Embers Ad Infinitum

Oudick dialed a number, but nobody picked up.

“Maybe the phones have been put to silent mode during the meeting…” Oudick voiced his guess as he ran.

Jiang Baimian and Shang Jianyao didn’t say a word as they ran behind him.

…

Castellan Manor, Aristocratic Council Chamber.

A long table was placed in the middle. In the seat of honor was the luxuriously-dressed Castellan, Xu Liyan.

Sitting on each side were three people.

These were the seven great nobles and council members that stood atop Weed City. But ever since Xu Erde’s rule, the focus of power had shifted to the City Hall and the city defense forces. The Castellan—who controlled these two departments and had the support of a certain faction in First City—gradually took the wind out of the Aristocratic Council.

But in such a critical situation, even if Xu Erde reincarnated, he wouldn’t dare ignore the other six nobles’ opinions.

They had private troops, manors, people, and all kinds of reserves. If they took advantage of the chaos to carry out an uprising and gather the wilderness nomads, it would be enough to turn Weed City upside down.

At this moment, only two guards were behind every noble in the Council Chamber. Even Castellan Xu Liyan was the same.

This was a rule that had gradually been ‘developed’ after the council’s establishment—a lesson learned after numerous conflicts, leaks, coups, and bloodshed.

Anyone who entered the Council Chamber could only bring two bodyguards with them at most.

Similarly, the nobles and bodyguards could carry weapons but not expose them.

Weed City’s rule on weapons originated from the council. Back then, the various armed groups’ leaders weren’t allowed to bring armed guards in with them. They were definitely afraid of being attacked and worried that the Castellan would suddenly smash his cup and have dozens to a hundred gunmen rush in to fire at them.

If they were allowed to bring armed guards along, they would be emboldened. Furthermore, they were all people who had experienced chaotic times and had their muzzles covered in blood. A small battle might erupt at the first sign of disagreement and involve others.

Therefore, they could only leave the guards outside and bring a certain number of bodyguards in for discussion. At the same time, they had to conceal their weapons well and not let anyone see them. In other words, they had to hide them in places that were inconvenient for them to draw their weapons. This way, there would be a buffer if they wanted to blow up their political enemy’s head with their guns.

This gave the neutral parties a chance to stop them and allow them to calm down. In addition, people would also be worried that they hadn’t holstered their guns in a convenient spot. If they were a few seconds slower than the other party—or even more than ten seconds—things would end up comical.

They might as well be more peaceful and quarrel without taking arms.

As part of the protocol, such gatherings had a strict inspection of any explosives to prevent anyone from sacrificing themselves to wipe out everyone.

At this moment, on Xu Liyan’s left was the mechanical monk—Jingnian—in a long robe. On his right was his assistant, Uncle Liu. One was adept at combat, while the other was an academic.

Of course, this didn’t mean that Uncle Liu had no combat strength. When Uncle Liu was young, he had killed countless enemies with guns in both hands—people who wanted to conquer Weed City and start a bloody coup.

But he was older and less feisty now. He also realized that he had greater talent in handling political matters, so his catchphrase became ‘harmony is the most important thing.’

Xu Liyan looked around and spoke smilingly without using any official, formal words. “Uncles, you should have seen what it’s like outside.”

Upon seeing his humble posture, Zhao Zhengqi—head of the Zhao residence—stroked his beard and said, “Castellan, feel free to speak your mind. This is everyone’s Weed City; who would be unwilling to contribute?”

Zhao Zhengqi was in his fifties, and his beard was a little white. In the Ashlands—where people were mostly thin—his chubbiness left a deep impression.

One of the bodyguards behind him was a man of sacrifice raised by his family, and the other was his eldest son—who was in his thirties. He was mainly here to familiarize himself with the Aristocratic Council’s styles and procedures.

Everyone’s Weed City… Xu Liyan secretly sneered and sincerely said on the surface, “There are many casualties now, and we are very short-handed. The wilderness nomads might break through the municipal building’s defense line at any moment and rush into North Street. Uncles, I hope that you will send out your private troops and form a team to counterattack. We hope to scatter the nomads and drive them out of the city before they are truly organized.”

Zhao Zhengqi looked at his in-law—Merrick—and waited for him to speak first.

The Merrick family was of the Red River race, but after several generations of intermarriage, he also had obvious Ashlandic characteristics.

His facial features were relatively soft, and his pores weren’t that wide. He had blond hair and blue eyes. His wrinkles were relatively deep, and he always spoke slowly as if nothing would happen even if the sky collapsed.

“Castellan, it’s not a problem to send a private army. Weed City is everyone’s, so how can we sit back and do nothing? As long as you leave us the manpower to protect our manors, the rest are at your disposal. However, my men aren’t part of the regular army. They are trained according to the rules of manor protecting. Not only is it difficult for them to counterattack, but it might not be effective.

“How about this? Let our people replace the city defense forces and your guards. We’ll guard North Bridge and the municipal building and let the regular troops carry out the counter-charge.”

As Xu Liyan spoke in Ashlandic, Merrick used the same language. Furthermore, he was fluent and eloquent with his choice of words. It was obvious that he had put in a lot of effort.

Just as Merrick said that, Zhao Zhengqi and the other nobles immediately echoed his words, indicating that he was right.

