Chapter One: The Road Sees Injustice

  "I asked, how much money did you give that guy?"

  After leaving the official residence of Minister of Internal Affairs Brousse, Javier had been keeping that smiling face all along, so although he didn't say a word, everyone could see that this trip was definitely fruitful.

  "Ah?" He didn't come back to his senses until he heard Raymond's voice and replied: "It's a very big number, but it's well worth it."

  "Oh, really? Then what exactly did you get?" Raymond said skeptically.

  The more Raymond interacted with Javier, the harder it was for him to understand these people from Lowell's business association. Sometimes they were stingy, and sometimes they didn't even consider money as money when spending it. In Javier's words, things that were considered "valuable" after being bought at a high price might be worthless junk in other people's eyes.

  It's just like spending 20,000 gold coins for just one meeting with someone.

  Unaware that Raymond had already mentally equated himself with the prodigal son, Javier carefully pulled out a letter from his pocket: "Tonight, at the residence of Prime Minister Charles, Duke, a welcoming banquet for envoys from various countries will be held, and the Lowell Chamber of Commerce is honored to have received an invitation."

  "Are you going to peddle?" Raymond couldn't help but say.

  It seems that his words amused him, Javier burst out laughing: "Of course, it can also be said that this is a good opportunity for various countries to recognize our Lowell Chamber of Commerce. However, I hope we can take the opportunity to understand the situation on the Veronika continent first, and talk about other things later."

  "Wait, what did you just say?" Raymond detected something off in his tone.

  Javier waved the official letter in his hand: "Of course, it's us. This time, the Lovell Chamber of Commerce has three admission qualifications, and I don't want to waste two-thirds of what I spent a lot of money on."

  He said, pointing at Raymond: "So I hope you can come with me. Of course, and that mysterious Mr. Freddy, I think he will be very happy."

  Javier dragged himself into it as well. Raymond couldn't help but mutter, "I thought I was just here to be a bodyguard."

  Javier smiled wryly and patted him on the shoulder: "If Lord Raymond's ambition is only for these two small towns, then let's forget what I just said. However, Mr. Reed has far greater expectations of you, so even if it's just for the sake of the guild, I have a duty to get you in."

  Raymond was certainly not a short-sighted man, he knew this was a rare opportunity. Without the help of Lowell Chamber of Commerce, I would be in a remote Haidington, God knows when to have contact with people at this level.

  For him who aspired to make a name for himself on the continent of Veronica, the significance was self-evident.

  So despite Javier's words having a utilitarian tone, Raymond was still very grateful.

  "Alright, time is limited, after returning I'll have to rush to prepare a suit for you that meets the dinner party requirements, this is also an indispensable investment." Javier still spoke with his characteristic businessman tone: "There's no time to train in etiquette, but I believe you can handle it."

  As they walked and talked, they entered a quiet alley. Suddenly, Basset, who was walking beside Raymond, perked up his ears.

  "What's wrong?" Raymond asked.

  "Sounds like... something?"

  Bast's words had barely fallen when a loud crash was heard, and the wall to the left of the crowd suddenly shattered, with a person flying out of the broken gap and landing in the middle of the street.

  This sudden change was extremely sudden, and everyone was shocked. The soldiers behind Raymond all showed a defensive color, and Bastet also touched the handle of his knife with his backhand.

  "Bastet, go take a look." Raymond winked at the cat girl.

  Bast answered with a nod and was about to go forward when another person emerged from the gap in the wall.

  When they saw her, everyone's face showed a look of surprise.

  She was a girl of about 15 or 16 years old, not very tall, with a delicate appearance, short dark brown hair that only reached her ears, and an expression that was cold and difficult to get close to. Her body was slender, still showing a hint of childishness, but she wore a standard knight's light armor, with a long sword hanging from her waist, giving off a unique heroic aura.

  At this time, the girl kicked away the gravel under her feet and slowly walked towards the man who had flown out earlier.

  Seeing her, the man's face turned pale with terror, and he retreated backward in a rolling motion: "What are you, why do you keep chasing me?"

  "My young lady wants to ask you something." The girl said calmly.

  "Who is she?"

  "You don't need to know, just come with me now." The girl approached the man.

