Long Tao let one of the royal guard's members go back carrying the message of the captain being a traitor to the throne and one of the co-conspirators of the whole plan. The convoy proceeded on its way to the Chu Royal clan. The messenger met them halfway in their journey. This was one harsh travel. The shadowed moon didn't attack in further travel. It allowed Long Tao to have time for his practice. Finally, on the seventh day of travel from the borders to the Chu capital, Long Tao finally managed to break through the 10th level of Qi master and reached the maximum level for Crimson world Scripture at Qi master realm.
Long Tao was finally confident about being able to contend with a Qi master level 4 practitioner now. He had confidence that he would be able to defeat one, in case the situation arises. This was positive news for Long Tao. He had some confidence in his strength now. The messenger was sent by the same organization which met Long Tao the first time he entered the Chu country. "This is the details about the general setup of the Chu country's royal court. We have tried to mention in detail every member who is currently sighted in the capital. The boss confirmed your request for help in tracking the shadow moon's movements."
Long Tao gave out some instructions to the guy and the convoy soon entered the Chu capital district. The capital was situated in the middle of the district. Soon enough the convoy would be in the capital city. The princess started preparing herself for the upcoming events about to occur. The peace talks must proceed in an orderly fashion, between the two countries. The recent tension in the border regions has given rise to a huge amount of criticism form either of the armies. The hatred for each other's seems to be growing.
To invigorate this situation even further, an annexing attack occurred within the Chu countries, power stone mine, which resulted in them losing not only the primary lower grade power stone mine, but the even more precious middle-grade power stone mine underneath it. It was as if the perpetrators knew about the information since a long time. Both of these mines were exhausted of their capacities. The Chu country's military was blaming the Jiao's for this event. This was unreasonable, but the common folks don't understand the activities going on at the borders. They just blindly accept any statement to be true.
These escalating matters forced Jiao Sheng to send Jiao Mingue to the Chu country for having a peace talk. The arrival of a chief strategist as a messenger of peace was the symbol of how serious the Jiao country was about this matter. This was a beacon of hope for the change of attitude between the countries, to convert this enmity into friendship. "I hope you are ready for the royal court princess. Would you like me to assist you with any matters?" Long Tao asked cordially. The princess just breathed out and said" I would like you to accompany me through the whole process. You being at my side, give me a sense of safety vice-general Long. I hope you would oblige to my blatant request."
Long Tao had no reason to say no to her. This was after all the only way to maintain peace between the nations. He wanted that to happen as he would rather have a peaceful stay in the Jiao country for the time being. He decided to leave after he reaches, mid-tier Qi general. The war would delay his plans further.
At this time, in a location of the Jiao royal city-
"Any news from the squad who were assigned to assassinate the princess?". The guy who was asked this question came forward and bowed." Reporting to the leader, the news has arrived. The squad was annihilated by the vice-general Dragon of the north-eastern Jiao army. We have underestimated that guy's strength. He easily killed the whole squad.". "Any other updates." The servant nodded and took out a piece of document which was received a few moments ago.
"Sir this is a report of one of the moles planted in the princess's convoy. According to it, the vice-general is not only a merciless, but extremely cunning and scheming person. He managed to identify 3 of the 4 moles we planted and killed them without hesitation after torturing them for some time. He didn't even bother to interrogate the identified moles. He killed them in cold blood. We need to choose our future actions carefully leader. This is a problem. We have lost too many of the capable subordinates. Also, the convoy has already entered the Chu capital district. The convoy is now getting extra protection from the royal guards of the Chu military. "
"The princess is going ahead with peace talks. According to our agreement with that person, we need to bare them from forming a peace pact. It is integral to his plan. There needs to be a war between the Jiao and the Chu for him to be able to play his cards. The future benefits of our organization also depend on it. What are your orders?". The man who was referred to as the leader sat quietly in the corner for someti9me. His whole posture gave out a feeling of him being in deep thought.
"Ask nightshade to be the in charge of the assassination this time. Tell him we wouldn't tolerate failure. The lifeline of the organization depends on this task of his. As per the vice-general, we need to be cautious of him. Even with all the reports that I gathered about him, I couldn't estimate his real strength at the moment. Also, there was no mention of the weakness of any kind, neither was one which he could point out. The only integral part of his life was his squad, which was trained by him. One could see the capability of Long Tao from the growth of the Black-bucks.
The figure wanted to have Long Tao as a part of the organization, but he knew that was not possible as of now. He needed to give up on that thought." We need to assign a team of assassins to carry out the kill. Nightshade will be at the top, but we would like to have two more of his caliber assigned to this mission too. The target would now be at the Chu Royal household. The kill Is going to be difficult, adding on the fact that the princess experienced multiple attacks since entering the Chu country. They will take this matter seriously. The safety measures are going to be a problem."
"Give out the instruction. I need the details regarding each member of the Black-buck squad. Search about the ones Long Tao is closest to. He/she will be our way to reach his weak spot. Also, I want you to inform all the participants of the mission to evacuate immediately after the mission is carried out and not engage with Long Tao at all. That guy is a wild card.". The speaker bowed to the leader and then left.
The Chu capital city-
The convoy formally reached the city gates. A group of court jesters and royal guards were present ta he gates. As soon as they saw the convoy entering, they came forward. They informed the guard sat the front to inform the leader. Long Tao went out." We welcome Sir Long to the Chu capital city. We have been instructed by the crown prince to inform the princess, that the convoy would need to halt and rest in a nearby establishment while the preparation of welcome is going on.
Both Long Tao and the princess understood that this was a stunt to have them wait for the meeting and hence a show of authority. The convoy was directed a place that was humble in quality. This was not expected to be a welcoming show. The Chu clearly wanted to undermine the convoy, but the princess took it as a challenge. "Should I ask for a better place princess." The princess nodded in disagreement. "We need to bear with the situation Sir Long. We are here to propagate peace. "Long Tao didn't insist on it any further.
After a long wait, finally, a jester along with a eunuch was sent to inviter the princess and the captains of the troops accompanying them. The member of the Chu country army left already. So, the princess along with Long Tao and some of the additional minister accompanying them went to the royal court. The crown prince was waiting with a group of court ministers at the entrance of the royal palace. "We welcome the Jiao princess to our humble abode. We hope you didn't have any difficulty during the wait."
One has to give it to the Chu prince to be shameless enough. "There wasn't even a speck of problem, prince Chu. I hope we didn't make you people wait for long." The princess went in, without waiting for the reply. Soon enough the group of Jiao country was standing in the throne room of the Chu royal clan. A middle-aged figure was seated in the large seat, decorated with swords and ornaments. The princess bowed along with the ministers. "We greet and salute the Chu king."
But to everyone's surprise, the king wasn't even looking at them. His eyes were on Long Tao, who wasn't even bowing, giving out an aloof expression. " I welcome brother Long into my court." The Chu king said out with a tone of displeasure. "It's a pleasure brother the Chu. I hope you wouldn't mind my manners. I don't bow in front of people who are the same to me in strength." The words came as a surprise to both parties.
