Imperial Throne

Chapter 21: Chess Piece

“Father.”

A middle-aged man with handsome features and a tall, sturdy build spoke. Though his face bore a sorrowful expression, his heart remained calm and unperturbed.

He first bowed respectfully to the man seated behind a black desk before straightening up.

Wade Kasein had always disliked this study, and even more so the position his father had chosen within it.

The study, which should have been built in a sunlit area, was instead situated in a shaded location, giving the entire room a cold and damp feeling. This necessitated additional expenses to maintain dryness and ventilation, preventing the stored books from becoming damp.

His father's seat was located in the deepest corner of the study, almost entirely shrouded in shadows.

As a child, he had feared meeting his father in this very room.

“Have you investigated thoroughly?” A deep voice resonated from within the shadows.

Visen Kasein stood with his hands crossed on the desk.

From Wade's perspective, he could only see those hands that did not resemble those of an elderly man.

“Yes,” Wade nodded. “There was a peculiar incident in the Withered Wood Forest at the time. All bloodline users and magical beasts within the forest were affected by a soul-level intimidation. According to my fourth brother, it seemed to be a pressure originating from the depths of their bloodlines. He was immobilized and only regained consciousness two or three days later.”

“So, my grandson's death was merely an accident?” Visen's voice turned icy. “Is this how Arsen protects his nephew?!”

As he spoke, Visen slammed his palm heavily onto the desk, leaving a deep imprint on the iron-like surface.

Wade dared not respond, not even to breathe heavily, and quickly lowered his head.

He fully understood his father's anger.

Among the brothers, only he and the eldest had reached the fourth tier of bloodline users, still some distance from the fifth tier. If they had any hope of advancing to the sixth tier, their second and fourth brothers, still at the third tier, would likely never surpass the fourth tier in their lifetimes.

It was understandable that his second brother couldn't reach the fifth tier, as both he and the eldest were born before their father became a sixth-tier bloodline user, thus lacking the bloodline imprint.

However, he and the fourth brother were born after their father attained the sixth tier, possessing the bloodline imprint. Their children also inherited this imprint, granting them a significant advantage in bloodline advancement.

Yet, among their five children, only Burton showed potential to become a sixth-tier bloodline user.

This had already been a source of great disappointment for Visen Kasein.

Now, with Burton, the future successor of the Kasein family, dead, how could his father not be enraged?

Faced with his father's fury, Wade dared not speak, let alone defend his brother.

In truth, this so-called trial was initially under the secret protection of Arsen Kasein, a third-tier bloodline user, targeting the Armored Demon Rabbit, whose weaknesses were well-known. There should have been no unexpected incidents.

But perhaps fate had other plans, and an accident occurred.

Now, no one knew what exactly happened in the Withered Wood Forest or why that sudden “bloodline pressure” phenomenon emerged.

After a while of heavy breathing, Visen Kasein finally calmed his anger and spoke in a cold tone, “Don't think I don't know what you're thinking. Even if your son is dead and you've moved from second to first in the line of succession, the marquis position isn't easy to hold. Without the necessary strength, you'll only ever be an acting marquis. Do you understand?”

“Father, I never thought that way,” Wade retorted.

Unfortunately, Marquis Visen had no intention of listening to his son's defense, his tone remaining cold, “You're my son. I've observed you for over forty years. Do you think I don't know your nature?”

Wade immediately fell silent.

He did envy his son, but how could he possibly harm him?

He understood that while the title of marquis sounded prestigious, without strength beyond the sixth tier, it was impossible to maintain.

Even if he managed to assume the position, it would only be as an acting lord. If, after his death, no sixth-tier bloodline users emerged among his descendants, the family would be replaced by another sixth-tier bloodline family within two generations.

“Have all participants in the Withered Wood Forest incident been dealt with?”

There were only four directions to enter the Withered Wood Forest: the northern Gem Territory, the western Red Soil Territory, and the southeast-running Eaglehead Mountains.

The southern side was barren, and the eastern side was the Eaglehead Territory, where Marquis Visen resided.

Thus, in reality, there were only two directions for supplies: Red Soil Town in the Red Soil Territory and the border town of the Eaglehead Territory.

