Chapter 129

After several more days of sleeping in the open.

Everyone in the team was haggard and in rags; the once high-and-mighty nobles now only had exhaustion and numbness left.

Their faces were covered in dust and exhaustion, but a faint light flickered in their eyes.

Because, at the end of the horizon, the outline of the kingdom's capital—Elosia City, stood majestically like a mirage!

The long and cruel journey finally neared its end.

The towering city walls stretched endlessly like mountain ranges, built with hard giant stones, shining with a sturdy luster in the sun.

On the city walls, dense guards stood like sculptures, and an arrow tower stood high every hundred meters.

Vaguely visible rune arrays circulated on the city walls, emitting a faint halo.

Spired churches and tall castles appeared and disappeared in the depths of the city, and one could even see some residential areas with cooking smoke, as well as magical light beams that occasionally soared into the sky.

"Look! It's the Royal Capital! We've arrived!" Count Reinhardt pointed his trembling finger toward the huge city outline in the distance, his voice carrying the hoarseness and ecstasy of surviving a disaster.

He was like a child, tears even welling up in the corners of his eyes.

Baron Fabio and General Brandon also poked their heads out of the carriages excitedly.

Seeing the not-so-familiar Royal Capital, their eyes were instantly filled with hope and relaxation, as if all exhaustion had been washed away at this moment.

"We... we finally survived!" Baron Fabio muttered incoherently, his fat face filled with excitement and joy at this moment.

All the surviving nobles in the team erupted in uncontrollable cheers, and the tired guards also followed with deafening roars, holding their weapons high, celebrating this hard-won destination.

The horses also seemed to feel this joy, their steps becoming light.

"Lord Jack! Thank you very much for your escort all the way!" Baron Fabio rushed out of the carriage excitedly, holding Jie Ming's hand tightly, trembling all over, "If it weren't for you, I'm afraid I would have died on the road long ago..."

Count Reinhardt also walked up tremblingly. He took a heavy gold-inlaid box from his attendant, which was filled with shining gems and gold coins, and handed it to Jie Ming respectfully:

"My lord! This is a small token of our appreciation! Please be sure to accept it!"

At the same time, he promised solemnly again: "After arriving at the Royal Capital, our families will certainly do our best to strive for the highest royal recognition for you!"

Jie Ming took the box, glanced at it, and nodded with a smile, though his gaze was slightly mocking.

These nobles seemed to be thanking him, but in reality, after reaching a safe zone, they started to probe him secretly again.

Should one say they are worthy of being nobles?

This speed of turning their faces is simply outrageous.

The team was waiting for the inspection of the Royal Capital's city gate guards, and Jie Ming was observing the Royal Capital's defense system.

The city gate was tall and thick, there was a deep moat in front of the gate, and the drawbridge slowly lowered.

On the city walls, dense guards and defensive weapons such as catapults and giant crossbows were all available.

Patrols passed by every moment, and complex arrays were drawn on the city walls, emitting faint energy fluctuations.

With so many nobles, the inspection speed was very fast, the team soon started moving, and slowly drove into the city.

First to come into view were wide and flat stone-paved streets, with shops lining both sides and pedestrians like weaving fabric.

Neat guard posts were arranged on both sides of the street, and the city guards in silver armor had sharp gazes and high spirits, a world of difference from the collapsed soldiers in Golden Port.

Children played and frolicked on the street, and vendors enthusiastically hawked freshly baked pastries and colorful silks.

In the distance, the magnificent castle spires pierced the clouds, and the bells of major temples rang one after another, solemn and magnificent.

Here is the true civilized hinterland of the Elosia Plane.

As soon as the nobles' carriages entered the city gate, they attracted the side-glances of the residents on the street.

Although they were in rags and the carriages were covered in mud, people could still identify their identities from the gorgeous materials and the arrogance that couldn't be hidden despite their exhaustion.

Some sharp-eyed residents recognized the emblems of prominent families like Count Reinhardt engraved on the carriages and immediately erupted in a burst of low discussion and exclamations.

"My god! It's Count Reinhardt! They... they actually returned alive!"

"Didn't Golden Port fall? How did they escape?"

