Chapter 336: Chapter 336. Blackmail
Princess Huang Er was in a terrible dilemma. She never thought she would have to make such an important decision in this eting. She knew that whichever she chose, her brother would use this as an excuse to point out her incompetence. He would claim that she had hard the kingdom. This would hurt her chance of winning the court’s support.
She was vexed by the situation. She honored Li Shi’s wish because her special station was personally appointed by her father. She knew Li Shi had a close relationship with her father. However, if she knew this would happen, she would deny Li Shi’s request and destroy the goddamn mural before it ca to this.
"What say you, princess?" Xin Dhaije demanded.
Princess Huang Er gritted her teeth. She was about to reply when soone else spoke.
"If Oredolia mounts an offensive campaign against this kingdom, we will expose more historical proofs that challenge your faith to the world!"
Everyone turned to Amon, the one who spoke.
"What do you an?" Xin Dhaije asked.
"Do you think this mural is the only archeological evidence we have that records a history contradicting the teachings of the Temple of Divinity? We have more ancient artifacts like this mural."
"Lin Mo, we..."
Princess Huang Er put a hand on Li Shi’s shoulder. The pressure caused her to stop talking.
Thankfully, Xin Dhaije and Xin Jingsao’s gaze was fully on Amon, so they weren’t aware of the surprise expressions from the others in the hall.
Amon continued to seize the two guests’ attention. He said, "If you dare to antagonize our country, we will bombard the general populace of this world with so many conflicting theories to your teachings that you will have so much trouble keeping the faith of your followers that you don’t have the ti to deal with us. Believe , we have a lot of supporting archeology evidence to cause that kind of damage."
"Are you threatening us?" Xin Dhaije asked.
"Yes!" Amon replied without hesitation.
This took the old bishop aback. His confident fa??ade faltered a little.
"... Show
these other artifacts you ntioned," Xin Dhaije said.
"No. They are locked away in a secure place," Amon replied. "This is the only small sample we show you."
Xin Dhaije finally looked away from Amon to Princess Huang Er. When he did, Princess Huang Er played along, "I know your people have a vast network of intelligence, but you won’t find out where we keep the other artifacts."
Xin Dhaije’s eyes darted between Princess Huang Er, Amon, and the mural. If this was true, it would be pointless even if he destroyed the mural.
"What do you want? No matter what, we can’t let you keep spreading the deceptions contained in this mural or whatever other artifacts you claim to possess," Xin Dhaije said. "If you do, whether we can afford it or not, we will still go into an open war with Echos. Certainly, I don’t think that is the outco you want."
When Princess Huang Er was about to reply, Amon beat her to it. "Of course not," he said. "We promise to continue to keep this mural and the artifacts hidden. We will only show it to a select few who we can trust."
"But...," Li Shi wanted to protest, but she felt another pressure from Princess Huang Er’s hand still on her shoulder. She lost the ability to speak as she grimaced.
"Select few...?" Xin Dhaije seed to be displeased by that answer.
"As long as there is no evidence, it will just be rumors," Amon said. "If any of this rumor ever reaches your followers, you can take this as a chance to test their faith. If they believe this rumor, that ans they are not devout enough. You can separate between the truly faithful and the fake ones."
"Hmph... You still haven’t told
what you want," Xin Dhaije said.
"We both know the relationship between our two countries is not well right now. In exchange for keeping these troubleso artifacts hidden, your country will put in an active effort to repair this relationship. I believe we both want peace. Surely, this is the outco we can agree on, isn’t it?"
Xin Dhaije’s face twitched. This was outright blackmail. Yet, he didn’t show disagreent.
Amon didn’t exactly understand what deteriorated the relationship between Echos and Oredolia. All he knew was the general information he had heard from the side. Hence, he said, "For the details, Princess Huang Er will discuss how to achieve that end."
Princess Huang Er gave Amon an appreciative glance at his words. She told Xin Dhaije, "This matter requires discretion. Bishop Dhaije, please follow Senior Minister Hua Rong and
to another room for further discussion."
