My older sister is a villainous rich girl

In this day and age, without family connections or any support, the only way to earn respect is through ruthlessness.

"Once I'm settled back in, you'd better treat me to a few days at the tavern. It must have been tough for me to be a coward hiding in this mountain valley for so long." The bald man patted the lame man's shoulder. "Come on, I won't see you out."

Before he could even turn around, a loud "boom" resounded from outside the cave, like a thunderclap.

But the bald man quickly realized that it wasn't thunder.

His expression changed: "Follow me from behind, quickly!"

The lame man realized something was wrong. He didn't have time to ask any questions, and he didn't care that his right leg had been lame for many years. After jogging a few steps, the pain became unbearable, so he simply hopped on one leg to keep up.

However, behind them, a layer of pure white frost, like a beautiful woman's flowing hair, or like vines growing vigorously in spring, extended in from the cave entrance.

Chapter 699 So we have to go to Buffalo.

Seeing that the lame man couldn't keep up, the bald man got anxious and simply carried the lame man on his shoulder. Fortunately, the man was thin and small, so he wasn't too much of a hindrance when running.

"Enemy attack! Enemy attack! Prepare to fight!" he shouted as he ran inside.

He discovered this natural cave by chance during a hunting trip. It had ample interior space and another exit further in, making it a perfect hiding place for his troops. So, without hesitation, he moved all his men and valuables there.

With its own strong army and advantageous terrain, even if the surrounding towns were to launch a full-scale attack to wipe it out, it would not be an easy task.

But he knew that it was probably not just the guards from the neighboring towns who would come knocking on his door at this time.

While urging his men to engage the enemy immediately, he alone, carrying the lame man, crawled through an inconspicuous low hole into a very narrow side passage amidst the chaos.

"Wait, the exit is over there!" the lame man exclaimed urgently.

“No, we can get out from here too.” He strode forward. “There’s an underground river that leads out of the mountains. We can swim out by diving. Nobody knows about it except me. The others can hold us off for a while. Even if there are pursuers, they’ll be misled by the original exit.”

He decisively abandoned all his men and fled for his life.

The possessions accumulated through plunder over the years can be replenished if they're gone, but if I lose my life here, no one can make up for it.

However, when he arrived at the underground river, he was astonished to find that the water was completely frozen. "This... how is this possible!"

The lame man then realized that the surrounding temperature was unusually low.

"It's a magician!" He struggled to get the bald man to put him down. "We can't escape."

The bald man immediately looked dejected and lamented, "I never imagined that after enjoying my whole life, I would end up trapped and dying in such a shabby cave. If it weren't for the people from headquarters who came and transferred away the only magician I had, I wouldn't be in such a miserable state today. Cripple, if you still have any gold or silver treasures, you should take advantage of the remaining time to write down a treasure map. Perhaps if someone finds us in the future, they can help us collect our remains."

"Shut up."

Before long, several sounds came from the passage behind them, and a soft light wafted in, making the situation inside the cave clear at a glance.

The completely frozen underground river exuded a chill, and the originally damp ground was covered with a layer of white frost. The cripple and the bald man huddled together on a rock by the wall.

Wayne took out the portrait that Kallian had given him and compared it to the original.

"Are you the rebel liaison, Lame Pete?" he asked.

The handsome young man before him was dressed in a brocade robe embroidered with gold thread and wore a pointed hat commonly seen on nobles. A brightly colored feather was pinned to the brim of the hat. Pete hesitated for a moment before answering, "Yes."

He tried to guess the identity of the boy in front of him, but fortunately the boy did not try to hide it.

“I am Wayne Winch.”

Both the bald man and the cripple had complicated expressions.

“Oh, since you all know who I am, there’s no need to waste each other’s time. What a coincidence, the first hideout we found led us to capture such an important person as you. Thanks to Viscount Floyd for the clues that allowed us to win our first battle,” Wayne said with a smile.

Viscount Frode also came over, his gaze lingering for a moment on the portrait in Wayne's hand.

"It's my duty."

The lame man understood everything the moment he saw Viscount Floyd, and shouted angrily, "Damn it! Floyd, haven't I given you enough money and done enough for you?!"

Freud laughed, but he couldn't hide the fierce glint in his eyes. "Young Master Wayne, don't easily believe the rebels. Countless traitors and their accomplices have died by my hand. If I may be so bold as to say something disrespectful, if someone like me can be bribed, then there is probably no general in the kingdom who cannot be bribed."

“Oh, I believe you, Freud, don’t worry.”

Wayne clapped his hands, and the knights who had followed immediately stepped forward and took the bald man and the cripple away.

Then, experienced professionals will pry the secrets they want out of them.

