Zayden had a reason for thinking that the imperial family most likely killed Gerald and some others before putting the blame on him.
Why did they target someone like Gerald?
What was his value?
What was the imperial family trying to achieve by doing something like that?
Zayden could guess the reason because someone like Gerald was his loyalist.
Gerald was someone who was most likely perceived as a threat to the imperial family’s plan because he would always remain suspicious of the news of Zayden’s betrayal.
Someone like Gerald could not be entirely controlled if the imperial family did not have strong evidence showing that he had betrayed the Vermion Empire.
The imperial family did not want to bother with someone like Gerald, so they could just kill him and put the blame on him, making Gerald a victim of his own supposed “betrayal.”
To strengthen his theory, Zayden then asked the seller again.
“Is there anyone other than Gerald who was killed by Zayden?”
The seller nodded.
“Yes, I heard that when Sir Zayden fought to escape to the Relguis Empire, he killed many of his companions in the same battalion, such as Sir Marcus, Sir Ruvas, Lady Ivera, and others. He was truly cruel enough to kill those who had already become his brothers in arms for so long.”
The seller sighed again, and with his answer, Zayden’s belief that the imperial family was the one that killed Gerald grew stronger.
These people were also likely killed by the imperial family, just as he had guessed.
The people that the seller had just mentioned all had one thing in common with Gerald.
They were close to him and loyal to him in the battalion.
Their loyalty come from their hearts and he already saw it many times.
they were someone that can laid their life for him wholeheartedly if he ordered them.
‘Did the imperial family try to purge all of the people who were loyal to me?’
Zayden gritted his teeth.
‘To think that the imperial family went as far as that.
They really did not want the truth to come out.’
He took a deep breath to calm himself and finally tossed the gold coin to the seller.
“Thank you for answering,” he said before he started to walk away from the seller and Gerald’s house.
The seller’s eyes glimmered, and his expression turned joyful, full of smiles as he took the coin.
“Thank you, sir. I hope you have a nice day!”
He said it to Zayden, who had already walked away.
Now that he understood Gerald’s situation, Zayden did not think it was appropriate to visit his house.
It was still not the time yet.
There was no point in visiting his home when the news of Gerald being killed by him was still perceived as the truth by many people.
He did not know what Gerald’s parents and sister thought regarding this, but he didn’t want to know.
If they believed that he was the one who killed Gerald, then he did not blame them.
The imperial family was the source of all of this.
Finding no reason to stay in Elwis, Zayden continued his journey toward the border wall.
While Zayden was continuing his journey toward the border, in another location, Rick, wearing a brown robe with a hood, was inside a big city.
The city was much bigger than Bakdum, and in the distance, there was a grand white palace located on a gigantic floating island!
The floating island hovered a kilometer above the ground, creating an incredible sight that defied the common sense of ordinary mortals.
The grandeur of the sight was further enhanced by the atmosphere and aura it exuded.
That sacred and solemn atmosphere.
They looked at it as if they were gazing upon the place where a god resided.
But Rick did not focus on the palace.
It was as if he was already used to it and simply walked along the bustling streets filled with people.
He had already visited the city many times.
The city that had become the central power of the Vermion Empire.
The capital city of Edorian.
He had already memorized all the places in the capital city, and at this time, he was walking toward a certain place.
Rick quickened his steps, passing many people without bumping into anyone.
After walking for more than thirty minutes, Rick arrived at a restaurant.
The restaurant’s building was constructed in a towering style, and on every floor, people could be seen eating.
Rick entered it without hesitation.
“Welcome to—”
“I already reserved the Golden Lotus Chamber. The peak is already waiting there.”
Rick’s words cut off the waiter, causing him to fall silent.
The waiter smiled and then gestured with one hand.
“Please follow me, sir. I will guide you to your chamber.”
Rick then followed the waiter until they reached the top floor, where they stopped in front of one of the chambers.
“My lord, your guest has arrived,” the waiter said respectfully toward the sliding door of the chamber.
“Come in.”
A male voice resounded from inside.
The waiter then opened the sliding door before gesturing toward Rick.
“Please enter, sir.”
After Rick entered the private chamber, he was greeted by the sight of a young-looking man sipping his tea.
The young man was the very definition of a handsome man from any woman’s dreams.
