BXBX NOVEL Chapter 265 Making A Visit To The Black Citadel
While Mark put aside the plans of dethroning his biological father and changed his strategy to make the Imperial Palace heavily dependent on firearms, he never ruled out the possibility of creating a civil war.
And if he committed to five years of peace, who knows… he might even stop hating his biological parents. Hatred is the one that is fueling Mark to progress. He doesn\'t want to do that. Not to mention, he might create nuclear missiles within that time.
Hence, Mark opted to seek a different solution. After thinking for a bit, he said to the second prince, "100 million does sound tempting but 5 years is too long, Your Highness. If I were to do this, then, I wish to have weekly guarantees."
"Hmm? What do you mean?" asked the Second Prince, to which, Mark raised five fingers, "500,000 gold coins worth orders guaranteed per week."
The Second Prince furrowed his brows for a second and he fell into thoughts. Certainly, the overall amount will be more than 100 million but it isn\'t an issue. The problem is paying such a huge amount every week.
The Imperial Palace cannot use its treasury just on buying weapons and creating a strong military. There are a lot of things that it needs to be spent on. The taxation system only allows the palace to collect various fixed taxes from the citizen every 3 months (land tax, house tax, water tax, municipal tax, business tax, and revenue tax).
Of course, as the Cerberus Slayer, Mark was exempted like the high-ranking civilian and military officials of the state but that isn\'t a focal point here.
The Second Prince might have been a military officer but he knows how his father runs the Empire. So, instead of readily agreeing to Mark\'s demands, he negotiated, "A week would be too short for the Palace to arrange funds for you. We should also consider the fact that our military is untrained in your firearms and it will take a while to master those weapons. Not to mention, it will take time for you to procure all the goods, right? How about five million gold coins per 3 months? This won\'t be including the ammunition at all."
Mark felt like agreeing to it as it is a good deal but he wants to see the bottom line of this muscular fellow. "3 months is still too long. You can see how the situation is changing every week in the Empire. 1 million gold coins per two weeks."
"Ugh. You keep pushing me to a corner." The Second Prince complained in a casual tone and then took a deep breath, "2 million gold coins worth order every month. But, this should include the ammunition. This is the best I can offer."
"Okay, deal," Mark readily agreed as soon as Shang Wen finished his words.
"Somehow I felt like I lost," thought the Second Prince when he saw a smile on Mark. Upon sighing inwardly, he then said to this weapon seller, "On behalf of the Imperial Palace, I will order everything during the first week of every month. The delivery should have to be done by the time I visit with the list of the next order.
By the way, my father also ordered me to invite you and your family, including Song Yue, to the Imperial Palace for tonight\'s dinner. We can also draw up an official contract in the evening and seal this deal. What do you think?"
Mark wasn\'t interested in having dinner with the Imperial family but he knew that Song Yue will like it. Since there\'s also something he had to gain from this meeting, he gave a nod, "We will surely visit."
Soon, the Prince returned to the Imperial Palace to discuss the terms with the Emperor. Mark, on the other hand, continued his business as usual. However, it was only until sunset did the store kept open.
At around 8 o\'clock in the evening, two vehicles (Iveco LMV) entered through the palace gates and stopped at the foot of the stairs to the main entrance.
From one vehicle, Mark, Song Yue, and the golden furred cat got down, and from the other vehicle, Allen, Alina, and the manticore stepped down.
As always, the presence of the 8-circle beast king intimated everyone except for Bai Xun who was instructed to receive them personally. Of course, he wasn\'t alone. The Northern General Ye Yin was also standing beside him.
Usually, Supreme Realm experts, the Kings, and Emperors would have such privilege of getting received by a Supreme Commander of the Phoenix Empire. But, it looks like Emperor Shang is hell-bent on making Mark, an ally. The 100 million gold coins offer is the best example.
"Thank you for coming, Mr. Lu," Bai Xun formally greeted them with a smile. "Welcome to the Imperial Palace."
During the next ninety minutes, the contract was signed on the terms Mark and Shang Wen agreed earlier, the dinner was finished, and somehow, the second prince managed to get recognition from Baltrow, the manticore. It even agreed to have a spar with Shang Wen when the latter stated his wish to fight against it.
Since it already gave his word without even waiting for Mark\'s permission, the latter can only agree to it. In the meantime, Emperor Shang once again failed to get into the good books of Tishanan. The golden-furred cat appeared to be enjoying more in the presence of the ladies who are petting it.
Once it was over, the Second Prince escorted Mark and others to the exit. And just before they left, Mark made a certain wish to Shang Wen.
The Second Prince complied and left with them in the vehicle, experiencing the joy of the backseat while the two androids were in the front. As for the beast king, it was riding in Mark\'s vehicle in the back while Song Yue sat in the front seat. As for the kitten, it was comfortably sleeping in her arms.
After a 70-minute journey from the Imperial Palace, they reached a lake with black-colored water. It is called Heise Lake, which spans around 6 sq. km. Of course, it has nothing to do with their objective. Instead, they came to visit a place located near this lake.
Upon vehicles stopped and everyone got on the ground, Mark saw the entrance and it looked like an underground mine. Song Yue has never been to this place. So, she was also surprised by how only two guards were standing outside.
"Follow me." The second prince took the lead and everyone followed behind them.
Once entering the place, Mark found that the place is indeed heavily secured as he heard it would be. All along the way, there are soldiers standing guard on either side. However, they were a bit weak. The weakest soldier is only in the 2-circle realm and the strongest one is in 4-circle.
Soon, the warden of the Black Citadel met them. The peak-5-circle guy looked like a tough guy with scars all over his face and his biceps but started shivering in fear as soon as his eyes fell on the manticore.
"Let\'s go to cell 403," said the second prince.
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One of the best ways to hurt the Imperial Palace is to release the prisoners and use them against the Imperial army. Or so, Mark thought as he followed the warden.
Soon, they reached the cell where a person is sleeping in plain white robes. Because of the wall torches around, Mark and Song Yue could see the person\'s face. It was Song Yun who was shifted to the prison during the morning hours. He appeared to have aged just within a day. There was also a bowl of rice nearby and it appeared to be untouched.
Mark glanced at his fiancée. She was staring at him but he couldn\'t see any expression on her. She appeared to be very calm.
The Second Prince then spoke, "Wake him up."
The warden bowed and then took out a thin and long staff from his storage ring before poking at Song Yun\'s abdomen. "403, you have visitors."
Song Yun slowly opened his eyes, "Yes?"
His vision was blurry for a second, but as he saw the people, his eyes widened, "Xiao Yue?"
"I don\'t think you still possessed the right to call me that way, Mr. Song. So, please refrain from speaking informally to me," replied Song Yue in a calm tone.
A trace of surprise appeared on everyone except for the Androids and the beasts.
Song Yun was stunned at first before realization dawned upon him. He let out a deep sigh, "Yeah, you are right."
Before anyone else speak, he went on to say, "I don\'t think I have the right to call myself your father and neither do I possess any qualification to ask for your forgiveness. I\'ll pay for the sins I have committed and I pray that someday, both of you will stop hating me."
Both Mark and Shang Wen felt like something changed in Song Yun. However, Song Yue didn\'t think that way. Looking into his eyes, she replied as calmly as possible, "Such words don\'t suit someone like you, Mr. Song. You are probably expecting me to forgive you and pardon your sentence but that will never happen."