Reincarnation Paradise Park

Chapter 1196 - 11: Struggle for Power

"Zab, have you... been lying to me this whole time?"

The beautiful woman’s eyes went wide. Hearing her words, High Priest Zab froze for a moment.

"Iron Hand, whatever you want I can give you—money, women, anything."

High Priest Zab tossed the bundle from his back toward Su Xiao. With a crackling spill, gemstones and gold coins scattered across the ground.

Crack, crack...

Su Xiao stepped over the gemstones and gold coins. He did need Gold Coin right now, but what he needed was legal Gold Coin—Kingdom Gold Coin that could circulate freely without having to skulk around.

"I have a daughter, her name is Elena, she’s already thirteen. If you let me go, I’ll give her to you."

High Priest Zab’s will to live was stubborn to the point of having no bottom line at all.

"Hahaha, what the hell am I even saying? God, is this you punishing me? Punishing me for all the pig‑dog things I’ve done?"

High Priest Zab suddenly burst out laughing; his Spirit was fraying.

All of a sudden, veins bulged on High Priest Zab’s face.

"Bay Herbert, you’ll get what’s coming to you!!"

High Priest Zab roared the King’s name. He pulled a Long Dagger from his waist and wrapped an arm around his wife.

With a slick sound, the dagger pierced through the beautiful woman’s chest and into High Priest Zab’s own Body. The dagger was coated in a vicious poison.

"Anjia, forgive me."

The High Priest softly called his wife’s name.

"Mm."

The beautiful woman leaned into the High Priest’s arms.

"Even after I said such filthy things, you still forgive me. You’re the only gift God ever gave me."

The High Priest’s face was turning a sickly Qing; the poison had already kicked in.

"How could you say that, you were just too afraid. We don’t even have a daughter."

The beautiful woman’s Body gradually went limp.

"Bay Herbert, and you, Iron Hand—just wait. I’ll be in Hell eagerly watching your miserable ends. The furious Undead Spirits will tear you apart and eat you alive. And that thing hidden beneath the throne..."

Squish, squish, squish...

The sounds of hacking and chopping drowned out the High Priest’s final roar. It was the ten Guards; they swung their Longswords and hacked the High Priest and his wife straight into minced meat.

"Hm?"

Su Xiao’s eyes narrowed. Under normal procedure, the Guard were not allowed to lay hands on officials, or things got very troublesome. Even with a secret order from the Old King, it was still a political taboo.

But these ten Guards had struck anyway. The Royal guard who should have been dispatched had been replaced at the last minute with these killing‑machine Guards. That was a question worth chewing on. And what was the High Priest trying to say with his last words? What was hidden "beneath the throne"? A Curse? a Weapon?

"Beneath the throne" was murky to begin with. It could mean Royal Authority, it could mean the Royal Palace, or even some person under the King.

After dismembering the High Priest and his wife, the ten Guards quickly approached Su Xiao and dropped to one knee around him. Just now, they had overstepped their authority; Su Xiao could completely justify executing them on the spot.

"The High Priest has been personally executed by my hand."

Su Xiao spoke, and the ten Guards only lowered their heads. Could the position of Iron Hand really kill with no scruples? No. It was a highly sensitive role. Used well, it made everyone in the Royal Capital wary; used poorly, it got its holder killed. The previous Iron Hand had only held the position for twelve days. The current Iron Hand had already lasted a full two years.

Hearing Su Xiao’s words, the surrounding Guards stood up again and took position behind him.

The target list had been Cleaned up by three; only the Chief Justice · Elvi Anthony, who lived on the southern side of the Royal Capital, remained.

The Royal Capital covered a huge area; it took a full half hour before Su Xiao reached Chief Justice · Elvi’s residence.

This wasn’t a wealthy district, so the houses around were pitch‑black inside. Only the faint croaking of frogs could be heard from the edge of the capital, where there was a moat.

The cool Night wind blew past, thinning the stink of Blood on Su Xiao’s Body.

