I, the prince in distress, send money

Chapter 532 Everyone is a Transport Captain

Early in the morning, inside a luxurious carriage that could be described as a mobile fortress, Chris, who was entering Treasure Island City, was listening to the clerk's report.

The carriage was excellent; its thick soundproof lining filtered out all the noise from the outside world—the cheers of the crowd, the music of the honor guard, and even the noise of the wheels rolling over the stone slabs—making it a dull background sound. It was precisely because of this that Chris was now wondering if he was hallucinating.

"Is there infighting within the Minisian Restoration Army?"

Chris, leaning back in his velvet-padded chair, not only spoke with an air of unbelievable absurdity, but his facial expression was also starting to falter.

"Yes, Your Majesty, according to cross-confirmation from Albatross and several other sources, a fierce conflict did indeed occur last night."

The clerk's voice remained flat and monotone, as if he were reading out a list of supplies.

"First, an abandoned warehouse located on the edge of the dock area was attacked by unidentified armed men. It is believed that both the attackers and the attacked were members of the Restoration Army."

Then, before dawn, a fire broke out in the apartment where Sir Doron, the nominal military leader of the Restoration Army and a former Miniserian knight, was hiding. The fire was so intense that it almost completely destroyed the building, and several charred bodies were found at the scene; their identities are still being determined.

Upon hearing this, Chris was taken aback for a moment, then chuckled softly and shook his head.

He raised his hand and rubbed his temples, his face displaying an expression that was a mixture of mockery and knowing satisfaction.

"Internal strife... Ha, should I say they haven't forgotten their traditions? Before I could even make a move, they started killing each other."

His gaze fell on the small, bulletproof window of the carriage. Outside, the street scenes of the island city flashed by. The neat streets were crowded with people trying to catch a glimpse of the king. Their faces were filled with awe and curiosity. It was as if they were two different worlds from the bloody and chaotic night the scribe had described.

"How is our man?"

Chris asked, referring to Sir Nadolon, whom he had not forgotten for his contributions to the Kingdom of Bagnia.

Chris didn't care about the lives or deaths of those old Miniserian nobles, but his own spies were always special.

"unknown."

"Send men to search the area. We need to find them alive or dead."

"Yes."

The clerk paused for a moment before continuing his report.

"The side that attacked the warehouse suffered heavy losses. According to the Blue Flag Army's report, more than 20 bodies were found at the scene. Three of them have been identified as traitorous royal guards, while the rest of the bodies are unidentified."

"Three player corpses..."

A playful smile curved at the corners of Chris's lips.

"See, I knew a few formidable opponents couldn't carry a bunch of incompetent teammates."

"Your Majesty, should we adjust our itinerary or security arrangements after entering the city?"

The clerk inquired.

"No need."

Chris waved his hand, his tone resolute.

"These rotten fish and shrimp are not enough to make me change my original plan... Of course, blind confidence is also not advisable."

Chris abruptly changed the subject.

Do you know who caused this?

"Based on known intelligence, it can be inferred that 80% of them are people known as Earl Lawrence in the Minisian Restoration Army."

Earl Lawrence?
Chris thought for a moment, searching his memory... Ah, isn't this Elena's father, his father-in-law?

He rebelled?
However, the moment Chris had this thought, he almost immediately dismissed it; this Lawrence was probably just a coincidence of having the same name, and not the same person.

"Who is this Earl Lawrence?"

Chris asked, and the clerk paused for a moment.

"According to the search of the noble database of the old Kingdom of Minicia, there are two people who can be called Earl Lawrence. One of them is already in the Kingdom of Bagnia, so he obviously needs to be excluded. The second Lawrence is a hereditary earl of the southern territory of the old Kingdom of Minicia, who was known for his conservatism and stubbornness during the old kingdom era."

The Lawrence family's power mainly lies in mining and forestry, and its patriarch died on the night the kingdom fell. The rest of the family members disappeared afterward. If a third Earl of Lawrence were to appear, it could only be his eldest son.

Based on pieced-together fragmented intelligence, the Earl of Lawrence's eldest son's full name is Hohenheim Lawrence. Our current intelligence indicates that he is one of the main funders and initiators of the Taiwan Restoration Army, but there are still significant gaps in the detailed information regarding his specific appearance and recent activities.