"Looking at their disheveled appearance, they must have suffered a lot..."

Count Reinhardt, in the carriage, looked through the curtain at the prosperity of the Royal Capital and felt the long-lost sense of security. The exhaustion and fear that had been suppressed for several days were completely released at this moment.

Soon he woke up from the joy of surviving a disaster, and his gaze turned sharp.

"Quick! Send someone to the palace immediately! Go to the major temples! Report 'all' of Lord Jack's heroic deeds!" Count Reinhardt poked his head out and gave orders to the servant following the carriage.

As an old man who had followed the Count for decades, the servant immediately understood what his master meant and nodded respectfully: "Yes, master!"

After arriving at the Royal Capital, the team drove directly into the noble district.

The streets here were wider, and on both sides were luxurious mansions of various styles, each showing the owner's status and wealth.

When the carriage stopped in front of Count Reinhardt's family mansion, the mansion's gate was already wide open.

The steward and servants lined up at the gate to wait; their faces were pale, clearly having been worried about the safety of the family master for a long time.

"Master! You've finally returned!" The steward wept with joy and greeted them with a crying voice.

Count Reinhardt couldn't care about washing the dust off his face and immediately summoned Baron Fabio, General Brandon, and several other surviving great nobles for a secret meeting in the mansion's hall.

"Everyone! We were able to return alive, all thanks to Lord Jack!" Count Reinhardt's voice was hoarse but firm, "We must immediately report the lord's heroic deeds to the King and strive for everything he requested for him! This is not only to fulfill our promise but also for our own safety!"

He looked at General Brandon meaningfully, hinting at the existence of those "jackals" in the Royal Capital.

Baron Fabio nodded heavily, his fat face full of caution after fear: "Count Reinhardt is right! Those relatives in the Royal Capital... I'm afraid they are already waiting to see our jokes, or even want our lives! Only by pushing Lord Jack in front of the King and making him a hero of the kingdom can we get protection!"

General Brandon looked at Count Reinhardt meaningfully; he understood the other party's meaning.

When leaving Golden Port, in order to escape, they must have selected the most loyal servants and guards, and there could not possibly be any "traitors."

Even so, along the way, there was a steady stream of orcs who could accurately find their tracks and come to intercept and kill them.

And every time, this Lord Jack could perfectly solve the other party.

If one had to say whose problem was the biggest, it must be this Lord Jack.

But Baron Fabio's words were also a fact; being forced to evacuate from Golden Port caused them to lose most of their strength.

Faced with other relatives who were eyeing them covetously, they indeed needed someone with enough weight to deter them.

Similarly, this Jack of unknown origin was naturally the best "thug."

He said in a deep voice: "I will personally write a report detailing the lord's great feats in Golden Port."

"Good, I will also write a report together to present it!" Count Reinhardt laughed when he heard this.

Thus, a report of "heroic deeds" that had been polished and beautified, yet still shocking, was delivered to the King's desk at the fastest speed.

In the report, Jack was portrayed as a powerful mercenary who fought not for money but for the kingdom and honor. His strength was rendered almost god-like, and he turned the tide in a desperate situation, saving the bloodlines of several important royal families.

The King, Otto-Lei-Ke III, was a monarch in his prime.

When the reports from the two nobles were presented, he was overwhelmed by the orc invasion and the war on the front lines.

When he saw these two reports, a playful look immediately appeared in his eyes.

"Is this person truly so god-like and brave?" Otto-Lei-Ke III put down the report and tapped the table, "How do you see it, Minister?"

The Chief Minister bowed and said: "Your Majesty, Count Reinhardt and others have personally testified, and the small number of guards they brought also corroborated the content of the report. This 'Jack's' strength is indeed extraordinary."

"Don't play dumb with me!" Otto-Lei-Ke III rolled his eyes without any decorum, "I don't believe you can't see the problems with this guy."

The Chief Minister was still in that state of neither surprise nor joy: "Your Majesty, this Mr. Jack is indeed of unknown origin. If we speculate based on the report of the Count and others, the other party is likely a spy arranged by the orcs. However, there is no relevant evidence for this matter..."

