Chapter Seventy-One: Kuyata (Unveiled)

Day by day passed, and the life of the ancient high priest Chu Tian grew increasingly full of happiness. As one magical beast after another was healed by Chu Tian and Dio, the medical fees stored in his spatial ring multiplied, and thanks to Chu Tian’s efforts, genuine smiles began to appear more often on Selina’s face.

His old friends were faring well, too. The only regret was that Canas and Crimson Flame had yet to show themselves before Chu Tian, but he understood their reasons—after all, that kind of love was taboo on the continent and could not be accepted by ordinary people.

Life in the Imperial Capital was calm, yet beneath this calm, Chu Tian could sense a potent atmosphere of imminent conflict. Recently, the number of prominent figures seeking his services to treat their magical beasts had suddenly increased, many of them bringing only trivial injuries or minor ailments—or even perfectly healthy beasts, simply for a checkup. Chu Tian’s position now entitled him to know the reasons behind this, and even without Emperor Ludi III informing him directly, he could guess: war was about to begin!

In Caesar, martial valor was revered. War—especially wars of conquest—were beloved by all Caesars, and the very first rule of the empire’s military code was: "He who expands the realm by a thousand miles shall be made a king!"

The empire had known peace for thirty years. Since the Battle of Quarry Fortress, apart from minor skirmishes with the northern beastmen and the eastern island nation of Tianhai, Caesar had only engaged in small-scale conflicts with a few insignificant neighboring countries, most merely punitive expeditions. As a result, the blades of the three hundred thousand Caesar cavalry had long grown restless, and the blood of a million soldiers had simmered for far too long.

War! Only war could satisfy the nobility’s thirst for titles and rank! Only war could fulfill the battle lust of dozens of high-level magical beasts!

Although Ludi III had strictly ordered secrecy, Caesar and Res were both superpowers on the continent, and war between them would inevitably become a protracted struggle of attrition. Thus, once the empire's war machine began to turn, the large-scale logistical mobilizations were enough for the perceptive to sense what was coming.

In Caesar, military merit was the quickest route to promotion, and the only true source of respect. And what did one rely on for merit? Strength! For the strong, strength could never be separated from magical beasts. To do a good job, one must first sharpen his tools—so lately, business as a beast healer was booming for Chu Tian!

In these days, not only was Chu Tian making far more money, but his popularity had also soared. Some important figures who had previously ignored him began to curry favor, and among those with the greatest need to ingratiate themselves with a beast healer was naturally Best, the Minister of Magical Beasts. Thus, today, the perpetually disdainful Best arrived laden with gifts to seek Chu Tian's help.

“Ha ha, Prince Vladino, it’s been a long time,” Best said in Chu Tian’s drawing room, sporting for the first time a smile on his iron-hard face. Though the smile looked more like a grimace, it was indeed the first time he had smiled at Chu Tian. “I regret that I was unable to attend your ascension ceremony to High Priest; please accept this small token as an apology!”

“You’re too kind, my lord.” Chu Tian’s words were polite, but after taking the thick gift list, he didn’t so much as glance at it before tossing it to Barbossa. Barbossa, too, barely skimmed it before tucking it away; in the Duke of Vladino’s household, gifts worth a mere few thousand gold coins barely merited the attention of the servants.

“What brings you here today, my lord?” After some small talk, Chu Tian narrowed his eyes and smiled at Best. For this notoriously stingy man to bring gifts, he must have needed something from him.

“Well…” Best, who commanded all the magical beasts of the realm and held immense authority, was used to others seeking favors from him. Today, however, he was the one making the request, and looked somewhat awkward. After forcing a few more smile lines onto his iron-hard face, he said, “Your Highness, as you know, the empire is about to go to war, and His Majesty has ordered me to prepare the beasts for battle as soon as possible…”

“Aren’t the empire’s beasts all in fine shape?” Chu Tian said impatiently. “I’ve examined dozens these past few days, and none have had any real problems!” Chu Tian’s skill as a healer was no idle boast—his fees were steep, but every beast he treated ended up in perfect health.

“Your Highness’s ancient rites are indeed miraculous…” Best, feeling his sincerity insufficient, forced another smile. “But the beasts you’ve treated are all privately owned. Those under my care…”

“Aren’t those looked after by other priests?” Chu Tian’s tone soured. He could amass piles of gold for treating privately-owned beasts, but for the state’s beasts, Ludi III offered no payment—why should he waste his efforts on them? The empire had plenty of high-ranking priests; let them handle it.

“Yes, of course!” Best replied awkwardly. “Ordinary beasts need not trouble Your Highness. But the one I’d ask you to examine is Kuyata.”

Kuyata? Praise be to the Goddess of Life! A big client had appeared. Chu Tian adopted the air of a holy man, feigning difficulty. “Well… these days, I’m terribly busy.”

