Revive Rome: Wait! Why not make the empress fall in love with me first?
Chapter 274 - 72 Guarantee

Chapter 274: Chapter 72 Guarantee

The man in the black robe was still trying to increase his control power when he suddenly felt an itch in his nose.

"Ah-choo!" He couldn’t help but sneeze loudly, and his mind control was disrupted as a result. Medea and Nora’s mind tentacles immediately stretched along the subconscious ocean and invaded the depths of his consciousness in return.

Two Level I Heart Stealers daring to control me?! The man in the black robe became furious and was about to unleash an advanced "Mind Shock" when he suddenly sneezed again.

An endless sensation of itchiness flooded his nostrils, and he sneezed several times in a row, drawing the attention of the spectators around him.

"This is not good... My body’s reaction... It’s making it impossible... for my spirit and will... to concentrate..." The black-robed man, now nearly faint from sneezing, had a buzzing in his head – a sign that his mind was about to be breached. Finally, his head tilted, and he lost control over his own mind body, looking to others as though he had fallen asleep.

"You take control of him; I’ll handle the mind reading," Medea swiftly said to Nora. Her mind body immediately plunged into the other’s consciousness, rapidly searching for useful intelligence.

In the competition arena, now that the interference of mind control was gone, Aske immediately displayed his superb swordsmanship with composure and soon subdued Meyer.

"How has this guy become so strong again? Was it all an act before?" Meyer was distracted by the thought when he heard a voice of surprise from the other side:

"Still have time to daydream?"

Before he could respond, a strong force came from the grip of the sword. Aske deftly flicked Meyer’s longsword away and placed the blade against his neck.

"You’ve lost," Aske said.

"I’ve lost," Meyer nodded, not feeling discouraged or dejected. Instead, he felt an unexpected sense of relief – with the contract failed, he would have to return the money to the Wolf Family first, and then finally he could go back to studying swordsmanship.

Now he wanted nothing more than to find a quiet place as soon as possible to organize the errors accumulated in his sword arts over the years.

Aske sheathed his longsword, looking at the calm-faced Meyer, feeling somewhat surprised.

The arrogant and brash attitude that Meyer had before the duel had completely vanished, replaced by an aloof and detached expression that closely resembled that of the future "Square Sword Saint."

He’s beginning to change his mindset ahead of time because he lost to me? Aske shook his head and turned to leave.

"I heard you lead a mercenary group, Chief," Meyer’s hoarse, exhausted voice came from behind. "Could you tell me the name of your mercenary group?"

"The Azure Longsword."

"I will remember that, The Azure Longsword," Meyer mused, nodding thoughtfully, "and hope for a chance to learn swordsmanship from you another time."

"We’ll see," Aske said without looking back, waving his hand.

In the stands, as Meyer was abruptly defeated, the envoys of the Wolf Family also panicked. Even the mind-controlled man in black was woken up, looking at the settled situation in the arena, and at the two girls in the opposite stand, his expression one of embarrassed and speechless annoyance.

On the other side, Nora and Medea had already ended their abilities; the former was finally able to breathe a sigh of relief, slowly recovering from her exhausted spirituality, while the latter was digesting the fragments of information plundered, her brows gradually furrowing.

In the stands, Viscount Heinrich’s eyes widened, his complexion rigid as iron, darkening almost to the point of condensing droplets. He was aware of Meyer’s truly formidable strength and that their team included a Heart Stealer who could covertly control Aske if necessary.

Because he was so certain before, he was the most stunned and perplexed by Meyer’s mysterious defeat.

The Duke of Bavaria appeared quite composed, indifferent to the Weisbach family’s eventual victory, merely tapping his fingers slowly on his knee.

After a long while, he finally spoke leisurely: "The warriors all fought splendidly."

Heinrich was angry and speechless, only managing to speak after a while: "The Weisbach Family had the upper hand; we lost."

"As expected," the Duke of Bavaria said.

Heinrich: ...

On the surface, he remained silent, but his thoughts raced. "As expected," what did that mean? A show of force, or mockery? No, it was a double entendre! The expected outcome, on the surface, referred to the recent battle, but in reality, it meant the internal conflict between the Wolf Family and the Emperor Camp!

