Chapter 355 - Empire News

Chapter 355: Chapter 110 Empire NewsEarly in the morning, Lu Hong awoke from meditation, leading the remaining five hundred-plus people from Cursed Village to the small town they had settled in yesterday.

The originally quiet town suddenly bustled with activity. Upon hearing the noise outside, Xu Fubin got up to check and, in his excitement, leaped out of the window. If not for the timely catch by the village chief outside the inn, he might have landed face-first.

"Vil... Village Chief." Xu Fubin’s words faltered in his excitement.

The village chief placed his hands on Xu Fubin’s shoulders, laughing heartily, "My boy, you’ve grown... grown up indeed!"

Lu Hong did not intrude and walked into the inn. The counter’s owner was still nowhere to be seen. He then went upstairs into the room and saw Anna deeply immersed in meditation, completely shutting out the outside world. Lu Hong did not rashly disturb her. Anna must have felt inadequate in her strength due to recent events and thus engaged in deep meditation, wanting to improve her power as quickly as possible.

Quietly looking at Anna, Lu Hong let out a soft sigh. Standing in Anna’s place, he could imagine how tremendous the pressure on her was.

And it was this slight sound that awakened Anna from her meditation.

"You’re back!" Anna revealed a brilliant smile, then got up and threw herself into Lu Hong’s arms.

"Are you hungry?"

Anna thought for a moment and replied, "Hmm... not too bad."

"I’ll make you something to eat."

"You’ll cook?" Anna asked, full of skepticism, "You know how to cook?"

"I encountered some game on my way back this morning and casually hunted a few," Lu Hong said as he shook his Space Ring, and two small wild rabbits fell limply to the ground. It was clear that their innards had already been shattered by Lu Hong.

"Ah?!" Anna pouted, "Rabbits are so cute, how can you eat them!"

"..." With a grimace, Lu Hong grabbed the two wild rabbits and left the room without another word.

"Where are you going?" Anna asked hastily.

"You’ll know soon enough." Lu Hong waved his hand, and in less than half an hour, two deliciously roasted wild rabbits were brought back to the room.

Smelling the tempting aroma, Anna’s appetite was aroused. These two wild rabbits were special to her; this was the first time Lu Hong had cooked for her.

But... rabbits are so cu... Cute, shmat! Eat!

After a hearty meal, Anna gained a new understanding of Lu Hong.

During the meal, Lu Hong also recounted the experience of the previous night in order to ease Anna’s worries.

"I actually thought you had beaten the Lone Wolf," Anna wrinkled her nose as she spoke, but in her heart, she very much approved of Lu Hong’s actions. After all, a Third Transition powerhouse could easily have accidents when mad; leaving it to Cursed Village to deal with on their own was the most prudent approach.

After chatting casually and hearing the commotion downstairs, Lu Hong knew Xu Fubin had finished catching up.

"I’ll go out and talk to them." Lu Hong stood up to leave, and Anna followed, "I’ll come with you."

"Okay."

Walking downstairs, Xu Fubin bowed deeply to Lu Hong: "You saved our village, so from now on, my life is yours!"

"I don’t want your life, just being friends is good enough," Lu Hong helped Xu Fubin up, saying, "I have a competition soon, so I’ll be taking Anna back with me first. Your people needn’t worry – once you get to the outskirts of the Seventh Layer of the Outer Realms, the Free People will arrange things for you. Additionally, I’ve informed the village chief of the location where the Lone Wolf hoarded his treasure, remember to retrieve it. It’s the funds you’ll need to rebuild your homeland."

"Alright, I’ll definitely go," Xu Fubin nodded in response.

The village chief, who was also nearby, spoke up, "Young Lu Hong, you have given Cursed Village a second life, and we have no way to repay this debt. If ever there’s anything you need, just command us."

Lu Hong nodded, then turned to Xu Fubin and asked, "By the way, what happened to the innkeeper? Did you kill him?"

"Him?" Xu Fubin sneered coldly, "Him? After you showed off your wealth yesterday, that dog went to report to the Lone Wolf in the afternoon. He was cursed to death in the village last night and will never be able to return in this lifetime."

As expected, greed leads to death. Lu Hong nodded; with the matter concluded, he and Anna left the small town.

"Going back?" Anna seemed to read Lu Hong’s mind, "If we go back now, we’ll have over ten days to rest and recover, but it looks like you don’t really need any rest."

