The tired Lei Xiao, along with Ariel, Lin and other main subordinates, had just sat down and rested for a while in the castle hall. News came one after another to the subordinates who were monitoring all over Lion Heart City.
"To report to the lord, Han Shui was suddenly found near the dungeon of the Guards. He is walking towards the dungeon with his cronies and guards. It seems that he is going to be a bait to interrogate us!"
"To inform you, Lord, Han Shui has been found in the Patriarch's Castle at the core of the inner city. He is standing on the open-air balcony of the Patriarch's Castle and rings the giant bell of the Shangluc Family. That is a signal to assemble the members of the Shangluc Family!"
"I am reporting to the Lord that Han Shui's whereabouts have been discovered at the Guards' station. He has already mobilized his troops and led a large number of soldiers towards this hidden castle!"
After the three reports, Lei Xiao received three more messages one after another.
First, all the outer gates of Lion Heart City were closed one after another, the thick gates were lowered, the suspension bridge of the moat was raised, and the city walls were filled with fully armed guards soldiers and the reserve army of the Phytococcus family.
Second, all the inner city gates of Lion Heart City are also closed, and even the airport not far away has stopped taking off and landing.
Third, all neighborhoods in Lionheart City were quickly put under martial law. Except for the patrolling Guardsmen, not even a fly could be seen on the streets.
This undoubtedly means that the main city of the Shanglu family is already in a state of war.
Since Lei Xiao turned on his voice broadcast, the subordinates present, as well as the three elders Keen, Ivan, and Bazel, also heard the latest news.
As for the other three elders, together with some of the main subordinates, they continued to secretly monitor the target Han Shui who appeared in three locations at the same time.
"Han Shui moves so fast."
Ariel frowned, her fair face full of solemn expression: "When did this guy come back? It was so quiet."
"This is not surprising. For Han Shui, Lion Heart City is like his own castle. It is naturally easy to return to the castle from the outside without being discovered."
Lei Xiao nodded slightly, looking as if he was expecting it.
Although Lei Xiao has deployed the elite subordinates of the Shunyan Squadron inside and outside all entrances and exits of Lion Heart City, judging from the current situation, Han Shui has obviously bypassed our eyes.
"Your Excellency, Guest Minister, Han Shui appeared in three places at the same time. He must have used some kind of deception in an attempt to distract our attention and combat power. What should we do next?"
Old Keen and the other two neutral elders looked at each other. After seeing a look of solemnity in each other's old eyes, they continued in a deep voice: "According to my guess, these three cold waters that appeared at the same time are probably all
The substitute, the real Han Shui has arrived at the family master’s castle and is secretly controlling everything.”
"I think so too."
Ai Wen gently stroked his gray beard and frowned: "This guy is extremely cautious and cunning. This undoubtedly shows that Han Shui has been keenly aware of His Excellency Ke Qing's plan."
After hearing the words of the two elders, the subordinates couldn't help but frowned.
The opponent appeared from three locations at the same time, which really made people a little anxious.
"Don't be nervous, everyone. Although this matter seems difficult to deal with, as long as you analyze Han Shui's motives for doing this one by one, the matter will be very simple."
Lei Xiao smiled faintly and began to express his opinions.
"First of all, the first place where Han Shui appears is in the dungeon. It must be to confirm our "bait". These two "baits" are insignificant to us, so there is no need to distract in this direction."
Lei Xiao walked slowly in front of everyone, but his speaking speed became faster and faster.
"Secondly, the second place where Han Shui appeared was the family master's castle, and he was summoning all the remaining members of the Shangluc family. The purpose is actually very simple."
"That is to declare me and Your Highness Ariel as public enemies of the Phytolacca family, in an attempt to pre-emptively launch the pursuit of all family members."
"After all, in addition to the dog legs who are completely loyal to Han Shui, there are also quite a few members of the Phytolacca family who are relatively neutral. They are just following orders and are not our real enemies."
Lei Xiao's face was calm and he continued to express his opinions.
"It is conceivable that if we resist and conflict with these neutral members of the Phytolacca family, our hatred will definitely deepen and we will completely stand on the opposite side of the entire Phytolacca family."
"At that time, even if Han Shui succeeds in dethroning Han Shui as the head of the family, it will be difficult for Lin, who is supported by us, to gain the recognition of other family members."
"In other words, except for Han Shui's loyal doglegs, we must avoid a head-on collision with these neutral Phytolacca family members. Instead, we should use our tricks to win over this part of the force."
