Han Shuo knew that Charles would definitely not let him go. However, Han Shuo hadn't expected that Charles would retaliate so quickly and so violently.
That very night, while Han Shuo was studying the method of connecting to the netherworld, he suddenly felt several formidable auras pass through his consciousness, gradually heading towards his mansion from afar.
Suddenly jolted out of his contemplation, Han Shuo immediately sent out twelve mystic demons to spread out in twelve directions like a spider's web with the mansion as the centre.
A force of five hundred knights, including two hundred temple knights from the Church of Light, headed towards Han Shuo's mansion from four directions. The Light Grand Magus of the Church of Light, Kosse, a few other unknown experts from the Church of Light, as well as the formidable Death Sworn under Ashburn, separately led troops as they encircled the mansion.
There was no moonlight that night. They did not hide in the pitch black curtain of the night, they just openly walked towards Han Shuo's mansion. Han Shuo could see the killing intent in their eyes.
Alarmed, Han Shuo hurriedly left his hidden room. The scene he saw through the twelve Mystical Demons was beyond Han Shuo's imagination. No matter how much influence Ashburn and Charles had, how could they dare to be so unbridled in the capital of the Lancelot Empire, Ossen City?
The area where Han Shuo lived was surrounded by wealthy and respectable people, all of whom were influential figures within the empire. Even though it was a moonless night, such a large movement would definitely not be hidden. Besides, Ossen City was the headquarters of the Dark Mantle. Ashburn was not King Uhtred. On what basis is he so unbridled?
A series of doubts flashed through Han Shuo's mind. He just felt that Ashburn must be mad. Such a crazy move should definitely not be something the old fox would dare to do. Unfortunately, the appearance of Kosse and the presence of other members of his duchy had already proven that this operation was indeed instigated by Ashburn.
While Han Shuo was still at a loss, a nearby mansion suddenly burst into flames that reached into the sky. A mystical demon happened to see the situation in that direction and watched as a group of knights rushed in, killing everyone they saw. In the blink of an eye, blood turned the ground red and not a single servant was spared.
Han Shuo vaguely remembered that the mansion was supposed to belong to Count Talric. Talric was fond of Lawrence. Han Shuo even saw him in the morning and found out through Lawrence's introduction that his mansion wasn't far from his own. He hadn't expected Talric's mansion to be in its current state.
A thought flashed through Han Shuo's mind in sudden realisation. Since Ashburn dared to act so brazenly and disregard King Uhtred's authority, there are only two possibilities. . Either Ashburn knew the situation was far from good and took pre-emptive action.
The other possibility was that King Uhtred had already died. In that case, Ashburn would no longer be restricted by anyone. He would be free to act as he pleased, wiping out those who opposed him as quickly as possible and taking control of Ossen City as soon as possible.
But if Ashburn was going to revolt, he should have acted from the day King Uhtred made it known that he would support Lawrence, and certainly wouldn't have stood by and watched Uhtred gradually delegate power to Lawrence. It seems that the first possibility was much less likely, and that King Uhtred's sudden death was the most plausible.
With this suspicion, he kept only two mystical demons in his mansion and dispersed the other ten mystic demons further afield. Among them, one Mystical Demon was heading straight for the Royal Palace.
Through the mystical demons, Han Shuo discovered that more troops were being mobilised in the pitch black night. There were other regions that were similarly engaged in a gruesome slaughter. These included nobles who supported Lawrence, as well as forces under the Second and Third Princes.
Suddenly, huge plumes of smoke rose from the entire inner city of Ossen. Ashburn and Eldest Prince Charles had no doubt already begun their operation to massacre the forces that opposed them, to officially begin on this moonless night. Any forces that opposed Ashburn and Charles were destined to meet death or injury tonight.
Realising this, Han Shuo quickly made his way to Steward Kallas' room. Steward Kallas was quite old and therefore didn't sleep deeply. Furthermore, Han Shuo deliberately made louder footsteps as he walked over. Therefore, Kallas woke up immediately.
"Lord Marquis, what's going on?" Kallas had never seen Han Shuo so impatient. He sat up quickly and inquired immediately. "Wake up all the servants immediately. You must all leave the mansion and flee for your lives. Duke Ashburn has rebelled. A regiment of knights is on its way here. When they arrive, everyone here will be killed. Hurry, leave this place immediately!" Han Shuo quickly explained the situation. Once he had finished explaining, he didn't wait for an answer and hurriedly left the mansion, heading straight for the Boozt Merchant Guild where Phoebe was.