  Suddenly, as if she had just noticed Raymond and others beside her, the girl turned her head cautiously towards them.

  "Shaozhu?" Bast asked with a questioning gaze.

  "Whatever, mind your own business." Raymond waved his hand dismissively.

  Then he smiled at the girl and stepped aside, making a gesture of letting her pass, with an air of "please go ahead".

  Understanding his meaning, the girl's face turned slightly red and she again focused her gaze on the man.

  Although it was unclear what kind of grudge the two had, Raymond didn't have any interest in getting involved. He still remembered the result of his last curiosity, which was being forced to flee from the Mojina continent to here.

  Javier was already mature and naturally had no interest in dealing with this sudden situation, so he lightly coughed and said: "We still have important things to do tonight, let's head back to the hotel via another route."

  A group of people were about to change direction and take another road when the man, in a state of panic, suddenly rushed over: "Wait, please help me."

  "Huh?" No one expected him to make such a move, and everyone was stunned.

  Before Raymond could say anything, the man said in a series of loud voices: "Do you know who I am? If you help me, my master will definitely thank you heavily."

  The girl walked over and held out her hand to Raymond: "Hand him over."

  "No! She's crazy, I'll be dead for sure, save me!" The man cried out and promptly shrank into Raymond's group, clinging to them directly.

  "Good grief, this is a hassle." Facing the man who was seeking help and the girl staring at him, Raymond couldn't help but scratch his head in exasperation.

  Raymond didn't want to get involved in this matter, of course. Although he could have ignored it and forcibly handed the man over, looking at the pitiful appearance of the other party, he really couldn't bring himself to do it. Moreover, that girl had never been very polite, and he had just made a concession, so if he let her have her way again now, it would be a bit unreasonable.

  Bastard obviously had the same idea, and he hummed: "Young Master, why listen to her? We won't give in."

  "I don't want unnecessary conflict." The girl's face flashed with anger, her hand on the hilt of her sword, she said slowly: "But this person I must take away."

  "I'm the same." Raymond shrugged his shoulders: "Let's just say it like that and see what happens."

  The girl hadn't even had time to respond when a voice came from behind: "Duncan, so you're here. What's going on?"

  Raymond turned his head to look, but it was a group of fully armed men who walked out from a small alley behind. As soon as they saw them, the man named Duncan was overjoyed and rushed over: "Captain, it's all because of that woman. I was just about to return to report when she spotted me and chased me all the way here."

  The one called captain was a man wearing full-body knight armor, with long hair draped over his shoulders and a lean face. Seeing Duncan pointing at the girl, he furrowed his brow: "You mean her?"

  "That's right." Duncan nodded repeatedly, with a look of lingering fear: "She's too strong, I'm not her opponent at all. If it weren't for these people..."

  Before he could finish speaking, a lazy voice rang out: "Duncan, where's the thing I wanted? You haven't lost it, have you?"

  At these words, Duncan's face showed an expression ten times more frightened than before. He hastily ran towards a man behind the crowd: "Your... Master, over here."

  He took from Duncan a letter-like object: "Has anyone else seen it?"

  "No." Duncan hastily shook his head.

  "What about these people?" asked the man called Beren, turning back.

  "Seize that girl, I want to know who's interested in my affairs. Others..." The man thought for a moment, then lazily waved his hand: "Kill them all."

  "What?!"

  He didn't expect the other party to say something like that, Javier was startled and hastily said: "Wait a minute, this is a misunderstanding, we have nothing to do with this matter."

  Duncan hastily said: "Master, he's right. It was these people who helped me, or I would have been taken away by that woman."

  "Is it?" The man muttered a sentence and walked to the front of the crowd.

  It was then that Raymond saw his appearance clearly.

  The man was probably over 20 years old, quite tall and slightly thin, but his appearance was extremely handsome. A pair of azure eyes were like a deep pool of water, clear as if there was not a single flaw. From his attire, he was obviously a nobleman, with an air of elegance that came from long-term luxury and pampering, evident in every gesture. His blond hair was slightly disheveled, adding a hint of laziness to him.

  From a man's perspective, this person can be said to be quite charming.

  But nobody noticed that after seeing the man's appearance, the girl's surprised expression flashed and disappeared.