Each direction presented different types of magical beasts.

To hunt the Armored Demon Rabbit, one had to enter the forest from the direction of Red Soil Town.

Therefore, Burton Kasein passed through the Gem Territory, borrowed Hughes from the Gem Baron, and then proceeded to the Red Soil Territory to find a demon hunter guide.

Originally, Arsen Kasein was secretly following to protect him, but since the incident occurred inside a cave and Arsen hadn't entered, he couldn't save Burton.

This was why Burton told Akar to wait for him in the Underworld, believing that among the seventeen who entered the cave, only Akar and his son emerged. He expected his protector to apprehend them, revealing the truth.

Unexpectedly, due to Robin's Rusty Sword, the entire Withered Wood Forest fell into turmoil. By the time Arsen regained consciousness, two or three days had passed, and Akar and his son were nowhere to be found.

Later, upon entering the cave and witnessing the chaos, he was shocked by the unexpected events in the forest and hurried back to the Eaglehead Territory to contact the family.

By the time new orders were issued, two months had already passed.

At this point, when Marquis Visen mentioned “dealt with,” he naturally referred to all witnesses of the Withered Wood Forest anomaly.

“Red Soil Town and the border town have been taken care of,” Wade said solemnly. “In Red Soil Town, we used a bandit massacre as a cover. Within a month, all caravans and demon hunters who entered or exited the town were eliminated. The Red Soil Viscount believed we were acting out of revenge for Burton's death, so after we offered some compensation, he didn't pursue the matter.”

“And the border town?”

“Since it's our family's territory, we didn't silence anyone, but all individuals who entered or exited the Withered Wood Forest in the past three months have been secretly executed. Arsen also kept an eye on things, and there haven't been any rumors about the forest's anomaly spreading in the border town, so the matter should be contained without any leaks.”

Marquis Visen remained silent.

The atmosphere in the study grew heavier.

After a long pause, Marquis Visen spoke again: “Place a few magic blood stones in the border town.”

“Father?” Wade looked astonished.

“Do you know what it means to be absolutely certain?” Visen said with a sinister tone.

“The Withered Wood Forest used to be the Bourbon family's estate. Do you know how many eyes are watching this land? Why do you think the Red Soil Territory isn't under our control? The Griffin Family has been eyeing the Withered Wood Forest for nearly seventy years and only gave up on the Bourbon family's inheritance in the past thirty years. This is our Kasein family's only chance to fully control the Red Eagle Territory. Do you understand?”

Though scolded harshly, Wade finally realized why the Red Soil Viscount hadn't publicly addressed their family's massacre in Red Soil Town.

The Red Eagle Territory, once controlled by the Bourbon family, was divided into seven parts after their downfall: the Gem Territory, Red River Territory, Red Soil Territory, White Mountain Territory, Forest Territory, Bayor Territory, and Eaglehead Territory.

Their family was granted this land by the royal family about sixty years ago when Visen advanced to the sixth-tier bloodline user.

Nominally, they held the title of Red Eagle Marquis, but in reality, the Forest Viscount and Red Soil Viscount were aligned with the royal family; the Red River and White Mountain Barons had pledged allegiance to Count Shuvaric, who in turn served the Southern Duke.

Thus, the entire Red Eagle Territory was essentially split in two: half aligned with the duke, and half with the royal family.

This placed the Kasein family in a very awkward position.

After all, the Kasein family also belonged to the royal faction, acting as a nail driven into the South by the royal family specifically to counterbalance the Southern Duke.

That was why the Forest Territory and Red Soil Territory, also pawns of the royal family, dared to defy the Kasein family, maintaining only superficial respect.

Previously, Wade thought that the Red Soil Viscount tolerated their massacre of Red Soil Town merely because the Kasein family’s primary heir had died.

Now it seemed that the Red Soil Viscount had also realized the royal family intended to let go completely.

If they didn’t plan on leaving the Red Soil Territory, then they would have to truly obey the Kasein family.

That was why he remained silent about the massacre. Similarly, the two viscounts’ sudden cooperation with the Gem Territory in attacking the Red River Territory was clearly an attempt to curry favor with the Kasein family.

