148. Assassination 1

The masterminds behind the forty-two commercial alliances had been summoned to a banquet at the imperial palace. Despite having weathered countless storms and frequently meeting Mo Fei in the past, they had never been this excited. His Majesty the Emperor—the former lord of the City of Death to whom they had once sworn allegiance—was about to grant them an audience.

Under Vider's arrangements, they arrived at the imperial palace early. Seeing that other officials and handling matters had to undergo strict searches just to enter, they dutifully prepared themselves for inspection. However, when their turn came, the palace guards calmly said, "The young master says you are not outsiders, so you don't need to be searched like them. You may go right in."

Not outsiders? They were mere merchants, formerly local tyrants, yet they were now receiving such preferential treatment from the Emperor of the Empire. How could they not be exceptionally thrilled? Catching sight of the envious glances from the administrative staff nearby, they instinctively puffed out their chests even more.

Mo Fei knew that these merchants, whose prosperity relied entirely on the Death Empire, were highly unlikely to get entangled in assassination plots; their very roots were planted here. Besides, even if an assassination were to take place, given Mo Fei's strength, these ordinary people—who were unaware of his true prowess—could not possibly harm him. Not even a berserker in a frenzy, swinging a massive battleaxe, could breach his defenses. Otherwise, how could Elder Ou Fu have allowed Mo Fei to wander around so casually with Irene and Vivian on a regular basis? Furthermore, every important figure in the empire carried a magical defense scroll. They were Mo Fei's most crucial pillars, and he certainly did not want any accidents to befall them. This was also the reason why outsiders always wondered why officials of the Death Empire of all ranks could travel about without bodyguards; they simply remained unaware of the hidden intricacies behind it.

Although these merchants had arrived at the palace early, Mo Fei, accompanied by Irene and Vivian, was already waiting for them at the entrance of the imperial council hall. The leaders of the forty-two commercial alliances were greeted by the sight of the young master himself waiting for them, and a fervent light immediately flashed in their eyes. As they drew near, the leaders dropped to their knees in unison and chorused, "Greetings, Young Master."

Instead of addressing him as Your Majesty, they followed Kane's example and called him Young Master, unconsciously regarding themselves as members of Mo Fei's inner circle. Mo Fei was slightly taken aback, never expecting them to address him in such a manner.

"Quickly rise. We do not hold with such formalities in our empire, and there's no need for this in the future," Mo Fei said with a smile as he helped the older men in the front to their feet. "I should be the one thanking you all for your assistance. Please, no more of this, everyone stand up."

When the heads of the forty-two commercial alliances heard once more from Vider that the young master would receive them in the imperial council hall before proceeding to the banquet, they became even more stirred. Although they had never set foot inside the imperial palace before, they were well aware that only Vider and a select few were permitted entry into the council hall—fewer than ten people in the entire empire possessed that privilege. By receiving them in this most vital sanctum of the empire, Mo Fei was unmistakably treating them as his own family.

The group followed closely behind Mo Fei as they entered the imperial council hall. Gazing at the hall's solemn, majestic yet austere interior, their hearts surged with overwhelming emotion; this was a privilege reserved for a select few. Even when the visiting Emperor of the Metal-Stone Empire came to discuss major alliance matters with their young master, he had not been granted access to this place. Yet they, mere merchants, were given this honor.

"We are all family here, please sit wherever you like. Let's chat about how everyone has been over the years; I am very eager to hear about it," Mo Fei spoke warmly as soon as he took his seat.

When the conversation turned to the evacuation of their commercial houses, everyone let out a long sigh of relief. Naturally, they understood the immense consequences that would have ensued had their operations failed to withdraw in time from the various empires.

"I never imagined that in just a few short years, you would grow to such a scale that you could actually exert such a profound influence on an empire," Mo Fei remarked with a sigh of admiration. It was clear there were true talents among their ranks.

"This is all thanks to the young master's support. If it hadn't been for the words the young master spoke to us back in the territory, how could we have achieved what we have today? It is entirely because of the young master that we have this day," said an older merchant who seemed to act as their representative.

"Perhaps I once said a few things that proved useful to everyone, but the fact that your commercial alliance has thrived to this extent is entirely the result of your own hard work. It has very little to do with me. If anyone deserves the credit, I'd say Vider's contribution is far greater than mine." And it was true—Vider had always been the one managing the empire's commercial sector, and the alliance's expansion genuinely could not have happened without his backing. Hearing this, everyone burst into hearty laughter.

"Young master," one of the alliance leaders stood up, seemingly wishing to speak.

"Sit down, sit down. If you have something to say, stay seated," Mo Fei instructed.

"Well, it's like this, Young Master. Our trading houses also maintain an intelligence-gathering center. Of course, our intelligence is typically limited to collecting and processing information regarding the policies of various empires and industry trends. I am in charge of this intelligence center, and yesterday I received some rather unsettling news. I've already consulted with the elder brothers seated here, and we all agreed that this matter must be reported to the young master."

"What unsettling news?" Seeing the grave expression on the speaker's face, Mo Fei immediately gave him his full attention.

