The Shining Star Above The Heaven-Chapter 925: The Visit from the Royal Family
"Father." Marquess Lored said in surprise.
An old man with a white beard covering his entire lower jaw and fierce looks rushed toward him. This was the former patriarch and the strongest cultivator of the Marquess Lored household, Bazan Lored, who possessed cultivation at low pseudo immortal stage.
From his expression at this moment, Marquess Lored knew that his father was not amused, and he knew why.
"I decided to help you at this moment because this situation is getting out of hand. If that man becomes involved, then I will have to use another card to fight him," the old man said. His words made Marquess Lored widen his eyes, and his expression turned ecstatic.
"Thank you, Father. I apologize for my inadequacy in solving this problem. I truly did not expect the guild master of the Adventurer Guild to involve himself like this," he said as he stood up.
The old man, Bazan, nodded. "Neither of us expected Alfred to make a move, so I am also surprised. However, this is not entirely a dead end for us. I still have something that could help us get revenge for Freiz's killer."
"May I know what it is that you can rely on in this situation, Father?" Marquess Lored asked.
The old man smiled. "I have one favor that I can ask from the royal family because of my past service. I will ask for their protection against the Adventurer Guild's pressure. While we are under the direct protection of the royal family, you will continue hunting that bastard. I also approve you to use the treasures in our secret vault, so the Dark Vipers can send pseudo immortal stage assassins to hunt him," the old man replied.
Marquess Lored was truly ecstatic. If they could bring the royal family into this, then it was much better. No matter how powerful the Adventurer Guild was, it could not oppose the royal family within their own kingdom. As the ruler of the nation, the royal family was the most powerful force, one that even the Adventurer Guild could not ignore.
In addition, being able to use more treasures to persuade the Dark Vipers to send stronger cultivators would make the mission easier, and even ensure a hundred percent success.
"Then I will contact the Dark Vipers to negotiate with them to send even one of their strongest assassins," Marquess Lored said.
"Go. We must not let the killer of our family's descendant go unpunished. Let this be a lesson to everyone that our family cannot be underestimated," the old man said.
Marquess Lored then walked toward the door, intending to contact the Dark Vipers.
However, before he could step out of the room, the door opened, revealing the panicked expression of his butler. He frowned when he saw his butler like this.
"What happened? Why are you—"
"My lord, they are here," his butler cut him off, which made both the marquess and the old man confused.
"Who are they? Make it clear!" the marquess shouted in frustration. Looking at his butler's expression, he suddenly had a bad feeling.
"The royal family. They are almost reaching the mansion. The envoy is led by Her Highness, Princess Ravilla," the butler said, which made both the marquess and the old man widen their eyes in shock.
"What? A royal envoy led by Princess Ravilla? What is their purpose here?" Marquess Lored asked.
"We do not know, my lord, but judging from the convoy following her, it does not seem good. She brought her knight order, and General Rigalis is also among them," the butler replied.
Hearing that, both the marquess and the old man felt that something was wrong. Why would the princess bring her knight order and even one of the most powerful generals of the royal family? Their formation truly looked like they were heading into a great battle.
"Maybe they came to give support, Father?" Marquess Lored said. "Didn't Father say that you could ask one favor from the royal family? Maybe even before you asked them, they sent their envoy in this manner to show their support?"
The old man looked at him for a moment. "Perhaps. But let us confirm it first. We will meet them personally," he said as he stepped out of the room to prepare to greet the royal envoy.
Marquess Lored followed closely behind his father.
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Not far from Marquess Lored's mansion, on one of the main streets of the city, people looked toward a line of knights led by a beautiful woman at the front. The people who saw the woman and the line of knights knew who she was and recognized the knight order by the symbol on their armor.
The woman's long black hair was tied in a ponytail, making her look graceful, and everyone could clearly see her face. She wore knight armor that accentuated her body's curves, which only added to her charm.
Behind her was a middle-aged man with an intimidating presence. Although he did not release any aura, people felt deterred just by looking at him, as his stature appeared powerful and firm. He was also a famous figure in the kingdom, so many recognized him at once.
However, a question soon arose in their minds.
Why was the royal family coming here? Why did they arrive in such an exaggerated manner? 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎
"Is it because of the matter between Marquess Lored and Zorzal? Does the royal family want to support Marquess Lored?" one of the onlookers commented.
"Maybe so. I do not see any other reason for the royal family to send such a force into the marquess's territory," another replied.
"But wouldn't this cause the problem to become much larger than it should be? It might drag two nations into this trouble. I do not want to invite conflict with the Martal Empire for the sake of the Lored family," someone else said.
The spark of discussion spread everywhere, but the princess and her troops ignored it. They continued marching in formation until they finally arrived at the Marquess Lored mansion, where Marquess Lored and his father were already standing in front of the main doors.
The line of the family's cultivators was already prepared as a guard of honor on both sides of the path leading to the mansion's entrance.
"Welcome to the Lored family's mansion, Your Highness. It is truly a surprise that you would come at this moment, and my apologies that I have not prepared much," Marquess Lored said as the princess approached him.
The princess did not show much expression and simply nodded. "No problem, Marquess Lored. I came here on behalf of His Majesty, the king. This was a sudden order, so I did not expect any special preparation. I am here only to convey what His Majesty instructed me to say, so that Marquess Lored may hear it directly. I would like a private room so we can talk about it."
Marquess Lored nodded. "I see. Then please follow me."
After that, the princess entered the mansion, followed by General Rigalis. As for the rest of the knights, they remained standing in neat lines outside the mansion. They did not speak and did not move, which greatly intimidated the onlookers.
Inside the mansion, the princess was brought to the marquess's study, where she was served hot tea. After everyone settled down, the marquess finally asked the question he had been holding back.
"My apologies, Your Highness, but what does His Majesty wish to convey to me, for him to send Your Highness here personally?" He truly hoped that the royal family would say they would support his family in the matter involving the Adventurer Guild.
He truly hoped so…
"I will be direct, Marquess Lored. His Majesty has ordered you to stop the hunt for the man named Zorzal, withdraw all of your manpower completely, and call off any tasks given to third parties to hunt him," the princess said without hesitation, her expression calm.
Hearing this, Marquess Lored felt his heart stop as his hope suddenly shattered. A chill ran through his body, and he felt as if he could not breathe. His burning rage and spirit of vengeance were doused by the cold water of reality.
"What?" he could not help but blurt out.
The princess repeated herself, this time with more pressure in her voice. "Stop your hunt for the man named Zorzal. Cease all efforts to search for him or make any contact with him. You will forget everything regarding your conflict with him and let bygones be bygones."
The old man sitting beside Marquess Lored was barely holding back his fury. His face had already turned red, and veins bulged on his forehead. His aura began to leak out as he struggled to restrain himself.
"May I know why His Majesty ordered us to do this? We are the ones who are supposed to be the victims, because that man killed my grandchild. We have lost our most promising descendant, Your Highness. Why is His Majesty protecting him instead of supporting us, his subjects? Why, Your Highness?" the old man said, his expression filled with a sense of betrayal.
"How am I supposed to forget this grievance if the royal family is blocking our efforts to seek justice for our descendant?" he added.
Princess Rivallia, with General Rigalis standing behind her, did not change their expression. Instead, she took out an information crystal and handed it to the old man.
"Maybe this will be enough for you to forget your grievance," she said.
