Supreme Ruler: Reincarnated as the Emperor's Bastard Son

Ashoka Maurya.

The youngest prince of the empire and an abominable monstrous genius who surpassed all the talents that the great Mauryan empire has ever seen.

The statement may seem glorious and overrated but that was the reality that was realized based upon his achievements.

Ashoka's achievements started at the young age of ten when he defeated the noble children training with him in the tempest manor and received the praise of the Emperor's sword, Alberad himself.

He was predicted to have been a one-star knight at that time.

After that, not much information about Ashoka was announced to the outside world but most of the important figures were still aware of his advancements.

He was rumored to have become a two-star knight at the age of twelve and achieved a 2-star in mana technique too.

And currently, there were speculations that he had already reached a 4-star level in his swordsmanship that too at the mere age of 15, and was also continuing his training in the ways of magic.

There was no reliable information about his mana level as he never used his magic powers publically, but even then he was evaluated to be at least fairly skilled in using them.

"He is becoming more and more troublesome as the days go by"

In the Royal court that was devoid of any presence, the Emperor murmured to himself as he read the report given by the royal informants.

It was on the day Ashoka returned to the royal palace from the tempest manor, the emperor appointed some skilled knights who were well-versed in stealth techniques to tail Ashoka and inform him everything about him.

It was only because he was curious about what the boy was cable of doing, at least that was his goal in the beginning.

But as the time went by, the emperor got more and more cautious of Ashoka.

The curiosity that induced the Emperor to watch Ashoka turned into precaution and became a necessary thing at some point.

A necessity that he had to watch to ensure the throne for the crown prince.

Day by day, Ashoka was getting stronger, his growth speed was monstrous and even comparable to the previous emperor, whom Bindusara hated the most in this world.

"He will be here soon"

Ashoka was going to turn 15 soon.

According to the custom of the royal family, when the royal princes turned 15, they would have to receive a part of the Mauryan's land as their own and would have to rule over it till the next emperor to be seated on the golden throne is decided.

Initially, it was practiced so that the emperor could evaluate and select a suitable ruler to succeed him and place the great Mauryan in good hands, but over the passage of time, it had turned into nothing but an old custom.

"What do you think?"

The emperor asked the knight beside him as he took a glass of wine from the table.

The knight was fully donned in shiny armor and was talking leisurely with the emperor which was very uncommon.

"Even if Ashoka is getting stronger at a faster pace, he would not be able to hold a single candle against the other princes since he has no supporters to back him up"

The knight was none other than Justin Maurya, the only live brother of the current emperor and also his personal guard.

Justin and Bindusara were very close to each other despite being step-brothers, the bond between them was strong enough for Bindusara to share everything with him.

According to Justin, even though Ashoka's talent was considered to be top tire if not the best there was no way for him to fight for the throne as he didn't have any noble family's to back him up.

Having political influence is as important as having enough strength to conquer the throne.

Ashoka being the son of Chandralekha, who is from a common origin was not favorable to the nobles.

More than that, There were 15 more heirs to the golden throne who were older than Ashoka and he would have to surpass each of them if he wanted to sit on the throne, which was close to impossible.

"Are you not considering the fact that he is the grandson of Sage Vyasa or are you ignoring that fact, Justin?"

Although no nobles supported the current Ashoka, he was still the grandson of Sage Vyasa, one of the seven sages of the Mauryan empire and the master of the 7th magic tower, so it wasn't easy to ignore that fact.

"Although Sage Vyasa is indeed a force to be reckoned with in terms of strength, he had no influence in political regards"

It was true that Sage Vyasa was one of the strongest people of the great Mauryan empire, but being from a common origin, Sage Vyasa didn't have much influence in the political matters of the Empire.

More than that, the nobles of the empire were also not welcoming of him due to his upright personality and common origin.

"Hmm...But you do know where Ashoka is currently staying, do you not?"

There was a hint of concern and anger, both mixed together in Bindusara's voice.

Ashoka was currently staying at a place where the royal influence was close to none.

The Tower of Wisdom.

The dwelling place of the strongest archmage in the Mauryan empire.

It was the place where Sage Chanakya, the one who had the titles like  "Sage of Wisdom", "Wisest man Alive", "Mind of Mauryan" and many more, dwelled.

Sage Chanakya was very famous among the citizens of Great Mauryan as the teacher of the previous emperor and there were even stories that described how big his role was in the establishment of the Mauryan empire.

He is someone even the Emperor had to respect.

And currently, such a person was favoring Ashoka which made the emperor worry.

There were even rumors that he had taken Ashoka as his disciple and is training him personally.

The matter was not so simple as it seem.

Being the disciple of Sage Chanakya meant that Ashoka would have the whole force under Sage Chanakya to his backing, which changed the whole scenario of the fight for the throne.

If Sage Chanakya had any intention of placing Ashoka on the throne then it would become a big hassle for the Emperor.

The influence of Sage Chanakya in the Mauryan empire is no less than the emperor himself.

And if there comes a situation where he would support Ashoka rather than the crown prince to fight for the throne, the Mauryan empire would see the largest civil war in history.

"....that is concerning"

Even Justin couldn't ignore that matter and agreed with the emperor's concern.

"hmm...then about the land to be granted to Ashoka"

The emperor turned towards his 'brother' as they both exchanged meaningful glances.

"That place seems to be suitable"

Justin answered without the emperor needing to tell anything else.

"It is decided then"

A plan to crush Ashoka who was blooming was formulated without his knowledge.

***

Somewhere in the great Mauryan empire.

A young girl who seemed to have just turned 14 or 15 years was walking along the bustling crowd of the marketplace along with a younger-looking boy and a bulky man.

All of them were wearing some kind of disguise which was supposed to make them look poor.

But the beauty excluded by the girl successfully failed the purpose of the disguise.

"So this is the Mauryan Empire!"

The girl seemed amazed and was looking around as a curious kid.

"Wait sister! You can't get far away from us, it's dangerous!!"

The young boy screamed looking at his sister getting further away from them.

"Don't worry! Alvar is here with us, what can happen when he is right beside me?"

She seemed to be saying things about the bulky man who was running behind her with a worried expression.

"Your Highness, the Mauryan empire is not a remote place, there are many experts stronger than me here, I advise you to practice precaution please"

It seemed as if he was babysitting the girl.

"See, I told you! Calm down and walk with us, you will get us exposed at this rate! We still need to do what we came here to do"

The girl's expression suddenly went sullen upon hearing that and she stopped in her tracks.

"....Okay, but promise me you will take me to sightsee after we are done with the matters here"

"Yes…yes…let's go the meeting place now"

There were many things going on without the notice of anyone in the empire.

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