Chapter 345 – Intent to Incriminate
Zhao Hai nodded, "This is Rosen Empire, and Lionheart is the empire's First Lord of the Treasury, completely in command of money. There should be a lot of nobles who want to flatter him inside the empire. So these nobles would certainly want to deal with us. We really did underestimate Lionheart's influence"
Shue said, "What does young master want to do? Kill them?"
Zhao Hai shook his head, "We can't. I suspect the other party has a backer to support them. Think about it, if we kill them, then the city lord would surely send some troops and catch is. We cannot just kill anybody here, this is not Aksu Empire, using the nation's power would be disadvantageous to us. Anyway, let's just leave these dishes and head back to the Space. I want to see who would come and enter the room to check on us."
Shue understood that they didn't have any authority inside Rosen Empire. This set-up made it as though their hands and feet were tied. Rosen Empire was different than Aksu Empire. If you were a foreigner inside Aksu Empire, you would just be treated normally. But a foreigner inside Rosen Empire was basically looked down on. Putting it in the words of Zhao Hai's earth, it was discrimination.
After interacting with various Rosen Empire citizens these past few days, Zhao Hai's belief on this solidified even more. Even if he held a viscount status in Aksu Empire, it was useless inside Rosen Empire.
Shue and the others agreed, so while they left their meals on the table, they went to the Space with Zhao Hai. Ruyen was also brought into the Space, but Zhao Hai had Cai'er continually administer some toxic gas towards them to keep them unconscious.
The group was sitting inside the Space and looking at their room's situation. After about an hour, a knock could be heard from the door as a manager's voice was heard, "Guests, were here to tidy up the tableware."
Naturally, there was no response since there wasn't anybody left in the room. The manager asked for a few more times, but after seeing that there really wasn't any response, the manager said, "Good, now go get them." Then some sounds came from the door as it was opened from the outside.
When the manager saw the scene after he opened the door, he froze. The plates were neatly laid out on the table, while the dishes were returned to their containers. There was no leaves left on the plates to see, and like the plates, there was nobody inside the room either.
The other people who were with the manager were also shocked. Then they immediately searched the room but to their dismay, the didn't see anyone. This made the manager fluster, so they immediately went to find the boss. Before long, the boss ran outside and asked a few guys to check for Zhao Hai's carriage and see whether it was still there.
Zhao Hai's carriage was still there, but their owners had disappeared. Just after delivering the dishes, there were guys assigned to keep watch on the room and they didn't notice anybody going out. But the people inside the room still mysteriously disappeared, missing.
From this situation, they immediately had the City Mage come and investigate. However, the mage couldn't find any magical fluctuations inside the room. The inhabitants really did vanish into thin air.
The people in the hotel panicked and immediately reported the situation to the city lord. But after getting busy for the whole night, they still didn't get any result. In the middle of the night, they felt that the room was very creepy so they left.
They didn't know that the whole spectacle was seen by Zhao Hai. Zhao Hai felt like he was watching monkey drama, seeing them getting busy inside the room but retreated with impatience.
Laura looked at the monitor and turned to Zhao Hai, "Brother Hai was right. The city lord did have a hand in the operation. Otherwise, how could the city's defense force arrive so quickly? It seems like they were paying attention to us."
Zhao Hai nodded and said, "Looks like they really wanted to deal with us using official means. Now we must be even more careful."
Laura frowned, "To use official means to deal with us will be difficult to do. We're currently inside Rosen Empire after all."
Zhao Hao turned his head to look outside the window. He sighed and said, "Looks like we can only bring the young lady to Sky Water City with us. If we bring her to Carson City, then she'll surely be killed."
Laura nodded, then sighed as she said, "This young lady will certainly be beset with disasters, it seems like she could only travel with us."
Zhao Hai frowned, "It's no problem if she follows us, but it's just very inconvenient. She's really causing us so much headache."
Laura smiled bitterly, she didn't know what to reply. The group talked about other matters, and when they saw that the sky was getting late they had Stonehead keep watch on the monitor as the rest went to sleep.
The next morning, Zhao Hai and the others had their breakfast inside the Space. When they looked at the monitor and sees that there was nobody there, the group immediately went out of the Space and returned to the hotel.
The manager didn't clean up, but Zhao Hai just looked around the room as he said, "Go wake the young lady. We'll be going out."
