Chapter 56: Difficult Questions
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
The eyes of all the officials widened from that very statement.
They did not believe in this excuse. It was all nonsense.
If they really wanted to find someone to ask questions, they would not have hosted this kind of banquet. Therefore, it was obvious that they were testing the mental strength of the Lolan Empire.
It was just that in this kind of covert confrontation that was masked on the surface, the Lolan Empire had to take the bait. Puye had already said that the Lolan Empire had many talents, so he sought a reply.
If they did not accept the challenge, would they be seen as cowardly or would they have to admit that the Lolan Empire had no talents?
Not only did they have to accept it, but they also had to answer it beautifully and easily. If the King and ministers of the Lolan Empire could not answer it, it could be seen as an embarrassment to the Lolan Empire.
Kyle’s eyes flickered, and then he said, “Puye, please present the first question. Maybe we could ease your king’s mind of some doubts.”
“Thank you, Your Majesty, for your generosity of course.” Puye immediately expressed his gratitude.
Then, he clapped his hands, and immediately, a few people from Spartan, who were accompanying him, came up with a ball with a diameter of about one foot.
“As Your Majesty has seen, King Marcus named this ball the nine-holed exquisite bead. He modified it according to what he learned in the book and ordered people to create it to a T.
“There are holes on both sides of the surface, and countless roads are carved on it.
“But there is only one road that can connect the two holes on the surface of the ball.
“The problem is, one is only allowed to use a thin line to directly pass through the holes on both sides without destroying the nine-holed exquisite bead.
“No one in the Spartan Kingdom has yet to solve this problem. Even the smart and intelligent King Marcus could not do anything about it.
“Therefore, King Marcus had no choice but to let me bring the nine-hold exquisite bead here. This is my first question.”
After Puye finished speaking, Rosen stood up, he was intrigued.
“Just a few words have proved that this problem is not simple. It seems that your King Marcus is indeed a person who devotes himself to learning more about the world.”
Puye immediately bowed to Rosen and Kyle.
“It is indeed as you said. King Marcus loves to study difficult problems to an extent that outsiders can not imagine.
“Even before I set off, King Marcus gave me a secret document, stating that as long as there are talents from the Lolan Empire, he would want to kindly request if they are able to settle his doubts.
“The entire Spartan Kingdom is willing to worship the Lolan Empire as our suzerain and pay tribute every year. We will never go back on our word!”
As soon as he finished speaking, the entire hall burst into an uproar. Everyone revealed shocked expressions.
If it was not for Puye’s slightly sober appearance, everyone would have thought that he was talking about meaningless things.
By casually answering three questions, King Marcus was able to decide whether a country belonged to someone else?
This sounded too f*cking childish. It was inexplicably ridiculous!
Kyle could not help but ask Puye with a solemn expression, “Are you serious? Did your country’s King Marcus personally write this statement?”
Puye took out a document from his pocket and asked someone to pass it to Kyle.
Kyle opened it and took a look. Sure enough, it was stamped with the stamp from the King of Spartan. It was exactly the same as the previous document, even the handwriting was the same.
The meaning of this secret document was very simple. As long as someone from the Lolan Empire could answer three questions correctly, the Spartan Kingdom would immediately treat the Lolan Empire as its suzerain and pay tribute every year.
If no one could answer it correctly, then it would only be a pity. Naturally, the Lolan Kingdom would be nothing more than a joke.
After Kyle read it, he frowned and nodded slightly at Rosen and the others. Immediately, the entire scene fell silent.
With the current national strength of the Spartan Kingdom, although it was far inferior to the Lolan Empire in terms of size, there was no need for it to treat the Lolan Empire as its suzerain.
The two of them could stand on the same level and talk as equals.
Therefore, Marcus’s actions really made Kyle confused, and Rosen and the others were just as much the same as him.
However, no matter what, Kyle had to accept this agreement, and there was only one way to come out successful from this all, which was to answer all the questions correctly.
The main reason was not for the sake of being the suzerain, but because the reputation of the Lolan Empire was on the line, many things were at stake here!
If he could not answer the question, it would seem that there was no loss, but in fact, it would be a great loss in terms of status. Therefore, although he still did not understand why the Spartan Kingdom did this, Kyle still coughed lightly and agreed to it.
Then, he said in a loud voice, “I already know all the secret documents written by your king. On behalf of the Lolan Empire, I have agreed to your agreement.”
Puye’s surprised expression flashed and disappeared. Then, he bowed to Kyle once again.
“Such a puzzle, our country has spent countless days but still failed to solve it. If it were the vast Lolan Empire, I would be willing to use seven days as the time limit…”
Before Puye could finish, Kyle interrupted him.
“There’s no need for seven days. Three days will do. In three days, I will hold a banquet to invite you and have someone answer it on the spot for you to see!”
Puye could not help but take a deep look at Kyle.
This was as expected of the world’s greatest king, the unworldly King of the vast Lolan Empire. Even his boldness was so heroic to behold.
“Since Your Majesty is so confident, then I shall await the good news!”
…
With such an important task on the line, the banquet naturally could not go on. Therefore, after a few quick bites, Puye bade farewell and left.
Soon, only Rosen and the others were left in the side hall.
Kyle scrutinized the nine-holed exquisite bead on the table. He even glanced at the other side through one of the holes.
“Rosen, do you guys have any good ideas?”
Rosen and the others looked at each other, then shook their heads.
“Reporting to Your Majesty, we just thought of a few ideas, but unfortunately, none of them worked.”
Kyle was not surprised by this. If it was really a simple question, why would the King of Spartan bring it here?
“Order all the civil and military officials in the palace to think about it at home. No matter what method they used, as long as they can think of the correct method, they can come to the palace and report to me.
“Those who can solve this problem will be rewarded with a large amount of gold and would get a noble promotion!”
…
It was a pity that the order could not be posted at this moment to his people. Otherwise, it would have been a good idea to seek the collective efforts of the people in Lolan City.
However, Kyle was confident in the civil and military officials under him. He understood the wisdom of these people. How could he, the mighty Lolan Empire, not be able to solve some problems that even the barbarians could not solve?
However, the change in the situation far exceeded Kyle’s expectations.
The three-day deadline that was originally agreed upon had suddenly passed by two days.
However, the civil and military officials in the palace still could not give a reliable answer. There were quite a number of people who gave advice to Kyle, but there was not a single useful answer to solve the puzzle.
Even people like Rosen and Abner, who were resourceful, thought hard, and yet could not come up with a solution..