Alien world

Chapter 1262 Chapter 184. Parting on bad terms
"What does price... mean?"

Annan's expression froze.

"Annan Reeves, I respect the Empire and admire you, but——"

Just like all the stories, there is always a twist at the end, and Lord Raymond is no exception: "Your imperial princess and blue dragon are rampaging in my territory, causing destruction, and now you want me to cancel the wanted order and take them away without saying a word..."

Lord Raymond's stern voice was full of oppression.

"How do you want the people to view me as the great lord?"

"I think it's just a misunderstanding, just like the misunderstanding when Killian kidnapped Joan..."

Annan had no choice but to show weakness. The most troublesome thing for him was that he didn't know the details. He firmly believed that Ilimayas was not a dragon that would massacre the village, but Lord Raymond insisted... Either he was determined to bite off a piece of meat from Annan, or he had solid evidence.

"Annan Reeves."

Lord Raymond called Annan by his full name. "For my nephew Killian's offense against the princess of the empire, I will have him go to the empire to apologize in person. What about the crimes they committed in my territory?"

"What on earth did they do?" Annan frowned.

Lord Raymond did not speak, so Killian spoke for him: "Boi Village, a peaceful village with hundreds of residents, was destroyed by the evil dragon, with only a few survivors."

Could it be that Ilimayas and the others really attacked the village...

Lord Raymond did not give him time to think and said in a deep voice: "For the sake of Liberty City, I allow you to redeem their wanted warrants."

The word "redemption" irritated Annan: "I don't understand what you mean..."

"I am a believer of the lady, and I believe that everything has its value. If you want me to withdraw the wanted warrant and issue a redemption order, you must pay an equivalent value."

Annan felt a little relieved when he learned that Lord Raymond just wanted money.

It's better to bargain with a businessman than to negotiate with a tyrant.

"Sir Raymond, you said they were wanted for crimes, but we know nothing about what happened. At least, you should tell us what happened first."

At this moment, Black Widow suddenly spoke.

From the beginning, the rhythm of the conversation was firmly controlled by Lord Raymond, and she finally found an opportunity to interrupt.

Lord Raymond did not answer, but looked at the Black Widow: "Who are you?"

"Captain of the Punishment Legion, Lord of Liberty City, and guard of Annan Reeves."

Lord Raymond stopped looking at her and stared at Annan and said, "Your guards are really rude."

Annan, who had time to think, followed the words of the Black Widow and said, "She is not only my bodyguard, but also my friend. What she said is exactly what I want to ask... Can I go meet the survivors of Boyi Village?"

"you do not believe?"

"It's not that I don't believe it, but I need evidence to convince myself and the Empire... Now it's me who's here, but if the news spreads, I'm afraid it will be the Empire's people who will come..."

Lord Raymond's narrow eyes flashed with a cold light: "Are you threatening me?"

As conflicts arose, the great lord gradually tore off the veil of "elder" and revealed his true nature.

"I am just stating the truth. You know, the Empire is a bunch of barbarians who never talk nicely."

In fact, Annan never understood why the empire had the stereotype of "barbarians". Apart from their love of collecting enemy skulls as trophies, the area around the empire was very stable. How could anyone satirize them for being warlike and barbaric?
Olmedo told him, because you haven't seen the empire get angry. Do you think the empire's vast territory was given to you for free?
The reason why the empire has not been at war for a long time is that the people surrounding it are all its vassals, who have been conquered by it.

Lord Raymond didn't think so. Annan's words were distorted and changed in his ears, becoming bait to anger him.

"Very well, since you don't believe me... I will make public all the evidence of their crimes in three days, and the price you will have to pay by then will be far greater than it is now..."

Well, no businessman would become hysterical when faced with setbacks. Lord Raymond is still a tyrant at heart.

"Evidence of guilt? How do you prove it's true?"

Being bluntly contradicted by Annan, Lord Raymond's expression became more vicious, but Annan stared back at him without fear.

"Then it depends on your ability. If you say it's not them, then find the evidence." Lord Raymond stood up, and the gold ornaments on his body collided and shook, emitting dazzling brilliance under the magic lamp.

"Send our guests back to their rooms..."

The party ended in a bad mood, or perhaps it was never happy from the beginning.

Annan had certain purposes, and Lord Raymond also wanted to profit from Annan from the very beginning.

Black Widow only knew to stand on Annan's side, and only Killian seemed to understand.

"Uncle, aren't we offending both the Empire and Liberty City by doing this?" Killian asked as he watched Annan's departing back.

"What else? Do you want to bow down to them and beg for mercy?"

"Do not……"

……

On the way back, Annan stomped the soles of his boots hard.

Black Widow just thought he was angry, and comforted him: "We don't need to compete with him, just tell the Empire and watch the fun."

"No."

The Black Widow didn't know, but Annan knew that Joan had nothing to do with the Empire.

Originally, Annan just wanted to settle the matter peacefully, bring the people back and ask for some compensation. But seeing the cruelty and violence of Lord Raymond, he might as well let the Free Blade come here to explore the way.

"The most urgent task is to find Elimoas and the others first."

After returning to the guest room, Annan once again used dragon scales to perform a low-level summoning spell, but as expected, it failed.

"Refused?"

"Yeah. But think on the bright side. We don't have to worry about their safety for now."

Annan put away the dragon scales: "By the way, give me some water."

click-

The Black Widow closed the door and turned around, leaning against the door, showing her beautiful curves: "What kind of--"

"Don't say weird things. You're not a succubus."

The Black Widow was unreliable, so Annan went to the bathroom to get a basin of water, took off his boots, soaked the soles in the water, and rubbed them hard.

He had heard this trick from Old Zoran at the Haunted Gold Mine.

In the past, gold miners wanted to steal gold, but they would be stripped naked and checked from head to toe when they left the mines, and even watched when they went to the toilet. So they would deliberately step on the gold-rich ore with the soles of their shoes, and then soak it in water when they returned.

No matter how much Black Widow wanted Annan, her desire faded after she realized what he was doing.

"…Are you short of money?"

"It depends on how you interpret it. There is no shortage of money, but there is never enough to spend at any time."

In the eyes of outsiders, Liberty City is a rising territory that is making a fortune.

But in Annan's eyes, he couldn't even afford a large arcane energy core, and it wasn't enough to build the Mage Tower to the fifth floor. Wasn't he still short of money?

"hateful……"

Annan grumbled as he put his boots back on.

No gold dust.

"Rest now. We'll go out to look for Ilimoyas and the others tomorrow morning."

(End of this chapter)