harleyscars Page 108
Page 108
“Of course not,” Tus quickly said. “This is not the second son of Duke Moss, Tang Ke. I heard that he often does good deeds in the capital and always talks about ‘doing good deeds anonymously’ and something like, uh, ‘the spirit of Lei Ke’? Of course… we all know that he is afraid that if he reveals his identity as the second son of Duke Moss, he will not be able to do good deeds anymore.”
"However, these ideas were supposedly taught to Tang by the Mino Warrior."
“Hmm…” Prince Ota fell into deep thought. After a long while, he raised his head and said with a serious expression:
"If you have time, you should advise Duke Moss and Tunk to have Chief Lark do a paternity test."
"This is better for both of them, father and son..."
Chapter 141 The New Era Youth Under the Influence of Mino
"But now that you mention it, it's not impossible."
Otta thought of his dear friend, a look of nostalgia in his eyes: "Mino's thoughts and vision far surpassed our imagination. Losing him is a great loss to humanity..."
Even the Duke of Moss's second son, Tonk, could be influenced by Mino like this. Dane, who is equally bright and gentle, may also be deeply influenced by the Mino spirit, regarding money and fame as dirt!
"Sigh, these nobles really should learn a thing or two!" Otta shook his head, gradually setting aside the idea of finding out the truth: "Let's leave it at that for now."
"Whether it's him or not, with such noble ideals, let's support him and wait and see. Anyway..." Ota smiled, uttering another famous quote from his close friend Mino:
"Gold will shine sooner or later!"
The carriage drove into a secluded corner, and under Erwin's escort, Otta entered the carriage back to the palace.
"Tus, then Erwin and I will return to the palace first."
Tus stood by the carriage and bowed his head in response, "Yes, Your Highness Ota, I still need to coordinate some registration matters for the upcoming noble selection activities."
Prince Ota was well aware of the activities taking place in the capital. He nodded slightly, and the carriage, under the covert escort of several paladins, set off back to the palace at Elwin's command.
After watching Tuss leave, the minister sighed and prepared to deal with the miscellaneous matters at hand.
"In short, let's first confirm the intentions of the dukes regarding registration, and then use that as a basis to encourage other nobles to participate. The nearest residence is..." Recalling the layout of the houses in the eastern district, Tus's face twitched a few times:
"The Duke of Moss's residence."
He dragged his legs, almost reluctantly heading towards Duke Moss's mansion. To be honest, any other nobleman could try to take advantage of this, but Duke Moss... well, never mind. To think about it any longer would be disrespectful to Duke Moss.
That's Duke Moss, after all. Among all the nobles, he's the most sarcastic, lazy, womanizing, and a penny-pincher—a complete good-for-nothing. It would be impolite to ask him if he'd register...
However, since the other party was a duke, the proper procedures still had to be followed. Tuss walked to the gate of Duke Moss's mansion and vaguely heard a very intense argument coming from inside.
"Get out! Get out! If you utter another word, believe me, I'll sever all ties with you!!"
"My illustrious Duke Moss, how could he have given birth to such a rebellious little rascal?! Get out of here, and don't let me see you for the rest of the time!! Otherwise, I'll beat you every time I see you!!!"
With a bang, the door opened and a figure was roughly thrown out like trash, rolling several times on the ground before stopping.
Minister Tuss stared in disbelief at the scene, while Duke Moss stood by the door, spitting on the ground with disgust: "Pah! You lowly thing!!!"
boom!
Without looking back, Duke Moss turned and entered the mansion again, the gate slamming shut behind him.
Tuss disregarded his official duties and rushed to the side to help the badly beaten young man up from the ground: "This is really... Duke Moss really went too far, actually hitting his own son so hard. Tangk, are you alright?"
"Cough cough cough, it's you, Minister Tus. It's alright, I'm fine." The short-haired youth coughed a few times and quickly got up from the ground.
