Free Web NovelChapter 272: Relics
High up in the sky above the Rockwell Kingdom, Lord Jeremiah sat leisurely atop his prided Silver Moon Eagle, slowly cruising along together with several Imperial Envoys and a small contingent of Imperial Guards riding their own mounts.
An attractive young woman clung to the Imperial Overseer’s body, gently caressing his chest as she purred lightly, "Thank you, My Lord, for granting this pitiful maid’s request."
"It was a minor matter, my dear Hannah, nothing you need thank me for," Rafael said charmingly, quite pleased with how willing his newest acquisition was to serve him.
Hannah Mace may have only been a Sixth Step Sea Establishment Realm Practitioner, but her ’stamina’ was quite impressive, as were the curves of her body.
The young woman was also a pure-white slate only a month ago, something the Imperial Overseer had confirmed personally not long after Hannah was sent to him, but she was also cold, cunning, ruthless, and had an almost uncanny ability when it came to pleasuring a man.
Whatever Rafael asked of her, Hannah would do without objection and with great enthusiasm, no matter how unorthodox or depraved it might be.
In other words, as a toy to kill time with, she was perfect.
Lord Jeremiah couldn’t help but thank the man who had raised this girl, only to give her away to him. The fool probably didn’t even know what kind of gem he had wasted, nor how deep the resentment Hannah had towards him was.
In any case, none of that mattered to Rafael. Whether a small nation like the Rockwell Kingdom rose or fell, or whether a father sold his daughter, only to have his daughter seek his death, it was all just entertainment to him.
All Lord Jeremiah cared about was amusing himself while serving out his time in this foreign wasteland he had all but been exiled to.
To that end, Rafael had actually taken a great leap forward today with the completion of the task his Ancestor had assigned him, which was part of the reason he was in such a good mood and had decided to indulge Hannah’s little request.
There was also the fact that he had picked up a high-quality Mid Seventh Order Beast Core for free. Even to Rafael, such a Beast Core represented a fair amount of wealth; not enough to start a serious fight over, but certainly enough to snatch from the hands of a few meaningless weaklings.
About an hour after leaving Rockwell City’s airspace, the small group led by Lord Jeremiah spotted a small clearing in the forest beneath them and began descending towards it.
At first, it didn’t look like there was anything in this clearing, but as they got closer, the outline of a Skyship became visible.
This Skyship was about half the size of Celestina’s Sunchaser and had a much sleeker design, giving it a more advanced appearance. It also had a hull that seemed to blend in with the surrounding greenery, acting as a kind of camouflage.
Upon touching down, Lord Jeremiah hopped off his mount together with his newest maid, gently tapped her on the nose, and said with a lighthearted tone, "Now Hannah, close your eyes, cover your ears, and don’t try to peek; otherwise, I might just have to do to you what I did to your father, understand?"
Although the words he spoke should have terrified the young woman, Hannah only smiled lovingly and nodded, "Whatever pleases you, My Lord."
And with that, she turned around, walked as far away from the group as she could, and sealed off all her senses.
There might be something a bit broken with this young daughter formerly of the Mace Family, but she certainly wasn’t a fool. She understood well that her life was in the hands of her new ’owner’, and that if she ever disobeyed, or even displeased him in any way, he would not hesitate to dispose of her.
For a man like Rafael Jeremiah, only 100% submission from a slave like her would do, so that was what Hannah would give him.
.....
"I see your womanizing habits are as bad as they’ve always been," the old man standing in front of Rafael sneered, not offering the slightest respect to the noble son before him.
If the old man was expecting to get a rise out of Rafael, however, he was bound to be disappointed, "Hahaha, what can I say, Master Idris? I love women, and women love me."
Rafael was not an important figure amongst his family by any stretch of the imagination. Born as the son of a low-ranking concubine with only mediocre talent, he had no hope whatsoever of becoming Patriarch of the Jereimah Count Family and had only made it to the Low-Rank Spirit Master Realm thanks to a fortuitous encounter he had at a certain auction house some 100 years ago.
At that auction, a mysterious Spirit Pill was being sold, one that could not be identified by any of the Rising Sun Merchant Guild’s Alchemists. All that was known about it was that it contained a huge amount of unstable energy, similar to a Berserker Pill which could raise one’s strength dramatically for a short time.
