Casas Marquis Estate

Inside the Casas Marquis Estate, in a long, secluded corridor, two figures walked side by side, one tall and thin, the other stout, conversing in hushed tones, seemingly harboring many doubts.

"Brother, why does Father favor that outsider Monaldo so much? My cultivation resources this month have even been reduced, probably all allocated to him. What is the purpose of summoning us here? Is it to cut our resources again?" The plump young man in a gorgeous red suit spoke with dissatisfaction and complaints.

"Gaita, watch your words. Father has his reasons for his actions, and we shouldn't speculate. Besides, Monaldo is now a member of the family, a brother to us, so we should show him more respect in our words." The tall, thin young man, with a slightly gloomy face and a tone that was both steady and admonishing, was none other than the eldest son Gain Casas.

These two men were the only two male heirs of the Marquis of Casas.

The eldest son Gain Casas, and the second son Gaita Casas.

"Tsk, I think Father only favors him and looks down on us. Since he arrived, we've barely seen Father once a month," Gaita complained, his tone filled with helplessness and resentment.

Faced with this undeniable fact, Gaine could only remain silent, his heart filled with mixed emotions.

Just then, a steady footstep sound came from afar, interrupting their conversation. The Marquis of Casas appeared at the end of the corridor, his face dignified, his eyes deep and penetrating, as if he could see into people's hearts. Behind him followed a young man who was not particularly tall, but had an extraordinary temperament and was incredibly handsome, with short platinum blond hair. This was Monaldo, the one who had caused the brothers so much dissatisfaction.

"Father." Gaine and Gaita quickly bowed. Although they had many grievances in their hearts, they still maintained the proper etiquette in front of their father.

Casas nodded slightly, his gaze not lingering on the two men, and walked straight to the council chamber at the end of the corridor.

This indifferent attitude left both Gaine and his companion feeling somewhat stifled as they recalled their earlier conversation.

In fact, the Marquis of Casas had treated them in the same way before Monaldo arrived.

However, with Casas' attitude towards Monaldo as a contrast, especially since Monaldo was an illegitimate child of unknown origin, both of their direct descendants naturally felt very awkward. In particular, Gaita, who was used to being carefree and undisciplined, expressed his dissatisfaction with Monaldo in an extremely straightforward manner.

Monaldo... who was disguised as a man, Amona, walked by quickly, glanced at the two of them, smiled slightly, but did not say anything.

With Amona's cheerful and lively personality, unless the Beast Soul Alliance's mission has explicit requirements, or she judges that it is not advisable to cause any unexpected complications during the mission, she tends to do the mission happily and will actively communicate and get along with the people and things she encounters during the mission.

However, after being recalled as an illegitimate child a little over a month ago and having a brief encounter with the two men, she gave up any thought of giving them a friendly look.

Gaine was one thing, but Gaita was a typical spoiled aristocrat, incompetent, pleasure-seeking, arrogant, and domineering. He looked down on Amona's disguise as Monaldo.

Gaine's attitude can only be described as ordinary, but according to Amona's observation, he was very cold to everyone, probably due to his personality.

In short, neither of the two male members of the Marquis of Casas were easy to approach, and Amona was too lazy to try and win them over, so she chose to befriend Casas's daughters instead.

However, as a suicide soldier, Amona is essentially warm on the outside but cold on the inside. These women are just a bit of fun in her life. If the Beast Soul Alliance needs her, she would probably kill these people who have been smiling at her during this time without any mercy.

"Hmph, what kind of attitude is that kid!"

Gaita, seeing the fleeting sneer on Amona's face, couldn't help but mutter a complaint to everyone. In the Casas Family, everyone except his father indulged his whims; he was used to being domineering and flattered, so he naturally felt displeased with Amona's seemingly disdainful attitude.

Gaine frowned and gently stopped him, saying, "Gaita, have you forgotten what I just told you?"

Although he had some reservations about Amona, since the Marquis of Casas had accepted Amona, he felt it was none of their business to interfere.

"Knew."

Gaita pouted in resentment, but didn't say anything more, though his eyes still held a hint of anger.

The two brothers then quickened their pace.

Then, led by the servants at the door, the two entered the council hall and found seats.

The chosen position was naturally not next to Amona, who had gone ahead, but rather in a position opposite her.

