Chapter 1268 - Timothy
Seward, for his entire life, had gone against the powerful families and sects by hurting their egos. So that, they could accept his challenge and then he would show that those so-called great families and top sects are not invincible and they could be defeated with ease.
He used the same tactic here and he was sure that the captain of the royal guards would not reject his challenge for the duel.
The reason was simple: the cultivators from the powerful families and the sects naturally thought they were superior to others from the same province, not to mention, a nameless cultivator from a lowly province.
Moreover, currently, there were so many cultivators looking at them and if he refused to accept the challenge, then the royal family would be the one to punish him and demote him to the lowest level of the royal guards or they might even make him a royal servant.
'I will never let that happen. Also, I will become the laughing stock of the province.'
The captain of the royal guards silently thought in his head before looking at Seward and Levi for a moment.
"Haha..why not? Let's have the fight then; however, before that, I need you to hand that thief to me."
Timothy, the captain of one of the royal guards' units accepted the challenge; however, he asked Seward to hand over Levi first and then he could have the duel with him.
'Woah…it is going to be interesting.'
'Do you think that cultivator from the lowly province stands a chance against the captain of the royal guards?'
'Hey, don't you keep track of what's happening in the province at all? Do you know the cultivation of Captain Timothy?'
'What is it?'
'Under which rock are you living? The minimum cultivation to become a captain was low-level king realm and Captain Timothy became the captain a decade back.'
'Even though it is unlikely that he will become a mid-level king realm cultivator, it must have already stabilized his cultivation. So, who do you think will win if he fights a cultivator who is yet to become a king realm cultivator?'
'What's more, that cultivator is from a low-level province. So, there is no surprise in who wins the fight but I want to see how long he can last in the fight.'
As usual, the onlookers started talking among themselves as they watched both Seward and Timothy.
"And why should I hand him over?"
Seward didn't bother much about the onlookers as he asked Timothy with a serious look on his face.
"That young man named Levi is wanted for stealing a heaven grade ingredient from the royal treasury. So, you need to hand him as his majesty can personally state his punishment."
Timothy was calm as he explained to Seward about it.
"Stop using your king's name. Your majesty said that he had forgiven Levi already."
Finally, Seward revealed a slight smile on his face as he said those words, which made Timothy and everyone around him a little bit surprised.
"What nonsense are you saying? Do you really think his majesty can forgive him just like that after what he did?"
Timothy didn't believe Seward's words at all; however, deep down he felt something was amiss as the other party looked all high and mighty from the start and didn't even show a single sign of fear against the royal servants and the royal guards.
'Is he related to his majesty or what? No…it's impossible.'
In the next second, he rejected that thought and concluded it was impossible for Seward to be acquainted with someone from the lowly province.
"Nonsense? See this."
Seward summoned a scroll out of nowhere as he threw it at Timothy.
"Huh? It is the invitation to the contest that everyone got. What's so special about it?"
After seeing that scroll, Timothy's doubts were completely dispelled as he started laughing.
"Are you an idiot or what? Just see the lines highlighted in that scroll. After that, let's see what you are going to say."
Seward was having a headache when he saw how Timothy could become a captain of the royal guards and asked him to check the scroll.
'Huh?'
Timothy stopped laughing as he raised his brows and decided to check why Seward was so confident in his words.
<The young geniuses who are wanted by the Flerton family are forgiven and can return back to the province to participate in the contest. If those young cultivators get a good ranking in the contest, the royal family will give good army ranks and even recruit them into the family.>
'This…'
After reading the highlighted lines on the scroll, Timothy frowned and closed the scroll before giving it back to Seward.
"What are you waiting for? Go and apologize to him. Levi is no longer a wanted criminal of the royal family."
Timothy didn't say anything to Seward; instead, he shouted at the head of the royal servants.
"What?"
Including the head of the royal servants, all the onlookers were surprised to hear those words.
"I am sorry."
Nevertheless, the head of the royal servant apologized to Levi, not because of his mistake, it was because of Timothy.
If he didn't apologize, Timothy can use that excuse to kill him and the royal family would not punish him for that. So, without a choice, he apologized to Levi and Seward.
"Good. You can back off now."
Seward scoffed at the head of the royal servants and looked at Timothy.
"Are you ready for the duel then?"
Before Seward could say anything, Timothy asked him with a slight smile on his face.
Actually, Seward thought Timothy was not as bad as he looked because he didn't make things difficult for them like any other arrogant cultivators.
However, when he saw the look on Timothy's face, Seward knew what Timothy was planning.
"Since you are very eager for your defeat, let's fight."
Seward was always ready for a fight.
"Captain of the royal guards, there is no need for you to fight him. Just go back to your duty."
All of a sudden, an arrogant voice ordered Timothy, who nodded his head and left without saying anything.
*****
A Bonus Chapter for every 100 Golden Tickets.