CHAPTER 360: Receiving Some Benefits

When Han Shuo and Helen returned to the army station, it was just as she had said - her family's trusted aides were completely unaware of Ferrodias' actions. He'd obviously acted in their interests, and Helen's actions were written off as an arrest and appropriate punishment.

Ferrodias' original plan was to capture Helen and deliver her to the Marquis Kekaru of the Duchy of Helon. With Helen, the pillar of her family's army, Kekaru would be able to defeat the Duchy of Helon's army and become Duke with Benedict Sackville's support.

After Han Shuo and Helen returned to the stationed army, they didn't openly appear before the army. This was mainly because Han Shuo had many ways to meet Helen privately.

After dealing with Ferrodias, Helen began travelling back to the nearby Duchy of Helon. She had prepared her cover story of being attacked by assassins on her way back. Since no one but her people had survived, news of the uprising hadn't spread.

The next day, Han Shuo secretly followed the army troops back to the Helon Duchy. The Helon Duchy was as powerful as a province in the Lancelot Empire. It also had five cities and more than ten towns of different sizes. Helon City acted as the capital of the Duchy of Helon, located in the centre of the Duchy. The other four cities were each owned by the four Marquis, although one was still reeling from the death of its Marquis at the hands of Helen Tina during the previous civil unrest.

Marquis Kekaru was the lord of Seagate City, one of the four cities of the Duchy of Helon. Although he hadn't shown any intention of rebelling during the previous riots, he had suddenly decided to rebel this time. This person had obviously been patiently waiting for the perfect moment for a long time.

Han Shou and Helen returned to the Duchy of Helon together. Along the way, Helen gathered her private army of thirty thousand men, the most elite cavalry regiment in the Helon Duchy, all led by Helen's most trusted family aides.

Seagate City was an inevitable stop on the way back to Helon Duchy. After marching for two days, Helen's army finally approached its gates.

As Helen was a woman and a famous Fire Archmage, she had always travelled in a spacious and luxurious chariot drawn by four war horses.

At that moment, another person, Han Shuo, had appeared in the chariot in addition to Helen. Inside the spacious chariot, there was a soft carpet that was surprisingly comfortable to step on. There was also some blush, powder, and some fresh fruit glittering on a small shelf.

Helen lazily leaned back in her seat and looked at the relaxed Han Shuo before saying, "Seagate City is Kekaru's territory. That cunning fox has always hidden his intentions in the past. Although I know he has done damnable things, I could never find an excuse to deal with him. Besides, he always has several experts protecting him. As long as he stays in Seagate City, it will not be easy for me to kill him.

"How many city guards are in Seagate City right now? If you return now, would he dare to open the city gates and let you in?" Han Shuo casually asked Helen as he rudely plucked a bunch of grapes from the side. Looking at Han Shuo's unflappable attitude, Helen actually felt a comforting sense of security. It was as if she had nothing to fear with this demon beside her.

"Although Seagate City has fifty thousand soldiers in total, only ten thousand of them are elite soldiers. The only way he can avoid a direct battle is to open the city gates and welcome me. Although I can easily suppress him once I've entered Seagate City, I have no proof that Ferrodias' rebellion was secretly instigated by him. If I move against him without justification, I'm afraid the citizens and nobles will raise a fuss. Helen wrinkled her eyebrows slightly, annoyance seeping into her tone.

Only after Han Shuo plucked the last grape from the bunch and wiped his hands on the expensive carpet did he reply, "Simple. As long as I kill Marquis Kekaru and all his successors, you can use the excuse of finding the killer to take control of Seagate City." Han Shuo continued, "Hehe, you are the Duchess of Helon Duchy and you even have thirty thousand elite soldiers at your disposal. As such, this is the logical step for you to take. By the way, you can also randomly place some people at the scene to falsely accuse your enemies of killing Kekaru. This will definitely hurt your enemies. Hm, I think Benedict Sackville of the Duchy of Narsen is a particularly good candidate. What do you think?"

Having been involved in the power struggle of Helon Duchy for all these years, Helen was well versed in intrigue. Therefore, after listening to Han Shuo's suggestion, she smiled sweetly and nodded before replying, "Exactly my thoughts. As long as Kekaru and his heirs all die, I can justifiably allow my trusted aides to take control of Seagate City. Hehehe, I already have the perfect candidate in mind. I had such a plan in mind during the last riots, but the assassins I sent didn't succeed. But since you're here this time, I'm sure it will succeed.

As expected from such a vicious woman. As soon as the discussion turned to such a topic, Han Shuo noticed a dazzling light shining from her eyes. Her mouth curved into a sweet smile that could seduce and arouse any man's heart. Even Han Shuo felt a slight tug at his heart.

When this type of woman hated a man, she would try to bring about his death at any cost. However, when this type of woman truly fell in love with a man, they would be willing to give up everything just to be there for their man.

Han Shuo stared at Helen. Maybe Helen didn't hate him as much anymore, but he also knew that Helen was still not helping him with all her heart. Only when he conquered her thoroughly would she become a truly sharp weapon in his hands. Otherwise, he would only hurt himself.

To subdue such a person, both body and mind were needed to make her surrender. It was a long and hard struggle for Han Shuo to realise the importance of this. It was the only way he could influence their hearts and slowly make them his vassals. One of the best examples of this was Emily.

Thinking about this, Han Shuo laughed slightly and moved his face close to Helen who was lazily leaning back. As Helen's face paled in panic, Han Shuo suddenly pulled Helen onto his thighs and rudely kissed her bright red lips, completely ignoring her will.

