Chapter 226: Imperial Court (II)

After walking for some time, Zen finally saw the entrance area for the imperial court. 

Zen glanced at the place with an excited expression. 'Damn, the imperial court can't even be counted as a mansion. This place is huge and that dragon symbol casually soaring in the sky.'

Zen was mesmerized by the scene in front of him but soon, he started to have some doubts.

"Why could I see this glorious display until now?" Zen mumbled softly before having Cecilia intervene to clear his doubt.

"The area you just entered is in the imperial court radius, meaning the illusion formation surrounding this place no longer affects you," Cecilia said.

Zen was in disbelief when he tried to imagine creating a formation for this imperial court.

"How long did you think it took them to construct the formation, Cecilia?" Zen sent a mental transmission and asked softly.

However, his expression soon turned pale when Cecilia gave him a full detail of the formation inlay in this imperial court.

"Based on my senses, I can tell there are around 10 high-class formation spells surrounding the imperial court and from the sheer size of this place... It should cost them around 600-900 million spirit stones and at least 1 year to construct unless they have multiple formation experts to help them."

Cecilia's words were like lightning strikes in his mind as he could never imagine himself spending 600-900 million spirit stones on some formation.

Although he could be considered wealthy, it doesn't mean he would spend it like every other arrogant young master would do.

"Crazy, the imperial family is a bunch of bloodsucking demons that steal everyone's wealth. Otherwise, there's no way they can have enough funds to construct the formation." Zen exclaimed as he believed this formation was done through corruption.

Cecilia nodded as she agreed with his word. "Anyway, you should be careful now since I sense multiple imperial guards approaching you now."

Cecilia warned Zen before cutting off their communication, leaving Zen speechless as he stood still and watched the imperial guards slowly walking up to him.

"Halt right there," One of the imperial guards shouted at Zen.

Zen twitched his mouth slightly and wondered if his brain was malfunctioning. He was already standing still and he still ordered him to halt.

'Brainless fool spotted.' Zen labeled him as another type that is similar to Jared Kaiso and Leon Camellia.

"This area is restricted to commoners and other people without a token to enter. Please follow us as we need to investigate your motive in stepping foot here." The same imperial guard shouted as he retrieved some sort of handcuff.

Zen chuckled softly and asked, "What's your name, imperial guard?"

The imperial guard didn't understand why he would ask for his name when he was about to arrest him. 

"Konner, now give me your hand so I can cuff you for further investigation," Konner said as he stared at Zen.

Meanwhile, Zen remained still as he laughed. "So Konner, are you on the empress side or on the princess side?"

Konner shuddered upon hearing his word before raising his guard. The rest of the imperial guard also raised their weapon at Zen as he became more suspicious.

"No need to be so tense… I'm just asking you a simple question." Zen waved his hand upward to show he's unarmed.

Afterward, he continued to stare at Konner with a malicious gaze. "Answer me Konner and I'll have to remind you something. Depending on your answer, this could end in a beautiful manner with no one injured or it could end in a bloodbath."

Zen increased his aura, causing Konner to pale as he realized Zen wasn't as fragile as he looked on the surface.

However, his expression soon brightened when he saw Zen snapping his finger and the BloodJade Flame started swirling around him.

"Y-You're Zen that Princess Krista was expecting?" Konner yelled in surprise.

"Huh, you know about the fact that Krista was expecting me to come here?" Zen was dumbfounded to hear his word.

Konner quickly nodded his head and the rest of the imperial guards also lowered their weapons and bowed slightly.

"We were ordered by Princess Krista to make sure you arrived safely in case the empress has some other people intercepting you." Konner gave a light bow before gesturing for him to enter inside.

"Ah, is that so… Krista is really good at hospitality. She even specifically told me that the item I'm delivering to her must be secretive," Zen chuckled softly.

"Haha, sir is indeed correct, Princess Krista was afraid of the item going into the empress's hand so she specifically ordered us to patrol this area." Konner smiled briefly as he made a gesture to have Zen enter inside.

Alas, his expression soon turned pale when Zen suddenly activated his Ice Castle and cast a barrier around the imperial guards, preventing them from escaping.

"You must really take me for a fool right?  Did you think I would believe you right away just because you managed to recognize me and use Krista's name?" Zen said slowly with a solemn expression.

He has purposely said that he was here to deliver an item to Krista Dragoon when he was actually coming here to get the recommendation letter.

If Konner was truly sent by Krista Dragoon then he would have questioned Zen's word or even raise some doubt since Krista Dragoon wouldn't be careless to not give him a heads up.

Therefore, Zen already concluded Konner was from the empress's side when he agreed with his lie that he just made up without any change in his emotion.

"So tell me, just what order did you receive from the empress?" Zen asked as he made the BloodJade Flame attack one of the imperial guards that couldn't handle the cold anymore.

The imperial guard that got hit by the BloodJade Flame instantly got burned into a crisp despite the sub-zero temperature.

Konner swallowed nervously as he glanced at Zen who held a devil smile in his face when he casually killed an imperial guard without batting an eyelid.