After their conversation, Rocky told Eunice to go ahead and get some rest first. Then, he also left the
Ghost Palace and found a spot where he could enter the Magic Spiritual Space.
Inside it, he took some time to improve and enhance his Imperial Soul. Afterward, he remembered to
take a look at the contents of Esteban's notebook. Upon reading them, he was extremely surprised at
what he saw. It was just supposed to be a body dissecting course, but it actually listed all of the
weaknesses of the Shura Race's royal family. Furthermore, it even mentioned something about the
concept of making zombies that could then be manipulated.
However, it seemed that there was a lack of detailed information and knowledge about the technology
to make the zombies. Hence, the concept was not finished.
But for Rocky, this was indeed interesting and worth a try. He found that it was feasible and might be
useful for him.
Therefore, he wasted no time and began to study the idea of making zombies.
He spent the whole night just so he could grasp the concept further and make significant progress.
The following day, although Rocky did not even sleep for a minute the whole night, he was still
energetic when left the Magic Spiritual Space. After all, upon reaching the Shura Realm, one did not
really need to rest at all.
At this time, he went back to the Ghost Palace to collect some more materials in order to make
zombies.
Then, at noon, a messenger arrived, saying that Gilbert was summoning Rocky to the meeting hall.
With that, Rocky had no choice but to halt his studies first and go to the meeting hall. Upon arriving,
Rocky saw that all of the elders were there, and even some of the important figures of the Ghost Fief
were present. All of them had gloomy expressions on their faces, indicating that they were in the middle
of some kind of dilemma.
"What's the matter, sir? Why am I summoned here?" Rocky asked straightforwardly.
"We'll get to it. Have a seat first," Gilbert said.
After Rocky finally sat down, Gilbert started to speak.
"I actually planned on letting you rest for a few more days. However, because of the sudden
assassination attempt last night, I had to call you here. We need to discuss something of utmost
importance," Gilbert uttered in a low voice.
"It's okay, sir. Please go ahead."
"Well, first and foremost, you must have already heard that the king is about to select his successor
very soon." Gilbert came straight to the point.
"Yes, sir. I heard of it from my master." In fact, he had already heard it from Valeria even before
Esteban told him about it.
"You should know that selecting the successor is a very big deal for the royal family. Hence, every fief
puts great importance on this matter. After all, as long as we stand on the right side, it will have a good
and lasting effect in the future." Gilbert tried to phrase it in an ambiguous way, but Rocky could already
understand what he meant.
All fiefs were expected to pick a candidate that they would support, but they had to be very smart in this
decision.
"Originally, the Ghost Fief planned on supporting Princess Layla. But obviously, someone targeted me
last night because of this. Therefore, all of you are summoned here today because we need to discuss
this and arrive at the most logical decision." Gilbert knew that the attempt to attack him was just a
warning. However, if they continued to support Princess Layla, they did not know what else might
happen next.
"Sir, you wanted to ask for my advice?" Since he was only summoned at this point, Rocky assumed
that they had already tackled this issue without him. But now, they wanted his insight since they still
could not arrive at a decision.
"Yes. The selection for the throne also greatly affects the battle of the Godly Geniuses, so I thought that
it will be appropriate to hear your thoughts," Gilbert confirmed.
"I see. Then, please lend me your ears for a while. For me, it doesn't really matter who we support. As
long as we obtain enough strength, we could only focus on the battle of the Godly Geniuses. As for the
royal family, I was informed that they also selected their own Godly Geniuses, right? Hence, even if we
support a certain candidate to the throne, we will still have to fight against the other Godly Geniuses,
including the Godly Geniuses of the royal family. Then, we shouldn't really focus on the right candidate
to support." Rocky voiced out his thoughts without hesitation.
"What you said makes sense. However, it is still a bit lacking. We should still decide what to do from
here on," Gilbert responded.
"Yes, of course. I said that it doesn't really matter who we choose to support. But considering the
interests of our fief, it's better for us to choose the one we think has the biggest chances of winning. In
fact, I can also speculate that the other fiefs have the same opinion. However, since not all fiefs have
the same candidate in mind, we might be at a disadvantage." Rocky revealed a vague idea.
"So, what do you suggest then?" Gilbert narrowed his eyes, knowing that Rocky was implying
something.
