My older sister is a villainous rich girl

One might be able to hold out, but what about ten? Or a hundred?

Forming cliques was an innate instinct for those nobles to survive.

Once such a power struggle intensifies, even His Majesty the King will find it difficult to favor one side over the other.

Bulwer knew very well that in His Majesty the King's eyes, he was merely a useful pawn.

Their purpose is to fight for him, and it's not a pity if they are lost.

Therefore, he decided to start from other areas to enhance his prestige.

—As the mysterious Miss Echoes said, "We must unite all forces that can be united."

This special force, still in its infancy, is one of the important forces that can be used for our purposes in the future.

He gave this special unit the code name: Red Rose Squad.

It means possessing a blood-red beauty with a fatal attraction.

The preliminary list of participants consists entirely of carefully selected talents.

What they have in common is that they come from humble backgrounds, are highly capable, and have a strong desire to improve themselves.

The blazing lights were reflected in Bulwer's eyes.

He wanted to use this small team to make a name for himself in the capital, and even throughout the entire kingdom.

Chapter 214 Want to try a fist the size of a sand pot?

Where there are people, there is struggle; where there is struggle, there are factions.

Lady Ekos, who was considered a completely free person by the world, arrived at the training ground located in a corner of the royal city as night fell.

However, he is currently in a very unhappy mood.

"Why is this person out working overtime instead of staying home in the middle of the night? Does he have some serious illness?"

In the workplace, Bulwer might be an even more formidable workaholic than himself.

If I hadn't overheard his servants chatting while they were still awake, I would have made a wasted trip tonight.

Filled with deep resentment, he evaded the guards' patrols and sneaked into the training ground.

The space here isn't very large, and the torches everywhere illuminate the surroundings as bright as day. There's only one low building on the north side.

Wayne surveyed the surroundings and then moved into the shadows.

With keen perception, I could hear constant whispers in my ears.

"I'm on night shift every day. Last week it was night shift and this week it's night shift again..." one of the guards complained.

"Stop talking, just do as the officer says," another person advised.

As they ventured deeper into the building, the sounds gradually diminished.

Most of the rooms were empty.

After a brief period of calm, new fluctuations emerged.

"Heh, the Commander offered quite a high price to win over his loyal followers."

A deliberately lowered voice rang out.

The response that followed was a somewhat hoarse female voice: "That's normal. No one would willingly be a commander without troops."

"Vera, he's asking everyone to respond to his invitation tomorrow. Will you join?"

"I will listen to... instructions before making a decision."

Although she spoke unclearly, the person asking the question seemed to understand immediately and did not ask any further questions.

They exchanged only a few words before passing each other.

After a slight hesitation, Wayne chose the man who had spoken earlier and followed him.

……

Johnny is a water mage who has been a member of the city guard for two years.

Having graduated from Qingxi Magic Academy, he might seem to have a very noble status in the eyes of ordinary people, but he understands that such "nobility" is just a pretty but empty garment.

His humble origins as a low-ranking noble destined him for a difficult path to advancement.

Among all the disadvantages, the only thing that is still comforting is that his magical abilities are not bad.

For me, this is already a stroke of good luck, and I shouldn't ask for too much.

However, after seeing Bulwer promoted to the highest-ranking officer, this idea wavered.

Even now, Lord Bulwer, the commander-in-chief of the city guard, is he not just a lower-middle-ranking nobleman from the provinces?

To be honest, how much better was he than I, a low-ranking nobleman born and raised in the capital?

It's nothing more than that he gained the favor of His Majesty the King and was being cultivated by someone.

—It sounds easy, but it's extremely difficult to achieve.

A "talent" like myself is merely a tool in the eyes of truly important people.

Tools are things that can be chosen and replaced at any time.

He understood this when he was studying at Seiki Academy.

How to make important people feel that their tool is easy to use is a very profound skill.

He didn't understand before, so he missed many opportunities to rise rapidly in the academy.

Will the choice to be made tonight be another crucial opportunity?

