Narrow Eyes Are Not to Be Provoked

In the conference room of Black Dragon City, several core members, including Rein, Ymir, and Mafat, were holding a secret meeting.

Canossa is sharing the intelligence that the Chamber of Commerce has gathered in recent months.

"The City of Radiance has declared the establishment of the 'Radiant Kingdom.' The city's previous hunting system has been abolished, and it has almost entirely adopted the noble system of Oma City. The heads of the Five Great Families have become kings, and numerous nobles have been enfeoffed. Furthermore, due to the [Black Tide], numerous ancient ruins have been discovered west of the Alkolon Mountain Range, making it a true 'Hunting Holy Land.' Hearing the news, large numbers of hunters and commoners have poured into the City of Radiance from the two great empires, and the population migration is intensifying. It will probably only take a few years for the population of the 'Radiant Kingdom' to rival that of the two great empires."

"Now even the Established Nobles of the two great empires are panicking. Large numbers of their subjects are leaving their territories, forcing them to declare martial law and issue decrees imposing the death penalty on those who attempt to smuggle themselves to the City of Radiance. But the effect is not good. On the contrary, martial law has led to widespread resentment among the lower classes, and the conflict between nobles and commoners is escalating."

"I've received information that the establishment of the 'Radiant Kingdom' was actually orchestrated by the Oma Royal Family. I imagine those people are kicking themselves now. It's foreseeable that, barring any unforeseen circumstances, this newly formed 'Radiant Kingdom' will soon reach the scale of an empire and become a major thorn in the side of both empires."

"."

Rein and Ymir already knew some of the inside information about the City of Radiance's plan to establish a nation.

Because Metternich had pointed this out in the letter he sent to Ymir.

However, he was still quite surprised when he heard the news actually came true.

This plot feels like in Rein's previous life, after a feudal dynasty was overthrown by a revolution, a powerful figure usurped the fruits of the revolution and declared restoration, turning back the clock of history.

What was once a perfectly good "City of Freedom" suddenly transformed into a semi-feudal, slave-like system under a monarchical autocracy.

Moreover, the Black Tide also did City of Radiance a great favor in establishing its nation.

The influx of people really gave those guys a huge windfall.

At the same time, Rein also thought of the bearded librarian.

This is the city he built with his own hands, how could he be willing to let others mess with it like this?

"Would Master Cavo allow the Five Great Families to do that?" Rein asked.

Canossa listened, shook her head, and said, "Master Cavo has never shown up. Moreover, according to the intelligence our guild has obtained, Master Cavo disappeared along with the 'Central Library of City of Radiance' after the outbreak of the [Black Tide]."

Upon hearing this news, Rein was greatly surprised. "Disappeared? Could it be that they were killed by the Five Great Families?"

Upon hearing this, Ymir, who was standing to the side, was deep in thought and interjected, "That should be impossible. In the City of Radiance, no one can kill Master Cavo."

"Yes."

Canossa nodded in agreement, saying, "Master Cavo is in his Magic Tower; no one can kill him."

She paused, then changed the subject, saying, "Moreover, our guild's intelligence personnel obtained some very interesting information. That is, on the very day Master Cavo and his library disappeared, First Prince Quentin Omar was assassinated outside the library!"

Upon hearing this, Ymir's face showed surprise. "Quentin is dead?"

In order to maintain the absolute security of the initial construction of the territory over the past few months, she did not allow any intelligence agents to collect information, but she never expected such a big incident to happen.

Moreover, judging from the previous information, Quentin was already the next emperor of the Oma Empire. How could he have been assassinated? Who killed him?

Even Sid wouldn't dare risk war between the two countries by assassinating the heir to the Imperial Throne Omar.

Moreover, there was no motive.

Quentin's ascension to the Imperial Throne will not only not harm the relations between the two countries, but will actually make them better than they are now.

If the assassin comes from another faction, then who is he?

Ymir's mind raced through all the possibilities, and in the end, she deduced that the one with the strongest motive to kill Quentin was actually herself, the Princess who had been expelled from the core of Omar's power!

As Canossa finished speaking, she gave Ymir a strange look.

She clearly thought so too.

Ymir shook her head and said calmly, "I didn't do it."

Rein, of course, knew it wasn't Ymir who did it. But that was strange—who would go and kill Quentin for no reason? Especially in the City of Radiance?

Canossa frowned slightly upon hearing Ymir's words, becoming even more puzzled.

She continued, "I also have some intelligence sources within the Omar government. So, I obtained the files on the assassination of the First Prince Quentin."

As she spoke, she took out several manila paper file tapes and handed them to Rein and the others.

The above is the statement from the First Prince Quentin's guard.

As Metternich walked out of the library, he spoke every single word to the First Prince.

Upon seeing the detailed information, Ymir's expression changed slightly.

The OMA officials who had access to this top-secret intelligence must have held high positions, and the fact that it has now been obtained by someone else shows that the "Black Gold Merchant Guild" has infiltrated OMA's upper echelons to a terrifying degree.

However, it was merely a bit of a surprise. After all, the "Black Gold Merchant Guild" was now an ally, and Omar had little to do with him anymore.

Rein glanced through the file, and when he saw Quentin's bizarre death and the inexplicable reversal of relationships, he was stunned. "It wasn't the First Prince who was assassinated, but rather he tried to kill his own advisor, that guy named 'Clemens F. Metternich,' and then inexplicably suffered a backlash, killing himself?"