With his long blue hair tied into a ponytail, it only added to his charm.
His sharp nose, eyes, and lips—everything about him was pleasing to look at.
Beside him was a large window overlooking the city’s scenery.
The white imperial palace was clearly visible from here, creating a nice spot to admire its grandeur.
However, upon seeing the man, Rick did not look impressed.
Instead, he clicked his tongue, and his face suddenly transformed into a completely different appearance.
Rick became much younger and more handsome.
His brown hair turned short and black, completely changing his appearance.
He walked toward the vacant chair opposite the man and sat down, his posture making it clear that he was quite tired.
“Brother Jin, I already did what you ordered, and I almost died there. I don’t think I can do that anymore. I’ll really die next time.”
Rick released a long sigh.
“You need to give me some compensation, Brother.”
The person in front of him smiled. Visit g.com for the full chapter.
“Of course, I will give you compensation. But is he really that terrifying?” he asked.
“Is he really that terrifying, you ask? Brother, you have to meet him personally. If you only heard my story, you would never truly experience that guy’s aura.” Rick replied irritably.
“Moreover, he seemed really angry, especially today when I met him at Zayden’s home. It looked like his atmosphere had changed again. I don’t know. He just seemed more dangerous.”
The man he called Jin nodded, and then his face turned curious.
“So, what was his answer?”
“He said, ‘Fuck you and your invitation. I don’t give a single fuck about you.'” Rick replied.
“…”
There was a moment of silence before Jin spoke.
“I know that is something that came straight from your heart. I think I have to put more work on you—”
“Wait, wait, I’m just joking. He said that he was not interested in meeting you.”
Rick quickly interrupted him.
Jin raised his eyebrows and then nodded.
“I see. To be expected.”
He sipped his tea again.
After putting the cup down, he smiled.
“Well, that means he must not trust me yet, and that’s enough for me to think that our goals are the same. He is careful not to make the wrong decision.”
Rick’s expression turned curious.
“Brother Jin, I’m really curious. Why do you seem so interested in roping in that dragon? I know that he might be helpful for our mission, but he is only one dragon, and he isn’t even a ninth-stage cultivator. What can he do? Facing a behemoth like the imperial family, we need an extreme being like a peak ninth-stage dragon, maybe even two or three of them.”
Jin’s expression turned calm.
“He might be only one dragon, but he is still a dragon. Even more importantly, he is a dragon who shares the same goal as me. Based on your observation, he also seems to be really close to Zayden and his family. Perhaps we could achieve our goal sooner if we work together.”
Jin then showed an interested expression.
“Moreover, based on your story, he is only fifth stage, yet he is a dragon and can already take human form. This is outside our understanding. Usually, a dragon can transform into human form starting from the seventh stage, but he can already do it at the fifth stage.”
“Are you sure that he isn’t a follower of the dragons instead?”
“No. That kind of aura is something I thought belonged to a genuine dragon. An elder dragon, even. That’s why I was also confused as hell last night. None of our knowledge applied to that man.”
Rick replied.
But then his expression turned unsure.
“But then maybe I’m wrong. Maybe he is indeed a human follower of a dragon. But that still doesn’t explain why he has that kind of strong aura of a genuine dragon.”
Rick scratched his head.
“Argh, I’m really confused. Whatever he is, he really is one of a kind. He’s the first being that is completely outside of my understanding.”
Jin nodded his head.
“Anyway, he now seems to be focusing on the information about Zayden’s daughter. And he now seems to be looking for her,” Rick continued.
“Also, this is what I found when I checked Zayden’s home after he left…”
Rick then told Jin about how the man had moved Zayden’s wife and all of his household staff and buried them near the house.
He also found dug-up ground beneath one of the dead plum blossom trees.
But whatever had been buried there was already gone.
He believed that there might have been some items buried there by Zayden or his wife.
After telling Jin about everything he had found in the house, Rick continued.
“So I think you need to do something to replace those corpses. If anyone from the imperial family sees that the corpses have suddenly disappeared, they might check the surrounding area and find the graves.”
“I have no doubt that they will dig up the graves. If that happens, I don’t even want to think about how furious that dragon will be. He already threatened me that if I damaged the graves, he would come to me personally.”