Chapter 1186: The First Prince

Steve was the next Chief Justice. The three officials Su Xiao had gotten rid of earlier were not very important positions; it was fine for their positions to be vacant for a few days, but the position of Chief Justice, who held the law, could not be vacant for even a day, especially since the struggle for power had already begun.

Steve came here to hand over some important matters with Elvi. Elvi was very cooperative and told Steve about some important matters.

Elvi would definitely die. In this situation, was he out of his mind to be so cooperative? No, this was a very smart move. He was using his final efforts to protect his family.

One hour later.

"That's basically it. How to handle things afterward depends on your personal ability."

Elvi let out a long sigh; exhaling this breath seemed to have used up all his strength.

"Iron Hand, I've done everything I should do. Does His Majesty... have anything to pass on to me?"

"The national treasury is tight."

Hearing this sentence from Su Xiao, Elvi's lips parted, and in the end, he could only give a miserable smile. He still hadn't figured out the thoughts of that 'old lion'.

A piece of parchment slid out from Su Xiao's sleeve, and he tossed the parchment to Steve on the side.

"Read."

Steve opened the parchment.

"Chief Justice Elvi Anthony violated the kingdom's laws, knowing the law and breaking it..."

"Read the important parts."

Su Xiao interrupted Steve's long-winded speech. In fact, the main content issued by the old king was only one sentence, but after being transferred through the document officer + the new Chief Justice Steve, it became a pile of nonsense.

"Granted, Elvi Anthony to drink poison, his family to be exiled to the Sier Highlands, never to be employed by the royal family."

Steve was very cooperative, and he couldn't afford not to be. His predecessor was about to die in front of him; this was a live version of killing a chicken to scare the monkeys.

Steve took out a pottery bottle from his bosom and placed it on the desk.

"This is a relatively decent way to die."

"Heh, what's the difference."

Elvi grabbed the pottery bottle. His hands began to tremble, but he was smiling. Although his family was exiled to a bitter cold place like the 'Sier Highlands', they could continue to live, and as long as they lived, there was hope.

"Even if I lose... I must lose gracefully. I bet on the First Prince succeeding to the throne. Iron Hand, in the power struggle about to begin, what position are you in?"

Elvi pulled out the wooden stopper of the pottery bottle and poured the medicinal liquid inside into his mouth. He closed his eyes and leaned against the expensive chair, his mind recalling a man with a small mustache on his chin. That man had once said to him: 'Run, Elvi. If I win, you will come to be my minister.'

"Wonderful."

Elvi rapidly lost his breath under the deadly poison of the Blue Sword Flower. The 'wonderful' in his mouth might have been referring to his wonderful life, or it might have been referring to this struggle for power.

Chief Justice Elvi Anthony was the first to lose in this struggle for power. In fact, he didn't die because of greed for money, nor did he die because he stood on the wrong side, but because he couldn't bear to part with the great power in his hands. Power was like a drug; as long as one tasted even a trace of it, it would make people unable to stop, eventually sinking deep into it, swallowed by power.

【The Hunter has completed the side quest: Purge. Obtained 100,000 Paradise Coins.】

From all aspects, two people benefited the most from this purge. Su Xiao obtained the resources needed to become stronger, and the old king got rid of the unstable factors within the royal capital.

All four targets were cleared. The next thing was to count the family wealth of these four people. The person responsible for this was the Kingdom Finance Officer Rowan Harvey, who had been waiting at home for a long time. This old guy was a smart man and knew what was going to happen tonight.

Counting the property of these four people was not simple. This was not just about raiding a few treasure vaults; real estate accounted for more than 80% of the four people's family wealth.

Of course, 99% of the counted property was contributed by Elvi Anthony; the other three were cleared because of other problems.

The councilor brother stood on the wrong side and was a bit incompetent; the inspector was meddlesome—no, it should be better to say abuse of power; the Temple High Priest was because he knew too many secrets; the Chief Justice was the 'newbie gift package' left by the old king for the new king.

This night, the officials of the royal capital were all in danger. When 'Iron Hand' knocked on their doors, that was their death date. Therefore, all the officials in the royal capital suffered from insomnia.