Albatross's report repeatedly mentions that this person was an important figure in the internal decision-making of the Restoration Army, but did not directly hold military command.

The clerk reported meticulously, his voice clearly audible in the well-insulated carriage.

"Someone who provides the funding has the ability to orchestrate purges targeting different factions within the organization, possibly even including targeting leaders like Doron?"

Chris raised an eyebrow slightly.

"Is this intelligence accurate?"

"The known intelligence is indeed so, Your Majesty."

The clerk's voice was completely flat.

Given this known information... it means that something unknown has happened.

The Earl of Lawrence, who inherited his father's title, clearly had other supporters; otherwise, if he had the ability, why didn't he try to become the leader?

How old is Earl Lawrence?

"According to the database of nobles of the old Kingdom of Minicia, he should be twenty-three years old now."

Well, at twenty-three, a passionate age, he funded and supported the emergence of the Minnesota Restoration Army, but instead of becoming its leader, he nominated the older and more prestigious Sir Doron. Clearly, he was self-aware and knew he couldn't command respect.

Now, his sudden attack on other members of the Restoration Army in the city clearly indicates that he has gained the support of other forces, which has made him overconfident, leading him to adopt the strategy of "pacifying the internal before resisting the external."

But wait, that doesn't make sense. If he wanted to pacify the internal affairs, why would he attack Doron? That reason doesn't seem entirely valid!

"Scribe, could you analyze how likely it is that Doron was exposed as a spy for the Kingdom of Bagnia in these incidents?"

The clerk gave an answer almost without pausing.

"The probability is less than twenty percent, Your Majesty. If Sir Doron's identity is exposed, the operation against him should be more covert and swift to ensure capture or effective interrogation, rather than resorting to arson, a high-profile method that is extremely likely to destroy evidence."

Furthermore, the albatross did not send any warnings regarding Sir Doron's potential exposure.

Chris nodded slightly, his fingertips lightly tapping the smooth mahogany tabletop.

"Then, it's more likely that this young Earl Lawrence, during the process of settling things in, discovered or suspected that Sir Doron was unreliable, or felt that the latter's presence was hindering some of his plans..."

"That is possible, Your Majesty."

"Analyze this: who might Earl Lawrence's backers be? The Bohemian Empire, the Macon Union, or the Retalia Empire?"

"All three are possible, Your Majesty."

...He, Night Owl, and Quick Knife hid in an abandoned barn in the suburbs of Taiwan. The barn was filled with moldy hay, and the air was thick with dust and the smell of burning.

The sky was already bright, but the light filtering through the cracks was still dim, just like their mood at that moment.

Just now, the three of them received two messages that came as a complete shock.

The first message came from Hexogen, who sent it offline.

The message was brief, yet every word dripped with blood.

The fifty-odd NPC recruits they were training unfortunately encountered a Blue Flag Army patrol stationed in Taiwan while they were transferring to a rural outpost outside the city overnight.

The Blue Flag Army had clearly received orders to increase security and rigorously check any suspicious groups. Poor communication, coupled with some new recruits being overly nervous, aroused suspicion among the Blue Flag Army soldiers, leading to the outbreak of conflict.

The poorly trained and unarmed recruits faced the elite Blue Flag Army, and the outcome was predictable... total annihilation.

Of the seven people including Hexogen, five were killed. Only Hexogen and another player managed to escape by jumping into the canal.

The second message was even more bizarre; it came from an unexpected person… a trusted subordinate of Sir Doron who had narrowly escaped the fire and fled to the barn as Doron had instructed.

"They're Earl Lawrence's men!"

He was panting, his voice trembling with fear and anger.

"It must be them! The jazz had already sensed something was wrong!"

According to this confidant, the mastermind behind the attack was most likely the young Earl of Hohenheim Lawrence.

The reason that prompted Earl Lawrence to kill Sir Doron sounds both absurd and imbued with a certain paranoid logic...

Lord Lawrence and some of his radicals believed that Sir Doron, as the military leader of the Restoration Army, was acting too "passively" and "conservatively".

He hesitated to approve bolder, more direct assassination plans, and reacted coldly to some of the seemingly fanatical slogans put forward by Earl Lawrence, instead repeatedly emphasizing the need to "preserve strength" and "act cautiously."

In Count Lawrence's eyes, this attitude was cowardice, indecisiveness, and even... a sign of preparing to betray the organization and surrender to Chris!

