"The venison is already roasted, and the guys are waiting for you to eat. I told them to eat it in advance, but they just wouldn't let me. How about you come over here quickly?"
"what..."
Pace was slightly startled, opened his mouth, hesitated for a while, and then spoke:
"Okay, you go first, I'll come later."
"Well, hurry up, it's easy to get cold on this snowy mountain, I'll put it next to the campfire for you first," Vans said with a wink, and then said mysteriously, "Come quickly, I left a piece of grilled leg steak for you, I'm not sure if you will eat it secretly~"
After saying that, Vans ran back to the campfire with a heartless look and joined the group of brothers who were drinking and eating meat.
Pace looked at the happy figures around the campfire from afar, and a strong emotion suddenly suppressed his guilt.
He is the head of the Monarch family. He must take responsibility for his family. He has to do this.
Even if it means he has to deceive a little girl to achieve his goal, he has to do it.
Pace looked into the distance and saw Perlis sitting alone on a rock beside the icy lake, silently chewing dry food. She seemed to have refused to join the party around the campfire and chose to eat alone.
Sorry... little princess. Pace sighed, took one last look at Perlis's thin figure, and then slowly walked towards the bonfire of the Monark family.
......
5) The one who abandons, the one who is abandoned (Part 3)
Snow peak, steel fortress.
"Master, look at this layout..."
"I've told you countless times, don't call me Master, I'm your General."
"Ah...I'm sorry...General Venia..." The butler bent down in fear and trepidation, "The banquet hall has been decorated. I wonder if you are...?"
Venia looked up. The banquet hall of the Iron Fortress had been decorated. Countless flashy ribbons and rows of colorful lights covered the entire ceiling of the banquet hall. The luxurious banquet chandeliers were projecting fancy light spots into the hall, illuminating the decorative trees on both sides of the banquet hall. In the center of this fancy decoration, more than ten huge round tables were neatly arranged, each table could accommodate more than ten people.
This was a grand banquet. If the poor people of Loton or the hunters and woodcutters on Wanren Mountain were asked to judge, they would probably think it was a royal wedding of some country.
However, this was just a birthday party for Venia Irenforno, the son of the Iron Lord.
Looking at the grand banquet hall in front of him, Venia was very satisfied, but he still pretended to point out:
"Well, let's add some more candles on the table, and then clear the area in front of the main table. We need to leave some space for the giant armor performance."
Venia looked to the end of the banquet hall. In front of the huge floor-to-ceiling window, there was a huge wooden table. Behind the wooden table was a huge chair with a snow-carved head: that was the seat of the host of the banquet, Venia's seat.
"Okay, Young Master Venia... General, I will report your request and it will be completed soon."
"Well, let's go."
The butler then left in a hurry, and Venia slowly walked to the main table. With his back to the snowy scenery of Wanren Mountain, he slowly sat down on the main seat, watching everything in front of him with contentment.
He never cared about the worldly gossip and the nobles who gossiped behind his back. They thought that the luxury of the Irenforno family had exceeded the bottom line and that the Iron Fortress regime was on the road to corruption.
Then, Venia invited them all to his birthday party and let them witness this so-called decadent scene.
As for what they would say, Venia didn't care. His father's indulgence of him had reached an irreversible point, and he didn't mind being a little crazier.
At worst, I can just follow Ivar to the Federation. Is there really any way I can survive there?
While he was thinking, a Thebiter officer in military uniform trotted over to Venia's side and whispered in his ear:
"General Venia, the Angel said that she probably won't be able to give you birthday wishes on time, so she wishes you a happy birthday in advance."
"Oh? Yelena can't come? Is there something wrong with her?" Venia asked lazily.
"It is said that she is determined to compete with the Pure White Flame, so..."
"Ah... okay, okay, I get it," Venia waved her hand impatiently, dismissing her, "Let her do whatever she wants. She's such a weirdo. She would rather miss such a beautiful feast than go and fight with a little girl who might have died in a gutter... It's unreasonable..."
The officer saluted and left. Venia stood up and turned to look out the French window. Dark clouds were gathering above Wanren Mountain, covering the snowy peaks. It was obvious that a blizzard was coming...