"You know me well." Lu Hong took Anna’s hand, "Every little bit of help counts. I will punish the sins of this place!"

Now that he had already revealed his true identity to Anna, there was no need to hide his strength in front of her.

Besides, Anna was a Third Transition powerhouse, making her the best candidate to keep watch.

Taking out the map Xu Fubin had marked earlier, Lu Hong pointed to a bandit stronghold closest to the Lone Wolf: "Let’s start here."

Three days quickly passed, and during this lawless time of strife, a series of terrifying events took place.

Centered around the Lone Wolf’s territory, the eighteen large bandit groups radiating outward suffered a destructive blow. There were no witnesses, only descriptions from those who came after, spreading the news.

Rumor had it that it was the work of a high-ranking alliance official who punished the bandits for an offense they had committed. In just seven days, nearly a hundred thousand bandits were slaughtered. This feat could surely only be accomplished by the powerful families within the alliance.

For a while, the bandits in the area of chaos all went into hiding, fearing they would be affected. The place finally saw a long-lost peace, but how long this tranquility would last after Lu Hong’s departure was anyone’s guess.

Walking under the starlight of the night, Lu Hong returned to the Seventh Layer of the Floating World and arrived at Anna’s villa where Qing Ling had been waiting at the door.

"Wow, you actually remember how to come back?" Qing Ling said in a strange accent, "Is the honeymoon over?"

"I went out on business, and you know that." Before leaving, Lu Hong had specifically instructed Qing Ling on a few matters.

"Humph!" Qing Ling pouted, tossing a set of documents, "I’ve gathered the information you wanted. This is the latest update I can access with my current permissions. For anything else, don’t come to me – I can’t get it unless you can have me promoted to Archbishop."

Taking the documents, Lu Hong joked, "What, you want to become an Archbishop now?"

"I couldn’t care less about managing that stuff, whoever wants can do it. Once this storm blows over, I’m heading back to the Rao Xue plane. Far from the Emperor’s reach, that’s where I’ll be free." After saying that, Qing Ling waved her hand and strode off.

"What did you have Qing Ling investigate?" Once inside the house, Anna curiously asked, a question she would have never posed before. But ever since Lu Hong showed his powers akin to a Heavenly God descending to earth in front of her, she knew there was no longer anything he would hide from her, so she casually asked.

"It’s nothing much." Lu Hong opened the documents Qing Ling had prepared, "Before I left, I had Qing Ling look into the current situation of the empire and news about the seven Tower Masters."

Anna leaned in and the two began to review Qing Ling’s findings.

The documents still showed the empire under immense pressure from the sea tribes. Even though Caesar, the Great Emperor, wielded the Holy Emperor Sword and could challenge the Naga Queen, war was never a one-man affair. Even if one could sweep through everything, the empire’s territories were vast and not something Caesar could defend alone. Besides, the Sea God was cunning and unpredictable. Though he had not acted directly in the war of annihilation, his actions to shelter the Naga Queen were obvious to everyone.

Like hesitating to hit a rat for fear of breaking the precious vase, Caesar also dared not act rashly. Instead, he moved in the shadows, vowing to not emerge unless the Naga Queen made a move.

Furthermore, according to the investigation by Qing Ling, Caesar seemed to have developed a fanatical obsession with the power of becoming a god; no one within the empire knew how far this had gone.

As for the seven Tower Masters, their whereabouts in the Star Sea remained unknown, and whether the mysterious organization’s pursuit had truly ceased, there was no conclusive answer.

All in all, Qing Ling’s investigation was full of half-guesses, which Lu Hong didn’t mind. Probably even the Sacred Empire itself couldn’t clear up many of the situations.

Seeing Lu Hong’s somber expression, Anna spoke softly, "What’s the matter? Are you worried about the empire’s safety?"

"It’s okay." Lu Hong nodded, "I really want to know if my old friends are still alive amid this disaster, but alas, it’s a difficult thing for Qing Ling to investigate."

"Once the Campaign of the Eagles is over, won’t you be able to return to the empire? Then you can search for them yourself."

"You’re right." Lu Hong nodded again, thinking of Lock Fan who mysteriously disappeared in the space rift, Yin Chen who went off to war from the northern borders, and all the others – Doggie, Lando, etc. So many, so many... He hoped they were all safe in this disaster.