After hearing what Lei Xiao said, Keen and the other three elders and subordinates all nodded thoughtfully and expressed their agreement.
"The most important thing is that this coincides with the second step of the plan we have discussed long ago. In addition, as Elder Keen said, Han Shui must be hiding in the master's castle."
Lei Xiao raised his eyebrows and concluded: "So, this is the direction where we will focus and deploy most of our combat power."
"What Your Excellency Ke Qing said is absolutely true. The supporters of the six people including me and Gale and other side members can't compete with Hanshui's doglegs at all. Only by winning over the neutral family members can we occupy the territory.
The family has the absolute right to speak."
The wrinkled gray eyebrows on Keen's old face relaxed a little, and he muttered: "In this way, combined with the majority of votes from the Presbyterian Council in our hands, we can completely secure Linnizi's position as the head of the Shanglu family."
"But Your Excellency, Guest Minister, there is still a key issue that has not been resolved."
Keen's gray eyebrows knitted together again, and his old face was full of nervousness as he said: "That is the last of the three clones of Han Shui. He is leading the army to this hidden castle. How should we deal with it?"
As the chief elder of the Phytolacca family, Keen clearly understands.
Since Han Shui's clone personally led the troops here, it undoubtedly means that he has doubts about yesterday's explosion in the castle and the lives and deaths of his four people.
After all, the other side's soldiers had been under the shroud of illusions and had not found any corpses.
In this case, as long as the other party arrives here, the illusion of the castle will be broken immediately, and by then, the lives of myself and the family members will definitely be in danger.
"Elder Keen, please rest assured, this is exactly what I need to deploy next."
Lei Xiao smiled faintly, but his tone was still calm: "The solution is actually very simple, as long as Hanshui's doglegs are not allowed to invade this castle."
"I will deploy heavy troops in this castle and leave some of the main strong men behind, which will be enough to easily resist the siege of a legion-level enemy force."
After finishing speaking, Lei Xiao nodded towards Xiao Zhao, who transformed into a human female knight.
As a small summoner of the God Stone Elf, his exclusive skill is to summon a legion of Loren heavy cavalry. Although other types of troops can also be summoned, the exclusive skill is far more powerful and durable.
Therefore, as long as 10,000 heavy cavalry dismount and fight with bows, plus some of the main strong men and the half-elf Mia, it will be more than enough to defend the castle in a short period of time.
After hearing Lei Xiao's words, Old Keen felt relieved and said with a grateful look on his face: "I'll leave it all to you, Your Excellency."
Lei Xiao nodded slightly and nodded to signal Xiao Zhao, as well as Randall, Gals, Lina, Chao Yan, Bai Wei and other main subordinates to follow Old Keen for deployment.
Lei Xiao clearly understood that this castle hidden by illusions was where the family records of Old Keen and others were located.
Only by making this place impregnable can these four elders be grateful and serve us wholeheartedly.
At the same time, after attracting part of the opponent's strength and attention here, he can better confront Han Shui in the owner's castle.
After Keen and others left, Lei Xiao's eyes moved and fell on the two neutral elders, Alvin and Bazel.
Lei Xiao smiled faintly, nodded and said, "You two, since Han Shui has summoned all the family members, you two cannot be absent. Let's go to the head of the family's castle to have a look."
"To be honest with you two, you are extremely important to me and Her Royal Highness the Princess, so I leave everything to you."
After a pause, Lei Xiao added solemnly: "Of course, the country-level equipment afterwards will also be indispensable."
"Your Excellency and Your Highness the Princess, please rest assured. We will do our best!"
Alvin and Bazel nodded heavily and said in unison.
These two neutral elders naturally understood clearly in their hearts.
Just like what I thought before, since Han Shui has taken action against Keen and others without hesitation, it will be their turn next.
After all, they have repeatedly jumped between the two over the years and grabbed a lot of interests that originally belonged to Han Shui's group. I am afraid that they have already aroused Han Shui's murderous intention.
Moreover, they not only took away Lei Xiao's meeting gift, but also received the promise of national-level equipment.
With the blessing of such multiple factors, the two of them had already devoted themselves to serving Lei Xiao.
After that, Lei Xiao took Ariel, Jiang Li, Hu Zhan and other main powerhouses, and under the guidance of Alvin and Bazel, they came to the center of the inner city, the outskirts of the family master's castle.