Thrown out like a sack of potatoes was none other than Duke Moss's second son, Tang Ke, who had trained for a time at the Hero Candidate Training Camp. He looked at Tus with a forced smile.
"Family scandals should not be aired in public. I'm sorry to have made you laugh... Minister Tus."
Seeing the numerous wounds on Tang Ke's body, Tus couldn't bear it any longer and spoke up indignantly on Tang Ke's behalf:
"Regardless of the circumstances, Duke Moss went far too far this time! You're all family, couldn't you talk things out? He actually beat you up like this!!!"
"Tunk, tell me what kind of oppression you've been under, and I'll report it all to Prince Ota!"
Even the usually mild-mannered Tus had his opinion of Duke Moss changed again, and he was furious... This Duke Moss has really gone too far!
"Really?" Tang Ke's eyes lit up. He knew that Minister Tus was a favorite of His Highness the Prince, but he didn't expect him to be such a good person.
Deeply moved, Tang Ke didn't stand on ceremony any longer and confided in Tus, "My dad is really a bit stingy!"
"I was just suggesting that he open up his empty mansions and barns to the people in the slums for free, and he almost got angry with me!"
When Tonk's words reached his ears, Tus was taken aback: "You mean... housing and food are being given away for free?"
"Yes! Those common people suffering from poverty will definitely be very grateful to us!" Tang Ke clenched his fist and nodded with hope.
It took Tus a while to understand, and he nodded reluctantly: "Indeed, it's a commendable measure... So, what are the specific measures and regulations?"
"Huh?" Tang Ke looked puzzled. "What regulations?"
Tus was genuinely stunned. Seeing Tang Ke's bewildered expression, he subconsciously replied, "It's about... what conditions will allow ordinary people to receive priority assistance, the dynamic adjustment of the definition of the poor, the specific ownership and use of houses, and clauses to prevent disputes, chaos, and loopholes..."
"Is it really necessary to go through all this trouble?" Tang Ke frowned. "Anyway, as long as we have enough houses, it'll be fine..."
Tus couldn't help but wipe away a cold sweat.
"Tunk, is this why Duke Moss kicked you out?"
"Not just that." Tang Ke curled up his fingers in frustration:
"I also suggested that he donate a portion of his wealth to charitable organizations every year, skip the casino trips and give the money directly to those in need, and never leave the house again to save on the biggest expense of his life. In addition, for the safety of women in the capital, I also suggested that he get sterilized when he has time..."
Sweat beaded on his forehead, and Tuss, at a loss for words, chuckled awkwardly, a strange pang of sympathy rising for Duke Moss.
“He probably wouldn’t agree to these things, would he? Mr. Tonk, to be honest, you’re thinking a bit too idealistically in some situations… Perhaps you could communicate your ideas from a more practical perspective… That way, Duke Moss probably wouldn’t be so irritable.”
"Really?" Tang Ke looked up in surprise: "But that's exactly what I did, and today, as soon as I started my proposal, that old Deng beat me up."
"Oh? What did you propose?" Tus asked, somewhat curious.
Chapter 142 The Origin of the Abyss
"I was merely suggesting that he treat each of his sons equally as a nobleman. Is that too much to ask?"
Tang Ke looked at Tus and said, "It's not excessive." Tus nodded slightly: "Indeed, it's not excessive."
"Right! He's so unreasonable!" With support, Tang Ke said indignantly, "He should be treated equally, both sides should be treated equally!"
"I merely suggested that he divide his title and property equally among each of his sons, and he immediately flew into a rage, putting a sack over my head and beating me severely!!!"
"This is absolutely outrageous!!!"
? !
Tus's eyes widened, his body trembling uncontrollably at Tonk's words, and his expression filled with uncontrollable terror... to divide the title and property equally?
He reacted as if he had been electrocuted, quickly moving a few steps away from Tang Ke and scanning him up and down like a monster.
"Tunk, you mean after you said those things... you actually rolled out of the Duke's mansion alive?"
