Reincarnation Paradise: The Void Debt Collector

But Lin Yi is neither his subject nor his junior now, so the old king is also prepared to tell Lin Yi some of his true thoughts.

“Power is like a chronic poison. If you don’t use it, you’re afraid that others will use it to harm you. But if you use it, it’s like chronic death. It’s really bullshit.” Hearing Lin Yi’s description, the old king smiled.

There was a hint of emotion in that smile, and he seemed to agree with Lin Yi's statement.

It is also very good to have a younger generation to talk to before you die.

Although his eldest son, third son, fourth son and others are about to return, these sons are coming back for the throne under his butt.

The old king hasn't spoken his true feelings to anyone for a long time.

In the eyes of these sons, he saw only the desire and struggle for power, without a trace of the warmth of family affection.

"Tell me the truth, who on your side has come to win you over?"

The old king looked at Lin Yi. Although he was old, he was not stupid.

Although Lin Yi does not have any power, his position puts him in a very special position.

Once Lin Yi joins the camp of any prince, the other competitors will have to start being careful about their own food.

No one knows whether someone might have put some kind of alchemical poison in the food they eat.

The old king had a total of 49 legitimate children, and as for illegitimate children, there were countless of them.

After all, the old king has many women. As long as his body can bear it, having an heir is just a matter of probability.

Naturally, illegitimate children are not eligible to inherit the throne. Only the children born to queens are the legitimate children of the old king.

Of course, there was not just one queen. Each of these queens had her own background. She might be the daughter of a powerful official or the daughter of some wealthy businessman.

The 36 queens together represent a huge network of power.

The center of the power network is the old king, surrounded by powerful ministers and wealthy businessmen, and it is these queens who connect the two.

They are an important part of the power structure. Although they do not have real power, or they cannot have real power, they only need to be a link. Once they have power, things will be bad.

A queen without real power basically plays a bystander role in the struggle for power.

The new king's ascension to the throne actually has little impact on them, and the new king also needs their help to maintain the powerful officials and wealthy businessmen around him.

Royal power is like a spider web, its structure becomes more and more complex as it moves toward the outside.

The old king is the spider in the center of the web. He has to shake the web frequently to check for any damage and to see if there are any prey on the web.

Of course, not all of the old king's 49 children will participate in the fight for power.

Among them, 18 people have given up the fight for rights. It's not that they don't have ambitions, but that they were squeezed out early and lost the capital to compete.

But they will also rush to the royal capital. After all, at this critical moment, they don't want to be completely ignored.

Among the remaining 31 people, 16 of them held an attitude that was, "Don't mess with me."

They will not give up voluntarily, nor will they compete for rights.

If a prince or princess has an absolute advantage in the power struggle, they will support that side and strive to obtain a high-ranking but powerless position after the other side succeeds to the throne, which is commonly known as a prince.

These 16 princes or princesses who are not here for show are relatively young. They know that they cannot compete with their older brothers, so they choose to give up temporarily.

Don't think these people are completely harmless though; they are just harmless in most situations.

If a godsend opportunity arises, they may also become the next king, but of course, the possibility of this is very low.

After layers of elimination, there were only 15 competitors left before the fight for rights even began.

These people knew from a young age that all their brothers, sisters and brothers were enemies.

If these people are not killed or their rights are not taken away, they will be the ones who die in the end.

"My eldest brother, second sister, third brother, sixth sister, and seventh brother have all contacted me privately."

Lin Yi only mentioned these five people for a very simple reason. Among the remaining 15 competitors, these five were the most promising. If nothing unexpected happens, the new king will emerge from these five.

They have great power and support, and they have an advantage in this fierce power struggle.

"Huh, I knew it. I'm not even dead yet, but they've already started eyeing my butt."

A hint of anger appeared on the old king's face, mixed with helplessness.

As the king of a country, he struggled in the vortex of power all his life and was very familiar with this kind of power struggle.

When this happened to his own children, he still felt deeply disappointed and heartbroken.