Johnny walked into the men's restroom while pondering the situation.

However, unexpected events in life always happen very suddenly.

Just like right now.

After he released the pressure and came out of the cubicle, he casually glanced up and saw a scene that he would never forget.

An extremely beautiful girl was sitting sideways on the windowsill of the men's restroom, basking in the silvery moonlight.

"what……"

He was speechless, almost unable to utter a word.

Is this dreamlike scene real?

Seemingly startled by his sluggish reaction, the girl's gaze fell lightly on him.

Their eyes met, and his soul couldn't help but groan.

This must be the legendary elf...

Johnny stared at her, mesmerized.

Being stared at so rudely for so long, Wayne's mood instantly plummeted from "unpleasant" to "extremely bad".

Damn it! I shouldn't have shown mercy to her.

He had originally planned to test his memory erasure technique on someone he didn't like.

"What's your name?" he asked indifferently.

The man in front of him paused for a moment, then replied, "I am Johnny."

What are you doing here?

"Meeting."

"What meeting?"

"Regarding the Commander's plan to establish a 'Red Rose Squad'..."

He answered all of Wayne's questions without reservation.

Thanks to his cooperation, Wayne easily obtained the information he wanted.

Bulwer selected a group of elite talents from lower social classes, intending to incorporate them into a special force nominally under the city guard.

With generous benefits, a superior position, promising future, and the option to apply voluntarily, it's clear they're recruiting.

This guy has quite the ambition.

...That's true, they've already rebelled, how small can they be?

After learning this important information, Wayne said, "Next, I'd like to ask you for a favor."

Before he could finish speaking, Johnny answered without hesitation, "I do."

His face still held an expression of utter admiration.

Wayne's eye twitched.

"Fine, you agreed to it yourself, so don't blame me."

As he spoke, he raised his fist, which was as big as a sand bowl.

……

In an office, Bulwer was sitting on a sofa, deep in thought with his eyes closed.

He planned to make do like this for a while, since it would be dawn soon and he wouldn't need to rush home.

The reason this meeting was deliberately scheduled for late at night was to add an extra layer of insurance and filter out some people who were unwilling to cooperate.

Prior to this, he had only sent someone to inform them that they were about to carry out a special operation, without revealing any specific details.

Bulwer thought that those subordinates who were still willing to come to the training ground on time in the middle of the night under such vague instructions were at least those who could follow orders properly.

Anyone who is obedient is a promising talent.

I had initially drafted a list of 15 people, but only 10 showed up here tonight.

The situation was even better than he had expected; he was confident that most of them would accept his invitation.

It's hard for someone who works hard and has no other way to advance to refuse an opportunity that comes their way.

Just in case, he had already presented the plan to His Majesty the King before it was implemented.

Of course, a lot of embellishing words were used.

The king was indeed moved by the prospect he had described, just as he had thought.

Unlike those redundant departments that are in complete disarray.

He had no reason to refuse a special operations team that was absolutely loyal, highly capable, and could be called upon by the king at any time.

—It wasn't just himself who wanted to find a breakthrough among talented people of humble origins; His Majesty the King also wanted to.

Chapter 215 The Bait Thrown by Echo

Just as Bulwer was about to fall into a deep sleep, there was a knock on the office door.

"Dong dong..."

These two gentle taps felt like they were striking right into my heart, causing my entire body to tremble.

He suddenly opened his eyes on the sofa.

The surroundings were completely silent, making one almost believe that the noise they had just heard was just an illusion.

But he knew very well that it wasn't true.

This silence was merely the visitor politely waiting for a response.

He didn't keep the uninvited guest waiting for long.

Although the door was locked from the inside, he still replied naturally, "Please come in."

As he finished speaking, a shadow deeper than the night itself crept in through the crack in the doorway.

Then, a figure stepped out of the shadows.

Even though it wasn't their first meeting, Bulwer was still terrified by the unpredictable magic.

—He himself couldn't even detect the other party's magical attributes.