045 Arrogant Sincerity (Subscription Requested)

When the news of Karen’s attitude and demands reached the Bourbon Kingdom, the high command of the kingdom was furious!

No one had expected that a mere necromancer would be so arrogant!

The fact that they were willing to offer a deputy city lord to appease Karen was already a massive concession. Yet, Karen was still not satisfied. What on earth did he want? Did he want to reach the heavens?

Compounding this, a faction within the kingdom’s upper echelons had been opposed to letting Karen’s market continue running in the first place. Consequently, voices calling for Karen’s elimination immediately echoed through the upper ranks of the kingdom.

However, loud as these voices were, they ultimately could not actually go through with it.

The kingdom did not dare to do so!

Of course, it was not because they feared Karen. What was there to fear about Karen? He was nothing more than an ant, whom they could crush with a flick of their fingers. What truly made them cautious was the Silver Hand!

Since the opening of this market nearly half a year ago, both the Silver Hand and the Bourbon Kingdom had tasted its sweet fruits.

Both sides held great expectations for this market, even harboring rosy visions for its future development.

Taking down Karen was a trivial matter, but if doing so ruined the market or provoked the dissatisfaction of the Silver Hand, that would be no small affair at all.

When all was said and done, the Bourbon Kingdom was merely a bully that feared the strong.

They held Karen in utter contempt, yet they were terrified of offending the Silver Hand.

As a result, the Bourbon Kingdom found itself in an awkward, backing-down dilemma.

If they took action, they feared the Silver Hand; if they did nothing, they would lose face!

In the end, it was the "Rangers" faction behind Old Jack that stepped forward to mediate on Karen’s behalf. With no other choice left, the Bourbon Kingdom once again decided to compromise with Karen.

Soon, on the seventh day after Karen’s assassination attempt, Old Jack once again arrived at Karen’s territory as the representative of the Bourbon Kingdom. The sincerity he brought this time was far greater than before.

He brought Karen the matured [Whispers of the Dead] harvested from the Bourbon Kingdom’s plantations over the past three months, along with a batch of corpses.

As for the Whispers of the Dead, a quick count amounted to approximately 310,000 blossoms.

As for the corpses, there were 20 Tier-4 corpses, supplemented by 100 Tier-3 corpses!

Such a collection of supplies was more than enough to prove the "sincerity" of the Bourbon Kingdom.

"Can this finally suffice? Let this matter end here. The kingdom has already made massive concessions, so do not drag this out any longer!"

Old Jack pleaded earnestly, truly hoping that this incident could be brought to a close right here.

He knew very well what lay behind the Bourbon Kingdom’s willingness to make such concessions, and he was genuinely afraid that Karen would continue playing with fire.

As he spoke, he kept glancing back at the caravan behind him, signaling Karen to lower his head and accept it.

However, he was destined to be disappointed. Karen saw Old Jack’s signals, but he had no intention of lowering his head whatsoever!

"Not enough. This sincerity is not enough! Far from enough!"

"Not enough? Is this still not enough?"

Just as Karen’s words fell, a cold voice chimed in.

Simultaneously with this voice, a slender middle-aged man stepped out from the caravan behind Old Jack. His venomous gaze locked onto Karen like a viper. "Then why don't you tell us what else you want? By the way, let me offer you a piece of advice: think carefully before you speak, or people will die!"

As he spoke these words, the middle-aged man lightly slid his hand toward the slender, single-edged straight sword at his waist.

The moment he drew it merely an inch, a wave of intense, holy radiance burst forth.

The instant this holy light bloomed, all Tier-1 undead within a hundred-meter radius vanished entirely. Tier-2 undead suffered severe damage, and even Tier-3 undead instinctively retreated. Only undead of Tier-4 and above could barely resist this brilliance.

Simultaneously, the ground beneath the middle-aged man—which had turned black from the lingering aura of death due to Karen’s territory—began to steam with dense black vapors, representing the death aura being purified.

The middle-aged man disdainfully waved away the black smoke before him, then looked up at Karen with a smirk. "Pardon me, I accidentally killed so many of your subordinates. I truly had no idea your subordinates were this frail, dying off before I even fully drew my sword.

How should I put it? Such weakness is quite troublesome, isn't it? One might accidentally commit murder."

As soon as the middle-aged man uttered these words, the undead aura pervading Karen’s territory underwent a heaven-shaking transformation, surging forth as a terrifying intent to kill that enveloped the area.

Seeing this situation, Old Jack’s expression changed drastically as he hurriedly stepped forward to play the peacemaker.

"Calm down, Karen! Don't be impulsive!"

"General Airo, please sheath your sword—"

"Get lost!"

Old Jack stepped forward to urge the middle-aged man—Airo—to put his sword away, but the moment he approached, he was sent flying with a single kick.

"If Marshal Klein hadn't forbidden us from taking action, I would have wiped out you remaining remnants long ago. Don't think we can't tell; the only reason this disgusting undead dares to be so arrogant is that you lot are backing him from the shadows!"

"You people are the parasites of the empire and should have gone to hell long ago together with that foolish marshal of yours!"

Kicking Old Jack aside, Airo turned his head back to fix his gaze on Karen, pulling the cruciform single-edged sword all the way out and pointing it directly at Karen's face.

"And you, disgusting undead! Do not mistake the kingdom's actions for bowing to you—you do not possess the qualifications for that!

In the eyes of the kingdom, you are merely a filthy, vicious hound. Were it not for the backing of the Silver Hand, we could have killed you at any time.

Here is some advice: obediently accept these items, tuck your tail between your legs, and act like a well-behaved dog. If you do that, you can continue staying here and feeding on the bones tossed to you by the Silver Hand and the kingdom.

If this vicious hound of a dog does not know humility and lacks respect, then you forfeit your right to survive.

The kingdom will not harbor a vicious hound that tries to bite its master. Even if it means offending the Silver Hand, we will kill you. At worst, we'll just fight another war with the Silver Hand or establish a new market!"

Looking at the sword held right before him and the supremely arrogant Airo, Karen fell silent.

After letting out a sigh, he cast a sideways glance at Old Jack, who had been heavily kicked to the ground and was injured.

"Is this your sincerity? Is this your bowing down? Is this the price you pay?"

"As expected, such noble heads cannot easily lower themselves. Even when forced to bend the knee out of fear for the Silver Hand, they still bow with such arrogance, such overbearing haughtiness. How should I put it? Though entirely within my expectations, I am truly still very unsatisfied."

"Unsatisfied?"

Airo chuckled upon hearing this, lifting his cruciform single-edged sword with a sneer. "Unsatisfied? What can you possibly do about it?"

"What can I do? There are plenty of things I can do, but regrettably, you won't be around to see any of them!"

In an instant, seductive blossoms of blood bloomed, and the hand with which Airo gripped his cruciform single-edged sword was severed completely from the wrist...