Chapter 414: Poison Scheme and “Old Friend”
Unexpectedly, Chen Rui’s first sentence was not to stop the battle but to instigate. “The Dark Moon’s strongest blade, the elites of the Flame Legion, answer me, can you easily destroy the defense and wipe out this town in front of you?”
“Yes!” The neat and loud voice revealed strong determination. The high morale and intangible pressure made the soldiers and civilians of Town Pesa even tenser. No one doubted that the enemy would be able to completely crush their pitiful defense with just one charge.
“If you are facing an enemy, our legion commander, Athena, will immediately order the entire army to charge, turning the enemy into powder instantly! However, the brave and decisive commander didn’t make such an order. Despite the fact that this estate ungratefully invaded our estate not long ago to slaughter and plunder our relatives and properties, the fault lies only with their ruler, not the innocent soldiers and civilians in front of you! The invaders have paid the price of blood. We are the strongest army of the Dark Moon. In the future, we will be the strongest army of the Demon Realm. We don’t need to slaughter and kill the innocent to prove our courage!”
Was the voice of the human amplified through some kind of magic item? It was so powerful that it seemed to remind the people of the brave man who rushed to the Red Spirit Army first back then. “Tell me, What is the purpose that Princess Royal Highness sent her strongest Flame Legion to the Blue Lava Estate?”
“To help the Blue Lava Estate!” Under the leaders.h.i.+p of Athena, tens and thousands of people shouted out simultaneously.
Chen Rui nodded in satisfaction. He rode the horse a few steps forward and shouted to the guards of Town Pesa, “Soldiers and civilians of Town Pesa, I’m Financial Officer Chen Rui of the Dark Moon. First of all, I would like to salute your courage to defend your homeland. However, we came to the Blue Lava Estate today not to invade your home, let alone to retaliate and kill, but for peace and friends.h.i.+p! Our Princess Royal Shea received an urgent letter to call for help from Chandler, the representative lord of the Blue Lava Estate. Considering that the people of the Blue Lava Estate are in dire suffering, she put aside the previous misdeeds and sent us to help out! We will help the Blue Lava Estate quell the rebellion as well as restore the economy and prosperity. Please remove the magic circle and keep aside your hostility. We will never harm any soldier or civilian.”
The soldiers and civilians of Town Pesa looked at each other. I seem to have heard Chen Rui’s name before. He seems to be an important person for the flouris.h.i.+ng development of the Dark Moon. He is even a human.
What this human said just now is right. With such a huge disparity between the strengths of the 2 sides, it is indeed impossible to resist. In this case, the other party can completely crush our poor defensive force. Why would he bother to say so much?
No one wanted to die. Hearing that there was hope of survival, many people turned their gaze to Mayor Ryanne. Old Ryanne was a dark elf who was more than 300 years old. He was very prestigious in the town.
After learning that the Dark Moon Army had arrived, the garrison captain, who was in charge of the military, fled quickly. Ryanne was the one who mobilized the townspeople to partic.i.p.ate in the defense in order to buy time for their wives and children to escape.
Although Old Ryanne was getting older, it didn’t mean that he was not afraid of death. On the contrary, the older people were more afraid of the final moment, but the dark elf cautiously asked loudly, “I’m Mayor Ryanne. Sir, you said that you are entrusted by sir lord to help the Blue Lava Estate settle the chaos, but why did we not receive the order from sir lord?”
“Mayor Ryanne, do you think that given the chaotic situation of the Blue Lava Estate currently, the order can arrive on time?” Chen Rui shook his head and said, “Your sir lord has encountered difficult troubles himself, otherwise he will not lower himself to ask for help from the neighbor whom he had just attacked recently.”
The dark elf mayor contemplated for a while and didn’t respond— Removing the magic circle would be tantamount to giving up resistance completely. In case the opponent turns hostile, this terrifying army can kill everyone unscrupulously, but if I don’t remove the magic circle, I am like defying the lord’s order. The other party can still kill without scruples, at most I’m just adding a little resistance. The problem is that the women and children have not escaped far…
Chen Rui saw that the other party remained silent, so he added, “We are here with a sincere friends.h.i.+p regardless of previous feud. We don’t want to see unnecessary bloodshed and conflict. To prove this, I will enter alone now when you withdraw from the magic circle.”
This already means taking the initiative to be a hostage. With the Dark Moon Army holding a good chance of winning, this human financial officer actually made such an “unwise” and risky move? Could it be that Lord Chandler really asked them for help?
