( Author's Note : Hello guys I hope you all are doing well and before continuing with the chapter I would like to say somethings .
I know that chapters where I explain the details of various areas of the cultivation continent , it's power , political and economical structures can be boring and I will not deny that .
But nonetheless I believe that chapters like these are very important for the future world building that I am currently trying to do .
Because as I have said before this story will be along story with a pacing that may feel a little slow at times .
But I assure you that all these things that may seem random now will make sense in the future .
In fact in this chapter I have connected a dot that I have given hills about in my previous chapters so let's see if you can find that .
And that's all I can say for now because I don't want to give any spoilers .
So I hope you will understand my point of view and if you have any comments on the matter do tell me in comments section .
And once again while I am open to constructive criticism please refrain from using too much negative comments that may affect us as a community .
So that's all I had to say today .
Hence without any further ado let's start with our magical journey .
Thank you for reading . )
Chapter : 41 : A Crocodile's Tears Are Very Precious :
" So what news do you have for me today prime minister . "
Shen Tou's words were clear and soft .
Yet it held a remarkable amount of coldness to it as if he was not talking to a person but to a puppet .
However the prime minister who was standing behind him and the guards did not seen to care about his coldness .
On the contrary their eyes held non questionable submission to the emperor in front of them.
And it was not the only case for this few people here .
If one were to look closely they will understand anyone who were involved in the inner circle around Emperor Shen Tou all had similar characteristics.
The only thing that you could find in their eyes was a blind loyalty towards their Emperor .
" Your majesty we have gathered our various battle reports of the previous few months . "
The old prime minister said respectfully as he and the rest of the guards stood at a distance from the throne where Shen Tou had just sat down .
The throne of the emperor itself had a unique design .
The throne was entirely made of a light blue crystal with lots of strange unknown scripts written all over it .
But the most distinguishable feature of the throne was a crying crocodile shaped design at the back of the throne .
This was actually a special type of crocodile beast known as Frost crocodile beast that was only found in this Southern region .
And unlike the other crocodiles this crocodile beast was special because it had high adaptability in cold environment like in the southern regions making it an Apex Predator here .
To be honest the design was very odd and simply did not match any kind of architecture or other means except to make the throne look weird .
But for some reason when Shen Tou sat at the throne the design itself seemed to have become a part of his own body .
As the two looked completely natural together .
" Oh ! So the maths are already done . " - hearing the report Shen Tou look little more interested .
" So what are our gains in thess past few months prime minister . Have we achieved all of our goals ? " - he asked in a calm voice .
" Your highness we have achieved our goals completely in the past few months . " - the prime minister stepped forward a little as he continued to give his report .
" All the 12 tribes near our border who refused to surrender to your authority have been dealt with . "
"And after seeing the fate of those 12 tribes who were foolish enough to oppose you the rest had simply surrendered to your rule . "
The old prime minister said with an indifferent look for his face as if the matter of destroying 12 entire tribes was a simple matter of reporting for him .
The empire under the leadership of Shen Tou since four years ago had taken a policy of expansion .
And they did so by conquering various smaller kingdoms and tribes from nearby areas .
Originally the southern side of the lake Jingzi had around almost 40 separate small tribes and kingdoms rulling over it .
But now after four years of conquest only 12 of them are still remaining outside the control of the Bi Yuan Empire .
One must say no matter Shen Tou was an effective conqueror and a strong cultivator .
Because often the clans and tribes he defeated in battle where at least twice a strong as them .
But no matter what if they had greater manpower or resources all of them met the same fate of losing in front of Shen Tou .
But the most remarkable and dangerous part about him was that no matter what his popularity and charm was so effective that there were almost no avenue of rebellion against him .
His image in front of the people was that of a genuine brother , a son and a friend which was far from any of the emotions that he was showing right now .
" My lord ! We have also received some news from our connections from the Northern side of the lake Jingzi that I believe is important for you to hear . "
At this moment the captain of the Royal guard standing beside the prime minister stepped forward and spoke up .
" Well ! Well ! Well ! So what did our little birds from the other side say . " - hearing the captains words Shen Tou looked mildly amused .
" Your majesty according to what we got from our informants it seems the kingdom of Jian Bo is forming some type of local alliance with the other tribes in the area to stop our expansion . " - the captain of the guards said his voice carrying a hint of anger despite his called voice .
After all how dare this pathetic little force from the Northern side of the lake Jingzi even think of interfering with his lord's wishes .
It was his lord's destiny to rule the entire Southern part of the Sky Star continent under his banner and these pathetic little insects were just getting in his way .
To him and the rest of the loyal followers of Shen Tou this was unexceptable .
