NOVEL NEXT Chapter 161: Words
If she was looking straight at him like that, Richard knew she could sense their blood connection.
However, Richard didn't see any surprise in her expression.
That made him suspect she already knew about their relationship.
Meanwhile, Arthur replied, "Lady Moonshadow, would you like to meet the City Lord in person? That way, you can receive your reward directly from him."
Arthur knew nothing of their relationship, but to him, this was the proper procedure — bringing the most meritorious person to meet the City Lord so they could receive their prize personally.
However, Rebecca immediately answered, "There's no need. I'll wait here — unless he brings it to me himself."
Arthur froze for a moment, realizing how proud this woman was.
She clearly didn't consider the City Lord worthy of meeting her in person.
Forcing a nod, Arthur replied, "Very well. Please wait here."
After saying that, he immediately took off, flying toward the City Lord's castle using the wings of his armor.
Even in his wildest imagination — where he had pictured many powerful individuals coming to fight the barbarians — he had never expected the Rebecca Moonshadow to appear, single-handedly driving away the entire barbarian horde.
A Lord had even been slain by her.
Arthur saw Richard standing on the balcony, so he flew directly there.
"City Lord…" he greeted respectfully.
"What did that woman say?" Richard asked in response, showing he already knew everything that had happened.
Arthur replied, "She said she wants her reward — all of the rewards you promised."
"Did you ask her to meet me?"
"Yes, but she refused — unless you're the one who goes to her. That's what she said."
Richard's brows furrowed immediately.
He thought the woman was looking down on him.
If they were strangers, that might've been acceptable — but she already knew he was her son.
After a moment of thought, Richard took out a single King Bloodline Core and handed it to Arthur.
"The rule I set is that one person receives one Bloodline Core. That doesn't change even if someone defeats every enemy alone," he said.
Though he had never explicitly stated such a rule before, he had said one Bloodline Core per person — and claiming it as a rule now made him appear completely justified.
Arthur, who rarely showed emotion, revealed a slightly odd expression after hearing Richard's words.
He glanced down at the Bloodline Core.
Though it was a King Bloodline Core, the beast carved upon it was a monkey — a monkey capable of shrinking its body to enhance its agility.
Richard thought it suited an arrogant woman like Rebecca quite well.
Even so, Arthur merely nodded. He didn't dare to refuse Richard's order and immediately flew back toward the city gate.
Rebecca was still waiting there, standing indifferently despite being the center of attention — whether from admiration of her power or her beauty.
She only looked at Arthur when he stopped in front of her.
"Lady Moonshadow," Arthur said, "according to the City Lord's rule, each person may only receive one Bloodline Core. Even though you defeated all the enemies yourself, you still only get one."
He repeated Richard's words exactly and handed her the Bloodline Core.
For a brief moment, the woman froze.
She looked up toward Richard's balcony again, but he had already turned and gone back inside his room.
Rebecca's brows furrowed, her face showing clear displeasure.
But the rules were not set by her, and she found no opening to protest.
When she looked down and saw what kind of King Bloodline Core she'd received, her expression darkened instantly.
A monkey?
Her beautiful face briefly flushed purple.
Though the ability wouldn't literally turn her into a monkey, it would shrink her body — making her movements resemble that of one.
Why would this be the Bloodline Core given to her?
In truth, she hadn't planned to use it personally anyway. A King Bloodline Core was below her standard — only Bloodline Cores from Primordial Beasts with ancestral lineage could truly tempt her. But to be given one from a monkey? That was a grave insult.
Rebecca immediately concluded that her son had done this on purpose.
She stared toward the castle in the middle of the city again, feeling a strong urge to confront him directly.
But this time, she restrained herself — though normally, she would never let such an insult pass.
She knew that if she went to meet the boy now, she would only end up suffering a greater humiliation.
That boy had a thousand ways to mock her.
Worst of all, Rebecca knew she couldn't actually do anything to him, since his protector was stronger than she was.
In the end, she turned back to Arthur and said, "Tell your master that I'm honored to see the trash I once discarded evolve into a shining diamond."
After saying that, she turned and disappeared, leaving Arthur stunned and confused, unable to understand what she meant.
Of course, he couldn't just go straight to Richard again.
There were still countless corpses outside the city that needed to be cleared by the city's soldiers.
Meanwhile, in his room, Richard sat alone, brows still slightly furrowed.
Fortunately, the woman had left.
He truly didn't want to see her.
Perhaps she didn't want to see him either.
Richard thought it would be better for them to meet only when he had become far stronger than her.
That way, she would be forced to grit her teeth in front of him.
'At least she solved my problem quickly,' he thought, still pleased that he didn't have to deal with the barbarian attack himself.
As he stayed in his room and focused on merging himself with the world, the day passed swiftly.
When night fell, he received a notification from the System.
DING!
(Your Heavenly Water points have increased from 91 to 100!)
Incomplete Heavenly Water (100 Points)
DING!
(Your Incomplete Heavenly Water has evolved into True Heavenly Water with an energy reserve of 0.01%!)
DING!
(Your mastery of the Codex of Moonshadow has increased from 46% to 50%!)
(Because your mastery of the Codex of Moonshadow has reached 50%, one of your Innate Arcane Arts — Moonshadow Armor — has been unlocked!)
Codex of Moonshadow (50%)
[Innate Arcane Art from Codex of Moonshadow:
Moonshadow Armor]
(Notification: You have reached the current limit of System-assisted growth. The System will temporarily cease providing enhancements until you advance to the World Realm.)