Badge in Azure

“Approved.” A sense of warmth overcame Ojarvis’ heart, “My mind will be more at ease knowing that Sister is going to the borders. Even though his body was frail, it didn’t mean that he hadn’t learned anything, he was still very clear about the various forces in the family. Sister has two elite swordsman’s camps currently, of which one has been deployed to the north. If it crosses Phoenix’s borders, it can swiftly arrive before Laiyin Duchy.”

Safilos sighed in his heart, “Ojarvis is still not wary of Lex, my niece is recruiting soldiers and buying horses in the north. If we do not deplete her forces by sending her men to the frontline, she can quickly expand her influence across the whole of Phoenix. Phoenix’s resistance is really troublesome. When my soldiers entered, they had almost advanced unhindered to Solar City and they only fought once in Solar City. Lex’s army is not inferior to that of Guderian City’s, if she wants to devour Phoenix, she will be able to accomplish that in at most three months. Several nobles in Phoenix have defected to her. I am helpless, I can only think of this method to slow down the expansion of Lex’s army.”

“Your Majesty, we cannot command County Queen Lex’s army, we need Your Majesty to pen a letter to Her Highness.”

“Okay, I will get Uncle to write it for me.” Ojarvis’ spirits were lifted. As a member of the Grukos family, he was not a good emperor, but he would not cower either. “The Qin Empire cannot wane under my rule.”

“Aye…” Ojarvis hesitated for a moment, then asked, “Did Sister send a letter to the House of Lords to make a request for this matter?”

“Of course!” Without his expression changing, the minister for military affairs answered, “Her Highness has requested to develop a road at west Phoenix, it will begin from Metatrin City, spanning all the way to God Grace Duchy. Her army will help Your Majesty guard the borders.”

The last sentence had been added in by the minister for military affairs. The former portion was indeed Lex’s request. In actual fact, she wanted the secret passageway in the Chaotic Swamp, but she could not be upfront about it, so she requested for an extra few hundred miles of road. She requested for control over the area so that she could guard against Laiyin Duchy easily.

Originally, this demand would not have been approved, but the internal affairs of Qin were unstable. The imperial swordsman’s camp had not regained its vitality, while the manpower surrounding Holy Rock City could not be dispatched. The northern nobles had sustained heavier losses and the southern nobles could not be deployed easily. If Lex seized Phoenix by force, Holy Rock City would not have any effective countermeasures either.

The northern nobles might not be willing to battle against Lex, so Safilos decided to approve Lex’s request. He wanted Ojarvis to give his permission so that Lex would face consequences. She could only control a small part of Phoenix, not the entire territory.

In Qin’s history, it was not surprising for a county king to guard the borders. After all, Ojarvis would not be as cunning as those senior officials. He still thought that the House of Lords and the House of Commons had the intention to mend ties with his sister, so he was overjoyed. He did not realize something. Even though Lex had twenty-thousand elites, she had to protect a county and a newly developed city. She really did not have much manpower left.

“Your Majesty, a mage serving County King Lex is in her residence, Your Majesty can summon this mage into the palace and give direct orders to her.” The minister for military affairs had to ensure that this matter was certain, otherwise he would not have peace of mind.

“Okay, invite that mage over, I will exhort her personally. Uncle, you will pen the letter,” Ojarvis said.

The ministers in the study then began discussing the next issue. As Ojarvis felt a little exhausted, he decided to continue slouching in his chair to rest. South of the city, Saleen and company left Joey’s house, then they saw a few swordmasters up ahead who had been waiting for a long time. Aini emerged swiftly, he actually did not live in his house. Instead, he had been put up in a hotel across the street.

“What’s the rush?” Saleen was a little puzzled.

“A few elders from the family are coming tomorrow, I am afraid they will oppose to my parents leaving. If you still haven’t come out, I would have knocked on the door,” Aini said urgently.

“Why, is there someone in the family who is objecting to your departure?”

“Yes, because I have laid my foundation in Metatrin City and the family has begun valuing that city. They want to make me stay while they send another person over.”

Saleen sneered, “If they send another person, I will ask him to scram.”

“The message will not get across to those old fellows. Saleen, we have to leave the city tonight, otherwise we will run into them tomorrow. I have left behind the spirit wolves to bribe the elders in Holy Rock City. I have got my parents out, they are staying in a hotel near the northern gates.”

“What about Narnia?”

“She was summoned to the palace. She sent a letter to me, asking us to leave first.”

“No, I have promised Lex I will return with her.”

“Narnia will have her own way. She was most likely summoned to the palace by the emperor. She wants us to wait for her at Kolola City. At most, she will reach there a day later.”

Saleen pondered for a moment, then said, “You leave the city first, I will follow ten miles behind you. Your family’s elders can be bribed with merely sixty spirit wolves? I feel that this matter isn’t so simple.”

“What are you afraid of, my father is a sorcerer. Including the both of us, will we still get attacked when we leave Holy Rock City?”

In the midst of their conversation, a pair of patrolling soldiers approached from afar. The team leader bellowed, “You, what are you doing?!”

