Dragonblood: Book 2 of the Coiling Dragon Saga

by Wo Chi Xi Hong Shi

  Jenne nodded as well.

  The two siblings knew very well that they couldn’t allow Madame Wade to continue to act as she pleased.

  “Young miss, young master. The senior madame has been in charge of Cerre City for quite a long time. The city guards as well as the castle guards all obey her orders. The senior madame’s prestige is at a very high level. If young master Keane is unable to become the governor, it really will be very hard for us to fight against her. After all… there are too few people here who whole-heartedly support us.” Lambert was very resigned.

  Jenne, Keane, and Lambert were all silent.

  Within Cerre, there were very few people who supported them. Perhaps even if there were people who supported them, they wouldn’t dare to do so openly. In the prefectural city of Cerre, Madame Wade was like a local tyrant.

  “Whoosh.”

  A wind began to blow.

  “Who is it?!” The two gate guards cautiously raised their heads, and saw a man dressed in a black warrior’s outfit and wearing a black heavy sword on his back descend from the air.

  “Me.” Linley looked backwards at the guards.

  Instantly, the two guards no longer dared to speak. They had heard of how powerful Linley was. At these guards' level of power, they couldn’t even dream of stopping Linley.

  “Big brother Ley.” Jenne and Keane stood up.

  Linley turned to look at them.

  Summer was just starting, and the temperatures at night were still fairly high. Keane and Jenne were only dressed in simple sleepwear, and their hair was all mussed.

  “Big brother Ley, what exactly is going on outside? Why is it so noisy?” Keane looked at Linley and asked.

  Linley said casually, “Madame Wade led a group of city guards to Holmer’s clan manor and launched a search and seizure operation. Tell me, how could it not be noisy?”

  “Search and seizure?” Jenne and Keane were stunned.

  “Holmer’s clan?” Lambert was greatly shocked as well.

  Linley casually sat down on another end of the long bench. Laughing, he said, “Just wait and rest here for a bit. Very soon, you’ll hear some good news.”

  “Good news? Can it be that she intends to give us the money she’s seized from that bastard?” Keane cursed quietly.

  “BOOM!”

  Right at this moment, a thunderous explosion could be heard from the east. The explosive sound was so noisy, it sounded like several dozen thunderbolts going off at once. This explosion probably woke up at least half of the residents of Cerre City.

  “What was that?” Jenne, Keane, and Lambert jumped to their feet in shock.

  The nearby guards, as well as the castle servants and female attendants all stared eastwards as well, and as they did, they saw that blazing flames were rising into the sky from the east.

  “How could there be such a large inferno? And where did that explosion come from?” Linley looked questioningly towards the east as well.

  All of the people in the castle were mystified. They all waited quietly for the city guards to return, as well as Madame Wade. Perhaps they would know what was causing that huge inferno in the east, or that massive explosion.

  After a while…

  A chorus of hoof steps could be heard outside the castle, followed by countless shouts. Immediately following these shouts were a series of frantic knocking sounds from the gate that came as quickly as rain drops in a storm.

  “Bam!” “Bam!” “Bam!” “Bam!”

  The knocking sounds were frantic and ringing.

  “Open the door, quick!” Angry roars could be heard from outside the castle gates.

  The two gate guards didn’t dare to hesitate. They immediately opened the castle gates, as Linley, Lambert, Jenne, and Keane watched.

  Once the castle doors were opened, they saw that in front of the castle were a large number of knights as well as heroic warriors. Their leader was a golden-haired man who was wielding a spear.

  “Out of my way!” the golden-haired man roared to the two gate guards.

  But upon seeing Keane and Jenne, the golden-haired man started, then immediately said with respect, “Deputy Commander Ritter of the city guards pays his respect to Miss Jenne and young master Keane.”

  Deputy Commander Ritter could be considered the second highest ranking person in the city guard. Not too long ago, he had participated in that welcoming banquet. Naturally, he recognized Jenne and Keane.

