Imperial Throne

Chapter 101: Old Affairs, Old Faces

By noon the next day, Monica had already taken her leave. Yam, riding on horseback, led a team of guards and personally escorted her out of White Mountain City.

Only after that did he assign two Bloodline Knights to continue escorting Monica all the way back to Red River Territory.

Although these two were only First-Tier Bloodline Users, and their actual strength was even inferior to Monica’s, this act was more about expressing an attitude.

While Yam was escorting Monica out of the city, Ion and Akar also led a team, surrounding four wagons as they quickly departed from another city gate.

The road from White Mountain Territory to both Red River Territory and Gem Territory diverged to the southwest and southeast respectively, so the two groups were destined not to encounter each other.

Years ago, Akar had traveled this southern route with his father.

Retracing that path now brought a deep sense of emotion to his heart.

Because of the rugged terrain, the journey required caution to prevent the wagons from overturning, which slowed their pace considerably.

A journey that normally took only four days to reach the border of Gem Territory ended up taking a full seven days.

Fortunately, no unexpected troubles occurred along the way, perhaps because life in Gem Territory had improved significantly, or maybe because Ion and Akar brought along several dozen guards this time.

On the way, they passed by the now-barren Iron Wolf Mountain.

Seven years had passed since then, but Iron Wolf Mountain, once home to the Iron Wolf Mercenary Group, never regained its former lushness.

Ion stopped his horse and gazed ahead.

“Father?” Akar approached.

“You all go on ahead,” Ion said softly.

Although Akar also felt some nostalgia for the life they had once lived at Iron Wolf Mountain seven years ago, it was nothing more than that, nostalgia.

He didn’t particularly resent Baron Hess Billy of Gem Territory. On the contrary, if it hadn’t been for that man’s pressure, their family wouldn’t have left Iron Wolf Mountain and certainly wouldn’t have achieved their current status.

So, his hatred toward the former lord of Gem Territory, who had already been killed by his own daughter, was naturally far less than that of his father or second brother.

Thus, he couldn’t truly resonate with his father’s feelings.

After a slight hesitation, Akar didn’t insist and instead led the team forward.

They were less than three days from Gem City. Even if the pace slowed to accommodate the wagons, they would definitely reach Gem City in five or six days. So naturally, Akar didn’t want to waste time here.

Ion watched the silhouette of Akar leading the team away. With a look of sorrow, he sighed softly but said nothing more.

He still harbored some regret over not personally killing Hess Billy, the former lord of Gem Territory responsible for the downfall of the Iron Wolf Mercenary Group.

As the team gradually faded from sight, almost disappearing entirely, Ion finally nudged his horse forward with a gentle kick to its flank.

Once again, they continued the journey in silence.

Five days later, they finally arrived at Gem City.

Ion took out the identity token Anna had prepared in advance, proving that they were merely a merchant convoy. With that, they entered Gem City smoothly.

Akar did not enter the city with Ion. His identity was no secret, and entering together would inevitably draw unwanted attention.

So he had entered the city earlier and was already back at the City Lord’s Manor by now.

“Lord Ion, what shall we do next?”

After entering the city, a guard began asking about the next steps.

They were all veteran soldiers Ion had brought from Fisher Village.

Just as the Bole Family had once preferred to recruit guards from Andar Village for the City Lord’s Manor, now Lily, Yam, and the others likewise leaned toward selecting guards from Fisher Village.

After all, the Soderbell family had originated from Fisher Village, and to its people, they were like family. As a result, their sense of honor and duty was significantly stronger.

“According to the lodging information provided here, let’s settle in first.”

Since all subsequent trade operations would be handled by Anna in the name of Gem Territory, Ion and his team’s task was essentially complete the moment they entered Gem City.

However, Ion’s visit this time wasn’t merely to deliver the goods, he also intended to meet with Anna. So he plAnnad to stay a while longer in Gem Territory.

Escorting the four wagons, Ion soon arrived at the inn Anna had designated.

According to Akar, this inn was a secret contact point set up within Gem City by Anna. Its basement contained several hidden passages, one led directly to the City Lord’s Manor, and another to a secret base outside the city. It was one of the emergency relay stations arranged by the lord of Gem Territory.

During their stay, Anna would arrange for personnel to discreetly transport the cargo into the City Lord’s Manor.

Later, the goods would be sold under the name of Gem Territory’s lord.

As for Ion and the others staying in the inn, Anna had already arranged a batch of merchandise for them to use for trading, carefully covering up any information that might expose their identities.

At the inn, Ion dismounted and immediately began directing the guards in unloading the goods.

As for the horses pulling the carts, the inn’s staff naturally took over their care.

However, while directing the guards to move the goods, Ion noticed he was being watched several times.

Yet, whenever he looked toward the source of the gaze he sensed, he found no one there. This made him increasingly alert.

...

A hunched-back figure weaved swiftly through the crowd.

Despite appearing to be a small-statured man, his steps were quick and steady.

His movements resembled a fish swimming through water, slipping through the crowd without being touched or delayed at all.