"To put it in simpler terms, we need more allies. For now, the Ghost Fief and the Flower Fief have
formed an alliance. But just the two fiefs won't be enough to ensure the victory of the one we are going
to support. We need to find more fiefs that will support the same candidate. With that, the chances of
this certain candidate winning this selection will greatly increase. It's a win-win situation," Rocky
declared with conviction.
After hearing what Rocky had to say, Gilbert and the elders nodded repeatedly. They all agreed that
Rocky's analysis was comprehensible and reasonable. They had been focusing on which candidate to
support when they should be focusing on how to make sure that their chosen candidate would win.
"You really deserve to be the Godly Genius of the Ghost Fief! Your boldness and wisdom are beyond
what is expected of you," Gilbert and the elders praised.
"But of course, this is just my personal opinion. As for what we will actually do in the end, it will still be
your call, sir," Rocky said politely.
"Well, I don't actually plan to change my original intention because I know that Princess Layla is better
than all the other candidates. However, I also wanted to know what you think of this situation. Now that
we agreed on what course of action to take, we could proceed with our plans. By the way, later on, I
want you to accompany me to see Princess Layla. It's time for you to meet her," Gilbert said upon
making up his mind.
At the same time, Rocky could not believe that he would meet Princess Layla soon. It was much
quicker than he had expected it to happen, but it may also be a great opportunity for him.
Then, after some preparations, Rocky and Gilbert finally set out for the capital city of the Shura Race
where the royal family was residing.
The capital city was actually located in the middle of the territory of the Shura Race. It was also the
most prosperous area in the entire territory. The vast majority of the people living there were members
of the royal family, and only a small portion of them were civilians serving the royal family.
At the same time, the central part of the capital city was also called the Royal Land.
Its size was equivalent to a large town, which could easily accommodate tens of thousands of people.
Upon arriving at the capital city, Gilbert and Rocky went through all kinds of strict and thorough
inspections before they could enter the Royal Land.
As expected, the infrastructures inside the Royal Land were even more magnificent than the major
fiefs. Every building looked like a masterpiece.
As a descendant of the former queen, Princess Layla possessed her own palace within the Royal
Land, which was located southwest of the land.
When they arrived at Princess Layla's palace, they were not able to see her yet. Her attendants said
that she was currently out, taking care of some business. Thus, the two of them had no choice but to
wait until she returned.
"Odin, stay here for a moment. I'm just going to visit an old friend nearby. It will not take too long. If ever
Princess Layla comes back while I am still away, just tell her who you are. She is expecting us today."
After saying that, Gilbert left right away.
However, just a few minutes after Gilbert left, Rocky already felt bored of waiting. Hence, he decided to
leave the guest hall and went for a walk in the garden outside to let the time pass by.
But not long after he wandered into the garden, he suddenly saw a huge beast descended from the
sky, landing into the depths of the garden. Curious as to what it was, Rocky followed it to take a closer
look. Soon enough, he saw an even more spacious green field. At the same time, the beast that
descended from the sky was now standing at the center of the garden. It turned out to be a colorful
phoenix.
The next moment, a delicate figure floated down from the phoenix. She was also clothed in a colorful
dress, and her face appeared to be exceedingly beautiful.
However, the next moment, this lady instantly noticed Rocky. Seeing his face for the first time, she
instantly became vigilant and asked in a stern tone, "Who are you?"
But even before Rocky could react, the petals that were scattered in the garden suddenly rushed
towards him and trapped him to where he was standing. Although it was not actually that difficult for
him to break free, he did not make any move, knowing that it might just cause more trouble.
Soon enough, the pretty lady approached Rocky and looked at him intently.
"I repeat. Who are you? What are you doing here?" she asked with her brows raised.
"Um. If I say that I am just a gardener, will you believe me?" Rocky asked with an awkward smile on his
face.
"Not really. I have always taken care of this garden by myself, so there should be no gardener here,"
the beautiful lady answered in an annoyed tone, thinking that Rocky must be up to no good.
"I see. Then, I am just passing by." Rocky shrugged, not really nervous at what this lady might do to
him.
"Do you take me for a fool? Who sent you here?" It seemed that the lady was not in the mood for jokes.
At the same time, her charming eyes widened as she glared at Rocky.
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