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n“Mr. Locke, you’re really amazing!” Adelaide, who was hiding in the basement, personally poured red wine into Locke’s wine glass.

nLöw carried some food over and said, “Yes! Master, I saw it very clearly through the surveillance system! There were more than a dozen blue elite rank Battle Beasts, but it only took Locke a single attack to defeat all of them!”

nUpon hearing this, Adelaide felt even more at ease. The rhythm in which he fanned himself had become regular and stable, as opposed to his panicky speed earlier.

n“Don’t celebrate just yet, this is just a test…” Locke put a piece of luxury ham into his mouth and said.

n“Test? You mean they’ll come again?” Adelaide’s face became nervous again.

nHowever, he immediately restrained his emotions and began to think.

nNow that the Frank family had taken control of the court and various institutions in the city, annihilating the disobedient nobles was definitely his next step to ruling the system.

nTo the extent of his knowledge, Joey had dispatched the Daemon Fang Army to take care of two noble families that refused to fall under his rule.

nThose who did not bend to his wishes were fated to die!

nAlthough the Estelle family had never instigated the Frank family, clearly, Joey had still thought of Adelaide as a threat. At this point, Adelaide explained his hypothesis, “It seems that Joey intends to take over the Holy City…”

nLocke sipped his red wine. Upon realizing that Adelaide had returned to his previous confident attitude, Locke asked, “Could you elaborate?”

nAdelaide nodded. While fanning himself, he continued, “Mr. Locke, you might not know this, but the Frank family originally started out in the fishing industry. After earning some money, they took advantage of the large number of ships they owned and became pirates. Upon making a fortune, Joey’s grandfather, who was the head of the Frank family at that time, bribed a duke that was in the emperor’s favor. With the help of said duke, the Viscount title was conferred to the Frank family.”

n“Since the Holy City is close to the sea, and far away from the emperor’s domain, the Frank family then turned to smuggling to earn their wealth. Following this, they then established the Daemon Fang Army, to earn money by taking others lives.”

n“So, what I’m trying to say here is that, the Frank family has always been cruel and merciless. As such, Joey is eliminating any obstacles that refuse to bend to his will!! Sigh, I might possess a huge amount of wealth, but I have no relatives, and I’m plagued with this curse. So, why are they so anxious to get rid of me when I will die a natural death before long…”

n“Well, there’s only one answer to this question, I suppose. They want to unify the holy city in a short period of time, and they plan to use the wealth they’ll obtain to get the imperial palace to confer the rank of Duke to him! When that happens, they’ll have full and legitimate right over the Holy City!”

nUpon noticing his master’s confident expression in analyzing the matter, Löw nodded his head in relief.

n“The rank of Duke? It enables him to rule the city?” Locke was not familiar with the nobilities’ ranks, as such, he asked rather curiously.

nAdelaide lit a cigar and nodded. “Yes, Mr. Locke. The Frederick family from Wind City are dukes. That city, its surrounding villages, and all the people within it are their private property!” All they need to do to maintain their dukedom is to pay their taxes to the royal family every year. As long as they pay, everything is as the Frederick family pleases, including the laws and Battle Beast allocations within the city!”

nTruthfully speaking, Locke was rather envious of their authority. After all, not only could they set their own taxes, but they could even bend the laws to their whims!

nMore importantly, they held full control over the Battle Beasts!

nBattle Beasts are crucial factors in influencing this world. As such, by owning these Battle Beasts, the King of the Wind City held quite a substantial authority in influencing the world.

nLocke’s eyes began to narrow.

n“Moreover, I believe that the Frank family is targeting the Federal Academy as well…”

nLöw exclaimed in surprise, “The Federal Academy is officially sanctioned by the royal family. How dare the Frank family!”

nAdelaide sneered twice before continuing, “Even though the academy is a thorn in his side, it doesn’t mean that he has to remove it. He could soften the thorn as well. He can use a series of methods to divide, infiltrate, intimidate, and strike to gain control of the Federal Academy. When that happens, the academy will become the training center for the Frank family’s army! He could continuously nurture Beastmasters who pledge loyalty only to him…”

nThose words had scared Löw so much that his legs began to tremble. While shivering, he stated, “Master is right. I’ve heard that Alice of the White family has also thrown herself into Joey’s arms. The purpose of their union might be to create a stronger family. At the very least, the title of Count of the current cripple Adrian might very well be snatched away by Joey. It’s highly likely that she shares Joey’s ambition in ruling the city as well…”

n“That’s right, that’s what I meant…” Adelaide wiped the sweat from his forehead.

nAt this moment, Locke interjected, “Oh… So that’s the situation, huh. Even a pirate who kills and steals goods can end up as a king…” Locke shook his red wine glass with a cold smile on his face.

n“Mr. Locke, please remind the principal to take extra precautions with the security of the academy. Daemon Fang’s numbers are not to be underestimated…”

n…

nAt the same time, at Joey’s house…

n“Are you sure it’s Locke?” Joey looked at the commander of Daemon Fang who was kneeling on the ground on one leg.

n“Yes, my sentry saw it very clearly. The two-headed snake present is all the evidence we need…” The muscular man in camouflage replied.

nClement, who was standing at the side, ordered, “Julian, you must do your best to trap Locke in the Estelle Manor tomorrow!”

nThe commander named Julian looked at Joey and waited for instructions.

n“That’s right. I will infiltrate the academy together with my family tomorrow! Once we defeat that old man, taking over the academy will be a cinch! Once I’m done with the old man, I will then go over to assist you in killing Locke! I doubt that Locke can defeat our overwhelming numbers!”

nJoey thought that his arrangements were flawless.

nAs the owner of three divine beasts, Locke was not easy to deal with. However, that did not mean that there was no way to restrain him.

nThe talents of the Federal Academy were already withered. Their students posed little threat, and as long as Joey was able to kill Hobrick, the academy would be theirs for the taking.

nFurthermore, since Joey was already in control of the court, the major institutions of the city were forced to turn a blind eye to his actions,

nOnce the whole issue was settled, he would then marry Alice, and receive the rank of Count!

nEverything was according to his plan…

n“Julian, you must put in all your effort tomorrow. As long as the plan succeeds, you will be the first commander-in-chief of my army once I become king!”

nJulian lowered his head and bowed, “Yes, my master! The future king of the Holy City! Then, he looked at his deputy, a one-eyed middle-aged man, and said, Robert, you will be accompanying me tomorrow…”

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