Chapter 461.2. Overt Plot of the Mysterious Marshal

After entering Dragon City, Huo Yuhao felt much less cold air blowing against him. With the city wall as a barrier, the temperature inside the city was naturally higher than outside the city.

Everything inside the city seemed to be very ordinary. There weren’t any signs of suffering or misery. Although the streets weren’t completely empty, they weren’t bustling with life either. In a city as cold as this, the population was bound to be much less than a city in the south.

As Huo Yuhao walked forward, he observed his surroundings and sensed the changes.

There was a simple soul formation at the top of the city wall. However, there weren’t many soul engineers stationed there, and they were only accompanied by a few ordinary soldiers.

Given such a defense, the Heavenly Soul Empire could possibly overcome it if they could divide their troops and attack the city with one or two regular legions.

Shrek Academy didn’t have any information about this city either. Naturally, Huo Yuhao didn’t know anything. In a city, there wasn’t a place more suitable than an inn to find out information. Huo Yuhao decided to find an inn and gather information about the situation in Dragon City before making any plans.

It was very easy to find an inn in such a cold city. Drinking could warm one’s body, and this was why many northerners considered it their hobby. Even some ladies shared the same hobby too.

Huo Yuhao soon found an inn and entered. The sign board of this inn wasn’t very big. However, Huo Yuhao immediately sensed a bustling atmosphere the moment he entered.

A warm feeling swept over him the moment he entered. He felt engulfed by a heatwave, and the coldness he felt in his body immediately disappeared.

The size of the inn wasn’t very big, and it was much hotter inside this inn. Some people were even sleeveless as they consumed alcohol.

There were four or five tables as well as a bar. There were twenty to thirty people in the inn, which contributed to the rowdy atmosphere. However, the atmosphere also felt very friendly.

Huo Yuhao noticed that there were a few scantily-clad ladies behind every table and the bar. However, these ladies weren’t young. They looked to be in their thirties. Although they were scantily-clad, they weren’t very physically attractive. They were all dressed in the same way. Evidently, they belonged to this inn. They were there to drink with the customers, but they didn’t provide any further services. Even though the customers were also drinking and joking with them, they were seated pretty far away. It seemed like this was a culture of inns in Dragon City. Ladies were only there to provide an atmosphere for drinking.

“Welcome, sir.” A scantily-clad lady who revealed her shoulders and cleavage walked over and greeted Huo Yuhao, who had just entered. She had a strong northern accent. Her voice was very smooth, but it was slightly nasal. Although her yellow dress was very revealing, it also exuded the elegant style of the Heavenly Soul Empire. It was just that the dress was made of slightly inferior quality.

“Hi.” Huo Yuhao nodded slightly to acknowledge her. “Are there still seats?”

The lady in yellow said, “There are only seats at the bar. Will that do?”

“Yes.” Huo Yuhao nodded again.

The lady brought him to a corner of the bar before sitting down. Huo Yuhao was dressed rather lightly. After all, he came directly from Shrek Academy. Naturally, he didn’t need to take off a coat. However, all the customers in the inn were already drunk, and didn’t notice this at all.

The lady brought a glass of warm water for Huo Yuhao before asking, “Sir, you must be a foreigner.”

Huo Yuhao nodded, “Yes! Dragon City is really cold.”

The lady laughed, “You’re right. Seeing the way you’re dressed, you must be feeling very cold. You’ll be fine after having some alcohol. What do you want?”

Huo Yuhao said, “Give me something local.”

“Alright, wait a minute then.”

Not long afterward, a glass of amber alcohol was brought in front of Huo Yuhao. It had a strong alcoholic fragrance.

Huo Yuhao lifted his cup and sniffed the alcohol. Suddenly, a strong alcoholic scent swept his nose. Evidently, the alcohol was very strong.

As he sniffed the alcohol, he couldn’t help but recall how there was too much origin energy of Ultimate Ice in his body during the tournament in Radiant City, and how he had to rely on distillate to neutralize it. Time had passed so quickly. Wang Dong’er was no longer with him, and he was now in this northern city.

After tasting a sip of the alcohol, a malty, acrid taste filled his throat. It warmed his body as it went all the way into his belly. That feeling was indeed refreshing.

Huo Yuhao didn’t use his soul power to neutralize the strength of the alcohol. As he sensed the burning stimulation, his face also turned a bit red.

Even though he wasn’t the most handsome person, he was still very charming because of his great spiritual power. The lady’s eyes brightened when she saw his flush. “Sir, where are you from?”