Chen Rui’s reputation has gradually spread in the Fallen Angel Empire now. Although this human is not powerful, he is the most trusted financial officer of Princess Shea of the Dark Moon and the lover of the Flame Legion leader, Athena!
Many Flame Legion soldiers were looking at the legion leader Athena. Although the opponent is weak, the sir financial officer’s action is too risky. 100,000 Blue Lava Estate soldiers died in the Dark Moon. Who can guarantee what those guys who show strong hostility will do? However, the legion leader, Athena’s expression is firm and steady. She didn’t intend to stop her lover.
When Old Ryanne saw Chen Rui riding on his horse to come alone, he immediately asked the soldiers to remove the magic circle.
Chen Rui entered the checkpoint and looked at the soldiers and civilians who were still surprised and doubtful. He said, “Everyone, from your faces, I see fear, panic, and a trace of hidden hatred. An undue war between us has produced undue hatred. This hatred may be unforgettable for a while, but because the dead have already died, so the living should live better. This time, by the order of the Lord of Midnight Sun’s descendant, Princess Royal Shea’s order, to come and help the Blue Lava Estate with the sincerity of resolving hatred. We will help the Blue Lava Estate out of chaos and famine and restore its former stability and prosperity, just like how we helped other estates.”
These words touched many people, and Old Ryanne finally nodded and said, “Sir took the risk to come here alone is enough to prove everything.
When the soldiers and townspeople of Town Pesa heard this, they put down their weapons one after another, and then the checkpoint opened. The Dark Moon Army successfully entered Town Pesa. What rea.s.sured Old Ryanne and the townspeople was that this army did not burn, kill or loot as expected, but rather, they chose a suitable location to station with great discipline without causing any hara.s.sment to the townspeople. Instead, under the legion leader, Athena’s leaders.h.i.+p, they donated a portion of food to help some townspeople who were particularly poor.
Not only did they not inflict not the slightest harm on the people, they also provided help righteously. Even the Blue Lava Estate’s own army could not do it.
Only then did Old Ryanne completely let his guards down. He praised, “They are worthy of being the strongest elite soldier of the empire!”
In fact, this kind of discipline was produced by strict training, rewards and punishments. There was once when a deputy leader was unable to control his male hormones during a military deployment to support a small estate. Under partly forceful conditions, he mated with a dark goblin woman from the estate. As a result, when the incident came to light, the deputy leader was beheaded by the military judge in front of the entire army.
(According to an unreliable gossip, the body of the deputy leader was buried by the dark goblin woman)
After several incidents of killing one to warn the rest, coupled with hard training and indoctrination, the military’s discipline had significantly improved. These elites was able to truly comply with the order.
“Mayor Ryanne is being courteous.” Chen Rui thought for a while and said, “In fact, our Princess Royal Highness only received a letter of help from the confidant sent by Lord Chandler. If it weren’t for the secret method mark which was unique to Abbas Family, she would even think that it was fabricated. We just heard that there were a lot of weird incidents in Town Lupin, and the Azure Legion deputy leader Sumen rebelled. We don’t know the specific details. Please tell us anything, mayor.”
Old Ryanne thought for a while and said, “Town Lupin is at the southernmost part of Blue Lava Estate. After pa.s.sing Town Lupin, the south is the Dead Sea. It is far away from us here. I don’t know the specific news. I just heard that many townspeople have disappeared and the sir lord has also ordered to close down the Town Lupin. No one is allowed to go out. As for General Sumen’s affairs, it seems that there is another secret. At present, Azure Legion only has a name, and it has almost disband. There are soldiers here who escaped from there. It is said that General Sumen has an important family member in Town Lupin. The so-called rebellion is probably related to this…”
Chen Rui asked Old Ryanne a few more questions, and the answers he got were similar to those of the Dark Demon’s intel, but from the conversations between Old Ryanne and some townspeople, t.i.tan’s exorbitant taxes and taxes were already quite serious initially when he was in office. Chandler’s excessive levy was even more miserable now. In order to quell the dissatisfaction in the estate, Chandler enacted a rather cruel punishment. He intended to use b.l.o.o.d.y methods to consolidate the prestige and status of his temporary lord position.
However, this method seemed to have a counter-effect to some extent. Judging from the reaction of the townspeople and Sumen’s departure from the Azure Legion, Sumen chose not only to escape from the legion, but it was a real rebellion. There would probably be more people being affected.
While Old Ryanne was talking with Chen Rui, a soldier suddenly came to report that a large number of poisoned people suddenly appeared in the town. Their bodies were black and swollen, and they were unconscious. Some Dark Moon soldiers were like that too. Probably someone poisoned the nearby water source.
