Chapter 2157

Su Xiao walked out of the narrow alley, Xiang Ignoring Ignoring Ignoring Ignoring Ignoring Bubu Wang and Bahu already waiting at the entrance, as for Amu, it was outside Alanse City.

Due to insufficient information, Su Xiao temporarily refrained from going to the Holy Court, the power center of the Seila Empire, as without a certain status, even if he arrived there, he could do nothing.

Bahu spread its wings and flew toward the high sky, straight for the manor of Old Duke Adrian Alf, located about five kilometers from Alanse City.

As for the Seila Empire First-Class Medal in Su Xiao's hand, he did not intend to use it; once the starting point was confirmed, he could only proceed step by step along that line.

There was no need to think—Old Duke's manor was definitely fraught with danger; with Su Xiao's current strength, it was not impossible to force a breakthrough, though directly resisting the Seila Empire's army was impossible, but breaking through a duke's manor posed no problem.

Moreover, Xiang Ignoring Ignoring Ignoring Ignoring Ignoring Bubu Wang could still scout the manor's interior; if it proved too dangerous, Su Xiao had other options.

While wits and courage against enemies were certainly fun, if a problem could be solved by direct force, why go around in circles? When facing a ruler who could not be overcome head-on, then engaging in wit and courage would be the best choice.

Bahu quickly disappeared from Su Xiao's sight; as for the now freely moving Beni, it this time took charge of finding Xi's trail.

Xi very much liked cats, and as Beni was a Meow Star Person, even if discovered, as long as not thoroughly seen through, it might survive a while by acting cute.

Moreover, Beni had seen its share of great winds and waves; the dangerous places it had visited were actually more numerous than Su Xiao's—one was about survival, the other about slaughtering straight through.

Half an hour later, Su Xiao reached the base of Alanse City's city wall, which, conservatively estimated, stood thirty meters high, revealing the war's impact on this nation.

Su Xiao leaned against the city wall, and after 5 minutes and 23 seconds, he stepped with one foot onto Amu's forearm.

Bang!

Su Xiao broke through a layer of air current; as he gradually slowed in midair, he finally landed atop the city wall.

Arriving at the other side of the city wall, Su Xiao leapt down; shortly after, Amu also climbed onto the wall and leapt down from Su Xiao's previous position.

Outside the city wall lay a moat, beyond which stretched an endless expanse of green wheat fields; in terms of agriculture and animal husbandry, the Seila Empire utterly crushed the Northern Alliance, that region being a bitterly cold land with fierce, warlike people unskilled in production.

At this moment it was noon, the blazing sun hung high in the sky—of course not the time for infiltration… assaulting the duke's manor, as such affairs were better suited to night.

Su Xiao found a crooked-forked tree, lay upon its fork, crossed his legs, and rested, listening to the cicadas' chirping.

One by one, scarecrows were planted in the wheat fields; Xiang Ignoring Ignoring Ignoring Ignoring Ignoring Bubu Wang crouched beneath one, playing happily with it.

The sun in the sky went from scorching, gradually dimming red, and finally slowly disappeared below the horizon.

When the high moon hung in the sky, Su Xiao rose from the crooked tree fork, the night breeze gently brushing; after resting an entire afternoon, his spirit became exceptionally full.

"Has the duke manor's situation been confirmed?"

"Confirmed, the visible guards number no more than twenty; as for those hidden in darkness…"

Bahu looked toward Xiang Ignoring Ignoring Ignoring Ignoring Ignoring Bubu Wang.

"Woof."

Xiang Ignoring Ignoring Ignoring Ignoring Ignoring Bubu Wang barked, meaning the information volume was large, so better to discuss via team channel.

According to Xiang Ignoring Ignoring Ignoring Ignoring Ignoring Bubu Wang's reconnaissance, the duke manor housed twenty-nine guards in total, twenty in plain sight, the remaining nine in darkness.

For an imperial duke, this was somewhat unbelievable, given that the old duke held garrison rights and could station 500 to 2000 soldiers near the manor for his own and his relatives' safety.

Old Duke Adrian Alf not only failed to garrison troops within the manor, but actually reduced guard numbers—however viewed, this seemed abnormal.

Su Xiao felt this should be a struggle between power factions; according to information from Xiang Ignoring Ignoring Ignoring Ignoring Ignoring Bubu Wang, the old duke had been bedridden for a month, possibly kicking his legs at any moment.

Of course, this was only what Xiang Ignoring Ignoring Ignoring Ignoring Ignoring Bubu Wang saw; there should still be hidden circumstances.

"Boss, what should we do?"

"Charge straight through the main gate; we currently have no leverage, 'First Pot of Gold' is very important."

"Understood."

Bahu vanished into the night, Su Xiao also leapt down from the crooked tree fork, sheathing the Dragon-Slaying Flash and inserting it at his waist.

Ten-odd minutes later, Su Xiao arrived before the duke manor, covering about three hectares, equivalent to four football fields; the outer wall was not high, revealing a sense of era without appearing dilapidated.

"Amu."

