Chapter 300: Chapter 209: The Colluder
At this moment, however, Long Yi didn’t have such thoughts. What he was pondering about was, "Oh! So the Dragon Knight Academy is that important, huh?"
Yes! Long Yi was a warrior! Give him a battle, a minor war, an enemy to slay and he would outperform anyone! But, if you asked him to evaluate a situation or to make calculated decisions? You are overestimating him.
The reason Long Yi asked so many questions earlier was purely to assess the current combat capacities in the Imperial City. He thought the situation was not overly concerning because if he, as a single combatant, were to launch an assault, he had confidence that he could break through the current situation.
Unexpectedly, plenty of novel insights sprang from the mind of the second Crown Prince. But after taking a closer listen, they sounded quite reasonable.
Leaving was a definite necessity.
However, just leaving without a second thought was not Long Yi’s style.
"You leave first, I want to observe the situation of the Imperial City," Long Yi suddenly said.
"No, it’s too dangerous."
The second Crown Prince was firmly against it. He was well aware of Long Yi’s capabilities, but this matter was far too significant, completely different from the risk-free environment at the academy. One small mistake could lead to dire circumstances.
"Don’t worry, infiltrating enemy lines is my specialty!" Long Yi reassured, pounding on his chest.
This was not a spontaneous decision by Long Yi. If he were to leave the Imperial City quietly, although it would help preserve his strength, a major downside would be the loss of an opportunity to understand the enemy’s next moves. He had to find out himself what role each faction within the Imperial City was playing in this situation. Particularly the enigmatic Emperor, what role he played was yet to be determined.
Indeed, Long Yi always believed that no matter who died, the cunning Emperor ought to survive. Based on what he had learned from various texts and first-hand experience, the Emperor of the White Dragon Empire - Youtu Kandela - undoubtedly possessed extraordinary wisdom.
His greatest wisdom was, becoming massively wealthy all under the radar.
The tradition of having a seemingly weak Emperor had always been maintained in the White Dragon Empire. Ever since the reign of the current emperor, this tradition had been advanced to a whole new level. Although the Emperor had various powers, the number of those who constrained the Emperor’s power was greater. Nonetheless, those who restrained the Emperor’s power were also held back by the powers of the Emperor, and the citizen assembly, constituting common people, also imposed restrictions on both the Emperor and those who constrained the Emperor.
With Long Yi’s wits, it was challenging to understand these complex relations. It seemed like a system comprised of constitutional monarchy, pure democracy, and a mash of miscellaneous regimes altogether. Despite not being highly gifted in politics, Long Yi was a bona fide university graduate. Although his field was science, he never ceased to study history and politics. The circumstances of the current White Dragon Empire did not fall into any form of government that Long Yi was aware of. However, the ability to unify an entire nation in such a complex manner convinced Long Yi of how remarkable this Emperor must have been.
The benefit of this baffling system is that the entire nation could continue to operate as usual despite a significant change in the emperor’s conditions or in any other institution, say, for instance, the Emperor’s demise.
To achieve such a feat required great wisdom.
In sharing this, what Long Yi was trying to prove to himself was just how intelligent this Emperor was.
And an intelligent Emperor would be impossible to poison.
Yes, when the third Crown Prince proposed the second Crown Prince as the poisoner, the first thing that Long Yi thought was that the poison undoubtedly originated from the third Crown Prince. The second Crown Prince also concurred with this opinion.
From the tone of the second Crown Prince, Long Yi could tell that he had known about the third Crown Prince’s evil intent for a long time, albeit unaware of the specifics.
Long Yi believed that if the second Crown Prince knew, there was no reason the Emperor wouldn’t know.
And if the Emperor already knew and still let the conspiracy unfold...
Long Yi couldn’t help recalling his meeting with the Emperor and a bigger scheme became evident.
Damn it! I’m not skilled in conspiracies!
Long Yi, walking through the secret tunnel, couldn’t help but pull at his hair in frustration.
The entire underground of the research institute was riddled with secret tunnels, one of which led directly to the Imperial Palace. The bulky Bajie couldn’t fit into the tunnel so he had to stay in the secret chamber, while Long Yi and Xiaoyou entered the Imperial Palace through the tunnel.
The brick walls were carefully pried open, revealing an enclosed warehouse within the palace, its floor covered in dust.
They arrived at a door, with silence all around when they listened closely.
The door was locked from the outside, but this wouldn’t pose a problem for Long Yi. By carefully prying the aged metal parts from the wooden boards, the door ceased to be an obstacle.
The surrounding area was dimly lit, clearly, this was a secluded corner of the Imperial Palace. The Shadow Dragon flew out silently. With the Shadow Dragon’s vision, Long Yi was able to make a rough estimate of his current position.
This place was situated at the very rear of the palace storerooms, where items like fruits, vegetables, and fuel were typically stored. The spot where Long Yi emerged was even further within the storage area. When the palace budgets got cut back years ago, this place evolved into an area that was untouched for most of the year. Now, Long Yi couldn’t help but wonder if the budget cuts were just a cover for this secret passage.
