Chapter 22: "Top-Tier Chess Player"
Picking up the artificial biological core on the ground, Su Xiao discovered the unique aspect of the Black King World. Since this wasn't a world under Reincarnation Paradise, the drop rate for treasure chests here was very low.
This didn't mean the rewards in this world were small. For example, in the current situation, although Su Xiao didn't obtain a treasure chest, he directly received a finished product as a reward.
At least up to now, Su Xiao hadn't seen a single treasure chest. Of course, whether killing enemies would yield chest rewards was still uncertain. With good luck, it wasn't impossible to get one.
Su Xiao looked toward the Holy City. It wasn't too far from here, and the sounds of the previous battle should have already alerted the city guard.
With Bubu Wang leading the way, Su Xiao headed toward the Holy City. They hadn't gone far before Bubu Wang encountered the Holy City guard force head-on.
By the time the sky was faintly brightening, Su Xiao had returned to the Right Imperial Castle. From tonight's events, it was clear that his enemies were no pushovers.
Su Xiao didn't yet know who had sent the assassins after him. As for investigating each person to find the traitor, that was the dumbest approach. If he did that, Old Shengun, Wufu, and the others would quickly fall out with him, making the loss outweigh the gain.
For now, Bubu Wang had already returned to the Right Imperial Estate. As long as that traitor dared to act again, there was a decent chance Bubu Wang would discover them.
Moreover, Su Xiao's subsequent actions would be more covert. Silver Feather Duke and Bloomer had already been dealt with. As for the Little Duke and Princess Sayeto, Su Xiao wouldn't touch them for now.
Su Xiao had never forgotten his purpose in coming to this world: find the violator, complete the main mission, and reach Dead Silence City.
Completing the main mission didn't necessarily require killing the Little Duke and the Princess. That was the situation during the first phase of the main mission. In the second phase, Su Xiao only needed to obtain the World Core.
The reason he chose to eliminate Bloomer was entirely because that guy was too active, repeatedly sending assassins after Su Xiao, which had already disrupted his plans.
Now, he just had to wait for Bubu Wang to recover its state. Then it could try to steal the World Core from the royal palace. Once successful, Su Xiao could use the World Core as bait to lure out the violator, shifting from passive to active.
As for entering Dead Silence City, it wasn't like Old Shengun said—that he had to sit on the throne. In this matter, Old Shengun clearly had his own selfish motives.
Su Xiao could have forcibly broken into Dead Silence City through that black rust door earlier, but since the main mission and the violator issue weren't resolved yet, he couldn't do that.
...
At 2 PM, inside the Imperial Parliament Hall.
Thump, thump, thump...
Su Xiao's fingers lightly tapped the conference table. Across from him sat Princess Sayeto and the Little Duke. This meeting had been called by the Little Duke.
Sayeto across the way kept staring at Su Xiao, her red pupils betraying no hint of what she was thinking. The Little Duke, on the other hand, kept his head down, fiddling with his fingers under the table.
"I..."
The Little Duke broke the silence, sneaking a glance at Su Xiao before quickly looking away.
"I'm withdrawing from the Imperial Parliament."
After saying this, the Little Duke felt a mix of loss and, more so, relief. It was like a primary school student on Friday afternoon, filled with excitement, freedom, and an indescribable joy and relaxation.
The Little Duke hadn't earned his position through personal ability. It was because of his father's remaining followers, the Finance Minister, Walkley—the empire's god of wealth.
Now, the Little Duke had given up the fight for the throne because he was afraid. The Finance Minister, Walkley, behind him, was also afraid. This loyal old official wasn't afraid of death; he was afraid the Little Duke would meet with an accident. Then he would have no face to face the old duke in the afterlife—that bold man who had shown him great kindness.
In short, the Little Duke was now terrified of Su Xiao. In just two days, Su Xiao had killed Silver Feather Duke and Bloomer—one right in front of him, the other in secret. In the Little Duke's mind, Su Xiao equaled source of terror, bad guy, super scary, big demon king.
"As a member of the royal family, you're afraid?"
Sayeto clenched her fist under the table.
"Yeah."
The Little Duke nodded without hesitation, even peeling a candy for himself to calm his nerves.
"..."