Su Xiao walked on the streets of the royal capital, followed by ten imperial guards and hundreds of royal direct guards.

Su Xiao originally thought the purge was over, but the old king suddenly issued an urgent edict, handing him another long list. Some of the officials on the list were to be executed, and some were to be imprisoned.

The officials on the second list, of course, didn't need to be handled like before. They would pass through a series of rapid adjudications; those who should be killed would be killed, and those who should be imprisoned would be imprisoned.

A large-scale cleanup began. Around one o'clock in the middle of the night, a total of 67 officials of various sizes were taken away in the royal capital, 12 of whom were executed, 18 were imprisoned for life, and the rest suffered jail time for several years.

The old king had actually arranged this purge long ago, so the entire power system basically didn't suffer any impact.

The corpses that night were transported out of the royal capital cart by cart, and there was a smell of blood on the streets.

Those princes and princesses didn't know yet that before they arrived at the royal capital, the unstable factors here had already been dealt with.

These officials who were dealt with had intricate relationships within the kingdom. They had all been officials for a lifetime. Those princes and princesses were simply no match for these old schemers in terms of power struggle. It was true that they were capable, but the territories they governed were too far from the royal capital. At this point in time, the danger level of the royal capital was no less than the front-line battlefield. The evil in people's hearts was the most terrifying thing.

At three o'clock that night, Su Xiao finally led people to complete the purge. In this matter, he not only harvested a Legendary Grade treasure chest and so on, but also made the identity of Iron Hand terrifying.

Su Xiao had just returned to the mansion when he found that the courtyard was significantly cleaner. At least the pool full of foul water had been cleaned up and wouldn't emit a strange smell.

"My lord, you are back. The bathwater is already prepared."

Two little lolis ran over with small steps. Just as they were about to perform a grand salute to Su Xiao, Su Xiao waved his hand. As a modern person, he was not used to others kneeling in front of him.

After taking a hot bath, Su Xiao, whose body had much less of a bloody smell, lay on the bed and soon fell asleep. Amu slept at the door. No matter which world it was in, Amu always slept at the door to avoid anyone sneaking up on Su Xiao.

The next morning, the early sun rose on the horizon. It seemed as if nothing had happened in the royal capital, or rather, those civilians simply didn't know what had happened last night.

The few princes and princesses closest to the royal capital would arrive at the royal capital today.

At the royal capital gate, a luxurious carriage drove in from the city gate. This carriage was entirely made of metal, with a black base and gold patterns. The coachman was a knight with a sharp gaze, and pulling the carriage were two black horses. They had single horns on their heads and were an extremely rare species.

The cloth curtain of the carriage was lifted, and a handsome man of about 40 years old with a small mustache on his chin poked his head out of the carriage. He was the First Prince in Chief Justice Elvi Anthony's mouth.

"Finally arrived at the royal capital."

The First Prince looked out at the scenery of the royal capital, the smile on his face very gentle, giving people a feeling of being bathed in a spring breeze.

"Your Highness, we have many opponents this time, and there are many people we need to win over."

An old man in the carriage spoke. He was the First Prince's confidant.

"It's true that there are many enemies, but there aren't many people who need to be won over. Kingdom Finance Officer Rowan Harvey, Administrator Joe Valentine, Legion Commander Heslet—as long as I get the support of these three, no one is my opponent. These three are my father's right-hand men."

"What about that Iron Hand? If these three are the right-hand men, then Iron Hand is almost His Majesty's deputy."

The old man spoke. He really wanted to win over Su Xiao, this Iron Hand.

"Iron Hand? That is the adjudicator, not someone we can win over. His support is too dreamy, so I didn't consider it at all. Last night, he bloodied the royal capital. How glorious was Chief Justice Elvi Anthony once? Now he is just a corpse."

The First Prince sat back in the carriage. He was the first of the old king's offspring to arrive at the royal capital, and he also had a 'death immunity right' secretly granted by the old king. He was a hot favorite in this power struggle. In Bubu Wang's words: 'I bet five cents, this guy is definitely the new king.' ===== CHAPTER 1187 =====