The Boss King actually disguised himself as a novice village chief?!
Chapter 396 - 336 Blood Servant "Lover

Chapter 396: Chapter 336 Blood Servant "Lover

Aisley Reyes had reaped another abundant harvest, which filled her heart with terror.

The huge trading volume generated profits that compelled her to use an ox-drawn carriage to shuttle back and forth four times!

Gold coins and treasures filled the cellar of her room, and to close the cellar door, she had to stand on top of it, hopping fiercely and stomping several times.

But she was not as joyful as before.

Her heart was full of trepidation.

She had anticipated the arrival of wealth, but the wealth had come too quickly, beyond expectation!

It felt as though she was not storing treasures into the cellar beneath her feet, but rather burning-hot coals, with Aisley being like an ant on a coal scuttle, scurrying around in circles.

Karl, who was unable to speak, was sent out by Aisley to gather information; she couldn’t be certain whether the terrifying income could be concealed from the eyes of the soldiers.

The noise of cartloads of gold coins being brought in was too great, and even if the soldiers were living in a drunken stupor, they were bound to notice something.

If discovered, what awaited her would likely be... death.

She facilitated many weapons trades, including the sale of five alchemical bombs, which were the Rand Legion’s most powerful weapons. Yet, the buyers of the alchemical bombs were surely not human, for they reeked of foul odors, were tall, and the only memorable aspect was the stench.

Besides that, the deals included mystic rune weapons, enchanted armor, and a vast array of potions, among others.

She could claim these things had nothing to do with her, but she was the one who opened the little market.

Now, she only wanted to close the damn market and to hell with realizing life’s value—her life’s value should be to survive!

But the soldiers showed no reaction; maybe they were still investigating, or maybe they were just carousing, or perhaps things weren’t as serious as she feared.

"Everything is still under the Kingdom’s control, nothing has changed," Aisley told herself, though her pacing in circles quickened.

She did not appear as relaxed as the words she muttered to herself.

Heavy footsteps approached from outside; she could hardly wait to open the door, preparing to scold the slowpoke first.

"Karl, if only you knew how long I’ve been waiting..."

Her voice suddenly halted.

A dark Shadow enveloped her, a person slightly shorter than Karl with a broad frame; she could see his face clearly, but no matter how hard she tried, she could not remember his features.

Seen and forgotten.

The stranger bowed to enter the room. Aisley instinctively backed away, watching him completely block the doorway from the outside light, leaving only a palm-width gap.

The light was weak.

The shadow cast on the figure by the light, stretching over Aisley like a thick, weighted blanket—only it was a blanket soaked in water, and this heavy, icy, suffocating sensation almost crushed her to the ground, filling her with panic and unease.

Her body trembled subconsciously, to the point where she forgot that she herself possessed transcendental powers.

Then, Aisley saw a familiar figure through the narrow gap between the mysterious man and the door.

Karl, the mute, stood there like a loyal guard, like an insurmountable mountain.

"Karl, could you close the door, please?"

Karl knew the man and respectfully shut the door.

Now alone with him in the room, Aisley’s heart sank.

"Who are you?" Aisley stammered. She thought there must be some problem, and her hand instinctively reached for her ring, but before she could act, the stranger spoke, stopping her in her tracks.

"I don’t wish to hurt you, young lady, so don’t move carelessly."

"Yes, yes, of course."

"Sorry, I should have answered your question first," he said. "Karl, he is a warrior, and when I heard he was being controlled by despicable means, I was somewhat angry. Warriors should have the freedom to choose their life or death, right?"

He was here for Karl?

Aisley blurted out, "I can stop commanding him from now on, set him free."

She was decisive.

Though mute Karl was obedient, forfeiting a Karl was nothing compared to the crisis she might currently face.

"Of course, you will, young people have more empathy after all," he said. "You look to be what... in your teens?" he inquired.

"29 years old."

"Oh?" he sounded surprised.

In the Magic World, immortality was somewhat difficult, but living for several decades, centuries, or even a millennium was not too hard.

"I didn’t expect you to be older than me. If Lania saw you, she would certainly be envious," he said.

The strange mist that clung to his face dissolved. Aisley was certain she had stared at his face countless times and could see his features clearly, yet her mind could not distinguish or even remember his appearance.

But now she saw clearly, he had a chiseled, handsome face with short golden hair... She herself could not have expected to miss such a clear characteristic as "blonde."

Lania?

Even someone as out of the loop as her knew what that name represented.

"You’re—you’re the Duke?"

Lind Armand, the Duke of Lions, General Rand, and what else? There were so many titles, and this was a figure she never imagined would appear in her room.

Now, he stood there, looking down at her.

Her back was drenched.

Her heartbeat raced uncontrollably; she was in a complete daze, and the fact that she had not collapsed was solely due to her transcendental physique sustaining her.

Lind began, "Miss Aisley Reyes, we have just won a major victory."

Aisley, swallowing hard, looked down: "Yes, I’ve heard the stories of your bravery."

She glanced at Lind’s handsome face out of the corner of her eye, but without any trace of admiration, only trying to discern something from his expression.

But Lind’s expression remained unchanged, she couldn’t capture any information at all.