Casas, seated at the head of the table, silently observed Gaine and his companion. His face, backlit, appeared somber and indistinct, thus obscuring the changes in his gaze.

The council chamber was dimly lit, and the firelight in the fireplace flickered in the stillness, as if silently observing the subtle dynamics within the family.

After the attendants had all left the council chamber, the Marquis of Casas finally spoke.

"I have summoned you here today to announce an important matter."

The Marquis of Casas's words carried a hint of solemnity, causing the three people present to involuntarily straighten their backs.

Casas Casas's voice echoed in the council chamber, carrying an unquestionable authority. "Recently, a major event has occurred in the Empire. Our Prince Dai Weisi has unfortunately perished during a training expedition—well, at least that's what the Emperor will probably declare afterward."

Upon hearing this, both Gaine and Gaita looked surprised, especially Gaita, who almost cried out in alarm. However, remembering that they were in the council chamber and that Casas was in front of them, they managed to stop themselves from doing so.

"You may not understand what this means, so I will be frank."

Casas paused for a moment, then said in a deep voice, "The Star Luo Empire has decided to launch a new round of elections for the Crown Prince. All eligible noble sons may participate."

Casas Casas's gaze swept over the three children one by one, finally settling on Amona's face. "Our Casas Family, of course, cannot lag behind. Monaldo has decided to participate in this competition."

Upon hearing this, Gaita could no longer contain himself and abruptly stood up, his voice filled with a mixture of excitement and dissatisfaction. "Father, how can you allow an unidentified illegitimate child to represent our family? An illegitimate child running for Crown Prince? Our Casas Family is going to become a laughingstock in the Star Luo Empire!"

Although Gaine had his doubts, he knew the cruelty of the competition for the Crown Prince. For impoverished nobles like them, not participating was the norm. But even if they chose to participate, how could they let an illegitimate child go?

But he knew better than to confront Casas directly at this moment, so he quickly reached out and grabbed Gaita, whispering, "Gaita, calm down. Father has his reasons."

Casas looked at the excited Gaita, his face showing no emotion, and simply said, "I have investigated Monaldo's identity and he is indeed my bloodline."

"But..." Gaita wanted to argue, but was interrupted by the Marquis of Casas.

"No buts, this is the family's decision." The Marquis of Casas's voice carried an unquestionable authority. "Gaine, Gaita, as the direct descendants of the family, you should set an example and support the family's decision. Monaldo's participation in the election is not only for his personal glory, but also for the future of our entire Casas Family. Most importantly... he has the ability to do so."

Under his father's stern gaze, Gaita could only sit down reluctantly.

Gaine remained silent.

Ability...

Gaine knew that the most important thing to win the Crown Prince position was to possess the White Tiger Martial Soul.

He and his brother did indeed successfully awaken the White Tiger Martial Soul.

However, just as the Innate Soul Power of those who awaken the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Martial Soul varies, the Evil Eye White Tiger is indeed a top-tier Martial Soul, but not everyone's Martial Soul quality reaches the top tier when they awaken it.

Both brothers were only at the fifth level of Innate Soul Power. Their Martial Soul were more like ordinary White Tiger Evil Eye White Tiger, only containing the bloodline of the Evil Eye White Tiger.

Gaine 25 years old this year and his Soul Power Level is only 38 Soul Elder. Gaita is 19 years old and is a 29-level Soul Grandmaster.

Just as the Marquis of Casas said, with such talent and ability, there is absolutely no hope of winning the Crown Prince position.

Gaita stopped making noise, and Marquis Casas continued, "There are only two conditions for participating in the competition. The first, as you can all guess, is that you must have awakened the White Tiger Martial Soul. There's nothing to say about this; to inherit the Dai surname, even if you don't have the Evil Eye White Tiger Martial Soul, you must at least have the Bai Hu Martial Soul. The second is age; you cannot be older than 22."

Upon hearing this, Gaine immediately realized that this matter had nothing to do with him, since he was already 25 years old, and turned his attention to his younger brother.

"Gaine no longer meets the requirements, Gaita, what do you think?" Casas's gaze also turned to Gaita, awaiting his answer.

