...................... Volume 2: Dominance...............

The trio was led by Anguo Chen and flanked by the 24 armored soldiers as they were ushered into the main hall on the ground floor of the castle, this castle was named Windsor peak castle and upon entering one was blinded by the luxurious splendor, the floor was laid with pristine red and white tiles in perfect symmetry, the spotless tiles gleamed and sparkled when the light from the many high windows danced across it.

Beautiful silk banners bearing the coat of arms of the windsor house fluttered down from the ceiling, embroidered with a shield and a sword stood side by side.

The hall was sparsely furnished, only a long wooden table and a set of matching chairs were off to the side and out of the way.

This opulence displayed here was a stark contrast to the district that was located at the foot of the hill where the castle was perched in proud splendor.

The small district they passed at the foot of the hill was poor, with shabby unpainted rundown houses standing tightly packed beside each other.

The people walked through the littered streets with a look of hopelessness in their eyes. The crude wooden buildings creaked in the wind as the women who wore stained robes, fetched water, cooked and looked after the energetic children while the men were out tilling the endless fields off in the distance. It was like heaven and hell were separated by a hundred meters

Eventually the armored soldiers stopped and stood ramrod straight while Anguo Chen led Hartley Qin LI and Zhi Ruo forward towards a man sat in a throne-like red chair on a raised platform at the end of the hall, the man was slouched lazily in the chair holding onto a map as if he wasn't the least bit interested in the happenings of the hall before him and there were two veiled ladies dressed in white robes stood quietly behind him.

"Sir Lingwei, I present Sir Hartley of the Sanzu house."

Anguo Chen gave a formal bow as he made the introduction, the man dressed in a lilac robe and what seem to be blue knee-high stockings immediately had a scowl as he lazily shifted his sight towards Hartley, his eyes squinted to the size of a needle point when he saw the youth and his entourage.

With a bright white smile Sir Lingwei sat up and said, "Are you willing to be a vassal of his majesty Prince Jian Yulan?," before he received an answer he continued.

"After pledging allegiance, we will assign your fief, I was thinking... he unfurled the map in his hand and mused for a bit... about 40 acres in the Hill Point Range, this is not hereditary land and you will hold the land for the next five years, if you manage to turn it into something that contributes to the prince's power, then we will re-evaluate if you can keep hold of the land for another five years."

He said all this with glee. Anguo Chen's face dropped and his shoulders slumped, he had seen the strength of the youth, something was off, for them to want to send Hartley to the barren rocky mountain land of Hill Point Range was simple unbelievable.

"Sir!" Anguo Chen exclaimed, then he was flashed a look by Sir Lingwei and he swallowed down the words he was about to utter, he was a lowly captain in the army and the man in front of him was the chief administrator of the county. Their statuses were night and day compared to each other. All he could do was suck in his grievances.

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The calm Hartley dressed in a black robe made of silk asked "Where is Prince Jian and why am I here negotiating terms with an overdressed butterfly?"

Naturally Hartley knew where this was all stemming from, when he had traveled through the Hagley province he had thrashed an elder from the Hagley martial school named Master Lingwei, this fop sat before him must be of some relation and was trying to make things difficult.

"You!" the man almost lost his temper as he fidgeted on the chair like he was sat on hot coals, he regained his composure after a short while, "you think anyone can just walk into the capital and have a meeting with Prince Jian?" he snorted "some people just don't know their level."

Without saying another word Hartley turned to leave the hall...

Sir LIngwei's heart fluttered, he was told by the commander that it was a top priority to recruit Hartley under the banner of the prince as soon as possible, but he had two reasons to stifle Hartley's progress in the capital.

The first was that Hartley had disgraced his uncle in the Hagely province and the second was Viscount Sanzu. Sir Lingwei's value to the prince was as a shrewd politician and administrator, he was lacking in individual fighting strength and if Hartley shined brightly that would be a way back into the capital for Viscount Sanzu, who was also a shrewd politician and administrator.

Sir Lingwei's value would drop like a stone off a cliff-face if Viscount Sanzu wriggled his way back into the good books of the prince. His best option was to shuffle Hartley to side and pretend that he was doing his best to set up the youth in the capital in a favorable position.

In this uncertain climate, where King Yulan could ascend from the mortal plane anytime, his position and lifestyle was at stake, the cut-throat nature of politics would mean that the pragmatic young prince would cut all dead weight at the first opportunity and himself would be on the cutting board if Viscount Sanzu were to return in glory.

He tried to cajole Hartley into pledging his allegiance with a little better offer but the damage was already done. Hartley left the hall with Sir LIngwei shouting at the his back. Hartley couldn't take this fop seriously, Holy Matriarch! he was wearing stockings for crying out loud. Hartley had only ever seen the whores in the Cosmos region wear this garment.

Three days later in an office clotted with shadows, a heavy boned sturdy man sat behind a wooden desk, his face was tanned and his nose twisted indicating it had been broken before, a burning candle at the far end of the table flitted light that barely illuminated the room.

"What happened?" he asked in his gruff voice.

"Sir Lingwei offered him forty acres at Hill Point Range....for five years." a somewhat surprising answer came from across the table.

Commander Genk was a little bit shocked but he didn't show it.

"How strong is he really?" the commander asked.

"Sir, when I met him he was dragging elder Sushio behind his horse with a length of rope, by the time he got to us, the elder was begging for death and he obliged."

Anguo Chen reported his experience honestly.

The commander with his course black hair exhaled sharply, "In times of peace petty politics will shine, but in times of conflict fighting strength is the most important thing, such a young a capable fighter will be a trump card in the years to come, he cannot be allowed to become our enemy, I will talk with the prince and find a suitable solution."

"Yes sir," Anguo Chen stood up and made a formal bow before leaving.

After the debacle with Sir Lingwei, Hartley and company had checked into a luxurious inn in the inner section of the capital, it had been a week since coming to the capital and Hartley was contemplating his options, he had the golden identity token from Viscount Sanzu so he was qualified to buy a mid-sized manor and start his base of operations.

Their stay had been peaceful but Hartley needed information. He wanted to know what condition Song Zemin was in and the strength of the eldest prince's forces, that assassin back in the Papine province might have been sent by one of his people. What he needed now was a little time, he was on the cusp of a breakthrough and so was Zhi Ruo.

As he sat cross legged on the bed a unexpected knock came at the door.