Meg nodded as she patted Ruyen's and the other's faces while calling out their names. Not knowing what just happened, Ruyen and the others groaned while slowly opening their eyes.
Upon opening her eyes and seeing Zhao Hai at the side, Ruyen cannot help but freeze. Then she looked Zhao Hai and said, "Why are you in my room? Who made you come in?"
Zhao Hai frowned, then he turned to Laura and said, "Explain everything to her."
Laura complied, then she explained to Ruyen the current situation. Ruyen also somewhat recovered and discovered that she was not insider her original room.
Jill and the other two also woke up, they didn't say anything and just listened to Laura. They also immediately understood the current situation.
When they heard that all of Ruyen's guards were killed, the four people's face couldn't help but turn pale. They didn't think that they would reach this kind of situation.
Until the time Laura finished speaking, the group's face were very pale. They didn't think that such number of lives were lost while they were asleep.
Zhao Hai looked at Ruyen and said, "Young lady, you now have two choices. First, you can follow us. Second, we will deliver you to the nearest large city and Shelley Hotel. They will guarantee your safety while I deliver a letter to the Grand Duke to request for your pick-up Then you can go home. So, would you rather follow us? Or wait for the Grand Duke to fetch you?"
Zhao Hai preferred the latter choice of leaving Ruyen inside Shelley Hotel then go informing Evan to fetch her. This would mean that his troubles would be reduced by one.
Hearing what Zhao Hai said, Ruyen stared for a moment before saying, "I want to go to the hotel, then go home."
Ruyen herself didn't want to travel far away. Now with the current situation, it was very certain that she wouldn't want to travel with Zhao Hai. She knew that if she manage to annoy Zhao Hai, she would be in immediate danger.
Hearing her decision, Zhao Hai's heart relaxed. He really also feared Ruyen travelling with him.
However, before Evan sends for her return, he still had to take care of her for some time. He thought for a moment before he nodded, "Good, let's wait until the next large city, then we'll have you stay inside a Shelley Hotel there. From there, I would send a letter to Grand Duke Evan, and after receiving his reply I would leave."
Ruyen nodded and didn't say anything more. Zhao Hai looked at the time and said, "Good, let's go." The Shue opened the door to allow them to exit.
When the group reached the door, they managed to see the manager who came from cleaning the room downstairs. Looking at the group coming out of the room, the broom on his hand fell down, then stared blankly at Zhao Hai and the others.
Zhao Hai looked at the manager and said with a faint smile, "Manager, I must thank your services. Last night was very satisfying. Shue, give the manager a gift."
Shue complied and then gave a gold coin to the stunned manager. The manager was still gawking thus making the gold coin slip through his hand, landing on the ground and making a clear sound which awakened him. The man looked at Zhao Hai's group as though he just saw a group of ghosts. After staring at Zhao Hai for a long time, the manager screamed loudly and ran downstairs. He didn't even have the chance to get the gold coin on the ground.
Looking at the manager's reaction, the group couldn't help but laugh. They quickly walked and headed downstairs. When they reached the first floor lobby, they saw the people of the hotel looking very alarmed as they looked at the soldiers standing outside.
Zhao Hai looked at the battle formation and said, "Boss, checkout"
The thin boss told Zhao Hai, "Mister guest, there are a few soldiers looking for you outside."
Zhao Hai looked at the boss' eyes coldly and said, "Really? Then have them come in." Actually, Zhao Hai didn't need to request it since at this time a helmet-wearing heavy armor infantry walked in from outside. The man was so heavily armored that his face could hardly be seen.
Zhao Hai stared at the eyes underneath the armor and said, "I don't know what mister officer is looking to me for?"
The armored man said, "You were attacked by mercenaries yesterday?"
Zhao Hai nodded and said, "The people from the hotel can testify. We were attacked my mercenaries yesterday, the escort guards that we brought all died on their hands."
The armored man replied, "Admitting is good. Now come with me. We suspected that you killed those mercenaries, thus breaking imperial law."
Chapter 346 – Lionheart's Hidden Issues
Zhao Hai frowned as he responded, "Captain, I am a victim. Ninety of our escort guards were killed, and those mercenaries ran away. How can you say that I killed them in retaliation?"
The Heavily Armored man coldly snorted and said, "Don't waste your breath, some people already seen that the mercenaries were killed. I suspect that you have killed them, now come with me."
