Love and passion, cutting up the wasteland.

Chapter 501: Emperor Tengu, and... (Combined Chapter)

Under the scorching sun, the prison van passed through the streets of Hengcheng.

Squeaky and leisurely.

The prisoner was disheveled, blood-stained and naked, and his miserable appearance was exposed to the eyes of the citizens.

This steel prison car is specially prepared for serious criminals. There is a whole team of police officers escorting it. You can't see the end of the street when walking on it. There are shackles that are as heavy as half the body of the prisoner... All of these show the importance and danger of the people being escorted.

Pedestrians looked on curiously.

"Who is so young... to suffer this?"

The prisoner looked like a young boy who had just grown up. What kind of crime could he have committed?

Is it necessary to treat it this way?

At this time, his companions quickly signaled him to be quiet.

Then he whispered something in his ear.

The people in the group turned pale instantly.

He immediately shrank his neck and pulled his companion to hide aside, fearing that he would be discovered, as if he had just discussed this prisoner.

however.

The other side of the street.

"Sir, do you want to..."

A warrior held his sword and gestured with his palm.

"No need." The warrior leader shook his head, "I'm not here to save him."

The warrior leader had just reached middle age, but his hair was already full of silver, and he looked much older. What was even more eye-catching was that as a warrior of the United Cities and the son of the Green Plains, the weapon he carried on his back was a heavy segmented axe.

Everyone knows it.

Except for the big and strong fools of the Shek tribe, most ordinary people can't even lift such a heavy weapon, unless they specially customize a hollow one to scare people.

However, anyone who can actually use this type of weapon can do so with ease.

All of them are extremely terrible people.

From the fearful attitude of the people around him and the heartfelt respect in the tone of his subordinates, it can be seen that this samurai commander is one of them.

Among the many eyes, the silver-haired man was just staring at the prison van that was getting closer and closer from the distance, and the young prisoner inside.

"Don't think everyone looks like a rebel...thug." The samurai chief said, "It's not surprising that someone else knows him."

"It's that Lukin after all."

"How many years have passed since the rebellion? The blood of a great lord has once again been shed on the hands of a commoner child."

“Everyone is going to be scared.”

"I'm afraid of blood...spattering on me again."

After saying this, he led his neatly-organized warriors to meet the team of prisoner vehicles.

"We will take over from now on." The silver-haired warrior said to the sheriff who was leading the prison van.

"That's right." The sheriff showed a humble and flattering expression. "But Sir Jon, you have to be careful. He is..."

"I see. There have been no accidents in my hands..."

"Really?" A sneer.

The prisoner in the car opened his eyes and looked at the silver-haired warrior.

His body was covered with wounds from torture instruments, pus oozing from them, and maggots burrowing in and out of his flesh. His entire body exuded a stench that could not even be covered up by the smell of blood.

Before being sent.

The assassin had obviously suffered inhuman torture and was almost dying.

However, at this moment,
Lukin paid no attention to the pain, and still had a murderous look in his eyes, like a hungry beast.

"Jon? I've heard of you." He actually reacted to the name of the knight commander. "The Hooded Guard... the noble's lackey, the Ripper."

"If you really have never failed, then where is your master? Why didn't I see him in Hengcheng?"

Lukin looked at Jon's missing hood and the new blue eagle pattern on his chest, his words full of sarcasm.

"Now he's wearing the uniform of the Imperial Army again... After changing his master, he licks me very quickly."

Seeing this, the sheriff quickly pulled out his bloody and rusty steel crossbow and was about to insert it into Lukin's mouth, cursing: "What are you saying to Chief Jon, you damn fool..."

"That's fine." Jon stopped him and turned to Lukin. "I'm also sorry for the death of Master Yuichi... but it sounds like you're even angrier than I am."

When I heard the name "Yuichi".

The police officers and warriors around him all looked uncomfortable. They didn't dare to respond and just pretended not to hear.

The person Jon was referring to was the former High Lord of Henge.

This great lord of Heng City has an orthodox bloodline passed down from the founding of the United Cities. He is also a rare sword-bearing noble who maintains tradition and personally trains in the military to command troops. He is not a playboy who is just going through the motions to gild his skills.

It stands to reason.

The death of a great lord, even if it was to be avoided, would not be to this extent.

However, there is no evidence.