A very seductive scent entered Han Shuo's nose from Helen's body. This scent caused Han Shuo to become uncontrollably lost in it, just like an alcoholic would become lost in the most excellent wine. To his credit, Han Shuo did not actually kiss her without restraint. After a light kiss on Helen's intoxicating red lips, he chuckled and released Helen. Then, laughing at Helen's charmingly flushed face, he said, "I lost control because you're just too mesmerising. Hahaha. Since I will soon have to take care of your enemies, I should at least get that benefit, right?"

"You... You perverted bastard! You just stole a kiss!" Blushing hotly, Helen climbed down from his thighs and glared fiercely at Han Shuo. Originally, she wanted to rush at Han Shuo and take revenge, but remembering that he was a tiger in lamb's clothing, she could only hurl a crystal goblet at Han Shuo in a fit of rage.

He leisurely snatched the crystal cup out of the air. With the cup in his hand, Han Shuo leisurely poured some wine and walked over to Helen who was hiding in the corner of the carriage, grinning, "Here, accept this cup of wine as an apology from me. Hehehe, as you know, I'm just an ordinary man while you're such a fascinatingly beautiful woman. It's a miracle I didn't do something else to you while riding in such a carriage. You better not upset me now!"

Being scolded like that by Han Shuo, Helen felt her heart tremble as she glared at Han Shuo angrily. Even her slender white neck began to turn red. But in reality, being praised by Han Shuo as a fascinatingly beautiful woman made her a little happy. Since she was going to be his sooner or later, it wouldn't hurt to give him some benefits in advance.

"Fine, take it as I have forgiven you for now, but you cannot be so unruly in the future, especially when there are other people around!" Helen glared at Han Shuo hatefully for a moment. Finally, she obediently picked up the wine cup and took a sip in defeat.

"Of course, when others are around, you are the goddess of Helon Duchy!" Han Shuo promised Helen first and then said laughing, "But when it's just the two of us, I'll attack you freely!"

"Huh!" Helen looked at Han Shuo for a moment and then said seriously, "All right, you've kissed me and got what you wanted. Soon we will enter the city, and perhaps Kekaru will even enter the carriage to greet me. Shouldn't you leave now?"

"No problem, I'll leave right away!" Han Shuo replied with a laugh. Suddenly, Han Shuo appeared beside Helen like lightning and licked her neck before lightly praising her as he walked away, "So fragrant!"

A cloud of mist slowly drifted out of the carriage without alerting a single imperial guard nearby. As the mist slowly dissipated on a breeze, Han Shuo had already disappeared without a trace.

Left behind the carriage was a Helen whose white neck had just been violated by Han Shuo before he left. A constant burning sensation emanated from her violated neck, causing her heart to tremble and her face to blush. In anger, she could only spit on the ground and lightly mutter to herself, "That damned brat! He really is a damned pervert. I really don't know if I can deal with him until he's taken care of my enemies. Ai, meeting him has really pushed me over the edge. How annoying!"

A few minutes later, Helen's army troops slowly stopped in front of Seagate City. A sentry had warned Seagate City of their arrival. Thus, Marquis Kekaru, who was in the city, should have received the news of their arrival.

At the time, Kekaru was in a small building outside the city gate. He had a dark expression on his face as he listened intently to his trusted aides who spoke incessantly, while he himself remained silent.

He was dressed in fine robes and was of noble stature. His grey sideburns betrayed him as being past his prime. Clearly, he was not a handsome man. But behind his exterior were a pair of calculating eyes that seemed to never stop thinking.

"Sir Marquis, Ferrodias has died and the plan has most likely failed. Right now, you can be considered the greatest threat to the Duke of the Duchy of Helon. Besides, that vicious bitch has never cared for sentiment and probably knows that you are the instigator. You must not let her into the city, or we will definitely die in a bloody revenge". The Seagate City administrator did his best to convince the Marquis.

"Yes, Father, this bitch is famous for her viciousness. If her elite army enters the city, our army will have no way of suppressing them. We can only borrow Seagate City's defences to delay and prevent them from entering the city. During this time, we can ally with other nobles before finally entering an official war." Kekaru's son, Kesega, dressed in shining knight's armour, did his best to convince Kekaru as well. However, Kekaru remained silent as he paced back and forth, his eyes darting back and forth. It seemed that even he had become extremely anxious and had lost his typical decisive nature.

"Father, hurry up and make a decision. They will arrive soon." As the time ticked away, Kesega reminded him anxiously after seeing that Kekaru remained silent.

After a long silence, Kekaru exhaled deeply and said: "Open the gates and come with me to greet the Duke. You must not make any mistakes!"

"Sir Marquis. This could cost us our lives!" The steward hastily protested in fear.

"Don't worry, even if she knows it was me, she doesn't have any proof. Hmph! I've been in charge of Seagate City for so many years; both the nobles and the citizens support me. If she dares to act against me without evidence, the citizens will not approve of her. Don't worry, she shouldn't dare to openly take action against me. But if she still decides to use assassins like last time, we just need to be more vigilant and it will still be alright".

"Besides, the time is not yet ripe for us to rebel. We could suffer a huge loss to the family forces she holds in her hand, and there's no certainty that we will come out victorious. But even if we're victorious, the conflict will only weaken the Duchy of Helon further, and we'll become the weakest of the seven Grand Duchies. Instead of such an outcome, we should continue to control Seagate City and wait for a better opportunity. Kekaru said to the two people.

After thinking about what Kekaru had said, the two of them, although still reluctant, knew that his analysis was reasonable. Furthermore, knowing how futile it would be for anyone to try to change Kekaru's decisions due to his determined nature, they did not try to persuade him any further.