Huo Yuhao said, “I’m from the south, and I’m here to visit a friend.”

The lady smiled and replied, “You must be careful then. It’s wartime now. Don’t go to war-prone places where there’s a lot of fighting.”

Huo Yuhao wasn’t moved as he said, “I heard that Dragon City has already…”

The lady didn’t hide anything from him and responded to his question. “Yes, Dragon City has already been occupied by the Sun Moon Empire. We were initially very worried, but it seems like things aren’t that bad.”

“Oh?” Huo Yuhao was a little astonished as he looked at her. He asked, “How’s the war situation?”

She replied, “Ordinary citizens like us wouldn’t know anything. At least the Sun Moon Empire hasn’t done anything to ordinary citizens like us after occupying Dragon City. Instead, they’ve sent out announcements that they won’t plunder from us or kill anyone. They want us to maintain order and not leave our houses easily.”

“Just like that?” Huo Yuhao was a little astonished. The Sun Moon Empire had greatly alleviated the suffering that ordinary citizens generally experienced in such cases by not touching them. If this was the case, it was a blessing amongst all the suffering.

The lady said, “Yes! They have occupied Dragon City for many days, and only left behind a few soldiers to maintain order. After that, businessmen started to enter the city. The soldiers retreated from the city two days after arriving. You should have seen how there isn’t much damage to the city at all. I only heard that a few soul master sects were forced to temporarily leave Dragon City by the Sun Moon Empire’s troops. However, I’m not sure where they went.”

Huo Yuhao furrowed his brow and started to ponder. From the start when Xu Tianran started the war and held many elite talents from the Soul Dueling Tournament captive, he thought that lives were bound to be lost in this war.

Furthermore, the Holy Ghost Church aided the Sun Moon Empire. Given such a situation, how was it possible that they spared the citizens? This was something that Huo Yuhao hadn’t expected.

Before Huo Yuhao even asked anything else, the lady also got herself a glass of malt alcohol from behind the bar and said, “Those businessmen were also very weird. After entering the city, they didn’t trade. Instead, they were giving out stuff. I heard that they gave many of the nobility in the city weird items. I heard they are related to soul tools. Their empire occupied our city, but they’re giving us stuff. I don’t get what’s going on.”

Huo Yuhao was also confused when he heard her words. Why has something like this happened? What is the Sun Moon Empire planning to do?

Huo Yuhao only got this information. He didn’t obtain anything useful after speaking to other patrons.

After inquiring about the mayor’s house in the city, he left the inn upon finishing his alcohol.

Right now, the sky had already turned dark, and the flow of people on the streets had evidently decreased. The temperature had also dropped significantly.

To prevent himself from being too conspicuous, Huo Yuhao retrieved a coat from his storage-type soul tool and wore it. He slowly walked the streets.

He had originally intended to find a place to stay, and would only go to the Earthdragon Sect after Nan Qiuqiu woke up. However, he had some new ideas now.

He was curious. The Sun Moon Empire had not plundered the citizens nor touched them in any way. They even allowed businessmen to enter the city to give them stuff. What were the empire’s intentions here?

He went to the mayor’s residence to take a look. At least there were people from the Sun Moon Empire there. Perhaps he could obtain some information.

As he thought until here, Huo Yuhao turned into a dark alley and slowly disappeared into the dark under the concealment of his Imitation.

The mayor’s residence was located in the city center just like in most other cities. The mayor’s residence looked pretty big, and was visible from afar.

There were two soldiers standing at the entrance. They wore thick winter wear. Huo Yuhao jumped up and silently entered the residence. He moved like a falling leaf, and didn’t alarm anyone.

The residence was very quiet. It was only after a while that a patrol of troops could be seen passing by. Huo Yuhao snuck in and quickly came to the core structure of the residence.

He drifted up towards a second-story room that was lit. At the same time, he unleashed his spiritual power, engulfing the entire residence. He didn’t believe there were any spiritual detectors here.

Very soon, he quickly grasped the situation in the residence. There were about a hundred and fifty troopers inside this residence. Of them, twenty were soul engineers. Their cultivations were slightly weak – they were only two or three-ringed soul engineers. In the central room of the residence, there was a six-ringed Soul Emperor. Huo Yuhao could only tell if he was a soul engineer by seeing him directly.

He’s only a Soul Emperor, but he’s taking charge of the entire city? The Sun Moon Empire is really throwing caution to the wind.