But everyone knows that the one who killed Yuichi was none other than Long En, the president of Merchant Blade.

That night, Hengcheng closed its doors.

Many guards on duty heard the shrill cries of Master Yuichi as he was eaten alive by flying sand weta, commonly known as "shear-billed gulls" in the vast desert outside the city gate.

Resounding continuously.

It is a bit of an exaggeration to say that Yoshinaga, the new great lord of Hengcheng, is a die-hard supporter of Long En, but it is no exaggeration to say that he is Long En's puppet.

This matter involves political struggle and is very sensitive.

As subordinates, they would try to avoid this bad luck if possible.

Unexpectedly, Jon was so frank. As a hooded guard, he did not shy away from the death of his former master and even expressed a hint of nostalgia, which surprised Lukin.

"Bah! Of course I hate him..." He spat out a mouthful of blood foam, "I just hate that it wasn't me who killed him!"

"Thank you for your concern." Jon's tone was still light, "But before that, you should worry about yourself first."

"Me?" Lukin sneered, "You finally can't help it and come to chop off my head, huh? Or do you want to do what you are best at?"

His gaze drifted towards the opponent's segmented axe.

"On the contrary, Lukin," Jon said. "His Lord Tengu has commanded that you live."

Upon hearing this, the guards escorting the prison van and the warriors who came to take over were all shocked at the same time. It was obvious that they had not received the news in advance.

I thought they were going to take Lukin to the city gate and behead him.

Assassinating a great lord is a crime and offense that deserves the death of all nine generations of the clan, even the neighbors, acquaintances, and relatives would be massacred... This punishment would not be excessive.

Too bad they didn't investigate beforehand.

Lukin is an orphan.

His parents were slaves, and he now has no other relatives.

"If you don't kill me...you have been sitting on your butts for too long, have your brains become rotten?" Lukin himself couldn't believe what Jon said.

"Don't be too happy too soon." Jon said, "Not killing you doesn't mean I'll let you go..."

"Maybe, when the time comes."

"For you, even death is a desirable outcome."

"Take him away." the silver-haired officer ordered.

……

……

"President, please." The waiter in black prepared a cup of scented tea and placed it in front of the man.

The waiter wore a strange straw hat that looked like a basket, completely covering his head, neck and face, but from his slender gray-yellow fingers, it could be seen that the waiter was a beehive man.

Nowadays, the number of bee people immigrating to the United Cities is increasing rapidly, and most of them are fleeing.

The nobles welcomed this very much.

Worker bees can replace farmers, soldier bees can replace soldiers, hive princes can replace technicians, housekeepers, crossbowmen... It can be said that there are no better slaves in the world than them, and they are more loyal and easy to raise, forming a perfect social form.

If it weren't for the fact that these Hive people couldn't reproduce on their own.

I believe most lords would choose them as their main citizens.

However, the waiter in front of him was different from those brothers who had fled here. His behavior and movements revealed an omnipresent elegance, and it was obvious at a glance that he had undergone long and deliberate training.

And the master he serves is also different.

Long En picked up the teacup, took a sip, then closed his eyes and let the steam from the tea caress his cheeks in a relaxing way, which made him feel more energetic.

"President." The waiter hesitated for a moment, but still asked, "Since we have already caught Lukin... why don't we just kill him?"

"This has caused many lords to complain about you."

"It's not that I don't want to kill him." Long En didn't open his eyes, "It's that His Majesty wants him."

"Is it really a Tengu?" the waiter blurted out, without any respect in his tone.

This is unbelievable.

In the past, President Long En often issued orders in the name of the emperor, so the waiter subconsciously thought that this time would be the same.

Unexpectedly, Lukin was saved.

It turned out to be the intention of Emperor Tengu himself.

Picture what?
He was a revenge maniac who was determined to kill all the nobles, including Tengu. He had even taken action to shock everyone...

"Maybe he thinks it's fun." Long En's tone rarely showed a hint of helplessness. "It's rare for an assassin to be able to break into the White Weasel Town alone, kill Lord Kaga and escape unscathed amidst the heavy search of hooded guards and samurai... at least he's not bored."

"It's a pity that Lukin didn't know that the cleaning boy he let go was His Majesty himself."

"Your Majesty, after he saw Lukin stabbing the knife into Kaga's chest, he kept talking about it to me after he came back."

"Now, this 'toy' has finally been obtained by him."

