Chapter 141: It’s practically a Female-Oriented Mega-World!
Chapter 143: It’s practically a Female-Oriented Mega-World!
“As expected, there’s a Rose Guard,” Yonglan said nonchalantly as the skyborne battleship slowly descended.
While the Rose Garden was called a kingdom, its organizational structure was extremely loose. It couldn’t even compare to the centrally governed Unified Empire.
Even the federal Pillar of the Holy was more centralized.
The reasons for this were quite complex, involving the aftermath of the Succession Wars and the rules left by the first joint ruler of the Scarlet. In essence, the ancestral laws were unchangeable.
But even with such looseness, the Rose Garden was, at least on the surface, a mortal kingdom. Naturally, it would have a national defense force to maintain its standing. Just as the Unified Empire had the Royal Guard and the Pillar of the Holy had the Holy Army, the Rose Guard was the Scarlet’s instrument of force.
The elites responsible for defending the Rose Garden boarded the mobile base. They wore exquisite black and red uniforms, so refined they looked more like formal wear for a ball.
Upon seeing everyone on the deck, the leader of the Rose Guard paused slightly.
“Hram? That’s unusual.”
“Let me guess, you’re a mercenary group?”
Such a concentration of Hram could only be explained by a mercenary group, or perhaps bandits. Either way, it wasn’t a good sign.
In any other kingdom, troops would have already been dispatched to surround them and disarm the Hram, including Zhenxian, before anything else.
However, the Scarlet were indeed former underlings of the Demonkin. They were not as wary of Hram as other races, exhibiting a very relaxed attitude.
Zhenxian shook his head.
“Not mercenaries, though we were indeed hired.”
The Rose Guard scanned their hand-held device, performing comprehensive detection Artifice on the mobile base below, and said casually,
“Is that so? Regardless of any disguised pretext, which family is in trouble now?”
This time, it was Yonglan’s turn to present the contract signed by Jiali in her personal capacity. This was a mandatory requirement for outsiders entering the Rose Garden. The Rose Garden allowed various individuals to enter, but each person and team needed an inviter and a guarantor. Should any issues arise, the guarantor would be held accountable.
The Rose Guard glanced at it and chuckled.
“Qianhong… Qianhong? Heh, as expected, they couldn’t hold back any longer. Just as anticipated.”
The Rose Guard seemed to know the internal affairs of various families. After the routine inspection, they readily granted passage.
“Alright, inspection passed. You may proceed. Welcome to the Rose Garden, the most magnificent and elegant garden of us, the Scarlet.”
“We hope you have a pleasant stay!”
The Rose Guard’s battleship ascended and left, continuing its patrol along the border. Yonglan and the others finally entered the Rose Garden and headed directly to the capital of the Qianhong Family.
As the silhouette of the beautiful and grand city emerged on the horizon, the mobile base came to a halt.
Yonglan checked the time and said,
“Alright, any closer and we’ll be questioned by Qianhong’s guards. Let’s wait for Jiali to signal. Be patient.”
The arrival of Yonglan and the others was not a secret. Especially with the guarantee document signed in Jiali’s name, it was ironclad proof. The Rose Guard would forward this document directly to the Qianhong Family.
Thus, the silver-purple-haired girl was summoned as a matter of course.
“Miss Jiali, the Elders request your presence at a meeting.”
The silver-purple-haired girl, resting by a pavilion, turned around. Seeing a group of fully armed guard attendants, she let out a laugh and shrugged.
“Heh, let’s go.”
Under the escort that could only be described as an escort, Jiali walked leisurely through the corridors. As she passed a garden, she saw a certain black-haired girl, a guest of the family.
Miya was in the Rose Garden, gently sniffing the floral fragrance. She picked a vibrant red rose large enough to cover her palm and delicately pinched its petals with her slender fingers.
Upon seeing Jiali, Miya gave her a slight nod and a smile. Her scarlet eyes, the most standard of the Scarlet, lowered their gaze, emitting a faint glow.
Jiali understood the question in Miya’s eyes and returned a nod.
Miya watched the silver-purple-haired girl depart, rubbing the petals. She said to her fellow clansman from the Shuoyue Family beside her,
“It seems the Qianhong Family will be undergoing a change today. I just wonder if we can still do this Hram a favor by selling it.”
“You mean directly participating in the Qianhong Family’s civil war? That might be a bit against the rules, especially since you are a member of the Rose Guard.”
Miya smiled, “Don’t be so bound by convention. The world has changed. Even the Rose Garden, with its thousands of years of history, must adapt to this transformation.”
“Knock, knock—”
“Knock, knock—”
On the path leading to the tower where the Elders resided, the group behind Jiali strictly adhered to the rules set by the Elders.
Guards could only ascend to the third-floor steps; Attendants had to stop at the fifth-floor steps; Envoys could only stop on the floor below the Elders.
Jiali ascended to the floor where the Elders were located and unceremoniously mocked them,
“Are you all so afraid of others seeing your faces? It’s laughably cowardly.”
Boring, hypocritical, and oppressive – these were the negative emotions Jiali felt most strongly within the family, and the things she found most unbearable.
In contrast, she found all suspicion and doubt to be almost enjoyable. Though equally vulgar, at least it wasn’t so dull.
She detested the atmosphere of the Qianhong Family, or rather, she detested the customs of the entire Rose Garden.
The Scarlet seemed to be holding banquets and enjoying themselves at all times, appearing care-free, but it was far from that. Under various unwritten rules, the actions and words of the Scarlet had to be restrained, especially when touching upon sensitive topics concerning the Elders.
Their timid behavior was truly laughable. Was this considered enjoyment? It was enough to make one roar with laughter!
Deeply ingrained in the hearts of the Scarlet was a hierarchy far more entrenched than that of the Dragon Species.
The family Elders were at the very top. After ascending through direct lineage and seniority, they wielded the most absolute power, arbitrarily enacting all sorts of strict rules that bloodline members were forced to follow.
They did not reveal themselves externally, manipulating the family under the Fiends through closed-door politics.
They were inferior to the Dragonborn. At least the Dragonborn were purely merit-based; as long as one was strong enough, they could easily ascend. The Rose Garden, on the other hand, was practically a female-oriented mega-world!
In any case, Jiali couldn’t stand it anymore and wished she could punch it all to bits!
In a dimly lit room, several Qianhong Elders, cloaked and veiled, slammed the table and reprimanded Jiali.
“Silence! Jiali, we have received the document from the Rose Guard.”
“When did you find such a Hram legion?!”
“What do you want to do? What do you want to question? What do you want to overthrow?!”
“Confess everything honestly!”