"General Kent, you and the others will clean up the mess. Bury the bodies and thoroughly search this hideout. We don't know if the missing armor and magic stone are still here. Viscount Freud, you are responsible for escorting the surviving prisoners back to Sheri City. This task of parading the prisoners through the streets is yours. Let the people of Sheri City, who have suffered so much from the rebel attacks, feel the joy of victory. This is just the beginning. Next, we will completely destroy the rebel strongholds one by one."

Floyd was slightly taken aback, but he quickly agreed with a happy expression.

Hmph, now you want to cut ties with the rebels? Then I'll help you cut ties even more cleanly.

Wayne watched him leave.

“Brilliant, brilliant, Master Wayne! Next, we should release the news, praising Viscount Floyd for his tireless efforts in leading us to uncover the rebels’ important hideout. In this way, he will immediately become a thorn in the side of the rebels, and the rebel leaders will have to find a way to take revenge on Floyd, otherwise they will lose their cohesion and appeal.” Upon, who had witnessed everything, chuckled softly.

“So we have to go to Buffalo.” Wayne said noncommittally.

With such a powerful force under his command controlling the area around Sheri, it would be difficult for the rebels to find a way to seek revenge on Freud.

Urban's eyes lit up, and he said, "But several noble lords from Buffalo are on their way to see you. If you just leave like this, wouldn't they be disappointed? Why don't you wait a couple more days and let them make arrangements to welcome you?"

With a fleeting glance, Wayne knew he probably had other plans.

Could it be that Minister Franz is planning to "clean up" the group that came to Sheri this time?

"So what if we come to see them and they don't show up? Why didn't they come earlier and instead waited until now? Do they think I don't know what they're thinking? They're just a bunch of opportunists."

He ignored Urban and began discussing the future arrangements for the magic corps with his senior sister Olive.

After a while, Wayne returned to the cave he had just entered. The bloodstains left from the fighting had been cleaned up, leaving only the dilapidated defensive fortifications scattered everywhere, a testament to the chaotic battle that had taken place there.

With several mages providing support, the outcome of the battle was a foregone conclusion.

"Lord Wayne, we found twenty suits of armor, which appear to be of the style used by the kingdom's guards, but we did not find any magic stones." At Kent's signal, a squad of soldiers carried over several large crates.

Wayne opened the box and inspected it himself. The armor was not imbued with magic, but it did indeed bear the insignia of the Kingdom of Lornes. The workmanship was excellent, and its appearance was very similar to the standard armor of the city guard, with only slight differences at the top of the helmet.

"There are no mages in this hiding place, so the rebel headquarters probably wouldn't feel comfortable leaving the magic stone here."

According to previous case records, the Lisa Merchant Guild lost as many as three hundred suits of armor, but only a small portion has been found here.

"Do you think the rebels might use these suits of armor to infiltrate Buffalo's guards?" Wayne asked softly, as if talking to himself.

With two or three hundred fully armored guards, plus the help of several mages, they could accomplish a lot in a short time.

Chapter 700 Radiant Gate

The Earl of Siefus of Buffalo was a cousin of His Majesty the King, but due to the long-standing intermarriages among the various nobles, even the King himself couldn't remember exactly how many cousins ​​he had.

Count Sivers is better known throughout the kingdom as the governor of the southwestern province.

He is seventy years old this year, with a full head of white hair.

Although Sivers was reluctant to admit that he had reached the age to retire, almost everyone in Buffalo, except for him, was looking forward to the next governor bringing about some changes.

Sandoval is one of the more popular candidates.

Sandoval served as the tax collector of the Southwest Province for more than 20 years. He started as an ordinary clerk and worked his way up through hardships and tribulations before finally climbing to the position of Minister of Finance and Taxation of the Southwest Province.

Sandoval once desperately craved power and status, and it was this obsession with success that drove his relentless struggle. But after reaching this point, he realized that the long stairway to fame and fortune is built brick by brick by one climber after another, and once he reached the summit and looked back, there was no way back.

He only has everything he has today because of Count Sivers's appreciation, and he can only continue to move forward for the sake of the Count's interests.

But what awaits him at the end?

Will one day achieve great success and enjoy a peaceful old age, or will one leap from the peak and fall to one's death? Or will one simply burn away silently like the countless embers in this fire, as if never leaving a trace?

He sat in the reception room, staring blankly at the flames in the fireplace, the firelight reflecting an unusual color through his glasses.

“Sandoval, you’re too late. Lord Wayne just set off for Buffalo the day before yesterday. If you leave now, you might still catch up halfway.” Viscount Frode’s short, stout but burly body squeezed into the drawing room from the doorway. His thick, wild, and fluffy red hair did indeed resemble a lion’s mane.

He walked casually to the sofa in front of the fireplace, holding a bottle of red wine in one hand and two crystal glasses between his fingers.

The moment he touched the sofa, Sandoval clearly heard the internal structure creaking under the strain.

“Your chief guard has already informed me of this bad news.” Sandoval rose and gave Viscount Frod a noble bow, his manners impeccable. “However, I did not come here solely for Lord Wayne. I have other news to share and would like to make a deal with you.”

