Supreme BeastTamer: I Can Copy and Upgrade Skills 10x! - Chapter 441

Chapter 441: The Tristan Kingdom Has Other Plans
Prince Ainsworth’s head hit the ground with a dull thud and rolled, his eyes frozen wide in disbelief. His body collapsed a moment later, lifeless and still. The thick scent of blood permeated the air, and the world seemed to stop.

Even after several tense seconds, Ainsworth’s eyes remained wide open, the disbelief still fresh. It was crystal clear that even in his last moment, he had underestimated Nox and never expected him to go for the kill.

No one expected him to, actually, considering the consequences of such an act. However, the scene unfolding before them was no dream.

“He… killed… the prince…”

Someone finally broke the silence.

The whisper of disbelief swept through the crowd, quickly rising into a storm of gasps and horrified exclamations.

“He’s dead…”

“Nox Cromwell killed Prince Ainsworth!”

“He’s finished! This is treason—war!”

A few minutes ago, just before Nox delivered the killing blow, the rest of the special class students had arrived as well to celebrate with the others for successfully completing their first-ever special class mission.

However, they encountered a rather gruesome scene. They had expected casualties in this fight, but never did they expect to find their confident instructor’s butchered body submerged in his own pool of blood—or to watch the rank-one student sever the head of Prince Ainsworth.

“Monster!”

“He killed him—oh my god!”

“Why would he kill the prince?!”

“Those dark eyes… I always knew there was something wrong with him!”

The students recoiled, their faces growing pale, their fear palpable. They began to take several steps back because when looking at Nox, there wasn’t even a shred of humanity in the depths of those midnight eyes.

All they saw was a cold, lifeless gaze. The blood dripping from his Oblivion Edge didn’t help matters either—it gave the onlookers a sense of dread, a reminder, as if he was still hungry for blood.

“He grew fearless too, huh?” Glen chuckled, her eyes glinting with mischief as she mumbled to herself. “You really grew up after that encounter, didn’t you? To think you’d be bold enough to go against the king himself… Let’s see how you survive this one—or should I make my move now?”

As for Theo, he wasn’t as amused as Glen. His thoughts were more chaotic.

“Nox, I knew you were fearless, but to think you’d openly kill a member of the royal family…” Theo felt a chill run down his spine—a rare occurrence.

His father, Boris Fanum, the guild leader of the Adventurer’s Guild, was a very powerful and respected man. However, even he, with such backing, could never openly attack royalty like that.

He might have survived if he had taken out only Brandon, as Brandon had been the first person to attack… but killing Ainsworth was different. It was an outright challenge to the authority of the royal family—a move that could not be ignored.

Theo’s hands trembled slightly. Even if Nox had a plan, even if he had accounted for every possible reaction from the kingdom, was this truly something he could handle?

“The king… he won’t let this slide,” Theo muttered, his voice barely above a whisper.

“What should we do? Escape?” Wendy whispered to Nyx beside her, knowing that no matter what, the king would still hear news of this.

There was one solution, though.

Wendy bit her lip.

That solution involved slaughtering everyone here to silence the witnesses.

Her fingers twitched instinctively toward the sword strapped to her thigh. It would be easy—swift, clean, and efficient. But the thought sent a shiver down her spine.

Could she really do that?

Not really.

Commander Luthier was an expert-level Awakened, then there was Lutton, the Tristan soldiers, and the special class students.

If they were to kill everyone here, it would only complicate things even further and put an even bigger target on their backs.

“There has to be another way.” Wendy scanned around. “Should we try convincing them?”

“I doubt that will work,” Nyx stated matter-of-factly. She didn’t even look half as worried as Wendy.

Meanwhile, to the side, Commander Luthier had initially been shocked at Nox’s daring move and was even ready to apprehend him because the Tristan Kingdom and the Vermilion Kingdom were allied nations, but…

Commander Luthier licked his lips, the sound of his lips smacking together echoing across the silent battlefield.

A mischievous light flickered across his eyes.

“I can take advantage of this.”

As he thought about it, the conversation he had with the king resurfaced in his head.

“I want you to personally lead an envoy to meet with Nox Cromwell and hire him. I figure if we give him more gold and resources, he will work even harder,” the king had said.

“And if he refuses to cooperate?”

Darius sighed. “Then we let him be. You can’t force true alliances.”

“If this Nox Cromwell is as powerful as they say… then he will not come cheaply.”

“But his strength may be what finally allows us to break free from our reliance on wealth… and take back our kingdom’s future.”

“Hahahaha!” Luthier laughed heartily in his heart, his eyes gleaming with glee.

The rightful opportunity had just presented itself.

What he was about to do might have a deadly drawback, but it was worth the risk.

Luthier wasn’t a fool—he knew that recruiting Nox now would be seen as an outright provocation to the Vermilion Kingdom. King Aldric would demand blood for his son’s death, and siding with the murderer would be equivalent to spitting in the king’s face.

But Luthier didn’t care.

Nox Cromwell was beyond valuable.

He… he was a one-man army!

The battle against the beasts was no different from a war, and yet Nox had contributed greatly.

It could be argued without a doubt that Nox had single-handedly won the battle. Yes, the soldiers and students had contributed, but their efforts were minimal.

And all of this was because of his pets…

“Just how many of those beasts does he have in his possession? Would the outcome be similar to this if we were in a war against another kingdom?” Luthier’s thoughts raced. “Could he dominate the enemy just like this? He could be our surest ticket to becoming a military power.”

After several moments, Luthier came to a decision.

Under the tense gaze of everyone, the Commander—the man who was second only to the king of the Tristan Kingdom—began to approach Nox.

***

AN: The reason for the lack of update was because I’m sick and was hospitalized but I’m feeling better now. Was on drip and still taking medications. Gosh I thought I’ll die but I’m okay now, thanks to all those that checked on me. Let me see if I can wing another chapter this night.