# Chapter 7: The Holy Court
Su Xiao ignored the notification from Apocalypse Paradise. Even if battle angels really came to hunt him down, it would be a fight to the death at worst. Su Xiao had never feared battle.
"I want fifty percent. After expenses, you get twenty percent."
Su Xiao planned to let these miners continue digging. Having finally caught a group, how could he kill the goose that lays the golden eggs? That would be shortsighted.
If these miners had the opportunity to continue mining and completely empty the blue ore underground, Su Xiao would obtain at least 2,000 blue ores, each of "standard unit" weight.
Pure exploitation would only produce counterproductive results, but if both sides profited simultaneously, it became easy to accept.
"This..."
The miner helmet captain was stunned, but he only thought for 0.1 seconds before agreeing to Su Xiao's request, very sincerely.
For the miner helmet captain, not dying here was already a huge profit. Life was more precious than anything.
"Mining the veins beneath Arans City is dangerous. We need guarantees. I estimate you'll get over 2,000 blue ores!"
The miner helmet captain spoke in a deep voice. He never even considered running away after leaving. After the initial negotiation, he discovered that their enemy might be an old yinbi.
In his understanding, Reincarnation Paradise contractors were terrifying, and Reincarnation Paradise contractors who were old yinbi were even more terrifying.
Therefore, in the miner helmet captain's judgment, their chances of escaping were negligible. How terrifying a Reincarnation Paradise old yinbi could be—he'd heard of it but never seen it, which was actually the most frightening part.
"We'll contact you later. As long as you don't dig the entire city to collapse, there won't be problems."
A communicator appeared in Su Xiao's hand, and he tossed it toward the miner helmet captain.
Having done all this, Su Xiao disappeared from his spot. 0.5 seconds later.
Boom!
A circular pit appeared where he had just stood, and the surrounding ground quickly cracked.
Wispy cold air rose. Amu walked past the six contractors. In the perception of the miner helmet captain and his group, Amu was also very "safe"—their perception had been misled again.
And Amu's crimson-glowing eyes told them that this minotaur definitely killed without blinking and had no feelings.
"I'm rooting for you. Keep it up."
Bahamut landed on the miner helmet captain's shoulder, then vanished the next moment. The moment after that, Bahamut appeared above the city wall.
Bahamut was telling them they couldn't escape.
"The air... tastes sweet?"
The tall, burly Reef Mountain spoke. Though he looked strong, he was timid. Within his bear-like body was a gentle, deer-like heart. Being chosen by Apocalypse Paradise was actually his luck.
"Of course it's sweet. We might already be poisoned, but... Reincarnation Paradise people aren't completely unreasonable after all. They left us twenty percent profit."
"Should we do it?"
"Do we have a choice?"
"With such a large blue ore vein, even just twenty percent net profit is a huge score. Let's do it!"
The miner helmet captain pressed his hand to his chest. Even now, his heart was still racing.
...
Inside Arans City, it was already 3:30 AM. In the height of summer at this hour, the sky was beginning to lighten.
Su Xiao found an inn in the city and knocked for a while before someone opened the door.
He rented a room, sat on the hardwood bed, and looked at the two azure ores pinched between his fingers. These could sell for a decent price, but Su Xiao didn't plan to sell them—he had other uses.
Tonight's events had revealed a profitable path to Su Xiao: find a group of miners, have a "friendly discussion," let the Apocalypse miners extract resources, then split the proceeds proportionally.
If he killed those six miners, getting two Scarlet Cards would be extremely lucky. But if he chose the "sustainable development" approach, it meant continuous income.
Collecting his thoughts, Su Xiao was now the Old Duke's proxy. Of course, this so-called proxy was to save the Old Duke's face. In reality, as long as the Old Duke didn't terminate their cooperation, Su Xiao was the temporary duke.
As for what to do if someone questioned his authority—did that even need asking? Have Amu beat them until they submitted. Even if it went to the Holy Court, Su Xiao's side would have the advantage.
Putting away the blue ores, Su Xiao began his daily meditation.
Time passed quickly during meditation. Before he knew it, sunlight was shining on him.
Su Xiao's eyes opened. It was 7 AM. Five minutes ago, the Old Duke's carriage had entered Arans City through the city gate.
Checking out of the inn, Su Xiao brought Bahamut and Amu and headed straight for Silver Thorn Street.
Over ten minutes later, Su Xiao stood before a fruit stall, holding an apple. He took a big crunch, the flesh crisp and tender, sweet and sour juice moistening his taste buds.
At that moment, the Old Duke's carriage slowly approached from the east side of the street. The carriage's emblem was a snake—entirely black-scaled, with a forked tail. According to this world's mythology, this was the Abyss Serpent, representing power and authority.
The carriage stopped. The door was pushed open from inside. Just as Su Xiao and Bahamut boarded, Amu squeezed in without any self-awareness.
"Wait, Amu you..."