Tus swallowed hard, his opinion of Duke Moss changing incredulously, and he felt a chill run down his spine... This Tangk was really going too far!
Such a vicious scheme actually came from the mouth of a naive young man like Tang Ke, which made Tus feel a chill run down his spine and break out in a cold sweat.
"Yes, but they only got started, and Old Deng already turned his back on them!"
Tang Ke said with a touch of heartache, "I'm even starting to doubt if I'm his biological son!"
“I’m absolutely certain you’re his biological son.” Tuss was somewhat numb, seeing for the first time something called fatherly love in Duke Moss.
After thinking for a moment, Tus tentatively asked, "Tonker, did you come up with all these ideas by yourself?"
“Of course not.” Tang Ke shook his head, raising his head with conviction in his eyes: “It’s all thanks to a great spiritual mentor of mine…”
"That, that is..." Tus's voice trembled slightly, as he vaguely guessed something.
"Of course, it's the strongest hero who transcends this era, Mino Rayquaza!" Tom said regretfully. "It's a pity he was captured and imprisoned in the Demon King's Castle. Otherwise, with him around, our ideals and beliefs would have swept across the world much faster—"
Tus's breathing became slightly rapid. For the first time, he felt that the Mino Warrior possessed more than just the vision and perspective that Prince Ota had mentioned... Such thinking was a bit too dangerously advanced!
Perhaps, it wouldn't be so bad for Mino the Hero to just stay in the Demon King's Castle...?
Feeling a slight tremor in his heart, Tus had decided to draw a line between himself and Tangk.
"Minister Tus, what do you think I should do to make my father realize the true meaning of life's value, just like me?" Tang asked with some melancholy at the door.
"Uh." Tus felt that neither father nor son's inclinations were particularly good, but out of politeness, he still offered a fair suggestion:
"Perhaps, occasionally giving him experiences he's never had before might change his mind?" Tus explained.
"For example, many nobles place greater emphasis on the weight and role of commoners in the process of selecting nobles of the year."
"I've never experienced anything like this before..." Tang Ke paused, then his eyes gradually brightened: "I see, I understand!"
"Minister Tuss, you are truly a wise minister!"
Tang Ke spoke with great enthusiasm, his hope rekindled, as if he had found the right direction in life.
Seeing this, Tus nodded with satisfaction.
Eager to follow the procedure, Tus pointed to the main entrance: "In that case, I need to consult Duke Moss about whether to participate in the annual selection. I'll..."
"No need to ask!"
Suddenly, Tangke snatched the registration form from Tus's hand, held it high above his head, and solemnly announced:
"This year's 'Greatest Noble of the Year' competition... I'm entering it on behalf of Duke Moss!!!"
"Huh?" Tus stood blankly at the door, then quickly seemed to realize something and exclaimed in shock again:
"--ah?!"
……
The sky over the western part of the capital was slightly overcast.
A crow swept across the capital like a shadow with eerie speed, falling into the towering cedar-like structure with a faint black aura. It landed on a large, wrinkled, old hand on the windowsill, where it was crushed into powder. Dense, hidden characters then took shape on the table.
"...Annual Noble Selection...Fire..." Skimming over the insignificant pieces of information, the old man at the table turned his gaze to the most crucial details:
"Iron-Blooded Pope, has Brad returned to the capital again... It seems we need to avoid him for a while."
The Magician's Round Tower, the room at the top of the tower.
Chief Lark frowned as he looked at the intelligence report, his eyes appearing sunken, reflecting his fatigue and irritability over the past few days. He scratched his sparse white hair.
"Shana has been crowned the Hero of Evil, and the miscalculation of her power means that the protective magic circle will have to be adjusted significantly again... And to make matters worse, even that most troublesome old thing in the Holy Church has come out to stir things up."
Although Lark had already turned to the study of dark magic ten years ago, consciously avoiding any opportunities to come into contact with Pope Brad, and now he was even under the cover of the will of the abyss... at this point, he still had to be careful not to let this goddess's faithful follower see anything about him.