But he also knew that the royal family's feelings were the most ridiculous.

In the face of the temptation of power, family affection often becomes fragile.

Even now, even though the old king has nearly 50 children, in the end he can only speak his true feelings to his eldest nephew.

"Forget it, you are nothing like your father. Your father was mean and evil, but you didn't inherit anything from him. Just stand behind me."

"Ah? What for? I have to go back to do experiments later. I'm busy." Lin Yi looked reluctant.

“Hey! You little brat, do you want to listen to me? If you don’t, I will beat you up.” When the old king saw Lin Yi’s disappointed look, he suddenly felt that this guy was itching for trouble.

He took up the golden scepter beside him with his right hand, ready to let Lin Yi understand what the elders' love and care meant. (End of this chapter)

610. Chapter 609 Su Xiao, you are a lolita control (5K chapter, please subscribe, please vote)

610.

"Uncle, it's not necessary. You should take a rest. Look at your body. It's not worth it to take medicine every day and get sick."

Lin Yi walked quickly to the old king and hurriedly put the golden scepter in the old king's hand aside.

Although Lin Yi knew that even if the old king used this thing, he might not be able to break through the defense, he still had to show his attitude.

At this moment, a man with a grim face and wearing a black windbreaker appeared in Lin Yi's sight, followed by a majestic big dog.

When Bubuwang saw Lin Yi, it was stunned for a moment. It was originally prepared to bark happily, but when it thought of Su Xiao's current identity, it forced itself to hold back and did not yell at Lin Yi.

After Su Xiao saw Lin Yi, his heart was filled with disbelief.

You know, the identity he exchanged for was Iron Hand, one of the four powerful officials in the kingdom. How could this guy Lin Yi appear here?

Seeing Su Xiao coming, the old king gave Lin Yi a small look, indicating that he would deal with him later.

Looking at Su Xiao's youthful appearance, the old king's eyes revealed a complicated look.

He seemed to see his younger self in Su Xiao's face, the same unruly and high-spirited self.

"You have a young body and powerful military force. If I were you, I would definitely get a lot of women and keep busy until the late night every day." The old king smiled, with a hint of sarcasm in his words.

Su Xiao just stood quietly five meters in front of him, his face as calm as water, and said nothing.

The old king was not angry at Su Xiao's silence. On the contrary, he was already accustomed to this silence.

The old king noticed that Lidya Su glanced quickly at Lin Yi after entering the door.

However, the old king didn't care.

In his heart, Lin Yi's current performance is exactly what he wants.

Although this guy made it clear that he was not prepared to inherit the throne, the old king was not prepared to let the election for the throne affect Lin Yi.

Therefore, this time, when Su Xiao came over, Lin Yi was deliberately asked to stand here as well. On the one hand, he wanted Lin Yi to understand the situation in the kingdom, and on the other hand, he wanted Su Xiao to help Lin Yi deter other forces so that they would not interfere recklessly.

"How many dissidents have you helped me eliminate? Cough cough cough cough cough..." The old king put his fist tightly in front of his mouth and let out a violent dry cough. The sound seemed to be coughing out the lungs from his chest.

This time, he did not deliberately avoid Lin Yi when speaking.

"257 people." Su Xiao replied expressionlessly, his tone calm as if he was talking about something very ordinary.

He knew clearly how many dissidents the "Iron Hand" had helped the old king eliminate. After all, this was extremely important information.

"Are there so many people already?" A complex look flashed across the old king's eyes, showing helplessness and heartache.

"Power has led too many people astray, but they have forgotten that outside the Wall of God there are undead who want to exterminate all humans." The old king leaned on the throne, looking a little tired.

A strand of saliva stuck to his beard, but he ignored it.

"Iron Hand, can I trust you?" The old king leaned forward slightly, and his eyes were no longer cloudy, but became extremely sharp, like two sharp swords, as if they could easily see through people's hearts.

"Of course." Su Xiao's answer was concise and powerful, without any hesitation.

