In the evening, as the sky had already turned dark, the Great Golden Empire's capital city was still active with many kinds of people moving about as usual, while Zarba, who had arrived in the city, moved through its labyrinth-like alleyways and dense population districts smoothly with his black cloak and hood concealing his princely identity, his boots stepping silently on the cobblestones as he walked among the crowd of people, blending in well with how common his current outfit was.
He didn't need to think of where he was going, as fifteen years of navigating these streets, often because of his daddy's crazy antics that caused him to flee the palace, had etched every crumbling brick and every random alleyway into his memory and helped him develop his excellent sense of direction and urban navigation.
Tonight, the state of the city wasn't just filled with the usual rotten garbage, greed, and desperation—it was also filled with unrest, confusion, and fear that were brewing together like a mix of unholy toxic waste.
Zarba could hear many whispers of wild rumors from throughout the city saying the two dukes have been secretly raising their army for rebellion while there is also a bad harvest in many regions and a lack of food. There's also a rumor of the army of a hundred thousand men from the neighboring empire in the north currently marching to the border of the Great Golden Empire.
Zarba also heard the news of bandit gangs popping up like mold all over the regions, while there are sighting reports of monster hordes forming in the southern region, and lastly, the usual gossip of the emperor using bull's testicles as projectiles against his ministers, which is a true story, since Zarba was there when it happened.
With these rumors going around painting a bleak future for the citizens of the empire, Zarba also feels some pity for them, but he can't really help much when his life will also be in constant danger if he decides to stay in the empire.
Even with his cheat, the SSS, which can spam summoning soldiers infinitely, will not be able to help the empire citizens when all the problems erupt all at once and the citizens die en masse from starvation, plagues, and natural disasters that will happen one after another for some ridiculous reasons, not to mention the rebellion and war…
That's why Zarba is determined to escape the empire as soon as possible, as he intends to be long gone before all these problems erupt so he will not have to deal with them while wasting his new life away trying to juggle everything without being able to relax and enjoy himself.
But despite how bad the situation of the empire seems to be, the businesses still have to keep going, as the people still have to eat. The economy is bad, of course, as everything is very expensive, and the normal citizens barely manage to buy food from day to day, while the crime rate of the empire skyrocketed to 50% just last year.
Most of the problems usually come from the inaction of the mad emperor and the greed of those in power who are doing whatever they want like typical corrupt politicians.
Zarba even tried to talk to his dear daddy a couple of times to do something about them, but that guy just kept forgetting all about their conversations a moment later after some random things entered his sight, even his own beard, which the mad emperor still calls his precious gray tentacles to this day, and from then on Zarba is convinced that this dude has completely lost it and will never get out of his own madness alive...
When he was still young, Zarba even thought that his daddy was cursed by black magic or something, but his grandparents had told him before they died of old age that they had already tried everything to cure his daddy of his madness, but with no visible result, so the most likely conclusion is that the guy's brain has been defective since birth.
And too bad for the people of the empire, the misfortune now falling on them, as the Great Golden Empire was heavily traditional, so only the direct line of Zigma lineage could rule the empire, even if the ruler is obviously insane…
It's no wonder why Zarba has already given up trying to help and decided to just run away to a better country to live in and start over as a merchant or business owner, and with how many treasures and gold coins he's planning to bring with him as a starter fund, he can take it easy for years while he figures out what he wants to do with his life later.
'Here I am, home sweet home…' Zarba thought as he stepped out from the crowd of people while he looked up at his home on top of the mountain, where the imperial palace was built inside the castle that overlooked the expansive and unplanned capital city with the architectural mix of Hellenic and Middle Eastern cultures from Earth.
Zarba then walks towards the back of the mountain without going to the front, as he discreetly takes a secret passage that is hidden behind a random building to get into the imperial palace with the vertical swirl stairs inside the mountain. When he got inside the dark secret room, Zarba pulled out a magic lantern from his rucksack to illuminate the dark hollow space that stretched far upward and then began stepping up the many stairs with determination, as there are many steps on the stairs, so many steps…
The stairs was truly a pain to go through, but he got used to it after 15 years; that's why his VIT attribute is B+. Zarba continued to ascend the stairs until he finally arrived at the top of the mountain with heavy breath and a bit of sweat after some time.
As he emerged from the hidden entrance through the castle wall, Zarba dropped his cloak and put it inside his rucksack before he headed to the palace, not through the main gates crawling with guards and spies, but via the many hidden passages behind the walls and underneath the floors scattered throughout the castle and imperial palace.
These hidden passages are ancient passageways known only to the imperial family and those who might have discovered them by accident. No one really knows the full map of these hidden passages, as the knowledge has been lost for a long time, so it's a pretty safe way to travel discreetly, if you know the layout, of course.
The air grew thin and cold in the passage as Zarba traveled through the darkness with quick steps. He moved with the silence of an experienced man who often used this hidden passage, his fingers finding secret marks that he carved on the walls to tell where he currently is as he takes a turn and picks a direction through the junction and split paths.
After some time traveling in silence, Zarba's boots finally step on the worn-out red carpet of the imperial palace hallway as he comes out from one of the many forgotten rooms of the palace. He inhales clean air with a relieved expression before he turns and heads to the throne room with a malicious intention on his face.
There's still "debt" he has to repay to the guy who wants to assassinate him before his eventual departure with Xin.
÷×÷×÷
The regal and majestic throne room filled with gold decorations greeted him as Zarba went through the grand golden doors with a mural of the empire's founding myth, a barbarian warrior striking a demon king with a magical enchanted sword, depicted on them, and from the two sides of the grand doors outside of the throne room stood two large and muscular slave warriors in heavy armor with big warhammers in their hands who opened the doors for him.
Zarba glanced around the ancient throne room as he walked inside before his eyes fell onto the ball of madness sitting on the throne like a lazy bum. The emperor Zarking Altra Zigma sat slumped on the beautiful obsidian-carved throne, old and full of wrinkles in regal red robes and a black crown on top of his head, his brown eyes currently glazing over in a dreamy state, ignoring what is going on around him.
Zarba could see that in Zarking's right hand, he clutched a golden cup filled with red wine, and in the other, he held a sword loosely—the Blade of Ascension, an ancient artifact, no less—as the blade tip stabbed in the stone floor like a simple walking cane.
"I had seen it, but I see what, WHAT?!" Zarba's daddy suddenly shrieked, speaking in riddles, while Zarba didn't even try to understand what the madman was talking about as he walked towards him with some caution in his steps while raising his eyebrow in mild curiosity, wondering if this guy was going to do anything crazy again this time.
"The sky wept diamonds today! Diamonds! And I caught them and ate them all! Are they inside my asshole now?!" The emperor gestured wildly with the golden cup toward everywhere, not really making any sense as his eyes still glazed over.
"Need proof?! Glorious, golden, irrefutable proof! Shoving it deep—hyahihihahahaha!" The emperor is laughing madly while still speaking nonsense as Zarba gets close enough to him but not within a three-meter radius of his insane daddy. This crazy guy is surprisingly fast with his hand, as many people get attacked randomly when they are in his reach...