There must be a significant number of nobles in Zone 011 who could rise above the government, and among them, many have become marginalized due to the successive deaths of their main combat forces, but these families were also grooming new players. However, relative to the family members tied by blood, the family’s influence seemed weaker.
Lady Lily’s parents’ house was originally of average strength, too. As she had said, many of her parents and siblings died in their prime, not yet having reached the stage of rise. Her marriage into the Duke’s Family brought the two families into alliance, increasing their combined strength and giving her a larger say in matters, but with her husband just dead and no new Duke appointed yet, and with her own brother suspected of "treachery," the emerging leader of the new generation of players came with his followers to surround her house, seemingly bullying the weak.
This was, after all, the Duke’s residence, the face and the leading figures of Zone 011. Such behavior also seemed to be sending another message: without strength, even a Duke could be pulled down.
If even the Duke could be treated this way, what about the other nobles?
Lady Lily first showed weakness and then questioned, which also served as a reminder to similarly situated nobles.
"Women really should not be underestimated," Selin murmured in admiration, "This is a battlefield completely different from that of the players."
In fact, from the previous purchases of arms from Rongxin Group, the internal forces within Zone 011 had already begun their covert struggle. The assassination on the boat was an overt conflict; the newly rising Xīnlún Church was kicked out of the game, representing the fall of the power that wanted to promote this new religion. Ashis and others took the stage, with nobles like him turning their spears towards other nobles.
Xu Huo’s gaze swept over the lined-up Enforcement Department in the distance: Likewise, the Black Epaulette had grown stronger, and the Bai Jianzhang had been eliminated from play.
"I am not targeting you or the Duke’s residence," Ashis said to Lady Lily in the living room, "My only goal is to maintain the stability and prosperity of Zone 011."
"There can absolutely be no traitors within Zone 011, especially among the nobles who control the fate of the entire zone; we’re all in the same boat, and I won’t allow anyone to secretly drill holes in it."
"No one can erase the contributions of the Mi Lai’er Family to Zone 011, but if Leyton Mi Lai’er truly did something contrary to the interests of Zone 011, even the glory of a deceased hero cannot cover up this stain!"
The blond man stood up and looked down at Lady Lily from above, "Please cooperate."
The few elderly people present said nothing further and all avoided Lady Lily’s gaze, clearly indicating their stance.
With a cold laugh, Lady Lily stood up, "Leyton is not here."
"Search," Ashis commanded with apparent loss of all patience. But just as his players moved to act, the players behind Lady Lily also stepped forward, confronting each other. It was unclear who made the first move, but in an instant, the entire castle, including the garden outside and the roads nearby, all fell into a different kind of silence.
The castle hadn’t changed much; it was only when looking from the inside out that the nearby space seemed to have disappeared, darkness looming next to it.
At this moment, everyone outside the garden had their gaze fixed on the main building of the castle.
"Coming into my house to search, this is too much to bear!" snapped Lady Lily as she snapped her fan closed, her attitude defiantly strong, "If you want to force your way today, you’ll have to leave behind a few heads!"
As soon as she finished speaking, the floor beneath her feet began to unfold like a flower, rapidly increasing the distance between her and Ashis. At the same time, the interior of the entire castle seemed to continually expand, even though the exterior walls did not change, thus creating a bizarre sense of spatial disjunction.
Xu Huo faintly felt the castle’s space splitting to both sides, but his eyes couldn’t directly capture the changes in space. Just as he was about to get closer, the floor, blooming like a flower, suddenly contracted a bit, followed by someone emerging from underground.
"What are you doing coming out!" Lady Lily shouted angrily.
Leyton Mi Lai’er smiled at his sister, "How could I let two families be implicated just for me?"
"This isn’t just about you!" Lady Lily took two quick steps forward, "They’ve made it clear that they want to swallow us up; it’s just a pretext!"
Leyton Mi Lai’er waved his hand, sending her back, nodded to the player who caught her, then turned to Ashis, "I can accept the scrutiny, but if the final verdict is innocent, you must accept the punishment of Noble Law."
Ashis’s expression didn’t change, a player behind him raised a hand, and Leyton Mi Lai’er automatically moved to his side, with no concern of escape, as these people hadn’t applied any prop on him.
Once Ashis left with his people, the government players and the Enforcement Department withdrew together, Lady Lily’s players behind her thought of taking action several times but were stopped by her.
The woman watched them leave with a cold tone, "Since this is Leyton’s wish, I will abide by it. As a member of the Mi Lai’er Family, he lives up to this honor, and I won’t let anyone wrong him!"
The aircraft flew away, she turned back to whisper a few words to the players beside her, five of them left one after another, then Lady Lily returned to the living room to handle the rest with members of the Mi Lai’er Family.
At this time, the Nobles willing to help were allies; the Mi Lai’er Family greeted each one and saw them off individually, while for other players, they simply made a verbal promise of a generous reward.
"Boring, I thought there would be a fight," one player muttered.
"How could there be a fight," Selin said meaningfully, "Lady Lily’s side only had a few players, they were just making a statement. Once Leyton’s situation is resolved, The Werna Household might have to pay a hefty compensation to the Mi Lai’er Family."
Xu Huo, seeing that Selin seemed to know the insides, asked, "What’s this about Leyton Mi Lai’er colluding with the Holy Sword Society?"
"How would I know?" Selin smiled and nodded his chin towards a Mi Lai’er member approaching, "Why don’t you ask Lady Lily?"
"Mr. Xu, Lady Lily would like to see you," the Mi Lai’er member said politely.
Selin looked at Xu Huo with a significant gaze.
Xu Huo ignored his look and followed the player into the castle, meeting Lady Lily on the second floor.
The woman, now different from the fragile yet strong one before, lounged on a sofa, shaking a glass of wine indicating him to come over.
"Aren’t you worried about Leyton Mi Lai’er?" Xu Huo sat opposite her.
Lady Lily smiled softly, "They won’t be able to produce any evidence, I’m going to make The Werna Household take a big fall this time."
Xu Huo raised his eyebrows, "I thought you were allies."
"Of course, everyone is good friends to each other’s faces," Lady Lily said with scorn, "but some people want to smash the pot after they’ve eaten their fill of meat, naturally, we who are left to sip the soup have to keep the pot stable."
"I’m not interested in your internal affairs," Xu Huo said.
Lady Lily smiled and said, "Right now, the Nobles of Zone 011 are divided into two factions, one advocates plundering as before, the other advocates establishing trade relations with higher Wormhole Points, which one do you favor more?"