Saleen was bewildered, he and Aini were obviously people who could not be trifled with, that team of soldiers were too ignorant. Aini glared at that commander icily, then summoned a skeleton which walked towards him.

The commander was outraged, he wielded a longsword and hacked the skeleton into shreds, then yelled, “It is an atrocity to use magic within Holy Rock City, come with me!”

Saleen was startled, “This is obviously directed at Aini and it is premeditated. If these patrolling soldiers arrest Aini, he will have to waste a day’s time no matter the verdict. If that’s the case, Aini’s parents will face huge problems trying to exit the city. Aini is really… he should have let his parents leave the city first, he shouldn’t have waited for me.”

Aini could not possibly harm this team of soldiers. If he took any action, it might attract the attention of the sorcerers in this city. Holy Rock City was a place which did not condone violence, anyone who came here had to abide by Qin’s laws.

“Can’t magic be used in the city?” Joey’s voice traveled from the end of the alley. The sky suddenly grew dim, as a black cloud began forming above Saleen’s head.

The commander hollered, “Atrocious, breaking the law despite being aware of it, all of you shall come with me!”

At the same time, Saleen gained realization, “This commander was obviously a greenhorn, he didn’t know who lived in the alley. Someone might have arranged all this. The person who plotted this have forgotten one thing; Joey will not be intimidated by the laws which only target low grade mages. As long as he didn’t attack the palace, no one will raise any objections even if he had cast a large-scale spell.”

The black cloud in the sky pressed down vigorously, engulfing that whole team of soldiers in an instant. Saleen tugged at Aini’s robe, then said, “Let’s go!”

The Darkness Screen was veiled in this Cloud spell. Those soldiers were doomed, as long as they moved their fingers, that level-8 spell would be stimulated. After entering the darkness, they would be fortunate to die immediately, but if they were unlucky they would go insane.

Aini also became alert, he ordered his subordinates to meet him outside the city. He and Saleen blessed themselves with the Windspeed Skill and rushed towards the northern gates. Along the way, they also ran into other patrolling soldiers, but their speed was too fast, the soldiers could not even stop them for questioning.

Reaching the hotel near the gates, Aini tossed two gold coins at the boss, then he asked his parents to leave the room before making a beeline for the city’s gates with Saleen.

“Someone in the family was playing tricks, luckily the Clyde family isn’t very influential in Holy Rock City. By leaving the city so abruptly, the person who wants me to stay will not be able to react in time. Even if they learn about it, they will not be able to try anything funny either.”

When Aini’s parents saw Saleen, they only smiled briefly, “This youth has finally grown up, it is Aini’s good fortune to have met a friend like that.” They had been wanting to leave Holy Rock City, but because they thought of their son’s position in the family, they restrained their urge. Now that their son had his own power in the north, the both of them would of course not want to remain there and be hostages.

The incident which happened back then was always the Holy See’s fault. Even if the Holy See was not in the wrong, Aini’s parents also would not tolerate the Holy See.

There was a total of six people, Aini’s parents, Aini, Saleen, Su, and Cuisi. These six people did not stop at all, they did not even exchange a single pleasantry as they sprinted towards the city gates.

The security in Holy Rock City was strict, but the inspections for passing merchant convoys were extremely swift. Of these six people, Aini’s parents had changed into normal merchant clothing. Aini dressed like a mage, while Saleen wore an armored brocade robe which made him look like a swordsman. None of them displayed any abnormalities, so the soldiers at the gates could not detect any problem.

“Stop those people!” Saleen and company then exited the city gates. The clatter of horses’ hooves came from behind them, as the lead rider bellowed. The soldiers near the city gates swarmed forward quickly, and six lances were pointed at the riders who were approaching at high speed.

The lead rider held a family badge in his hand, then yelled, “I am Earl Clyde’s…”

Whoosh…

An arrow descended from atop the city walls, accurately penetrating the head of the rider’s horse. The entire arrow had almost entered the warhorse’s skull, causing it to moan in agony, then it slammed to the ground. The rider atop the horse rolled across the ground in shame, then he stood up.

“Who allowed you to ride horses in the capital? Capture them!” There was a large number of soldiers near the city gates. A commander walked over, leading more than a hundred fully equipped swordsmen, encircling the riders from the Clyde family.

Aini laughed boisterously, as he summoned a few skeletal warhorses from the Green Spirit. After everyone had boarded the horses, Aini’s father then told Saleen, “Behind the city gates, even if you are a grand duke, you are also not allowed the travel on horseback. The guards are from the imperial swordsman’s camp, they will not give anyone face. Trying to use the badge of the earl’s residence to stop us, it was really…”

Aini cackled, “Really stupid, but the family had solicited a number of people from the south, it is a problem.”

“Who cares, once we get to Saleen’s city, what can they do to us?” Aini’s mother smiled and talked as she looked at Saleen.

Saleen said, “Of course. Auntie Lanny, once you all get to Metatrin City, no one can lay a finger on you, even if the emperor is present.”