Zhao Hai looked at the man coldly, "Captain, I think that you don't know what you're doing. I'm a noble of the continent, a recognized noble of the continent. You have no right to place unwarranted suspicions on me. Now get the hell out, or else I won't be polite with you."
The Armored man's gaze also turned cold, "So you don't intent to cooperate, then don't blame me for being…" Before he even finished his words, Zhao Hai already sent a fireball down his way. Zhao Hai looked at the soldier as he said, "Wasting too much time talking, I might as well take the first step. Shue go kill them." Shue immediately transformed into multiple shadows and charged towards the group of soldiers outside the hotel.
The soldiers of the Heavy Armor unit didn't think that Zhao Hai would take the first action so they weren’t prepared. In fact, these soldiers weren't suited to clashes inside cities. With their heavy armors, moving became very inconvenient. If they needed to chase a person, they wouldn’t' be able to catch up.
If these Heavy infantry were used in a battlefield, then they would become impenetrable walls, even able to withstand a cavalry charge. But their mobility isn't something they could brag about.
The man who spoke with Zhao Hai was immediately killed by the fireball. Shue transformed into a thousand shadows almost instantaneously and appeared right by the heavy armored soldiers. The soldiers wanted to dodge but their armor became a hindrance to their movements, this made Shue's killing spree very easy.
It may be possible that the city lord knew that fighting would happen here because he imposed martial law on the few blocks nearby, making the residents stay inside their homes so no one could see the battle. Zhao Hai let Shue deal with the soldiers while Shun targeted the people at the hotel.
Yesterday, they wanted to deal with Zhao Hai so naturally nobody inside the hotel was spared. The other people who were in the hotel were those mercenaries, and after the failure of their operation they withdrew. So there was no other guests in the store other than the attendants and the hotel's boss, who tried escaping.
When Shun managed to finish the boss, Shue was also done with the heavy infantry. Zhao Hai immediately waved his hand and turned all of the soldiers into undead. Then he made Shun prepare the carriage so they could get out of the city fast.
The entire event was witnessed by Ruyen. She was afraid of the thousand or so heavy infantry, as well as the other people inside the hotel. But these 1,000 people were actually killed by Zhao Hai, the shock she received was too large.
The city was very small, so they quickly managed to get outside. The first to come out was Zhao Hai's convoy followed by a single carriage which belonged to Ruyen and driven by Jill.
Zhao Hai didn't say anything to them. Instead, he turned to Shue and said, "Shue, since Ruyen doesn't need to head to Carson City anymore, go change directions and go straight towards Sky Water City."
Shue complied and took a detour. Carson City was Lionheart's playground, if Zhao Hai's group goes to Carson City, they would undoubtedly enter into the lion's den. Zhao Hai couldn't possibly allow that.
He initially thought that Lionheart would respect Ruyen's status and wouldn't touch her. Ruyen was a Grand Duke's daughter, but Zhao Hai didn't expect Lionheart to not care about that fact and immediately made plans involving the young lady. In this case, if Zhao Hai made Ruyen go to Carson City, then he would only be sending her to her death.
Zhao Hai also knew that as long as they were inside Rosen Empire, it was impossible to hide their whereabouts. So he didn't conceal his movements, but he still didn't stay inside any cities and always stayed outside to rest.
On the following days, Zhao Hai's group always took a rest outdoors. It was quite normal inside Rosen Empire to stay outdoors like they did. So to the average person, what Zhao Hai's group were doing wasn't strange.
But Zhao Hai's situation was quite special. Almost every night, some people would go and attack them. Sometimes they were mercenaries, sometimes they were a city's garrison. There was no time for them to stay for a long time.
Zhao Hai became used to this. When they were moving inside their carriages during the, they would sleep. In the evening, they would be fighting against the attackers. Everywhere they go they would get attacked, further terrifying Ruyen.
This routine of travelling and killing went on for seven days, but they still didn't manage to find a city with a Shelly Hotel in it. Moreover, during this seven days, Zhao Hai had managed to surprisingly kill 5,000 people.
Looking at the amount of undead Zhao Hai had amassed, Ruyen felt her hairs stiffen. To her Zhao Hai's name became synonymous with the devil.
