The Herb King

Because he had nothing else to do, Aethelwolf decided to spectate the army as they set up the traps. He also gave some suggestions to them which earned him a lot of praise. These people were so primitive in setting up traps, but it was mostly because of their over-reliance on world essence. Even the ancient warriors in his past life were much better than these people with regard to this.

"How did you come up with all these ideas, Sir Aethelwolf?" Prince Renz looked at him with admiration. He was sincerely convinced of Aethelwolf's brilliant mind. The man was able to come up with so many ideas that nobody would have thought of.

Aethelwolf smiled at the prince. "It looks like you have finally decided to show who you really are." He said as he stared at Prince Renz' new look. His formerly unkempt hair was cleanly cut, giving him a more noble look. It was neatly combed to one side, making the prince look handsome and refined. He was dressed in his imperial clothes this time and there was a sword tied to his waist.

Looking at the sword, Aethelwolf furrowed his eyebrows after sensing the limitless power it possessed. 'A Divine-Rated weapon?!' He thought to himself in shock. It was the first Divine-Rated weapon he saw and the power it contained made him surprised.

Prince Renz noticed that Aethelwolf was looking at his sword. He gave him a smile as he introduced it to him. "This is the family heirloom of the Leone Imperial Family, the Two Lion Sword. It has a very common name, but it possesses unparalleled might. This was crafted by a friend of my great-grandfather who was a Level 5 Blacksmith. Even among the ranks of Divine-Rated weapons, this sword could be placed among the very best. Impressive, right?"

Aethelwolf was stunned by this. He never knew that the Leone Imperial Family actually possessed such a remarkable weapon! He thought that only the big empires owned Level 5 artifacts. Who would have thought that the Leone Empire actually had one?

After recovering from his surprise, Aethelwolf glanced at the first prince and asked. "Does the Ford Empire and the Dustin Empire know about this?"

Prince Renz nodded his head. "Of course. An empire needs at least one Divine-Rated artifact to maintain its stability. If they don't possess a Divine-Rated artifact, they wouldn't have the means to protect themselves from their enemies, unless they have Level 5 Espers." The prince paused and smiled at Aethelwolf. "We don't have Level 5 Espers, but because of the Two Lion Sword, we were able to maintain our empire's stability."

Hearing this, Aethelwolf changed his perception towards Divine-Rated items. He treated them like nothing because of his godly cheat-like ability, but to others who don't have the same cheat like him, Divine-Rated artifacts are priceless.

"Since you hold the family heirloom of the Leone Imperial Family, does that mean that you are the true heir to the throne?" Aethelwolf asked.

Prince Renz shook his head as he replied. "No. I'm not interested in becoming the next emperor. I have already discussed this with His Majesty. I just want to become a Level 5 Esper and provide the Leone Empire with more safety. That way, other empires would hesitate to attack us again."

"I see. You have a broad mind, Your Highness. You have my respect." Aethelwolf muttered sincerely. The first prince is a respectable man. The Leone Empire is so lucky to have someone like him.

Prince Renz smiled at his words and shook his head as he muttered. "I'm nothing without the Two Lion Sword. There are so many Level 4 Espers in the entire Regalis Continent and I'm nothing compared to the Level 5 Espers. Sir Aethelwolf, I hope that the academy would be able to nurture more elites for our empire."

Aethelwolf saw the prince's hopeful eyes so he could only nod his head. "I'll do my best to make that possible, Your Highness."

The two remained silent after that.

***

In the next two days, the soldiers of the Leone Empire were busy setting up traps in the two areas marked by Aethelwolf. They completed everything on the morning of the third day.

Now, all they had to do was wait for the two empires to fall into their traps.

"Chief, everyone is ready!" Ramiel reported to Duke Baron using a Communication Rune.

"Good! Tell everyone to have a feast! Let them eat as much as they want so that they can fight in their peak state once the enemies arrive!" Duke Baron said. He received a report from their scout team that the Ford Empire's soldiers were just one day away from Vale City. As for the Dustin Empire, they were also one day away from Lion City.

Ramiel nodded his head. "Yes, Chief!" He then deactivated the Communication Rune.

The main army was now separated into two areas. One was in the valley near Vale City, while the other one was in the mountains outside of Lion City. Duke Baron stayed in Lion City and Ramiel was the leader of the Vale City camp. Each camp has a hundred thousand soldiers and the two camps maintained contact using Communication Runes.

Meanwhile, Aethelwolf was having a barbecue party with his group and he even invited the soldiers to join them. He decided to stay with Ramiel in the Vale City camp, while the first prince stayed with Duke Baron in Lion City.

The fragrant aroma of barbecued meat wafted into the air, making the nearby people drool excessively.

"Sir Aethelwolf, is it not cooked yet?"

"It smells so good!"

The soldiers watched as Aethelwolf flipped the barbecued meat.

A faint sizzling noise echoed as soon as he flipped the meat skewers.

"It's almost ready." Aethelwolf smiled at them.

"Papa, I want the biggest piece! That one over there!" Olivia pointed at the biggest portion of the barbecued meat. Her eyes were shining brightly as she looked at Aethelwolf who was flipping the meat skewers.

"Alright. Alright."

It was a great feast for everyone.