This mansion had been given to Han Shuo by Uhtred. However, Han Shuo obviously didn't consider it his real home. There wasn't anyone here that Han Shuo really cared about. Han Shuo also had a habit of keeping valuables within his space ring. At the moment, there wasn't a single person or item that was worth anything. Therefore, he left immediately after warning Kallas.
There weren't many people who knew about Han Shuo and Fanny's relationship. Besides, Fanny and Lawrence didn't have any interaction. Besides, Fanny's father was Firenze. As the lord of the southern border, Firenze was one of the few people Ashburn worried about. Han Shuo simply didn't have to worry about Fanny's safety.
Emily was inside the Dark Mantle headquarters. Within the whole of Ossen City, the defences of the Dark Mantle Headquarters were the most secure. There were countless teleportation Matrixs inside, connected to every major city in the Empire. Even if Ashburn had overwhelming methods, he wouldn't be able to breach the Dark Mantle Headquarters in a short period of time. It was even more impossible to capture the high-ranking people of the Dark Mantle.
Therefore, Han Shuo was not worried about Emily either.
However, Phoebe was close to Lawrence, and the Boozt Merchant Guild had repeatedly foiled Grand Duke Ashburn's affairs. They were therefore the most likely to be attacked.
As Grand Duke of the Empire, Ashburn's power was second only to that of King Uhtred. Even Phoebe's master, the Sacred Swordsmaster Karel, would not be taken seriously by Ashburn. With the full support of the Church of Light, the number of experts Ashburn controlled was surely even greater. It was almost impossible for Sacred Swordmaster Karel to rely on his own strength to kill Ashburn.
Han Shuo travelled at lightning speed, heading straight for the Boozt Merchant Guild. On the way, he discovered more changes in Ossen City through his mystical demons. Many mansions had been reduced to ruins in a very short time. A few small mansions were subjected to a series of large-scale killing spells and were razed to the ground in a matter of breaths.
Ashburn's vicious actions were extremely determined. As long as it was a hostile force, he wouldn't let a single person, servant or guest, go free. Many of the nobles' mansions were involved in the gruesome massacre. As this was happening, the army he controlled was heading for the city gates, probably with the intention of taking control of all of them.
The teleportation arrays within Ossen City had long since been seized by Ashburn. Layers upon layers of troops surrounded the magical arrays. No one would be able to leave Ossen City through the magical arrays. It seems that Ashburn and Charles had planned to take complete control of Ossen City and eliminate all their enemies within.
The mystical demon heading for the royal palace heard wailing even before it approached. Troops under Eldest Prince Charles had already taken control of the royal palace. The Mystical Demon simply walked around the palace and discovered that King Uhtred had indeed died and that some of the rebels had been killed on the spot.
From these signs, Han Shuo suddenly realised that King Uhtred's sudden demise might be related to Elder Prince Charles. Otherwise, the royal palace would not have been sealed off to prevent news from spreading. Unfortunately, the other princes were kept in the dark, simply unaware of the king's demise.
Inside Ashburn's mansion, Ashburn and Eldest Prince Charles sat with many supporting nobles, their faces darkened. As they instructed officers to occupy important positions, they read out the names of nobles one by one and sent their subordinates to exterminate them.
A mystical demon lingered nearby and could clearly hear the conversation between Ashburn, Charles and the others. Han Shuo finally understood that tonight's events were indeed Ashburn and Charles fighting back fiercely.
Suddenly, a mystical demon who had arrived at the Boozt Merchant's Guild ahead of time saw a squadron of soldiers from afar, killing people without a thought. One by one, the merchants and guards of the Boozt Merchant Guild were tragically killed by the soldiers' arrows. However, it was fortunate that these people had only started at the front of the building and obviously hadn't penetrated into the interior. Han Shuo guessed that Phoebe was still fine for now.
However, Han Shuo was still extremely worried, so he activated the Art of Demonic Ninth Heaven to its peak and headed towards the Boozt Merchant Guild with the speed of a meteor. He kept praying inwardly that nothing would happen to Phoebe.
If anything happened to Phoebe, even though Han Shuo had promised Uhtred before, he would ignore that promise and skin Charles alive.
Report Chapter Comments