......
After lunch, the group put on hoods, pretended to be merchants and laborers, and dragged the wooden cart towards Monarch Manor. Soon, their destination appeared at the end of the road: the top of the black iron gate was covered with snow, and the huge sign erected on it read the words "Monarch Manor".
Two guards in giant armor were standing at the gate of the manor, holding huge tubular shotguns in their hands. Pace recognized it as the R-42 "Jackal" double-barreled shotgun at a glance. It only had two bullets, but the damage was huge. Even if hit by one bullet, the enemy would be smashed to pieces in an instant.
Looking at the terrifying level of armament, Pace swallowed nervously, and his morale instantly dropped.
But when he turned to look at the family guys, everyone was looking at him, including his younger brother Vans. Their eyes were full of expectations, as if asking him: What should we do next?
Now is not the time to back down..
So Pace calmed down and said:
"Leave everything to me later. Don't say anything and just watch silently."
"Are you sure it's okay?" Perlis looked at the shotgun in the soldier's hand. She obviously recognized what it was. "It doesn't matter if I have a factor shield, but if you get hit, you will die, okay?"
"Hey, little princess, now is the time to show you the power of words. Not everything needs to be solved with violence."
Pace acted confident and spoke to Pearlis in an exaggerated tone.
"Just wait and see, Brother Pace is going to teach you a lesson!"
"Uh..." Perlis looked at Pace helplessly. For some reason, she seemed to have gotten used to Pace's unruly appearance.
The group then pulled the cart and slowly moved towards the gate of Monarque Manor. When they arrived at the gate of the manor, the guard stretched out a hand to signal them to stop, and then slowly walked towards them.
Seeing this, Pace took the initiative to greet him.
"Hey, man, you've worked hard. You're still standing guard outside in this cold weather. I'm sure you must..."
"Please explain your purpose of visit."
The guard mercilessly interrupted Pace's greetings, speaking in an extremely cold voice. Seeing this, Pace cleared his throat in panic and said:
"We are a caravan from I-Tran... We heard that you need fresh wine..."
"The Yi-Tran caravan has not yet obtained entry permission. How did you get in?"
The guard stared at Pace very vigilantly, gripping the gun even tighter in his hand.
Oops, it seems... not so smooth...
Pesce turned his head and saw Perlis standing beside him, staring at him, as if she was watching his performance. He couldn't ask her for help right after he finished bragging, could he? Pesce calmed down and forced a smile again:
"Ah... Life always has to have some special ways, so look at this wine..."
"You are not from E-Tran. Your Common Tongue is pronounced Thebithi."
The guard interrupted Pace very forcefully, examining him warily.
"But it's not Loden's accent. Your accent comes from the Lengfeng belt of Wanren Mountain. If I'm not mistaken, you were once from a lord's family, right?"
The guard looked at Pace's black hair and black eyes again and smiled disdainfully.
"Sinful descendant of the Monark family, do you think the Legion is as stupid as your family? No wonder you are in decline. Do you think I will let you in so that you can take back the house smoothly? Do you think the Legion is so stupid?"
After saying that, the guard raised the double-barreled shotgun in his hand and put it against Pace's forehead.
"General Venia's order is to execute you on the spot if you try to take back the house. Do you have any last words?"
The cold touch against his forehead made Pace completely panic.
"Hey, man, you must be mistaken... I'm not a Monarch... I'm just a small businessman..."
Pace became timid and submissive, completely losing the smug look he had when he boasted to Perlis before. Seeing this, the guard smiled:
"Alright, alright, since you have nothing to say, just go and die. I will let your accomplices take your body away. I hope they are not as stupid as you..."
"No, this is a misunderstanding... that..."
It's over, it's all over, I was recognized just like that, all my plans went to waste...
It's not that dramatic, is it? There's no chance at all?
In panic, Pace looked to his side, but Perlis was gone.
Feeling the cold touch of the gun muzzle above his head, Pace's mind was working frantically, looking for a possible solution.
Meanwhile, the guard continued to mutter.
"What bad luck, I was assigned to be a gatekeeper before the snowstorm, and I have to waste my time with a fool like you..."
