Chapter 4 Looking Dangers

In Ren luo kingdom the border near Elion kingdom.

A man with a luxurious outfit was seated inside of the VIP room of one of the most expensive settlements. He was lofty and arrogant. With women on both his laps he asked " So what did the king of Elion kingdom say? Did he agree with my request?"

The man kneeling in front of him replied in a polite tone " Third prince, the king hasn't agreed but he has put pressure on his daughter. I am sure we will have our desired results in a few days."

" Hmm, but I can't wait for a few days. Go and gather the people keeping an eye on them. I want the result within the next two days. If you can't then you know the answer, don't you?'' He smiled evilly.

The two ladies or concubines beside him began to feel jealous of the girl. They were afraid that their position would be taken away so they said " My prince, is this fair? Isn't it enough that you have us? Have you perhaps gotten bored with us?"

The third prince shook his head as he said " Ho, how could I abandon you? Though both of you are just a plaything, you are still worth some fun before I abandon you." The concubines were really not satisfied by the way he treated them but what else could they do? They can't revolt as it will only bring them certain death.

This was only what he said but his intentions were not like his words at all. ' Once I get my hands on her I will make them bow to me. Hmph, who cares about the throne. If I could own that nation then I could turn it into a great business hub. Why should I wait when I am the one at advantage? Just two more days and I will get what I want.'

He wasn't aware of the things going on in the Elion kingdom. He began to relax in a carefree manner.

At the same time in Elion kingdom's capital.

Bibek began to observe the situation around the capital. He memorized the faces of the unfamiliar people along with the places they were located in. ' Hmm, one, two,..eight,..twelve,..sixteen, twenty four. So there are around twenty four people. I can't make a hasty move. First I need to find out their intentions.'

With those thoughts in mind he began to infiltrate the inns where the invaders stayed. " Hmm, sir, what would you like to have?"

" A pot of red wine and simmered beef please."

" I understood."

The waiter went back after taking his orders. He saw that those unfamiliar people were having a different set of dishes unlike the locals. Also their languages were different from the local people. They only used the local languages to converse with the staff of the inn.

But it wasn't a problem for him to know what they were talking about. ' I never thought the studies I did back then would be of use right now.' As he was just a table away from them he clearly heard their conversation. At first he was thinking of asking the waiter about them but he gave up on the thought thinking that it would alert the enemies.

" Remember we need to complete the task by the end of tomorrow. Third prince has strictly warned us to not let them realize our Identity. Whatever happens don't call out each other's names."

" But what are we supposed to do? And how should we call each other if we don't don't call each other's name?"

" Give each other a number. It would be easy to call each other that way. Third prince has asked us to abduct the princess of this kingdom."

" Huh, but why? Aren't they going to be married? So why does he need to abduct her?"

" Hah, what do you know? Third prince is ambitious unlike other princes he wished to dominate this land."

" Hmm, we understand. But how are we supposed to abduct her? I heard that the General is protecting her closely."

" Are you talking about Birbal the ruthless knight of this kingdom?"

" Yes, it's him I am talking about. So do you have a way to abduct the princess without alerting him?"

" Well, The hunter is also with us so you don't need to worry about it at all."

" Hunter, the ruthless martial artist who slaughtered hundreds of men single handedly?"

" Yes it is? Why are you afraid of him?"

" How could I not be afraid of him? He is called ruthless as he doesn't care about his allies. What if he turned against us?"

" Don't worry, he won't make trouble for us. Third prince has directly sent him an order to complete this task. So he would be one responsible for occupying the General. We would fall back as soon as we abduct the princess. We are not to cause too much commotion."

After a short discussion the group of suspicious looking men dispersed. But Bibek remained seated in his place. ' Huh, martial art! Is there really someone like a martial artist. How is it possible for a man to take on hundreds of men single handedly? It would be troublesome if I had to face that man.'

'They want to abduct the princess? They are overestimating themselves. How dare he send his minions for such an atrocious act. Third prince you have crossed your boundary. How dare you try to force my princess. Now I won't give up on her. Even if I had to live in the dark forever, I will protect her.'

With a determined face he left the inn. It was still the middle of the day so he needed to wait till night to act. He then began to prepare for his next attack.

At the same time in the princess palace.

" Aargh, stupid,..stupid..stupid.. How could you be so stupid? You didn't even wait and left me here. How could you be so heartless? What a fool I am to have fallen for you? I can't even give up on you. This is so hilarious." She scolded herself.

