Free Web NovelChapter 1220: Chapter 35: Astonishing Efficiency
Inside a house in Bowa Village, this is a somewhat dilapidated residence; the lower part of the house is built with rocks, while the upper part is wooden, keeping it warm in summer and cool in winter.
The sparse interior can be described as bare bones: a black-yellow wooden table, two broken-legged wooden stools, and a bed seriously infested with bugs that seems ready to collapse at any moment.
On this bed that could collapse any moment, a middle-aged man with a full beard is sleeping soundly, seemingly having worked all day. In the corner, the hoe still has some fresh dirt on it.
A pungent smell of sweat fills the room, accompanying the loud snoring of the middle-aged man—it looks every bit the part of a bachelor farmer who has labored all day.
If Su Xiao hadn’t received accurate information, even if this farmer walked right past him, he would not link him to the assassination of the Little Princess.
Now there are only two possibilities: either Ilde is lying, or this ’farmer’ is extremely well-disguised.
"Um~"
The sleeping farmer scratches his face, smacks his lips, then turns over to continue his sweet sleep.
According to the intelligence provided by Ilde, the mastermind, Lupu, isn’t much of a fighter. Although he holds a considerable position within the Undead Clan, his abilities aren’t suited for combat; his strength lies in intelligence and strategic planning.
If this farmer is truly Lupu, his strategic ability is terrifying—without being in the Royal Capital, he’s made the Royal Family restless. Had it not been for the Old King’s strong adaptability during the banquet, his plans might have succeeded.
Su Xiao gently pushes open the wooden window.
Squeak~
An almost negligible sound emerges, causing the farmer lying on the bed to suddenly open his eyes and reach for under his pillow.
With a booming sound! Stone and wood debris fly everywhere as Su Xiao crashes through the wall of the house, instantly appearing at the farmer’s bedside.
Bang!
Su Xiao punches the ’farmer’ in the abdomen, with a crisp snapping sound, a hole appears in the wooden bed beneath him, and the object in the farmer’s hand flies out—a green metal ball.
Su Xiao grabs the metal ball, feeling high heat transfer to his palm and kicks a hovering wooden plank upwards. The plank shoots upward with a swoosh.
The wooden plank pierces through the roof, creating a half-meter hole, and Su Xiao tosses the metal ball upwards; the ball flies out of the house through the hole and quickly disappears into the night sky. This was to prevent the metal ball from colliding—it seems to be a kind of weapon.
Su Xiao punches the farmer again in the jaw, causing him to faint. fɾēewebnσveℓ.com
Boom!
A loud explosion echoes above Bowa Village as a fireball with a diameter of three hundred meters appears, waking up the villagers, some even scream.
The flames descend from the sky, gradually dissipating mid-air, without causing any fires.
Undoubtedly, the farmer is the mastermind, the Undead Lupu, otherwise how could a farmer have such a dramatic reaction?
[Hint: Hunter has successfully captured the mastermind Lupu. Handing Lupu to the Old King will complete a hidden side mission: Royal Secret and activate follow-up missions.]
Su Xiao lifts Lupu and exits the house, leaving Bowa Village with Bubu Wang, heading straight towards the Royal Capital.
Along the way, Su Xiao checks the tools or mechanisms carried by Lupu. This guy is ruthless, carrying explosives at all times, not to mention hiding three poison needles and a toxin pouch implanted under the skin of his wrist.
Lupu likely has other suicide methods up his sleeve; this guy is prepared to die at any time to prevent leaking the Undead Clan’s secrets.
To prevent Lupu from committing suicide upon awakening, Su Xiao takes a metal syringe from the storage space and prepares to use a pink solution.
This is something Su Xiao brought from the Hunter World—a toxin secreted from a tentacle-like plant in Kukuru Mountain, a paralysis-inducing toxin that isn’t deadly but has strong paralytic effects. Previously unrecognized by Reincarnation Paradise, Su Xiao spent Paradise coins to bring it from the Hunter World.
Once injected, Lupu can’t even blink, let alone commit suicide.
Half an hour later, Su Xiao returns to the Royal Capital and arrives at the main gate of the Royal Palace.
At night, the Royal Palace is a restricted zone, off-limits to anyone except a few Royal Family members. Fortuitously, Su Xiao does not belong to this category, especially since he has the Old King’s Golden Lion Pendant.