" Oh ! It's seems that king Yichen is getting quite nervous at my power increase . " - Shen Tou who was listening to the information given by the guard captain did not show any anger or fear .
On the contrary his face showed a small smile as if he found the situation quite amusing as if all of it's just a game to him .
" Your majesty we still need to send a strong response to thiless insects who dare to think they can cross you . " - the guard captain said .
" Your majesty if you want I can send some of our elite light cavalry units to cause havoc along their borders .
" This will give a clear them what it means to even think about standing in our way . "
The guard captain said still urging the emperor to take immediate action .
While even he understood that right now they when not nearly strong enough to cross the lake Jingzi and have a direct confrontation with the kingdom Jian Bo and it's allies .
But still he was confident that he could make the other side pay a heavy price for there interference in his lord's matter by causing extensive damage through continuous and deep raids .
Now all he needed was the emperor's permission .
" Patience ! captan ... patience . " - Shen Tou's attitude however did not change and he continued to smile .
" Remember captain we must never make unnecessary haste in our decisions , especially not by a sudden rush of emotions. " - Shen Tou said slowly .
" Time for us to conquer them will also come in the future and I can assure you that future will come very soon . "
" But before that we will not engage with them especially not before uniting the entire south side of the lake Jingzi . " - as he said that he made sure that everyone in the room understood his intention very clearly .
" Do you understand what I am saying captain . "
" Yes ! Thank you your majesty for imparting such a valuable knowledge to this subordinate . " - the guard captain quickly bought his head in respect and moved back .
" Well now that's all this is over . " - suddenly the smile on Shen Tou's face disappeared a little and his eyes turned sharp and the smile on his face turned even colder .
Seeing this change the prime minister , the guard captain and everyone else in the roominvoluntarily took in a breath .
Especially the prime minister who had a feeling that he knew what this topic was about .
" Prime minister what happened to our efforts to finding the lost treasure map. " - as soon as those word's fell a tense silence fell over the room .
" Bang !!!! " - suddenly the prime minister his knee to the ground and had his entire head bowed .
" Forgive me your majesty I was not able to report you about this matter before . " - the old prime minister immediately apologized for his mistake .
To be honest he was about to bring this subject to the table at first but the fact that his lord had to personally ask like this was a matter of shame to him .
However Shen Tou was not affected by this apology at all as he still wanted answer answer .
" Prime minister tell me clearly have we or have we not managed to locate the lost treasure map . " - Shen Tou asked once again .
" My lord we tried our best to find the treasure map however . " - the prime minister started to speak obviously nervous to answer .
" However what ? " - Shen Tou's eyes narrowed dangerously with the smile on his face getting even colder .
" Along me to explain further my lord . " - at this moment the head captain came forward .
Under his instructions two soldiers who were standing beside him went outside the room and after sometime quickly brought a man who was trembling in fear .
When the man was pushed in the centre of the room at the front of the emperor , the man nearly fainted in terror .
Seeing this the guard captain shot a expression of disgust in his eyes .
" My lord this was one of the private individuals who had the treasure map with them . "
" However before we could take them these fools sold the treasure map to a merchant in the East . " - as he said that the guard captain give a hash kick to the man in front making him fall over in pain .
" Is that true . " - Shen Tou who was listening to the story till now finally got up from his throne and started to slowly walk towards the man .
" Your majesty please forgive me I did not know the value of that treasure map to you ."
" If I had known that the treasure map was so important to you I would have immediately given it to you as a offering . "
The man who was on the floor seeing the emperor coming towards him panicked instantly .
Soon he started to beg for mercy as he continued to explain his innocence .
However in fear and the tension in his body the words that he spoke came out as inconsistent and broken .
This just went to show how terrified he was at this moment .
" Oh ! No need to be afraid . " - Shen Tou said with smile as he sat down to the mans eye level .
" I understand that this was not your intention so you can't be blamed for that. " - Shen Tou said as he helped the man to stand on his feet again .
Seeing this a wave of relief finally came over the man's body .
" Thank you your grace ! thank you for your understanding I ... " - however just as he was about to continue to speak the man felt a sharp sensation of pain go through his heart .
" Thud ! " - without understanding what just happened the man's body felt to the ground .
While losing his consciousness the man saw Shen Tou looking at him with the same smile but had a small string of tear gathered around his eyes .
Then Shen Tou quickly wiped the tear from his own eyes and let a drop of tear fall to the ground .
And it was then that the man who still on the ground heard the final words he would ever hear in this life .
" A crocodiles tears are very precious , not because it is rare... but because it's the last thing you will ever see . "
To Be Continued .