Reincarnated as an Energy with a System

Chapter 1769: Preparation

“How is it that I get attacked for my bloodline, and yet she gets away scot-free?” the prince asked his advisors inside his chamber.

“Is it true, Your Majesty?” one of the advisors asked. “Does she really have the Conqueror’s blood?”

“She does,” the prince said in an agitated tone. “She’s a damn Reaper even. There’s a reason I didn’t bring up the topic of only Reapers being allowed to sit on the throne.”

“Do the others know?” one of them asked.

“No, they shouldn’t,” the prince said. “I barely realized at the last moment that she was the one we were hunting in the mountains of Lenes a few months ago.”

A few gasps sounded from around the room.

“She’s the one that killed so many of our soldiers?”

“My son!” one man said. “She’s the one who killed my son.”

The rest of the people began to understand what was going on as well. “Now, what do we do? What plan does anyone have?”

“We do not have the time to convert their people,” one of the prince’s closest men said.

“Convert?” someone else asked. “What do you mean?”

The prince’s eyes were cold. “No, we don’t have time for that. This will have to be much more straightforward.”

“Assassins it is, then,” the man replied.

The prince nodded. “Gather every assassin and have them go to the place where the undeads have gathered. They will have two jobs. First, kill this young girl that dares to think she can be an Empress. And second, kill the necromancers.”

“So long as they are gone, the undeads will be like headless chickens. They will pose no threat to us at all.”

Everyone nodded.

“What about contingencies, Your Majesty? What if we can’t assassinate her? We need to prepare for it as well.”

The prince’s eyes narrowed. “If you cannot do that simple a task, then you can bring me your head instead.”

The prince’s words shook everyone to their core. They remembered the fallen head of their comrade yesterday, the one who simply dared to speak the truth. When the prince fell into a bad mood, all they could do was accept what he said and do their job.

“We’ll hire the best assassins,” the oldest of them all said. “Should we work together with the other two, or do you wish to do it all by yourself? I will suggest planning with the others.”

The prince nodded. “The more assassins there are, the more chances of victory we’ll have,” he said. “Coordinate with the others and have the assassins take charge.”

The old man nodded. “But just in case the assassins turn out to be incompetent, we will need to move the soldiers as well. Even if the assassins do not succeed entirely, they should be able to kill enough necromancers that many of the undeads will be unusable.”

“At that moment, we will be able to overwhelm them with the chaos and numbers alone. In the end, even if the girl somehow does survive, she will not have the backing she needs to become the new Emperor.”

The prince thought for a bit and smiled. “Thank you, Reem. You are the only one I can count on.”

The old man nodded. “I shall leave you to rest, Prince. We may need you in battle, so you should get as much sleep as you can.”

The prince stood. “Fine, but I trust you not to fail.”

“I won’t, Your Majesty.”

The old man left, and soon everyone followed.

The prince was left all alone in the room. As he sat there by himself, he feared what was coming next.

“Are things going accordingly?” the voice questioned. “It sounds as if you have come across a problem.”

“Master!” the prince stood, bowing toward the spirit that had arrived again. “Everything is going well, Master. You have nothing to worry about.”

“What has happened?” the voice demanded.

“Someone else joined, wanting to become the Emperor. But we’re taking care of her. She will soon be disposed of.”

The spirit said nothing and simply vanished.

The prince waited for a while before realizing the spirit was gone. As a Reaper, he had no capacity to see the Spirit. He shouldn’t even have been able to hear it, really, but for some reason he could.

That was how he knew this spirit was special.

It was only a while later that he finally realized the spirit was gone. Once he was sure, the prince slumped back on the sofa, and poured himself a glass of alcohol to quell his worries.

He drank until he was tired and finally went to bed when it was only evening, for he knew that there was a chance that his sleep would be cut short very soon.

* * * *

Jema met with Oleander in secret in his room.

Oleander looked surprised to see her arrive in the room full of his people. She had come all alone.

“What brings you here, cousin?” Oleander asked. “Do you wish to spend the night with me?”

Jema showed no emotion as she turned toward a guard to the side. “Will he be joining?” she asked.

Oleander frowned immediately. He gestured for everyone to leave.

“What do you want?”

“The same thing you do, to become the Emperor.”

“So?” Oleander asked. “What are you here for?”

“I want to make an alliance,” she said.

“Alliance?” Oleander asked. “What sort of alliance?”

“You and I get married, and together we ascend the throne as Emperor and Empress,” she said.

“Marry?” Oleander laughed. “You?”

“Don’t worry. I don’t expect much from a man who can only get excited at the sight of another man. I simply wish for power. With the prince and this new girl, it’s slipping from our hands with every second.”

“So?” Oleander asked. “Do you think we will be stronger together? Why should I believe that you won’t go against me in the end?”

“I can make a promise on your artifact,” the woman said. “But we must act immediately. I have word that the prince is going after the girl, so we must go after the prince while no one is looking.”