Entering the Royal Palace smoothly, Su Xiao is led by two Guards to the Kingdom Council Hall’s entrance, where the Old King and several princes and princesses are ’catching up’.
Only five princes and princesses have the privilege to catch up with the Old King: the financially remarkable Big Prince, the army-friendly Third Prince, the Holy Warrior representative Seventh Prince, the all-around Second Princess, and the extremely radical Sixth Princess.
Except for the Sixth Princess, Su Xiao has met the other princes or princesses. The Sixth Princess wears a black mesh dress and appears to be around twenty years old, though she is actually twenty-seven. She smiles beautifully—a femme fatale, rumored to have a penchant for collecting strong individuals’ eyeballs.
"Father, Iron Hand’s visit to you at this late hour perhaps means good news?"
The Big Prince sits closest to the Old King, his smile remaining gentle.
"Perhaps."
The Old King doesn’t expect Su Xiao to bring good news. The incident occurred around ten in the morning and seemed meticulously planned—it couldn’t possibly have clear leads so quickly.
"Or perhaps Iron Hand seeks Father’s help? I’m somewhat aware of the daytime events; it was likely the doing of the Undead Clan."
The Sixth Princess’s voice is very clear. Whenever she looks at any prince or princess, they would avoid her gaze. In the view of the other princes and princesses, the Sixth Princess is like a mad dog: no matter how beautiful she is, it cannot hide her mad dog-like nature.
Bang.
The door of the Kingdom Council Hall is opened, startling the Big Prince, Third Prince, and others, who momentarily think an assassin has arrived. The Old King gently rubs his forehead, already accustomed to this.
"Iron Hand, haven’t rested yet?"
With ’outsiders’ present, the Old King speaks with formal tone. If only Su Xiao and the Old King were in the room, he’d likely start with "Iron Hand, come forward" or "How’s the matter going," clearly much more informal than now.
"Mm."
Su Xiao’s response surprises several princes and princesses—it seems too casual. Their eyes turn to the Old King, but his expression remains unchanged; perhaps this is their usual interaction.
At this moment, the Big Prince, Third Prince, Seventh Prince, Second Princess, and Sixth Princess feel excitement; they simultaneously realize the Old King trusts not four individuals, but two—Iron Hand and the Kingdom’s Army Commander Herschel. If they can win Iron Hand’s support...
"The mastermind."
Su Xiao tosses the unconscious Lupu on the ground. Lupu still appears as a farmer.
"This is..."
The Old King frowns, feeling unlikely that the mastermind is human; however, he suspects the human may be an Undead in disguise.
"He’s Lupu, the Undead Clan."
"Lupu."
The Old King slowly rises from the throne.
"Father, be careful..."
The Big Prince starts to rise too, but the Old King motions him to stop.
"The mastermind is the Undead Lupu, with three known accomplices: Dunk Nik, Sajia, and Ilde.
Yesterday, the Little Princess died at Commander Kalon’s hands; the Queen delayed me by drinking poison. It was all to draw my attention away and attempt assassination in the banquet hall, but the assassination failed."
Su Xiao recounts the events simply; certain intel the Old King has already known. Now everything is connected.
Listening to Su Xiao, the relatively young Seventh Prince opens his mouth in awe, shocked by Su Xiao’s efficiency. Such a major issue, yet not 12 hours have passed, and all involved are rounded up, including major figures like Dunk Nik.
"Where’s Dunk Nik?"
The Old King certainly knows Dunk Nik; it’s a name that keeps him awake at night.
"Slain."
"The other two?"
"Slain together; their bodies can be delivered to the Royal Palace by tomorrow morning."
"Mm."
The Old King sits back on the throne, exhaling deeply.
The princes and princesses glance at each other; today they understand why Iron Hand has seemingly absurd privileges—the current efficiency is terrifying.
They don’t know that Iron Hand, despite a not-high position, lacking military power, fiscal authority, or administrative oversight, and despite high risk and many enemies made, is the Old Lion’s most trusted person. During power struggles, if any princes or princesses employ over-the-top actions like enemy collaboration to eliminate rivals, Iron Hand becomes their nightmare.
"There’s one more thing: the Kingdom Finance Officer, Rowen Harvey, has betrayed us."
Su Xiao delivers explosive news, plunging the hall into deathly silence.
