NCCnovel Chapter 1314 Slavs
Chapter 1314 Slavs
"If we act rashly now, sealing off and searching the city, causing a huge uproar and letting the whole of India know that the Prince is missing, it will only disrupt his plans, expose our possible backup plans, and even..."
This could truly kill him, Eva, and Yuanwang! You're making things worse! You're doing more harm than good!
Yin Pan'er's words were like ice water poured over his head, instantly cooling down Hu Yidao's feverish mind.
He recalled Xiao Ce's extremely calm instructions before his departure, and the unfathomable confidence in his eyes. Yes, that was Xiao Ce!
He is Prince Xiao, who stirs up the winds and clouds of the world and has fought his way out of desperate situations countless times!
How could he be completely powerless to resist?
How could I have forgotten the prince's instructions and style of doing things in my haste? Such a brutal method as sealing off the slums is not the prince's style at all, nor is it what the prince wants!
“But…Your Majesty…The Prince…” Hu Yidao’s voice was still filled with worry, but the reckless madness had faded, leaving only deep unease and a trace of awakened shame. “It’s been a whole night…This humble general…This humble general truly…”
"No buts!"
Yin Pan'er's voice carried an undeniable determination, but her tone softened slightly, "Trust the Prince! And trust your own judgment! Do you really think the Prince is someone who can be so easily defeated and controlled? What you need to do now is to remain calm! To have faith!"
She paused, her tone becoming even more serious: "What we need to do now is not to throw ourselves into chaos, but to continue the Prince's plan and prepare in the directions he might need. Immediately send more people, not to storm the slums, but to continue the secret and more thorough investigation as the Prince previously instructed!"
Focus your investigation on the waterways! Investigate all vessels that left Brahma last night, whether fishing boats, cargo ships, or any suspicious small boats! Investigate where the footprints that disappeared along the riverbank ultimately lead, and whether there are any hidden passageways or exits! Investigate all possible secret paths leading out of the city, avoiding the main roads! Especially in the northeast direction!
The reason she mentioned the northeast direction was because Xiao Ce had mentioned it briefly, saying that those people might have come from Slavic countries...
Moreover, she still refused to believe that Eva had orchestrated the whole thing.
However, she felt that Xiao Ce was certain...
If it really was a staged performance, Eva was originally a Slavic person. And she had heard her father say that Slavic people were outwardly respectful, but inwardly they were full of hidden strife.
Yin Pan'er's thoughts became clearer. She knew that at this moment, the only thing she could do was trust Xiao Ce's judgment and go further down the path he had laid out.
"At the same time, use all your informants outside the city to watch for any large-scale or unusual movement of people, especially towards the northeast Slavic direction! Also, keep a close eye on Master Sanjay's side. Although the prince said it was fine, it's always good to be more vigilant."
"Wait! Continue to wait until the Prince contacts us, or until we find more concrete and safer leads! This is the Prince's will, and it is the best support we can give him!"
"General Hu, you are the Prince's most trusted right-hand man, and your calmness and judgment are needed now more than ever!"
Looking at the usually gentle and graceful princess before him, Hu Yidao was finally able to completely suppress his inner turmoil as he witnessed her calmness, decisiveness, and unconditional trust and understanding of the prince.
A strong sense of shame and deep respect welled up in my heart.
He kowtowed deeply and sincerely, his voice deep and firm: "This humble general... obeys! This humble general was reckless! I almost ruined Your Highness's important matter! Please rest assured, Your Highness, this humble general will take care of it immediately!"
"I will carry out the task entrusted to me by Your Highness flawlessly! I swear on my life that I will never make a foolish mistake again!"
He stood up, his eyes rekindling with fighting spirit, no longer blind madness, but sharp with a clear goal and a heavy sense of responsibility.
He glanced at Yin Pan'er one last time, then turned and strode out of the side hall to carry out the more difficult and patient task—to weave a finer net in the pre-dawn light, waiting for the man he firmly believed would return victorious.
As Yin Pan'er watched Hu Yidao disappear through the door, her tense body swayed slightly, but Xiao Niqiu caught her with quick reflexes.
She closed her eyes, covered her face with her hands, took a deep breath, and when she looked up again, all that remained in her eyes was a rock-solid determination and a trace of barely perceptible worry.