Hearing this, the waiter fell silent.

Outsiders don’t know that the Tengu Emperor of United City does have many quirks, but they are not excessively revealed due to the strict blockade.

In comparison, dressing up as a servant, or even as a murderer or assassin... are still relatively normal.

Today, the real power of the central empire is in the hands of its own president.

But Tengu was the nominal emperor after all. If he had any harmless requests, Long En would still try his best to satisfy them, just like coaxing a child.

In fact, the more willful the Tengu is.

The more assured they are.

Otherwise, after that bloody rebellion, it would not be Tengu who took over the position of the late Emperor Anxi...

"Then Lukin will be sent to His Majesty's 'treasury'," said the waiter.

It's called a vault, but it's actually a dungeon.

It is located just west of Hengcheng. It was converted from a heavy prison in United City to detain political prisoners. It has now expanded several times - this was also Long En's work. In name, it was a birthday gift from the Merchant Guild to the Emperor.

It was filled with various torture instruments that were unprecedented in human history.

They are all Tengu's favorites.

So much so that whenever he was bored in the capital Heft, he would go to the "treasury" to kill time, and even sent one of the few war-level officers who was still loyal to the emperor to serve as the warden.

This also makes it convenient for Long En, who is nearby, to monitor his movements at any time.

"Yeah." Long En put down his teacup and smiled, "But your majesty might have made a good move this time..."

He stopped talking deliberately before he finished speaking and looked at the waiter as if testing him.

The waiter paused for a moment, then followed the man's line of thought:

"Anti-slavery."

Lukin vehemently denied it under torture, and no one else could find any evidence or connection, but the assassin's stealth and assassination skills were so sophisticated, and although he appeared to be acting alone, it seemed as if someone was secretly assisting him and he always got the news in advance... It was hard not to suspect that secret organization.

Even though Lukin was not an official member of the anti-slavery movement.

With his skills, achievements and hatred for the United Cities.

Anti-slavery advocates must have contacted and approached him, and they would not give up easily.

Killing Lukin would put an end to all the problems, but if we captured him, we would have the opportunity to expose the anti-slavery activists behind him.

This kind of business is not a loss.

“The vault is not in the core of the empire, so it is possible to lure them to rescue it…” The waiter said his own judgment and gradually fell into a state of ecstasy.

He unconsciously put his fingers into the teacup in front of Long En, picked up the water stains and started painting on the stone table.

Soon.

The water stains had not yet dried, but a map appeared on the table.

The twists and turns of the traces above were exactly what the waiter had thought out. There were more than a dozen possible routes of action for the anti-slavery forces at a glance.

Long En was not angry at his loss of composure.

Instead, his eyes revealed a sense of appreciation and relief.

It's not like looking at a subordinate.

It's more like looking at your own child.

"Black Scratches, Edge Town..." The waiter stopped pointing, his eyebrows twitching, "And Flash Land."

"Yes, that's a very accurate calculation." Long En praised, "You have been waiting for this moment for a long time, right?"

"Then... after today, you don't have to accompany me every moment."

"Thank you, President!" The waiter bowed hurriedly. The sudden good news made his usually calm voice tremble a little.

Few people know what this means.

——He has graduated.

The waiter had imagined this moment coming countless times, and it came much earlier than he expected.

There are naturally many reasons for this.

He had mixed feelings.

But before celebrating the good news, the waiter found that there was another thing lingering in his mind that he could not forget for a long time.

He looked at the fingers.

It was stained with tea and was pressing on the last spot.

"flash".

The vast plain where the wandering tribes lived was also the route that the waiter had just calculated was the only way for anti-slavery fighters to contact or even rescue Lukin.

If it is usual.

this is nothing.

But combined with the previous news...

Now there is——

"What? Child, are you scared?" Long En still had the same expression as before, with a relieved smile, but his tone at the moment suddenly seemed a little cold, "This is not like 'you'..."

"——Yamudu."

When the waiter heard this name from Long En, he immediately understood what was going on.

He bowed respectfully, then slowly took off the basket-shaped hat on his head, and the sunlight from the courtyard shone on his face.

This waiter who had always been hiding in the shadows looked exactly like the Hive Prince who walked around, was regarded as the highest authority of the Merchant Guild, and was possibly trained as Long En's successor, but eventually died in the swamp...

The same.

(End of this chapter)