At the moment when the guard was about to pull the trigger, a white shadow flashed by.
"..Ugh~"
Before the soldier could finish his words, he felt a heavy blow to his exposed neck, and the next second, he fell to the ground, motionless.
Pace opened his eyes and saw Perlis standing next to the guard's body, rubbing her wrist.
"Is this the 'power of words'? I've really learned something new."
Perlis looked at Pace dimly, with an expression on her face that was hard to tell whether it was sarcasm or ridicule.
"Ah... there are always times when you're unlucky..." Pace muttered. He looked behind Perlis and saw another guard lying in the snow, motionless.
Huh? Perlis just knocked them out and didn't kill them?
Perlis looked at Pace with disdain for a while, then turned around, walked to the gate of the manor, and stared at the big lock on the black iron gate in a daze.
"Hey, don't be impatient," Pace shouted, "Let me search them for the keys, and then..."
"clang!"
Perlis raised her knife and slashed it, and the butterfly knife with strong factor energy cut the iron chain. The cross-section of the iron chain glowed red and fell on the snow, melting the ice and snow.
Then, Perlis pushed open the gate of the manor and turned to look at the group of people standing there in amazement:
"Come in, don't waste your time."
......
5) The one who abandons, the one who is abandoned (Part 4)
The guard was quietly dealt with without alerting the guards inside the manor. The group successfully entered the manor with a wooden cart loaded with goods. The manor was very large, with a snow-covered stone road extending from the manor gate to the huge mansion not far away. On both sides of the stone road were large tracts of grape vines. The withered vines were left with only branches, covered with white snow.
The grapevines of the Monarch family are high-altitude varieties that are unique to Thebite, but even so, they need energy to heat and artificial light to protect them during the harsh winters. After Venia took over the Monarch mansion, many of the vines died in the winters when no one cared about them due to lack of proper care and maintenance.
To put it bluntly, they just want to drink up the wine in the cellar, so why bother about the vines that produced the wine?
The withered grapevines made Pesce feel melancholy. He looked into the distance with a dazed look. The entire Monarch Mansion stood quietly in the cold wind. The scene shrouded in false tranquility kept touching Pesce's heartstrings.
This is Pace's home, a home he hasn't returned to for many years.
The group was walking on the stone road with the cart. There were no other legion guards on the road, but there was a light on the window on the first floor of the mansion. It seemed that except for the two soldiers on duty at the door, all other soldiers were hiding inside to keep warm. So the group wandered slowly in Monaco Manor very smoothly, looking for the entrance to the cellar.
Soon, in a corner of the manor, Pace found the entrance to the cellar covered with vines and weeds.
"right here."
Pace and Vance worked together to clear away the crooked plants growing at the entrance of the cellar, then he gently pushed the iron gate, and the door was locked.
"Take two steps back."
Pace motioned for Vance to push back, then raised the Factor Energy Axe in his hand and chopped it hard on the lock.
"clang--"
The iron chain and the axe made a sound of metal colliding, but the chain was not cut open.
Pace said nothing, but silently raised the axe again and swung it at the iron lock:
"Dang——dang——dang——"
The energy axe hit the rusty lock, sparks flew from the impact, but the lock made of cold steel still held on. Even after countless years of baptism, the lock showed no sign of compromise.
"Do you need me to come?"
Seeing how hard Pace was struggling, Perlis walked to his side and looked at him silently.
"No," Pace whispered, "I can handle this."
After that, Pesce raised the axe in his hand again and chopped it down at the lock. Perlis said nothing more, watching Pesce desperately smash the axe blade that was shining with blue light on the iron lock, and a strange look of pity appeared on her face.
In a corner of the manor, the sound of iron and steel colliding burst out from the collision of axe and lock, and was then completely swallowed up by the sound of the winter wind.
After Pace had chopped at it countless times, the old iron chain finally couldn't withstand his blows. It was cut open with a "snap" and fell to the snow with a heavy muffled sound.
Pace put the axe back at his waist and pushed open the rusty iron door. His face looked very calm and composed, completely different from his usual cynical look.
Then, Pace turned around and began to give orders:
