Chapter 491: Gambling Agreement! Midnight Sun’s Apprentice
The a.s.sa.s.sination of Financial Officer Chen Rui occurred a few days before Shea’s birthday, and it caused a fierce storm among the upper cla.s.s of the Dark Moon.
The result of this storm was 2 words: great purge.
A considerable number of people from almost every family were taken away for investigation, and many of them never returned. The 2 legions, Red Blood Legion and Flame Legion, joined forces to conduct a raid on the whole city and impose a curfew.
Shea used the Blood and Iron Policy which she rarely revealed normally. Any suspicious persons, regardless of family or ident.i.ty, would be beheaded without the slightest mercy. Those who pleaded for leniency were treated as accomplices. In just a few days, a b.l.o.o.d.y storm swept through many families of the Dark Moon.
This incident added a b.l.o.o.d.y accent to the upcoming 25th birthday of Princess Royal Highness. At the same time, it also further established Shea’s prestige.
To fight against the capital, the internal plague must be removed first.
——The real executive person in charge of the Blood and Iron Policy was Isabella. She fully utilized Shea’s authorization. Suspicious people were imprisoned if they were not killed. None of them were spared.
The decisiveness and fierceness of the intel boss made even the second boss, Delia, shocked. But Delia also knew that these people were tumors of the Dark Moon. The deeper and the longer they stayed, the greater the harm to the Dark Moon. The painful lesson of the Dark Demon’s headquarters was her personal experience, and she would never allow it to occur again.
The deterrence effect was quite obvious. Now the upper family of the Dark Moon trembled when they heard the name of the Dark Demon. Isabella was originally the controller of the capital’s secret intelligence department. Her method was not limited to the ma.s.sacre. With the utmost authority from Princess Royal, it was chop and change. The political families were very obedient. The people would not dare to have ill-intentions for the time being.
In the palace’s secret prison, the captured peak stage Demon Overlord, Sarandi, was imprisoned.
Sarandi was now poisoned by Paglio, so his power had greatly reduced, but even if he was not poisoned, it was also impossible to break away from the seal of the Secret Prison because that was the ancient runes seal that Zola personally placed. Nowadays, very few people below the Demi-G.o.d could escape this seal. Sarandi was obviously not one of them.
Sarandi was not subjected to any special abuse or torture. He was just staring at Chen Rui and Shea who appeared in front of him with a cold gaze.
“Sir Sarandi.” Chen Rui said, “Please forgive me. Your power is too strong. Just in case, we have to use a little imprisonment method.”
“Hmph! human. I have to admit your luck and cunning. There is actually such a dragon powerhouse protecting you.” Sarandi’s gaze turned to Shea who was behind him, “Don’t you want to say something? Madam lord?”
“Uncle Sarandi…” Shea sighed softly.
Sarandi. Lucifer, one of the royal family’s geniuses back then. He was the secret apprentice of the Lord of Midnight Sun. He was seriously injured after following the Lord of Midnight Sun to crusade the human world for 300 years. After Midnight Sun died, Obsidian took the opportunity to seize the power of the Fallen Angel Empire and chased the Crown Prince Grimm established by the Midnight Sun to the Dark Moon. At that time, Sarandi was recuperating. However, after he recovered from injury, he did not help the Dark Moon, but turned to Obsidian’s side. When Crown Prince Grimm was alive, Shea had met Sarandi several times. According to the seniority, she should really call him uncle.
“I can’t afford the t.i.tle uncle.” Sarandi’s eyes became fierce, “Madam lord, please tell me your full name!”
Chen Rui saw Sarandi yelling at Shea, so he interjected, “Sir Sarandi is so majestic. It seems that you still don’t realize that you are a prisoner. You’re not qualified to question any of us.”
Sarandi ignored Chen Rui and just stared at Shea.
“Shea. Lucifer.” Shea answered calmly.
“Really? I thought it was Shea. Asmodeus.” Sarandi showed sarcasm.
Shea’s expression did not change, “Some things will never change, just like Shea. Lucifer. It’s just that when did the secret apprentice of the Lord of Midnight Sun change his side to Obsidian.”
This sharp counterattack caused Chen Rui to dispel the thought of speaking. Sarandi sneered, “You don’t understand at all. Who is Obsidian? Is he qualified to be my teacher? I have only one teacher from beginning to end. Even if Obsidian stole the power which originally belonged to your father, this Fallen Angel Empire is ultimately controlled by the Lucifer Royal Family! What about you, madam lord? Earlier, your father and you were suppressed by Obsidian’s means. It was just an internal struggle of our Lucifer Royal Family after all. Now, in order to deal with the capital, you actually did not hesitate to sell the Fallen Angel Empire to the Asmodeus Royal Family!”
Shea didn’t explain too much about this issue, “Chen Rui was right. You’re just a prisoner. I don’t need to explain anything to you, but you can go on.”
“You should not be a foolish person since you can persist under the oppression of the capital until now. Don’t you know that politics is all about interests? Why would Catherine the Great from the Dark Shadow Empire help the Dark Moon? Even if you defeated Obsidian and ascended to the throne with Catherine’s support, it is nothing more than becoming a puppet of the Dark Shadow Empire!”
“Politics is indeed about the interests. However, the Dark Moon did not sell the interests of the Fallen Angel Empire. We only exchanged some interests with the b.l.o.o.d.y Vine Flower Estate of the Dark Shadow Empire.”
Sarandi showed strong disdain, “Do you think I’m a three-year-old child? With just a magic land improvement and battle ball, the Fallen Angel Empire will help you eliminate the Blue Lava Estate and the Red Spirit Estate Army? They will secretly place the peak stage Demon Overlord dragon by your side? They will secretly help the Dark Moon’s rapid economic and military development? I can’t imagine the Demon Realm’s top sage will make such a stupid decision, let alone how can you get rid of the control of the Dark Shadow Empire!”
Sarandi’s emotions suddenly became agitated. He clenched his fists and roared, “Once the Fallen Angel Empire really falls into the hands of others, you will be the most unforgivable sinner! I’m also a sinner! I shouldn’t have been protecting you and your father in secret!”
Shea’s eyes showed a surprised expression. It turned out that Sarandi actually was one of the people who had been secretly protecting the Dark Moon. It was precisely because of the support of George and Sarandi that Obsidian did not dare to blatantly get rid of the Dark Moon.
“Uncle Sarandi… Shea’s firm voice sounded, “I swear in the name of Shea. Lucifer, I will never betray the Fallen Angel Empire and Lucifer Royal Family. If any of my words are false, my soul will fall into the abyss forever; be burned by the h.e.l.lfire with no liberation. “
Sarandi trembled slightly as he stared at Shea for a moment. His clenched fist slowly loosened. He was speechless. An oath based on the surname was not taken casually in the Demon Realm, especially this kind of vow.
Chen Rui looked at the timing and said, “Sir Sarandi really misunderstood. The army of the Red Spirit Estate and the Blue Lava Estate was completely wiped out by the Dark Moon with its own power. Princess Shea took advantage of the opportunity to rebuild the Red Blood Flame Army of the Lord of Midnight Sun. As for the rapid economic development, although we used the business family of the Dark Shadow Empire initially to open the trade route to the west, now the initiative and core of the economic development are in the hands of the Dark Moon. As for dragon powerhouse, the Dark Shadow Empire has nothing to do with it. I don’t know if Sir Sarandi still remembers, when the Lord of Midnight Sun put down the Beelzebub Royal Family rebellion, he sealed a sleeping dragon?”
Sarandi suddenly thought about it, “The Blue Lake’s poison dragon!”
“Yes, the poison dragon encountered some trouble after waking up. It was Princess Royal who provided great help. So, now the poison dragon is the guest of the Dark Moon.” Chen Rui saw Sarandi’s att.i.tude was moved, so he took the opportunity to add, “Vanim, the intermediate stage of the Demon Overlord, the a.s.sa.s.sin sent by capital last time, has surrendered. Since Sir Sarandi is the apprentice of the Lord of Midnight Sun who has secretly helped and protected the Dark Moon for many years, why not…”
Sarandi knew what Chen Rui wanted to say. He shook his head before Chen Rui finished speaking, “I’m different from the elder family patriarch. I will not submit to the Dark Moon. Secretly supporting the Crown Prince Grimm’s descendants is just a personal matter. My true allegiance is not to one person but to the Fallen Angel Empire. Although Obsidian is not a great talent and is far inferior to the Lord of Midnight Sun, there is no more suitable person in the entire royal family to rule the empire. After the fall of the Lord of Midnight Sun, the Fallen Angel Empire has been able to maintain a stable relations.h.i.+p with the other two empires, and Regent Obsidian has contributed a lot to this.”
Chen Rui fell into contemplation for a moment, then he said, “You are wrong. It is Catherine the Great that makes the 3 empires peaceful. Catherine the Great is also doing it for the benefit of the Dark Shadow Empire. In order to avoid being conquered by the b.l.o.o.d.y Empire, she uses the Fallen The Angel Empire as a buffer. Let’s not mention that the Fallen Angel Empire has to “aid” a large number of materials to the two empires every year as a price. At present, the b.l.o.o.d.y Empire is eyeing closely at the Fallen Angel Empire and the conflicts at the border are ongoing. Meanwhile, Obsidian is trapped in the fundraising issue which is questioned by the major lords and families. If this continues, the Fallen Angel Empire will only become weaker with the internal and external problems. How can it compete with the two empires? If sir still blindly follows Obsidian, that’s the true sinner who causes the Fallen Angel Empire collapse forever.”
“Human, your eloquence is as outstanding as your talents, but unfortunately it is useless. Whether it is personal strength or strength at hand, Princess Shea is incomparable to Obsidian now.” Sarandi’s t.i.tle of Shea has changed from “lord” to “princess”. He seemed to have believed Shea’s oath, but his unwillingness to submit was still very firm.
“I believe there are many people in the entire Fallen Angel Empire who have the same idea as sir. These people are not really working for Obsidian, but for the so-called ‘big picture’.” Chen Rui’s eyes rolled, and he took an extreme measure. “What if, at most 10 years, the Dark Moon can beat Obsidian in all aspects?”
“10 years?” Sarandi glanced at Shea in surprise, and he took a deep breath, “If Your Highness can do this in 10 years, I, Sarandi. Lucifer is willing to serve under Your Highness to behead all enemies on the way for the new empress of the empire, but if Your Highness can’t do it, then please consider the highest interests of the royal family as the top priority and truly obey the capital.”
“It’s a deal!” Shea agreed without hesitation.
Sarandi was moved by the strong confidence in Shea’s eyes. He felt that what he had always believed in seemed to be shaken, and he finally nodded.
Sarandi didn’t know that Shea agreed so without thinking, not because she had faith in herself, but in that human.
Some time later, in a house.
Chen Rui looked at Isabella who was making tea for him. He smiled bitterly, “This time you are really famous. Now the small and big families know that there is a murderous demon leader in the secret intelligence department, but your methods seem to be a little harsh. “
Isabella didn’t answer Chen Rui’s question, but she just poured a cup of tea for him instead, “Try it.”
“But that’s okay, at least those guys will be cautious in the future. Even if they have some motives, they will be a little more dettered.” Chen Rui took a sip from the cup and said, “Unfortunately, because of the spy, the 3 contact points of the Dark Demon in the Fallen Angel Capital’s, including Walong Hotel, were all uprooted. Fortunately, 1 contact point survived. However, since the secret magic communication station was destroyed, it will probably be quite difficult to get an accurate intel from the capital as soon as possible.”
“How is my tea-making art?” Isabella asked with a hint of charm in her eyes.
Chen Rui keenly noticed a bit of annoyance in the charm, so he shrugged, stopped talking about “official matters”, and took a sip of tea, “It’s not bad this time, the brewing time should be a little shorter…”
“En, I see.” Isabella blinked her charming eyes and nodded earnestly. She was really learning tea-making art very carefully. The scene where the two of them were sitting on the ground with tea sets in the middle was quite atmospheric.
“Is the Quqin that I gave you still there?”
With a thought, Chen Rui opened his palm. It was the instrument that was forcibly given away that day.
“Have you practiced it?”
“Uh… you know, my time is tight…”
“So, did you make time to practice?”
“I have to study alchemy in the morning, work in the afternoon, and run around in the evening…”
“I want to hear you play a tune.”
“…”
Chen Rui gave up and played the Quqin. When he was the otaku on Earth, although he liked listening to music, he was clueless about music theory. He could have mistaken the musical notation as the ancient tadpole script.
After coming to the Demon Realm, especially after getting the red piccolo, he deliberately studied music theory for a while. With the help of the [Deep a.n.a.lysis], he had achieved a little success. He would also practice the Quqin given by Isabella for a while when he had the free time in between training in the training ground. According to the time rule of the training ground, it could be considered as immersion for quite a while.
When the elegant music sounded in the courtyard, a surprise flashed in Isabella’s eyes. She came over and sat down. She gently leaned against Chen Rui’s back, closed her eyes, and listened quietly to the song.
After the Nero incident, the two did not further escalate their intimacy, but they gained a tacit understanding that they didn’t have before.
“What tune is this? It sounds good.”
“I think it’s called “The End of the World”.”
“The End of the World…” Isabella’s fascinating eyes showed a trace of confusion. Her red lips moved, but she didn’t ask anything.
Suddenly, Chen Rui sensed the question that she didn’t ask, and he said 2 words to himself, “I will.”
An odd expression flashed in Isabella’s green eyes, and the corners of her mouth were slightly curved. She closed her eyes comfortably, “Can you play it again?”
“En…”
In the melodious music, the moonlight reflected the back-to-back shadows like two merged hearts.
After a long time.
“Any other tunes?”
“No, I can only get this one right.”
“Then, play it 20 times.”
Harem member +1; Isabella seemed to have settled down a lot. At least, the sarcasm in her tone was gone.