Compared to the massive benefit of gaining total control over the former Red Eagle Territory, silencing a border town by killing several thousand people was no big deal.

“I understand, Father. I will make arrangements right away.”

“Make sure it’s clean.”

“Yes.” Wade nodded, then quickly left the study.

Only after Wade left did Marquis Visen, still seated in the shadows, let out a deep growl.

However, this growl did not sound human. It was more like the roar of a magical beast.

Immediately after, four thick arms seemed to extend from the shadows.

Then, a head resembling that of an ape emerged from the darkness.

Its eyes were mournful, yet its bared fangs made it appear especially fierce and terrifying.

“Burton... my Burton!”

...

Meanwhile—

At another count’s manor, a middle-aged man also entered his father's study.

But unlike Marquis Visen’s gloomy study, this one was much brighter and more spacious.

“Father!”

“All arranged?”

Hearing the greeting, a tall, sturdy man turned from facing a massive floor-to-ceiling window.

He had a handsome appearance, stood tall like a pine, and his face did not look aged. He closely resembled the middle-aged man who had just entered, about seventy to eighty percent alike, both looking like middle-aged men.

This man was none other than the current head of the Antares family and lord of the Fertile Plains, Count of Peterborough, Shuvaric Antares.

Standing before him was his eldest son, Glet Antares.

“Yes,” Glet nodded. “I followed Father’s instructions and sent three Bloodline Knights for support, but I didn’t dispatch any private soldiers, not even allowed them to take their own mercenary group.”

“Are you sure nothing will be traceable?”

“Rest assured, Father. These three Bloodline Knights were secretly recruited and trained beforehand. We’ve never contacted them directly, only provided some discreet support a few times. No one knows they’re our people.” Glet answered respectfully.

“Did you tell the White Mountain Baron to burn the letter immediately after reading it, leaving no evidence and not even letting his son read it?”

“This…” Glet froze upon hearing Shuvaric’s question.

Seeing his son’s expression, Count Shuvaric sighed and said with some disappointment, “Once the Red River Territory is breached, immediately send two Second-Tier Bloodline Users to White Forest Castle.”

“Yes.” Cold sweat dripped down Glet’s face as he grew increasingly anxious.

Delivering orders from Count Shuvaric for the White Mountain Baron to send troops to support the Red River Baron was not a problem.

However, mentioning in the letter that he would send three Bloodline Knights along had now left tangible evidence.

After all, this conflict wasn’t a direct clash between the royal family and the duke.

It was simply that the Kasein family, which had been dormant for thirty years, had finally seized the opportunity when both powers ceased watching the Withered Wood Forest to reclaim control of their rightful territory.

As the Southern Duke’s representative in the Bourbon Territory, Count Shuvaric was initially tasked with maintaining order in the former Red Eagle Territory after the Bourbon family’s downfall.

Now that Marquis Visen Kasein wanted to reclaim what was his, Count Shuvaric naturally couldn’t hold on to it any longer. Otherwise, it would immediately turn into a conflict between him and Marquis Visen.

If it were discovered that those three Bloodline Knights had been dispatched by Count Shuvaric, the Kasein family would have a powerful tool to attack them. At that point, they’d have to pay a significant price to settle the matter.

Although the Red Eagle Territory had nominally belonged to the Kasein family for fifty years, Count Shuvaric sending three Bloodline Knights to the White Mountain Territory was tantamount to dividing the territory and undermining Kasein rule. Everyone knew the unspoken truth, but once evidence existed, the matter took on a new dimension.

Count Shuvaric couldn’t openly give up the Red River and White Mountain Territories, or else no minor noble family would dare align with him again.

Thus, this war had to proceed formally to bring it to an end. In fact, Count Shuvaric knew very well that the Red River and White Mountain Barons would not survive this conflict.

The difference, however, was that while the Red River Baron’s family was destined for destruction, the White Mountain Baron’s family might still have had a chance. Perhaps a descendant could have been spared. But now, thanks to his son’s oversight, the outcome has changed completely.

“Let this be a lesson. When making decisions and giving orders in the future, think carefully about the consequences. One mistake can cost many lives.”