There were rumors that someone in the Dark Moon Army wanted to poison everyone in the town silently. At present, many townspeople who didn’t know the truth had surrounded the barrack.
Old Ryanne and Chen Rui were both taken aback. They hurriedly walked out and saw a large crowd of people surrounded outside. Under the instigation of some people with ulterior motives, the townspeople were shouting that the Dark Moon people should get out of the Blue Lava Estate.
“Quiet everyone!” Old Ryanne yelled loudly. The prestige of the old mayor dark elf calmed the noisy clamour.
“If the Dark Moon army really wants to destroy us, they don’t need to poison us! Even their own soldiers are poisoned!” Old Ryanne exclaimed. In fact, he was considering more for Town Pesa’s sake. If the Dark Moon really turned hostile and attacked because of this, the townspeople would be the one who suffer.
Seeing the one after another soldiers who were similarly poisoned being carried out, the townspeople kept quiet. No one would do such a stupid scheme that would even kill their most elite soldiers.
“Who knows if this is a conspiracy? Maybe even the old mayor was bribed by them! Before they came, this kind of thing had never happened in the town!” A voice sounded. With this lead, many people also yelled.
“Huaimi!” The old mayor still had sharp vision despite his age. He saw the guy who took the lead and said angrily, “You d.a.m.n sc.u.m! When your old father brought you to the town, he was about to starve to death. Who saved you and let you, the ungrateful one, live till now? Now you actually frame me and say that I am bribed by someone?”
In an instant, all eyes fell on the dark elf named Huaimi. That guy couldn’t speak for a while. Paglio’s voice resounded in Chen Rui’s ear, “This dark elf’s waist exudes that kind of poison breath. It should be the remaining poison. He probably wants to poison it again.”
After Chen Rui said a few words to Old Ryanne, he was furious. He rushed forward, separated the crowd, and grabbed Huaimi, “It turns out that you are the one who put the poison!”
Huaimi was taken aback, “Nonsense, how do you…”
Before he finished speaking, Old Ryanne grabbed his belt and immediately grabbed a bag, “What is this?”
Huaimi’s gloomy face turned pale all of a sudden. He stuttered and couldn’t speak.
Old Ryanne had ruled the town for many years, so he naturally had his own prestige and means. He shouted, “Would you like me to feed this to you now?”
Huaimi knelt down, “Sir Mayor, spare me! It was a guy in black who made me do it! He said it was to seek revenge for the soldiers who died in the Dark Moon…”
Athena made a prompt decision and immediately ordered, “Flame Legion, immediately block the entrance and exit of the town. No one is allowed to enter or leave!”
As Old Ryanne was eager to prove Town Pesa’s innocence, he hurriedly asked, “What does that guy look like?”
At this moment, Paglio’s figure wearing a cloak appeared ghostly in front of his eyes. Paglio’s 2 fingers quickly caught the sharp crossbow bolt that appeared behind Huaimi’s forehead.
Huaimi realized that he had a close call around the edge of life and death; even cold sweat came out on his forehead.
Everyone was taken aback. Almost at the same time, Paglio’s figure disappeared again, then a black figure was dropped to the ground.
The dark elf, Huaimi, who was in a panic, immediately jumped up. He pointed at the black figure and shouted, “It’s him! He bribed… threatened me to put the poison!”
Old Ryanne saw an unfamiliar face with a fierce look in his eyes, but he could not move. He seemed to have lost the ability to resist.
“This matter is already very clear. Someone used scheme to frame the Dark Moon Army in order to provoke the friendly relations.h.i.+p between us,” Chen Rui took the opportunity to say loudly, “Please rest a.s.sured that we have the best military doctor with the army, I am also proficient in poison. We will definitely help the poisoned townspeople to detoxify the poison!”
Chen Rui’s proficiency in poison was naturally a guise. It was definitely not a problem to detoxify this kind of poison with Paglio around.
At this moment, the townspeople exclaimed. The real culprit’s eyes, ears, mouth and nose were s.h.i.+ning silver light simultaneously, and his whole person exploded. However, before the power of this explosion could spread, an intangible force field had controlled it, so it could not pose a threat to the surrounding townspeople at all.
After the power was exhausted, the intangible force field disappeared, leaving only his limbs which turned into powder scattered on the ground. The person who made the move was Paglio who was posing as “Aguile”.
Chen Rui’s eyes narrowed slightly. This kind of self-destruction is quite familiar. It seems that I will probably encounter an “old friend” on this trip to the Blue Lava Estate.
Old friend? Was it someone of the elder families that served the Obsidian?