Freud narrowed his eyes, sizing up the man in front of him.

Constantly burdened by paperwork, Sandoval's weariness made him look older than his actual age, but these experiences also seemed to give him a temperament completely different from vulgar figures like Freud.

This is exactly what Freud was jealous of.

“Tell me about it,” Freud said, pouring him a drink himself.

Despite his best efforts to display the demeanor expected of a nobleman, his actions always resembled the absurdity and comicality of a beast imitating human etiquette.

Floyd had no reason to hide his situation. "You should know that I'm not in a good position right now. If Lord Wayne wants to catch a few big fish from the rebels, I am the bait on the hook."

Now everyone knows that Floyd led the way to wipe out the rebel army's hideout, and he can no longer gain the trust of the rebel leadership. What he may face next is a merciless counterattack.

Sandoval adjusted his glasses and said softly, "Since Lord Wayne wants a big fish, why don't you just give him a big fish?"

"I don't have enough chips."

"Floyd said coldly."

Although he had some dealings with the rebels before, it was only on the side of doing his business and collecting some money. He did kill many of his fellow rebels, a fact he did not conceal from Wayne Wincher, but a significant portion of them actually died from betrayal by their own people, and he had simply found a way to achieve a win-win situation.

He saw through Sandoval's purpose in saying those words, but he wanted to gain stronger support.

"Is the head of the rebel leader, Inofan, enough?"

Inofan is a mysterious figure whose name is known but whose face is never seen. It is even difficult to confirm where the name comes from or whether it is his real name. The only thing that is known is that Inofan has been active since the fall of the Principality of Milistan. According to the timeline, he must be at least sixty or seventy years old now.

Freud paused in his gesture of holding up his wine glass.

Seeing that he remained silent for a long time, Sandoval smiled. "In this pond where big fish eat small fish, everyone is bait, but as long as you are big enough, no one can swallow you."

After a moment of silent contemplation, Freud finally relaxed and clinked glasses with Sandoval: "Then let's wish each other a pleasant collaboration!"

……

Buffalo.

Although it was once merely the capital of a duchy, its population and size were comparable to those of the royal city of Lornes. It is said that before the fall of the Duchy of Milstein, Bufania was even more prosperous than it is today.

Wayne stared at the Royal Banner of Lornes hanging above the city gate. Behind the fluttering banner, a discordant gap was faintly visible, ruining the artistic design of the Buffalo city gate.

"The Laird family crest was once engraved there, and every passerby who walked under the Radiant Gate would look up at its golden luster." Seeing that Wayne seemed a little surprised, Urban explained its origins with a touch of emotion.

"Has no one thought of fixing it? It's really crude to just hang up a simple Royal Banner of Lornes to cover it up." Wayne turned his gaze away.

Urban shook his head. "King Lornes is a conqueror here, not a builder."

That's not a very pleasant thing to say.

"I thought that even if it was just to please the conquerors, we had to put on a good show."

"But the problem is that His Majesty the King is far away in the capital. No matter how much you try to please him, the taxes you want to collect will not be reduced by a single penny. The new nobles stationed in Buffalo are the real masters here."

"for example?"

“For example, the Southwest Administrator, His Majesty the King’s cousin, Count Sivers,” Urban said in a low voice. “Last time, when Minister Franz came to inspect the taxes, he had a serious argument with Count Sivers, which ended badly.”

Wayne glanced sideways upon hearing this.

Is this how you work for Franz? You casually betray his secrets to others.

Oh, so you betrayed me? Never mind then.

"Didn't he ask His Majesty the King for his support?" Wayne asked curiously.

Franz Edgeworth was by no means a magnanimous man, a fact even his own daughter had to admit.

Chapter 701 City of Glory

“His Majesty the King only needs balance and generally won’t get involved in the private conflicts between these nobles.” Urban rubbed his palms. “If you want to get revenge, you’ll have to rely on your own abilities.”

Wien seemed to be deep in thought. It seemed that the task Franz had given Urban was to target Count Sivers.

However, the fewer people who know about this, the better. Even Miss Ge Li doesn't know the specific target, so why is he hinting at it to me?

Did he hope to create conditions for his actions? Or did he actually want to hand over Minister Franz's major secrets to himself?

"So it seems that Earl Sivers is not very welcoming to us."

“That’s not necessarily true. You are the son of the Duke of Winchester, and you must have a deep-seated grudge against the Edgeworth family. There’s a saying that the enemy of my enemy is my friend, so the Earl of Sivers might be particularly hospitable to you.” He chuckled, seemingly unconcerned about his own position.

Wien looked at him for a moment, then said coldly, "You're right. Minister Franz doesn't trust me, and I don't trust him either. Although I need his support for this operation, things will be different once we return to the capital. And what about you, Mr. Urban?"