Hidden genius: Black belly snake

Chapter 115: A crack on the iceberg Part2

"Ah That" Marvin stuttered. He suddenly found himself short of words. He just couldn't find the courage to speak the words in his head any longer.

Thanks to Xander's very personal address, now every single pair of eyes in the courtroom were keenly staring at him, waiting to hear about what he has to say.

Marvin suddenly felt like he had come here to dig his own grave. Have I made something small into a big deal? He slightly hesitated.

But it looked like Xander did not intend to simply let this go. His cold and frosty crimson eyes stared at the chubby little elf, giving him the full undivided attention and his wicked lips smirked.

This only made Marvin more and more uncomfortable. 

The small silence soon turned into a big awkward silence. Marvin was sweating profusely. 

His hands were shaking, and when he held his hands together, fidgeting in order to steady himself, his body started shaking.

Damn it. I am the grandmaster's only son! I do not have to be this scared of this madman!

Marvin finally broke down, sucked in huge breaths of air, and panted out the words that were stuck in his throat. 

His pale cheeks were puffed and red making him look somewhat comical.

"Your highness, consort Yue humiliated me in public. She pushed unwarranted blame and baseless accusations on me and tarnished my reputation." 

"I need justice for this unfair treatment and undeserved humiliation. I I This is not right your highness!"

Marvin fully explained what happened in the beast market and how Tang Yue had slapped him for no apparent reason and called him a molester in public without any logic.

He stuttered and stammered and got his sentences out finally with great difficulty. 

Damn it. Why did all the Generals have to assemble today? He inwardly cursed his bad luck.

But he was already here and the cat was also out of the bag. So Marvin tried to look as serious and wronged as he possibly could.

However, after his medium-sized outburst, no one said anything. Everyone had a weird look on their face and their mouths were tightly shut.

The entire courtroom was silent.

Every second of silence that ticked away both gave him more confidence and also more self-doubt.

It was not false that he had a much better standing than Tang Yue in the royal food chain. So Marvin slightly felt more confident.

But at the same time That rumored kiss

Not able to stand the suspense any longer, Marvin gritted his teeth and raised his beady little eyes that were staring at the ground till now, to look at the tyrant on the throne.

Is he going to be angry? Is he going to be indifferent? Is he going to straight-up kill me for wasting his time?

Marvin nervously looked up.

Huh? His mind blanked out instantly. What he saw made his entire body tremble in fear.

In fact, every single elf in the courtroom was gasping in shock and looking at their ruthless cold-blooded leader in shock and awe.

Was he Was he Was he actually smiling?

Everyone had to rub their eyes once or twice and look at the fierce monster sitting on the throne.

There was an unmistakable smile on that godly face!

Xander had tilted his head to a side, resting it on his palm, covering most of his face. 

And if one looked closely, there were hints of a wide grin clearly visible in between his fingers, through those small holes.

There was a visible crack on the immovable iceberg!

Xander was usually terrifying when his face looked grave, but unfortunately for Marvin, he was only more terrifying when a smile surfaced on his face.

Marvin's entire body was shaking and trembling. His knees lost all their strength. He couldn't care less about his status and reputation right now.

This was a fucking grave mistake! What was I thinking?!

Marvin collapsed on the marble floor and banged his head repeatedly on the ground. "Please forgive me, your highness. This is my fault."

"I shouldn't have brought up such a silly issue with you. I am sorry. Please forgive me, your highness."

Marvin immediately started to beg and plead. 

He hadn't met Xander in a while and his new-found respect in the society thanks to his cripple status being removed, had made him slightly cocky.

He had completely forgotten just how terrifying Xander could be. 

The madman had slashed down countless elves right in this courtroom without any rhyme or reason. 

Elves who had done nothing wrong and elves who were nobles and had a status in the royal hierarchy.

What was I thinking when I decided to come here and talk to this monster? He repeatedly cursed his stupidity.