Sayeto was momentarily speechless. She had forgotten that her opponent was only nine years old. Although she didn't care about him personally, the Finance Minister behind him was a tough nut to crack.
"I'm never coming here again. You adults' world is too complicated."
The Little Duke jumped down from his seat, circled around behind Sayeto, and walked toward the exit of the Parliament Hall. He was a bit afraid to walk past Su Xiao's side.
When he stepped out of the Parliament Hall, the Little Duke squinted at the sun in the sky. He had wanted to do that for a long time, but his previous identity didn't allow such childishness.
At that moment, the Little Duke regained some of his childhood innocence. A plump woman walked by on the street, catching his attention.
The Little Duke quickly looked away, rubbing his still-sore butt. Last night, he had secretly experimented with a pretty young maid. They had just stripped and gotten into bed when, before they could proceed to the critical step, the furious Finance Minister kicked open the door, dragged the Little Duke out, and nearly beat his butt black and blue. The Little Duke had cried and promised never to do it again.
"The adult world is so scary."
The Little Duke rubbed his butt again and, under the protection of his guards, headed toward his own residence.
Inside the Parliament Hall.
Su Xiao had long anticipated this situation. This morning, the Finance Minister had approached him on his own, citing the early allocation of military funds. In reality, he had delivered over a dozen boxes of gold and silver items. The implication was clear: he supported Princess Pedeira. In return, Su Xiao couldn't touch the Little Duke, who would voluntarily give up the fight for the throne.
"Don't think you've won. If you've got the guts, kill me too."
Sayeto across the table leaned forward, her provocation unmistakable.
"Sayeto, do you have persecution paranoia?"
Su Xiao's words left Sayeto slightly puzzled. Clearly, she didn't know what persecution paranoia meant.
"You're the one with the problem, you monster."
Sayeto gritted her teeth in hatred at the sight of Su Xiao. However, she was powerless against him in terms of power.
"Royal power will never be in your hands, not since you put that thing on."
Sayeto pointed at the [Black·King's Fall Sacrifice] on Su Xiao's left arm.
"Being entangled by that thing must be unpleasant, right?"
Sayeto let out a light laugh, stood up, and walked out of the hall. Clearly, she also knew about matters related to Dead Silence City.
"I need to hurry."
Su Xiao muttered, leaning back in his chair, completely relaxed. The process of killing Silver Feather Duke and Bloomer might have seemed easy, but in reality, he had acted without regard for consequences. The repercussions from those two sides would soon erupt, which was also the main reason other power contenders couldn't compete with him.
It wasn't that those two lacked ability; it was that Su Xiao never gave them a chance. It was like playing chess. When Su Xiao played against Silver Feather Duke, he directly moved a pawn across the river, made several twists and turns, and then took the duke's king. Before Silver Feather Duke could even say "You're cheating," he was already dead.
As for "playing chess" with Bloomer, Su Xiao picked up his own king and directly slammed it onto Bloomer's forehead, smashing him to death on the chessboard. Bloomer's last thought must have been, "Aren't we playing chess? Why are you using the pieces to hit me?"
The downside of this approach was that both men's pieces were still intact on the board, ready to come after Su Xiao for revenge at any time.
"Who said I was playing chess with you? Maybe it's checkers."
Su Xiao sent a message in the team channel and waited inside the Parliament Hall.
Meanwhile, at the very center of the Holy City, under a tall colonnade, stood soldiers clad in black armor. Their gazes were exceptionally sharp, and each exuded no weak aura. Perhaps even if all the Holy City's guard forces and frontline troops were mobilized, they couldn't breach the defense line of these black-armored soldiers. They were waiting for the new king to appear.
In front of one black-armored soldier, Bubu Wang, blending into the environment, raised a paw and waved, greeting the soldier. But the black-armored soldier couldn't see Bubu Wang at all.
"Woof?"
Bubu Wang tried again. That black-armored soldier still had no reaction, which put Bubu Wang at ease. The great infiltration operation of the royal palace was officially beginning!
When it came to infiltration, Bubu Wang was quite confident. However, neither Su Xiao nor Bubu Wang knew one thing yet: the royal palace of the Holy City was actually no less dangerous than Dead Silence City.