Chapter 397: The Other Side (1/2)

Maerr-viki Continent, Seraph Kingdom, inside an inn.

”A spy?” Vanadir could not help but look at the First Prince in front of him like he had a few screws loose or something. Naturally, as one of the people that's vying to become the crown prince  in the war for the throne, Vanadir had already thought of planting spies in the teams of other princes in the past. However, he wasn't so heartless to plant spies in the teams of other princes just because he wanted to increase his chances of winning. Instead, he worked on the principle of retaliation. If a certain prince planted a spy in his team, then he would plant a spy back on that team. In his mind, it was basically trading blow for blow.

Since no one had dared to plant spies in his team, he had eventually placed the thought at the back of his head, thinking of it as a trifling matter. However, with Zeldrion entertaining the thought of planting a spy in the Third Prince's team, he instantly could not help but ask, ”Are you sure you want to plant a spy? The other princes haven't planted spies on our teams, right?”

”Yeah, but why should we care about them?” Zeldrion replied. ”They've formed an alliance with the Third Prince, meaning that the Third Prince is the main target of this plan. Of course, we could utilize the members of the other princes' teams, but the efficacy would be lower compared to if we just directly planted a spy in the Third Prince's team.”

”Alright. Let's say we do agree on planting a spy in the Third Prince's team. How are we going to do just that?” the Ninth Prince soon asked in response before continuing, ”You do know very well that just like us, he's handpicked all of his members for their unwavering loyalty.”

”That is indeed the case, but just like our members, there are still a few ways to get around such problems,” Zeldrion said with a light smile. He then explained to Vanadir, ”There are exactly two methods lingering in my mind that could be used in planting a spy into the Third Prince's team.”

Not waiting for Vanadir to ask the question, a hint of killing intent emanated from him as he continued, sporting a slightly malevolent grin, ”The first method is to obviously kill one of his members and force him to hire a member that would swear fealty to us rather than him. Naturally, that member wouldn't show that he's close to us, but at certain times, he would act as our informer, telling us of the Third Prince's plans in advance.”

Although Vanadir wasn't against killing, he did not think it was good to implicate people that just wanted to improve their lives into this plan they were making. Shaking his head, Vanadir looked at Zeldrion and said, ”I instantly refuse that plan. There's no need to implicate someone who just joined Arshe's team because they wanted to make their lives better. If you think it in the long run, it would be better to just not do that, lest we lose a person that might become incredibly capable in the future.”

Hearing the Ninth Prince's words, the First Prince could not help but let out a chortle as he said, ”Well, I was already expecting you to decline the first method. I just wanted to let you know that the option was still possible if you ever agreed to it.”

”Anyways, moving on.” Zeldrion then rummaged something in his pocket before placing the item he had brought out on the table in front of them. Looking at the item that Zeldrion had brought out, Vanadir could not help but wonder what was so different with it. With a cursory glance, it was obvious that it was a small pouch used for carrying coins. Just as he was about to ask Zeldrion what was inside the pouch, the latter took the initiative, allowing Vanadir to see its contents.

In an instant, Vanadir was left at a loss for words as the currency contained inside it was something he had rarely come across. Inside it…were Mana Stones! Of course, they're not just ordinary Mana Stones, but Rank 7 Mana Stones! On top of that, there were five of them!

”How…how were you able to procure something as precious as this?” Vanadir could not help but mutter in stupefaction. If it wasn't because of the fact that the two of them were allies under a mutual agreement, he would have probably snatched the pouch of mana stones from his brother already.

Seeing the dazed expression on Vanadir's face, Zeldrion could not help but let out a light chuckle as he replied, ”These are all of the Mana Stones I've accrued during the past few years. In total, I think I spent around 80 million gold coins. If I were obtain one Rank 8 Mana Stone instead, then it would have cost me way beyond 100 million gold coins to get it. But of course, the second method would work out better that way. Too bad no one was willing to sell their Rank 8 Mana Stones.”

Hearing how many gold coins Zeldrion spent to procure the Mana Stones in the pouch just blew Vanadir's mind even further. He knew very well that Rank 7 Mana Stones were rare and expensive, with auctions typically starting their sell prices for the stuff at around 10 million gold coins. But knowing Zeldrion, he was certain that he had only bought the Mana Stones when they were at their lowest. Even then, he still had to spend around 50% more than what it would originally cost!

Nevertheless, Vanadir already knew what Zeldrion was planning to do, taking in a deep breath as he asked to make sure, ”So, you're going to use these Rank 7 Mana Stones to bribe one of Arshe's members, right?”

”Well, yes and no,” Zeldrion nodded as he replied. In response, Vanadir tilted his head in confusion, not understanding what the First Prince meant by that. Fortunately, the First Prince's next words clarified it all up, telling him, ”To be more exact…”

”We're going to bribe Arshe's advisor.”

…

After talking some more regarding the second plan of bribing Arshe's advisor, Zeldrion had eventually left the inn late into the night, leaving Vanadir and Dane on their own in the inn, save for the few staff that were still there to attend to the two.

Letting out a sigh, Vanadir took a sip of the drink he ordered from the inn as Dane sat in front of him. Seeing Dane sit in front of him, Vanadir then asked him, ”What do you think the chances are for this plan to work?”

”Judging by how much the First Prince is willing to sacrifice, then I wouldn't be surprised if it succeeds in the first try, Your Highness,” Dane replied. ”Then again, we'll be notified of its results instantly through the information network, so there's no need to be so anxious.”

”It's not that I'm anxious of the plan not working, instead I just wonder as to what would have happened if Zeldrion did not form a mutual agreement with me,” Vanadir said as he slightly shuddered in fear. ”To think that there's the possibility that all of my allies would turn their backs on me in that scenario, it's quite terrifying.”