NOVEL NEXT Chapter 66: Prince Du
Violet's bell-like voice echoed throughout the once rowdy crowd who could no longer utter a single word under their breath.
Even the brave warriors who were snickering once at the sight of a little girl going against the current ring champion only looked on. In fact those rich young masters & misses gazing from on high like they were {The Council of God Rulers} looked far more nervous. Looking between themselves as if asking if they were really expected to step up against ‘that’ at some point.
Seeing that nobody was moving the corners of the demon god empress’ cute little mouth began to lower into a frown. Exposing her fangs, grinding them against one another she cast her gaze towards the surrounding cultivators, none met the demoness eye. Not that they knew she was a demon - it wasn’t because she hid the nature of her qi but rather that was simply how the Dong empire had always been since the era of antiquity.
While Violet was busy glaring someone did move in the top stands; Vanta. She gazed across the crowd below while rising causing the man, prince Dong Du who set up the event, next to her to turn his gaze towards her. Seeing the oni rise a grin came to his face since it was a bit early yet he wouldn’t mind.
In terms of appearance he had a muscular frame with sharp eyes that appeared to always form a threatening glare that paired well with his black hair. Hair that he chose to have loosely fall down his back - naturally forming a rather spiky black mane which made him appear wild. His outfit of choice was a tight fitting backless black shirt that came from his neck to wrap around his waist leaving his large biceps available to spy on.
Strangely he had gauze wrapped all around his chest so only his abbs were revealed while those pectorals weren’t viewable.
Additionally his waist was a bit more slender while his face, although certainly chiselled, was closer to being androngnus than manly. Baggy brown pants like that of a monk is what he chose to wear with a pink sash which had some pouches hung from it - letting him store money as well as other things.
He wasn’t a generous man who volunteered to plan this event out of the goodness of his heart for some reason such as strengthening the empire’s elites. Rather than that he wanted to do what every prince in Dong wanted to achieve - become the crown prince. There had actually been a few crown princes over the years yet ironically they always died before the emperor even if the cause of death was suspect at best.
However despite the risks involved, the power gained by becoming the de-facto leader of the {Immortal Dong Empire} where their emperor mostly stayed aloof, was too much to resist.
Using this event Prince Du planned to overcome his brothers popularity gained through selling off their sisters through proving his own fearlessness & might. Not only that but he would make connections with the powerful oni - something even his dumb brother would fail in due to showing support for the anti-oni alliance. It was a simple plan of having Vanta come down to beat the strongest person here then she would lose against him and thus ‘falling’ for him because of his strength.
He would be able to show off, gain powerful allies and get a beautiful (dumb in a cute way) bride at his side even if he doesn’t succeed in ruling.
It was a simple plan yet undoubtedly that was what made it perfect. Of course it relied on Vanta being able to defeat the ‘last man standing’ nevertheless he struggled to imagine an average cultivator being strong enough to beat her. If a cultivator was that strong they would be leading their own faction which would mean they would have no reason to reveal their techniques in a little event like this.
Thus it was supposed to be the perfect plan yet when he turned to look towards Vanta she promptly stood up and instead of jumping down… Shook her head while trying to hurry away from the scene as soon as Violet looked away. He could even hear her mumble “nope” under her breath repeatedly.
Noticing his co-conspirator as well as possible women trying to run he quickly rushed to grip her by wrist to stop her; confusion clearly on his face especially upon seeing fear on hers.
“What are you doing?!” <Dong Du>
He howled under his breath, gazing up towards her. His voice was fierce and gutteral like that as a beast yet yet that didn’t stop her from glaring back.
“I did not sign up to go up against that little monster who may or may not be my sister!” <Vanta>
“Oh she ‘may’ be your sister? What do you mean ‘may’ be your sister - any genius can see you two are clearly related by blood - could even be twins if you weren’t taller!” <Dong Du>
Hearing his accusations made Vanta gnash her teeth while clenching her fist for a moment as if she was about to punch him. Just like her sisters she was different from most other oni though so soon unclenched her fist again. Shaking her head with closed eyes as she slumped back into her chair yet again.
“How could I know about a brat like that when my mom only contacts me every decade while that brat isn’t even supposed to leave the village!” <Vanta>
“You mean that thing isn’t even 18?!” <Dong Du>
“Seems it to me - can you not tell?” <Vanta>
Vanta tilted her head while they continued speaking in hushed tones.
“It’s impossible to tell how short some of you can be!” <Dong Du>
“*Snort* Either way it doesn’t change the fact that I refuse to get slapped by her again.” <Vanta>
“Again?” <Dong Du>
“Don’t question!” <Vanta>
Her hands slammed down onto the armrests of her chair while moving her face to centimetres away from the princes making him move away. Although he had no idea what it meant he at least understood this wasn’t a topic to discuss any longer - he was strong yet he knew not to mess with a scorned woman. Still he lifted his hands up to calm her.
“Listen we don’t need you to fight her this instant - we can just get other cultivators to test the waters before you take any risks. It’s fine if we don’t do anything at the moment since you're more important than some short term plan anyway. There is also no reason for us to run away either as that would likely just get her ire if she’s as strong as you believe.” <Dong Du>
As if to highlight the difference between himself as well as the currently favoured prince he placed his hands onto Vanta’s shoulders. Gently massaging them resulted in the oni losing tension immediately under his hands - leaning himself closer towards her. Gently whispering into the girl's ear with a confident smirk on his full lips.
“Just watch this, okay?” <Dong Du>
Stepping up himself; Prince Du started to confidently strode towards the front of their platform where the commentators were. The two commentators turned to look towards who was walking towards them only to quickly panic upon seeing the prince. He ignored them as he just walked up to overlook the crowd who seemingly took notice of his actions thus began to mumble between themselves about the well known royal.
“Is that Du the Beast!”
“144th prince of the empire.”
“He’s not just any prince but a Spirit Elder realm cultivator who is said to have gained the favour of the emperor himself!”
“Had his favour - everyone knows Du lost it while has completely abandoned cultivation after becoming an immortal.”
“They say he’s a tyrant as a few days every month, due to a mistake in cultivating a demonic cultivation art, he loses control over himself.”
“Even the Dong imperial family were worried about how tyrannical he is so they locked him up once a month to prevent him massacring civilians.”
“I heard he even ate servants so nobody works in his palace.”
Many more such comments were being constantly muttered upon the appearance of the prince yet that didn’t make him falter. Instead he grinned proudly as if they were idiots, especially those talking about his demonic cultivation, while soon stretching out his arms. His gaze fell upon the warriors who were more nervous than anyone else.
“I agreed to arrange this tournament in order to allow warriors to prove themselves; however all I can see are ingrates who underestimate my patience. Many have signed up yet as soon as my possible sister-in-law turns up you all turn into chickens unable to offer a second - how will I look to my oni friends after assuring them of our proud warriors having no equal? I sat there telling them, no promising them, we were better than those in that sham of an alliance yet you all make me look like a fucking fool!” <Dong Du>
His prior smile changed on a dime as his cultivation flared up to literally oppress those below though it made Violet have a different reaction. Compared to those cultivators who fell on their knees, vomited blood or passed out she just stopped there. Tilting her head while looking at the woman who was dressed weirdly who was being called ‘he’ as if those silly mortals couldn’t just smell the fact it was a she.
Mortals are so silly.
“If you don’t start getting onto that stage I’ll drag you up there myself!” <Dong Du>
Didn’t change the fact she liked this ‘prince’.