"Alright, alright, don't play dumb. The five legends of Golden Port didn't escape, which shows that the attacking force sent by the orcs was extraordinary. Under such circumstances, how could a group of nobles survive?" Otto-Lei-Ke III waved his hand.

"We are going to arrange a meeting with the orc delegation in a few days. It's strange that such a person suddenly appears at this time. It would be strange if he weren't a spy for the orcs. The real trouble isn't this guy..."

The Chief Minister took over: "Since that's the case, openly recommending this Jack, I'm afraid he is just a discarded pawn placed on the surface. Secretly, the orcs should have other insiders..."

"The nobles who came in together... right?" Otto-Lei-Ke III sneered, "It fits the character of that group of cowardly guys."

"How should we arrange this Jack? Now the rumors about him have spread throughout the Royal Capital. If we arrest people rashly without evidence, I'm afraid it's inappropriate."

"Why arrest him." Otto-Lei-Ke III tilted his head, "If we really arrest him, then that 'mouse' hiding in the dark really won't be caught."

"You mean to..."

"He has made such a great contribution, of course, we must reward him greatly!" Otto-Lei-Ke III stood up from the throne.

"Just a discarded pawn who hasn't even reached the legend stage, arresting him is meaningless. Keeping him and letting him move around in the Royal Capital has value!"

"Understood!"

Soon, Jie Ming received a notice from the Kingdom's Minister.

"Jack! According to the King's order, you are hereby appointed as the Kingdom's 'Special Consultant'! You will have a special establishment in the Kingdom's intelligence department, enjoy absolute freedom of action, and can consult all public historical archives, geographical atlases, and intelligence agency information of the Kingdom!"

"Your duty is to provide your 'consultant' opinions to the Kingdom, without having to bear any cumbersome duties. In addition, His Majesty will bestow upon you a mansion in the Royal Capital to manifest your merits!"

"Thank you, Your Majesty, for your grace!" Jie Ming bowed and expressionlessly took the medal and documents from the royal guard.

"Mr. Jack, congratulations. It's rare to see someone receive such grace as soon as they arrive in the Royal Capital."

The minister who issued the order saw Jie Ming take the documents, and the originally serious expression on his face immediately became smiling.

Jie Ming also took the opportunity to make his expression a little more amiable: "I have to thank His Majesty the King for his grace..."

The two of them exchanged pleasantries, and after Jie Ming smilingly handed him a bag of gold coins, the minister left with the guards, still feeling unsatisfied.

Turning around to look at this mansion that already belonged to him, Jie Ming looked at the medal in his hand, and the smile on his face gradually became mocking:

"Special Consultant... right? What a nice-sounding position."

But it was only nice-sounding.

It looked like the status was good and the power seemed not small, but in fact, there was no real power.

The information that could be queried was only "public" information. The problem was that whether information was public or not depended entirely on the mood of the royal family.

As for the so-called freedom of action, just listen to it. Jie Ming estimated that his range of action was probably about the same as that of an ordinary noble.

In summary, except for this mansion that didn't know how many surveillance devices were placed, what Jie Ming obtained was only a nominal position.

"However... it's exactly what I want!" Putting away the medal, Jie Ming looked at the mansion before him, and a genuinely satisfied smile appeared on his face.

Just as he said at the beginning, everything was developing as he had envisioned.

"It seems the public intelligence provided in the wizard camp was not wrong. This Otto-Lei-Ke III is indeed a smart person with ambition."

Fortunately, he is a smart person. If he were a reckless man, it would be more troublesome, but a smart person would think more.

"The identity I have in their eyes now should be a spy discarded by the orcs, right? After all, the method I used to pass the carriage information to the orcs was too shallow."

Jie Ming thought while smilingly pushing open the gate and walking in the courtyard of his newly acquired mansion.

Jie Ming's methods were not clever, and there were flaws all over his body.

As a wise monarch, Otto-Lei-Ke III naturally would not let go of these flaws.

But for Jie Ming, when they regarded him as an orc spy, his goal had actually been achieved.

It didn't matter what identity he was regarded as, because from the beginning, his goal was just to disguise himself as a person of "this world."

(End of chapter)