WEAPON SELLER IN THE WORLD OF MAGIC

The next day at dawn, surrounded by a unit of twenty elite knights and a General of the Imperial army of Leon, Shang Wei left the palace in a grand manner as if he was announcing to the world that a high-profile target is sitting inside the horse carriage.

Except for the Emperor and his trusted aides who knew the truth of the fire seed, no one in Leon Empire is that thrilled to have Shang Wei at the imperial palace, as in their eyes, he is just a 4-circle realm mage and the third prince with no real power at Phoenix Empire too.

Hence, when he left the palace with such heavy security, the imperial family members only looked down on him further and were rather happy that this leech was gone. As for the emperor's favorite granddaughter, she doesn't care.

The day went on for the rest of the people as usual.

Roughly four hours after his departure;

In the palace, there was an argument going on in the courtroom between the crown prince and the Emperor's nephew.

"Your Majesty, the Imperial Palace has pumped more than eight hundred thousand gold coins into this project for the past year and it wasn't going anywhere due to constant rains," spoke the crown prince in a loud tone with his chest puffed out. "I suggest that we should cancel this project and not fund anymore."

As he put out his proposition in a firm tone, Everyone's eyes shifted to the Emperor's nephew who is ruling one of the five provinces of the empire as a vassal for the throne.

Sun Reqiang then rose to its feet and argued back in an imposing manner, "Crown Prince Shi Qiu, you probably don't understand the significance of the bridge considering you have never stepped outside this palace.

Tianjin Bridge is not only a dream project of Emperor Shi Xun (the current emperor's late great-grandfather) but it is also a way to connect the western provinces. Do you know how much we can shorten the distance once the bridge is completed? It will be reduced from 12 days of travel to just 1 day."

"Oh, really?" The crown prince let out a meaningful smile and he counterattacked right away as if he was prepared beforehand. He pulled out a scroll from his sleeves and spoke, "It came to my notice that the construction workers were receiving meager wages and only a single-time meal. I heard that even children were being hired."

As Sun Reqiang's face darkened by his statement, the crown prince of the Leon Empire further suggested that they should redirect the funds to build Emperor Shi Xun's statue instead as it will atleast improve the image of the Imperial family. As for the Tianjin Bridge, he commented how it was being used by some people to earn money.

The crown prince closed his argument and turned to his father and bowed, "Your Majesty, I request for a full investigation on the management of the funds on the Tianjin Bridge and stop the funding until it is over."

"You… don't go too far, Shi Qiu." The Emperor's nephew raised his voice. Anger was clearly evident on his face.

"Lord Sun." The Emperor furrowed his eyebrows in displeasure, "this is a courtroom. Please mind your tone."

Sun Reqiang hurriedly apologized and commented that the crown prince is misusing his position to slander him with baseless accusations.

The Emperor was about to react to it by siding with his son but before he did that, an injured royal knight stormed into the room without waiting for permission and fell onto his knees.

While the crown prince got angered by his behavior and expressed his intentions to punish him, Emperor Shi gestured for his son to sit down and told the knight to speak of the matter.

The royal knight rose to his feet and said, "Your Majesty, we were ambushed by unknown experts around the outskirts of the city and General Wan was heavily injured in the process. Prince Shang Wei was abducted along with his imperial guard."

"What did you say?" The calm-looking emperor suddenly flared as he rose to his feet. The others also got up from their seats as it is disrespectful to continue sitting when the emperor is in a standing position. "Who is that dared to abduct my guest?"

"I apologize, Your Majesty. It happened very quickly. By the time we understood what was going on, everyone was knocked out." The royal knight proceeded to plead for mercy.

The Emperor told him to rise and then looked at the crown prince, "Shi Qiu, I need you to send messages to all the sects and tell the Supreme Commander to meet me right away. Put up a 500,000 gold coins reward in all the guilds to save Prince Wei and bring him alive. Make sure this matter gets resolved as soon as possible. We need to prevent a war with the south at all costs."

"Eh?" The crown prince and the others were quite shocked by the emperor's reaction. 500,000 gold coins are by no means a small amount even for the Imperial palace.

Is that weak southern prince that important? The ministers couldn't help but wonder.

While the rest stayed silent, the crown prince didn't stand still. He quickly opinioned against the order, "But father, it is our General who was harmed by their adversaries and we are the victims. Besides that, our military is far stronger than the Phoenix Empire. A timid Emperor Shang won't dare to wage an unnecessary war against us. So, there's no need to send our city into chaos by announcing such a hefty reward."

"Shi Qiu, this is an order from an Emperor and I don't give you permission to defy it…" Shi Le raised his voice with a stern look and the crown prince immediately shut his mouth. He no longer tried to reason with his father who had already taken his decision.

Cupped his fists, the crown prince respectfully bowed, "It will be done, Your Majesty."

Meanwhile, somewhere in the mountains, far away from the Imperial City, a group of cultivators was seen carrying an unconscious Shang Wei and his imperial guard. Please visit 𝒇𝙧𝐞ℯ𝒘e𝚋n𝚘𝙫𝐞𝑙. c𝐨m

After an hour of travel, the group entered one of the caves and put both of them on the ground as they removed their hoods.

The leader of the group looked at the prince and spoke in a low tone, "Wake them up."

Following his order, one of his subordinates took out a potion from his storage ring and opened its lid. A pink-colored gas escaped the bottle and entered Shang Wei's nose.

Just like his bodyguard, Shang Wei opened his eyes after a couple of seconds and looked around.

As his eyes fell on the middle-aged fellow with a goatee, a pleasant smile appeared on his face and he greeted him, "It's been a while, Grand mage Wang."

The leader of the group nodded and then said in a serious tone, "You can rest here as long as you like and stay hidden from the rest of the world. The food and water can be arranged too. I hope you will hold up the end of your bargain too."

"Once I return to my home safely, I will talk to my father and provide you with the things you have asked for. It's my promise," replied the prince.