Moving towards the palace route, he began to encounter patrolling soldiers and saw dragons stationed atop the palace castle observing the ground below. The Dragon Clan’s night vision was exceptionally strong, thus Long Yi couldn’t simply rely on the cover of darkness to fool them. Using the surroundings and various blind spots, he quietly infiltrated the palace, albeit having to knock out a couple of guards on the way.
This was far from an ideal situation. The disappearance of guards would inevitably raise suspicion, even though Long Yi had diligently hidden them. Nonetheless, swift action was required.
From the guards he had just encountered, Long Yi had gathered information about the general layout of the palace. He was now cautiously making his way to the Emperor’s study.
According to the previous descriptions, whatever he was investigating had occurred within the Emperor’s study.
The Emperor’s study was located in a corner tower of the castle, a standalone structure. The Emperor preferred solitude and silence for contemplation, and only a connecting bridge led to this tower.
However, when Long Yi bypassed all the guards and finally arrived at the connecting bridge, he discovered that the bridge had collapsed and only half of the tower remained. Countless pieces of broken architecture were scattered on the ground.
Something was strange. The Emperor was supposedly poisoned, so why did the study also collapse? It seemed there were details that he was yet unaware of.
Long Yi had approached from one side while the tower was on the other. If he had known this, he would have never made the climb.
Looking around, he noticed there were no sentinels nearby. Instead, two figures were present amidst the rubble.
One of them was the third prince of the White Dragon Empire, Tilian-Kandela. The other was a menacing Black Dragon elder that Long Yi had previously encountered at the Elven restaurant.
Xiaoyou, the Shadow Dragon, noiselessly landed in a nearby shadow. Through Xiaoyou’s eyes and ears, Long Yi watched and listened.
"Why can’t we find the corpse? My father was clearly poisoned to death before me! I even thrust a sword into his chest! But why can’t I find his corpse?" Prince Tilian raged, his voice barely above a whisper. As there were no people around, no one heard him, all but Long Yi. Now Long Yi almost wished for the ability to record these audio and video files.
"Gav, your father’s old attendant, he’s an old dragon. Could he have possessed enough power?" the elder deliberated.
"He wasn’t there at the time! He was off delivering letters to my elder brother at the border! The damned old man! He actually detonated explosives, thinking of taking me down with him!" Prince Tilian continued to curse.
"He ran off?" asked the elder.
"Or could your poison have lost its potency?" Tilian asked, sneering.
"Ha, does this poison ever lose potency? Would you like to try it?" The elder chuckled ominously.
"Then stop speaking this nonsense! You gave me the poison, I personally mixed it into his food and water. I watched his health decline day by day. In the study, I personally saw him drink the final cup, as the poison took full effect, and he spurted blood uncontrollably. I even pierced his chest with my sword. And now, you’re telling me that he ran off!?
Tilian continued rummaging through every large stone.
"Then, Your Highness, continue your search. Just don’t forget what you promised me," the elder stated, not saying anything more.
"Rest assured, once I eliminate the second prince and truly become the Emperor, I’ll fulfill my promise to the Black Dragon Empire. But you’d best tell your Emperor not to be too impatient. After all, the White Dragon Empire isn’t the Black Dragon Empire. The matters of our empire aren’t decided by the Emperor alone," Tilian enunciated.
"It doesn’t matter what the Emperor believes, as long as Your Majesty remembers our agreement. The people by Your Majesty’s side will continue to remind you. Please be at ease," the elder responded with a grin.
"By my side? Are you threatening me?" Tilian glared at the elder indignantly.
"Yes, Your Majesty. I am threatening you. If this threat can ensure your cooperation with our agreement, I would be very pleased."
With this, the elder seemed to vanish into thin air before Tilian. But in Xiaoyou’s eyes, he remained in the same place, merely using a blend of mental magic and Fighting Aura to make himself invisible.
The unseen elder circled Tilian, noting that he was still searching through the ruins. Content, he nodded and left. Only when the elder was far away did Tilian sneer, muttering, "Old fool, do you think I didn’t know you circled around me? I may not see you, but your rotting odor nauseates me! The things I promised the Black Dragon Empire... does the Emperor of the White Dragon Empire... ever keep such promises?"
Long Yi laughed. At first, he had thought Prince Tilian was so desperate for the throne that he would even collude with an enemy. But now, it seemed that while he was both malicious and foolish, he wasn’t quite that absurd. Unfortunately for him, it’s always easier to invite trouble than to get rid of it!
Nevertheless, Long Yi managed to gain quite the revelations from this encounter. At least he felt his trip wasn’t wasted.
So, should he go down and grab this fool? (To be continued. If you like this book, please vote for it and give it a monthly ticket at qidian.com. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users please go to m.qidian.com to read.)