"It's like this: our intelligence gatherers stayed behind when our commercial houses evacuated; they generally do not travel back with us. After we left, they noticed some unusual activities among more than ten empires. Envoys and special messengers have been traveling rather frequently between these nations. Moreover, our people noticed that many of these envoys do not look like inhabitants of our continent. Additionally, after our departure, a medium-scale caravan that took a detour through other empires is now heading toward our empire. There is no doubt they originated from those nations. The fact that they went out of their way to take a detour raised suspicions in my mind. If they were a normal caravan, taking a route through the Metal-Stone Empire or the Dragon-Rock Empire would be much closer. Instead, they abandoned these direct paths, traveled a section by sea, and then approached our empire from other territories. They definitely have ulterior motives. We analyze that they are undoubtedly up to something, and the young master must be cautious. Furthermore, there are several individuals among them who do not resemble the people of our continent at all."

"This intelligence of yours..." Mo Fei paused. "The empire's intelligence agency has already obtained this information. However, your point about some of them not being from our continent is something our intelligence center was unaware of. This piece of information is extremely useful to us. Thank you."

"As long as the young master is prepared, that is all that matters. But please be sure to look after your safety, Young Master. You are our leader, and none of us wish to see any harm come to you." This heartfelt concern instantly warmed Mo Fei's heart.

"I will keep an eye on my own safety. Besides, look, isn't Boss Kane here? He won't let anything happen to me. If anything were to happen to me, those three would be in serious trouble; they'd have to scramble to pick someone else to sit in my current position. I imagine that for their own sake, they will make sure to pay close attention to my safety. Everyone can rest easy." Mo Fei's remark cracked everyone up.

Only in the Death Empire could such a scenario exist—where people willingly deferred the supreme seat of power, whereas in other empires, rivals would tear each other apart in a desperate struggle for the throne.

"I have a suggestion. I am quite interested in your commercial intelligence-gathering operations. How about this? In the future, your organization can maintain closer contact with the empire's intelligence agency and exchange intelligence of mutual interest. That should prove beneficial to you as well. As for the head of the empire's intelligence agency, that would be Vider—and you're certainly no strangers to dealing with him. You can discuss among yourselves whether there is any need for this." For merchants who traveled extensively year-round, their eyes could catch many things invisible to ordinary people. Just like this time, regarding the medium-scale caravan formed by these dozen-plus empires, Mo Fei had already deduced they harbored hidden motives once the assassination squad reports came in. Their target was undoubtedly the Death Empire; even if it wasn't yet certain whether he was the specific target, their intentions were unquestionably malicious. Yet the imperial intelligence agency had failed to notice the presence of individuals from foreign continents among them. This demonstrated just how seasoned and sharp these merchants' eyes and ears truly were.

"Young master, we are already in regular contact. Much of the empire's intelligence is provided by them, while we supply information on the upcoming or revised policies of other empires. It's mutual assistance," Vider said with a smile.

Mo Fei realized there was still much about Vider that remained unknown to him.

The group chatted and laughed all the way until the palace steward entered to announce that the banquet was ready, whereupon they finally filed out.

...

"Uncle Vider, do you think those dozen-plus empires have already colluded with some external forces from a foreign continent?" After the banquet concluded and the leaders of the commercial alliance were seen off, Mo Fei and the others returned to the imperial council hall instead of retiring to rest.

"That's a certainty," Kane chimed in first. "I trust these merchants. They travel far and wide—what kind of people haven't they seen? The fact that their envoys include individuals from a foreign continent settles the matter."

"I have a strong feeling that they must have sensed something from those evacuated trading houses. I have a very powerful intuition that the target of this caravan is definitely the young master. They..."

"They're going to assassinate the young master?!" Kane leaped to his feet in alarm.

"What are you panicking about? Look at you, losing your composure, and you're hardly a youngster anymore," Mo Fei scolded with a smile. "Even if their target is me, so what? What can they possibly do to me?" Mo Fei truly did not hold these people in any regard.

"They won't be able to get inside the palace, but the young master usually likes to go out for walks with Princess Irene and the others. Therefore, we must deploy our people along every street and in every district right now. As for the young master, he should continue his walks as usual, and the moment they make a move, we'll capture them in one fell swoop."

"Isn't that too dangerous?" Kane protested, refusing to let anything happen to the young master under any circumstances. That was a strict, unyielding order the clan's Council of Elders had given him. Even without that order, he would never allow any harm to come to Mo Fei; the elders were merely worried about his own reckless tendencies.

"What are you panicking for? Have you forgotten what my scroll can do? Do you think there is anyone on this continent whose attack could be fiercer than a berserker in a frenzy? Furthermore, I've had the bear-clan mages test it as well, and even they couldn't breach my defenses. What else are you worrying about?"

"By then, we can also station those sixty bear-clan mages along the routes the young master frequently takes. With them supporting from the shadows, there will be even less cause for concern," Elder Ou Fu added.

"Good. Let's handle this matter first. When the time comes, we'll let these empires that colluded with outsiders witness the consequences of crossing our empire. Everyone, step up your preparations. Once this affair is settled, we'll wipe them out completely," Mo Fei declared as he stood up.

Mo Fei did not want a fire burning in his backyard when the time came for them to launch their military expedition. The fact that someone was now conspiring with individuals from a foreign continent to plot against the Death Empire was something he simply could not tolerate. Although it remained unconfirmed whether these foreign outsiders belonged to the enemy continent he intended to take vengeance upon, Mo Fei had firmly resolved to show these scoundrels no mercy.