As soon as he finished the declaration, everyone started cheering and praising Long Chen, bringing a smile to his face.
Even though Long Chen was smiling on the outside, internally, he was amused at how fickle humans were. One moment they were torturing a kid for his father's sin, while the next moment, they were praising him. The only constant about all this was that there was no constant in human beings.
"I'm sure our new General, Long Chen, will keep the Royal City safe from any danger while our army will win the war for us," the King declared, raising his fist. Amidst the cheerful shouts, he turned back and went inside the palace with everyone.
"I heard you stayed in some hut? You can stay at our palace until we arrange a better place for you. Go and have rest," the King told Long Chen as he was walking together. He glanced at the Eunuch and continued, "Eunuch, show him the way."
"Yes, Your Majesty," Long Chen said, nodding his head. "If there is nothing else, I'll excuse myself."
"Hmm." The king nodded his head, watching Long Chen leave with the Eunuch.
The King also went back to his room to rest.
The Eunuch took Long Chen to a luxurious room.
"This is where you'll stay. You can tell the guard if you need anything," he told Long Chen before he turned back to leave.
"Wait," Long Chen called out, watching the Eunuch leave.
"I'm really tired. I'll probably sleep for an entire day. I hope that no one disturbs me unless His Majesty calls for me," he told the Eunuch before he entered the room and closed the door.
****
Long Chen fell down on his bed and closed his eyes.
"Everything has been going according to plan. Tomorrow, I will become the King of Aksha Kingdom," Long Chen muttered as if talking to himself.
" I need to delay the coronation, though. Xun, the Trial should be considered completed when I'm crowned, Right?" He asked Xun.
"No, it's when you become a King. Coronation is an entirely different matter. When you're officially the King, the trial would be completed since coronation would only be a formality," Xun told Long Chen.
"That is troublesome. Can I stay here for two months after becoming a King? I really need to finish my task here," Long Chen asked Xun, trying to find a way to stay here for longer since his plan didn't end with becoming the King of Aksha Kingdom.
" Two months..." Xun muttered as she frowned.
"That should be possible if you request the bloodline temple. I don't think anything more than that would be heard," she continued.
" That's good. Two months should be more than enough for me," Long Chen said as he sighed.
" Alright. Close your eyes and think as if you're talking to the bloodline temple and wish for it. I'll go and check to see if it happened," She told Long Chen before she disappeared.
Long Chen closed his eyes and followed her instructions.
He waited for Xun to come back after being done with the task to tell him if it worked; however, Xun didn't come. Despite calling for her again and again, he didn't get a reply.
After getting tired, he gave up.
"She'll come back on her own after she's sure. It should've worked anyway," he muttered before he started resting.
He wanted to wait for the night before he did anything. Doing anything now was going to be useless. He decided to take some rest now that he was feeling lazy.
He stayed inside the room with his eyes closed; however, he didn't sleep. He kept waiting for the time to pass.
Time kept trickling away, and soon, it was already night.
Long Chen hadn't received even an ounce of sleep, and Xun hadn't come back.
He stood up and got off of the bed, but that's when he heard Xun's words.
"You can stay here for 50 days after you finish the Trial," she said without appearing near him.
"That's good to know. Now I can be more confident," Long Chen said as he smiled.
He disappeared from his room and appeared in a hallway near the King's room.
Looking around, he found a guard standing in front of the King's room. The guard didn't see Long Chen appear out of thin air. He thought that Long Chen had walked there.
"Ah, Master Chen? Do you wish to meet His Majesty? He is probably asleep by now. You should come tomorrow," The Guard told Long Chen respectfully since he was more the General.
"Yes, I'm here to meet him. But I'm not here to talk to him," Long Chen muttered as he walked closer to the guard slowly.
He didn't have both his swords with him. He only had the Sword of Time on his back.
"There's something on your shoulder," he called out as he reached out his hand towards the guard's shoulder.
The guard looked towards his shoulder, finding nothing suspicious, but his face turned pale as Long Chen caught his neck instead of his shoulders. Before he could even speak, Long Chen crushed his neck, killing him instantly.
Opening the door of the king's room, Long Chen pulled the guard inside and closed the door. He left the body on the ground near the entrance and walked closer to the King, who was still peacefully sleeping, unaware of what was happening.
" The King who slept while he lost everything," Long Chen muttered as he pulled his black rusted sword out of its scabbard on his back and aimed it at the king.
"Rest in peace," he muttered as he slashed down, cutting the head of the King instantly
"That finishes the last piece of the puzzle. One more day, and it'll be over," Long Chen muttered as he dragged the body of the King down from the bed and wrapped it in a bed sheet along with the body of the guard. He placed it on fire and watched it burn as the bodies were turned to ashes right before his eyes.
Clearing the ash, he opened the wardrobe of the King and wore his clothes before he used the Mask of Mischief to change his clothes to make him seem like the King himself.
He laid on the bed after being done as he waited for the day.
****
Waking up in the day, Long Chen left his room and walked to the Royal Hall.
He entered the Royal Hall, walking just like the King.
He looked at all the ministers who were sitting there.
"Everyone, I have found out that all my sons are dead. I believe the Sunai Kingdom sent assassins to kill them, but they couldn't kill me and ran away with the news of Long Chen killing their army," Long Chen declared, shocking everyone.
"Silence!" he thundered as he heard the noise of the ministers who were shocked.
"There is only one Prince left, and you know who he is. The person who tried to kill his brothers. I don't want the throne to go to him since it would be bad for the Kingdom to have someone like him as a King. However, I can't stay without selecting a King either since I feel like my health isn't good. That's why I have come to a conclusion!" Long Chen said.
While the Ministers looked at the King, he smiled.
"Long Chen saved the Kingdom. Without him, I wouldn't be alive today. I believe he can keep the Kingdom safe. Despite all we did to him, he still loves his kingdom. He fought for the people who hated him. He is the perfect choice to be the next king! What do you all say?" He asked the Ministers.