Chapter 867: Chapter 660: Hard to Avoid a Loss
Long Yi racked his brain for the meager pick-up skills he had, which, pitifully, all seemed to stem from television dramas.
As he worried, Ai Lin couldn’t help but chuckle. Evidently, his thoughts had already been perceived by her through their bond. Though Long Yi hadn’t embraced her, just the fact that he wanted to comfort her already made Ai Lin feel quite content.
Seeing Ai Lin smile, Long Yi smiled too. For someone like him, who wasn’t particularly well-versed in emotional intelligence, nothing pleased him more than seeing the girl he liked happy.
While they were enjoying the moment, the three princes not far away were far from happy.
"What are you smiling about! Are you pretending to have an understanding with each other?" Saint Julio muttered angrily under his breath.
"It’s unexpected, but this Long Yi really has some ideas," Saint Cassio remarked quietly. "He’s usually silent, only smiling when Ai Lin does, creating a sense of mystery. It’s a basic tactic to lure a girl in."
St. Antonio, however, shook his head from a distance: "It’s pointless, poor Long Yi has no idea. His attempts have all been seen through by Miss Ailin! Just like on the battlefield, Long Yi had already been completely figured out by her."
Long Yi didn’t hear the words of the three princes, and even if he had, he wouldn’t have cared.
Sometime later, the fleet finally reached the hunting grounds of Thunder Flame Star. Many days earlier, The Divine Auffa Empire’s military had already encircled the hunting grounds. This wasn’t just to prevent the prey from escaping, but more importantly, to protect the Emperor’s safety.
After all, The Divine Auffa Empire wasn’t the only one sending people to the hunting season.
At this time, the Emperor of the Sanctuary Empire was in a particularly foul mood. In the recent past, he had lost a Sanctuary Mage, Jenna, along with a great number of soldiers. The loss of ordinary troops wasn’t enough to upset the great Emperor; what he couldn’t stand was the loss of face in the process of hunting down Long Yi.
Especially recently, that Long Yi had actually joined The Divine Auffa Empire and become the guard of that little girl they were all after! And the most ridiculous part was that it was all settled by a child’s game of rock-paper-scissors! Although this had nothing to do with him personally, he felt as though it was a slap in his face.
Isn’t it true? Neither the Sanctuary Mages nor the military could handle him, and yet he went off to The Divine Auffa Empire, and some little girl there won Long Yi over with rock-paper-scissors?
The Emperor of the Sanctuary Empire even believed that Long Yi might have been sent by The Divine Auffa Empire to the Stellar Realm Arena in the first place, with the subsequent ’challenge’ to Long Yi being nothing more than a pretense. The more he thought about it, the more he suspected many events were conspiracies. He also believed that Ai Lin, referred to by Jenna as a Sanctuary-level Mage, actually had no real talent. Jenna, not adept at fighting, was bested by Ai Lin and claimed Ai Lin was a so-called Sanctuary Mage to salvage some pride for herself.
Yes, that had to be it!
Seeing that the Emperor was still unhappy even upon arriving at the hunting grounds, two young men approached him.
"Your Majesty, are you still angered by Long Yi’s matter?" they asked almost in unison.
The Emperor glanced at the two brothers and sighed.
The brothers gave a slight smile: "Please, do not worry, Father. The Emperor of The Divine Auffa Empire will surely bring his three foolish princes with him. They will definitely invite Ai Lin, and if she is here, Long Yi will be as well. If we brothers encounter Long Yi here, we shall join forces to teach him a lesson."
A gleam appeared in the Emperor’s eyes – in fact, his heartache was caused by sheer indignation. If someone could give him this vengeance, there would be no issue. Yet after another thought, the Emperor shook his head.
"No, that Long Yi is too cunning; it’s too dangerous. I’ve just lost a son, I don’t want you two facing any dangers either."
But the brothers smiled, "Rest assured, Father. After all, our Sanctuary Empire’s magic and weaponry are far superior to anything The Divine Auffa Empire has. Moreover, we have this."
As they spoke, the brothers simultaneously raised their wrists.
On each of their wrists was an exquisitely decorated bracelet, adorned with extremely complex runes forming an Array, and the densely packed gems imbued with mighty Mana.
However, the most eye-catching feature was the presence of a small, dim, almost lusterless gem fragment surrounded by the other stones. It might have been unimpressive in appearance, but its positioning suggested its importance: it was a fragment of a Cosmic Stone.
"With our innate nine-star Mana and the power of these bracelets, we can elevate our Mana to the Sanctuary level. Once the power of the Cosmic Stone fragment is activated, it could even double our strength! Besides, with our brotherly sync, we can effortlessly smash even Long Yi’s Rock Armor. The only concern for us now is if we accidentally kill Long Yi and Ai Lin, it might cause trouble for you, Father."
The brothers’ words were full of confidence, lifting the Emperor’s spirits as well.
"Hahaha! Excellent! You have free rein to kill! I want to see what they dare do to my Sanctuary Empire!"
Upon entering the hunting grounds, the three princes of The Divine Auffa Empire immediately flanked Ai Lin, fawning over her despite their glances indicating Long Yi should stay out of the way. However, Long Yi acted as if he saw nothing.