  “Mr. Ritter. What happened, to cause all of you to be so frantic?” Keane spoke.

  Ritter immediately fell to one knee. He painfully said, “Young master Keane. Forgive me for being useless in my protective responsibilities. Madame Wade and her two brothers died in the explosion just now.”

  “Oh… ah!?”

  Keane’s eyes immediately bulged out, and Jenne and Lambert were greatly shocked as well. Disbelief painted the faces of all of the nearby guards as well.

  Madame Wade had died.

  Just as Keane and Jenne were worrying about her, Madame Wade and her two brothers had suddenly both died. Her death only filled the hearts of Jenne and Keane with joy.

  Jenne and Keane glanced at each other, their eyes filled with wild joy.

  “What exactly happened? Explain clearly.” Keane adopted the attitude and posture of a superior lecturing a subordinate.

  The golden-haired Ritter immediately replied, “Your subordinate led several hundred members of the city guard, under the command of the Madame Countess, to launch a search and seizure operation of Holmer’s manor.”

  “After we finished the search and seizure operation, Madame Countess ordered that all the treasures of the Holmer clan be placed within the main hall, then ordered all of us soldiers to leave, leaving behind just her and her two brothers in that hall.”

  Hearing this, Keane couldn’t help but quietly curse, “That bitch really is shameless.”

  Ritter continued, “We were stationed outside capturing the escaping members of the Holmer clan, but who would’ve thought that suddenly, the Holmer clan’s manor would catch fire. As soon as it did, everyone charged in to rescue the Madame Countess.

  “But we hadn’t even made our way inside before we heard that terrifying explosion. Half of the building suddenly blew up and was destroyed.”

  Ritter said painfully, “By the time we reached Madame Countess and the other two, we found only their bodies, which had already been blown apart by the blast. All three of them were dead.”

  “Fine. Order people to bring my aunt’s corpse here, then go back and rest,” Keane directly ordered.

  “Yes sir.” Ritter immediately issued the order.

  Everyone all understood that with Madame Wade’s death, all of the authority in the prefectural city of Cerre now rested with this fourteen-year-old boy.

  Everyone watched as Ritter’s men brought the charred, blasted remnants of the corpses inside.

  Only now did Keane and Jenne totally believe… that it wasn’t just a dream. That detestable Madame Wade had truly died. From this day forward, their lives would no longer be lived in fear.

  “Big brother Ley.” Jenne suddenly came to her senses. She turned to look at Linley. “Thank you.”

  Lambert only now understood as well. Looking at Linley, he said with gratitude, “Mr. Ley, the good news you wanted us to hear truly was excellent news. It was the best type of news, the news that we’ve been saved.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  Keane was flabbergasted. “What do you mean by mumbling about good news and excellent news? OH!!!”

  Finally, Keane understood as well.

  “Big brother Ley, just now, you came in from outside the castle?” Keane asked quietly.

  “Yep.” Linley nodded.

  “Then you…” A hint of a smile was on Keane’s face.

  Linley begun to chuckle as well. “Seeing how nervous and restless you all were, I helped you address the root of your troubles. Alright, time to go to bed and have a good sl
eep, so you’ll have the energy to take over the governance of this prefectural city.”

  As he spoke, Linley turned and headed towards his own residence.

  Lambert, Jenne, and Keane all were amazed. Staring at each other with shock and joy, they really wanted to scream with happiness. But of course, Madame Wade’s corpse was right next to them. It wouldn’t be appropriate for them to celebrate like that.

  “Boss. It’s done?” Bebe was lying on the ground, his eyelids drooped sleepily.

  Linley chuckled. “Yep. All done.”

  To the current Linley, someone like Madame Wade wasn’t even qualified to be considered an ‘opponent’. Those small schemes that Madame Wade could come up with were nothing more than jokes to Linley.

  Try whatever tricks you want. I’ll just straight up kill you and resolve the issue once and for all.

  “Why was there an explosion?” Bebe asked curiously.