As Su Xiao's words fell, Amu strode forward, leaving a series of depressions in its path.

Boom!

Shattered stone scattered in all directions; Amu directly smashed through the wall, charged into the manor, and then there was no further.

No guards rushed forward; only a dozen or so hunting dogs charged up, barking loudly at Amu; though they trembled all over from fear, they still fulfilled their duty.

"Moo!"

Amu roared angrily; the dozen or so hunting dogs were so frightened they defecated and urinated, their legs going weak from terror.

Hm~

A strange whistle sounded; the next moment, the muscles on those dozen or so hunting dogs suddenly bulged, their white, forest-white fangs protruding, drooling as they lunged at Amu.

With a swish, one hunting dog shot out an afterimage, suddenly appearing before Amu and biting down on its head.

Amu was also fierce, backhanding itself a heavy slap—Pa-pa! —the frenzied hunting dog had its dog head torn apart; just before, that bite had not even broken Amu's skin membrane.

A brief tragic cry suddenly appeared, blood spattering; Bahu's paw flicked, throwing out a woman wearing beast skins and a bone-tooth necklace, who had just been in a hidden state.

At the same time, within the castle behind the manor, a pair of crimson eyes opened in the darkness.

"The people of Duke Lylin have arrived; fortunately, my lord had already anticipated this."

"For the family."

"For……"

The voice in the darkness had just appeared when a howling sound suddenly came.

Thud!

A round stone shattered the wall and embedded itself deeper into the wall behind, scattering waves of cold air.

Ten-odd seconds later, several figures burst from the darkness-shrouded castle, straight for Amu.

The castle was silent to the point of eeriness; in a bedroom on the third floor lay an old man with a withered face, skin and bones, seemingly on the verge of death at any moment.

With a bang, the window was pushed open, the night wind lifting the curtains.

"How many gold pounds did Duke Lylin give you? I offer a hundred times that."

The old man lying on the bed spoke—he was none other than Old Duke Adrian Alf.

「……」

Su Xiao didn't speak, but instead dragged over a chair and sat on it.

Noticing this, the elderly duke lying on the bed sat up, his entire body emitting creaking sounds from bone friction.

"You are not someone of Duke Lylin."

The elderly duke's cloudy eyes looked toward Su Xiao.

"Holy Descendant."

Su Xiao observed the elderly duke; just moments ago, he had sensed the other's gray-black aura, that viscous 'death,' which he had never seen before.

The elderly duke is on his deathbed? Don't joke—Holy Descendants don't die naturally; this is clearly a trap.

In the courtyard, the booming sounds continued, eight guards surrounding Am, Am's heart remained undisturbed; if it weren't for these little dwarves being fast, he could knock them flat one after another.

Under the moonlight, eight men and women of varied attire surrounded Am, and they simultaneously had the same thought: 'Where did this monster come from?'

In the elderly duke's bedroom, Su Xiao sat by the window, the elderly duke sat on the edge of the bed, the two silently gazing at each other.

"Lylin, it's impossible, and you also lack the qualifications to recruit someone like you, young man, tell me, what do you want?"

The elderly duke lit the whale-oil lamp on the bedside table; the dim yellow light scattered the darkness.

「……」

Su Xiao still didn't speak; he was pondering what matter he had already gotten involved in, and whether he could gain an advantage from it.

"Are you, from the Abyss?"

The elderly duke truly couldn't figure out which faction's person could possess such overwhelming pressure; he could already see blood qi drifting in the air.

"Let's make a deal: I want the authority of the duke's position; in return, I will let you be reborn from death—I'm not sure it will succeed, but it's merely possible."

Hearing Su Xiao's words, the elderly duke, who had lived who knows how many years, was stunned for a moment, then gave a sinister smile.

"Young man, do you take me, Adrian Alf, as truly afraid of you?"

The elderly duke's eyes gradually turned gray-black, thick black smoke drifting from all parts of his body; he decided no longer to conceal his strength.

Zhen~

Su Xiao slowly drew the long sword at his waist; suddenly, blood qi surged outward like an explosion, the glass window cracking with sharp sounds.

The white hair on the elderly duke's head fluttered in the blood qi, his withered cheeks twitching twice.

"Young man, what did you just say?"

The elderly duke sat back onto the bed, adopting the air of a civilized person, as if there was no need to draw swords or guns.

"I want the authority of the duke's position; in return, I will let you be reborn from death—of course, merely possible."

"Hmm, then let's discuss this carefully—I have a nephew from the countryside; have you eaten dinner?"

The elderly duke broke into a kind smile, appearing like a benevolent old man; just moments ago, he had already confirmed he absolutely could not defeat Su Xiao, his reserved tactics could only deal with Holy Descendants; he was preparing to eliminate an old rival's confidant, for which he had made preparations for a long time.

Undead? Don't talk nonsense—if chopped to pieces, the elderly duke would die just the same.

The elderly duke was somewhat unlucky; originally intending to lure someone from Duke Lylin's side, but that side's people hadn't arrived yet, Su Xiao had already come.