No! He saw everything perfectly clear, he simply chose to ignore it all!
Finally, some of the princes’ personal guards couldn’t stand it anymore and openly scolded Long Yi for not understanding protocol. As a personal guard, he was supposed to maintain a certain distance from his master, not walk side by side. His arrangement next to Ai Lin was completely against the rules.
Long Yi simply retorted with a question, "Rules? Who set them?"
The attendant immediately replied, "Of course, it is our great Emperor!"
As a result, Long Yi curled his lip, "That’s your Emperor, not mine. The one I serve is Ai Lin, not your Emperor. Off you go, go play somewhere else."
And like that, the attendant was sent away.
The dismissed attendant took a few deep breaths, relief surging through him as he thought, ’Thank goodness, I wasn’t beaten.’
This matter mainly required Ai Lin’s own statement, but evidently, she was completely hands-off about it. She didn’t care where Long Yi walked, nor did she mind him occasionally holding her hand—although it was only when crossing some ravines.
But Ai Lin was a Sanctuary powerhouse! She could easily leap over not just a small ravine but even mountains!
Yet she just fell for this trick!
First Prince Saint Cassio solemnly realized that this Long Yi really was quite a character.
"He has strength yet maintains a humble demeanor. He satisfies Miss Ai Lin’s vanity as the victor while also calmly accepting Long Yi’s concern. If this goes on for a long time..."
Suddenly, the three princes were filled with a terrifying realization that Long Yi had an unparalleled advantage.
What to do now?
Long Yi was Ai Lin’s personal attendant, and he wasn’t even a citizen of the Empire; he didn’t accept orders from the Empire at all. Even if they really managed to send him away, Ai Lin would definitely be unhappy!
So, while everyone else was enjoying the hunting expedition, the three princes were furrowing their brows in worry. And whether it was Second Prince Saint Julio or Third Prince St. Antonio, they almost unanimously blamed First Prince Saint Cassio for all of this.
It was clear that Long Yi had been introduced to Ai Lin by Saint Cassio himself, no one else could be blamed. And whenever he saw the glares from his two brothers, Saint Cassio felt as if there was no place to hide.
Why on earth was I such a fool back then!
Saint Cassio wished he could slap himself twice.
He remembered when he first introduced Long Yi to Ai Lin, Saint Cassio had jokingly thought that Long Yi, being strong, smart, and somewhat compassionate, might really attract Ai Lin. At that time, it was just a casual thought, never taken seriously. But who would have thought, in such a short time, it would actually come true!
Damn it! Saint Cassio, oh Saint Cassio, always boasting about your cleverness, how come you can’t even handle such a simple matter!
The environment on Thunder Flame Star was very harsh, resulting in all creatures capable of surviving there to be extremely ferocious, even the herbivores. After a few days of hunting, everyone had their gains. And evidently, another of Long Yi’s skills attracted Ai Lin anew.
Generally speaking, during hunts, everyone would bring their own dry food, eating just enough to get by. But Long Yi was different, his maid Little Zi had astonishing culinary skills— even surpassing the royal chefs! Long Yi’s private space was equipped with complete sets of tables and chairs as well as cutlery, and they even had a variety of seasonings. They even brought along fine wines and desserts!
When it neared mealtime at the designated resting place, Little Zi would have already prepared everything early on. The several female demon avatars of the maids would have the ingredients ready and then hand them over to Little Zi for personal cooking. When everyone arrived, the maids would hand Ai Lin and Long Yi prepared wet towels before they took their seats to dine.
Of course, all of these did not include shares for the three princes.
Not at all!
The table was only big enough for two! There were only two chairs! Only two sets of utensils! The food was only enough for two!
Third Prince St. Antonio looked at the dry food and clear water in his hand, and then at the fragrant food and fine wine at Long Yi’s place, feeling a bit like crying. He was a prince after all, why did it have to be so pitiful!
When the Emperor heard of this, he couldn’t help but burst into laughter. However, the Mage August, an aide beside the Emperor, wore a worried expression, "Your Majesty, neither this Ai Lin nor this Long Yi has pledged loyalty to Your Majesty. This is a considerable concern."
Upon hearing this, the Emperor’s smile faded, and he nodded, "Indeed, this is a concern. But such powerful individuals, who are still so young with limitless prospects, are at their most arrogant. It won’t be easy to make them swear fealty to me, will it?"
August nodded helplessly in agreement.
"However, that does not mean there aren’t any solutions," the Emperor continued, "This time The Divine Auffa Empire is also here. The narrow-minded Emperor of The Divine Auffa Empire must be dwelling on the setbacks he faced with Long Yi. The Divine Auffa Empire’s military is not as large as ours, but their magical weapons are said to far outstrip ours. It is heard that the twin brothers with impeccable coordination have come as well, their father had crafted a very special weapon for them, reputed to defeat Auffa mages with ease. Our respective hunting grounds overlap in many places, and once they encounter each other, given Long Yi and Ai Lin’s temperaments, trouble is bound to arise. And if my three fool sons could stir up a little more trouble..."
"We cannot guarantee that Long Yi won’t suffer a loss," August said with a smile. (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote for it at Qidian. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please visit m.qidian.com to read.)
