Reincarnation Paradise Park

Chapter 1189 - 4: Royal Palace

Walking in the bustling market, Su Xiao glanced around his surroundings. He now needed to proceed to the Royal Palace; the old King had secretly summoned him, which meant there was something urgent.

It was impossible to ask passersby where the Royal Palace was. Su Xiao, being the Iron Hand, couldn’t possibly not know where the palace was — that would simply be ludicrous.

The troublesome thing was that the Royal Palace of the Holy Sodding Kingdom probably wasn’t the kind of huge and magnificent building. At least, it wouldn’t be like the palace in the World of Crimson, visible from anywhere in the Imperial Capital.

According to the detailed world introduction, this world’s palace architecture was more akin to a castle, with a vast courtyard.

The Royal Palace’s primary functions are twofold: it serves as the residence for the King and his many queens, and it’s where important chancellors work within its walls.

Thus, the palace’s land area shouldn’t be large; it only needed to accommodate the residence of a few dozen people. In a world plagued by perpetual war, where all humans wholeheartedly defend against foreign invaders, the Royal Family likely wouldn’t indulge in luxury by constructing a gigantic palace.

A Mechanical Eye appeared in Su Xiao’s hand — the Eye of the Apostle — capable of detecting enemy attributes and surveying terrain within half a kilometer.

As the heart of the old King, the Iron Hand’s residence should not be far from the Royal Palace.

Sure enough, when the Eye of the Apostle floated up 100 meters in the air, it detected a not-too-luxurious but imposing grand estate.

This estate stretched at least a kilometer horizontally, with no splendid sights within, just hundreds of statues. Among them were statues of past kings and some great heroes and officials who sacrificed for the kingdom. The kingdom valued these sacrifices enormously and placed their statues alongside past kings to win people’s hearts, no doubt.

Retrieving the Eye of the Apostle, Su Xiao headed toward the palace, which was less than half a kilometer away from his dwelling.

As Su Xiao walked down the street, nearby civilians instinctively distanced themselves, their expressions respectful — that kind of respect born from fear.

Seeing the civilians’ reactions, Su Xiao felt the former Iron Hand was clever, possibly going around creating enemies deliberately.

If it were other officials, doing so would be courting death. But for the Iron Hand, creating enemies was necessary, providing the old King a signal that the Iron Hand, despite having privileges, was loyal solely to the King and viewed everyone else as enemies. This was the type of person the King trusted the most.

Su Xiao hastened his steps appropriately; after all, a secret summons was upon him, and he had to act the part.

Soon, Su Xiao arrived in front of the palace courtyard, surrounded not by walls but by iron railings. The railings were decorated with creatures having the body of a dog and the head of a lion — the dog signifying the kingdom’s loyal officials and the lion symbolizing the Royal Family, representing authority and territorial guardianship.

Thousands of royal guards stood around the courtyard, donned in golden armor and wielding uniform long weapons. Their bodies were straight, expressions diligent.

Before the palace gate, dozens of royal guards guarded both sides of the main entrance, staring ahead, seeming not to notice Su Xiao.

Su Xiao walked straight into the Royal Palace.

Clang.

The guards’ weapons leaned forward, clashing against their armor with coordinated sounds. They were not blocking Su Xiao’s entry to the palace but signaling they acknowledged his presence as the Iron Hand.

High-ranking officials could enter and exit the palace freely between 6 to 9 a.m. every day, whereas Iron Hand and other special positions could access the palace 24 hours a day.

Swipe.

The guards retracted their weapons, and Su Xiao stepped into the palace unhindered.

Su Xiao walked down a granite road etched with patterns; it was around 7 a.m., so from time to time, nobles dressed in ornate attire passed by.

These officials maintained a consistent attitude — if they could keep a 10-meter distance from Su Xiao, they absolutely would not approach within that distance. It wasn’t fear; they simply did not wish to near Su Xiao. If a Charisma Specialized Contractor held the Iron Hand position, they would undoubtedly cry in the restroom.

Su Xiao smoothly entered the palace, or rather, a huge castle that served as both residence and workplace.

Upon entering, Su Xiao detected a faint fragrance and followed its source to find several large pots of tulips placed near the entrance.

Having successfully entered the palace, another difficulty emerged — where was the old King? Fortunately, at that moment, a white-robed elder with gold thread patterns on his attire approached.

Seeing the elder, Su Xiao’s eyes brightened.

"Where is Herbert?"

Su Xiao inquired.

"Hmph."

The white-robed elder grunted coldly, walking straight ahead.

Seeing the elder’s reaction, Su Xiao was somewhat surprised. The elder was unexpectedly gutsy; since entering the palace, Su Xiao had encountered at least a dozen kingdom officials, all steering as far away from him as possible, whereas this elder did not shy away and even headed directly toward him, seemingly wanting to ’accidentally’ brush past him.

The elder’s attitude was dismissive, yet curiously, Su Xiao did not sense overt hostility.

Just as the elder was about to brush past Su Xiao, he deliberately bumped his shoulder against Su Xiao’s.

Snap. Su Xiao heard a crisp sound from the elder’s waist, and the elder nearly collapsed on the ground, his leg trembling.

"Why didn’t you dodge? My old bones..."

The elder murmured softly, his lips barely moving.

Undoubtedly, the elder and the Iron Hand weren’t adversaries; they needed to appear confrontational before other officials.

"Accident."

Su Xiao murmured cooperatively.

"My waist..."

The elder took a few steps ahead, turned away from Su Xiao.

"His Majesty is in the Kingdom Council Hall, hmph."

The elder deliberately raised his voice, answering Su Xiao but adding a cold grunt. His trembling hand showed his waist was badly sprained. Truly, colliding with Su Xiao, possessing True Strength of 89 and True Stamina of 87, this elder not fainting was already quite resilient.

Su Xiao recalled the information provided by Paradise and surmised the elder’s identity based on his appearance — the Kingdom Finance Officer, Rowen Havi, who held financial authority and was one of the old King’s inner circle.

Some might think the old King’s trusted aides were united, but that’s not the case; they couldn’t be overly united, needing some ’subtle conflicts,’ a healthy power dynamic.

The old King’s trusted aides wielded significant power. Were they unwaveringly united against external threats, it signaled their authority might consolidate, a situation that would certainly keep the old King awake at night.

There were four trusted aides — Kingdom Finance Officer, Rowen Havi; Hyena Heschlitt, the Kingdom Legion Commander controlling military power; Governor Joe Valentine managing most officials; and lastly, the Iron Hand.

Finance, military, official management, and necessary extreme measures — these four are indispensable, but should they unite entirely, disaster looms.