Marvin had been blinded by anger and now he was paying the price. He never should have come here.

He lifted his teary bloodshot eyes and snot-filled face to once again look at the madman's response when he heard a loud clear chuckle.

A single divine childlike laughing sound echoed through the silent courtroom as Xander wordlessly stood up and casually walked out.

All the Generals looked at each other weirdly. The palace aides were dumbfounded. Marvin froze like a statue. 

Everyone present in the courtroom had their mouths wide open.

WHAT JUST HAPPENED???

WHAT THE HELL JUST HAPPENED???

....

Meanwhile in Zither palace

Little Plum was buzzing around Tang Yue and the new pup vigilantly. 

It could sense that unlike their relation, the pup didn't have any sort of special contract with Tang Yue, and hence it was a bit wary of the cute thing.

Its entire conscience was focused on the pup and its actions including licking, jumping, and running around.

Wherever the pup ran to, Little Plum followed and the duo kept themselves busy.

And while these two were playing around, Tang Yue rubbed her chin and gazed at the latest chime of notifications.

Ding. 10% Repugnant Eversong Vine bloodline absorbed

Ding. 3% Green Beetle bloodline absorbed

Ding. 1% Withered Grass Hopper bloodline absorbed

She licked her lips bitterly and closed the translucent blue screen. 

This was the seventh disgusting bundle of meat she had swallowed and she still had three more to go to see if her efforts turn out to be fruitful.

Tang Yue sighed and paused a little. She then shifted to her human form and cleaned herself up here and there.

"Come in, Lotte." She muttered.

The elf had knocked on the door a while back and she knew that he wouldn't do so if there wasn't anything pressing or urgent.

So Tang Yue called him over as soon as she was done with the particular sitting of meditation.

"What happened?" She asked, with her arms crossed in front of her. 

She was half-expecting Marvin or Charlotte to have brewed up some new trouble and rubbed her temples in the anticipation of the headache that was about to come.

But unexpectedly, Lotte gave her a piece of very different news.

"Your highness, big news! Huge news!!" Lotte hurriedly mumbled.

"A mysterious ancient labyrinth has been discovered in the far end of the Eastern forests."

"Several teams from all the nine countries, including the different races are being assembled currently to explore this ancient labyrinth."

"It is rumored to contain a lot of treasures and powerful artifacts."

"There is even going to a contest in a few days, held specifically for this purpose."

"Commoners, nobles, beasts, invalids, just about anyone in the Eldorian Empire can participate." 

"The royal verdict has not yet been issued yet, but the entire city is abuzz with this huge news." Lotte hurriedly explained.

"Hmm" Tang Yue nodded, flickering her long forked tongue in and out. She absentmindedly waved her hand dismissing Lotte.

"A labyrinth in the eastern forests?" Her emerald eyes gleamed with interest.

"Wasn't the tribulation lightning directed at the system's presence because it revealed itself?"

"Then how did this random labyrinth pop out?" The snake pondered in confusion.

But after a few minutes, she shrugged it off.

After all, numerous experts were searching through those vast acres of forests for days together completely from top to bottom, leaving no stone unturned.

It was only natural that they find one thing or the other.

When an enormous mound of sand is passed through a sieve it was not unusual to find one or two copper coins.

And in this case, they seemed to have even found a rare gem! A nice coincidence indeed!

Tang Yue paced back and forth in her chamber thinking about things. 

She needed to consider how this sudden piece of news that had unexpectedly popped out affected her grand scheme of things and strategy to power level.

Tang Yue was in no particular hurry to rush things up, but she definitely wanted to participate in this contest.

Exploring the mysterious labyrinth was surely something that she couldn't afford to pass up.

Often old graveyards and hidden underground tombs contained priceless and powerful artifacts.

That too considering the magnitude of this endeavor with all the nine countries and the different races participating, even the Crown Prince himself, it definitely had to be something extraordinary.

"I have to enter this labyrinth." Tang Yue hissed with determination.