"Your Highness... Pan'er believes in you... You must be safe..."
She murmured softly, her voice drifting through the empty and silent palace, her gaze fixed on the gradually whitening eastern horizon outside the window.
Inside the carriage that bumped along the desolate road and headed towards the vast mountains to the northeast, Xiao Ce, wearing a hood, had a wicked smile on his lips that no one could see.
Those who know Xiao Ce will see him smiling like that.
I knew it, and I was certain someone was going to be in trouble...
Lingxu's spiritual tendrils were keenly capturing every subtle change outside the carriage, silently thinking, "It really is Slavic... I'm here. Nikolayevich Eva, what are you doing...?"
After driving for a while, they switched to a different car.
The heavy hood blocked out all light, leaving only the rustling sound of fabric rubbing against each other and the dull thumping of my own heart.
Xiao Ce allowed two strong guards to support him on either side. Under his feet were hard, cold metal pedals. He had moved from the dilapidated carriage to a more stable and enclosed space. The low roar of the engine and the subtle vibrations of the wheels rolling over different surfaces came through the floor.
"They're constantly on the move, people stop but the horses don't stop. They look so anxious..."
Although his eyes were covered, Lingxu's all-around perception of the surrounding environment's energy, material form, temperature, vibration, and even life force was like unfolding a three-dimensional picture woven from countless details in absolute darkness.
The initial bumpy ride was on a potholed dirt road, followed by a relatively smooth official road.
He could "see" the rotation of the wheel hub, the structure of the shaft, and even the contraction and relaxation of the muscles of the horses pulling the carriage.
The guards breathed evenly, showing signs of fatigue from their long journey, but remained highly vigilant and barely uttered a word.
They only occasionally exchanged a few words in a Slavic language with heavy rolled "r" sounds that he couldn't understand. The content was vague, but the directions were clear: the Slavic Empire.
It's almost certain now...
The journey was long and tedious.
Xiao Ce spent most of his time resting with his eyes closed, but in reality, his spiritual energy flowed like invisible mercury inside and outside the carriage.
He sensed the changes in the terrain along the way: from the humid and hot plains of India to the sparsely vegetated highlands, the humid heat in the air was replaced by a biting dry cold.
The wheels rolled over gravel and mud, and at one point, the crisp "crack" of ice being crushed could be heard.
There were several brief stops along the way, not for rest, but to change horses and drivers.
Each time the carriage stopped, he was quickly transferred like a piece of cargo. The newly replaced horses puffed out hot white steam, and the driver cracked the whip even more rapidly. Food and water would be roughly stuffed into his mouth under the hood when he felt extremely thirsty; the cold bread and the rusty-tasting water were barely enough to sustain him.
The other party's objective was clear: to get him to his destination as quickly as possible with minimal risk of exposure.
It seems they were also afraid that someone would catch up with them...
Xiao Ce originally intended to leave some clues... but after thinking it over...
He still chose to believe Yin Pan'er...
As it turns out, Yin Pan'er and he still had a tacit understanding...
The sense of time becomes blurred in the darkness...
Xiao Ce estimated the temperature changes by relying on his body's perception of temperature changes, the frequency of guard rotation, and the changes in the carriage's speed!
After about five or six days and nights had passed, when an even more biting wind, carrying the scent of pine needles and frozen earth, pierced through the cracks in the car walls, the distant scenery was clearly "reflected" into the sky...
On the horizon, the outline of the rolling mountains became unusually steep and harsh, covered with snow that never melts. We've arrived in the Slavic lands.
The carriage did not enter any town, but continued along remote roads deeper into the icy plains.
Finally, after a long period of high speed, the speed suddenly slowed down.
Through the spiritual void, Xiao Ce sensed that the carriage had crossed a wide bridge paved with huge, square stones. Beneath the bridge was a frozen river, but beneath the ice flowed a turbulent current. After crossing the bridge, a towering, suffocating shadow descended.
The towering towers are like sharp swords piercing the leaden sky, the thick stone walls are covered with a bluish-black ice shell, and the huge archway is flanked by stone carvings of ferocious beasts.
The style is rugged, cold, and powerful, carrying a strong sense of oppressive atmosphere that blends northern wilderness with power.