Rafael was coincidentally attending that auction and had bought this Spirit Pill on a whim, thinking it might come in handy if he were to ever find himself in mortal danger.
Just 10 years later, such a scenario really occurred when a Sea Beast Tide rose up and attacked the northern outskirts of the Empire.
Rafael had been sent to that battlefield by his father, the Count, to ’make himself useful’, and during a certain fight, he found himself facing off against an Eighth Order monster.
Out of desperation, Rafael swallowed the mysterious pill he had bought a decade earlier and managed to escape from the rampant beast, breaking through to the Low-Rank Spirit Master Realm in the process.
Unfortunately, because of the unstable manner in which he achieved this breakthrough, Rafael’s potential was crippled and his Dantian was permanently damaged, leaving him barely half as strong as an ordinary Low-Rank Spirit Master. He had also burned through a huge chunk of his vitality, decreasing the amount of lifespan he gained from the breakthrough by about 15%.
Even so, Rafael didn’t see this as a curse, but rather as a blessing; after all, no matter how weak or how crippled they were, a Spirit Master was still a Spirit Master.
As for losing 15% of his lifespan, just breaking through to the Spirit Master Realm had nearly doubled how long he could live, so Rafael wasn’t worried about dying young.
Upon his return home from that battle, the Jeremiah Family raised its evaluation of Rafael slightly and granted him a larger share of resources, but his overall treatment didn’t improve by much given the nature of his condition. freewёbn૦νeɭ.com
Still, it was enough for Rafael. He was content with these small gains and decided to simply spend the rest of his life enjoying himself.
It was for that reason he even signed up to serve as an Imperial Overseer, thinking it would be fun to play Emperor amongst the weaker kingdoms for a bit.
Little did Rafael expect that the conditions in these backwaters would be so harsh and miserable, so once the novelty of bossing around petty monarchs and nobles wore off, he began looking for ways to ditch this duty and return to the Empire.
Knowing that pleasing the arrogant old man talking down to him right now was the fastest way to achieve that goal, Rafael had no problem putting up with a few snide comments and harmless insults.
Maintaining the practiced smile he had worn most of his life, Rafael commented casually, "I assume from your sunny demeanor that your mission was a great success, Master Idris?"
Snorting contemptuously, Master Idris waved his wrinkled hand and declared, "Of course it was a success. Who do you think this Master is?"
"Indeed, indeed," understanding the old man’s haughty personality, Rafael simply nodded along, "If you don’t mind me asking, Master Idris, what exactly did you uncover from the relic site?"
In an instant, the atmosphere turned heavy, with the old man releasing a kind of pressure that caused even Rafael to shiver slightly.
Narrowing his eyes, Master Idris warned in a harsh tone, "Don’t stick your nose where it doesn’t belong, boy!"
Understanding he had overstepped, Rafael bowed politely, "Forgive me, My Lord. I let my curiosity get the better of me."
"Hmph," Master Idris nodded, though his expression remained stern, "Well, let’s just say that what I found this time was more than worth my time and effort."
Turning to stare at the flippant noble lordling bowing to him, Master Idris, the Jeremiah Family’s exclusive Peak-Rank Grade 3 Spirit Blacksmith, dismissed his aura pressure and waved his hand, "I will be sure to mention your assistance in this matter when I return to the Family."
"Many thanks, Master Idris!" Rafael beamed, satisfied with having achieved his original objective.
He was still curious about what this grumpy old Spirit Smith had dug up from the Great Western Forest, but it didn’t really matter to Rafael. As long as he got what he wanted, an early exit from this hellhole, he was happy.
To that end, Rafael tried to make himself even more useful by declaring, "I heard that the locals evacuated the area around the relic site, so I doubt anyone knows what really happened, but I have left behind one of my Envoys to monitor the situation, just in case."
"Good," Master Idris nodded in approval, "No news of this incident must leak, or the Imperial Family will soon be breathing down our necks for their share of the spoils."
"I will make sure there are no loose ends, My Lord," Rafael saluted before turning back and heading towards his Silver Moon Eagle.
A few minutes later, the clearing was empty, with no trace left behind that a meeting of such powerful Cultivators from the Empire had ever taken place.
