Ryold's Offer

But now that it was gone, it also meant it could no longer influence the kingdom in the ways it once did, which showed just how much the Nine-Tailed Emperor trusted Minos.

It seemed he felt the Cat-Eyed Gem was rendered redundant with his appearance, choosing to instead trust him with the future of the kingdom.

Minos couldn't help but feel honored by such trust, secretly promising to uphold the Nine-Tailed Emperor's belief in him.

As the Cat-Eyed Gem finished fusing with Minos, the Nine-Tailed Emperor finally looked away from him, instead looking out at the civilians.

Seeing his kingdom still so vibrant despite all the years that had passed, he couldn't help but smile.

How to describe this smile? It was gentle, yet also firm, filled with love akin to a caring father watching his child grow, but also strength that filled the child with security, knowing as long as their father was here, they would always be safe.

At least that's what the crowd felt in this moment, a sense of security they hadn't felt since they were children themselves.

Looking away from the crowd, the Nine-Tailed Emperor's eyes finally settled on the old man who had been floating in the sky this entire time.

He had been rendered silent this whole time, his mouth just agape, not sure what to say.

But as his emperor looked towards him, the old man couldn't help but shed a single tear, a whisper finally leaving his mouth.

"Y-y-y-your highness…"

"Ryold, you've done a good job. I was right to trust you." The Nine-Tailed Emperor said, though only Ryold could hear him at this moment.

"My success is only due to you, my lord! You were the one to give me a second life, to give me everything I enjoy today!" Ryold said with tears, crying like a newborn baby.

"Still can't take a compliment, huh?" The Nine-Tailed Emperor joked.

Still, with a single wave of his hand, he caused the tears on Ryold's face to instantly dry, his hand coming to a pause on the old man's head, ruffling his thinning hair.

"You've grown so old… I'm sorry to have left so much pressure on you."

"Don't apologize! I took this role despite how hard you said it was, and to this day I've never regretted it."

"I'm glad… Well I can't stay any longer, this body of mine doesn't have much energy."

"Wait! Please don't leave me again." Ryold said, as if returning to the young boy he was all those years ago, the same young boy who had been saved by the Nine-Tailed Emperor and given new hope.

"All things must come to an end, and all greetings a goodbye. This is only fate my old friend, don't fight it, just follow it."

"But what will I do now?"

"Hahaha, to think you'd ask this question now? Just follow that boy, there's something special about him, maybe he can touch the stars in the way I had always wished to…"

"Is he that special?" Ryold couldn't help but ask.

"Maybe? Only time will tell." The Nine-Tailed Emperor replied, though this only made Ryold more confused.

Unfortunately, before he could ask any more questions, the Nine-Tailed Emperor vanished, his appearance only being a short one.

But despite this, it was an event that would never be forgotten, the crowd still locked in silence, unsure of what to think.

It was only as one of them finally broke out into a cheer did the rest follow, a single drop soon turning into a massive ocean.

With noise that had once been thought impossible, the entire kingdom reverberated with applause, the noise so loud that the tribes surrounding the kingdom could hear them, looking in their direction with confusion.

Even the king himself, for as venerated as he was, couldn't help but cheer as well, though no one looked at him strangely, instead following his lead.

The only ones who weren't cheering were the other competitors, their mouths just agape as they were still comprehending what had just happened.

It was only as the crowd started chanting Minos's name did they finally awake from their reverie, their eyes all glued towards the man in question.

As they finally accepted the reality of the situation, the vast majority of them gave up the fights within their hearts, realizing at this moment that they had already lost.

Only a small minority still had any sort of fighting spirit left, though even they took a huge hit compared to before.

'This can't be… It just can't!' Nufes thought manically, his fingers nearly tearing the skin from his face as he felt like he was going insane.

He was destined to win, this was his birthright, his destiny! But Minos had ruined everything, destroyed his entire future.

Seemingly driven mad by the thought, Nufes shouted out in anger, lunging towards Minos who was still clutching at his right eye, thinking about what had just happened.

"I'll kill you!" He roared, his long sharp nails extending as he prepared to rip Minos apart piece by piece.

However, before his attack could land, he slammed into an invisible wall, his body sent flying backwards, skidding into the earth.

The sudden attack awoke the crowd from their chants, everyone shocked that the First Prince would do such a thing.

"First Prince, what do you think you're doing?" Ryold's gentle yet all-encompassing voice asked from above.

As if walking down an invisible flight of stairs, Ryold stepped down from the sky and took a stand beside Nufes, who was still groaning from the previous incident.

His piercing eyes store down at the young man, their cold nature like frigid water down his spine, waking him instantly.

"Uhh…" He stuttered, not sure how to answer.

"To attack a fellow competitor is against the rules. Nufes Ninetails, you are hereby eliminated. You may resign." Ryold said, clearly having no leniency for this kind of behavior.

"You can't do that! Father!" Nufes shouted, looking up at his father who was just watching the whole debacle in silence.

As the two's eyes met, Nufes expected at least a word from his father, but after a moment, the man looked away, as if nothing had even happened.

"Fa-father…" Nufes muttered, his heart immediately dropping as he realized he had been abandoned.

"Take him away." Ryold said, prompting a few Forbidden Soldier's to pick Nufes up by each arm and drag him away.

They expected some sort of fight at first, but Nufes was completely silent, his eyes just dead as he stared lifelessly at the dirt beneath him.

"Well then, with that little embarrassment out of the way, let us move on to the ranking." Ryold said, pushing the matter aside completely.

Sending his Forbidden Soldier's back out, he had them hand each civilian a small ballot, in which they could list off their picks from top to bottom.

With so many civilians gathered, handing out ballots wasn't an easy thing, fortunately the Forbidden Soldier's were all strong cultivators, and hence their movement was extremely rapid.

Still the process wasn't a short one, so while they were doing that, Minos was about to rejoin the others.

"Minos, wait a moment. I need to talk to you." Ryold suddenly said, stopping Minos in his tracks.

"Then let's talk."

"Not here, somewhere more private." Ryold replied, waving his hand, causing the two to begin floating.

With a thought, both of them rocketed off, almost instantly appearing back in front of the Forbidden Palace.

Setting Minos back down, Ryold took the lead entering the large palace, Minos following closely behind.

Soon enough, the two arrived back within the throne room, Minos not quite sure why Ryold had taken him here.

"Have a seat." Ryold said, gesturing towards the throne.

Despite still being somewhat confused, Minos obliged, taking a seat on the throne as he waited for Ryold to speak.

"First of all, let me formally introduce myself. I am Ryold Ninetails, though I'm not actually of the ninetails lineage, instead it's an honor I've been blessed with."

"In the same way I was blessed and chosen by the Nine-Tailed Emperor, so were you. To be honest, the first time I met you, I knew you were special, though today's events have just confirmed that fact."

"The Nine-Tailed Emperor chose you, and beyond that, he even gave you his own eye, as such I imagine you know well just what that eye is capable of."

"For the Nine-Tailed Emperor to give away what is essentially the backbone of his kingdom isn't a simple thing, rather it's a gamble that may cost him everything."

"Though from what I know of the Nine-Tailed Emperor, he was never a gambling man, so he may have instead seen your appearance as an opportunity."

"He was always a far-sighted man, so much so I often wondered if he could see the future…"

"I never got the answer to that, but I knew one thing for certain, he was always right in his predictions. So tell me Minos, are you willing to be our next king?"