Chapter 174: Chapter 174: The Alliance at the Royal Mansion

At this moment, Michael furrowed his brows, his imposing aura vanishing instantly. Outside the mansion, three presences emerged, forcing him to take the situation seriously. Yet, Olivia's face was all smiles.

"Now, can we have a proper chat?" she said as her words fell.

From outside the mansion, two voices were heard.

"County Prince, I am Warren from Sky Sect, bringing the new sect master to meet you!" Michael recognized the voice. It was the voice of Warren, the Grand Elder of Sky Sect, and he could even identify Warren's competent aura!

Then came another voice...

"Hahaha! Old dog Warren, this new sect master of yours isn't much to look at, all gloomy and sad!"

"County Prince, I am Leon from Black Tortoise. Old dog Warren has invited me, and I am quite intrigued. May I have the honor of meeting you?"

Leon, the Daoist!

If Warren from Sky Sect had come, he could understand; during the great battle outside Sky Sect, Warren had cowered. Later, he even found out that the new sect master of Sky Sect was the third-generation eldest son of Blackwood, and the successor as sect master.

But...

Black Tortoise?

He knew that due to the great battle years ago, the long-standing enmity between the two sects had dissipated, but he did not know how Blackwood could possibly summon Leon from Black Tortoise!

However, he understood that the presence of these two sects was exactly what Olivia had mentioned earlier.

This meant that Sky Sect and Black Tortoise might very well join his grand plan due to Olivia's behind-the-scenes mediation!

It also meant that Blackwood truly understood why he hadn't executed Edward on the spot and had already begun to secretly align Blackwood's usable forces with him, thereby wielding the knife for him to reshuffle the entire Cloudview County.

But...

He wanted to control Blackwood, to make Blackwood serve him.

The arrival of the two sect elders, however, deviated from his plans.

It seemed that Blackwood's influence had exceeded his expectations.

He suddenly stared at Olivia with a grave expression.

He understood everything Olivia had just said.

Olivia was telling him that he should jointly nurture the three young ones of Blackwood with them, and he should also accept the marriage between Edward and Betty because... seaʀᴄh thё Novёlƒire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

Blackwood was never alone; they could summon two major sects, they had other forces in the shadows, and they had Olivia!

They were qualified to stand on equal footing with the Duke's mansion, not to be used by it, nor to be its vassals.

Olivia was telling him.

He wasn't qualified to control Blackwood!

Moreover, he only had two choices: to interact with Blackwood through marital ties or... to hide his daughter and granddaughter and be enemies with the mad Blackwood. It seemed that now, Blackwood really didn't lack the Duke's mansion as an enemy.

"Phew."

Michael let out a long breath, then stared at Olivia with a cold and mocking gaze, bursting into a hearty laugh, "Hahaha, they are just two sect forces after all!"

An hour later, in the backyard of the Duke's mansion, the three youngest Blackwoods finally emerged from the melted ice sculpture.

They rolled their eyes, no need to look to know it was the work of their elders, who loved nothing more than to knock them out or freeze them, then mysteriously transport them to strange places for cultivating psychic powers. They were already braced for intense training.

Edward was the first to speak, his words driven by the first clear impression he had upon regaining consciousness, "Great-grandma, we know we need to cultivate our psychic powers, you don't have to—huh??"

Their expressions gradually turned blank.

In front of them, Great-grandma sat in a wheelchair, smiling warmly at them. A Daoist figure caught their eye.

Two old men... and a young man with a troubled expression, staring at Great-grandma, seemingly very upset.

And...

"Betty!"

A round-faced girl who looked incredibly sweet was leading a five-year-old child by the hand, a child who bore a striking resemblance to Edward!

Even though Betty had grown up quite a bit, Edward recognized her instantly, the girl who haunted his dreams. At this moment, Betty was also overwhelmed with joy, tears streaming down her face.

The child she was holding, dressed in fine clothes, stared curiously at him. Edward knew this was the child born of his past misdeeds.

Beside Betty and the child stood his greatest fear, Michael.

In the past, the sight of Michael would have made Edward want to run away immediately.

But looking at Betty and the child, all his fears vanished, and he walked resolutely towards his lover and child.

He was even prepared to be beaten half to death by Michael.

His body trembled.

Then...

As expected, Michael's hand landed on his shoulder, his teeth clenched, "You can't stop me from being with Betty and the child..."

Edward faced this as if accepting his fate.

But before he could finish, he looked dumbfounded at Michael's hand on his shoulder. The expected instant annihilation did not occur. Michael's grip was strong, pinching his shoulder fiercely, then he patted it harshly.

Then, with eyes full of murderous intent, he revealed a smile uglier than crying.

"Edward, the first time I saw you, I knew you were a good lad!"

Yeah.

The words 'good lad' squeezed out through his teeth.

If Edward was alone in the royal mansion, Michael would definitely give him a good thrashing. Watching Edward and his family in that cozy scene, he suddenly felt abandoned, as if his daughter had forgotten her old father. But now was not the time to dwell on such matters, as everyone quickly moved into the hall to continue their conversation.

Ethan was meeting the Black Tortoise Daoist for the first time, a handsome young man dressed in a robe adorned with Black Tortoise patterns, holding a white fan. He looked like a refined gentleman, but his behavior was more like a street thug, cursing and acting brashly, and he kept calling the Warren Daoist an 'old dog'.

[Special Event—The Alliance at the Royal Mansion]

[Your family has been afraid to return to their homeland for many years. Michael wants to completely reshuffle Cloudview County. With Olivia's mediation, the two families secretly form an alliance!]