She was frustrated by the vast amount of knowledge that she gained after going through the ancient records. Her mind was in disarray. " Will I really be able to change hundreds of years of history? Am I dreaming too much?" She shook her head and slapped herself as she scolded herself " Huh, what are you doing? How can you give up so easily? Do you not want your man by your side? Do you want to live as a toy of some weirdo?"

" No, I will become strong and change the things around me. I need to prepare myself for this. I can't give up now." As she went through the ancient records, she found an ancient book which seemed tattered. ' Huh, what is this book? How old is this book?'

The book was too old to be understood properly. It piqued her interest and she began to look through it. Every word written in this book was confusing. " Huh, martial arts, Tempering bodies? What the hell is all of this? Isn't learning the art of war enough?" She had a conflicted thought.

{Against absolute strength, even the schemes would fail. To gain absolute strength one must have strong physics. If your psychic is weak then you can temper it using herbs like blood ginseng, Dragon root, Gandorma,etc. These herbs should be soaked in mild hot water and one should bathe in that water.}

These words caught her eyes. She did know about ginseng or Gandorma but she didn't know anything like blood ginseng or Dragon root. " What is this? I know that ginseng and Gandorma are medicinal herbs but what is this dragon root? And what is this about blood ginseng? Can they be found?"

Nevertheless she decided to try finding these herbs. She then called her maid and ordered her to find these herbs for herself.

" Go and find these herbs for me." She handed over the list to the maid. To not make it look suspicious she added some of other unrelated herbs like yarsagumba, panchaule,etc. The maid was confused by the sudden order of the princess but she did not dare refuse it.

Princess knew that it might not be possible to get those herbs so she wasn't so hopeful. The day passed by easily after that. It was a cloudy day. Looking at the dark clouds she thought ' It's going to rain, I wonder where he is? Will he be fine? Did he settle himself in a place where he could avoid the rain?'

But she shook her head and cleared her thoughts. Her face was red with blush but she tried to suppress her feelings. Everytime she thought about him, she would feel the same. He wasn't the most good looking person but in her eyes no one was comparable to him.

In the evening her knight came in to teach her the art or war.

" General, Birbal, wishes to see you, princess"

" Ok, let him in. Don't disturb us for the time being."

" Yes, princess we understand."

The guards stood on their positions as they received the order.

" Uncle knight, please feel comfortable and have a seat."

Birbal sat on the nearby chair and asked curiously " Princess, I would like to know again. Do you really wish to learn the art of warfare? If you think you can't then you can quit now."

" No, I will definitely learn the art of warfare. Uncle knight, teach me everything there is to learn about." She said in determination. Looking at her determination he felt glad and relieved yet a little anxious at the same time. He was glad as he felt the burning passion of the princess but he was anxious as he thought that it would be too much of a burden for her.

" Then, shall we start? Still remember, if you think that you won't be able to hold on then you can quit at that time."

Princess Melina nodded her head as she said " Uncle knight, I am a person of my words. I won't give up. Even if I had to face a horror like death everyday I am willing to take the risk."

' If her brothers were as determined as her, they would have already surpassed the old generation. It's a pity that she has the determination but will she be able to persist?'

He then said '' Hmm, Then let's begin with the basics. So what is important in a war? Be careful with your answer."

She pondered for a while as she said " I don't know if this is right but in a war one should be aware of the abilities of themselves and the enemies. One shouldn't falter or hesitate to lay down their life."

" Hmm, it's true in one way or another but there are two ways. First, like you said, it is necessary to know your enemy and yourself. It will help you to formulate strategies. It won't be much of a physical burden but a mental burden. It is far more unbearable than the physical burden after a long endless battle."

"Hmm, then what about the second method?" She asked curiously.

Birbal replied " It's simple, to show a strength that cannot be stopped by mere schemes or plots. So which path will you choose?"

Melina pondered for a while as she made a decision " Uncle knight, Knowledge is important so I'd the strength. Though having absolute strength can help you, it would be useless without any proper knowledge. So I don't want to choose. I want to learn both of them."

" Are you sure? It would be quite burdensome to you if you tried to learn both. You have to consider it properly."

She shook her head as she said" Uncle knight, as I said previously, I need to be the strongest person and for that reason I need to learn to improve my strengths but connections are also needed so I also need to have knowledge of schemes, plots and strategies."

Both of them were unaware of the approaching invaders.