If internal strife breaks out in the Western Continent first, I might even be able to become king for a while.
Qingchen asked casually, "Did the master say when we're leaving?"
Lan Shan smiled and said, "Some people have already set off. But we don't need to rush. We still have at least half a month to go, so we can go later."
...
...
The vehicle slowly drove into the city. Storm City didn't even have simple city walls, making it look more like the surface world.
There is no identity verification process, no visa required, and free entry and exit.
Storm City has enough security to ensure that anyone who sneaks in will be caught by the ubiquitous surveillance cameras.
After entering the city, Lan Shan and the others became much more subdued, afraid that they might say something wrong and give the judges something to hold against them.
The Marquess Kennedy's estate was enormous, and Blue Mountain lived in a villa in the northeast corner of the estate.
The main villa was very large, but because it housed more than a dozen of the Marquis Kennedy's wives, as well as various female slaves, his sons over the age of eight were usually not allowed to go there without being summoned...
This incident made Qing Chen sigh, "The Western Continent is really wild! Even marquises can have harems, making it like a palace."
Everyone could only live in different corners of the manor, and Qingchen was Lanshan's private butler. There was also a head butler in the entire manor, who was said to be a very high-level superhuman, a white man.
For example, an Asian like Qing Chen would never become the head butler in his entire life; in the Marquis's manor, being a good servant depended on race.
"Huh, why is the manor under martial law?" Lan Shan said, somewhat puzzled.
The entire manor was patrolled by heavily armed soldiers. Upon entering the manor, the guards at the gate actually required everyone to get out of their vehicles for inspection.
A middle-aged man stood at the door. After Lan Shan got out of the car, he asked in confusion, "Butler, what's going on?"
The head butler said politely, “Young Master, you must have heard about the attack on Blackwater City. The perpetrator is currently missing, and no one knows where he is. In addition, the Marquis has just returned from the Storm Sky Fortress. It is said that three members of the Arbiter Elder Council were seriously injured in the Sky Fortress. The perpetrator may be in Storm City now, so the Marquis has mobilized his private army to guard this place.”
Qing Chen and Lan Shan were both shocked. Someone had actually managed to severely injure members of the Arbiters organization inside that aerial fortress.
How ruthless must that be?
Qing Chen subconsciously guessed whether it was Zhong Yu who came to Storm City, or whether Yan Liuyuan had taken action after passing by Zhong Yu.
Blue Mountain pressed further, "What's going on? The Sky Fortress is a key stronghold of Duke Storm. How did the enemy get in?"
The head steward thought for a moment, then lowered his voice and said, "The elders who are close to the Marquis on the fortress said that the Black Spiders ordered them to curse a person named Chingchen, which backfired. The other party was carrying some kind of forbidden object, and a martial monk appeared from afar to counterattack the curse caster, breaking several of the elders' ribs."
Qing Chen: "?"
He never expected that being a gossip enthusiast would lead to his own downfall!
Are beings outside the Three Realms this ferocious?
This firstly explains why I was plagued by bad luck in the morning, and secondly, it explains what the lightning absorbed from my body by those outside the Three Realms was used for.
The power of many forbidden objects in this world depends on their host. For example, the swift in Da Yu's hands is like this. The higher Da Yu's level, the more, sharper, and faster the swifts he can control.
The same is probably true outside the Three Realms. It drew the lightning from Qing Chen's body to retaliate against the Arbiter. If Qing Chen is only an F-rank, then this retaliatory attack will be negligible.
But Qingchen happens to be the number one person below demigod, so his counterattack is extremely fierce.
The entity outside the Three Realms does not generate energy itself; it is merely a transporter of energy.
If Qing Chen were already a demigod at this moment, if anyone cursed him, that monk could probably slap their head out.
Qing Chen sighed inwardly, what a pity.
At this moment, the head butler said, "Given that both enemies are missing, young master, you should also be careful recently. The master has transferred the troops that were supposed to protect you ahead of schedule. They will guard you for the next few days, and when you need to go to the battlefield, they will be the ones to help you gain merit."
