Chapter 5: The Senate
The group left the Royal Garden. Clearly, compared to the other four major factions, Su Xiao's side had basically no advantages. They had no money, no people. Their only strong point was that they could fight, and fight very well.
Based on Su Xiao's understanding, although the old divine stick often talked about the God of Light, his abilities actually had nothing to do with light. It was the purest darkness—annihilating, with a powerful suction force. Once eroded by this energy, one's life force would be drained in a short time.
The old divine stick couldn't absorb this life force. He would reinject the absorbed life force into the enemy's body, turning them into 'believers,' commonly known as walking corpses, who would fight for him until death.
This was a rather brutal ability. According to the old divine stick's description, becoming a transcendent in this world was not simple. First, one had to be born with powerful mental strength to accept the Eternal Force.
Initially, the Eternal Force would amplify emotions. If one couldn't withstand this stage, they would become a resident of Dead Silence City, entering it in a special way.
If one survived this process, the nature of the Eternal Force would change. As for what ability it would transform into, that depended on the user's personality.
Most abilities of the lawful faction leaned toward light, such as healing, purification, blazing sun, holy sacrifice knights, etc. Most didn't directly use light energy; so-called 'light' was a broad category.
As for the darkness opposing light, it was very difficult to categorize. There were thousands of known types. After all, people have selfish desires. Over 90% of people, after absorbing the Eternal Force, would transform toward the nature of darkness. However, this didn't mean dark-natured people were necessarily bad. But one thing was certain: light-type transcendents were definitely of the good faction or stubborn as mules. That was absolute.
Walking down the street, Su Xiao gained a general understanding of the transcendents in this world.
As they advanced toward the center of the Holy City, the surrounding buildings were noticeably taller. After about half an hour of travel, a domed building came into view. More precisely, it was a complex of buildings—the Senate had arrived.
Two guards stood at the top of the stone steps. These two were at least two and a half meters tall, with a body width exceeding one meter twenty. The full-body armor they wore was a full finger thick.
With these two standing there, commoners didn't dare approach the Senate. This was supposed to be the place for administration, appointments, and elections, open to all citizens.
But now, the front of the Senate was desolate. Commoners who wanted to enter had to pay exorbitant fees to use the back door. Corruption didn't even bother with a fig leaf.
"Halt!"
Just as Su Xiao's group stepped onto the steps, a guard at the door bellowed, his voice full of authority.
Su Xiao and the old divine stick both looked at this soldier, saying nothing, just quietly watching him.
"Today is a day of rest..."
The iron-armored guard had just started speaking when his brain felt like it was hit by a hammer, instantly turning into a mess.
With two clangs, the two guards, each weighing at least three hundred jin, fell to the ground. Black smoke dissipated from the old divine stick's hand.
"This is a place of judgment and justice. No citizen can be barred from entering."
The old divine stick, contrary to his usual kind demeanor, had pupils that were pitch black.
"Assemble! The main gate is under attack!"
Roars came from inside the Senate. Perhaps because they had done too many bad deeds, the Senate actually had a certain number of troops stationed there.
Armor clashed. Within just over ten seconds, several hundred soldiers rushed out of the main hall. Soon, tens of thousands of soldiers would arrive.
Su Xiao and the old divine stick showed no reaction. Bubu Wang was also used to this kind of scene. But Princess Dawn, Pedeira, and her four maids were a bit panicked, clearly not having experienced such a situation.
Su Xiao looked at the old divine stick, whose expression wasn't good.
"How many people did they send to watch you?"
"..."
The old divine stick was speechless. The current situation was no coincidence. The Senate was much harder to deal with than imagined.
"How do you plan to solve this now?"
The old divine stick clearly wanted to test how Su Xiao would handle this. Although he wanted to get someone onto the throne quickly, he also didn't want to cooperate with a simple brute.
"Blow this place up."
"?"
The old divine stick looked at Su Xiao with slight surprise. Before he could speak, explosions came from inside the Senate.
Boom, boom, boom...
The destructive power of the explosions wasn't too strong, but the noise was extremely shocking. The soldiers who were about to rush out of the main hall immediately stopped. They all looked at a handsome man in golden armor.
The handsome man was momentarily dazed. He looked back at the stairs leading upstairs, then at Su Xiao and the others.
"Sir, I suggest..."
An old soldier with graying hair and one blind eye was about to speak when the handsome man waved his hand, signaling the soldiers behind him to surround Su Xiao and the others.
"Sir, this..."
"Shut up. We'll talk privately."
The handsome man shouted in a low voice. The old soldier's mouth opened and closed. In his opinion, they should immediately withdraw all soldiers and leave this matter entirely to the Senate. If they didn't make too big a scene, even if they arrested the people at the door, they could cover it up through political means afterward.
But the previous explosion was too loud. If this blew up, they would be overstepping their authority. The Senate's problems weren't theirs to solve.
Just as the several hundred soldiers surrounded Su Xiao and the others, an old man in a gray cloth robe without sleeves walked down the stairs.
"Adrian."
The gray-clad old man called out. The handsome man turned to look at the newcomer and immediately knelt on one knee.
"Lord Senator."
"Withdraw."
"Yes."
Adrian was a bit confused but led his men to retreat to the Senate's backyard, also having the two bodies at the door dragged away.
"Ken Rahan, are you here to reminisce or to cause trouble?"
