Laura had a reason for telling Evan all of this. She feared that Evan wouldnât be willing to cooperate, so sheâd disclosed Zhao Haiâs age in order for Evan to gain a greater understanding of the importance of Zhao Hai. If an expert had a chance to reach Rank Nine, then helping him and waiting for him to reach that level would give far too many large benefits. Any great clan wouldnât miss such an opportunity.
Although Laura and Evan hadnât personally witnessed how strong Zhao Hai was, the fact that Zhao Hai had dealt with Garan wasnât something only Laura knew of. Evan also knew about it. Since Garan had vanished, they had a general understanding of how strong Zhao Hai was.
Laura understood even more about Zhao Haiâs strength than Evan, therefore, she vigorously tried to facilitate an alliance between herself, Evan, and Zhao Hai. Once the three of them truly joined together, they wouldnât fear anyone.
On the surface, officially the power and authority would be with the Purcell clan, while the commercial aspects went to her. Behind them stood Zhao Hai, who could provide the most aid to either of them. The three of them together would truly be a strong union.
As Evan looked at Laura, he suddenly laughed. âLittle Laura, your thoughts are really clever, but I must thank you. If you didnât tell me these matters, I wouldnât have known of Misterâs strength; though I would still have helped Mister even if you didnât tell me. I wonât let Mister be disturbed by these matters, so you should immediately go and meet up with him. You must explain and tell him about everything we had just agreed upon. The Markey Dell clan is strong, and we must have a consensus as soon as possible so that we can have a chance of contending against them.â
Laura stood and said, âAlright, Iâll go see Mister then. Uncle Evan, Iâm going to leave first. While I go and see Mister, Iâll have to ask Uncle to look after our situation.â
Evan also stood up, laughed, and said, âBe at ease, nothing will happen, so go peacefully.â
Laura nodded and turned to go.
* * * * *
Laura left the Grand Dukeâs Mansion. A servant waiting outside immediately reported what happened at Faith Mansion to Laura as she sat inside the carriage.
Sitting quietly in the carriage, Laura listened to the servant. After the servant finished the report, Laura nodded. âVery good. Grandpa Quinn John dealt with them amazingly. Go back and tell Grandpa Quinn John that Iâll be heading straight for Stony Mountain.â
The servant complied and immediately went back.
Laura turned her head to the next carriage and ordered the nearby Searle, âSearle, weâre going to Stony Mountain to meet with Mister.â
Searle complied immediately and told the driver to quickly leave Casa City and head directly for Stony Mountain.
At present, Laura wasnât worried about the situation inside Faith Mansion. She had Quinn John assume personal command, so she didnât need to be worried about anything. Even if an issue arose, they had Evan to aid them within Casa City. Moreover, Laura had told Nier to let out the Eagle Virtuous Phantasms earlier this morning and have them patrol and guard. They were to attack anyone who leaves the mansion. One could say that even if Alodia wanted to leave, it would simply be impossible.
Laura also believed that Quinn John was apprehensive enough and has begun to investigate those who had met with Alodiaâs men yesterday. Quinn John wouldnât let these people go. Right now they just needed to keep Alodia there. They needed to wait till they were all ready before dealing with Alodia.
Laura also wasnât worried about the situation of Casa City. She knew that Carlo was too self-confident. He thought that by sending a steward, Lauraâs camp wouldnât dare do anything. He wouldnât have thought that aside from Laura having managed her business in Casa City for years, her strength was great enough now that she didnât need to fear him.
Carlo had misjudged the matter this time around. This was due to the fact that throughout all these years, the Markey Dell clan had been unopposed because of their power and influence. This caused them to unconsciously gain a superiority complex, a belief that everybody they met would just bow down in front of them. They hadnât thought that the ones they bumped into this time would have thorns
Nier looked at the distressed Laura and said, âYoung Lady, thereâs no need to rush things. I could send a message ahead to Mister by using the Eagle Virtuous Phantasms. Presumably, he wonât be against our decision.â
Laura looked back at Nier, smiled, and said, âSilly girl, delivering a message while we still need to personally see him? This matter is of the utmost importance, thus, we need to personally meet with Mister Zhao Hai.â
Nier replied with a smile, âI thought that if we do this, it would seem too polite. Didnât Mister tell us not to be too polite?â
Laura smiled. âSilly girl, being polite to Mister isnât the point here. What I meant was that we should personally go and often visit and meet with Mister. This way, we can try and make our relationship closer.â
Nier looked back at Laura. Then she smiled and said, âYoung Lady wants to be more intimate with Mister. I also think it is good to be a little intimate with Mister.â
Laura scoffed at the words, but this time around, she suddenly heard a pitiful yell coming from outside. Then she heard Searle frantically cry out, âProtect the Young Lady, move quickly!â
Soon, she heard the sound of wind breaking through the air[1]. Since she was a knight, she knew what these sounds were. It was the sound of arrowsâa massive assault using arrows.