  “How should I know?” Linley shook his head. “All I did was kill Madame Wade and her two brothers, then use some fire magic to set the manor on fire. Afterwards… I just rushed back alone. Who would’ve expected that as soon as I returned to the manor, there would be such an explosion?”

  What Linley didn’t realize was that one of Holmer’s experimental laboratories was located in that building. Many strange and bizarre chemicals and experimental materials were stored in that room. When Linley set fire to that building, he also unknowingly set ablaze some special materials, resulting in that massive explosion.

  “You don’t know?” Bebe was startled. “Oh. Then let’s go to bed.”

  “Yep. Bedtime.”

  Linley casually climbed into his bed, then went to sleep.

  Madame Wade and her brothers had suddenly died, just like that, in one night. This news shook the prefectural city of Cerre like an earthquake. And, to Jenne and Keane, this joyous news made them so happy that they couldn’t sleep at all.

  But to Linley, it was nothing more than a trifling matter.

  Right now, the Holmer clan’s manor continued to blaze merrily into the night. Many of the local city guards were frantically trying to put out the fire…

  110

  Gift

  The prefectural city of Cerre administrated around ten or so other cities, as well as a large number of villages and farmers. The total population it controlled was in the millions. It would be fair to say that the prefectural city of Cerre could be considered as equivalent to a duchy.

  And the city governor of the prefectural city of Cerre could be considered equivalent to the Grand Duke of a duchy!

  “About to become the city governor of a prefectural city at just fourteen years of age. This really makes one feel envious.” In many of the hotels in Cerre, countless people were discussing this event.

  Madame Wade and her brothers had suddenly died in that massive fire. This caused the somewhat complicated lines of power in Cerre to suddenly grow distinct and clear.

  There was no longer any question.

  Keane, who possessed the blood of the Jacques clan, would definitely assume the position of governor of the prefectural city of Cerre.

  “That Madame Wade went in the middle of the night to ransack someone’s home, but she didn’t expect that she would lose her life as a result. What a farce.” a red-bearded old man laughed loudly as he grabbed a large flagon of wine.

  “Heard she was burnt to death,” another nearby person said.

  “How could she have been burnt to death? There were so many city guards around her. If she really was just burned by fire, the Madame Countess definitely would’ve been able to escape.” A skinny man suddenly lowered his voice. “Let me tell you a secret. Madame Countess and her brothers were first killed, and then their corpses were burnt by the fire.”

  All the people nearby immediately turned to stare at him.

  “This is the truth,” the skinny man said confidently.

  “All of you are full of crap.” A burly man laughed coldly. “I’m an actual damn city guard, and I was there that night. Do you know more, or do I know more?”

  That skinny man immediately laughed awkwardly. “Friend, I’m just kidding.”

  “Madame Countess and her two brothers weren’t killed by fire. They probably died due to the blast.” The burly man said what he believed to be the truth. “Burnt to death? Wouldn’t they call for help? But the brothers in our squad didn’t hear a single cry for help the entire time. What most likely happened was that the sudden explosion instantly blew them apart, so they didn’t have any chance to cry for help.”

  All the people nearby nodded, including the skinny man.

  This explanation was a very logical one.

  “Forget about Madame Wade. Right now, the city governors of Cerre are that pair of siblings,” the burly man took a deep drink of liquor, then spoke loudly.

  Indeed. Right now, the center of attention in the prefectural city of Cerre was that pair of previously unremarkable countryside-raised siblings, Jenne and Keane.

  Within the castle of the prefectural city.

  “Why are there so many?” Flipping through the list of gifts in front of him, Keane also looked at the gift-filled room. He couldn’t help but be stunned.

  After Madame Wade’s death, all of the nobles of the city immediately wished to draw closer to Keane now. They gave him gifts, they gave him beautiful women, they gave him powerful guards… all of these nobles knew that given Keane’s young age, their clans would probably be under the direct control of Keane for the next century at least. Naturally, they had to have good relations with him.