As he spoke, the head butler waved behind him, and a team of seven walked over. They were all white, wearing sunglasses, chewing gum, and looking nonchalant.
The head butler introduced, "These are the most famous Crimson Blood under the master's command. There are seven of them in total, all of whom are B-level gene warriors. Among them, the captain, Black, is also an Awakened. With them around, even if we encounter giants in the Forbidden Land, we can escape unscathed."
The seven members of the Crimson Blood Squad are codenamed by seven colors, with the captain's codename being Black.
In Qing Chen's view, the Duke's power should correspond to a conglomerate, while the Marquis's status is probably similar to that of Qing Kun and Qing Yu, or even lower.
For a character like this to spend seven B-rank soldiers specifically to help his son achieve military merit is indeed a huge investment. After all, the Marquis has so many sons, and presumably Lan Shan's brother is also being protected by seven B-rank soldiers.
Strangely, some of these genetically engineered warriors have unusually thick body hair, resembling that of gorillas.
And ant-like antennae sprouted from the captain's black forehead...
This must be a side effect of the Western Continent gene serum.
Lan Shan exclaimed with delight, "I didn't expect it to be you. I was worried that I would die a miserable death on the battlefield, but now I'm not worried at all."
Blackie laughed and said, "Don't worry, young master, we will definitely bring you back safely. When we return to the manor, you will be a marquis yourself."
Lan Shan pointed at Qing Chen and said, "Let me introduce you. This is my personal butler. He will be traveling with me. He is very capable and once saved my father."
Blackie looked Qingchen over with interest: "What level is the butler?"
Qing Chen replied, "A C-level gene warrior."
Blackie paused for a moment, then turned to the head butler and whispered, "Could this butler not go? He's only a C-rank. On the battlefield, we'll have to protect one more person, which is a complete burden. Protecting the young master is fine, but what's the point of protecting him?"
The head butler replied, "Sending him was ordered by the master. The master thinks he is loyal and reliable. Although his strength is a bit low, he is willing to risk his life to protect the young master. I cannot change this decision."
Black seemed to ponder for a moment, then turned to Blue Mountain and Qing Chen and said, "I hope that when the young master arrives on the battlefield, he won't question our decisions and commands. We are professionals in warfare, so please trust our expertise. As for the butler, you just need to take good care of the young master. You don't need to handle the fighting, lest you get hurt accidentally."
Qing Chen replied with a smile, "Don't worry about that, I know what I'm doing."
Blackie continued, "From now on, we'll take over the young master's schedule. We'll be in charge of the drivers and the slaves in the villa. We'll also check their food for poison every day. Butler, you don't mind, do you?"
Qingchen quickly said, "I don't mind at all, I don't mind at all, as long as you're happy."
He had been worried that the butler's job would be too tedious and affect his progress in the 8th multiverse, but now that someone was taking the initiative to do the work, he couldn't be happier.
As for who will protect whom on the battlefield, it's too early to say.
Chapter 825, Qing Chen, banished to the cold palace
The Crimson Blood Squad took over the convoy. They even chased Qing Chen away from Lan Shan and forced him onto the back of the vehicle to sit with the slaves.
The Roosevelt Kingdom was more like a feudal lordship, with its own troops known as the Eastern Expeditionary Force and the Western Expeditionary Force, which were responsible for defending the country and protecting the central royal family.
Dukes, marquesses, and barons each had their own jurisdiction and maintained their own private armies.
The Storm City army is the Storm Duke's private army, which he supports himself; the state does not provide funding.
When it came to waging wars abroad, the feudal lords would hand over their private armies to a unified general to command them in battle. At that time, nominally, they would no longer obey the orders of their respective masters, but would obey the orders of the general.
For example, if Lanshan were to lead 500 private soldiers to report to the army group, he would become a battalion commander in the Storm City army group and be under their command.
Now, you never know when we might suddenly have to set off.
Therefore, the color black prompted Blue Mountain to prepare in advance, and supplies and personnel needed to be prepared as early as possible.