"The lord said that Earl Lawrence was too young and too impetuous, and was misled by some scheming people around him."

"It's a confidant of the knight," he said through gritted teeth.

“Those people kept urging the Earl to say that Sir Doron had been terrified by Bagnia’s power and was a coward… What the Restoration Army needed was a courageous hero, not someone like the Sir.”

Ximen Da Guanren listened and felt only utter absurdity.

Lawrence suspected that Doron was going to surrender because he felt that Doron was not radical or passionate enough, and thus launched such a bloody purge, even burning the highest commander of his own organization to death.

This sounds even crazier than the players!
Why would the leader of a restoration organization be so radical? Do you want to be a terrorist on the side?

While being mature and steady may sometimes mean missing opportunities, it's better than being impulsive and reckless, leading everyone to charge into the abyss!

"Where did Earl Lawrence get the manpower to do these things?"

Ximen pressed for an answer.

"Didn't he only provide money before?"

The confidant shook his head, his face showing a mixture of confusion and resentment.

“I don’t know… but I do know that there have been some unfamiliar faces around the Earl recently, and they don’t look like Minicians.”

Foreign forces… Ximen immediately connected this to Chris and the clerk’s speculation in the carriage.

Bohemia? The Macon Union? Or some other force that doesn't want Bagnia to be at peace?

They exploited Earl Lawrence's youth, paranoia, and ambition, providing him with tools and manpower to incite him to carry out an internal purge. Their aim was to completely destabilize the Restoration Army, causing them to turn against each other, and ideally, to turn the island upside down and cause trouble for Chris.

These players, along with pragmatists like Sir Doron, became the first victims of this conspiracy to purge.

"What about Sir Doron? Did he escape?"

Night Owl asked anxiously. He didn't like Sir Doron, but if he died, it would be a huge problem.

The confidant immediately lowered his head, his voice choked with emotion.

"The fire...the fire was too big...I...couldn't see him come out."

A deathly silence fell over the barn. The only sounds were the faint rustling of hay in the wind and the suppressed sobs of a trusted confidant.

The NPC leader is likely dead, his newly trained recruits have been wiped out, and his trusted comrades have suffered heavy casualties. Now, they are lost souls, hunted by both the Bagnian government and their own fanatical allies.

Holy crap, what kind of cataclysmic development is this?!

Ximen Da Guanren slowly closed his eyes and took a deep breath of the musty-smelling air.

When he opened his eyes again, all the confusion, frustration, and anger had vanished, leaving only a cold, resolute determination, like that of tempered steel.

"Quick Knife, find a way to contact Hexogen, confirm their location and safety, and ask when the resurrected brothers will be able to arrive in Taiwan."

"Night Owl, clean up the traces. We need to get out of here as soon as possible; it's not safe here anymore."

He looked at Doron's confidant.

"Do you know where Earl Lawrence might be hiding now? Or do those outsiders who support him have any clues?"

The confidant shook his head blankly.

Ximen Da Guanren was not surprised. He stood up and patted the grass clippings off his clothes.

"Damn it, that's the transport captain's famous saying. I didn't like it before, but now it seems there's some truth to it!"

"To fight external threats, we must first secure internal stability." Now I finally understand why he said that. With a teammate like Lawrence, what the hell are we supposed to do, kill Chris?!

His voice echoed in the empty barn, carrying a near-collapse of anger and self-mockery.

Everyone else watched him in silence. Quick Knife and Night Owl both looked equally frustrated and powerless, while Duolong's confidants were bewildered and fearful.

"We've been going through all this trouble, training new recruits, procuring weapons, and guarding against internal spies, and what's the result?"

Ximen Da Guanren paced back and forth, speaking faster and faster, as if venting or sorting out his chaotic thoughts.

"It turns out the biggest mole was none other than that idiot who paid the money. He not only betrayed us, but also burned the only commander who seemed to have any brains, just because he thought the other guy wasn't crazy enough!"
"Damn it, just because he has money doesn't mean I don't!"

He suddenly stopped and looked at Quick Knife and Night Cat.

"I think the craziest guy is him. Lawrence thinks he's some kind of overpowered protagonist!"

"Then let's..."

"Take care of Lawrence first, then Chris can assassinate him slowly later. As long as he hasn't fled back to Waterladnoy, there will always be a chance!"

(End of this chapter)