He was certain we would ultimately fail!

With things as they were, any more blustering threats would seem hollow, so Heinrich could only stand silently, bowing lightly to the Duke of Bavaria and then quickly leaving with his entourage.

"Father!" Eleanor came over next, her excitement evident, "Aske won! We won!"

"Hmm," the Duke nodded.

"Are you not happy?" Eleanor noticed that his face lacked any trace of joy.

The Duke smiled and shook his head, saying,

"Eleanor, as we’ve discussed earlier, could you introduce me to your Squad Leader?"

"You mean Aske?" Eleanor asked in surprise, "It’s possible, but..."

"Rest assured, I won’t do anything to The Azure Longsword," the Duke said, smiling as if he saw through her concerns.

"Then you would like to..."

"Aren’t you a Mercenary Group?" The Duke blinked, "I want to make a deal with The Azure Longsword."

----------------

When Aske entered the Duke’s study, he saw the ruler of the Duchy, standing with his back to the window.

Ellie stood beside him, raising her eyebrows at Aske to signal that he need not be overly nervous.

"Duke," Aske spoke.

"No need for formalities, Eleanor often speaks of you," the Duke slowly turned around, "Sit."

Aske glanced at the empty chair already placed in front of the desk and then sat down on it.

"Have you enjoyed your stroll around Mingxing City?" the Duke asked with a smile.

"It’s a beautiful city," Aske complimented without a hint of emotion.

"It’s also the jewel of the Bavarian Duchy, isn’t it?" the Duke said, "I hope the recent Hussite attacks that happened in the streets haven’t scared your team members."

"We are mercenaries, Your Grace. We are professionally trained." Aske responded. How could mercenaries be frightened by armed attacks?

"The Hussites, a group of destitute and restless commoners," the Duke said with a tinge of lament, "easily incited by those with ulterior motives, committing all sorts of senseless acts."

"In ordinary times, it would just be one of the many rebellions within the Duchy. But with civil war looming, we can’t afford to ignore them. Aske, do you understand what I’m saying?"

"Duke, does Your Grace mean," Aske spoke, "that these Hussite attacks are deliberately released by certain forces, with the goal to create chaos and throw smoke bombs?"

"Yes," the Duke turned his head to look at Eleanor, "Your previous analysis, that was discussed with your companions, wasn’t it? Quite smart, much more so than your two mediocre brothers."

Eleanor could only grin sheepishly.

"Not only the Hussite attacks, even the Knight Fighting itself is but a smokescreen. We’re in an era where the Magic Tide level has reached 10, where Transcendents far outpace the knightly class itself in determining the outcome of a battle."

"Father, you’re saying..." Ellie seemed to realise something.

"Heinrich knows nothing; he’s still keen on winning the Knight Fighting to dampen the morale of our knights," the Duke chuckled coldly, "That’s the deception laid blatantly before everyone, but a deeply hidden Conspiracy must exist within the emissaries of the Wolf Family."

"If Heinrich himself is unaware, then there might be a real mastermind within his retinue," Aske said.

"I’ve already had his attendants investigated; all are of Noble birth, and their backgrounds are verifiable. Since entering the Bavarian Duchy, the team has moved along the arranged route, with no one leaving the group. But this proves nothing."

"Lord Aske, I entrust this task to you, hoping that The Azure Longsword can uncover their Conspiracy," the Duke concluded, "On their journey out of the Bavarian Duchy, if there indeed is any scheme, maybe they’ll execute it during this period."

"I will have all the Guard teams follow your orders. When necessary, you can even execute them all on the spot without seeking my prior consent."

Ellie’s expression turned to one of shock. To kill the envoy? Such a vast authority could easily lead to full-blown hostility between two Duchies! Her father was actually giving Aske such power?

"I appreciate the trust you’ve placed in our Mercenary Group," Aske responded with a nod, "May I ask why?"

"Because someone vouched for your Group’s strength and credibility," the Duke smiled, "Ah, when I was young, I went to study at the Sirius Peninsula, majoring in international politics and Extraordinary Forces."

"My teacher at the time was none other than the City Lord of Olympia City, Lord Apilius."