It must not be something as simple as death; although she had committed a capital offense, it wasn’t worth such a high and mighty figure to come here in person.

Her mind was still clear, and she hoped everything would be to her advantage.

"We have a lot to talk about, don’t be nervous," Lind said as he walked over to a chair and turned to sit down.

His tall frame made the chair, which was already quite large for Aisley, seem somewhat cramped.

Lind’s boots tapped lightly on the floor, yet the "tap tap" sound was like a heavy hammer pounding on Aisley’s heart.

Beneath this very floor, in the cellar, lay the wealth of four carriages.

Did the other party know about it?

Karl had already pledged his allegiance to him, so he definitely knew!

"From whose hands did you take over the small market?"

Upon hearing Lind finally bringing up the small market, Aisley’s suspended heart actually relaxed, but at the same time, she didn’t understand why an illegal minor black market would be so important to Lind that he even came here personally.

"Diana, a mysterious..."

"Blood Clan?" Lind suddenly asked.

This made Aisley’s heart, which had just settled, hang in the balance once again.

Lind said, "I’ve never had direct contact with them, but I suddenly remembered that I’ve seen that ring of yours before."

He wasn’t as aggressive as the rumors suggested, and even tended to offer explanations when he spoke, which put Aisley at ease.

The Undead, when operating in the Snake Catcher Fortress, had once discovered in the catacombs of the Heretic Church a female corpse pinned to the wall by dozens of long spears through her chest.

The Undead, who live by the principles of "scavenging" and "not leaving any place empty-handed", naturally wouldn’t let anything go to waste, but they quickly disposed of it as garbage to Renzo.

Of course, the so-called speculation was using the answer to deduce the process. The aura and blood nature of the person in front of him were very similar to those of the Blood Clan, and Lind was certain she had some kind of relationship with the Blood Clan.

Being certain of this, by correlating some possibly related aspects, he was sure to get some answers.

"Yes, this is something Diana once gave me," Aisley answered earnestly.

"Where does she come from?" Lind asked.

The Blood Clan has many branches, including those known to have turned the Fox Hole into a vineyard, presumably led by the late old King Redwald Hedwin.

Then there are the Red Nuns, members of the Blood Clan who have awakened a benevolent heart.

And also the Blood Clan of the Black Marsh Kingdom.

"The Black Marsh Kingdom. She used some magic to make me her lover, and then she decided to look for the trace of the Old Nobility and left Black Hoof Village," Aisley said.

And it was Diana, the Blood Clan member, who had coincidentally headed to the Snake Catcher Fortress.

What rotten luck.

Lind was certain that she must have perished in that great battle or in the fire.

"Is Karl also your lover?" he asked.

"He’s a Blood Servant," she emphasized, revolted at being compared with the foolish Karl; she didn’t want any romantic relationship with an idiot.

But thinking of the man in front of her who seemed to value Karl highly, she became somewhat anxious.

"It’s challenging for me to discern the relationships. Is there a difference?" Lind expressed his confusion.

From what he had learned from the Red Nuns, the methods to recognize members of the Blood Clan as well as their hierarchy, he knew the Blood Clan was divided into three ranks.

The highest level was the "Monarch," also known as "Progenitor," the most powerful matriarch in each lineage.

The Monarch, naturally the most powerful, could lead the entire clan to grow stronger, but if the Monarch became complacent, the whole clan couldn’t advance any further.

Then came the "Crimson Nobility," said to have a copious amount of Noble Blood flowing in them, and they were powerful.

The lowest tier was the "Crimson Damsels," responsible for all the menial tasks.

The hierarchy was clear-cut, yet there wasn’t much connection among them, as their lengthy lives made them aloof to many things.

Like "Blood Servants," he hadn’t heard of them before.

"No."

Indeed, there had never been any difference from the start. Lover was just an affectionate term, and what she had more than Karl was just that insignificant ring.

"I’m very interested in your small market, including the things you’ve been selling," Lind said, not wanting to dwell on this topic any longer.

"I...!" Aisley was alarmed.

"From now on, I could also be your lover," Lind stated. His features didn’t change, but Aisley found she could no longer see his face clearly, nor could she recognize who he was.

Superior-subordinate relationship, master-servant relationship, lover – any label would do; he didn’t care.

"Yes!"

"The small market doesn’t need to shut down, continue with the transactions."

Though Lind felt helpless about having a "traitor" within his close circles, with military equipment and magic potions being sold, destroying the small market wouldn’t improve the situation. It might even get worse, as they would conduct their transactions in places he couldn’t be aware of.

Taking full control of it meant he also controlled that trade route.

"I’ll try to arrange for others to come," Lind said, "You just need to spread the word that you have corrupted some soldiers who will turn a blind eye to the transactions here."

"Yes," Aisley nodded.

She could tell that the Duke was probably about to leave.

Before opening the door to leave, he paused and said, "That money, it’s not safe to keep it here with you."

Only after Lind’s figure disappeared did Aisley slump into the chair where Lind had just sat, exhaling with relief.

Even though Lind had been gentle and soft-spoken, Aisley realized she couldn’t refuse any request he made.

He was that imposing.