

After hearing Prince Philip’s explanation, General Helius fell into silence.

Prince Philip’s strength had already been severely damaged, and Luna was slightly weaker than him. If even Prince Philip had nearly lost his life, then Luna dying at the claws of the Gale Wolf was no longer impossible.

In that instant, General Helius seemed to age several decades. The once-imposing aura of the General of the Nation visibly dimmed.

Everything that had happened over the past half year felt like a nightmare.

The General’s Residence, which had stood tall for decades, had declined so rapidly that even he himself could hardly believe it.

"Luna is dead... the General’s Residence will suffer a severe blow."

"At least Icarus is still alive, otherwise... the General’s Residence would truly have nothing left."

"But compared to Zora, Icarus is simply not enough."

The gazes of the crowd drifted repeatedly between Zora and Icarus.

No matter how they looked at it, Icarus could not compare to Zora in any way.

After a brief pause, the Emperor spoke again, his voice steady. "The ranking of the royal hunting competition will now be announced."

The atmosphere instantly tightened.

This was the most crucial moment.

To place in the top three of the royal hunting game was not only to obtain immense rewards, but also to gain fame throughout the entire kingdom.

The Emperor then smiled faintly, asking aloud. "First place. Who has obtained the demon crystal of the Gale Wolf?"

Almost instinctively, the ministers’ gazes fell upon Prince Philip.

Although he was badly injured, in everyone’s mind, no one else could possibly defeat him.

Yet the scene that followed was strangely divided.

On the high platform, all eyes were on Prince Philip.

Below the platform, the gazes of the practitioners were fixed firmly on Zora.

This abnormal contrast caused the expressions of the officials to shift.

What did this mean?

Could it be that the one who obtained the Gale Wolf’s demon crystal... was Zora?

The Emperor and the Empress exchanged glances, doubt flashing through their eyes. It seemed this hunting competition had produced far more surprises than expected.

At that moment, Zora slowly stood up.

Upon her slender, pale palm, a blue demon crystal appeared.

The crystal shimmered under the sunlight, emitting a faint yet captivating glow, with traces of pure energy flowing within.

The core of a beast’s power.

At a glance, everyone recognized it as belonging to the Gale Wolf.

The instant Zora revealed the crystal, all remaining doubts vanished.

"The first place... is Zora!"

"This is unbelievable!"

"Even His Royal Highness was gravely injured by the Gale Wolf, yet Zora is unharmed. Does that mean her strength surpasses the prince’s?"

Shock rippled through the crowd.

Before this moment, many had questioned Zora’s strength. Now, all doubt was erased.

The sunlight bathed her white figure, casting a faint golden halo around her.

Her exquisite face carried a calm, gentle smile. There was no arrogance, no pride.

Even as the glory of first place descended upon her, she remained serene and composed.

Such bearing alone surpassed that of countless so-called geniuses present.

"The first place in the royal hunting competition actually went to the so-called waste of the Imperial City. The General’s Residence truly had no eyes."

"Did you see General Helius’s expression? I’m afraid his intestines are already turning green with regret."

"Exactly! If Zora were still part of the General’s Residence, their prestige would have soared to the heavens!"

"I really don’t understand how General Helius could have mishandled his own family affairs so badly."

Although the discussions were deliberately kept low, General Helius still caught fragments of them.

Even if he had not heard them, he understood clearly enough.

A peerless genius capable of bringing glory to her clan had been personally pushed out by his own hands.

Now, in everyone’s eyes, he had become the greatest fool of all.

General Helius felt his face burn as if slapped repeatedly.

Today’s results were a merciless blow.

What waste?

Someone who could calmly take first place in the royal hunting competition was called a waste?

Then what did that make everyone else present?

Jasmine fared even worse. Under the countless gazes filled with mockery and judgment, she felt as though she were sitting on needles. The more dazzling Zora appeared, the more humiliating their position became.

At that moment, the guard respectfully presented the demon crystal taken from Zora to the Emperor

Emperor Alexander examined it closely, then nodded with satisfaction.

"Indeed, this is the demon crystal of the Gale Wolf. Princess Consort Zora, your achievement is truly remarkable."

Zora inclined her head slightly. "Thank you for Your Majesty’s praise."

Watching her composed demeanor, the hearts of many stirred with emotion.

This was what a true genius looked like.

After confirming Zora’s first-place ranking, the remaining participants stepped forward one by one to present the demon crystals they had obtained during the hunt.

Second and third place were determined by the number of demon beasts slain.

Prince Philip claimed second place without dispute.

Third place went to Nigel.

Nigel himself was momentarily stunned by the result, but quickly understood why.

Most of his demon crystals/monster cores came from the battle alongside Zora against the Nether Wolf pack. In normal circumstances, finding even a single demon beast took immense effort.

Facing an entire pack at once had allowed him to accumulate far more monster cores than usual.

Even so, when compared to Zora, the gap was staggering.

Thanks to the Nether Wolf pack, the number of demon crystals she managed to gather exceeded that of every other participant combined. Even Prince Philip could not compare.

Once the top three were finalized, Emperor Alexanderpersonally bestowed the rewards.

Zora lowered her gaze to the monster egg placed in her hands, a faint smile slowly forming at the corner of her lips. 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

Her demon pet... was within this egg.

A monster egg did not mean the beast was unborn. Rather, it was a method by which a powerful beastmaster sealed a young demon beast before it formed consciousness.

Most demon beasts would never willingly become pets.

Only through sealing, followed by a contract with their master, would the demon beast hatch and submit.

Prince Philip received a Bone-Cleansing Potion.

Nigel received a stalk of Cloud Lotus.

Brilliant gazes fell upon the three of them.

From this day onward, their names would echo throughout the Elysia empire.

Just as everyone assumed the royal hunting competition had reached its conclusion, two figures slowly ascended the platform from a distance.

The crowd looked on in confusion.

At a glance, the two appeared ordinary, unremarkable even.

"Greetings, Your Majesty," the two said in unison.

Upon seeing them, Emperor Alexander’s expression softened into a smile.

"Tutor Sebastian, Tutor Miel," he said warmly. "Please come forward."

"These two are the admissions tutors from the Imperial Academy," Emperor Alexander announced to the crowd.

The moment the word Academy was spoken, expressions across the platform changed instantly.