"Please, Bishop Dhaije," Hua Rong made a gesture, showing the door to the room the princess was indicating.
"Hmph!" Xin Dhaije harrumphed again as he walked with loud steps toward the door.
Xin Dhaije, Princess Huang Er, and Hua Rong entered the door. It was then closed with two guards barring the way. Xin Jingsao was not invited, so he just stood there with a long face. This was not the first ti he had followed his master on diplomatic visits, but this was the first ti they had been dealt a bad hand.
Li Shi ca to Amon and asked in a low voice, "What did you do? This ans we must continue to keep this mural hidden."
Before Amon could reply, those still in the hall were drawn to sudden laughter.
"Hahaha, I’m glad everything went all right!"
The laughter was from Prince Huang Zen. He was strutting toward Xin Jingsao when he made the statent. This pissed Xin Jingsao even more, which in turn delighted the prince. He had been disgruntled with the young deacon for a while now. He thought he could vent his displeasure when the fight started, but it ended as abruptly as it started.
He pointed at Xin Jingsao and said, "My aunt and your master are discussing important things. Since we have nothing to do, how about we pass the ti with a spar?"
"Prince, please don’t act rashly!" Hua Ling exclaid. The earlier volatile situation had been diffused. She couldn’t have another one occurring while the princess and the senior minister were not around.
Unfortunately, Xin Jingsao was in a bad mood. He accepted Prince Huang Zen’s challenge. "If the people here won’t bla
for you getting hurt, I don’t mind teaching you a lesson."
"Teaching
a lesson? Hahaha! Very well said," Huang Zen laughed. He then announced, "No one is allowed to interfere with this spar! If I get hurt, it is my own fault!"
"Prince, stop this!" Hua Ling had co forward and stood between Huang Zen and Xin Jingsao.
"Senior Colonel Hua Ling, step aside!" Huang Zen commanded.
It was a direct order from the prince. Hua Ling had no choice but to comply. Before she moved, she stated, "No weapons or arcane arts are allowed! If I deem anyone is hurt, I will stop this spar!"
"I don’t need a weapon or arcane arts to win," Xin Jingsao uttered. His broad sword disappeared into his space ring.
"Heh! I will make you eat those words, asshole," Huang Zen said. He stomped one foot into the floor. His skin changed to a golden color. He beca like a gold statue. This was his earth-elent transformation art, Gold Embodint.
He shot forward with a punch after the transformation. His punch caused an explosion of wind. A normal human head would be easily crushed if hit by this fist. It failed to hit anything, though. Xin Jingsao swayed away before the punch arrived.
Huang Zen’s body spun with a back kick that targeted Xin Jingsao’s swaying head. Despite the fluidity and speed of Huang Zen’s kick, it still failed to connect. Xin Jingsao swayed in a different direction.
Huang Zen continued to release a flurry of punches and kicks. Yet, none of his rapid attacks hit anything. The confusing thing was that Xin Jingsao’s evasive movents didn’t seem especially fast. His body swayed around like bamboo plants. He didn’t even move far from his initial position. Yet, he dodged every single one of Huang Zen’s attacks.
This annoyed Huang Zen greatly. His moves beca more erratic and opened him up for a counter. Xin Jingsao didn’t waste the chance. His fingers stabbed into Huang Zen’s open back.
*CLANG!*
Xin Jingsao felt like he hit a tal statue instead of a human body. It was his fingers that hurt from the impact.
"Haha! Strike
all you want! Your offense won’t get past the defense of my Gold Embodint," Huang Zen taunted. He turned and threw another punch at his opponent.
"You ape from backwater country is so full of it," Xin Jingsao uttered. His palm ca up to receive Huang Zen’s powerful punch.
Before the fist arrived, an image of a circular symbol materialized on Xin Jingsao’s palm. The symbol was an intertwined black and white circle divided by a spiral-like curve. A small dot of the opposite color was situated near the center of the two halves.
"Tai Chi fist...?" Amon uttered when he saw the symbol.
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