Chapter 471: A sinister plot


    ( The StrongHaven Pce, The evening after the Grand Tournament opening round )


    In a small servants room that was not meant for royalty to walk into, sat three very suspicious men.


    Young Prince Nathan, Chief Advisor ric and Commander Thalion—


    The tension within the room was palpable and the three men talked in the most hushed of tones.


    “So, are we really going to go through with this n? Do you think we will seed?” Thalion asked, seeming to be the most nervous man in the group, as he looked towards Nathan and ric for confirmation.


    “Yes, I don’t think Ben Faulkner will fail to reach the semi-finals based on his performance today.


    So our n is a go–” ric confirmed, as Nathan evily smiled in the corner.


    “Don’t smile boy…. Your smile creeps me out, what kind of a son smiles when plotting the assassination of his father? You may not like him, but that man loves you more than you think!” Thalion said, as Nathan immediately snorted at thisment made by Thalion.


    “Don’t lecture memander, you know NOTHING about my father and how he inherited the throne.


    The throne was never his to begin with, however, it was him who hired Ben Faulkner to kill my uncle, the rightful crown prince.


    He’s nothing more than a disgusting piece of scum who has now lost his spine and is unfit to rule the Empire” said Nathan, as Thalion gritted his teeth in anger at being talked down by a brat.


    “Calm down Commander Thalion, there’s no point fighting with your future Emperor. You have joined our cause for a reason. You too think that Julien is too old to rule now and doesn’t have his predatory instinct within him. The Empire is falling apart and the only way to save it is to kill him and then pin the me on Ben Faulkner” ric said, as Thalion balled his fists in anger.


    The three of them had nned a mutiny against the Emperor and deep within Thalion felt frustrated at using such cowardly means to get what he wanted.


    Over the past few weeks he had been trying non-stop, for Julien to let him fight the demons using the Royal Army, but the old Emperor seemed too washed up to make a move.


    Frustrated, Thalion decided to join ric in recing Julien with Nathan on the throne, with Nathan promising him the opportunity for conquest once he ascended to power.


    The only question left now was how to kill the Emperor? And how to fool the masses? And the answer that ric found to this problem was Ben Faulkner.


    Just like in the Grand Tournament, the Emperor was hoping to host a banquet for all masters who reached the quarter-finals of the Masters Tournament, and it was during this event that ric hoped to kill Julien, and pin the me on Ben Faulkner.


    Then, as Ben Faulkner tried to escape from the pce, it was Thalion who was to hunt him down and end his legacy as the Assassin who killed two Emperor’s in his lifetime.


    Since he already had a reputation as an ouw, ric believed that the masses would not question his role in killing the Emperor and that they could spin a convincing story behind it, however, for all that to happen, Ben Faulkner needed to reach the Quarter-finals of the Master’s Tournament anyhow, as if not, their n would be a failure.


    Thankfully, with how the old man was fighting he seemed more than powerful enough to reach the Quarter-finals without them having to intervene, however, they could afford no risks in this high stakes n, where a single mistake could end up costing them their lives instead.


    *********


    ( Meanwhile Leo )


    Before logging out of Terra Nova Online, Leo enjoyed the clips of his master’s opening fight in the master’s tournament posted on the Global Forums.


    Somehow, watching the old man fight with a smile on his face filled Leo’s heart with immense satisfaction, as although Ben did not utter a single word in the fight from start to finish, he seemed to be enjoying himself thoroughly.


    His opponent Roderick was by no means a simple opponent.


    He was strong, and had the ability to go much further in the tournament as long as he did not face The Wind Sword, or his master Ben, however, the man was unfortunate to face off against THE Ben Faulkner so early.


    All in all, Leo felt his nose grow two inches with pride when he watched Ben’s clips, as the only regret he had in his heart was that he wasn’t in StrongHaven currently to watch this event unfold live.


    “Stupid penalty…. Gosh, I so want to be in the capital right now. This masters tournament is so awesome” Leo muttered before logging out of the game,pletely oblivious to the sinister plot brewing in the shadows.


    *********


    ( Meanwhile Ben Faulkner )


    The evening after his first match ended, Ben found himself chuckling as he massaged his old shoulders that had gone sore, in a shady old motel room.


    “I’m not what I used to be…. I’ve overdid myself. Unfortunately, this old body can no longer fight beasts like Roderick” Ben muttered to himself, as he winced in pain when he massaged his right arm which had gonepletely sore from overexertion.


    “But I have to fight…. That boy is catching up to me too fast. I have to win this fight for my integrity as his master.


    He can’t be ashamed of me in the future.


    He must say with pride, that I was taught assassination by Ben Faulkner” Ben muttered to himself, as he knew in his heart that the only reason he was fighting this tournament was to be the idea role model for Leo to follow, as if not for that, there was no other reward in this world that could motivate him to push his old body to 100%.