Zhao Hai also became very impatient. He didn’t' dare enter a city in order for Lionheart to be unable to use official means to deal with them. He didn't want to face against the judicial system of Rosen Empire. If that happens, they wouldn't fare well.
Now that Zhao Hai was targeted by Lionheart, the other City Lords also got involved. The Rosen Empire didn't issue a proper command, this matter was very beneficial to Zhao Hai.
As long as he wasn't issued an arresting order, he will not become an enemy of the whole Rosen Empire. Even if the Grand Duke was powerful and influential, he also had enemies. For him to crazily pursue Zhao Hai was nothing but making a statement. He wants other people who wanted his power to know that it wasn’t' easy to mess with him.
But Grand Duke Lionheart didn't expect even in his dreams that Zhao Hai would become a hard bone to chew. He sent a lot of people as well as have the city lords help him but he still couldn't eliminate Zhao Hai. Now Zhao Hai has became a thorn on his side, as long as Zhao Hai lived, Grand Duke Lionheart wouldn't be able to rest well. The other people around him looked at him with ridiculing looks for being unable to deal with a single person.
Grand Duke Lionheart had been favored these past few years. This made him arrogant, walking around impudently, and offending a lot of people. These people were looking forward to the day the Grand Duke would make a fool of himself.
The Grand Duke also had another slight issue, which was Rosen Empire's Emperor. He and the Emperor were good friends even before the Emperor became crowned. Moreover, the Emperor being crowned had a lot to do with Lionheart. Without his help, the Emperor possibly couldn't have a smooth coronation.
Because of this, after the Emperor had ascended to the throne, he gave Lionheart his extreme favor and trust, giving him the lucrative position of First Lord of the Treasury. Because of this backing, Lionheart became more and more arrogant and overbearing as time passed by.
This was where Lionheart forgot something. He forgot that he was only an official, while the Emperor was the sole master of the nation. No matter whether he helped the Emperor ascend to his throne, was his best friend, say good things to him, but if Lionheart begins to threaten the crown's position, the Emperor wouldn’t be polite.
This time, when Lionheart was going after Zhao Hai, he only released a message but there were a lot of city lords who answered. It showed how much influence he had. And the greater influence he had, the more the Emperor was dissatisfied with him. This point didn't strike Lionheart, since he was fully absorbed in dealing with Zhao Hai.
However, the Grand Duke's enemies wouldn't let go of this opportunity. From time to time, these people would report Lionheart's activities to the emperor. At the same time, they also reported about his attitude. Although these points eventually convinced the Emperor, he stood back and didn't reprimand Lionheart. But these people already knew that the Emperor now placed his sights on Lionheart.
Zhao Hai naturally didn't know of these. He was still very annoyed by Lionhearts daily attacks. These days, the attacks had become more and more fierce. This gave Zhao Hai a very difficult time because it was impossible for him to release hundreds of thousands of undead inside Rosen Empire. If he really did that, it would make the Rosen Empire issue an order to chase him.
Zhao Hai was resting outside tonight and waited for Lionheart's attack. He sat outside his tent and ate lamb and mutton soup. Since it was still winter, such food was the best. It was delicious, warm and can stave of hunger.
At this time, Zhao Hai turned to Shun and said, "Shun, go over to Ruyen and invite her here. Tell her that I have a matter to discuss with her." Shun complied and headed towards Ruyen's tent.
These days, Ruyen was extremely behaved. When they go and rest every night, her group would always stay inside their tent and only come out during dawn, making Zhao Hai unable to see her face.
But Zhao Hai didn't care, Ruyen acting like this was better. He was free of worry and he also didn't like to interact with Ruyen.
Before long, Ruyen's group was seen following Shun and heading towards Zhao Hai. Zhao Hai had a bonfire in front of him, but since it was winter and they were outdoors, it didn't feel warm.
Zhao Hai looked at Ruyen and calmly said, "Young lady, we will pass through River Law City tomorrow. The city is a large-sized city in Rosen Empire so there should be a Shelley Hotel there. We'll rest for a few days inside River Law City while we send a letter to Grand Duke Evan and wait for his reply. Does the young lady have any objections?"
Ruyen shook her head and replied, "I don't, I'll leave every decision to mister. If there's nothing else, Ruyen will head back." Zhao Hai nodded, then Ruyen lead Jill and the maids back to their tent. At this time, hoofbeats could be heard, making Zhao Hai and the others attentive.