Chapter 1317 - A Strange Lord

And this, things began to move according to plan, not just for Java, but for Landon as well.

Time had moved swiftly, with them getting directions as far as 7 cities away from this one. 

This should do the trick for now. 

Bear in mind that between these cities would be villages and towns. So the journey was indeed relatively long by horseback. However, when flying, that was a different matter altogether. 

During the day, the rains faintly drizzled, with little to no wind in the air. And by night, it was all good.

Of course, according to the system, after today, the rain wasn't going to fail for the next 2 days. Everything was planned accordingly.

And just like that, the gang, who all looked completely different from before, headed to the rendezvous point at night and secretly met up with another team of underwater Navy officers, who gave them wetsuits and led them away.

It was funny to see that all this time, Java had still sent people to find them. In the end, he decided to push everything onto their head if asked about the stolen book.

Heh.

For all they knew, those peasants might've been deadly assassins or spies... Though, he was more inclined to believe that they were very ordinary.

After all, it was expected for some slaves to get cautious after suffering so much and regaining their freedom.

Maybe something transpired that allowed them to flee.

Maybe the slave owner was after them... Who knows...

The possibilities were endless with this one. But all in all, he created a suspicious image about these people, drawing Mervin's attention to them.

But what did it matter to Landon? They didn't look the way they ordinarily looked. And more importantly, they were already on their way to the Capital!

Heh. Thanks to the many air force teams that worked hard last night to create maps from above, they could easily make up the instructions collected from the ordinary folks. 

Of course, they also made these maps for archive storing too. Additionally, they did their best to map the entire city, spotting which regions had the largest concentration of guards or hidden guards. Even the city lord's palace was mapped out 

Who knows, maybe in the near future, they might need this. So taking note of this was essential!

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--The Capital City, Dafaren, Veinitta--

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Entering into a vast estate were several luxurious carriages with the same carvings.

~Gallop. Gallop. Gallop. Gallop.~

The horses steadily sprinted forward, raising their chests high to the servants who stopped now and then to bow at the arriving entourage. 

"Welcome back, my lord!"

"Welcome, My lord!"

"My lord..."

"My lord..."

Everyone in the estate who saw the carriage dared not look up, lowering their heads in salute.

But the person they were focused on hardly took more of their presence.

In the giant middle carriage, a towering 7-foot man calmly sat opposite 2 of his most trusted aides: Ronald and Chengdu. 

The duo also looked mighty intimidating as well.

Chengdu lifted the curtain, peeking out of the carriage expressionlessly. 

"My lord, with our arrival in Dafaren's Capital, many will soon send out invites."

"Hmmm..." The burly man replied. "Reject all. We will only be seeing Alexander for the time being." The duo glanced at each other briefly before chuckling at their lord's boldness.

Others dared not call his majesty Alexander this way. But if it was their lord, then it was understandable.

Having taken a good look outside, the Chengdu intended to close the wooden window.

However, just when they were about to do so, the sudden sounds of heavy horse riding, quickly enveloped their ears.

Eh?

Ronald took out a polished silvered mirror and slanted it at an angle that made it easier for him to observe.

Ronald frowned deeply. "My lord. It's ours. But from the looks of things, it might not be good news."

Chengdu's heart dropped.

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~Gallop! Gallop! Gallop!~

The incoming rider, fully dressed in black, dashed towards them at lighting speed with his black high-tier stallion. 

And with one hand raised, he made a hand signal that allowed the guards and forces around the carriages to quickly create a path for him. 

No doubt about it, the man was carrying urgent news.

"This way! This way!" 

Those standing around led the man to the only open carriage window.

Their lord had only opened that one out of the 4 windows in their carriage.

The carriage had 2 rows of seats facing each other. And a very wide empty floor space in the middle for placing one's feet or walking out. 

Of course, the carriage door was placed at one end of the open space. And all 4 windows were located shoulder-level above the ends of the seat rows. 

As for the wooden windows, they were only permanently attached to the carriage from the top.

The windows were designed like flaps, allowing one to open and close them.

It was like imagining a fridge door not opened from the side but opened and lifted to the top instead.

And to secure them after opening, depending on how wide and long the carriage was, one could be able to find tiny hooks on the ceilings or the corners above the windows.

With these hooks, it was then easy to secure the rules always placed at the bottom ends of each window.

This way, the windows could stay open until it was time to lock them up again.

The design was simple and effective.

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Like lightning, the rider moved crazily amidst the crowd until he reached Chengdu's open window. 

But rather than speaking loudly, he only inched in and whispered next to Chengdu's ears. 

And the more Chengdu listened in, the grimmer his face became.

"Dismissed!"

The rider took off, and Chengdu finally pulled the curtains towards the door, unhooked the ropes, lowered the open window and shut it, bolting it tightly. 

"My lord, they've really crossed the line this time!"

"Oh?"