He felt he needed to sort out his thoughts properly, as they were a bit jumbled.

He had seen that guy at the "Plague Base," the one who liked to play cards but was clearly "schizophrenic."

But let's not forget that Metternich was the Empress's most capable advisor.

Now, the master doesn't trust his closest advisor and wants to kill him; but instead of killing him, he gets raped instead.

When he delivered that letter, Rein realized that the guy named "Metternich" was on the wrong side.

But he also asked Ymir, and she said that this guy wasn't one of her planted agents, which made that person strange.

But after seeing the following conversations, Rein suddenly felt as if he understood something.

"Metternich and Oma Empress had an affair? Holy crap, the aristocracy really knows how to play games?"

Rein looked at the details at the end of the intelligence report, his face filled with disbelief.

The content is so absurd it's unbelievable; even a bard wouldn't dare to fabricate something like this, yet it's accurate intelligence that Canossa provided!

He cuckolded the emperor? And even killed his son?

Rein suddenly changed his opinion of Metternich; he was a ruthless man.

Oh no, including the expulsion of Ymir, this guy has done everything that offends the Omar royal family.

What the hell is this grudge or grievance?

Seeing the strange expressions on their faces after seeing the intelligence, Canossa smiled knowingly and said, "I couldn't believe it when I first saw this file. However, after verifying it from multiple sources, I can confirm that it is definitely intelligence."

Rein casually asked, "How did Metternich kill Quentin?"

"It should be some kind of Transcendent ability, such as a 'Body Double Curse' or 'Damage Transfer'."

Canossa's expression turned slightly grave as she brought up the topic. Even after advancing to the Legendary level, she wasn't entirely confident in dealing with such a bizarre method of killing.

She paused, then continued, "'Gambler Sequence' has some strange abilities, which is normal. People who inherit this sequence are not very mentally stable. The previous gambler, 'Olatu K. Kand,' was a gambling addict who went everywhere looking for people to gamble with. But even legends, no one wanted to play cards with them. Because others gamble with money, they gamble with their lives. Their Transcendent ability seems to be that when they win, they become stronger, and when they lose... I don't think I've ever heard of them losing."

"Curse?"

When Rein heard this, he was completely distraught.

Those squinty-eyed people seem like normal people, except for a slight case of schizophrenia. Is it really that strange?

He thought about his own experience and wondered if he was also under some kind of "curse".

Thinking that with so many big shots present, he could at least get some advice, so he said timidly, "As for Metternich, I played cards with him for an afternoon. We even played a game alone."

Canossa thought she had misheard, paused in surprise, and exclaimed, "You've played cards with people like that?"

Leaving aside whether a successor of the Gambler Sequence would even associate with a low-level Transcendent like Rein, even if they did, how come you're still alive?

"It seems so."

Then, as he spoke, Rein took out a playing card, naturally the "Colored Joker Card that Metternich had kept after losing, and asked, "Gentlemen, I... am not under any 'curse,' am I?"

Ymir had also heard about the card game, but she didn't know that Metternich was the inheritor of the Gambler Sequence. Now that she thought about it, things were even more complicated.

Canossa found things getting strange, and her already chaotic thoughts became even more confused. "And Cavo and Bazel, the four of you played poker all afternoon? And then you even won the last game by yourself?"

Rein shrugged helplessly. "Yeah. And then I won, and he even did a fortune telling for me."

Canossa couldn't help but twitch her eye, looking at Rein with a chilling gaze, "You really have some nerve."

After a pause, she said, "However, those gamblers aren't exactly crazy, but they have decent sportsmanship. Since you won, he won't harm you."

Hearing this, Rein finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Then I secretly made up my mind that I would never play cards with strangers again, especially those with squinty eyes!

It was obvious that Metternich had foreseen that the First Prince Quentin, would kill him.

After all, Rein knew that he was also a "fortune teller".

But instead of running away, this guy killed his master.

This is incomprehensible.

The group reviewed the file repeatedly, but still couldn't understand why Mette had done what she did.

But now that Quentin is dead, the direct consequence is that Omar's political situation is in chaos, Established Nobles group is falling apart.

Previously, the Established Nobles united to oust Ymir, who wanted reforms, and confirmed the First Prince as the heir to the throne. This was a choice made after a power struggle among various factions, ultimately resulting in a candidate who served the interests of everyone.

Now that a vacancy has opened up, certain contracts have been broken.

The First Prince died, but there were still the Second Prince, third, and Fourth Prince in the emperor's harem. Not all princes were born to the empress.

The families behind the other princes are no pushovers either. Now that they have the opportunity to ascend to the highest position of power, who wouldn't want to give it a try?

With Ymir gone as an external enemy, internal strife naturally ensued.

Moreover, although the claim that Metternich cuckolded the emperor is currently just talk and there is no evidence, it is enough to give the Lopez Family behind the empress a run for their money.

Moreover, Emperor Oma's health condition appears to be dire; he likely won't live much longer.

In addition, the migration of the lower-class population caused by the Black Tide

The political situation in Omar looks like it's about to collapse.

Moreover, it always feels like all the coincidences have come together, making it seem as if an invisible hand is controlling everything.

Rein suddenly remembered a phrase that Metternich, with his "Violent Personality," often uttered. "The filthy aristocratic class should be completely destroyed."

Could this be the work of that squinty-eyed guy?

Thanks to 'xufn' for 1,500 coins, 'My Heart is King', and 'qpzm'. Thanks to three book friends for their support.