Chapter 138: The God-Devouring Spear

"Your Highness, Chu Yun is scheduled for his Third-Circle Mage examination tomorrow. He is currently in seclusion preparing for it and is unaware of your arrival. I hope you will not take offense," Nelson explained, feeling awkward after receiving the report from the staff.

In truth, he had no desire to entertain the First Prince. He only wished to dedicate his remaining years to passing on his knowledge to his granddaughter. He cared little for who became king; that was a matter for the headquarters to worry about. However, as the President of the Mages' Guild, he was not his own master and was compelled to accompany the royal guest.

Hearing Nelson's response, the First Prince was clearly dissatisfied. He let out a cold snort, ready to retort, when the knight beside him gave a subtle cough as a reminder.

This knight was Leontius, Commander of the Royal Knights. Unlike the First Prince, he was far more versed in the intricacies of human relations. Between the actions of the Lord of Blackrock City and Nelson’s current demeanor, he understood the precariousness of the Prince’s position.

Beyond the King’s favor, the First Prince was actually quite unpopular in the capital. Especially since the blessing of the Goddess of Life had revealed that the King could enjoy a near-eternal lifespan, few people bothered to concern themselves with the arrogant heir apparent.

Conversely, the Second Prince was not only talented but also humble, maintaining private alliances with many ministers and dignitaries in the capital. Perhaps it was for this very reason that he had become increasingly suspected by the King, their father-son relationship deteriorating over the years.

In Leontius’s view, before the First Prince had left, the Second Prince had already gained control over most of the situation as the King’s health declined. The King allowing the First Prince to depart with the Holy Spear was not primarily for hunting the Earth-Eater Beast, but rather to protect him.

As Commander of the Royal Knights, Leontius remained loyal to the King. Regardless of how poor the First Prince’s character was, he would still support him. Yet, his own family remained in the capital and had already pledged their allegiance to the Second Prince, leaving him in a difficult predicament.

The Second Prince had already issued an order, demanding the First Prince and Leontius return to the capital within five days. If the First Prince did not appear by then, it was likely the Second Prince would begin to take overt action against them.

Leontius was a Dragon Knight; if he abandoned his subordinates, he could carry the First Prince back to the capital in a single day.

The First Prince’s time was extremely limited. He had to secure enough support over the next four days to complete his plan; otherwise, even Leontius would eventually be forced to abandon him.

As it stood, things were looking grim. Count Mont of Blackrock City had already indirectly refused to assist the Prince. If the Mages' Guild were to explicitly refuse as well, they would have no choice but to try their luck in another city. It would be unwise to offend the guild under the leadership of a Fourth-Circle Mage like Nelson at such a critical juncture.

However, Leontius’s warning went unheeded by the Prince, who continued, "It is merely an examination; just postpone it. Have him come to see me immediately!"

The Prince’s rage was actually fueled more by the City Lord, whose failure to welcome him had indirectly caused numerous nobles to find various excuses for their own absences. It had caused him a great loss of face. Now, even a lowly apprentice who had not yet passed his Third-Circle examination dared to act insolently before him—this was the final straw.

Though the First Prince was inferior to his younger brother in every aspect, he was, in his own right, quite accomplished in the martial arts. Before the fall of the Goddess of Life, he had been a powerful Third-Circle Paladin. Even though he could no longer use divine arts, he remained a formidable knight equipped with Third-Circle magical gear.

Furthermore, he possessed the Holy Spear. This divine artifact, representing the legitimate heir, was his father’s seal of approval—he was the true king!

"These mortals have no comprehension of the power of the Holy Spear. Before absolute strength, all else is but a phantom."

The path the First Prince intended to tread was not the way of a benevolent king, but the way of a tyrant.

"These damned fools, just wait. Once I obtain the divine spark fragment and ascend to the throne, I will deal with each of you!" The Prince was consumed with fury.

He had a more critical objective this time: the divine spark fragment. Before leaving the capital, his father had not only entrusted him with the Holy Spear but had also revealed the location of the fragment.

Once he obtained the fragment and coupled it with the power of the Holy Spear, he would become the strongest in the kingdom. Only then would Leontius be truly loyal to him, and only then would he have a chance to seize real imperial power.

Otherwise, even if he were to succeed the throne before the King’s death, his younger brother would surely strike first and kill both him and their father. The primary reason he had come to Blackrock City was that the divine spark fragment was hidden within its walls.

This was intelligence obtained by an astrologer loyal to the King, who had paid with his life to perform the divination.

Calling it a "divine spark fragment" was not entirely accurate; it was more likely a person who had absorbed one. If he killed the target using the divine artifact, the Spear of Longinus, he could extract the fragment from them.

There were many divine artifacts on the continent, but even among them, the Spear of Longinus held a high rank. Its alternate name was the "God-Slaying Spear," capable of inflicting devastating damage on deities and extracting absorbed divine fragments.

Unfortunately, the intelligence was imprecise. The Prince knew only that the person was in Blackrock City; he had been unable to pinpoint who it was or where they were hiding.

Even so, it could be narrowed down through methods of elimination. Those who had absorbed a divine fragment usually possessed significant strength and were likely individuals who had experienced a sudden, explosive rise in power.

Chu Yun seemed to fit this profile. The Spear of Longinus could sense fragments and divine sparks within a certain range, and the Prince’s initial desire to see him was to verify this for himself.

Hearing the Prince’s insistent demand, Nelson sighed and had no choice but to send the Vice-President, Darren, to fetch the boy.

Darren left the group reluctantly to search for Chu Yun. However, when he arrived at the entrance of the faculty apartments, the guard informed him that Chu Yun had already left using his flight wings and his destination was unknown.

"I should have just taken the day off like him," Darren grumbled to himself as he returned to the group to report the situation to Nelson.

Nelson was at a loss for how to explain this to the Prince.

"You told me he was in seclusion? Is he deliberately avoiding me?" the Prince narrowed his eyes and demanded, clearly incensed.

Finally, someone could no longer hold their tongue.

"Why are you so obsessed with targeting Chu Yun? Do you have a grudge against him?"

Nelson was startled by these words and hurriedly grabbed his granddaughter’s arm. "Child, step aside. Don’t speak out of turn."

"Hmph. I didn't want to waste my time anyway." Selina snorted and actually walked away.

The First Prince recognized Selina and knew her relationship with Nelson. Selina was the darling of the Mages' Guild in the capital, and her behavior was even more willful and arrogant than his own.

"Once I am King, you shall pay for this!"

"Leontius, go and bring that boy, Chu Yun, to me. Notify all the nobles in the city that there will be a banquet at the City Lord’s mansion tonight. Everyone must attend!" The Prince’s expression turned hideous.

He could not lash out at Nelson’s granddaughter, so hearing her speak up for Chu Yun, he simply redirected his fury toward the boy, intending to make an example of him.

Leontius, though troubled, accepted the task. He departed with his men to search for Chu Yun while simultaneously notifying the city's elite of the night's banquet.

Leontius was unaware of the Prince’s true motive regarding the divine fragment. He felt only a profound sense of weariness in the Prince’s presence and wished for nothing more than to return to the capital as soon as possible.