Chapter 447 - At The King's Door
Chapter 447 – At The King’s Door
(MC POV)
We were stopped quite a number of times by the guards patrolling around the palace. I was quite surprised they were even guarding it at this point instead of running away like I thought they would.
I mean, judging by the state of the city, it's obvious the people knew how hopeless the war was for them.
My escorts explained the situation to their colleagues and, though doubtful, they let us pass but assigned even more people to watch me.
The people sure do like their king despite him being nothing more than a puppet to the Dark Sect. I wonder why?
Maybe it has something to do with him overthrowing the last king?
Oh well, not really my business any way.
By the time I was escorted to the king's room, there were at least twenty guards accompanying me and the first two guards from the entrance which must have made quite the spectacle.
In front of the door was a bearded man dressed in full plate armour with a bastard sword leaning against the wall beside him.
I recognised him as the captain of the palace guards and the King's personal guard. Aside from that Dark Sect guy, he was the other one who always stayed by the King's side.
It was also obvious that he and the Dark Sect guy didn't get along, though the captain would always give in first so I assume they had some dirt on him or something along those lines.
Well, I did make use of that fact while I was here. I'd like to think that even this captain guy enjoyed watching the Dark Sect guy be put on the spot from my little meddling.
He frowned and picked up his sword when he saw the large group of people heading towards him.
"What's the meaning of this?"
"Captain Jian! We have brought a Practitioner who has a pill that can heal our king!"
That captain raised an eyebrow at me, "The Beiyang dog? I would sooner trust my own dog to make a healing pill than taking a pill from him."
The guard bowed his head, "I'm sorry Captain, but we witnessed the effects of the pill and it was truly wondrous."
"Are you sure it was not merely an illusion?"
"I am sure, sir."
He glared at me and I simply smiled back at him in return.
"How good is this… Pill?" He asked with narrowed eyes.
I gestured to the guard in front of me, "Well, he was missing an arm before this."
The captain raised an eyebrow at the guard and he nodded to confirm what I said was true.
"Try one on me," He ordered, lifting up his bare arm.
I sighed dramatically, "These pills aren't cheap you know? What? Did you think I picked them off the road or something?"
He reached to his belt and tossed me a coin pouch, my hands catching it in midair.
Judging by the weight of it, there's quite a lot of money in there.
"That should cover the cost of the materials, shouldn't it?"
I tossed the bag back at him, the captain catching it with a frown.
I smiled, "It's not the money that's the issue. It's the process. I've already used two to convince your little subordinate there that it's the real thing, it's not like I'm obligated to save your king you know?"
He furrowed his brows and lifted up his sword, the guards around me also unsheathing their own weapons. Only the first two guards remained where they were, looking at me with a worried expression.
"You are not in a position to bargain, Beiyang dog," He growled.
I snapped my fingers and all the guards around me except the first two guards suddenly fell to the ground, all of them being pushed by an intense gravitational force.
"It is you who isn't in any position to bargain, captain. If I wanted your king dead, you wouldn't be able to stop me. And I don't need to resort to poisoning to kill him in the first place. You might want to watch your words… Boy."
He looked down at his men who were struggling to get off the ground, but the pressure pushing them down was too great for them to even move.
He lowered his sword before bowing his head.
"I was out of line… I apologize."
"Oh, a smart one I see," I grinned, releasing the Technique and letting his subordinates up again. "Since you're so sensible… Alright then, but only one and you'll owe me."
I reached into the pouch and brought out one of the pills, "Eat this and any injury will be restored instantly."
He plucked the pill from me and inspected it with a critical eye before sniffing it.
I thought he might order one of his subordinates to do it but he had lifted up his sword and chopped down on his own arm without hesitation.
The only reaction he had to his dismemberment was a slight grimace before he tossed the pill into his mouth and swallowed.
Almost instantly, his arm was restored back to perfect condition, as though it was never cut off from the start.
Aside from the first two guards, everyone else gasped when they saw it.
He flexed it and swung it back and forth, even pinching himself to make sure he wasn't dreaming.
"This… This is… What is this?" He mumbled, looking at his arm in awe.
"Well, they call it the God Pill. I think you can guess why."
Technically, it's only my disciples who call it that but I'm not about to tell him that.
"This is… This will definitely heal our king! If it does, whatever you wish of me, sir, as long as it does not go against my oath to the king, I will do my best to fulfill it!"
Wow, seriously what did the king do to inspire such loyalty from these guys? I'm not even sure if Queen Guiying has such loyal retainers in her retinue.
Then again, she did do a purge so there's that affecting her popularity.
I was going to walk past him but he raised a hand to stop me.
I thought he was going to give me more warnings about hurting his king or some form of threat but the worried look on his face.
"Before you go in there… The other three countries had sent their own envoys here with… Less than honorable intentions…"
I raised an eyebrow at him, "And what does that have to do with me?"
He looked down at his arm that was healed by the pill, "I won't lie… We all know we cannot win this war… I will help you persuade my king to surrender as long as your conditions are acceptable… But those three there… They might get some ideas of their own if they see sir's God pill…"
Well, what's the worst they can do? Start a war? Not if I have anything to say about that.
"I'll keep that in mind," I told him before stepping through the doorway, the guards remaining outside.
Yep, just pop in the pill and get back out, this shouldn't be too hard.