"I can't hold on much longer."

"..." Su Xiao remained silent, just staring at the old king quietly. He knew that silence at this moment was more powerful than words.

"You can't reveal this secret even if you die."

"clear."

Lidya Su still had that calm tone.

"My descendants are on their way to the Holy City. A new heir to the throne will emerge from among them."

The old king’s words let Su Xiao know that the main topic was about to come.

"Only those who are wise enough are qualified to inherit the throne. This is what the Iron Crown King passed down, and it is also the key to the prosperity of the kingdom to this day. My children add up to about... 48, no, 49. Some of them may be able to inherit the throne, or not, but no matter what, the family name 'Herbert' will never be cut off. This is one of the reasons why we can fight against the undead."

"Iron Hand, after they gather in the royal capital, the struggle for power will begin. I want you to assist the victorious heir to the throne, just as you assist me now. Before the heir appears, help me monitor them, and if they harbor rebellious thoughts, help me deal with them." The old king's tone seemed to be understated, but those he wanted to deal with were his own children.

Following the old king's words, the main tasks in front of Lin Yi and Su Xiao were finally activated at the same time.

[Tip: The Hunter has activated the main quest.]

[Main Quest: Crown of Power]

Difficulty level: Lv.30

Mission Description: Select a prince or princess and make him or her inherit the throne successfully.

Mission information: The hunter has 15 natural days to make the selection.

Task period: 30 calendar days.

Mission reward: 4 real attribute points, and the level of any skill you have mastered will be increased by 1 level.

Mission penalty: none

……

"According to the time, several of my descendants will be here tomorrow morning. Help me get rid of a few of them tonight." As the old king spoke, he took out a small roll of parchment from his arms. Su Xiao walked a few steps forward to the old king and took the parchment.

"You don't need to make them disappear secretly this time. The new heir to the throne cannot convince the public. You need to let them know what the consequences of going against the surname 'Herbert' are. No, you need to let everyone in the capital know that your Iron Hand is my, Bai Herbert's, sharpest knife."

"Lin Yi, tonight you will be my eyes and follow Iron Hand to these people's homes. Remember, don't leave any of them alive."

The old king patted Lin Yi's forearm. In order to ensure Lin Yi's safety before the new king took office, the old king specially arranged for Lin Yi and Su Xiao to do this dirty work together.

In this way, Lin Yi is considered a member of the Iron Hand faction in the eyes of outsiders.

As long as those heirs to the throne are not fools, they will not easily threaten Lin Yi.

You know, the power of the Iron Hand is both big and small. It is different from the position of general.

For these crown princes, the Iron Hand poses a much greater threat than the general.

Because the Iron Hands really have the power to kill them.

Su Xiao knew very well that what he had to do was very simple, which was to scare those people with ulterior motives out of their wits.

Tonight, there will be blood and gore in the royal capital.

"Take 50 royal guards with you and make sure no one is left alive." The old king stared at Lin Yi and while speaking, he took out a handkerchief and gently wiped the saliva from the corners of his mouth.

Lin Yi shrugged helplessly, indicating that he understood.

"You bastard, get out of here now if you know what's going on. Iron Hand, I'll leave this kid to you for the time being. If anything goes wrong with him during this period, you don't have to come see me again."

"Yes."

Su Xiao looked at the old king expressionlessly, and was not shaken at all by the old king's words, just like a cold-faced and ruthless killer.

After saying that, Su Xiao turned around and prepared to walk out of the meeting hall. He did not use any honorifics because he was the Iron Hand and it was his mission to eliminate dissidents for the old king. Those cumbersome etiquettes were meaningless to him.

Looking at Su Xiao's leaving figure, a trace of regret appeared on the old king's face.

"Lin Yi."

"What's wrong, Fourth Uncle?"

"If Hardy has done something out of line, give him a chance to make amends."

The old king had his eyes closed. The Hatti he was talking about was the eldest prince, a 47-year-old prince. As the eldest son, the old king gave him an extra privilege.