Before Bahamut could finish, he was crushed against Su Xiao. The Old Duke opposite also leaned back as far as possible, his wrinkled old face twitching.
Crack~
The carriage emitted a sharp sound. The three rhino-horses pulling it let out helpless whinnies before stepping forward with heavy strides.
Bubu Wang, lying on the carriage roof, breathed a sigh of relief. At least he had the foresight.
The carriage moved along the street, the wheel axles groaning. Passersby couldn't help but stare. If this weren't a duke's carriage, it would have been stopped by the militia for inspection long ago.
Nearly an hour later, the carriage stopped. Somewhat innocent Amu was the first to climb out, met by dozens of sharp gazes—imperial soldiers in full armor holding long weapons.
After Su Xiao descended from the carriage, he found they had arrived on a path within a large courtyard. The path had pools on both sides surrounded by trees. At the end of the path stood a very magnificent building.
"How long has it been since I came here?"
The Old Duke stretched his slightly sore back, looking at the magnificent building. This was the Holy Court, the center of power in the Sera Empire.
Following the path, Su Xiao arrived before the main gate of the Holy Court.
"Halt."
Two long weapons crossed in front of Su Xiao. The Old Duke waved his hand, and the soldiers on both sides returned their weapons to vertical, expressions stern.
"Leave those two here. We go in."
The Old Duke walked toward the main gate of the Holy Court. Su Xiao had Amu and Bahamut stay at the gate, while Bubu Wang, merged with the environment, followed.
Entering the Holy Court, what met the eye was a great hall. The Holy Court had only one floor, divided into inner and outer parts. The outer hall was where the Holy Blood King received mid-to-high-ranking imperial officials, while the inner hall was where the five dukes and the old Holy King made final decisions.
Inside the outer hall was a very long conference table. Su Xiao suspected that if the Holy Blood King sitting at the head didn't speak loudly enough, officials sitting at the far end of the table wouldn't be able to hear what he said at all and would have to guess by lip movements.
Arans City was like this—many nobles. Here, a thousand-man commander wasn't worth a damn.
Su Xiao walked past the throne, entered a short corridor, and arrived at the inner hall. This place was even more magnificent. A metal round table stood at the center, with only six seats.
On the back of the throne at the head was an engraved crown. The other five seats had engravings of: Forked-Tail Serpent, Furious Lion, Forest, Moon Wolf, and Single-Eye Vertical Pupil.
"Early."
The Old Duke sat on the seat with the Forked-Tail Serpent engraving. He pointed to the Single-Eye Vertical Pupil seat beside him, indicating Su Xiao needn't be polite.
"White Dragon Duke won't come?"
"Kemilen won't come. Three hundred years old, and still obsessed with women."
The Old Duke snorted coldly, clearly having old grievances with White Dragon Duke Kemilen.
Just as Su Xiao sat down, a middle-aged man entered the inner hall. He had the lazy charm of a mature man, wearing loose white clothes that looked like pajamas in this world.
"Your Majesty, you've arrived."
The Old Duke lowered his head. The newcomer was none other than the Holy Blood King. He didn't have a strong aura, looking as if he hadn't woken up. He yawned, his silver-gray hair very glossy.
The Holy Blood King ignored the Old Duke. He sat in the head seat, propped one arm on the armrest, made a fist to support his cheek, and within half a minute at most, fell asleep.
The mission target was just a few meters away. In this situation, Su Xiao naturally wouldn't attack.
Confirming the Holy Blood King was asleep, the Old Duke began chatting quietly with Su Xiao.
"Kukulin, this morning I heard from my people that a section of the southern city wall collapsed."
"Oh? Is that so."
"Lilin used that matter to frame me. After you take my position, the first thing you need to do is resolve this, or Lilin won't let it go."
The Old Duke's expression was somewhat displeased. As for why the wall collapsed, Su Xiao naturally knew—the miners had dug it.
"Among the other four dukes, who is your ally?"
"This... our relationships are all pretty good."
The Old Duke smiled awkwardly but with dignity. His implication was that except for not being hostile to the Holy Blood King, the other four dukes were all enemies.
"They won't unite..."
Su Xiao slightly furrowed his brow, sensing trouble.
"Don't worry. They've been united for over fifty years, yet I'm still sitting here. It's all yours now."
The Old Duke's wrinkled face bloomed like a chrysanthemum. Su Xiao turned to look at him. This old bastard had offended all high-ranking powerholders except the Holy Blood King.
"What did you do?"
Su Xiao's words seemed to stimulate the Old Duke, who showed slight "indignation."
"Those four bastards. I just married my excellent offspring into their families. Is calling me 'Grandfather' that difficult?!"
The Old Duke wasn't just making the other dukes call him "Grandfather"—it was the even more severe "Grandfather." That he hadn't been beaten down and surrounded by the other four dukes might be because they had some gentlemanly grace.
Though it sounded funny, this old bastard's ambitions were considerable.
"..."
Su Xiao stopped speaking. The Old Duke was all smiles, rolling his two wives' hands in his own.