Chapter 464 - Chapter 464: Chapter 439: Number 35: Box of Illusion (1/2)

Chapter 464: Chapter 439: Number 35: Box of Illusion

Darren smiled and followed Marshal Horatio, leaving the Lorne Royal Palace built of white marble and arrived outside the palace, where they boarded the carriage belonging to Horatio’s family.

Although automobiles were quite common in the Lorne Empire, as far as the nobles were concerned, only carriages could symbolize their status.

Once seated in the carriage, he quickly said, “When we met His Majesty just now, thanks to Marshal Horatio’s persuasion, His Majesty so readily expressed his support for us, the Cyart people.”

Marshal Horatio nodded gently and said calmly, “I wasn’t speaking for you.”

“You should be quite aware of this matter. I was merely speaking on what I believe to be the right course for the empire at this moment; your interests and those of the Cyart people are not within my consideration.”

He was indeed a very practical person, without a shred of pretense, Darren thought. What had just been said would normally not be voiced according to social etiquette, but Horatio had said it very directly.

“But the fact that you helped the Cyart is undeniable, and I will feel grateful to you in my heart no matter what.”

He nodded, and quickly realized just how unusual the carriage of Marshal Horatio’s family was.

Since raising magic beasts directly contravenes the rules of the True Gods Church, the noble families on the Ouden Continent, though wanting to use magic beasts to draw their carriages, could not do so; thus, they all had horses that possessed magic beast bloodlines.

The horses used by Marshal Horatio’s family for pulling the carriage were of a kind with dragon blood, the Dragon Blood Unicorn Steeds. They were almost entirely black, with patterns of lightning, and only their single horns and manes were snow-white. They looked very handsome and large, nearly twice the size of regular horses, and their horns could emit flashes of lightning.

The most remarkable aspect was that even though they were merely beasts of burden pulling a carriage, they still possessed great strength.

This carriage had no coachman; the steeds had intelligence almost equivalent to humans and clearly knew what to do.

Thus, the carriage began to move slowly.

“These two Dragon Blood Unicorn Steeds pulling the carriage even have Transmutation Level strength… Marshal Horatio, your family is too powerful,” he said.

Darren knew very well that when facing anyone, it was always beneficial to sincerely compliment them a lot from the heart.

Of course, after complimenting them, he held back from saying the last thought on his mind, which was “Brother, I really want to taste what a Dragon Blood Unicorn Steed is like.”

“No matter how, even the most magnificent and noble steeds can only fulfill the role of horses,” Marshal Horatio said, looking straight ahead, his voice low yet majestic.

Darren nodded again, recalling the various intelligence provided by the Black Tide network.

In the past century, there still existed three top family clans in the Lorne Empire, respectively the family of the Emperor of Lorne, Marshal Horatio, and Prime Minister William.

The most noble was undoubtedly the Freyr Royal Family under the “protection of the Gods,” which had very powerful Bloodline powers and was basically intermarried with half of the top noble families on the Ouden Continent.

Prime Minister William and Bishop Karania both came from the “Sun Bird” Pitt family, another family with Sun God Blood, while the Pope of the Sun Church was also from the same lineage.

Marshal Horatio’s Wesley family, on the other hand, claimed themselves as “Swordbearers,” also a fearsome family with Divine Blood, but theirs was that of the “World Order Emperor” among the Six Gods.

Eventually, their carriage left the city and arrived at the countryside estate belonging to Marshal Horatio’s “Swordbearer” family.

Somewhat to Darren’s surprise, the scale of that estate was about as large as the Fischer family manor. Although that was no small size, within the upper echelons of the Lorne Empire, it could only barely be considered average.

He quickly recalled the words Marshal Horatio had just said; if he asked why the estate wasn’t expanded to be bigger, the response would surely be “an estate only needs to provide a function for lodging”…

Darren recollected again the description of Horatio’s character in the intelligence.

According to the extensive investigations by the Black Tide, for that majestic Iron Blood Marshal, practicality was the highest priority, and all other complex formalities and embellishments were meaningless.

It seemed he did not have any particular likes, but rather many things he indeed despised, and he had dedicated his life to contending against those detested matters.

Without this intelligence from Black Tide, Darren might also have made mistakes in communication and persuasion.

The estate they entered was situated in a vast meadow surrounded by lush forests, with gentle rolling hills in the distance and a crystal-clear stream flowing at the foot of the hills.

The outer walls of the manor were covered with patches left by the passage of time, the roof was filled with dark tiles, and under the afterglow of the setting sun, it shimmered a warm golden color. A bronze lion’s head was hung on the main gate, imposing yet solemn.

Around the manor were scattered several quaint farmhouses and barns, the barns full of harvested grain and agricultural products.