NOVEL ONLINE FREE Chapter 232: Stage 1: Planning
Keith immediately got out of the carriage and rushed forward to stop the wolves from moving.
"Alrighty, we stop here. We're gonna pay them a surprise visit okay? We can't be going around with eye catchy wolf pulled carriages." he said as the two carriages stopped in front of him.
The people sitting inside poked their head out and looked at Keith before they all climbed out one by one.
Keith saw Leora walk out with Laura, Nathan and Caleb and was pretty surprised since he didn't really expect her to join them to do grunt work.
Just in case, he decided that it would be better to tell her his plans first.
"Princess, we are just going to take a look around the town at this moment. Well, one town and two large villages, but yeah... it's basically just information gathering and such so you should probably just stay back here." he said.
Leora shook her head, "And what if I get ambushed? I'm coming with you to ensure my own safety."
Keith raised his eyebrow and one by one, he pointed at four different trees near him, "You got people hiding here though? I'm sure they'll be able to protect you."
".... you knew?" she asked incredulously as she watched her knights walk out of their hiding spots with embarrassed expressions on their faces.
With a light shrug, he replied, "Yeah, I have my ways. Though, I'm curious on why you want to tag along with me when it'll just cause you problems. Your people won't be able to hide well in villages or towns you know? It's way easier in forests."
"When they're inside towns and villages, they won't wear their armors so it's actually easier to keep an eye on me since they can just blend in with the locals." she said and turned to look at her men who began to take off their armor.
The clothes they were wearing inside were light half-sleeved cotton shirt and regular trousers, which was what most people wore.
Trench coats, suits and half suits were mostly used by people in specific professions and by nobles.
"Oh well, if you insist to join then I won't stop you. But you should put on clothes that'll not make you stand out though... just look at that thing, it's gorgeous. You gotta wear something plain."
Leora stared at him for almost two seconds but nodded and walked back into the carriage so she could change. Almost three minutes later, she walked back out wearing a plain long skirt and a blouse that covered most of her skin.
"You still stand out you know..." Keith said and let out a soft sigh, "But it's fine. Just follow what we do from now."
He then looked at his team and all of them grabbed some soil and rubbed their hands with it. Once their hands were coated with the tiny particles, they clapped their hands once to get rid of most of it before rubbing their faces.
This way, they didn't look too dirty but also didn't look too clean. Keith also joined his team but the Knights clearly did not look happy with Keith's way of doing things.
One of them stepped forward and grabbed Keith's collar, "You dare tell the princess to rub soil on her face? Are you asking to get executed, you bastard?"
Keith glanced at Leora who seemed hesitant to stop the knight.
Seeing this Keith let out a soft sigh, "Unrequited love and a strong sense of duty huh?" he said, making Leora flinch slightly before continuing, "Take your hands off me, you dumb bitch. I already told her to stay the fuck in the carriage didn't I? Or are you intellectually challenged to not understand human language?"
The Knight didn't withdraw and instead pushed Keith forward until he was pinned against the carriage.
He looked pretty angry with his red face and clenched jaw, but Keith calmly turned to look at Leora, "If you don't tell him to stop, I'm sorry but he won't stay alive for long."
Leora immediately came back to her senses and ran forward to push her knight away from Keith, "None of you are allowed to touch him and what he said wasn't wrong either."
Keith took off his trench coat and tossed it into the carriage before he slightly fixed his collar. He didn't try to get it back to being perfect as this would help him look more like a normal person.
He stared at the knight for a few seconds before chuckling, "Princess, you should probably do a background check on the people close to you. Especially those who are in charge of your safety." he said as he looked at Leora but then he shifted his attention back to the knight.
"I didn't expect the first prince to be this crafty. I wonder if he planted assassins beside all of his siblings..." he said and began to climb into the carriage, "Change of plans. We rest for one hour and depart by foot. Until then, feel free to do whatever you wish."
Leora watched Keith disappear into the carriage and one by one, the others in his team followed his example and climbed back in.
"Princess, don't trust that bastard. I've sworn my live to protect you." the knight grumbled as he saw the princess give him a look of betrayal.
She didn't say anything. She had basically grown up with the knight in front of her and had indeed began to grow feelings for him since her early teens.
Leora knew that Keith had his own mysterious ways to find things, but she just did not want to believe his words this time.
Even though she didn't want to, she still went with a logical approach.
"Chowder." she said and the knight frowned as it had been years since he had heard her use such a stern tone with him.
"Yes, your highness..." he replied as he bent down a little.
Leora stared at him silently for a few seconds and clenched her jaw as she gave an ultimatum, "Go back to the capital. I want you to take care of the wolves that are under my name until I come back. Can you do that?"
Chowder cursed inwardly, but nodded, "As you wish, your highness. But please trust me..."
"That's something I get to decide, not you. Now leave." she ordered before climbing into the carriage.
Chowder turned to look at the other three knights, but all of them looked away from him.
"Fucking traitor." one of them said before he walked towards the back of one of the carriages and stood guard there.
'Fuck, I should have just kept my mouth shut. This Keith guy really does have mysterious ways to find out about even the most secretive or hidden things. I must report to his highness the first prince as soon as I get back.' he thought as he put on his armor.
His fellow knights silently watched as he left and Keith kept an eye on his system screen in front of him.
'Mysterious ways of getting information huh? Heh, it'll mostly lead you to Mathew's information network. There's no way you'll find out about my systems so have fun trying.' he thought as he checked his own status information.
Name: Keith Zenister
Physique: Grade S
Genetic Physique Type: Endurance
Mental Energy: 820
Awakening Status: Awakened
Awakened Abilities:
Spatial Dimension (Unique)
Danger Sense
Libido and Sensitivity control
Fire Creation and Manipulation
Supernatural Regeneration
Ammo Summoning
Special Skills:
Regeneration: Grade SSS
Battle Instinct: Grade SSS
[Unarmed Combat Arts]
Fists of Steel -> Red Hot Fists
Fists of Steel: Grade SSS
Red Hot Fists: Grade SSS
Skin Hardening: Grade B
Description: Builds the foundation by fortifying the body's outermost layer, increasing resistance to physical harm. Read exclusive content at empire
'If only Vincent fucking used his free skill unlock....' he thought but he wasn't too distressed with the outcome since skipping tax collection gave him additional divine energy.
He made the system screen disappear and replaced it with Fabian's status information.
'He used his free unlock to get muscle strengthening but I still haven't created an upgrade path for this one yet.' Keith thought as he began to work on it immediately.
He felt lazy, so he simply copied the workout of a well known character in his past life. After almost 5 or so minutes he set up a detailed plan for Fabian and once he was done, he sent out a system message.
[System Notification: Routine for Muscle Strengthening has been created.]
Unlock F Grade: 1 Cycle
F to E Grade: 5 Cycles
E to D Grade: 10 Cycles
D to C Grade: 20 Cycles
C to B Grade: 50 Cycles
B to A Grade: 100 Cycles
1 Cycle = 100 Push ups, 100 Pull ups, 100 Sit ups, 100 Squats, 10 KM Running
Keith had this strong urge to add a note at the end that said, "There might be a risk of turning bald", but he held himself back.
He didn't bother with Fabian's reaction and closed the system screen before looking at Miya.
"Miya, I want you to stay in god's land for a while. Can you do that for me?" he asked and the child nodded.
Keith patted her head and sent her to his spatial dimension before creating a small house for her using some of his mental energy.
Once he was done, he looked at Clara and Amelia, "Just have fun and go do some shopping for the next two days. We'll meet up back here and share information on the stuff we gathered. What do you think?"