The court priests led by Chu Tian bore the crucial responsibility of maintaining the health of the empire’s magical beasts—though this only applied to those directly under imperial control. If privately-owned beasts needed care, their owners had to make arrangements themselves.

According to military regulations, beasts below the eighth rank fell under Best’s direct supervision as Minister of Magical Beasts, but the ninth-rank Kuyata could only be commanded by Ludi III himself. As for Kuyata, Best’s sole duty was to care for his daily needs—in essence, Best was Kuyata’s caretaker!

With war about to break out, and the empire’s ultimate weapon, the ninth-rank Kuyata, suffering from some ailment, Best had evidently failed in his duty as a caretaker, and the consequences for him could be severe.

“Is something wrong with Kuyata’s health? Does His Majesty know about this?” Chu Tian feigned surprise, though inwardly he was secretly gloating. There was no way Best would dare report this to the Emperor! Just the news that Kuyata was sick would be enough to cost him his post—let alone now, with preparations for war underway!

Sure enough, at the mention of the Emperor, Best’s expression shifted dramatically, his iron-hard face flushing and paling in turn. “Your Highness, there’s no need to trouble His Majesty with such a minor issue, is there? If you could just treat the beast, all would be well…”

“Praise be to the Goddess of Life, the empire’s magical beasts aren’t limited to just Kuyata!” Chu Tian shook his head helplessly. “Today, I still have to examine the Commander of the Imperial Guard’s beasts…”

Shameless! Best cursed silently. The illustrious title of High Priest was an utter disgrace when applied to you! Though Chu Tian’s reputation among the commoners of the continent was peerless, among the nobility he was already notorious. Every noble in the empire knew that to make a name in war, healthy magical beasts were essential. To have healthy beasts, you had to seek out Prince Vladino—but only after preparing a mountain of gold!

As the drums of war drew closer, more and more clients sought healing, and Chu Tian, finding himself overwhelmed, had instituted an auction system—each day, he would only examine the three beasts whose owners offered the highest price. Best had already learned before seeing Chu Tian that today’s highest bidder was the Commander of the Imperial Guard, offering fifty thousand gold coins!

“The Commander of the Guard will not be participating in this war,” Best said coldly. Kuyata’s health was crucial to his own future, so any obstacle to Chu Tian treating Kuyata had to be removed! As one of the three chiefs of the General Staff, Best had the authority to decide the list of those going to war—thus, the unfortunate Commander lost his greatest opportunity for merit…

With the Commander’s future cut off, Best’s expression shifted to a beaming smile. “Your Highness, if you help me with this, I will most certainly show my gratitude.” As he spoke, a transparent crystal card was quietly slipped into Chu Tian’s hand. “And Kuyata will surely be grateful as well…”

“Ha ha, my lord, you are far too generous…” Chu Tian replied, his face solemn and dignified, but his hand quickly tucking the crystal card into his ring. “Then I shall go with you to see Kuyata at once! Barbossa, fetch Dio!” Dio had now become Chu Tian’s assistant, and for a task as great as treating Kuyata, he naturally had to be present.

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Kuyata usually resided in a palace outside Pompeii, enjoying a life of comfort, but in recent years, he had not been happy. First, five years ago, Crimson Flame joined Caesar, directly threatening his status. The other reason was his health.

Thirty years ago, at the Battle of Quarry Fortress, Kuyata had distinguished himself under Anthony’s forbidden spell and was richly rewarded by the former emperor, but the cost had been steep. Though the three ninth-rank dragons had not killed him, constrained by the rules among magical beasts, the aftereffects were inevitable.

As a highly intelligent ninth-rank beast, Kuyata well understood the fate of a strategic weapon plagued by illness. For years, he had concealed his condition through sheer strength, but all this changed with Crimson Flame’s arrival.

Even in his prime, Kuyata was only a match for Crimson Flame; now, beset by ailments, he could only maintain a haughty, aloof demeanor in public, feigning indifference, though inwardly he suffered. When the Pampas family sought his cooperation, the price Regi and his son offered was tempting, but Kuyata had to scare them off with an outrageously high counteroffer.

Missing out on gold was one thing, but now Ludi III was about to launch a war, and this was a real trouble. Without Crimson Flame, Kuyata could have used the excuse of guarding the capital to avoid battle—but this time, it was Crimson Flame assigned to that post! And if the enemy were weak, it wouldn’t matter, but Res happened to have a ninth-rank Holy Dragon Knight!

Kuyata knew he could no longer hide the truth, so he confessed his condition to Best, nearly scaring the caretaker half to death. Kuyata was bound to the empire by a contract of equality; if things became unbearable, he could simply leave, the worst outcome being unemployment. But Best would have to face the wrath of Ludi III. Thus, with no alternative, Best scraped together a hundred thousand gold coins and came to beg Chu Tian.

Under Best’s guidance, Chu Tian and Dio arrived at Kuyata’s palace and began the most lucrative operation of Chu Tian’s career…