Chapter 201 - The Emperor's Plan

Emperor Aventus glanced at the hundreds of bottles piled neatly on the throne room before he turned to glanced at the smiling young man with long silver hair tied in a ponytail. 'This... There should be half a thousand bottles of Heavenly Restoration Wine here! How did Duke Cale manage to make this much amount of wine in a short amount of time? Perhaps there is someone working under him who is responsible for making this.' Many thoughts flash in Emperor Aventus' head. 

"Why are you showing me this, Duke Cale?" The emperor asked probingly as he glanced at Cale.

Cale smiled and shook his head. "Your Majesty, I'm not showing this to you. I am giving all these bottles of wine to you." 

When the emperor heard Cale's words, his calm heart almost leaped out of his c_h_e_s_t. But the emperor still maintained a neutral expression as if he was unaffected by what he had heard.

Cale praised the emperor's calmness in his heart.

It was very rare to find someone who could remain calm in the face of countless treasures. As a man who had seen much of the world and experienced the vicissitudes of time, Emperor Aventus was surely among the few kinds of these people.

Emperor Aventus glanced at the hundreds of bottles piled neatly on the throne room before he turned to glanced at the smiling young man with long silver hair tied in a ponytail.

"Duke Cale, this is too much for a gift. Not to mention, if you want the help of ten Immortal-Class level experts, they would gladly offer themselves to you without payment. How can I accept this from you?" Emperor Aventus shook his head.

Cale already expected that the emperor would reject his gift at the first moment, but he truly meant to give these bottles of wine to the Celestial Sword Empire.

His arrival in the Celestial Sword Empire already sealed the empire's fate against Azazel. It only meant that they opposed Azazel and supported Cale's goal. So, to somewhat alleviate the guilt in his heart, Cale decided to give half a thousand bottles of Heavenly Restoration Wine to the empire. 

It might seem a lot to the emperor, but to Cale, even a thousand bottles were nothing. He could simply buy them in the Black Market. Of course, he had to pay 1 Crystal Coin for each bottle.  

"Your Majesty, I will be honest with you. Five hundred bottles of Heavenly Restoration Wine is nothing to me. The Celestial Sword Empire might not lack experts, but after the recent incidents, the overall strength of the Celestial Sword Empire was significantly weakened. These five hundred bottles will help the empire nurture more experts who can replace the ones who died or those who were severely injured." Cale said with a stern look. 

When the emperor heard Cale's words, he agreed in his heart. With the five hundred bottles of Heavenly Restoration Wine, he could nurture another batch of experts loyal only to the empire. 

Emperor Aventus glanced at Cale and sighed as he spoke. "Since this is the case, I will accept Duke Cale's kind intentions. Don't worry, if a battle arises between you and Azazel in the future, the Celestial Sword Empire will gladly assist you."

Cale smiled and remained unperturbed even after hearing the emperor's promise. Of course, he was happy about the outcome and he no longer needed to worry about the imperial family regarding his future plans. 

"Thank you, Your Majesty. As long as I am here in the Celestial Sword Empire, I will not allow anyone to harm it and its citizens." Cale promised solemnly.

Emperor Aventus smiled and was comforted at Cale's words. He knew that Cale was a man of his words, so he did not need to be worried about Cale going back on his words.

"Duke Cale, about your plans in expanding your military strength, I have thought about how you can do this." Emperor Aventus said with a smile. 

Cale was intrigued as he listened to the emperor's plans.

Cale was still nodding his head as the emperor spoke, but then his gaze turned somewhat peculiar after the emperor ended his speech. 

Emperor Aventus chuckled internally after seeing Cale's expression. It was rare to see that kind of expression from the empire's hero and top expert.

And indeed, the emperor would never forget that look on Cale's face even after many years has passed. 

Emperor Aventus glanced at the receding back figure of Cale with an amused smile on his face before he sat back on his throne. He then glanced at the five hundred bottles of Heavenly Restoration Wine with a wide grin. "Duke Cale... You're truly an interesting person. Perhaps my Celestial Sword Empire will flourish with your presence here. As for the matter regarding Azazel, I can only hope that my intuition is correct this time." 

After a short period of silence, the emperor summoned one of his most loyal servants inside the throne room. 

A kind-looking middle-aged man dressed in plain white robes came inside the throne room. He had a graying hair that signified his long years of living.

With a subservient look on his, he kneeled in front of the emperor. "Greetings, Your Majesty."

Emperor Aventus glanced mildly at the kind-looking middle-aged man. "Old Han, keep these bottles of wine inside the imperial treasury. The safety of these bottles will be entrusted to you. Don't disappoint me."

Of course, after the recent theft event, the defenses of the imperial treasury was fortified. Not to mention that the kind-looking Old Han was also a late-stage Immortal-Class level expert!

"I obey, Your Majesty."

* * *

Cale went out of the throne room with a distracted look on his face.  

"Emperor Aventus, what a wise old man you are... You're even wiser than the old general Lexus... But this is also good. If I follow your plans, my future expansion will be much easier." Cale smiled as he looked at the horizon with his piercing gaze.