He passed through a run-down district, then over areas piled with sewage and rot, soon reaching a desolate zone resembling a junkyard.

Gem City wasn’t all glamour and brilliance. It also had corners so shadowed that even Anna didn’t know how to clean them up.

Back in the day, even Baron Hess Billy, a Third-Tier Bloodline User, failed to fully clear out this area, let alone Anna, who only had First-Tier strength. Gem Territory now faced the same dilemma as White Mountain Territory: there wasn’t a single Third-Tier Bloodline User in their land.

But that didn’t mean Gem City’s underworld hid some terrifying powerhouse. The reason Baron Hess Billy had failed to eliminate them was simply because the rats in these sewers were far too tenacious.

Regular methods couldn’t deal with them. They kept breeding endlessly, and just when their numbers swelled too large, they would self-prune a portion of their own.

Eventually, Baron Hess Billy gave up.

As long as those scum didn’t cross his bottom line, he didn’t care.

Right now, this area that resembled a dump was the darkest part of Gem City’s underworld.

The sewer rats here called it the “Junkyard”—a place for burying trash and waste.

Entering meant only two outcomes: either gain the recognition of others and become a new force, or get buried, becoming part of the Junkyard itself.

As the hunchbacked man stepped into the Junkyard, dozens of hidden eyes immediately turned to him. But upon recognizing who he was, they all ignored him.

“Boss, I saw Ion!” The middle-aged man hurried to a corner of the Junkyard and quickly spoke to a brawny middle-aged man lying there snoring, “Looks like he formed a merchant caravan and is working on a big deal!”

“Ion? Which Ion?” the brawny man said lazily.

But in the next second, he flipped over and sat up from the trash pile with a sharp, cold gleam in his eyes. “The vice captain?”

“Yes!” The hunchbacked man nodded eagerly, his face full of excitement.

“He actually didn’t die back then!?” The brawny man’s eyes flashed. “Right! They never found his body, and Arsen’s sword was never recovered either! If they hadn’t escaped, I’d be a knight now!”

“So boss, what should we do now?”

“You only saw Ion? What about his two sons?”

“No sign of them, only Ion!” The hunchbacked man replied. “And I didn’t see Arsen’s sword either.”

The brawny man paused in silence, then asked solemnly, “He’s now leading a caravan, and brought a large shipment this time?”

“Yes.”

The brawny man grinned viciously. “I just thought of a brilliant idea.”

As he spoke, the few people nearby burst into sly laughter.

Others in the Junkyard who heard that laugh also cast glances toward the group.

Though unaware of what had happened, they knew one thing, when the Jackal Gang laughed like that, someone was about to suffer terribly.

These outsiders had proven their ruthlessness and cruelty over the past seven years.

The Junkyard’s mortality and elimination rate were extremely high.

In this place ruled by jungle law, the strong reigned while the weak were crushed.

Over the past seven years, the Junkyard had changed hands many times, except for the Jackal Gang. Despite suffering heavy losses at times, its three core members, the founders, had never died.

On the contrary, they had only grown more devious and cruel. Eventually, the Junkyard developed an unwritten rule: never provoke the three jackals of the Jackal Gang.

Soon after—

The hunchbacked man quickly left again.

And the brawny man began calling out names, sending off several others.

Once all arrangements were in place, he rose and slowly walked out of the Junkyard.

He first stopped at a house in the slums, took a bath, and changed into relatively cleaner clothes.

Though the stench on him couldn’t be completely removed, it wasn’t as unbearable as before.

Then he left the slum and walked toward another district, still somewhat shabby, but much cleaner and tidier than the slums. Purposefully, he walked to a specific door and knocked.

“Who is it?” A disgruntled voice sounded from inside after a moment, along with hurried footsteps.

With a bang, the door swung open.

The man inside glanced at the brawny visitor and showed visible annoyance. “What do you want?”

“Well, Sir Knight...”

At the word “knight,” the young man inside showed a moment of satisfaction, only for a flash of venomous resentment to cross his face soon after.

Since his father’s death, he has become nothing.

When some of his father’s old comrades were still alive, their family, though cast out from the lord’s castle, still managed to get by.

But as those comrades gradually died off, he came to realize: without knighthood, he was truly nothing.

His brother had failed two bloodline awakenings and died in a street fight; their mother had passed as well.

Now, he was the only one left.

He scrimped and saved, even risked doing dirty jobs, violating the knight’s code, just to scrape together enough money for Bloodline Potions.

So far, he had only failed one bloodline awakening, and he was still young. He still had a chance!

“Speak quickly.”

“I found the man who killed your father.”

The young man’s face twisted, the venomous resentment surging forth.

“Where is he!?”

“He’s leading a caravan now, surrounded by many guards. We probably can’t handle him ourselves,” the brawny man said with a sycophantic smile, his expression like a poison badger dripping with sweet venom.

“But I believe Sir Knight is smarter and stronger than I am, and has far more connections, so I’m sure you’ll have a better solution.”