Chapter 969: Ugly

"But still, we need to follow the formality and make sure that you're indeed Prince Zen and not someone impersonating him. Can you show me the Royal Seal of Tricion?" he further asked. 

He had seen Pei Zen and the face matched. He was sure that the man in front of him was Pei Zen. However, it was still formality to check the identity of all Royalties before allowing them entry into the Empire since there were a few people who tried to impersonate Royalty of other Empires to enter. 

"Of Course," Long Chen responded calmly. 

He already had the ring of Pei Zen. He didn't need to worry. That's also why he allowed himself to be seen. 

If he tried to sneak instead and was caught, it was going to be much tougher than proving himself to be Pei Zen

He brought out a scroll from the storage ring of Pei Zen. 

He opened the scroll and revealed a Mystical seal that was placed on the scroll. It was something that proved his authenticity. It also had a  dark crown symbol which showed that he was not only a Royalty of Tricion but also someone who was next in line to Throne after the current Emperor. 

"That's right. It's the real seal. We're sorry, Prince Zen, for making you show it. You may pass through," Hanzi Mantian declared after observing the scroll for a few seconds. 

Long Chen rolled back the scroll and kept it back in his storage ring. It was something useful that might come in handy later as well. He didn't want to lose it. 

He walked back to the Snake Monarch and climbed back on it before commanding the snake monarch to resume flying. 

The Snake Monarch did as Long Chen said and started rising in the air.

"I heard Prince Zen had some really ugly tamed beast. It must be that snake. I guess the rumors were true," one of the Esteria Guards muttered as he watched the Snake Monarch leave. 

Fortunately, the Snake Monarch wasn't close enough to hear it, or he would have pushed hell on this guy's head for calling him ugly. 

"When are you going to tell Mingyu that her brother is alive?" Xun asked Long Chen after quite some time of peaceful flying. 

"It'll be a surprise for her. I won't tell her before I get to her home. I can't wait to see her shocked expressions, though. It will be fun," Long Chen answered as he smiled cheekily. 

*****

A giant snake flew inside the Royal City of the Esteria Empire. It attracted a lot of curious gazes from the citizens.

The citizens had seen many strange beasts, but a massive snake was the first. Their curiosity lasted for only a few seconds as none stared at the Snake Monarch for long. 

It was fascinating to see a new beast, but the Snake Monarch didn't look that strong, so their curiosity was satiated soon enough.

"Get down before that big Palace. That should be the Royal Palace," Long Chen told the Snake Monarch as he pointed towards a beautiful palace in the distance. 

"I would have known even if you hadn't told me. Do you really think that this King won't recognize a Palace?" The Snake Monarch replied sarcastically. 

The Royal Palace was the tallest structure within the Royal City. It was visible from a far distance. It wasn't easy to locate it. 

The Snake Monarch increased his speed as he flew straight to the Royal Palace. He started going at a lower altitude as he reached closer to the Royal Palace. 

The Royal Palace was surrounded by powerful guards, and no one was allowed to get near it without the permission of the Royal Guards. 

Seeing a massive beast come closer to the Royal Palace, the guards climbed on their winged beasts and flew in the air. 

"Slow Down. I guess they want to intercept us first," Long Chen told the Snake Monarch. 

The Snake Monarch slowed down before he stopped entirely. 

The Royal Guards guards reached Long Chen, led by their leader. 

The man leading them was a man who supported a long dark mustache that completely contradicted his white hair. He was the one responsible for the Palace Exterior Security. 

"Who are you? And for what purpose do you approach the Palace?" the white-haired man asked Long Chen. 

Long Chen looked at the man, who seemed somewhat funny. He was praying in his head that the Snake Monarch wouldn't say something bad to the man. 

He knew Snake Monarch and seeing the looks of this man; he believed his fears were about to come true. He could only hope that through some unlikely miracle, the Snake Monarch was going to be sensible. 

Unfortunately, it didn't even take a few minutes for his worst fears to come true. 

The Snake Monarch honestly failed to keep his mouth closed as he complained.

"You look so ugly, my friend. You should trim that mustache. It doesn't suit you. I can't believe you have that thing in your face. Mustaches look good on people but on your face, it seems like someone pasted a dog's tail on a football that could barely look like a human's face without that mustache!" the Snake Monarch blurted out. 

Long Chen looked blankly at the Snake Monarch as he facepalmed himself. 

The Royal Chief, on the other hand, could feel his face burn in embarrassment. He was furious, but he could still hear the chuckle of a few of his Royal Guards in the back. 

"You-"

He opened his lips to curse back at the Snake Monarch, but Long Chen cut him off.

"Please ignore my beast. It has little problem in its head. It only knows how to talk bad. Please don't take him seriously. He even talks bad about the person in the mirror when he sees his own face there. Don't waste your time on this guy," Long Chen chimed in, trying to salvage the situation. 

"What do you mean? Are you saying I call everyone ugly? Not at all. It's true that some people do look ugly, and I did complain, but none looked as bad as this guy. It's honestly off-putting. I'm saying it for his own good. He should shave his mustache," the Snake Monarch retorted without thinking for even a second. 

" Or someone might kill him first in a war to make sure that this thing doesn't exist in the world," he continued. 

"This Bastard! I swear I'll kill this thing today!" the Royal Chief roared in rage as he pulled out his sword. 

"Exactly! That's what people in war will say when they see your face. You did miss one word, though. They won't call you things. They'll call you ugly things instead," the Snake Monarch answered without taking even a second to think.