Chapter 174: Chapter 174: Rock''s New Ally (1)


    Long Xiurong finished her prayer, and her expression cooled down once more.


    "Come in."


    Alice opened the door and walked in with a tray of a teapot and a cup. She carefully arranged the table, while cleaning her dinner off the table to make sure that Long Xiurong wouldn''t eat or drink anything other than the ginger tea that had beenced with poison.


    "Please drink it while the tea is still hot, Mdy. I-I still have something else to do in the kitchen. I will return to you in a few hours if that''s alright," Alice asked.


    "Hm, thank you, you may leave now," Long Xiurong said perfunctorily.


    Alice almost jumped out of joy, knowing that her n would finallye to fruition. She had put three drops of poison into the teapot. If she failed again, she wouldn''t know how to face Lady Jade.


    Long Xiurong watched as the bunny maid left her room. She stared at the teapot but had no intention to drink it right away because she didn''t like a piping hot drink.


    She''d rather let it sit for a while to make it lukewarm, then drink it before sleep.


    Thus, Long Xiurong looked outside of the window once again, gazing at the beautiful full moon, and sighed as she acted like a little girl who fantasized about her own knight in shining armor.


    ''One day, I will find my own man.''


    **


    Rock Silverfang stared at the full moon before shifting his gaze back to the castle. He had been watching the kingdom-especially the castle ground from far away since morning, so he witnessed how everyone celebrated His Majesty''s rut this year.


    He had heard rumors that the Beast King had sessfully passed the coldest night without killing anyone, which was miraculous news.


    Rock had been Gale''s beta for almost a decade, and each year, the death toll would rise again and again. He remembered that the cursed beast would kill at least five hundred beastmen and humans, not counting the regr animals.


    At first, he was worried about the Princess, thinking that the Beast King would kill the Princess during the coldest night. He knew that Princess Swan would stay by the Beast King''s side no matter what, even if she was facing death.


    Rock was aware of Princess Swan''s mysterious and strange power, but he doubted she would be able to defeat His Majesty in his rut state during the coldest night when the blood moon was present.


    Fearing this, he nned to save the Princess by kidnapping her before it


    happened. Unfortunately, he was on another continent at that time, and he couldn''t travel through the North Sea, considering the Beast King had imposed a trade and travel ban for everyone.


    He had no choice but to take the longer route, and he had just arrived at the Kingdom of Beastman that morning.


    Rock was scared he would arrive toote, and the Beast King would destroy Princess Swan''s body until nothing was left of her. He could already picture the worst scenario in his mind, including the possibility of Princess Swan''s funeral.


    However, the mourning didn''t happen.


    Instead, there was a big celebration that he could watch from far away. Unfortunately, he couldn''t see Princess Swan clearly at the castle ground as he couldn''t get too dose, or his Alpha would detect his presence and kill him instantly.


    Thus, rather than returning to his new home in another continent, he decided to stay.


    ''I just have to check on my Princess at least once, then I can be at ease knowing she is alive and well,'' Rock thought. He gritted his teeth as he was frustrated with himself.


    When Princess Swan used her mysterious, holy power to move him away from that cave to the continent in the north, he was left with one mission; get stronger.


    Princess Swan told him to get stronger, so he trained nonstop while making friends with the locals, and joined the biggest arctic wolf pack called Blizzard Pack. He had proven his strength as the new beta for the Alpha of the Blizzard Pack.


    He spent his days pushing himself to the limit, but even when he had proven himself to be much stronger than his current Alpha in the Blizzard Pack, he would still be no match against the Beast King.


    Gale was a beast cursed by the Moon Goddess herself.


    He was immortal and had the strength nobody could match for the next thousands


    of years.


    ''I understand all that. I don''t know if I


    will ever be able to match His Majesty, but my Princess told me to get stronger, so I will obey her order,'' Rock told himself despite his ever growing frustration. ''If only I could be the chosen one and get cursed by the Moon Goddess just like His Majesty.''


    In the end, Rock pped his cheek to stop feeling sorry for himself.


    ''Get it together, Rock. You''re here to check on your Princess. If she wants to leave, then you have to aid her so she can escape. If she wants to stay, then you should leave. As long as she is happy with her choice you have no right to interfere,'' Rock reminded himself of his original mission.


    After refocusing himself, he took a deep breath to catch the scent around him. What he wanted to detect the most was the scent of the Beast King, so he could pinpoint his exact location.


    ''He is not around the castle, but I can catch the hint of his scent. So, he is probably in his privateke right now. Taking a freezing bath after a long day.''


    Rock had been working as the Beast King''s beta for so long that he had grown familiar with Gale''s scent and habit. He knew that the Beast King was not as alert when he was taking a freezing bath in his privateke.


    Rock remembered the ins and outs of the castle, so he made a mental note of which path he should take to infiltrate the castle without being noticed.


    After making sure that everything was under his calction, he nodded, "This is the time."