10 King Brian Speaks

The princes remained silent as they remained stationed at their positions, right in front of the eyes of the King. But they weren't the only ones present there, the whole room was filled with people who held their respective seats on their positions.

The ministry that was responsible for advising King on the internal and external matters of the Kingdom. Adam swept a glance at all of them and remembered their faces as well as their positions.

Each one of them had arrogance visible on their faces, yet the princes didn't give them any importance as they continued to stare at the King, Brian Vermillion without giving them any importance.

Slowly, each one of the prince bend their knees slightly as they collectively said, "We greet your highness, the King." This was sufficient to say that they only bowed and greeted the King, the ministers weren't qualified enough to make them bow.

This was the feeling that was shared by all the princes. the whole room was so silent that you could hear the sound of moving the footsteps as it echoed in the whole room.

The seats for the ministers were perfectly set up so that there is direct contact for the Princes and the King. At this moment, The King's Elderly voice graced their ears as he pushed some strength into his throat and tried to speak out.

"Get up my sons." And every prince picked themselves up as they stood back up with a neutral face. However, The King continued to speak, "I believe you all already know of the reason why you have been called… Am I correct?"

At this moment, the princes did know the answer to that, it was mainly because of the matter concerning who will ascend to the throne next.

"You must all have questions as to who will ascend the throne. Who will I choose and let him continue the Vermillion family's legacy. The one whom I choose needs to be superior in everything, not just in cultivation and strength."

The princes were completely silent as almost all of them had the same question in their heads 'Who will ascend the throne? Will it be me? Has he noticed my good points and finally decided to pass on the kingdom to me?'

This was the wishful thinking of the 2nd, 4th, 5th, 6th prince as they continued to fantasize and thought that they may inherit the whole Kingdom for themselves.

But Leonardo, and Adam thought differently 'The King said that he will choose the one who is best in everything. Then doesn't that mean Alex / I still has a chance, does that mean that there is another test left before he chooses his inheritor?'

A faint smile graced it's way on the King's elderly face, the wrinkles moved up and down as he spoke out loud, "This is my test of inheritance for you…" At this moment, he clapped for a few times.

A minister stood up, this was the main advisor of the King who advised him on his policies, on his decisions, and on his upcoming plans. Of course, the King made his own decisions but he was the first man to hear about his plans and comment on them.

This way, the King could tweak them a little and enjoy the outcome favourable to him. This man also took charge when the King had to explain something to someone, exactly as this situation.

His cool yet emotionless voice entered their ears, "The King has thought of a test for all of you, it is regretful that he hasn't been able to witness your talents yet."

"It is said that each man has a talent that if they start following it then they could conquer the world with it. Your Highness, King Brian feels that you can explore your talents to their limit."

None of their expression changed as they took in that information, it was obvious that the King wasn't going to make it easier for them. The fools who thought that they were going to be selected for the Throne without any tests had frowns on their faces.

On the other hand, Adam and Leonardo continued to listen to the words of the Advisor without showing any emotions. They heard him speak out, "You will all receive territories and the equal number of men garrisoned at the territory. Those men will hear all your orders so be sure to use them."

"Your task is to prevent your territory from being invaded by the neighbouring Kingdoms for the span of an year, the one who has the greatest contributions in the war shall inherit the whole Kingdom."

At this time, they remained silent as they continued to hear these words and think of their future, the future that was in their very own hands, they could change it, manipulate it, create it anew or destroy it.

It was in their own hands now, at this moment, the King coughed a few times before he started speaking again, "Your territories and your men have been chosen by me. You will receive a letter on where your territory is stationed and the men who will be directly under you."

Suddenly, the King's expression went cold as he spoke up, "There is another thing, if by any chance, the 7 of you die then the Kingdom will automatically go to the 8th one no matter who the survivor is."

Now, this led them to look at each other as they acknowledged that the threat wasn't just from the neighboring Empires, the greater threat was from their fellow siblings.

Of course, this didn't scare Adam, he came from a mentality that all his brothers were his enemies. It didn't change anything for him as he didn't trust a single one of them. The same was true for Leonardo Vermillion but it couldn't be said about Louis and his younger brothers.

They were attached to each other, they had spent their childhood under the palace and their mothers as their support, they hadn't ever struggled to achieve something so this was a true test for their capability.

The silent response from his sons didn't keep the king quiet as he continued to speak, "There is however another way you could inherit the Kingdom. I want you to bring me the Blood from the Heart of the White Dragon King residing in the Northern Mountains."

Now, this made them look up into King's eyes with hope glimmering in their eyes, they felt as if they had a chance without the need to manage the stuff like Kingdom. Leonardo's expression didn't change as he continued to hold that neutral expression and voiced out.

"Father, isn't it the Guardian Beast protecting us from the Darchuma Kingdom? Why would you want to kill that beast?" His concern was evident as he seemed to think of the well being of his Empire.

King Brian's expression remained the same as it was before, the expression of a wise King who had experienced an entire lifetime, his elderly voice was heard by them once again, "The White Dragon King, a powerful Dragon for it's species. It is showing some signs that it could attack our own Kingdom at any time."

"It is a variable, which could change sides at any given time. We cannot bet our Kingdom's defence on this beast, the Versailles Kingdom has to take its own command on those parts and defend itself."

"Besides, I have heard that the Dragon's Heart Blood is used as a recipe for the Alchemists, they can make Dragon Slayer Weapons which would benefit our kingdom." His words were accepted by them as they didn't think too much about this reason.

They White Dragon King was too powerful to even think of slaying it, it was impossible for them to even attempt this and come out without losing an arm or two or some other severe injury.