  At this time, a young man stroked his chin with one hand and stared at Raymond and others, showing a thoughtful expression.

  "Speaking of which, I really have to thank you guys, otherwise Duncan this idiot would have messed everything up..."

  Seemingly emotional words suddenly turned sharply: "However, I don't want any possibility of leakage about today's events. So, get rid of them."

  The man's eyes flashed with a cold and crazy light that was completely inconsistent with his appearance as he said such words in the most relaxed tone.

  "After you're done, bring that girl to me." With a pat on Beren's shoulder, the man turned around with a swagger and walked away under the escort of several people into an alley.

  After the man left, Beren waved his hand and the remaining people immediately surrounded Raymond in a fan shape.

  I didn't expect that after helping them, I would receive such treatment. Especially that man, his attitude changed so abruptly, as if he didn't care about anyone's life at all. For him, killing someone was as simple as breathing, and that kind of madness was enough to chill anyone's heart.

  "Sorry." The silent girl suddenly said.

  "It's fine if you know." Bastet hummed and said: "Young master, why don't we teach her a lesson first... Meow, ouch!"

  But Raymond knocked on the cat girl's head with a bad temper: "Teach you, don't make trouble for me at this time. Hey, what's your name?"

  The last sentence was directed at the girl. The girl fell silent for a moment: "Lona."

  "Lona, right?" Raymond smiled wryly: "Apologies can wait, looks like we'll have to join forces for now to deal with these guys."

  "How did it come to this? Gentlemen, I believe this is just a misunderstanding. Can't we talk about it again?" Javier was a businessman and still wanted to make a last-ditch effort.

  "Sorry, this is the master's order, so you must die."

  "Bastard, up!" Several shouted in unison, Raymond yelled loudly.

  The next moment, chaos almost occurred simultaneously.

  As soon as Raymond's voice fell, Bastet flashed out like lightning. She was seen to have slightly crouched on the spot, instantly jumped up, and incredibly traversed the space between both sides in one leap, landing amidst the enemy group.

  She didn't expect her to be so agile, and the enemy, caught off guard, hastily scrambled to draw their weapons. Just as Bast saw both hands wipe at her waist, a flash of silver light burst forth, and two enemy soldiers cried out in agony as they fell to the ground, splattered with blood.

  On the other side, Lona rushed up with her hand on the hilt of her sword, heading straight for Baren. Hearing the miserable cries of his subordinates being killed by the cat girl behind him, Baren let out a cold hum and swung his sword out.

  But little did Lona know, she didn't dodge. Just as the long sword was about to reach her, she drew her sword out. Her sword arrived later but first hung obliquely on Berryn's sword body, then with a clever flick of her wrist, she actually deflected Berryn's sword aside. Following that, the sword in her hand flipped like a poisonous snake, directly targeting the opponent's throat.

  It was unexpected that the girl's swordsmanship was so exquisite, and Beren was greatly surprised. However, he was not an ordinary person either. Beren dodged Lona's thrust by tilting his head, and with a quick pull of his sword, he counterattacked towards Lona's waist.

  Lona calmly lowered her wrist, accurately using the hilt of her sword to knock away Belen's attack. A loud "clang" was heard as both took a step back, but after a brief pause, they charged at each other again.

  On the other side, Lona and Beren were in a fierce battle, while on this side, Raymond and his soldiers were also entangled with the charging enemy. Although the soldiers brought by Raymond this time were selected from the good hands of Haidington and Auston's garrison, they were obviously not their opponents. Baste had held back many people, but the rest still made them struggle to cope.

  "Cheers!"

  One enemy soldier charged at Rem with his sword, and Rem shielded Javier behind him while parrying the attack with one hand. The force that came from his sword was so intense that the enemy soldier stumbled backward, and Rem took advantage of the opportunity to stab him in the chest.

  However, although he took down the enemy soldier, three more came from both sides. To protect Javier, Raymond couldn't move freely and had to retreat while protecting him with one hand, fending off the relentless attacks of the three enemy soldiers, creating a precarious situation.

  At the same time, several defenders who were fighting with enemy soldiers were also chopped and wounded, and the miserable cries rang out one after another.