The gray-clad old man slowly walked down the steps from inside the main hall. He was thin, with an aquiline nose, a clean-shaven face, and graying hair cut very short. His name was Bloomer, the most powerful senator. The Senate had 16 senators in total, and the other 15 all supported Bloomer—a miracle in itself.
"I've come to take back what doesn't belong to you."
The old divine stick stepped into the main hall, locking eyes with Bloomer.
"Do you think you're still the King's Right Hand? Based on your actions just now, I have the authority to order you killed on the spot."
Bloomer's gaze swept over the old divine stick and Su Xiao. At first glance, he judged that these two were not easy to deal with. As for Princess Dawn, Pedeira, he completely ignored her.
Bloomer stood at a height, almost looking down on the old divine stick.
The old divine stick looked at Su Xiao, seeking his opinion. After all, the explosion just now was Su Xiao's doing, which not only drove back the soldiers but also forced the Senate's power holder to show himself.
"How should I address this one?"
Su Xiao stepped forward, seemingly asking about Bloomer, but actually inquiring of the old divine stick.
"Bloomer."
The old divine stick said in a low voice.
"Oh, nice to meet you, Senator Bloomer. I am Kukulin Bai Ye. According to imperial law, you should address me as... Duke Kukulin?"
Su Xiao looked at the old divine stick again. The old divine stick nodded in confirmation, indicating Su Xiao's statement was correct.
"Duke..."
Bloomer narrowed his eyes, sizing up Su Xiao.
"Ken Rahan, according to imperial law, how should the military be convicted for attacking a duke and princess without cause?"
A metal coin flipped in Su Xiao's left hand, clinking against his metal arm guard.
"They should be sentenced to hanging."
The old divine stick immediately understood Su Xiao's intention and bowed his head respectfully to Su Xiao, deliberately showing this to Bloomer.
"And what about overstepping authority to attack a duke and princess?"
"The entire family should be exiled to the border quarries, stripped of citizenship. The perpetrator should be subjected to the casting woman punishment."
"Very good. Where is that officer named Adrian?"
"He has already fled to the Senate's backyard."
The conversation between Su Xiao and the old divine stick didn't cause much change in Bloomer's expression.
"Someone come."
Bloomer drawled. A soldier in iron-black armor quickly ran over and knelt on one knee before Bloomer. This was the Senate's guard force.
"Go bring that Mr. Adrian here. He's in trouble."
"Yes."
In less than half a minute, the guard returned, dragging a long burlap sack, leaving a trail of blood along the way.
"Sir, Adrian committed suicide out of guilt."
"Oh, then send all his close relatives to the border quarries and strip them of citizenship."
"As you command."
The iron-armored guard swung his arm, tossing the blood-soaked burlap sack in front of Su Xiao.
Bloomer's meaning was clear: the man had been handed over to them. Military power was never in the Senate's hands. What the military did had nothing to do with them.
"Everyone, would you like to stay for lunch?"
Bloomer raised his chin, turned, and walked upstairs. When his back was to Su Xiao and the others, the corners of his mouth slightly lifted. He hadn't encountered such an opponent in a long time.
The strong guards at the door earlier, including the soldiers who rushed out and Officer Adrian, were all arranged by Bloomer. He had sent people to monitor Ken Rahan years ago because he knew the other could take military power from him.
At 9:56, Ken Rahan met with Princess Dawn, Pedeira. By 10:05, Bloomer had received the news. After thinking for about ten minutes, he basically guessed Ken Rahan's purpose. So, through an old friend, he had Adrian transferred from the military district and promised him a bright future.
When Su Xiao and the others arrived at the Senate, Bloomer was still negotiating with Adrian. Adrian mistakenly believed his life was about to reach its peak—he had latched onto a super powerful backer.
Because of this, although Adrian sensed something was wrong earlier, he decided to take a gamble for that bright future. But he didn't know that no matter the outcome today, he would definitely die.
Just as Bloomer went upstairs, Su Xiao led the old divine stick out of the Senate. He was smiling, showing his white teeth.
"I failed."
The old divine stick's face darkened as he hung his head, following behind Su Xiao.
"Failed what?"
Su Xiao, still walking, turned his head to look at the old divine stick. The moment the old divine stick looked up at Su Xiao, his steps faltered. Seeing Su Xiao's smile, he actually felt a sense of dread.
"We succeeded. Barring any accidents, that old guy will hand over military power. And he'll hold his nose and let Pedeira ascend."
Su Xiao and the others walked out of the Senate.
On the third floor of the Senate, in front of a large dining table, Bloomer tucked a napkin into his collar. Just as he was about to pick up the silver fork beside him, his hand froze in midair.
A few seconds later, a sharp crashing sound came. Servants quickly ran into the room and found the dining table had been overturned, with cups and plates in disarray.
Bloomer held a silver fork in his hand, which gradually bent from the force of his grip. He had suddenly thought of something: where had the bombs from the explosion just now come from?
Bloomer quickly walked out of the dining room and headed straight for his bedroom on the fourth floor. As soon as he pushed open the bedroom door, a few pieces of rubble fell from the wall. Inside the hole in the wall was a metal cabinet that had already been opened.
"Go, immediately send someone to my residence. Now, immediately!"
What Bloomer had stored in the Senate wasn't important. Something in his home was his real weakness.