Robbery in progress!
In the early morning, less than thirty miles from the capital city of Zhongdu, a grand convoy consisting of dozens of carriages and over a hundred guards was slowly making its way along the wide official road.
At the forefront of this procession, within a luxurious carriage adorned with the emblem of a sword and a rose, sat the most outstanding daughter of the Cecil family—Aileen Selhi. She furrowed her delicate brows, struggling to suppress her rising irritation as she listened to a young man prattling on about his own exploits.
"Aileen, we're almost in the imperial capital! I suppose you haven't found a place to stay yet?" The young man, named Ryan, continued unabashedly, his tone dripping with arrogance. "The Wolas family has numerous properties in the capital, and one of our estates is right next to the Imperial Academy of Martial Arts. Why don't you come stay with me for a while?"
"Thank you for your kind offer, Mr. Ryan, but my family has already arranged accommodations for me at an inn, so I won't trouble your family," Aileen replied with a polite smile, though a clear hint of impatience flickered across her features.
"An inn? That won't do!" Ryan exclaimed, standing up in agitation as if he had encountered something utterly intolerable. "Miss Aileen, what is your status? How can you possibly stay at an inn and mingle with those lowly commoners? I insist you come with me!"
"Really, it's unnecessary," Aileen shook her head again, her remaining patience wearing thin.
Heaven help her, it had been a full seven days since she left her family, and from that moment on, Ryan had insisted on accompanying her, relentlessly pursuing her until now!
Aileen asked herself, if Ryan's cousin weren't the renowned genius of the empire—the "Golden War Lion" Leo, and if his family weren't one of the empire's top hereditary marquisates—the Wolas family, she would have long since tossed this annoying fly out of her carriage. Why endure it until now?
Just as Aileen prepared to refuse again, Ryan, seemingly unwilling to give up, opened his mouth to persuade her once more. At that moment, two shadowy figures suddenly darted out from the roadside ahead!
"Stop!" one of them shouted, brandishing a menacingly long sword, seemingly crafted from white bone, that measured over three meters in length.
Clatter… The coachman at the front of the convoy immediately halted in response!
At the same time, Robert, the captain of the Selhi family's guards, galloped forward from the rear. Upon seeing the two unexpected guests, he asked in confusion, "What do you want? Why are you blocking the Selhi family's convoy?"
"What do we want? Hmph!" The mysterious figure wielding the bone sword sneered, then exchanged a knowing glance with his companion, who nodded in agreement.
In the next moment, to the astonishment of everyone present, the two began to chant in unison, as if they were performing a skit!
"Ah, stop!" "This mountain was opened by me!" "This tree was planted by me!" "If you want to pass through here!" "Leave… leave… leave the money behind!" "Huh? Ron, you got the line wrong! It should be 'leave the toll for safe passage'!" "Ah! Young master, why did you call me by name? Doing this will expose our identities!" "Uh… a slip of the tongue, my bad…" "Young master, I'm not saying you, but doing this is pushing our family, the Lorns, into the fire pit…"
"Wait, didn't you just reveal our family name?" "Ah?" "Damn it!"
As the two continued their comedic exchange, nearly everyone in the Selhi convoy struggled to suppress their laughter!
Where on earth did these two oddballs come from?
At that moment, realizing their identities had been exposed, the figure wielding the bone sword seemed to be filled with rage and, without further ado, tore off the rag covering his face. It was none other than Link!
"Robbery! Quickly hand over your money, or I'll make sure you won't recognize your own mother!" Link gritted his teeth and shouted.
"Robbery?" The members of the Selhi family were momentarily stunned, then erupted into laughter!
Even Robert, the captain of the guards, couldn't help but chuckle at the antics of these two oddballs!
Setting aside their ridiculous appearances, just based on the aura they exuded, one was clearly an ordinary person with no power whatsoever! The other, while radiating some magical energy, was wielding a sword taller than himself, which was typically the domain of mages or summoners. Was this not sheer foolishness?