Su Xiao crouched atop a residential roof. He felt that something in the air around him was off.

"Bubu, this is Elvi Anthony’s portrait. Memorize it. In a moment you’re responsible for finding where he is. If something’s wrong, find a way to Control him."

Su Xiao took out a portrait. Bubu Wang stretched its dog head forward until it was almost pressed to the paper. A dozen seconds later it looked at Su Xiao; those big watery eyes seemed to say, "Master, are you a Devil? This is a giant panda, right?"

No wonder Bubu Wang reacted like that. The portrait had been done with a feather pen, only in Black and White; you could imagine how abstract it looked.

"Ahem, do your best to recognize him."

Su Xiao whispered. Bubu Wang let out a long sigh and began Staring at the portrait.

A few minutes later, Bubu Wang nodded, indicating it had more or less got it.

"Sure?"

"Woof~"

Bubu Wang’s voice was low. It looked calm as an old dog, but inside it was full of doubt. Who is this? Where is he? Where the hell am I supposed to find him?

"A Mu, get ready."

Su Xiao’s gaze locked onto an ancient courtyard ahead. That was Chief Justice · Elvi’s compound. The grounds were not small, but the place felt somewhat run‑down. If Su Xiao didn’t know exactly what kind of man this Chief Justice was, he might have thought the man an honest, clean official.

This Clean up absolutely could not be an Assassination; it had to be done openly and loudly, to cow all those officials in the Royal Capital who were growing restless as the struggle for power was about to begin.

"Leave no one alive."

Boom!

A Mu shot out like a Tank, smashing straight through the outer wall of the Chief Justice’s courtyard.

"Enemy attack!!"

The crash had barely sounded when a furious Roar came from the pitch‑black courtyard. Chaotic footsteps followed, and streaks of firelight flared to life.

In under ten seconds, dozens of torches lit up the yard, and ’soldiers’ with Round shields in hand charged out of the castle at the courtyard’s center.

This Chief Justice was far from simple. He knew exactly what he had done, so of course he guarded against the Old King. He chose a residence far from the Royal Palace and secretly hired dozens of mercenaries.

Breeding his own private army would have been the ideal move, but Chief Justice · Elvi wasn’t stupid. He knew the entire Royal Capital was under the Old King’s nose, so he chose a more covert method: spend a fortune to hire mercenaries and use his own office to smuggle them into the capital. That was the power of connections.

All the petty tricks Chief Justice · Elvi had been playing—the Old King had seen them all. He just hadn’t moved against Chief Justice · Elvi before, because he could still keep this vassal in check.

The Old King being able to keep him down didn’t mean the new King would. Even so, the Old King had given Chief Justice · Elvi one last chance, a chance to show his Loyalty. After all, Elvi had given his whole life to the Kingdom. Unfortunately, Elvi hadn’t taken that chance.

The ten Guards met the charging mercenaries head‑on. These mercs weren’t pushovers; they were all battle‑hardened. Holding off the Guards for a while was no problem.

Su Xiao walked through the crowd. Blade Aura flashed; two heads flew up. Moments later, he was in the center of the courtyard, in front of that somewhat shabby castle.

Bang.

Wood chips flew as Su Xiao kicked the castle’s main door apart. What met his eyes was a broad staircase. At the top stood a bald, burly man with a lizard tattooed across his scalp.

"I hear you’re the strongest warrior in the Royal Capital? I’m really curious—among the trash in the Royal Capital, just how strong can the ’strongest warrior’ be? Real warriors are all at the front. Only trash stays in the capital to enjoy life."

The bald brute loosened up his muscles and bones. His pupils were Green, but he wasn’t Undead. That left only one possibility: he was an ex–Holy Warrior who’d defected from the Kingdom. Money could make ghosts turn the millstone, let alone buy a Holy Warrior. Even the Old King was a bit envious of Chief Justice · Elvi’s fortune.

The struggle for power was this cruel. Everyone dying tonight was a loser in that struggle. In fact, the battle for power had already begun tonight.