This was the symbol of the Slavic royal family, the royal palace fortress standing in the heart of the ice field, overlooking the vast territory. It was exactly the same as the scene he remembered seeing years ago; he never imagined that the changes in the Slavic Empire weren't as significant as he had thought...
At this moment, however, he was being secretly escorted here as a prisoner.
The carriage did not enter through the main gate, but instead went around to a very hidden entrance on the side of the palace.
The heavy metal gate slowly rose with the ear-piercing whirring of the winch, and the carriage entered a deep, sloping passageway. The air instantly became cold and damp, filled with the smells of mildew, rust, and a faint, almost imperceptible stench of blood.
The wheels rolled over the wet, slippery stone slabs, producing a hollow echo.
Lingxu sensed that the passageway was flanked by thick stone walls, with dim torches hanging intermittently on them. The flickering flames elongated and distorted the silent figures of the guards, making them appear like ghosts.
Although Xiao Ce was wearing a hood, Lingxu simultaneously provided the visuals.
After Xiao Ce was taken into a room, the hood on his face was removed.
The masked man in the cloak said to Xiao Ce, "Xiao Ce, we've arrived...wait here..."
Xiao Ce looked at the person in front of him, but didn't say anything, just nodded.
Xiao Ce's calmness surprised the cloaked man, because Xiao Ce appeared far too calm...
However, he also had orders not to say anything recklessly.
After all, he had already accomplished what he needed to do...
He glanced at Xiao Ce, then left, rushing off to report...
At this moment, the bronze wall lamps cast a cold, hard light deep within the Slavic Empire's palace, reflecting off the obsidian floor of the vast hall as if it were a frozen lake.
The air was filled with the dry smell of burning cedar wood...
The cloaked, masked man had now removed his disguise, revealing a Slavic face with sharp features but no expression—he knelt on one knee on the cold ground.
On the high-backed throne before him sat the Slavic Emperor, Nikolaevich Shahar.
If Xiao Ce were to see him again, he would surely find that he had aged considerably.
Moreover, the years have etched deep lines on his face, and his hawk-like eyes are so sharp they can pierce the soul; even the heavy bearskin cloak cannot completely conceal the imposing aura beneath.
To the emperor's left stood the eldest prince, Nikolayevich Ries.
He inherited his father's robust physique, his crisp dark blue Guardsman uniform gleaming with medals, and his lips habitually pursed downwards, revealing a hint of barely perceptible arrogance and scrutiny of the person reporting to him.
To the right is the emperor's only daughter, Nikolaevich Eva.
Her identity at this moment is subtle and complex: she is not only a Slavic princess, but also the governor of the East Asian Federation's Tianzhu State, Xiao Ce's wife, and the mother of the young prince Xiao Yuanwang.
Eva wore a sharply tailored Slavic-style palace dress, the deep purple velvet making her skin appear even whiter than snow. Her expression seemed calm, but the fingertips of her hands, clasped together on her knees, were slightly white from the force of her grip, revealing the turbulent undercurrents within her heart.
The young prince Xiao Yuanwang is not here; he has obviously been placed in a more secluded and safe place.
"Your Majesty, Your Highness the First Prince, and Commander Eva."
The cloaked man's voice was deep and steady, hoarse from the long journey, but without the slightest emotional fluctuation: "The target has been successfully escorted to the prison as planned...no accidents along the way."
The Shah Emperor slightly raised his eyelids, his voice cold and stern: "How is he?"
"abnormal."
The hooded man answered succinctly: "From the meeting at the Shiva's Tears shipyard to being hooded and escorted, until being locked in the ice cellar, I showed no sign of panic whatsoever. My breathing was steady, my steps were composed, and even..."
He paused, as if searching for the most fitting description, “...even like an invited guest, observing the scenery along the way.”
Crown Prince Rhys let out a mocking snort: "Pretending to be calm? Or are you scared out of your wits? And can he even see the scenery along the way? Didn't you cover his eyes?"
He stepped forward, looking down at his kneeling subordinate: "Faced with unknown imprisonment, you didn't even offer a shred of resistance or questioning? That's illogical. Are you sure you've captured the right person? Could it be Xiao Ce's double? Don't forget he used this tactic in the Southern Territory."
The hooded man lowered his head even further, but his tone was firm: "I confirm. Although he's wearing a hood, his build, gait, and especially that invisible aura, are completely consistent with the target's intelligence..."