Laura wasnât worried about those arrows hitting her. After its modification, her carriage had consumed the best materials available. It simply wouldnât be broken through just by being shot at with arrows[2]. What made her worried was that the sounds of those arrows indicated that there were far too many being shot out. Seemingly, they were being attacked by a large number of people.
She didnât move. Looking at Nierâs pale complexion, Laura smiled and said, âDonât be afraid, everything will be alright.â Then she turned her head and called out, âSearle, how many of them?â
Searle replied, âNo idea. They are hiding in the woods while attacking with arrows and none have come out yet. Young Lady, I think we should speed up. So long as we get to Misterâs place, we will be safe.â
With a cold voice, Laura said, âIâm afraid it wonât be that easy. It seems that Fifth Uncle didnât send only Alodia. Good. Fifth Uncle, it seems like you really want to succeed.â
Laura clearly knew that Carlo was a somber person. This time around, they feared he had concealed one thing by covering it up with another[3]. He had secretly planned several things. The first plan should be Alodia, while the hidden plan was laid out by someone unknown. They most definitely wouldnât be an average person, otherwise, Carlo wouldnât feel assured by giving them tasks.
Nier said, âYoung Lady, what should we do now? Will something happen to our home?â
Laura shook her head as she replied, âThere wonât be any incidents happening at our home. Even if Fifth Uncleâs courage is big, he wouldnât dare cause trouble inside Casa City as it would mean offending the Purcell clan. If he did so, then it would mean that theyâd be in conflict with the Purcell clan. Fifth Uncle doesnât have the guts to do so. Even if it is grandfather, he wouldnât dare. It seems that someone saw what happened earlier this morning at our residence, thus they came out to give us a lesson.â
Nier nodded and asked, âThat being said, are we in danger?â
Laura shook her head. âThatâs hard to say. They know that the people in Casa City are under my command. So long as Iâm removed, then even if Father or Grandpa Quinn John wanted to take command, it wouldnât work because their authority wouldnât ring true. They can naturally just let them go. Well, let us see. Regardless of how they do it, I want to see if they can really put me in my place[4].â
Just then, several more screams were heard. Laura, however, realised that the cry didnât come from those protecting the carriage along with Searle. She quickly asked, âWhat happened?â
Searle replied, âYoung Lady, there might be someone helping us. The screams a moment ago came from the woods. It seems someone is attacking the people ambushing us.â
Laura ordered, âProtect the carriage, do not move heedlessly. The enemies might just be leading you into a trap. No matter who it is helping us, all of you should just focus taking care of the carriage.â
* * * * *
After hearing the command, Searle immediately complied.
The screams coming from the woods became more and more frequent. After some time, they soon heard a whistle coming from the woods. The shadows of the woods then started to shake as a large number of people rushed out.
The people rushing out of the woods were dressed as mercenaries. They took out their weapons as they moved towards the carriage. Searle noted, however, that some at the back wore black warrior clothing as they chased afterward to kill. The weapons of these people were mainly Piercing Swords, and one look was enough to tell they were dead warriors[5].
Although Searle didnât know where those dead warriors came from or why they were helping them, it was still a good thing that they were helping. He kept his 20 subordinates around the carriage, not daring to take a half-step away from it.
Seeing the mercenaries coming closer to them, Searle and the rest unconsciously grasped their weapons. However, during this time, the sky suddenly resounded with the low, deep cry of an eagle. Searle didnât understand what was happening before seeing the sky darken as a large eagle appeared from the air, diving directly down and surprising him. He found out, however, that the eagle wasnât attacking them. Instead, it directly engaged the mercenaries.
This was the first time Searle saw the battle prowess of these eagles. It was simply too strong. The eagles fluttered down and Searle saw with his own eyes as an eagleâs talons took hold of a mercenaryâs head. As the eagle placed its talons onto the head of the mercenary, the mercenary screamed out pitifully. The eagle kept hold of him and flew up into the sky. In an instant, they both disappeared.
The other eagles had few differences. Sometimes it was only one eagle, sometimes a few of them joined together, but all of them picked up a mercenary and soared high. They actually didnât put them down. Instead, they flew over in the direction of Stony Mountain. After only a short time, they couldnât see anyone in the dress of a mercenary anymore. Those people who looked like dead warriors kept back from the carriage. Not far from Searle, one of them bowed in their direction and then they returned to the woods.
Searle was stunned for a moment, then heard a voice behind him saying, âIt is Misterâs people. Continue forward towards Stony Mountain.â Searle turned his head around and saw Laura. He didnât know when Laura stood up, but he complied hastily. He immediately organized the team and protected the carriage until they were at Stony Mountain.
Laura had left the carriage when she had heard the sound of eagles coming. Upon hearing the cry of those eagles, she knew that it had been Zhao Hai whoâd sent them. She really hadnât thought, however, that Zhao Hai would actually be able to send so many eagles.