Chapter 523: Jenniffer's Crisis

Chapter 523: Jenniffer's Crisis

Hours later, the brilliant starry sky illuminated the return journey.

Since the empire's delegation had already been delayed for many days, Menya politely declined the federation's invitation to stay longer and decided to set off on their return trip immediately.

Aboard the empire dirigible flagship, the 'Queen.'

Reginald still found it hard to believe as he looked at Menya, who was smiling, and asked, "Your Highness Menya, you and Sir Rayne have really confirmed your relationship as a couple?"

It wasn't that he was being nosy or prying; rather, Menya had specifically instructed Reginald to keep their relationship confidential for the time being.

After all, her status was rather sensitive, and if it were to be made public, there would likely be a lot of controversy in the short term.

Of course, she had discussed this with Rayne, and he had no objections.

For him, as long as the two of them acknowledged their relationship, whether it was public or not didn't matter much.

His standing was based on his own strength and capability, not on flattery or reliance on power.

"Yes, although there were some coincidental factors, I found that Rayne is kind-hearted and very considerate."

Listening to Menya, Reginald felt as if the person beside him was not the empire's 'Red Queen' but a young woman deeply in love.

For a moment, it felt as if a million wild oxen had trampled through his heart.

'Kind-hearted and considerate? There must be thousands of men in the empire with those qualities! Is that the reason?!'

Reginald was speechless. He really wanted to say, 'Actually, I can do those two things too. But after so many years...'

"Alright! Your Highness Menya, I will naturally comply with your request and keep this matter confidential."

"Thank you, Your Excellency Reginald."

"By the way, are Elder Ivan and the others already on their way?"

"Yes, we should encounter them in a few hours."

"Alright."

Since Rayne had agreed to keep their relationship secret for now, he naturally couldn't stay in Menya's room for too long.

So, after leaving the ancient mermaid girl in Menya's room, he returned to his own cabin.

Meanwhile.

In the Dragonia Empire, Minstrel.

Inside a mansion near the Axeon Auction House.

The beautiful woman Jenniffer was still working overtime in the second-floor study, calculating accounts, with the barbarian girl Lagrelle and the Ice Claw's Georgeya by her side.

Georgeya initially served as Jenniffer's personal bodyguard, but after witnessing her exceptional business acumen, she couldn't help but be deeply impressed.

So, in addition to her guard duties, Georgeya began to learn some basic business transaction skills from Jenniffer.

As for Lagrelle, she originally planned to study business with the beautiful woman for two to three months, learn some key aspects, and then return to Norton to help Darius and Rome improve the tribe's trade.

The ultimate goal was to improve the living conditions of her people.

Although Rayne had already contacted the Sneider Family, where Luther resided, to help Norton sell furs, the Bitterwind Tundra had other valuable and rare products that could be sold for significant profit if supplied directly to Jenniffer.

Additionally, the auction house could procure some rare minerals, which, once purchased and transported back to the tribe, could greatly enhance the protection and combat capabilities of the high-ranking warriors.

In other words, the trade profits could be used to buy rare minerals, bypassing intermediaries and significantly improving the efficiency of fund utilization.

"Madam, in the past few days, several of our main caravans have been attacked by unknown forces. Do you think what Lord Luther's messenger informed us about is true?" Georgeya asked with a worried expression.

Her brother Vandar, the leader of Ice Claw, had volunteered to investigate the situation. While she had great confidence in her brother's abilities, she couldn't shake a sense of unease.

"Regardless, we must leave Minstrel early tomorrow morning. Since someone is trying to use us to threaten Rayne, it must be a major force", Jenniffer said. This morning, she had received a secret letter from Duke Minter.

The message conveyed that due to high-level political struggles, she should return to the Imperial Capital immediately to ensure her safety.

However, Jenniffer had several direct trade caravans and ongoing negotiations with other trade groups, as well as matters at the auction house. Even if she were to return to the Imperial Capital, it couldn't be done immediately.

Of course, the main issue was that, in Jenniffer's view, the situation wasn't urgent enough to warrant such immediate action, especially since they were in Minstrel and not some other place.

So, she planned to handle her current affairs and then leave.

Additionally, the beautiful woman was puzzled.

Given Rayne's rising status in the empire and his rapidly improving strength, it didn't make sense for a major force to act so unwisely by trying to control or kidnap them to threaten Rayne.

Because once Rayne found out, even if he was temporarily at a disadvantage, he would certainly seek revenge once he grew stronger.

Could something have happened to Rayne?

Otherwise, this matter would be hard to explain.

However, these were just thoughts in Jenniffer's mind, and she wouldn't voice them.

"Bang!"

Suddenly, the room gate was violently blasted open!

A familiar figure slammed heavily into the bookcase by the door, accompanied by a familiar groan.

"Lord Wei Er Li!" Georgeya exclaimed in shock!

The one who had been blasted through the door was none other than Wei Er Li, Rayne's follower.

"Don't go over there!"

Lagrelle grabbed Georgeya, who was about to rush over, and shook her head. She quickly picked up a one-handed axe and a large shield, standing guard in front of the beautiful matron Jenniffer with a stern expression.

Years of experience in the business world had prepared Jenniffer, so she didn't panic, but her expression was equally serious. After receiving a secret message from Duke Minter, Jenniffer had gathered all the guards around the mansion.

Additionally, she had specifically notified Wei Er Li, Rayne's follower who served in the Minstrel Swordsmen Division.

However, what Jenniffer hadn't expected was that the enemy would arrive so quickly and with such overwhelming strength.

The guards around the mansion were silent, clearly indicating that, apart from Wei Er Li's slight resistance, the others had been quietly taken out.

"Quick! Take the lady and go!" Wei Er Li said, spitting out blood as he struggled to stand.

"Tsk tsk, so you're Wei Er Li. Not bad, but what a pity to meet us", a tall, armored man wearing a black hood and wielding a knight's longsword said as he walked in.

But he wasn't alone; three more men in black hoods appeared one after another behind him.

Two of them wore wizard robes, emitting subtle psi energy fluctuations, while the third wore a cloak with intricate gold and silver patterns visible through the gaps, suggesting it was a high-ranking noble's custom attire.

"Title Knight, Crystallized Wizard!"

Lagrelle's eyes narrowed slightly; she immediately knew that the enemy must be from a major empire.

No wonder the dozen elite guards around the mansion had been silently eliminated. If not for Wei Er Li, they might not have had time to react at all.

To be able to send a team of this caliber, they must be a top-tier noble family on par with the Minstrel Bavaria Family.

"Hmm? What a rare beauty, and a barbarian girl too, this is perfect", the cloaked man, who seemed to be a noble, said as he sized up Jenniffer and Lagrelle with delight.

"So, you're after us, wanting to use us to threaten Lord Rayne, I see?" Jenniffer immediately understood from the man's words.

"Oh, quite calm, aren't you? Are you counting on Lord Rayne to save you, or perhaps Duke Minter to send reinforcements?" the man said with a mocking smile, looking at them with ease.

"Unfortunately, even if Duke Minter were willing to risk sending help, they would be stopped by our people."

"As for your Lord Rayne, he's in no position to help. Let me give you a free piece of empire intelligence: your Lord Rayne was defeated and imprisoned by the avatar of the goddess of the abyssal sea. He may never return."

The man wagged a finger in front of him, speaking with a carefree tone.

Upon hearing this, both Jenniffer and Lagrelle were shaken to their core, their faces turning pale.

So it had indeed happened?

Moreover, the enemy not only had formidable strength but also a deep understanding of their situation, knowing about Rayne's close ties with the Bavaria Family, the strongest clan in Minter Province.

"What? Still planning to resist?"

"Look, this is the head of a resistant. He was quite skilled, someone you might know." One of the Crystallized Wizards pulled out a completely petrified head from his robes.

The face on the head showed no fear, only anger and unwillingness.

"Brother!" Georgeya cried out, tears streaming down her face.

If not for Lagrelle's firm hold, Georgeya would have rushed over.

"Oh? So this is your brother, what a pity."

"Ladies, if you surrender immediately, the Marquis might spare your lives. Otherwise, you'll become beautiful statues in my garden."

The Crystallized Wizard holding Vandar's petrified head said with a flirtatious tone.

"Go!"

At that moment, Jenniffer seemed to activate a mechanism under the mahogany table. A translucent barrier suddenly appeared in the middle of the room, separating them from the enemy.

At the same time, a section of the wall behind Jenniffer slid open, revealing a passage.

"Trying to escape? What a delusional woman."

One of the Crystallized Wizards raised his hand, and a several-meter-long sharp stone spike appeared in front of him, shooting towards the translucent barrier.