Lan Shan hesitated for a moment: "I don't have any experience in this area before."
Black immediately chimed in, "Then I'll take care of it. Young Master, give me your personal seal and I'll get it ready."
Lan Shan's eyes lit up: "Then I'll have to trouble you."
The Crimson Blood Squad knew very well that this rich kid had never been on the battlefield, and if they entrusted him with the tasks of troop deployment and supply preparation, something bad would definitely happen.
Therefore, gaining control of the private army is of paramount importance, and Blue Mountain must obey.
The slaves in the following carriage were puzzled when they saw the steward, Qingchen, suddenly sit in the back.
This butler saved the Marquis Kennedy's life, and after being freed from slavery, he disdained associating with slaves. Why is he riding in a slave's carriage today? This place is filthy and chaotic.
Have they lost power?
Qing Chen glanced at them and said coldly, "What are you looking at? Follow the young master's car and don't whisper in it. Also, if I see your car so dirty again, I'll whip you."
Upon arriving at Lan Shan's villa, Qing Chen followed Lan Shan and the Crimson Blood Squad inside, where the slaves whispered amongst themselves.
Someone probed Blue Mountain's driver: "What happened just now? Why is the butler sitting in the back?"
The driver explained, "You guys don't know, do you? The new Crimson Blood Squad took away the butler's power and even relegated him to the back. The young master didn't say anything..."
"So that's how it is!" The slaves suddenly realized that the steward had indeed lost power!
In such a luxurious mansion, gossip spreads the fastest. Before long, all the slaves in the Blue Mountain Villa knew that a new steward had arrived and they no longer needed to listen to the previous steward.
As soon as Qing Chen entered the villa, he directed the female slaves: "Young Master hasn't had breakfast yet, you all hurry up and prepare a meal for him."
However, at this moment, the man in black walked over and said with a smile, "Butler, you can take a good rest during this time. We can handle these matters."
He was wearing black sunglasses, chewing gum, and holding an automatic rifle in one hand, looking exceptionally tough.
Qing Chen looked at Lan Shan with a somewhat unpleasant expression: "You handle the important matters, I'll handle the minor ones."
Blackie chuckled, "Don't worry, we would never let the young master go hungry. We'll arrange everything, big or small, so it'll be easier to coordinate."
Qing Chen said coldly, "I have to do something, otherwise I won't feel at ease."
"Oh?" The man in black looked at Qing Chen: "I've heard that the butler is a C-level expert. He once saved President Kennedy. He was the bravest soldier when he served. I've always admired him. How about we have a spar?"
Qing Chen said with a cold laugh, "No problem."
But as soon as he finished speaking, black appeared before him like a ghost.
Before he could react, the man in black used overwhelming force to throw him over his shoulder and out of the villa.
Under the watchful eyes of all the slaves, Qing Chen flew out of the villa, rolled several times on the ground, and was covered in mud.
Black stood at the villa entrance and smiled, "The butler has probably been working too hard lately and his reactions aren't keeping up. He should get some rest."
Qing Chen slowly stood up from the ground, his face contorted with rage as he patted the dust off his body.
After a moment's thought, Lan Shan said to Qing Chen, "Steward, you should go back to your room and rest. Leave things here to them. You've been working hard lately, so consider this a break. We'll be counting on you to save our lives on the battlefield."
After a long silence, Qing Chen said, "Okay."
As he walked into the villa, preparing to return to his room, he heard Blackie say, "Butler, the situation is rather serious lately. Why don't you go and stay with the slaves? That way you can help keep an eye on them and see if they do anything unusual."
Qing Chen was stunned for a moment: "You want me to live with slaves?"
Black nodded: "That's right, thank you for your trouble. We need to protect the young master closely, so we can't leave the villa. There aren't enough rooms in this villa. Also, please transfer the slave control program to my phone."
Blue Mountain knew he would have to rely on the Crimson Blood Squad to steal credit, so he let the other side do as they pleased.
Seeing that Lan Shan remained silent, Qing Chen replied with a dark expression, "Fine."