Since this place is protected by a high-level detection barrier, in order to avoid alerting the enemy, Lei Xiao has not directly entered the interior of the master's castle for the time being.
Instead, he and his subordinates hid in a few big trees not far away, where they could have a panoramic view of the main gate of the master's castle and the garden in front.
Under the bright sunshine, Lei Xiao looked past the dense surrounding leaves and noticed further.
I saw that the door of the master's castle had been opened, and many nobles and powerful men in robes or armor were gathering towards the door.
Although these nobles are both male and female, and of varying ages, they all share a common feature, that is, they all have the stag coat of arms of the Shangluc family engraved on their chests, and they all have a touch of emblem on their faces.
The indifference and arrogance unique to aristocrats.
"After six hundred years of reproduction, the merchant family in the interior of the Cold Flame Kingdom has flourished. Except for the fact that the head of the family holds the title of the only three Grand Dukes in the Cold Flame Kingdom, any one of them may be a marquis or a marquis.
Earl, when I saw it today, it turned out to be true."
Lei Xiao looked at the titles engraved on the emblems of these merchant family members and nodded thoughtfully.
I have to say that except for the auction in Fanyin City, I have never seen so many nobles gathered together, and these were just the members of the Shanglu family who stayed behind.
"Lord, among these remaining members, in addition to Han Shui's supporters and neutral members, there are also quite a few collateral members. These members often carry out the heaviest work in Lion Heart City. As long as the Lord raises his arms,
Coupled with Uncle Gale's prestige, it will not be difficult to gain their support."
Laisili came close to Lei Xiao's ear and introduced softly: "Of course, my subordinates' friends, as well as my grandfather and other elders' subordinates will also support the lord."
Since Laisili is the leader of the younger generation of the Shanglu family and a well-known eldest lady in the clan, she does have many playmates in the clan, including quite a few suitors.
"These are really reassuring words."
Lei Xiao smiled faintly at Laisili and said softly: "Okay, let's see how that guy Han Shui mobilizes all his power and prepares to hunt us down."
As soon as Lei Xiao finished speaking, hundreds of main members of the Shangluc family had already lined up in the courtyard of the lord's castle, waiting for Han Shui's speech.
Not long after, Lei Xiao could see a tall, middle-aged man wearing a pale gold and milky white knight's casual clothes and a red velvet coat appearing on the open-air balcony of the castle deep in the garden.
"Is this cold water? It's better to see it than to hear it a hundred times."
Lei Xiao narrowed his eyes, looked at the other person's indifferent face that showed no emotion or anger, and nodded thoughtfully.
According to Gale, Lin's father was the most talented person among the collateral members of the Phytolacca family for hundreds of years.
Lin's mother, on the other hand, came from a down-and-out aristocratic family and was extremely talented. When they were just thirty years old, they both broke through their shackles and reached the enviable fourth level.
Several years have passed, and Lin's father's strength has soared, even approaching Han Shui, who had just ascended to the throne of the family head at that time, and was very popular in the clan.
This is naturally open-minded on the surface, but in fact the dark cold water in the heart does not allow it, and the final result is self-evident.
In order to get rid of the two of them, Han Shui used his authority as the head of the family to directly send the two of them to the most intense and dangerous southern border battlefield at the time.
Moreover, he bribed the eldest elder of the Yorkman family who was in charge of the southern border battlefield at that time. In a battle where the enemy was outnumbered, he was reluctant to send troops to support. In the end, Lin's parents were isolated and helpless by the enemy's help, and both of them died there.
On the battlefield, not even the bones were found.
At that time, Lin had just learned how to play soy sauce, and knew nothing about what happened to her parents, let alone that her parents who had always cared for her had passed away forever, and she had become an orphan with no one to love her.
Thinking of this, Lei Xiao shook his head helplessly.
In Lei Xiao's mind, there was already a lonely scene of a little figure with a ponytail sitting alone on the steps of his house day after day, year after year, waiting eagerly for his parents to come back.
"These were later discovered by Lin's father's friend, Gale, who secretly went to the southern border area to investigate."
"But even if he knows this, so what, facing the deep-rooted cold water, Gale still can't do anything."
"Even to this day, Gale has not told Lin all this, so Lin only knows that her parents died heroically on the border battlefield."
Thinking of this in his mind, Lei Xiao sighed softly and continued to stare at Han Shui's expressionless face.