  “This isn’t that much.” Lambert shook his head.

  Jenne and Keane stared at Lambert in surprise, while Linley sipped his tea at a nearby table.

  “Grandpa Lambert, this isn’t a lot?” Jenne said with surprise.

  Lambert shook his head. “Miss, young master. These gifts, all combined, are only worth a few hundred thousand gold coins. A few hundred thousand gold coins? Hrmph. Miss, young master, do you know how much the senior madame’s net worth was? I believe it was over ten million gold coins!”

  “Over ten million gold coins?” Jenne and Keane were both stunned.

  They had lived for so long in the countryside. When had they ever seen such wealth? Lambert, on the other hand, had followed their mother for many years. When he lived within the governor’s castle, he had seen many things.

  “This is very normal. After managing millions of people for so many years, given the senior madame’s avaricious nature, it would be strange if she didn’t have ten million gold coins. Unfortunately, we’ve still yet to find where she hid her magicrystal card. Even if we found it… most likely, that magicrystal card was linked to the senior madame’s fingerprints. We wouldn’t be able to withdraw the money.” Lambert shook his head helplessly.

  The rules that the Golden Bank of the Four Empires had set were all to the advantage of the Golden Bank of the Four Empires.

  Once a magicrystal card had been imprinted with a fingerprint, only the owner of that fingerprint could access the contents. Even if others acquired the magicrystal card, it would be of no use to them.

  Of course…

  The owner of the magicrystal card could go to a physical branch and transfer their wealth to someone else.

  But if that person were to suddenly die without initiating a transfer of funds, then the assets would be claimed in its entirety by the Golden Bank of the Four Empires. In truth, the Golden Bank of the Four Empires had no choice but to do this.

  The amount of gold coins stored in magicrystal cards in the world was actually ten times greater than the amount of gold coins the Golden Bank physically possessed.

  But how often would extremely wealthy people, who were in possession of at least a hundred million gold coins, actually go to the bank and physically withdraw a hundred million gold coins? Even if they managed to withdraw it, physically moving the money back would be a problem. This was one of the reasons why the Golden Bank o
f the Four Empires dared to issue so many magicrystal cards. At the same time, the bank didn’t dare to indiscriminately issue them either, because the bank was jointly run by all four empires. And behind the empires was the War God O’Brien, as well as the longest living human expert, the High Priest. No one dared to act too rashly.

  “Ten million gold coins, disappeared, just like that,” Keane said painfully.

  He really agonized for the loss of such a sum of money.

  “Young master. Being a city governor isn’t just about collecting money. You have to pay for the salaries of the city guards, to renovate the city, and so on. There are multiple expenses,” Lambert added.

  Keane started.

  “Whaaaa? Being a city governor costs money?” Keane had no idea about this.

  “That is why I said these few hundred thousand gold coins don’t mean much. Fortunately, the prefectural city does have its own treasury, which should have a fair amount of money inside,” Lambert said.

  Keane rubbed his head. “Ah. It seems as though being city governor is quite complicated and quite burdensome.”

  “Sis.” Keane looked hopefully at Jenne. “You have to help me out.”

  Jenne nodded honestly. “Keane, I’ll definitely do my best to help.” But this simple nod of the head was the beginning to a painful, painful life for Jenne.

  Right now, neither Keane nor Jenne nor Lambert knew that while they were worrying over money, the tea-drinking Linley was in possession of an astonishing fortune that had been built up by a royal clan over thousands of years. Most likely, even their clan, the Jacques clan which had managed the Northwest Administrative Province for a thousand years, couldn’t match Linley for wealth.

  After all, no matter how money-grubbing they were, they couldn’t out-compete the royal clan of a kingdom.

  “Jenne, Keane,” Linley suddenly spoke. “You guys can stay here. I need to go train.”

  Jenne and Keane both looked at Linley. Keane chortled, “Big brother Ley, don’t spend too much time training tonight. You have to remember to come for dinner. Tonight… my sister is going to personally cook.”