"Bang!"

The translucent wall shook violently, though it didn't break, it was clearly reaching its limit.

"Hmm? It didn't break?"

Just as the Crystallized Wizard was about to strike again, Wei Er Li, despite his injuries, swung his greatsword and leaped, delivering a powerful downward slash.

Clang!!!

However, his attack was easily parried by the armored man, who then kicked him hard in the abdomen, sending him flying through the wall and sliding across the courtyard lawn.

"Truly courting death!"

At this moment, the Wall of Light had already been broken. The cloaked man said, "Wait, let's go chase those women first."

"They're in the servants' quarters", another Crystallized Wizard said after closing his eyes to sense for a moment, then opening them again.

Sure enough, Jenniffer and the other two women ran out from the servants' quarters, heading for the gate.

"Heh heh, interesting. Think you can escape?" the armored man sneered.

In a flash, he appeared on the courtyard lawn but immediately stopped in his tracks as two men and a woman stepped forward to protect the three women. They were Angus, Evelyn, and Enor.

"These are the former members of Rayne's team. Their strength is truly weak", the two Crystallized Wizards and the cloaked man said as they approached.

Angus and Enor were on high alert. Despite their rapid progress, they were still far from matching the strength of their enemies.

At this moment, a knight wielding a bright silver two-handed warhammer, accompanied by a squad of Silver Armored Knights, arrived at the gate.

"Milady Jenniffer, I apologize for my tardiness."

"Church of the Goddess? Knight of Penance?" The expression under the cloaked man's hood became slightly more serious.

Clearly, they hadn't expected the Church of the Goddess in Minter Province to have such a strong connection to their target, no, more accurately, to Sir Rayne.

The Church of the Goddess, which usually did not interfere in imperial noble disputes, had taken the rare step of intervening.

"Sir Knight of Penance, I hope you do not involve yourself in this matter. It will bring you no benefit."

"Sir Rayne has made significant contributions to the church and is a recipient of the Second-Class Goddess Medal. His family and relatives will be protected by the church if they have not violated imperial law."

Bardoul also sensed the difficulty of the situation.

There were three enemies of equal strength to him, a force far beyond what a typical imperial noble family could muster.

Imperial Capital Temeril.

Dram's Mansion.

"What! Rayne has returned? He and Princess Menya were not imprisoned by the avatar of the goddess of the abyssal sea but defeated it instead? And the time he was missing was just for healing?"

Duke Dram stood up in shock from behind his redwood desk.

"Yes, Your Grace, I find it hard to believe as well, but this is the latest news from our family's contact in the Senate. It is said that High Priest Reginald has already received Princess Menya and Rayne."

After confirming this information, Duke Dram's eyes lost their focus, and he slumped back into his wide chair as if his spine had been removed.

After a moment, Duke Dram said in a grave voice, "All actions must be halted immediately!"

"Order the team heading to the Bitterwind Tundra to return and abandon the gold mine."

"Notify Orinze to cease all operations in Minter Province immediately."

"Yes, Your Grace. Marquis Oren received this news the day before yesterday and personally went to Minstrel, accompanied by two dignitaries from Isodrial Academy. I believe they have already begun their actions", the steward said, somewhat hesitantly.

"However, the team in the Bitterwind Tundra is still en route and can be recalled in time."

Hearing this, Duke Dram's expression grew even more serious.

"Quickly sever all ties with Orinze and eliminate any trace of the Dram Family's involvement in this matter!"

The steward's heart sank at Duke Dram's words.

Orinze had always followed the lead of the Dram Family, and it was shocking to see Duke Dram so ruthless, willing to abandon him so quickly. This was the hand of a top-tier, long-standing imperial noble family.

"Yes, Your Grace. However, we may have sent a couple of secret letters to Orinze."

"No problem. The letters are encoded with special codes. As long as there's no concrete evidence linking us, Sir Rayne will not act against us without solid proof. After all, we have the empire's protector, Pantoskoke, the Stormcloud, on our side."

Mentioning the empire's protector, Duke Dram's expression relaxed.

The Dram Family's ability to remain at the top of the imperial nobility for so many years was largely due to the contributions of 'Storm Cloud' Pantoskoke.

"Indeed, with Sir Pantoskoke on our side, Sir Rayne can only go so far with his grievances", the steward smiled, flattering him.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end