42. Rescuing the Caravan

The three of them sat atop the beast-drawn carriage as Mo Fei navigated the gentle road, the scenery unfolding before them. As dusk approached, a small city finally appeared in the distance.

“Brother, is this a city within your domain?”

“Of course it is. We haven’t traveled far, and yet we’ve arrived here; it must belong to my territory. Let’s spend the night inside and continue our journey tomorrow.”

“Alright.” Vivienne and Irene replied in unison.

They remained seated as they entered the city. The gate guards, failing to recognize the emblem pinned to their chests, subjected them to a thorough interrogation. Only after Mo Fei casually cast an enhancement spell to prove his identity as a mage were they permitted entry. Evidently, Mo Fei’s words to the officials the other day had a tangible effect—the guards were now much stricter in their inspections.

The streets remained their original size, but the city itself was noticeably cleaner and more orderly. Once Mo Fei had arranged their lodgings at an inn, he took Vivienne and Irene to explore the small city.

“I heard this city is about to expand. My uncle works for the city guard, and when he was transferred to the City Guard Office, he overheard the elders discussing it.”

“Is that so? What did they say?”

“They said that next year, the city will double in size. The current city will become the inner city, and the outer walls will be built more than ten meters high!”

“That tall?”

“Yes, the elders said it was the lord’s request.”

...

Everywhere they walked, they heard such discussions. It seemed the officials were finally thinking ahead; previously, their only concern had been extracting wealth, unaware that expanding and improving the city could bring even greater prosperity.

“You seem to have quite the talent for governance. All the city’s officials heed your orders now,” Vivienne praised him.

“They’re still motivated by fear—the threat of the City of Death’s military force. They worry that if they fail, I’ll make trouble for them. What I hope for is the day when they work without supervision, taking initiative for the city’s development of their own accord,” Mo Fei said, shaking his head.

Yet he was already satisfied with the progress. Their stroll didn’t last long before night fell. Returning to the inn, they ordered food and drink, settling in a corner.

“Brother, let’s leave tomorrow! This place is too small, there’s not much to see.”

“Where do you think would be interesting?”

“Let’s go to the Empire of Flying Dragons! I’ve heard it’s fun there. The people are friendly, and the warriors ride flying dragons—I really want to see that.”

“Well, first we’ll go to the imperial capital. Your sister Vivienne hasn’t seen her parents in a long time. We’ll accompany her home, then journey on to the Empire of Flying Dragons and witness the dragon riders.” Mo Fei had always felt indebted to Vivienne—for his sake, she had left her royal parents to follow him to the distant City of Death. So this time, he resolved to accompany her home.

“Yes, yes! Last time, that vile slaver caught us, and I never got a chance to explore Dragon Rock City properly!”

With their decision made, Mo Fei no longer felt pressed to inspect the cities within his domain. Once the officials had completed their work, he would return to see the results—a sight sure to surprise him.

Unexpectedly, less than a month after Mo Fei’s departure, the leader of the Horse Clan arrived at the City of Death.

“If you have any business, speak with him—he’s our deputy city lord,” the guard escorting the Horse Clan leader said as he led him to Elder Alf.

“It’s like this,” the Horse Clan leader began, barely pausing for a drink. “I know what I did wasn’t in keeping with the city lord’s rules, so I didn’t dare to ask for help before. But now they’ve captured my wife, two sons, and a daughter. I have no other option—I must ask the city lord for aid.”

“Take your time. If we can help, we certainly will,” Elder Alf replied. Hearing that his wife and children had been seized, he felt a surge of anger. To target someone’s family—this was a matter he would not ignore.

The Horse Clan leader took a breath and continued, “Recently, we accepted a merchant’s commission to transport goods to Fedok City. He paid us five hundred thousand gold coins for the shipment, with the sole requirement that the cargo arrive safely. I agreed, but when the wagons stopped in Prince Grit’s domain for a rest, our men were knocked out overnight, and the goods vanished. I reported this to the owner, apologized, and promised to compensate him double according to the rules. But he…”

“What did he say?” Elder Alf asked.

“He claimed the shipment contained ten high-grade fire magic cores, worth sixty million. He demanded compensation of one hundred and twenty million gold coins.”

“Did he ever mention those magic cores beforehand?”

“No, he only said the cargo was spices.”

“What happened next? How did your wife and children get taken?”

“I refused their outrageous demand, offering instead to compensate at the price of spices. They wouldn’t accept it, insulted us, so I ordered my men to drive them away. Afterwards, a few days later, while I was outside the city checking inventory, they attacked my home and…”

At this point, the Horse Clan leader could not hold back his tears. “I brought men to confront them, demanding they release my family. Not only did they mock me, saying I couldn’t even protect my wife and children, they beat up those I brought with me. Later, they sent word: if I didn’t pay, I must hand over my Horse Clan to them, and then they would free my family. Only then did I realize their true aim was the Horse Clan itself.”

“I understand. Go home now; tomorrow, I’ll tell you what to do,” Elder Alf said, comprehending the situation immediately. Such tricks were still in use these days.

“Thank you, Deputy City Lord. If you ever need the Horse Clan’s help, just give the word.”

After sending away the grieving Horse Clan leader, Cain said, “Elder, let me know if you need me. Just say the word.”

Cain had listened from the side and was equally incensed.

“Here’s what we’ll do: send the Night Assassins to investigate. If they can rescue the hostages, that’s best; at the very least, they must uncover the perpetrators’ identities. To dare stir up trouble in our domain—we cannot let them go unpunished. With the city lord absent, we must not let down those who have just joined us.”

“The Night Assassins have a branch in that city—just notify them. With all this commotion, how could they not be aware?” Cain had barely finished speaking when a guard escorted an elf inside.

Elder Alf recognized the elf as a leader of the assassination squad and told the guard, “You may leave.”

“Greetings, Deputy City Lord.”

“No need for formalities. You must have something urgent to report?”

The assassination squads, scattered throughout the empire’s towns, had remained in place after the mission to eliminate the slave owners, focusing on underground intelligence work. Unless emergencies arose, they would not contact the main city directly. For the squad leader to return in person, something significant must have happened.

“Deputy City Lord, the entire matter is under our control. No need to worry. Our numbers are too few, and the enemy is too many—we cannot act to rescue the hostages ourselves. But I’ve assigned our men to monitor them closely; we know exactly where the captives are held.”

“Excellent. I was just wondering why there was no report about all this activity,” Elder Alf realized now why Mo Fei had ordered the assassins to remain hidden after their mission—not to return, but to embed themselves locally for intelligence work.

“How many are there?” Cain asked.

“At first, only four disguised as merchants, but over the past few days, their numbers have grown to about three hundred, gathered at a large estate in the city’s western quarter, where the hostages are kept.”

“Cain…”

“I’ll take three hundred cavalrymen, and also, we need to ask the Elf Queen to send a few specialists for the rescue. Only after the hostages are safe can we act.”

“Haven’t our original men returned? Can’t you just call them?” the elf squad leader asked.

“She’s your queen, and she will soon be our city lord’s mother. Even though they were once our people, it’s only proper that we consult Her Majesty,” Elder Alf replied with a smile.

Accordingly, ten elite elves were requested from the Elf Queen, and the elf squad leader led them by night to rescue the hostages, after which Cain would move to crush the enemy.

The warriors of the City of Death, trained for nocturnal combat, were dispatched in force. To prevent any escape, Cain assembled an additional two hundred cavalrymen before setting out.