Before Gaita could answer, Gaine realized that Gaita's hostility towards Amona was likely due to this antagonistic intent, and immediately interjected, "The path to the Crown Prince is extremely dangerous; a slight misstep could lead to utter ruin. Moreover, Gaita, with your strength and talent, you have absolutely no chance of winning. Don't pay an irreparable price for a moment of impulsiveness."

Faced with his respected elder brother's admonition, Gaita's enthusiasm cooled down slightly.

He glanced sideways at Amona, who remained calm throughout, and suddenly realized that the Marquis of Casas had not objected to Gaine's words, and then, considering what the Marquis of Casas had said earlier...

'So, this guy is really strong?'

His heart skipped a beat, and he turned to look at the Marquis of Casas, replying, "Father, I will not participate."

Marquis Casas nodded slightly. "Then it's settled."

With a snap, the Gaine brothers closed the door and left.

Silence, a silence that lasted for quite a while.

"Pfft, hahaha!!!"

Amona pointed at Casas and laughed loudly, "Queen, you're quite the father! Those two idiots haven't even noticed anything amiss yet!"

Casas... or rather, Kui, frowned and rebuked him, "Amona, while on a mission, be serious. Be careful not to let your words slip and reveal information, ruining the Alliance Leader's plans!"

"I waited until they were far away before I laughed out loud, didn't I?" Amona pouted unhappily, but seeing Kui's serious expression, she finally shut up.

It had actually been about two months since the Beast Soul Alliance took control of the Casas Family.

The Casas Marquisate adjacent to the Cataclysm Mountain Range. Shortly after the establishment of the Beast Soul Chamber of Commerce, it contacted the guild and began a certain degree of cooperation.

The cooperation mainly focused on the transportation of goods across two great empires.

Meanwhile, the Beast Soul Alliance continued to investigate Casas Carthus's interpersonal relationships, lifestyle, and behavior.

When the time was right, the substitution was easily accomplished.

So easily.

Firstly, the Marquis of Casas himself was weak.

In this world where the strong are respected, to the point of being inferior even to some Earl families, their strength is naturally not very good.

It should be noted that even in a normal Earl family in the Star Luo Empire, one can possess Soul Sage- level combat power.

Of course, this doesn't mean that those of higher ranks like marquis or duke necessarily have higher Soul Master combat power. After all, merit, kinship, and other factors are also important considerations for determining a title.

After all, in the Star Luo Empire, Soul Douluo was the highest level of military force on the surface, and only marquis and duke families at their peak could afford to support them.

The problem is that Marquis Casas himself is merely a Soul King.

The Soul King is already a powerful figure, but he is completely inferior to the Marquis's title and status.

To the Beast Soul Alliance, the Soul King is no different from an insect.

There's no need to send out elite forces; mid-level forces alone are enough to take it down.

The difficulty of substituting one thing for another lies not in strength, but in how to deceive those familiar to the Marquis of Casas.

But this is not difficult.

As the Marquisate fell into decline, the Marquis of Casas was already not close to any of the nobles.

The people most worried about being exposed are the Marquis of Casas' children and wife.

Otherwise, the Beast Soul Alliance wouldn't have needed to prepare for so long before taking action.

The Marquis Casas had three wives and seven children.

In fact, his three wives were later replaced by members of the Beast Soul Alliance.

With the disguise techniques You Chen obtained from the system, coupled with the preparations he made months in advance, the Beast Soul Alliance can now say that it has completely taken control of this fallen noble family.

In this way, the transactions and circulation between the Marquis of Casas and the Beast Soul Chamber of Commerce can be more direct.

After all, it's just a simple job of transferring money from one hand to the other.

With Kui replacing Casas and the Beast Soul Alliance as his backing, many things that Marquis Casas wouldn't have dared to do or couldn't do before are now no longer a concern.

For example, the private armies of neighboring nobles who had previously taken advantage of the Marquis of Casas's weakness and plundered the border of the Marquis's territory disguised as thieves were completely crushed in the past two months, and were even directly retaliated against and invaded into the other party's territory.

This caused quite a stir on the northwestern border of the Star Luo Empire.

If it weren't for the massive earthquake that struck the capital today, drawing everyone's attention, the changes in the Casas Marquisate would have sparked considerable discussion among the Star Luo Empire nobles.