The veins on Xu Liyan’s forehead twitched, and his grip on the chair’s armrests unconsciously tightened.

After receiving Uncle Liu’s ‘harmony is the most important thing’ gaze, Xu Liyan forced a smile onto his face and said, “I can understand your concerns. I also plan on picking a batch of uninjured personnel from the city defense forces and city guard to form a team for the counterattack. But this number of personnel might not be enough. When the time comes, I’ll have to choose some from your private army.”

After looking at each other, Zhao Zhengqi nodded. “Alright, let’s do that.”

The other nobles didn’t harp on the matter. This was because they had their own interests in East Street, West Street, and South Street. Even if they weren’t the real owners of certain warehouses, they were hotel owners, grain shop owners, and major shareholders in nightclub businesses.

All of them desperately wanted to finish off the wilderness nomads as soon as possible so that their property would suffer the least damage.

After conveying this decision and making it official, Xu Liyan switched to the second topic. “Uncles, the riots should be quelled soon. We have to discuss how to deal with the aftermath. Outside North Street, countless civilians have been killed and robbed. The coming winter will be very tough.

“I’m willing to take the lead and donate a portion of food to help them tide through winter until the situation improves. Yes, we have to donate some medical supplies as well. There will definitely be many injured people, but they might not be able to afford medical care.”

Just as Xu Liyan said that, Zhao Zhengqi shook his head vigorously. “We don’t have any surplus food either. Besides, it’s only been a morning. How much food can the city lose? By being thrifty, it won’t be a problem for them to survive the winter.”

What a joke. This wasn’t their ‘property.’ Why did they need to extend aid to them?

“That’s right.” Merrick echoed. “What does it matter if some civilians die? We have enough slaves anyway.”

“That’s right! Anyone who dares to cause trouble will be driven out to be wilderness nomads.” Another Aristocratic Councilor, Zhang Wenxin, voiced his opinion. “When the situation stabilizes, as long as we have food to sell, plenty of people will be coming to Weed City to live and fill the manpower gap.”

Upon hearing their objections, Xu Liyan rubbed his temples and felt his head buzz. He barely maintained his bearing and analyzed the situation seriously. “Considering that the soldiers’ families live outside North Street, we can only flee to First City if they defect.”

Zhao Zhengqi chuckled and said, “Castellan, don’t worry. Our private army’s families are all in the manor.”

But the city defense forces’ families aren’t… Xu Liyan felt the veins on his forehead throb even more.

Not only did his mind buzz amidst the other nobles’ objections, but Xu Liyan also seemed to hear an illusory voice shouting in his ears.

“Blow them up!

“Blow them up!”

Xu Liyan’s eyes gradually glazed over. With one hand supporting his head, he reached into his pocket with the other and took out a small, black remote control.

“Blow them up!

“Blow them up!”

The devil’s roar constantly echoed in his ears, gradually making his breathing become heavier.

At this moment, the door to the Aristocratic Council Chamber was opened.

A guard shouted inside, “Castellan, Mr. Oudick has something urgent to see you about!”

At the door, Jiang Baimian had excellent eyesight. At a glance, she realized that there was something wrong with Xu Liyan’s gaze—it was filled with blankness and craziness.

“Quick!” As she reminded Oudick, Jiang Baimian immediately drew her pistol and fired at the crystal chandelier above the long table in the Aristocratic Council Chamber.

Shang Jianyao drew his gun and turned around, helping Jiang Baimian guard her back.

With a bang and a crashing sound, a large number of glass shards fell.

Apart from Xu Liyan, the nobles present weren’t young. They had also experienced war and riots, so they were very sensitive to gunshots—they reacted immediately.

The slow-talker, Merrick, slid down and hid under the table.

The fat Zhao Zhengqi bent his waist and nimbly jumped out of his seat. He pulled his eldest son and rushed into the corner…

Their bodyguards drew their guns, found their spots, and aimed at the door.

This gunshot also shocked Xu Liyan in the seat of honor, slightly jolting him awake from the devil’s roaring. He then stopped moving.

However, this little bit of clarity was quickly drowned out. Xu Liyan’s eyes reddened as he swept his gaze around and was about to press the remote control in his hand.

At this moment, his eyelids suddenly became heavy. He instantly lost consciousness and leaned back against his chair as if he had fallen asleep.

Oudick seized the short gap created by Jiang Baimian to jump forward and complete a roll. He had already closed the distance between him and Xu Liyan to a point where he could use Forced Sleep!

He then saw a thick, black barrel—this had ‘extended’ from Jingnian’s hand.

“The Castellan has been hypnotized by Father. He wants to perish together with everyone here!” Oudick quickly shouted his guess.

This sentence made the bodyguards and the guards outside stop their counterattacks and confront Jiang Baimian and Shang Jianyao.

As Jingnian continued aiming at Oudick, he stretched out his metal arm and forcefully tore off Xu Liyan’s coat.

The Castellan’s physical condition was immediately revealed.

Xu Liyan had tied several rounds of explosives around his waist. They were high-performance products from Orange Company.

Not only would the people in the Aristocratic Conference Chamber not be spared once they exploded, but even the people two doors away would be destroyed.

The only person who might’ve survived was the mechanical monk, Zen Master Jingnian.