Chapter 209 The Impostor King Of Western Moon
Seeing the look on the Prime Minister, Mark realized his mistake and clarified to him, "My vehicle consumes all types of oil, Mr. Zhu. I use that term when using it for transportation."
"Ah, I see," Zhu Jianhong nodded in understanding. He had learned a new word and he liked it anyhow. "Anyway, please come in."
Mark and Allen followed him to climb the steps to enter the palace.
Meanwhile, from one of the rooms on the second floor, Princess Shen Ling was secretly watching them through the glass. The two maids were also with her.
One of them readily spoke, "Who is Lord Lu between those two, your highness?
As Mark and Allen look equally handsome and young, although, with different charms, the maids were confused for a moment.
"Isn't it obvious? The short-haired guy must be servant judging by his stature and Prime Minister Zhu's greetings." Shen Ling replied to her before taking a look at them again, "okay, at the very least, the rumors were right about his appearance. And actions say that he is also smart. Now, let's see what kind of personality this guy has."
While she was taking a look in the mirror once again, Mark had entered the palace and proceeded towards the King's quarters.
After walking for quite a bit, they finally reached an empty meeting chamber. Mark and Allen took a seat. The Prime Minister stayed with them while a royal knight went and informed the King.
A few minutes later, Mark found a middle-aged fellow arrived there with a couple of royal knights.
His clothes were luxurious, and his white hair is quite long to reach the knees. People would believe that he is quite old from behind. Still, his face was clean without any wrinkles. Mark couldn't help but compare this king to his biological father.
And for some reason, his father appeared more dignified and had the aura of the Emperor while this guy looked like a shrewd wealthy merchant instead of a king. This was Mark's first impression and obviously, he kept his thoughts to himself.
"It's our King." Zhu Jianhong whispered to Mark and got up on his feet. Mark and Allen followed the suit.
As Shen Niu reached Mark, the latter followed the etiquette and made a deep bow, "Greetings, Your Majesty. I'm Lu Zhen, owner of Genesis Weapon Store. This is my brother, Allen Spencer."
King Shen Niu found Allen's name strange but he didn't react to it and just remarked, "you are quite late, Mr. Lu. I thought you rejected our invitation."
Before Mark gave the same excuse, Zhu Jianhong spoke for him.
The King reacted the same way as the Prime Minister upon realizing the truth. "I see. I guess I misunderstood the situation. Then, would you like to stay for the dinner, if that's not a problem?"
Seeing the calmness of the King, Mark thought that his suspicions were right. They have a strong motive. He accepted it.
"You must have been tired from all the travel. Please take a rest in our guest room until then. We'll talk later." The King said to him before taking his leave.
Mark thanked him. Just as the king was leaving the place, Mark inspected him out of curiosity to check what realm he is in. As the information appeared before him, Mark's expression changed. "Shen Qiu? I thought his name is Shen Niu."
He read the remaining details with Sage's eyes.
<strong>Shen Qiu</strong>
Race: Human
Age: 68
Rank: 7-circle (high)
Spirit Path: Summoner
Attribute: Dark
Affiliation: Western Moon kingdom
Description: Twin brother of King Shen Niu and the Grand Prince of the Western Moon Kingdom. He is a necromancer.
"Huh, this guy isn't the king. It's his twin brother. Is this a prank on me or something?" Mark was surprised by the info. If it is indeed as he thought it would be, then, he would teach these guys a lesson before returning home because it is not funny at all.
Once the king is out of sight, the Prime Minister pointed to one of the royal knights that stayed behind, "Mr. Lu, he will take the both of you to your rooms."
He abruptly turned his head to look at the Prime Minister, "Mr. Zhu, the one who came here was really the king?"
Zhu Jianhong nodded in affirmation, "of course, he is. Who else can it be?"
<strong>*Ding! You triggered a Hidden Quest, Save King Shen Niu.</strong>
The moment Mark saw the quest title, realization dawned upon him. He doesn't need to be suspicious of the incident no longer.
"Nothing, I heard that King Shen Niu is quite old. He looked younger in person, that's all." Mark gave a quick excuse to him, to which the latter replied with a nod, "Maybe, it's because our majesty had broken through to 7-circle recently."
"I guess this is how he covered up his realm, huh." Mark couldn't help but suspect this fake king is behind his brother's disappearance.
Of course, there's always a possibility that he might be acting as the king for the stability of the kingdom but Mark cannot think positively when the matter involves the royal family. Well, before he came to a conclusion, he had to read the quest details. Mark thought that it would be better to be alone.
After a while, he and Allen separated, going to different guest rooms. After ordering Allen to take a rest, Mark calmly sat on the chair and opened the quest details.
<strong>Hidden Quest: Save King Shen Niu</strong>
Description: King Shen Niu was imprisoned somewhere in the Qincheng prison. Break into the prison, save the king, and help him reclaim the throne.
Reward: Choose a Warship – [destroyer] [submarine]
Time Limit: No
Condition for failure: King Shen Niu dies.
Note: The Quest will be canceled if not accepted within 24 hours.
Accept?
"Oh, the system is finally offering me the navy power, huh." Mark was first excited about the rewards but then, he fell into thoughts, wondering about their capabilities, followed by other things.
"Are they ether ones like the attack helicopter or were they normal ones, which can be unlocked and mass-produced? Both have their own advantages.
If it is the former, then, I will have to go with a submarine but if it is the latter type, then, I might have to choose the destroyer. Well, let's put aside that matter for a second and think about how to accomplish this task.
First of all, I need to gather info on this Qincheng Prison, especially how powerful the strongest guard is. If it had been Alina, she would have easily rescued him without making any fuss, but if I had to do it, then, it would be the same as waging a war in the middle of the night. That means I won't have much time in saving the king.
After that, I also need to capture the impostor and keep him alive. Only then the quest will go smooth. But then, what if Shen Niu fails to get recognized by his family? I don't even know how long he was being imprisoned there.
And once everything is solved, what if the Queen does something bad like suicide because of her tarnished reputation or worse, punished by the court for adultery? This world isn't modern and the rules were quite unforgiving for women whether they were of high social status or not. Who knows… she might be punished for the mistake she hasn't done.
What happens then?
Will I make a new enemy instead of an ally? Ugh... there are too many issues…"
In the end, he let out a deep sigh and went to the bed to take a rest for a while to not overthink unnecessarily.